A Ruined Walk with Rory amid raucous revelry at “The Rink”

June 12, 2025 · 0 Comments

By Jim Stewart

Rory McIlroy—two-time Canadian Open champion and a favorite of Canadian golf fans—strode to the first tee deck on Friday and must have felt like Caledon’s Osprey Valley was a home away from home.

McIlroy even donned Canadian colors for the adoring throng.

Northern Ireland’s favorite son and Canada’s favorite golfer sported the national colors—a bright red golf shirt and white hat.

His partners in Friday’s grouping – the dynamic duo of Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg and US College star Luke Clanton—are rising stars in the sport and soaked in the warm crowd’s encouragement.

As McIlroy met the media, Aberg and Clanton got a master class lesson on the theme of gratitude. McIlroy—whose Masters’ victory in April was celebrated nationwide – extolled the virtues of the RBC Canadian Open: “The tournament has grown from strength to strength over the last few years and that’s a lot to do with Golf Canada and RBC and everyone behind it. They should be proud of what they’ve built.”

McIlroy also cited the value of playing in the Canadian Open as a warmup to the US Open.

“Before playing in this event—in 2016, 2017, and 2018—I missed three cuts in a row at the US Open and since playing in the Canadian Open the week before, I’ve had six Top Tens in a row so there’s something to that.”

It was clear that McIlroy was encouraging PGA players to play in the Canadian Open and he expressed his appreciation to the fans in attendance: “Obviously playing in front of the Canadian fans and everything that goes along with that and the enthusiasm and you know – you guys only get to see this sort of golf once a year. So, I think once it does come along, it’s really appreciated. And then I think that atmosphere is really appreciated by the players that get to play in front of those fans.”

McIlroy stepped into that friendly, supportive atmosphere on Friday afternoon, but his usual brilliant game did not accompany him down the first fairway.

It’s evident that McIlroy’s “Everyman” appeal endears him with his fans, but his slipups on the course remind us of our own frustrations when the little white ball won’t do our bidding.

The ball did not do his bidding at Osprey Valley as Thursday’s soggy conditions led to a +1 71, but the mist and mire of Round One gave way to sunny and hazy conditions that should have generated good scoring opportunities for the world’s second-best golfer. Alas, they did not.

McIlroy, Aberg, and Clanton played their way through the smoky wildfire airborne residue that shrouded the treetops and hills of Caledon. Amid the miasma that served as a kind of murky foreshadowing, leather-lunged supporters exhorted McIlroy with “Let’s Go, Rory!” and “You’ve Got this, Rory!”

However, the red-shirted, white-capped two-time tournament champ could not etch enough red marks on his card. When he reefed his drive into the woods on #3, the cut-line of -2 became an even more distant possibility for McIlroy as he was forced to play out of Osprey Valley’s lush red and white fescue-laden rough.

But hope often springs eternal and spectators were lined up five-deep along the roped barriers that ring the Par 3 4th hole to witness a great comeback. McIlroy’s legion of fans roared their encouragement when McIlroy sunk his two-foot par putt and stopped the “bleeding.”

However, disaster struck on the Par 4 5th hole when McIlroy inscribed a snowman on his card. The second-ranked player in the Rolex standings air-mailed his second shot over the green and out of play. McIlroy’s second shot sailed over the green, his resultant pitch went long, and after chipping back on to the green, he two-putted for a quadruple-bogey. Superman and Everyman seemed wrapped into one as McIlroy headed to the tee box at 6.

With McIlroy sinking out of contention in a round best described as a “Good Walk Ruined,” this scribe sought refuge at the nearby “Rink” and its tented grandstand behind the 14th green. Recalibrating and hydrating in the shade, enjoying some scoreboard-watching, and witnessing pro golfers struggle with the subtleties of a very challenging green was just the tonic required to offset the disappointment of Rory’s round.

The setup and atmosphere of the 14th at Toronto TPC-Osprey Valley is worth the price of admission. Players are greeted with wild enthusiasm by the thousands of spectators above and along the tee deck which is surrounded by hockey boards. These wooden frames are thumped by the fans to create an authentic Canadian experience.

However, the loudest cheering is reserved for the Canadian golfers in the field.

Accordingly, Roger Sloan’s arrival roused the denizens and he rewarded their warm welcome by dropping his soaring approach on the apron—pin high. Sloan strode up the fairway to plenty of support and almost chipped it in from twenty feet before settling for a par that was cheered by his countrymen.

The volume was raised when Ben Silverman and the 2003 Masters champion Mike Weir ascended the tee block. The fans’ patriotism went into overdrive to greet a rising Canadian star and a Canadian legend.

A spontaneous version of “O Canada” was delivered by the throaty patrons as Silverman and the Weir prepared to launch their tee shots. When the two Canadians tapped in their pars, the spectators at “The Rink” roared their approval and both were cheered all the way to the 15th tee block.

On this day, the raucous spectators reserved their heartiest welcome for a trio of Canadians who played starring roles in this year’s Open: Taylor Pendrith, Mackenzie Hughes, and 2023 champion Nick Taylor.

When the Pendrith-Hughes-Taylor juggernaut ascended the 14th tee block, they were serenaded with an even lustier version of the anthem and three of Canada’s top players responded in kind to the love-in.

Taylor, at -9 and in second place in the tournament, dialed in his approach to within ten feet. Sitting at -7 and solidly in contention, Pendrith launched a ball into orbit. It bit into the back of the green and settled to eight feet above the hole. Hughes, at -5, fired his tee shot pin high on the apron—17 feet off the target. All three birdie putts were agonizingly close—eliciting groans from the supportive crowd. Although Taylor missed his birdie putt, he carded six birdies prior to his reception at “The Rink” and added another at #18. Perhaps there was a carry-over of good feeling – due to a round of appreciative applause Taylor and his valiant compatriots enjoyed as they exited the 14th green en-route to adjacent 15th tee.

This scribe’s viewing day commenced with Rory and closed with Rory as the fan favorite ascended the tee box of “The Rink” with Aberg and Clanton. The young US collegiate champ dropped a 27-foot putt for birdie which exhilarated a crowd starved for birdies. Clanton’s brilliant effort was the best of the trio as Aberg slid his 11-footer two feet past the hole and settled for par. McIlroy lined up his 22-foot putt, but the subtleties of the 14th escaped him on this day–much to the disappointment of the crowd that was looking for a reason to whoop up their appreciation of a much-loved golfer. The two-time Canadian Open champ rolled in a 2-footer for par and soldiered on to the 15th tee – wrapped in warm applause that served as solace for a missed cut. It was McIlroy’s first such misadventure since The Open championship last July.