Carl Pettersson Closes With Final-Round 67 To Capture RBC Canadian Open
Posted July 25, 2010 6:23 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
After narrowly missing out on a 59 at the RBC Canadian Open, Carl Pettersson got something even better — a victory.
The Swede closed with a 3-under 67 to pull out a one-shot win over Dean Wilson at St. George’s Golf and Country Club.
Pettersson got into contention with a course-record 60 on Saturday morning and made enough birdies down the stretch Sunday to earn his fourth career PGA Tour victory.
After starting the day four shots behind Wilson, he turned the heat up by making consecutive birdies at Nos. 13-15 and cruised home from there. The victory was worth US$918,000.
The low Canadian was Adam Hadwin, who finished off his first PGA Tour event in style by hitting an approach within inches at the 72nd hole. He shot 71 to tie for 37th.
The 22-year-old from Abbotsford, B.C., was happy to have justified the exemption he earned through the Canadian Tour’s money list.
“I just wanted to come in and play well and represent Canada and show that the Canadian Tour really does deserve these exemptions and show them that we can play at this higher stage,” said Hadwin. “It was fantastic. A great week.”
Pettersson was having an average week until Saturday morning. He just made the cut, but shot up the leaderboard with a record-setting round that saw him narrowly miss a 30-foot putt on No. 18 to shoot 59.
When he returned to the same green Sunday evening, he had enough of a cushion to three-putt from 60 feet. Pettersson raised his right arm in triumph after earning his first victory since the 2008 Wyndham Championship.
The sun came out and wind picked up on the final day at St. George’s, making it tougher than it had been earlier in the week. It was the only round during the tournament where the field averaged over par.
“There was definitely more wind and (it was coming from) a slightly different direction,” said Luke Donald, who shot 66 and finished third. “It made it play a little bit different. I think it made the par-5’s a little bit longer. Probably not quite as many scoring opportunities.”
Wilson’s grip on the lead started to slip at the 12th hole, where he left a chip short and made bogey. He did the same thing on No. 14 — falling one stroke behind as Pettersson made a 25-footer for birdie.
The 40-year-old Wilson never recovered. He was given a late sponsor’s exemption into the event and earned his highest finish on tour since winning the 2006 International.
Pettersson is a more accomplished player than the last two champions of the tournament — Chez Reavie (2008) and Nathan Green (2009) — but was still a longshot. He entered the week as the 207th-ranked golfer in the world.
The field featured eight players inside the top 30.
