Wrap-up: Clark birdies five of last eight to win RBC Canadian Open
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Birdies five of his last eight holes for second TOUR victory
Written by The Associated Press
L’ILE BIZARD, Quebec (AP) -- Tim Clark rallied to win the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday, birdieing five of the last eight holes for a one-stroke victory over Jim Furyk.
Clark picked up 500 FedExCup points for the win, closing with a 5-under 65 at rainy Royal Montreal for his second PGA TOUR victory. The 38-year-old South African player also won THE PLAYERS Championship in 2010.
Furyk, the two-time RBC Canadian Open champion who took a three-stroke lead into the final round, finished with a 69. The 44-year-old American matched Clark with a birdie on the par-3 17th and a par on the par-4 18th.
"It looked like Jim wasn't going to make any mistakes," said Clark, who moved into contention Saturday with a 64. "He was pretty solid, so I knew I had to make birdies. At that point, there was nothing to lose. Suddenly I got hot and I went with it."
On No. 18, Clark left a 45-foot birdie putt about 6 feet short, and Furyk missed left on a 12-footer. Clark sealed the win by holing the 6-footer for par.
"Once he missed his putt, I didn't want to have to go into a playoff, knowing he can take it over the water (off the 18th tee) and I have to play over to the right," Clark said. "So, it was huge for me to get it finished right there. I got hot with the putter on the back nine. To stand over that putt and still feel confident was really nice."
Furyk is 0-for-7 with the 54-hole lead since winning the 2010 TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola for the last of his 16 PGA TOUR titles.
"I kind of controlled my own destiny," Furyk said. "I've got to shoot 3 or 4 under and it would have been impossible to catch me, or darn near it. I left the door open with even par on the front nine and Tim took advantage and shot 30 on the back."
Clark, four strokes behind Furyk after bogeying the par-4 first, took the outright lead with a birdie on the par-4 16th after a short rain delay. Clark finished at 17-under 263.
Justin Hicks was third at 13 under after a 64. Matt Kuchar (65), Michael Putnam (66) and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (66) tied for fourth at 11 under.
Graham DeLaet, from Weyburn, Saskatchewan, was the top Canadian, closing with a 68 to tie for seventh at 10 under. Pat Fletcher, born in England, was the last Canadian winner, taking the 1954 event at Point Grey in Vancouver.
"I fell a little short, but it was fun," DeLaet said. "So many people were cheering for me. ... Coming down 18 was a special moment."
Dicky Pride also finished at 10 under, matching the course record with a 63.
Organizers moved up the starting times by 2 hours and had the players play in threesomes from both the first and 10th tees to try to finish before the forecast storms. Most of the players had finished before a cloudburst halted play for 26 minutes.