Canadian golf reached new heights in 2023 with more wins than ever and a curse ended
Nick Taylor's putter flip after winning the RBC Canadian Open was the exclamation point on arguably the best year in Canadian golf history.
Taylor drained a 72-foot eagle putt to end a four-hole playoff with England's Tommy Fleetwood at the Canadian national men's championship on June 11, the first time a Canadian had won the title in 69 years. But Canada's success on the course went beyond that, with Canadians winning at every level of the professional game including four wins on the PGA Tour and one on the LPGA Tour.
"I think the state of Canadian pro golf, especially on the PGA Tour, has never been better," said Taylor, the first Canadian to win the RBC Canadian Open since Pat Fletcher did it in 1954. "Our goal, as players, with Golf Canada is to keep that number growing of Tour members.
"The more players that we can get out here, obviously, it gives us a greater chance of winning more and more."
WATCH | Taylor wins in Toronto:
Taylor, from Abbotsford, B.C., joined Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., as winners on the PGA Tour in the 2022-23 season. It was the most wins by Canadians in a single PGA Tour campaign to date.
"The camaraderie is great," said Taylor, whose victory at Toronto's Oakdale Golf and Country Club was the fourth win by a Canadian in the season. "I feel like we play a lot of practice rounds together, houses often have dinners together, so we all rally together.
Conners, who won the Valero Texas Open for a second time on April 2, said that winning is the best feeling you can have in professional golf.
"That was definitely a highlight for me," said Conners. "I think another highlight, and something that I'm always very proud of, was