HAMILTON — When Roger Bannister finally broke the impossible four-minute mile in 1954 — the same year Pat Fletcher won the Canadian Open — it was only six weeks before another runner achieved it.
Canadian golf fans hope to be so lucky at this year’s RBC Canadian Open with a record 28 Canuck golfers in the field including, most importantly, defending champion Nick Taylor.
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“I think Nick cracked the seal and I think now we don’t have to talk about that 70-year wait or whatever it was anymore,” Mike Weir said on Wednesday at Hamilton Golf and Country Club.
It was 69 years, if anyone is still counting, but Canadian golfers don’t have to talk about the drought anymore.
“Hopefully, some more guys will break through the door here and get more and more and with the talent we have, it can happen,” Weir added.
This year’s version will boast the strongest contingent of Canadian golfers in the tournament’s history including five players who have won on the PGA Tour in the past two seasons — Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes, Taylor Pendrith, Adam Svensson and, of course, Taylor, who has won twice.
All five players are in the top 100 in golf’s world rankings, where they are joined by Adam Hadwin.
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“I don’t think we talk about it a whole lot, the weight of the week, but we all know that we obviously desperately want to play really well,” Taylor said. “We know how important it is to us, but also the fans to root on the Canadian players.”
Taylor’s image is everywhere this week, from billboards to bobbleheads to his silhouette on the updated RBC Canadian Open logo.
“To be on-site, seeing it on flags and posters and stuff, it’s one of those things I don’t know if I’ll ever fully grasp the magnitude of that,” Taylor said of seeing himself worked into the tournament logo. “I wish I could be defending probably a little bit longer, but this tournament always means a lot to me and every Canadian in the field.”
Nobody is closer to home this week than Hughes, a Dundas, Ont., native who is quite familiar with Hamilton Golf and Country Club.
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“I was here a lot as a young kid watching these tournaments in 2003 and 2006,” he said. “I remember thinking how cool it was back then. I wanted to get close to the players, get autographs and all that. Now there’s another generation that’s trying to do that and I’m the one signing the autographs. It’s really cool … It makes you feel pretty good. I try to make a positive impact on the people that I come across.”
Hughes was open to the idea that Taylor’s win might have a Bannister-type effect on other Canadians, but seemed far from sold on it.
“As far as the overall weight, I think that that’s been lessened by Nick’s win, but I show up here with my own personal expectations and desires to do well, so I don’t think that I’m going to be out there thinking about because Nick won, there’s no pressure on me anymore,” he said. “I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well every single week, but coming here I really enjoy playing well in front of the home crowd.”
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