It's no major but it's ours
Accept Canadian Open for its merits
By KEN FIDLIN -- Toronto Sun
ANCASTER -- It long ago ceased to be the fifth major. Now, it might not even be the 25th major.
That's just the way it is, so let's relax and enjoy the Canadian Open for what it is and not what it isn't.
It is the one chance of the year to see the very best golfers in the world on one of the truly great courses in this country, a course more than worthy of a national championship.
As has become a matter of course in the days leading up to the Open, there was a flurry of regrets passed along over the weekend.
David Toms cancelled. So did Mark Calcavecchia. Justin Leonard, too. So the marquee got a tad thin and may yet get thinner today when players who were in the Deutsche Bank Championship yesterday wake up and start looking for excuses not to come north to play at classic Hamilton Golf and Country Club.
That number could include winner Adam Scott, who is scheduled to tee it up in Hamilton this week but may just discover, after his $900,000 US payday, that he has something better to do.
While you might speculate that the lingering fear of SARS or the lack of Canadian support for the war in Iraq may have played roles, it's probably less complicated than that.
"I suppose some of those things might have played a factor, and that's all pure speculation on my part," Canada's hope -- Mike Weir -- said yesterday. "I think it's more likely that the time of year is a strong influence."
Now that all four major championships have come and gone, many of the top players are in the process of winding up their competitive seasons. There are some important dates still remaining, including the Tour Championship and the Presidents Cup but, for the most part, the big players are thinking 'vacation.'
That leaves Vijay Singh and Weir as the only players in the top 19 in the world to commit. On the bright side, there are 12 of the top 42 in the world scheduled to play, as well as 16 of the top 50 money winners on the PGA Tour.
For a bit of perspective, that compares to only eight of the top 50 at the 2002 Open at Angus Glen in Markham. And while that tournament lacked for star value, it turned into a riveting competition.
Weir's presence alone, if he plays near his potential, could make everyone forget the lean nature of the field. It has been nearly 90 years since a Canadian-born player won the Open and Weir has the best chance of anyone.
That potential aside, over the past half-dozen years, a lot of ordinary players (and one extraordinary player) have created some spectacular drama for the Canadian Open coming down the stretch on Sunday.
Last year, it was the unforgettable trainwreck that saw good ol' boy Neal Lancaster come unglued on the final hole, blowing a two-stroke lead to force a playoff between Lancaster, John Rollins and Leonard.
Rollins eventually won but the enduring images of the 2002 Open will always be of Lancaster, a likable journeyman, melting down on the final hole with his first Tour victory in eight years within his grasp.
There he was, in the middle of the fairway on the 72nd hole, 183 yards away from the hole, needing to make bogey for the win.
He made six.
"I don't think I'll ever forget how I lost the Canadian Open on the last hole," Lancaster said.
"Basically, bottom line, I choked."
Whether or not Lancaster can forget it, nobody who witnessed it will forget.
Three years ago, Tiger Woods punctuated his victory at Glen Abbey by striking one of the most memorable shots in history, a 200-plus yard 6-iron out of a fairway bunker at a flag tucked in behind a pond that protects the 18th green. Woods' daring approach allowed him to beat Aussie Grant Waite.
Two years before that, in 1998, a no-name field produced one of the wackiest finishes in Canadian Open history when Billy Andrade and Bob Friend engaged in an "I-don't-want-it, you-can't-have-it" comedy as each, in turn, tried to give the tournament away on the 72nd hole, then again in a playoff.
In the end, Andrade won in spite of himself.
So you don't have to have big names to have big fun at the Canadian Open.
Don't bet against it.
