RBC Canadian Open results: Tim Clark catches Jim Furyk to win at Royal Montreal

Tim Clark, a world-class player for several years now, won his second PGA Tour event on Sunday afternoon at the RBC Canadian Open, but the larger story is probably who didn’t win. Jim Furyk held a multi-shot lead for almost the entire weekend at Royal Montreal, but Clark caught him late on the back nine and then surged ahead by a shot with a birdie on the 15th hole.

Fair or not, the discussion will be all about Furyk’s failure to close. The 44-year-old veteran remains one of the most consistent players in the world, but has not won since 2010 and has now gone 0-of-7 while holding the 54-hole lead (or co-lead) since his last victory. He keeps contending but can’t snap that winless streak.

The final day failures have come on some of the bigger stages, too. There was that brutal pull-hook into the California trees at the 2012 U.S. Open, and then last year’s grind playing with Jason Dufner at the PGA Championship. He became just the sixth member to join the “59 Club” last year with that miracle round at Conway Farms, but couldn’t ride that to the win on Sunday at the BMW. The blown Ryder Cup match to Sergio Garcia at Medinah really amped up this narrative, and today’s giveaway will only add to it with the next Ryder Cup just two months out. Furyk will be on the roster, qualifying on points, and he’s playing some of the best golf in the world right now. But at a tournament that he’s won twice, and where the pressure was considerably lower than any Ryder Cup match, he had to convert. Here’s Canada’s own Adam Sarson with some numbers on Furyk’s final round struggles:

It’s not as if Furyk imploded and leaked oil all over Royal Montreal, he just stalled out and Clark’s roll on the back nine made sure that he wouldn’t be able to sneak by with just a 1-under round of 69. Clark’s 5-under 65 capped an 11-under weekend and bolt to the top of the leaderboard over the final 36 holes.

Clark opened his day with a bogey, and when he turned in even-par 35 on the front nine, it looked like any shot at a chasedown was gone. But Furyk failed to move the number from 15-under, and then Clark got hot with that anchored putter. He poured in four birdies in a five-hole stretch from No. 11 to No. 15, pulling ahead with three to play. With all the momentum, he’d match a Furyk birdie on the par-3 17th to stay on top. Furyk had a good look at birdie on 18th green, but his putt from about 10 feet to force a playoff was well wide of the hole. Clark stepped up and drilled a par putt from five feet to seal his second career PGA Tour win.

The 2010 Players title will remain Clark’s signature career win, but this was a much-needed victory for a player who’s been through some nightmarish injury situations since that win at Sawgrass. Last fall’s omission from the Presidents Cup roster by Nick Price was an added slight to a guy who had healed up and played so well at Muirfield throughout his career. This win, however, locks up a spot for Clark in the top 50 in the FedExCup and rockets him back up the world rankings.

But again, Clark’s success will take a back seat to Furyk’s failure. Not only was this his seventh straight Sunday shortcoming after holding a 54-hole lead, the three-shot margin was also the largest lead lost. Here are the final results from Royal Montreal: