Fox Wins RBC Canadian Open After ‘Pillow Fight’ Over Burns

Kiwi Ryan Fox brought the New Zealand nation to a halt for a second time in a handful of weeks winning in a play-off for a second time in just events on the PGA Tour with his fourth extra play-off success over American Sam Burns.

After each player pared the 18th hole for a third extra time, Fox  stepped-up to birdie the 18th to become the second New Zealander to win the coveted Canadian Open trophy.

“To be honest, Sam and I had a bit of a pillow fight there for three holes”, said Fox and the new World No. 32.

“It was some pretty average golf from both of us, some average putting. But that shot I hit on 18 with the 3-wood was probably the best shot I ever hit. It would have been nice to make it, but hey, I’ll take it”.

And we here at GolfByTour.com are delighted for Ryan winning on the PGA Tour for a second time and also claiming his 19th pro career title.

While a mutual but sadly dear departed friend in Aussie cricketing great Shane Warne will surely have a big smile of his face having teamed with Ryan in capturing the 2022 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Final-Round Notes – Sunday, June 8, 2025

Weather: Mostly cloudy, breezy. High of 70. Wind ESE 10-15 mph.

Final Leaderboard

Pos. Player R1 R2 R3 R4 Total
P1 Ryan Fox* 66 66 64 66 262 (-18)
P2 Sam Burns 66 66 68 62 262 (-18)
3 Kevin Yu 65 69 63 66 263 (-17)
T4 Cameron Young 68 66 65 65 264 (-16)
T4 Matt McCarty 66 67 64 67 264 (-16)

*def. Sam Burns with a birdie-4 on the fourth playoff hole (No. 18)

Playoff

  • 23rd playoff in tournament history and first since 2023 (Nick Taylor def. Tommy Fleetwood)
  • Marks seventh playoff on TOUR this season and first since ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic (Ryan Fox defeated Mackenzie Hughes and Harry Higgs)
  • Playoff records:
    • Sam Burns: 2-2
    • Ryan Fox: 2-0

Ryan Fox (Winner/-18)

  • Earns his second PGA TOUR title in his 71st start at the age of 38 years, 4 months, 17 days
  • Earned first PGA TOUR victory in a playoff over Mackenzie Hughes and Harry Higgs at the 2025 ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic
  • Becomes the fifth multiple winner on TOUR this season (Rory McIlroy/3, Scottie Scheffler/3, Ben Griffin/2, Sepp Straka/2)
  • Earns 500 FedExCup points and moves from No. 60 to No. 25 in the FedExCup standings
  • Projected to move to No. 32 in the Official World Golf Ranking; with a victory qualifies for next week’s U.S. Open at Oakmont
  • Win marks his second top-10 in two starts at the RBC Canadian Open (T7/2024, Won/2025)
  • 15th player to win in 25 stroke play events this season while holding the 54-hole lead/co-lead
  • Becomes second New Zealander to win the RBC Canadian Open (Bob Charles/1968)
  • International players have won 15 of 26 events this season

Miscellaneous Notes

  • RBC Ambassador Sam Burns (P2/-18) records fifth runner-up of his career (most recent: 2022 Zurich Classic of New Orleans); earns third top-10 finish in his fourth RBC Canadian Open appearance (T4/2022, T10/2024, Won/2025)
    • Cards low round of the day (62), one stroke shy of his best on TOUR (61/R2/2024 American Express)
    • Moves up 16 spots to No. 29 in the FedExCup standings
  • Cameron Young (T4/-16) was attempting to win his first title in his 89th start on TOUR; entered this week as the player with the most runner-up finishes (7) without a victory on the PGA TOUR, the most of any player on record (since 1983)
  • Three qualifying spots were available for the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush through the Open Qualifying Series; the leading three finishers, not otherwise exempt, from the RBC Canadian Open earned spots in the field; the three non-exempt players who secured their spot at Portrush are Kevin Yu (3rd/-17), Cameron Young (T4/-16) and Matt McCarty (T4/-16)
  • 2023 RBC Canadian Open champion Nick Taylor claims the Rivermead Cup as low Canadian; results for the eight Canadian players who made the cut: Nick Taylor (T13/-13), Corey Conners (T27/-10), Adam Hadwin (T27/-10), Taylor Pendrith (T27/-10), Mackenzie Hughes (T27/-10), Ben Silverman (T36/-9), Richard Lee (T36/-9), Matthew Anderson (T47/-7)
  • 17-year-old 2024 Canadian Amateur champion Tyler Mawhinney (T65/-3) wins the Gary Cowan Medal as low amateur

 

 



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