Tommy Fleetwood on Nick Taylor’s win at 2023 RBC Canadian Open - “The whole of Canada had amazing moments to remember and cherish”

Tommy Fleetwood is at Hamilton Golf and Country Club to play the RBC Canadian Open starting Thursday, May 30. The Englishman finished runner-up in 2023, losing in a four-hole playoff to Nick Taylor.

Fleetwood held the usual pre-event press conference on Wednesday. In his conversation with reporters, the Englishman had words of praise for Taylor's victory last season, the first by a Canadian in more than 60 years at the Canadian Open.

This was part of what Tommy Fleetwood had to say (via Playing Through):

"People are still talking about [last year’s tournament] and probably will do for a long time in the future...It wasn’t my time, it was Nick’s, and the whole of Canada had amazing moments to remember and cherish.”

He added:

"I would have loved for it to have gone my way, but it is still very cool to be a part of, and the support that I’ve had from the fans here and the people involved in the tournament has been really, really great, so I do appreciate that."

Tommy Fleetwood has played the RBC Canadian Open twice before the 2024 edition. He finished T6 in 2018, with a score of 16 under, while he finished second in 2023 (losing in a playoff), with a score of 17 under.

The Englishman is the only member of the current Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) Top 15 still seeking his first PGA Tour victory. Fleetwood, ranked 13th, has played 136 tournaments at this level, with five second-place finishes.

Tommy Fleetwood and Nick Taylor's playoff at the 2023 RBC Canadian Open

The 2023 RBC Canadian Open was a very close tournament. Tommy Fleetwood started the fourth round in first place, one stroke ahead of Nick Taylor, but the Canadian managed to claw back the deficit and force a playoff.

Even so, the fourth round was full of emotions, as Nick Taylor had turned the score around after the front nine and was leading by one stroke. On the back nine, Tommy Fleetwood played practically error-free, with three birdies and no bogeys. He was leading by one stroke at the 17th hole.

With that performance, he forced Taylor to make a birdie on the 18th hole. The Canadian made it to tie with Fleetwood, who made par on the same hole. Thus, he ended the 72 holes of the 2023 RBC Canadian Open tied for first place, with a score of 17 under.

It had been more than 60 years since a Canadian had won the Canadian Open, so Nick Taylor's presence in the final playoff drew a huge crowd. Sudden death started playing the 18th hole again. Both Taylor and Fleetwood made birdie, with the Englishman getting a spectacular putt of more than 20 feet.

The second playoff hole was also played on the 18th, and both players got par by missing putts for birdie (21 feet for Taylor and 12 feet for Fleetwood).

On the ninth hole, both contenders looked for the green but were left in the outside rough. Then, both looked for the hole with their wedges, but, coincidentally, they were 14 inches away from the hole and made par.

Then came the fourth and final playoff hole, which was played again on the 18th. Fleetwood sent his tee shot to the left fairway bunker and could not reach the green until his third shot.

Taylor, meanwhile, got there in two strokes and was left with a 72-foot putt for eagle. Fleetwood had a 12-foot putt for birdie, but Taylor admirably executed the putt and sent the ball straight into the hole, thereby bagging the tournament victory.