[PHOTO: Vaughn Ridley]
After trading body blows in regulation, Ryan Fox and Sam Burns stalled out three consecutive times in overtime on the par-5 18th hole, each failing to make a birdie and claim the RBC Canadian Open. On the fourth go-round, however, Fox hit a majestic 3-wood from 236 metres, hoisting it high in the air and having it stop inside 10 feet then got the win handed to him as Burns three-putted from long range, giving Fox his second PGA Tour win in the past month.
RELATED: Ryan Fox wins the RBC Canadian Open after ‘The best shot I ever hit’
The “pillow fight” playoff, as CBS analyst Trevor Immelman called it, belied the earlier fireworks by both players. Earlier in the round Burns provided some rumblings, dropping five straight birdies on the field from the 10th through the 14th to take the lead. The run included a 21-footer as well as a 12-footer along with a trio of putts inside six feet. He then had to endure the seismic shock of Fox dropping a 17-foot birdie putt at the last that drizzled into the left side of the cup to forge the tie.
Fox was sixth in strokes gained/approach the green, beating the field average by more than seven shots with his split set of Srixon irons. However it was his 15-degree Srixon ZXi 3-wood that struck the deciding blow.
The club has plenty of giddy-up as the ZXi is a fairway wood with driver DNA, which isn’t a bad thing to have in the bag. Taking a page from the company’s ZXi drivers, the fairways possess the same i-Flex and rebound frame to help ramp up distance without sacrificing off-centre forgiveness. Meanwhile, the variable thickness face is designed with a thin centre region supported by thickened sections on the heel and toe to optimise rebound at impact.
The kind that produces 236 metres off the deck, apparently.
The clubs Ryan Fox used to win the 2025 RBC Canadian Open:
Ball: Srixon Z-Star XV
Driver: Srixon ZXi Diamond (Fujikura Ventus Black 7 TX), 105 degrees
3-wood: Srixon ZXI, 15 degrees
Irons (2): Srixon ZXiU; (4): Srixon Zxi5; (5-PW): Srixon ZXi7
Wedges: Cleveland RTZ (50, 56, 60 degrees)
Putter: Ping Anser 2D
