OAKVILLE, Ont. — They yelled his name at every opportunity. And when David Hearn made the long walk to Glen Abbey’s 17th tee early Sunday evening, dozens of fans instinctively extended their hands in his direction.
Wherever you found yourself during the final round of the RBC Canadian Open there seemed to be a gravitational pull towards the classy 36-year-old from Brantford.
It was hardly the ideal set of circumstances to win your first PGA Tour event, but that was the hand Hearn was playing. Not only was he trying to hold off three of the top players in golf — Jason Day, Bubba Watson and Jim Furyk — but he also had to contend with the pent-up emotions of his countrymen.
“I think every Canadian wants to see it so bad and we want to do it so bad that it does make it hard,” said Hearn.
There was certainly no shame in finishing third.
Hearn had put a tee in the ground at 166 previous Tour events and only managed a higher finish on two occasions. In truth, this was a performance worthy of celebration, but that wasn’t the emotion that washed over him after coming so close to history.
Instead, he walked away from a closing-round 72 marvelling at the unbelievable scene he witnessed over four-plus hours in the scalding sun. There were Canadian flags hanging from the fairway ropes and even one being carried through the gallery on the end of a hockey stick.
Hearn was serenaded by fans singing “O Canada” on the first tee and urged on by many who took to calling him “Hearnsy” — how hockey is that? — while he fought to erase a 61-year Canadian title drought at the third oldest tournament in golf.
There is simply no preparation for a moment like this one, but Hearn found himself surprisingly up to the task. He acknowledged the never-ending galleries and slapped all off those outstretched hands and still made his way to the 72nd hole of the tournament with a chance to win.
“I tried to do my best job of just embracing it,” said Hearn. “I think if you kind of go into your shell a little bit, it’s a bit more difficult.”
If anything, all he was missing on the biggest day of his golfing life was crispness. He saw a few early drives sail right — something he’d overcome in previous rounds — and couldn’t quite make up for it with the flatstick.
He narrowly missed birdie putts at Nos. 8, 9, 10, 11, 14 and 18. Not surprisingly, that amounted to four more putts in total than he had in any other round in the tournament.
“There were so many putts that he hit that should have fell in,” said Watson, Hearn’s playing partner. “I don’t know how they stayed out.”
The easiest thing to do when you fall just short is pour over the missed opportunities. Hearn was two strokes behind Day’s winning total of 271 and probably could have made up each of those missing shots on the par-5 18th this week.
He played one of the easiest holes on the course in even par.
Still, he held a share of the lead Sunday after walking off the 16th green and navigating the gauntlet of fans. He was right in the mix while shouldering the hopes of virtually everyone on the property.
It was a crucible much like the one Mike Weir faced at this event 11 years ago, when he lost the lead late in the final round before falling in a three-hole playoff to Vijay Singh. Afterwards, the best Canadian golfer in history said the pressure was every bit as intense as what he faced in winning the Masters.
“You know, I think maybe in the end maybe I was just trying too hard,” Weir said in 2004. “That’s this crazy game. When you try too hard, sometimes it doesn’t work out.”
Hearn is just a few weeks removed from a playoff loss at the Greenbrier and didn’t show any obvious signs of forcing the issue. He birdied the opening two holes on Sunday but couldn’t find that same form late while Day was picking up shots on Nos. 16, 17 and 18.
Truthfully, he was bested by a better player on better form.
It was only a week ago that Day arrived to the final green at St. Andrews with a birdie putt to get in a playoff at the British Open and left it just short. This time he poured a 20-footer right in the middle of the cup and fist-pumped his way across the green.
Back in the middle of the fairway, Hearn had a perfect view of the decisive putt.
“That’s what makes champions is hitting shots like that at the right moment,” he said. “I’ll do that one day.”
When he does it will be in part because of a round like this one. Hearn may not have won a cherished Canadian Open, but he showed the grace of a champion on an incredibly unique stage.