The smile that crept across Charley Hoffman’s face during the final round of the RBC Canadian Open dissipated by the time he lost a playoff to Jhonattan Vegas.
Hoffman started the final round with a one-shot lead, and started the day at Glen Abbey Golf Club with birdies on each of the first two holes. But he began to struggle on the greens as his round progressed, and he trailed defending champ Vegas by two shots with three holes to go.
Hoffman responded with a birdie on No. 16, but his 22-foot eagle putt on the final hole for the win missed the mark. That meant a playoff, which Vegas won on the first extra hole.
“Just didn’t get the putts to the hole when they counted unfortunately,” Hoffman said. “Speed wasn’t on today, and they all looked good and none of them got to the hole unfortunately.”
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Hoffman appeared to catch a break on the 12th hole, where his ball plugged into a greenside bunker. He received a free drop because his feet touched a bunker liner when building a stance, similar to a situation Branden Grace encountered at the BMW PGA Championship. It even drew a playful remark from Hoffman’s playing partner, Kevin Chappell, which was caught on-air.
“Look at the (expletive)-eating grin on his face,” Chappell said.
“Hey, man. Rules,” Hoffman replied.
But Hoffman flubbed the bunker shot after taking relief and still ultimately made bogey. It’s the second time this year he has surrendered a late lead, having turned a share of the 54-hole lead into a T-2 finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Hoffman also tied for third at the Travelers Championship and finished T-4 at the Genesis Open.
“In contention again. Played well and contended all the way through,” Hoffman said. “Obviously Jhonny played well and hats off to him, the way he played, and there will be another opportunity down the road for me.”
Source: Internet
