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”.
FOX @ryanfoxgolfer DELIGHTED TO WIN ‘PILLOW FIGHT’ @RBCCanadianOpen ….
“I had a bit of a pillow fight there for three holes … but hey, I’ll take it”.
Read: https://t.co/NkYOE6Hucc
PGAT
✅ @TOURMISS pic.twitter.com/9CeuXfUAqC
— Fatiha (@TOURMISS) June 9, 2025
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