Brandt Snedeker wins the Canadian Open

 
Brandt Snedeker was 2-under par on Sunday at Glen Abbey, leading to a three shot win over four players at the 2013 RBC Canadian Open.
 
What Happened
 
Snedeker entered the day with a one-shot lead over Sweden’s David Lingmerth, and the lead went back and forth for most of Sunday between several players. Along with the final group, Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar and Jason Bohn were all near the top of the board. Snedeker played solid golf for the entire day, and his biggest challenger was Johnson, who got to 15-under par after a birdie on the par-5 16^th. On the 17^th tee, he pushed his drive way right and out of bounds. Hitting his third from the tee, he put his ball into the bunker, and proceeded to leave the next one in there. When it was all over, Johnson made a triple bogey. After Snedeker also made birdie on 16, he carried a three shot advantage. With a pair of pars to finish it off, Snedeker comfortably won the RBC Canadian Open by three shots.
 
Final Leaderboard

• 1. Brandt Snedeker -16
• T2. Jason Bohn -13
• T2. Dustin Johnson -13
• T2. Matt Kuchar -13
• T2. William McGirt -13

What The Win Means For Snedeker
 
It’s the second win of the season for Snedeker, who won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am earlier in the year, and even though the Canadian Open doesn’t carry the same weight that it used to, it’s still a tournament with a quality field to defeat. Snedeker moves into 2nd in the FedEx Cup standings, and will have a chance to become the first repeat winner of the FedEx Cup since it was introduced in 2007.
 
I talked about this when he won at Pebble, and it still applies now. Much like Kuchar and Dustin Johnson, the next logical step for Snedeker is to win a major championship. He’s won enough on the PGA Tour now that people will expect him to not only contend in majors, but to come away with one in the next year or so. He’ll have his chance in a couple of weeks, as the PGA Championship will be in Rochester at Oak Hill.
 
Hunter Mahan’s WD
 
Hunter Mahan had the 36-hole lead at Glen Abbey but didn’t end up playing the weekend, withdrawing before Saturday’s third round. Why did he withdraw? His wife Kandi was about to go into labour. We saw this a few months ago with Lucas Glover, who had the 54-hole lead at the Zurich Classic, and ended up finishing the event before his wife Krista gave birth to a baby girl.
 
Whenever this happens, the questions arise about whether the player should or should not withdraw, which is ridiculous. If a player wants to leave, that’s his call and I’m not going to tell anyone what to do when it comes to their family. As it relates to Mahan specifically, he is already a star on the PGA Tour, who doesn’t need the win for exemption or financial reasons like many of the players do.
 
He was able to get to the hospital in time, and announced the birth of Zoe Olivia at 3:26 AM.
 
Other Notes

• Notables to miss the cut: Luke Donald, Graham DeLaet, Scott Stallings, Geoff Ogilvy, John Senden, Bud Cauley.
• For Donald, it’s the first time since April of 2010 that he has missed back-to-back cuts.
• In addition to Mahan, Canadian Brad Fritsch also pulled out of the event ahead of the third round, citing a back injury.
• George McNeill was disqualified after Friday’s round for what appears to be signing an incorrect scorecard. That hasn’t been made official yet though.
• Four players made the cut, but didn’t survive the second cut on Saturday: Seung-yul Noh, Ryo Ishikawa, Brian Stuard and Graeme McDowell.
• McDowell wasn’t happy afterwards either, suggesting that he was of the opinion that 78 players was permitted for the weekend, but that wasn’t the case. McDowell suggested that had he known that was the case, it may have changed his mindset a little bit on the course.
• No GIF post this week unfortunately, as I was without internet access for the entire weekend.
• Lastly, just an example of how it can change from week to week: Woody Austin wins the alternate field event last week at the Sanderson Farms Championship, and follows that up with an opening round 82 on Thursday.