‘Ottawa’ Du Toit Never Crumbled, Just Didn’t Win Canadian Open
OAKVILLE, Ont. — A year ago, David Hearn gave us heart palpitations by coming oh-so-close to winning the RBC Canadian Open title.
This time it was little-known amateur Jared du Toit’s turn to capture the collective imagination of Canadians before falling agonizingly short at the Open.
Yes, rest easy Pat Fletcher, your legacy is safe for another year. A Canadian must wait 12 months to make a run at this tournament and try to end what is now 62 years of futility.
Du Toit, a 21-year-old senior-to-be at Arizona State University making his PGA Tour debut this week, gutted out a 1-under 71 Sunday at Glen Abbey Golf Club to finish at 9-under for the tournament, three strokes behind winner Jhonnatan Vegas of Venezuela.
And, really, that’s OK.
Expectations were, quite naturally, low for du Toit coming into the Open and he performed so much better than even he believed he could.