How a Canadian can win the Open

TSN Senior Reporter

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Every Canadian in this week’s field at the RBC Canadian Open knows the number – 68. That’s how many years it’s been since a native son has won the national championship.

They also know that the guy who did it was Pat Fletcher, even if none of them would recognize a photo of the golfer who spent time as the professional at Saskatoon Golf and Country Club and later the Royal Montreal Golf Club.

And they also want nothing more than to end this drought, if for no other reason than to stop the one question they face every year: When will a Canadian win the Open?

Over the past 67 years, a number of Canadians have come close to winning. They’ve missed by a shot here or a putt there, breaking the hearts of fans from coast to coast who had to watch as another foreigner hoisted the trophy yet again.

With this year’s return of the PGA Tour event – the COVID-19 pandemic led to its cancellation in 2020 and 2021 – I reached out to a half-dozen Canadian players who came oh-so-close to winning the Open. I asked them about the experience and to glean some advice that might help this year’s field, arguably as deep and talented a group of Canadians as there has ever been, as they prepare to take on St. George’s Golf and Country Club in Toronto.

Richard Zokol, 1987

Zokol was playing the Canadian Open for the 12th time when he arrived at Glen Abbey in 1987. His game was solid, and he felt as though a breakout was close. That showed over his first three rounds as he posted 70-68-69. That left him tied for the lead with Curtis Strange and Richard McCullough.

But as the final round got underway, the hopes of ending the dry spell evaporated quickly.

“I wasn’t prepared to handle that final round,” recalled