What are the chances that two guys named Green would win the only two Canadian Opens at Glen Abbey that finished on a Monday? As of today, 100 per cent.
In 1988, Ken Green did it and, today, Nathan Green (no relation) duplicated the feat.
In the process, (nothing personal, Nathan), Green the Latter dashed our hopes that Retief Goosen or Anthony Kim or Mike Weir or Stephen Ames would put a tiara on what must be called a wallflower in the historical procession of 100 Canadian Opens.
With no disrespect to N. Green and the rest of the field, if Weir or Ames couldn't win, the most popular choices were Goosen, the pre-tournament favourite, or Kim, standard-bearer of tournament title sponsor RBC.
Goosen was slotted at 21st in the official world rankings when he arrived at Glen Abbey last week. His win at the Transitions Championship earlier this year was his first on Tour since 2005 when he was ranked fourth in the world. Had he prevailed here, it would have provided more impetus to his resurgence, much as it did for Greg Norman's in 1992. He had his chance, during a two-hole playoff that reminded me of the Billy Andrade-Bob Friend debacle of 1998, but couldn't pull it off.
Kim, before he turned out to be a bit of a delicate flower injury-wise, was the most recent carrier of the "next Tiger" tag. But he couldn't finish the job at Glen Abbey for the second straight year. He finished T8 here last year after sharing the 54-hole lead with eventual winner Chez Reavie. His final-round 73 Monday left him in a tie for fourth with Jason Dufner, with whom he shared the 54-hole lead along with Goosen.
Despite his usual valiant effort, perhaps scuttled by the after-effects of a stomach-churning ruling, Weir left empty-handed. What will live on is his quote about the effect of the torrential, sporadic downpours during this week's tournament, saying that instead of reading the break on a putt, you had to read the current.
Ames showed only flashes of his stellar ball-striking but still managed a tie for eighth. He retained his composure, however, as well as demonstrating generosity and grace: He offered to individually sign Canadian Open caps for each of the 70 or so members of the grounds crew who worked almost non-stop to ensure all 72 holes were completed. Those folks will have scant rest, as they have to prepare Glen Abbey, a public golf course, for a big corporate tournament on Tuesday. They can take justifiable pride in seeing the Open through to its completion, being part of the 25th Canadian Open held here since the first one in 1977. (As a historical note, after the Old Course with 27, Glen Abbey now is second in the world in hosting a major national open championship.)
The players move on to the Buick, the local media go back to their regular beats, former Canadian Tour stalwart N. Green takes a trophy and heads down the road.
History remains with Glen Abbey, which remains now, as when it witnessed Lee Trevino win the inaugural Open here in 1977, one of the best spectator golf courses in the world. And while some may question its defences against the modern game and technology, the18-under total registered by Green and Goosen did not embarrass this 33-year-old, 7,253-yard, par-72 layout with its unintimidating par-5 yardages of 527, 558, 516, and 524. The greens weren't tricked up (witness Calcavecchia's record-setting nine consecutive birdies) and you only had to watch the number of up-and-downs out of the sand to see that the bunkers were in great shape despite the rain.
So there you go, as does the Open, down the road next year to St. George's, a course that will thrill the players, unless it rains torrentially. Spectators, not so much, but that's the elusive balance the RCGA is faced with. My opinion has always been (even prior to collecting a ClubLink paycheque) that Glen Abbey comes closer to any course in this country, to representing that balance.
Are there other courses, from coast to coast, that come close to striking that balance? Let me know. I'll pass them on.