Jhonattan Vegas wins RBC Canadian Open

Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas produced a superb final round of 64 to win the RBC Canadian Open by a shot from Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson and Martin Laird.

Jhonattan Vegas began the final day at Glen Abbey GC four shots off the pace set by Brandt Snedeker, U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson and the amateur Jared du Toit.

But he made five birdies on the spin from the 2nd to put himself in contention. Although he dropped a shot at the 8th, he regained the stroke at the 13th and then made three more birdies on the last three holes. He posted a clubhouse total of 12-under-par and nobody was able to match it.

"Starting the round, I knew that if I could get to 12 under, literally that's the number I had in my mind," Vegas said. "I didn't know that it was going to be enough, obviously, to win by one, but I knew it was going to give me a good chance."

Scotland's Martin Laird had his best result on the PGA Tour since winning the 2013 Valero Texas Open. He finished tied second.

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3 talking points from the RBC Canadian Open:

1 – This was a second PGA Tour victory for Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas. His first victory came in the Bob Hope Classic of 2011 but he has struggled with injuries since then so this win caps a great comeback. Vegas will represent Venezuela at The Olympics in Rio and he dedicated this title to his home country.

“Venezula is a country that is suffering right now. It’s just a tough place right now, a lot of people hurting,” he explained. “I want to dedicate it to the country because of all the tremendous support that I’ve had from them.”

2 – Spain’s Jon Rahm played some great golf this week to finish in a tie for second. The Spaniard only turned professional after the U.S. Open and has made a significant impact since then. He was tied third at the Quicken Loans National and that earned him a place in The Open Championship at Royal Troon. With this tied second place finish he should have done enough to earn playing rights on the PGA Tour next season. He had a 10-foot eagle putt on the last to tie Vegas but it refused to drop. "He just went straight and didn't break," Rahm said. "It was hard to see it go by the left edge of the hole and not go in, that's for sure.

3 – Canadian amateur Jared Du Toit shared the lead going into the final round. He was trying to become the first Canadian winner since Pat Fletcher in 1954 and the first amateur winner on the PGA Tour since Phil Mickelson in 1991. But the Arizona State senior faded in round four. He carded a 71 to end the week in a tie for 9th. "I was just so excited to be out there and in the final group in the atmosphere,” he said. “I really wasn't thinking too much about my score or anything."

RBC Canadian Open Glen Abbey GC, Oakville, Ontario, Canada Jul 21-24 Purse $5,900,000, par 72

1    Jhonattan Vegas (Ven)    73    69    70    64    276    $1,062,000 T2    Jon Rahm (Esp)        67    71    72    67    277    $440,533 T2    Dustin Johnson (USA)    66    71    71    69    277    $440,533 T2    Martin Laird (Sco)    73    69    68    67    277    $440,533 T5    Ricky Barnes (USA)    71    68    71    68    278    $207,238 T5    Alex Cejka (Ger)        71    69    69    69    278    $207,238 T5    Brandt Snedeker (USA)    68    73    66    71    278    $207,238 T5    Steve Wheatcroft (USA) 68    77    64    69    278    $207,238 T9    Ben Crane (USA)        69    70    73    67    279    $159,300 T9    Matt Kuchar (USA)    69    71    70    69    279    $159,300 T9    Geoff Ogilvy (Aus)    73    71    72    63    279    $159,300 T9    Jared du Toit (Can)    67    71    70    71    279

Note: Player score in bold signifies Titleist ball usage