Rory McIlroy shot an 8-under 62 to win his second consecutive RBC Canadian Open title Sunday at St. George’s Golf & Country Club.
With the 2020 and 2021 edition of the annual affair cancelled due to COVID, McIlroy is technically a back to back champion despite his last victory on Canadian soil coming some 3 years prior. The Northern Irishman finished two strokes clear of Tony Finau with a -19 score for the weekend.
“Super happy to defend, even though it doesn’t feel like a defence because it’s been so long,” said McIlroy. “And then just to play in a final group like that with that atmosphere all day. I mean the fans here this week have just been absolutely unbelievable.”
A trio of Americans made things interesting for Rory late, as Finau, Thomas, and Burns all made charges at one point or another on Sunday. However the 33 year old held off his challengers, carrying a one stroke lead into 18, before sinking a 4 foot birdie putt to seal the victory.
“It was pretty raucous out there, but it’s really cool,” McIlroy quipped. “Whenever that happens and you can enjoy your walk and you know you’ve got the tournament sewn up you can take it in and really relish it and enjoy it.”
For his efforts, the 4 time major trophy winner will pocket a cool $1.56M from the tournament purse. Rounding out the top 5 were Finau (-17), Thomas (-15), and Burns & Rose (-14).
Justin Rose began the day 7 strokes back, but moved himself into contention with a tournament low 10-under par 60 on Sunday. While Rose remarked that he was pleased with his round, he jokingly mentioned he was disappointed he missed out on a round of 59 as he’s never broken the 60 plateau before.
Corey Conners finished the tournament as the lowest scoring Canadian over the weekend, shooting -12 for the weekend. Conners will take home the 2022 Rivermead Cup to commemorate the feat.
Next up for the PGA Tour is the US Open, slated for June 16-19th at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.
-Kyle Skinner
Twitter: @JKyleSkinner
Photo: TourProGolfClubs. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.