In 2004, Mike Weir blamed a pat on the back from an overzealous fan for an injury that he said affected his chances of winning the RBC Canadian Open. Others say it was the proverbial “weight of a nation” that hobbled him. In any case, he let a three-shot lead slip away and then limped through three playoff holes before Vijay Singh had had enough.
While some observers suggest this hefty national burden led to a similar scenario on Sunday with David Hearn, who led by two shots going into Sunday’s final round, they would be wrong. They would be just as wrong as those who opine that Hearn “choked.” Those folks might want to research expertise induced amnesia.
At 36, David Hearn has been a pro for 14 years. He’s played all over the world. He’s tough. He understands the intense focus on any Canadian who contends in our national open, and welcomes it.
Rather than try to ignore, he said he fed off the excitement “to use that energy going forward. I think that worked very well for me and it kept me moving forward and it pulled me along…I hope I am in that situation again and I get that feeling again soon.”
Although he walked away Sunday night with the Rivermead Cup, given to the low Canadian, rather than the glitzy RBC Canadian Open trophy, Hearn was upbeat, saying he was playing the best golf of his life. He is right.
These days, everyone cites statistics. But golf statistics can be misleading. Plus, there are so many other unquantifiable elements to winning a golf tournament.
Ball-striking can be over-rated as a single statistic. In his first year on the PGA Tour, Hearn was No. 1 in total driving and finished outside the top 125 money winners, forcing a return to qualifying school.
Putting cannot be over-rated. Going into Sunday, Hearn led the field in strokes gained putting but putting, more than any other aspect of the game, is capricious. It was putting that let him down on Sunday. (As a side note, it will be interesting to see how the ban on anchored putters affects Hearn when it comes into effect on Jan. 1, 2016.) “There were so many putts that he hit that should’ve fell in,” said Bubba Watson, Hearn’s fellow competitor on Sunday. “I don’t know how they stayed out.”
On the other hand, just about every putt that eventual winner Jason Day looked at did the opposite — they went in.
That’s just golf.
Unquantifiable. Unpatriotic, in this case.
Hearn learned the game at the historic Brantford Golf and Country Club. Brantford was also home to pioneering golf journalist Ralph Reville, a member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame.
If Hearn had won on Sunday, that might have eventually been enough for him to join Reville in the Hall of Fame.
Nevertheless, in victory or in defeat, Hearn was a champion. Not a choker, not an excuse maker.
A champion.