Ryan Fox Tops Sam Burns in Four-Hole ‘Pillow Fight’ Playoff at RBC Canadian Open

Sam Burns had to wait nearly three hours just to fall short at the RBC Canadian Open. 

The 28-year-old was four strokes back of the lead entering the final round, but shot a career-best 62 on Sunday, vaulting to the top of the leaderboard and taking the clubhouse lead at 18 under. 

Still, many names were lurking behind him with a considerable amount of holes to play. Some of those players were 54-hole leaders Ryan Fox and Matteo Manassero, Cam Young, Kevin Yu, Byeong Hun An and Matt McCarty. 

And in the end, Fox edged Burns in a four-hole playoff with daylight fading north of the border.

“My head’s spinning,” said Fox, who earned a spot in the U.S. Open with the win. “Obviously, I knew I was playing good golf coming into this week. Just wanted to give myself a chance come Sunday afternoon. I did that.”

MORE: Final results, payouts from the RBC Canadian Open

On his 72nd hole, Young, who has the most runner-ups on Tour without a win since 1983, had a golden opportunity to match Burns at 18 under. He hit his tee shot on TPC Toronto’s closing par-5 down the middle, but flew a 3-iron over the green and into the rough and made bogey. 

“This very moment, a lot of anger, a bit of frustration,” Young said afterward. “I couldn’t have hit two better shots on the last hole. I don’t hit 3-wood that far, and it’s blowing straight into the wind, and it decided to bounce all the way to the back woods. 

“I thought in the air I was going to have about a 12-footer to win the tournament, and it ended up somewhere I was going to struggle to make par, let alone make a 4. Pretty upset. Played pretty well. Kind of just want to go home right now.”

Ultimately, Manassero, Yu, An and McCarty couldn’t go low enough on the back nine to catch the lead, but Fox needed birdie on No. 18 to force a playoff. 

The 38-year-old New Zealander, who notched his maiden Tour title last month at the Myrtle Beach Classic, came to the final hole after two-putting from 8 feet on No. 17 for par. Then, hitting his tee shot on the last 297 yards, he curiously decided to lay up with his second shot, instead of going for the green with 273 yards to the hole. That left Fox 102 yards to the cup and he knocked his third shot to 16 feet. 

There was a method to his madness, though. Fox holed the putt, with the ball brushing to the left before dropping in. 

So a playoff ensued. 

Considering Burns hadn’t been on the course in nearly two hours, some would figure Fox had the advantage on the first playoff hole. However, Burns hit his tee shot on the 557-yard 18th in the fairway, while Fox’s sliced into the fairway bunker. Burns, though, didn’t go for the green, and after getting out of the sand, Fox was a few yards back of Burns, 166 yards from the hole. Fox hit his third shot to about 15 feet, and Burns knocked his to 5 feet. 

Fox’s putt kissed the left side of the cup, similar to the 72nd hole, but didn’t drop. Then, Burns jaw-droppingly missed his birdie attempt. 

Back to the 18th tee box they went. 

Both hit their drives in the fairway, but Fox outdrove Burns by nearly 20 yards. Going for the green, Fox left himself a 44-yard chip, which he hit to 15 feet, while Burns faced an 11-footer for birdie. Both made par, with Fox leaving his stroke a foot short. 

Third time’s a charm, right? 

With a new hole location on the right side of the green, making the hole 11 yards shorter, they would play the 18th again. But the length reduction still didn’t pry them into going for the green in two. Regardless, poor wedge shots yielded two pars—again.

Not the finest display of golf, but somebody had to win. 

“To be honest, Sam and I had a bit of a pillow fight there for three holes,” Fox said on the 18th green. “It was some pretty average golf from both of us, some average putting.”

On the fourth go-round, Fox sealed the deal with a 3-wood from the fairway that fell 9 feet from the cup as Burns’s settled to 27 feet. Burns parred, and with a two-putt birdie, Fox claimed his second win in as many months.

“That shot I hit on 18 with the 3-wood was probably the best shot I ever hit,” Fox said. “It would have been nice to make it, but hey, I’ll take it.”

Despite an extra four holes, Fox was more than happy to hoist the trophy. Burns, on the other hand, might have wanted to be en route to the U.S. Open a few hours earlier if he wasn’t going to nab the victory in Canada.