When various competitions are staged certain events jump to the front of the line for the utmost attention. Undoubtedly, the four major championships are the pinnacle of titles to possess.
The Open Championship and the U.S. Open are on the immediate horizon to be played this year and the impact in golf is especially noteworthy given the length of time both have operated. The Open goes back to 1860 – before Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as President of the United States.
The U.S. Open started 35 years later in 1895 and represents the country with the most players and golf facilities.
Lost in the shuffle is another Open title which will be settled this week.
The Canadian Open dates back to 1904 and is the third oldest continuously played golf event after The Open and U.S. Open. The event has been staged at various courses in the country with this year’s event hosted again at Hamilton Golf & Country Club in Ontario.
The history of the Canadian Open includes a who’s who of golf’s leading players.
Names such as Walter Hagen, Tommy Armour, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Bobby Locke, Arnold Palmer and Billy Casper are among the elite Hall-of-Fame players who captured the coveted title.
In 1971 Lee Trevino snared the Canadian Open in the middle of wins bracketed by the U.S. Open and The Open Championship respectively. The six-time major winner claimed all three titles in just twenty days. That feat in winning all three Opens in one calendar year was matched 29 years later when Tiger Woods accomplished it.
In 2000, Tiger Woods dueled with Grant Waite over the final 18 holes, before finally subduing the New Zealander on the 72nd hole with an exceptional shot. Holding a one-shot advantage, Woods found his tee shot in a fairway bunker, and after watching Waite put his second shot 30 feet from the hole, decided to go for the green.
Woods hit a 6-iron which carried a lake and settled on the fringe just past the flag, which was 218 yards away, and then chipped to tap-in range for the title-clinching birdie.
The brilliant shot by Woods left those viewing it speechless and is regarded as among the finest Tiger has ever played.
Incredibly, the central name missing as a champion of the Canadian Open is Jack Nicklaus. The Golden Bear finished second a record seven times.
Nicklaus was outdueled on several occasions – the closest coming in a playoff loss to Tom Weiskopf in 1975.
Winning the event for a golfer from Canada has proved to be a difficult chore. However, in 2023, Canadian Nick Taylor finally broke the drought for the home country, dating back 69 years to 1954, winning in dramatic fashion at the Oakdale Golf & Country Club.
Taylor birdied the final hole to tie Englishman Tommy Fleetwood – who made par – at 17-under-par after 72 holes. On the fourth sudden death hole, Taylor made a 72-foot eagle putt to capture the title and send the onlooking gallery into a state of frenzy that one of their own had finally won the championship.
Amazingly, a Canadian has only hoisted the trophy eight times.
One of the main issues impacting the Canadian Open has been its placement on the tournament calendar.
The event was played in the early 2000s in early September and this date proved difficult for organizers in securing elite players to schedule. The Royal Canadian Golf Association (RCGA) lobbied the PGA Tour for a different date and what was already bad became even worse with a late July time frame causing the most noted players to skip it given the close proximity to The Open and PGA Championship.
In 2019 the PGA Tour reorganized its playing schedule and the Canadian Open was moved to the last days of May and early June.
Golf fans of recent vintage may not recall the significance of the Canadian Open. Thankfully, the re-emergence via a more favorable calendar slot is long overdue for what was viewed for many years as golf’s fifth major. Having stature, then losing it, can mean a long slog back into rightful prominence.
Welcome back indeed.
