Despite Ryan Fox beginning Sunday as co-leader of the 2025 RBC Canadian Open, the 38-year-old New Zealander needed to compete 22 holes in the final round before hoisting the trophy. Fox ultimately edged Sam Burns, who shot a round-of-the-day 62, in a fourth playoff hole to come out on top for the second time in his last four PGA Tour starts.
Burns battled from four back at the start of the day to take the clubhouse lead at 18 under, but Fox forced a playoff by scoring birdies on three of his last five regulation holes to battle back into a tie for the top spot.
The two played the 18th hole four times in the playoff before a winner was finally crowned. It was Fox who delivered the shot of the day -- a 3-wood from 258 yards that carved a cut right at the flag to leave himself a short eagle putt.
Burns also found the putting surface from 255 yards out in his first effort at going for the green in two during the playoff, but he left a lengthy, slippery eagle putt that he jammed well past the hole. Burns was still away for his birdie putt, which hit the left lip and bounced out for a 3-putt par, alleviating the pressure on Fox. The Kiwi was able to nudge his eagle putt to within tap-in range and cleaned up for the win.
It is Fox's second career win, both in 2025, as he took home an alternate field event in Myrtle Beach prior to the PGA Championship. Now he's added a Canadian Open to his trophy case, which is filled with DP World Tour events but had been without any PGA Tour titles prior to 2025. The long-hitter from New Zealand seems to be finding comfort with being in contention late on this side of the pond as he's taken some of the pressure off of himself by finally breaking through.
Fox trailed Burns by three on the back nine before finishing with that birdie barrage to force the playoff. On the 18th in regulation, he found the fairway off the tee and opted to layup to wedge distance from more than 270 yards out instead of risking disaster. While he couldn't dial in the wedge as well as he wanted for his third, he left himself with a 17-footer for birdie to create the playoff opportunity.
When that putt dripped in on the left edge, Burns was on the driving range warming up after finishing his round nearly two hours earlier. The two returned to the 18th tee for a sudden death playoff and Burns took the early advantage by finding the fairway while Fox over-cut his tee shot into a fairway bunker. That forced Fox to lay up well back at 166 yards with Burns able to push his second shot down to 90 yards from the hole.
That allowed Burns to stuff a wedge to inside 6 feet, while Fox could only leave a 16-footer with an 8 iron. However, both players burned the edges with their birdie rolls -- Fox left, Burns right -- and cleaned up for par to make the long trek back to the 18th tee. On the second try at the 18th, Fox flared his approach right and found the first cut short and right of the green, leaving another wedge competition. This time, Burns couldn't match his approach from the first hole and Fox left his chip short, leaving two midrange putts for birdie.
Burns' putt was never high enough and missed left, meaning Fox had a 12-footer to win ... that he hit 11 feet, committing the cardinal sin of golf by not even giving it a chance. That sent the competitors back to the 18th tee, this time with a new hole location on the front right of the green. Two more pars on their third attempt meant a fourth try, and it was there that Fox finally executed on both his drive and second shot to give himself the win. Grade: A+
Here are the rest of the notable names on the leaderboard at the 2025 Charles Schwab Challenge
2. Sam Burns (-18): He'll be replaying the first and fourth playoff holes in his head for awhile, but Burns does get his best finish of the season, and while he couldn't make a birdie in the playoff, his 62 to get there was incredible. Burns was just 2 under when he made the turn, but he made five straight birdies to open his back nine and then punctuated his round with a birdie putt on the last to shoot 29 on the back and give himself, at the time, a two-shot lead.
However, the putter was not nearly as kind to Burns in the playoff, as he could not buy a birdie putt on the 18th despite having four chances to make one. The 5-footer to win on the first playoff hole was particularly painful and he'll be kicking himself for not ending it there, but it was overall a good day and week for Burns. Grade: A-
T4. Cameron Young (-16): Speaking of replaying holes in your head, Young will spend a lot of time thinking about how he played the 18th after a perfect tee shot. He pulled his driving iron initially but went back to the 3 wood to ensure he cleared the water. While he accomplished his goal of staying dry, he went well over the green into some thick rough near the trees deep. The lie wasn't bad, but the ball was sitting up and his club went straight under it, leaving him in the rough. Still, this is a guy who looked lost at points early in the year but now has a pair of top 10s in the last month and qualified for the U.S. Open in a playoff, meaning he has a tee time Thursday at Oakmont and some confidence in his game. Grade: A-
T13. Ludvig Åberg, Shane Lowry, Nick Taylor (-13): For a moment early Sunday afternoon, it looked like these two might get into the picture as Lowry took the lead at 15 under after going 5 under in his first four holes of the day and Åberg got it to 4 under thru 7. Neither could continue that pace as Lowry dropped two shots on his way in after his hot start and Åberg treaded water at even over his final 11 holes. It was a solid yet unspectacular week for two of the top players competing, who had to feel like they might've let an opportunity slip by on a week where the best player in the field, Rory McIlroy, ejected and missed the cut. Grade: B
Taylor, meanwhile, earned top Canadian honors, but will feel like he let a chance slip away at a second Canadian Open title in three years. He had it to 15 under on his back nine before a double bogey on the 17th ended any hopes of a miraculous finish. Still, Taylor was able to produce another strong finish at his home event and will be feeling solid about his play going into the U.S. Open. Grade: B+
T27. Corey Conners, Adam Hadwin, Taylor Pendrith, Mackenzie Hughes (-10): The other four top Canadians all finished in the same spot at 10 under. Pendrith and Hadwin looked like threats early in the week but couldn't score the way they needed to on Sunday with a pair of 70s. Conners got off to a slow start but finished strong, while Hughes started Sunday just two off the lead but had a disappointing 72 to drop back to T27 with the rest. Grade: B
CUT. Rory McIlroy: It remains shocking that McIlroy not only missed the cut but only beat five players this week as he looked all out of sorts Friday and now has some real concerns heading into the U.S. Open. While Scottie Scheffler is surging, McIlroy looks a bit lost right now after his Masters win, and that's a bad place to be heading to a course like Oakmont. Grade: F
A 3-putt from Sam Burns on the fourth playoff hole took the pressure off of Fox, who could calmly two putt from 8 feet for his birdie and the win after hitting a spectacular approach.
Fox now has two wins on the season, adding the Canadian Open to his win in Myrtle Beach, which are also his only two career wins on the PGA Tour.
Both players have now made three consecutive pars on the 18th hole to two different hole locations, and so now we are headed back to the tee for a fourth time. After a mediocre wedge shot from Fox, Burns had the advantage but ripped a wedge off the green on his third and got saved by the first cut on the bank above the pond.
He hit a solid chip to get up-and-down from par, while Fox two-putt from 28 feet, and now we will see if someone can finally put a circle on the card on a fourth try at the par 5.
Sam Burns had the advantage the entire first playoff hole, hitting the fairway, leaving 90 yards with a wedge and stuffing one to inside 6 feet, but he could not convert that for birdie and let Fox off the hook on the first playoff hole. Fox went from bunker to 166 yards out and burned the edge on his 16-footer for birdie, but got a second chance at his second PGA Tour win thanks to Burns' missed putt. They'll return to the 18th tee to play the par 5 again -- and will do so a third time, but to a different hole location if they tie again.
After missing a great look on the 17th, Ryan Fox got some redemption on the 18th with a 17-footer for birdie that he dripped in on the left side of the hole to force a playoff against Sam Burns.
Fox, the co-leader after 54 holes, shot a 66 in his final round to post 18 under, and will head back to the 18th tee after signing his card for a playoff against Burns. Burns has been on the driving range trying to warm back up for a potential playoff, as he finished his final round nearly two hours ago with a scintillating 62. Now he'll have to find that form again after a long wait in a duel against Fox for the Canadian Open title.
The biggest threat to Sam Burns right now is Ryan Fox, who made a birdie on the 15th to pull within one of Burns and then burned the edge on a lengthy birdie putt on the 16th to tie. He now faces the same challenge Cameron Young had and couldn't execute, which is to make a par on the tough 17th and then birdie the 18th to force a playoff -- or go birdie-birdie/par-eagle to win outright.
Matteo Manassero and Kevin Yu are still on the course at 16 under thru 16, but will need something special on the last two holes to get to that 18 under number set by Burns.
After his miraculous par save on the 17th, Young pumped his drive down the middle on No. 18 and seemed to have a great shot at matching Burns in the clubhouse at 18 under. However, Young blasted his approach into the par 5 well over the green with a 3 wood, avoiding the water short, and then fluffed his first chip for eagle, leaving it in the rough. He gave his birdie chip a run at the hole, but it ran just by the right edge and then he two-putt for bogey to fall back to 16 under.
Still, for a player who has been searching for his game all year, the last month has provided some positive signs. He had a top-10 at the Truist prior to the PGA Championship and he'll end up with his best finish of the year here at the Canadian Open, days after qualifying for the U.S. Open in a playoff against Rickie Fowler, Max Homa and others. That got him a tee time at Oakmont next week, and we'll see if he can carry over this form to the year's third major.
After getting to just one shot back of the lead, Young hit his worst tee shot of the day to the right on the 17th and his chances of matching Sam Burns in the clubhouse seemed slim. Young caught a break as his ball hung up in the long grasses on the edge of the hazard and he was able to advance his ball into the rough 90 yards short of the green.
From there he gave himself a 14-footer for par and poured it in to remain one back and give himself a chance going to the par-5 18th.
The closest challenger to Sam Burns' clubhouse lead of -18 is Cameron Young, who is at 17 under after back-to-back birdies on Nos. 14 and 15 at TPC Toronto.
Young now makes the trek over to the long and difficult 16th and 17th holes before one more good birdie chance at the par-5 18th. If he can get through the next two holes with pars, he'll have a real shot at matching Burns in the clubhouse and potentially forcing a playoff depending on how the rest of the leaderboard closes their round.
Sam Burns came into Sunday's final round at 10 under, four shots back of the leaders. After nine holes, he had picked up two shots but didn't appear a real threat to win the tournament, but once he made the turn to the back nine he caught fire. Burns birdied his first five holes on the back nine, navigated his way through the tough 16th and 17th holes and then punctuated his round with a birdie at the last to shoot a sensational final round 62 (with a 29 on the back) and claim a two-shot lead.
He now leads Matteo Manassero and Cameron Young by two, as they are on the 11th and 15th holes respectively. While there are birdies to be made on the back nine, including the par-5 18th, they'll need to avoid any blemishes on the scorecard if they're going to catch Burns, who now gets to sit in the clubhouse and watch to see if anyone can catch him.
After 5-straight birdies to open his back nine, Sam Burns has made two straight pars to hold steady at 17 under with two holes to play in his final round. Behind him is a large group at -15 now after Kevin Yu dropped a shot on No. 9, giving Burns a two-shot advantage as he looks to close out his sixth victory on the PGA Tour. Burns has to navigate the long, difficult 17th but will have a birdie opportunity on the closing par-5 18th, and then will sit back after posting his score and wait to see if anyone from that chase group can catch him.
There are now two tied at the top of the RBC Canadian Open leaderboard, as Sam Burns has ripped off four straight birdies to open his back 9 to reach 16 under and tie Kevin Yu for the lead. Burns has birdies on Nos. 10, 11, 12 and 13 to storm up the leaderboard and will have a chance to post the clubhouse lead and see if it can hold up. Like on Saturday, the final pairing has stalled out early in their round, with both Ryan Fox and Matteo Manassero at E thru 5, which has allowed an awful lot of players to get involved and have a shot at the win.
After Matteo Manassero took the lead at -15 with an opening birdie on the par-5 1st, Kevin Yu leap-frogged him with a hole out for eagle with a wedge on the second. Yu threw it straight over the flag and pulled the string on it, spinning it back into the cup for a 2 to get him to 16 under, one ahead of Manassero and two clear of the big group at 14 under.
Lowry dropped his first shot of the day on the 9th and makes the turn at 4 under for his final round and 14 under for the tournament. In doing so, he has created an 8-way tie for the lead at -14 as the 54-hole co-leaders have just begun their final round. Lowry, Cameron Champ, Jake Knapp, Lee Hodges, Cristobal Del Solar, Kevin Yu, Matteo Manassero and Ryan Fox are all -14 right now, with Victor Perez, Cameron Young and Mackenzie Hughes just behind at -13.
The 36-hole leader had a rough third round, as he made 1 bogey and 17 pars on Saturday as much of the leaderboard caught and passed him. Champ appears to have shaken that off and is enjoying a round without the pressure of being in the final pairing, as he's made three birdies in his first four holes to move to -14, one back of Shane Lowry. Champ has shown he can go really low at TPC Toronto, as he opened the tournament with a 62, and despite a lackluster 71 on Saturday, he's very much a threat to win his fourth PGA Tour title.
The big names are making their presence known early on Sunday afternoon in Toronto. Shane Lowry remains on top at -15 after his sensational start, while Ludvig Åberg has put four birdies on the card in his first seven holes to move to 13 under, two back of Lowry. The 54-hole leaders are still more than a half hour away from teeing off and by the time they do, they will likely be staring down some of the top names in the field at the top of the leaderboard.
Sunday's final round at TPC Toronto promised to be a wild one and we already have a lead change more than an hour before the final pairing tees off. Shane Lowry, who began his day at 10 under, is on fire to start, making an eagle and three birdies in his first four holes to jump to 15 under, one ahead of Manassero and Fox.
There are a ton of low scores on the course currently, led by Emiliano Grillo at -7 thru 14, and we are in store for a ton of volatility at the top of the leaderboard.
There are a lot of players in red figures early at TPC Toronto as it looks like we are headed for a shootout at the RBC Canadian Open. Hayden Springer set the early pace with a 6-under 64, while Lanto Griffin (-5 thru 15) and Noah Goodwin (-5 thru 9) have the low rounds on the course. It certainly looks like a 67 will be an average score today, so for the chase group just behind the leaders, they will have to be targeting something in the 65 or better range.
