Jim Furyk is the Canadian Open's ace.
The world's No. 3 player defended his title at the national championship Sunday in spectacular fashion, making a hole-in-one early in his round and shooting the low score of the day, a scorching seven-under-par 64.
His four-round total of 16-under-par 268 was one better than the score posted by third-round leader Vijay Singh, who would have forced a playoff had he made a 23-foot birdie putt on the final hole.
"I had hundreds of people cheering the repeat," said Furyk, who's now won 13 PGA Tour events. "I really felt a lot of support out there, which is always fun."
Furyk is the fifth man in the Canadian Open's 103-year history to win two years in a row, and the first since Jim Ferrier claimed the title in 1950 and 1951.
The American will no doubt look back on the par-three fourth hole at Angus Glen Golf Club's North course as his favourite, and the launching pad for his comeback victory.
He not only made an ace on the 209-yard hole Sunday with a 5-iron to vault him into the lead for good, but he also birdied the hole during the three previous rounds. Singh, by contrast, made three bogeys and a par there, an eight-shot difference.
"It's pretty special to play the hole five under on the week," said Furyk, 37, who won last year at Hamilton Golf & Country Club in Ancaster, Ont.
"Usually you do that on a par five and rarely or never see that on a par three. A pretty darned good hole, too. It's not like a wedge or 9-iron shot. I was hitting a lot of 5-and 6-irons and maybe a touch more at times."
The fear heading into this year's edition of the Canadian Open was that the field lacked star power. Only five of the world's top-50 players entered.
But the final-round showdown between Furyk and No. 7 Singh, the two biggest names at the tournament besides Canadian Mike Weir, puts those concerns aside.
Furyk started the day three shots off Singh's lead and quickly erased it with birdies on the first and third holes, then the ace on the fourth. He had four other birdies on the back nine, before opening the door for Singh with a bogey on the 18th.
"It was a dream start really," Furyk said. "I have a lot of respect for Vijay and his game, and I expected him to fire a pretty good number today. So to get off to a good jump I thought was key."
The other fear heading into the tournament — that the links-style course was too easy for PGA Tour professionals, even after Davis Love III's renovations to toughen it — wasn't fully realized either.
Despite 64s Sunday by Furyk and Alex Cejka, plus Hunter Mahan's opening-round 62, the North course held up as a reasonable test, if not an entirely popular one.
The 16-under winning score was two strokes better than Furyk's 14 under last year at much-admired Hamilton and the same total as in 2002, when the tournament was held at Angus Glen's other layout, the South.
Two little-known Americans, Ryan Palmer and George McNeill, tied for third after firing 66s yesterday to reach 13 under. Mahan was tied with Bob Heintz for fifth at 12 under.
Steve Allan and John Mallinger, who started the day a shot behind Singh and tied for second, got stuck in neutral Sunday. Their even-par 71s left them in a group tied for seventh.
The four Canadians who survived the cut didn't make much noise on Sunday.
Stephen Ames of Calgary shot a two-under 69 and was the low Canadian for the tournament at seven-under 277.
"There were a lot of positive things for me this week," said Ames, who tied for 27th. "I really struck the ball well, just didn't make any putts."
For being the low Canuck, Ames won the Rivermead Trophy, an old award reinstated this year by the Royal Canadian Golf Association.
Not that Ames realized it. "I didn't know they reinstituted it ... but obviously it's a nice prize to win," he said.
Mike Weir of Bright's Grove, Ont., got around in even par Sunday to finish at five under. He tied for 34th, a step back from his eighth-place finishes at his previous two tournaments, the British Open and the AT&T National.
He started Sunday's final round seven strokes behind Singh and the home crowd was hoping he'd make a charge and become the first Canadian winner since Pat Fletcher in 1954. But bogeys on the third and fourth holes derailed his chances.
"It wasn't what I expected," he said. "I thought I was going to shoot a good score today. I felt good on the range [before the round] and everything was going well.
"I hit some good shots at the start of the day and to be two over through four, while hitting some good shots, was a shock, really. Made two birdies on the way in. The rest of the day was just stale."
David Hearn, a native of Brantford, Ont., who was the top Canadian at last year's tournament, looked as if he might repeat his feat after shooting an opening-round 65 to grab a share of third place.
But three consecutive 73s undid his hopes. The Nationwide Tour regular finished at even par for the four rounds, tied for 58th.
"I obviously didn't play quite as well as I would have liked the last three days," he said. "But I feel like I'm doing a lot of good things and I've just got to keep working on it, and it will pay off for me down the road."
The other Canadian to survive the cut, Chris Baryla of Vernon, B.C., shot 72 yesterday to finish at two over, tied for 71st.
