RBC has done such a great job coming into golf and really what they’ve done with the Canadian Open, showcasing this tournament and moving it around the country the last four years, is phenomenal.
They’ve put it back on the map, which is what it deserves. It is one of the oldest national opens in world golf and as a player you feel that sense of national pride from the fans and from the sponsors and the people running the tournament. It’s fun to be a part of it and even more so when you play some good stuff, as I did on the way to finishing tied-12th last week. So pleased to see my old mate Tim Clark back in the winner’s circle, too.
Anyway, that’s my best finish in a strokeplay tournament in 2014, which says a lot about my year but never mind that, I’ll take some positives away from Montreal. It felt like my game was more where it needed to be in order to compete and that was encouraging. And I really got it going in the middle of my final round, shooting 6-under in a nice little 9-hole stretch. That’s much more like it!
Some of my key numbers were better, especially greens in regulation. That’s been one of my strengths throughout my career but it hasn’t been quite there this year, so it’s good to see an upturn in that department. Let’s try and carry that bit of momentum into the next two weeks, which are huge – the WGC Bridgestone Invitational in Akron and the USPGA Championship in Valhalla.
The Bridgestone is one of the most familiar stops on the PGA TOUR and one of the standout weeks away from the majors. They’ve been hosting championships for five decades now and it’s a great venue. I’ve played steady golf here over the years, with a couple of top-10s, but I’ve never done anything that spectacular. When I think about it there’s really no reason why that should be the case. This is a big old golf course and I like the layout, so let’s see how we go. Obviously I’m conscious of my position in the FedEx Cup rankings and that it’s time to get some serious points on the board.
Finally as you’ll probably know, the RBCGolf4Kids Challenge drew to a close on Sunday. Every one of the RBC ambassadors really embraced the format and all of us congratulate RBC on this initiative and thank them for donating money to each of our designated charities. And, of course, from me there’s a big thank you to all of you out there who made the effort to retweet #RBCELS for the duration of the campaign and thus show support for Els for Autism. We really appreciate it and trust me the money that you’ve helped raise will further assist us in improving the lives of children on the autism spectrum all around the world.
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