Last week, 17 NHL players and three alumni squared off on the fairways of TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in the first running of the RBC Canadian Open NHLPA Face-Off.
Joining the 17 NHL regulars were TSN personalities Carlo Colaiacovo and Jeff O’Neill as well as former Winnipeg Jets forward, Sam Gagner, who recently announced his retirement.
Photo by Golf Canada
And of the 17 players, it was the Nylander brothers who came out on top, beating the TSN duo and the team of Gagner and Ryan McLeod in a one hole playoff shootout.
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The Jets had two players tee off at the event: forward Brandon Tanev (Toronto) and defenceman Logan Stanley (Kitchener). Neither player made the cut but shot respectable scores on the course – Tanev a one-under 60 on 17 holes, with Stanley finishing a seven-over 70 through 18 holes.
The highlight of the day come from Flyers defenceman Jamie Drysdale, who hit a hole-in-one on the fourth hole – his first hole of the day, thanks to the shotgun start. He and partner, Will Cuylle went on to finish in last place.
Scoring was based on the stableford system with points coming from the best individual score from within their group on each hole. The scoring is straightforward and encourages aggressive play:
• 0 points for a double bogey or worse
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• 1 point for a bogey
• 2 points for par
• 3 points for birdie
• 4 points for eagle
• 5+ points for albatross or better
“It was a fantastic day for the RBC Canadian Open / NHLPA Faceoff. It was great to see something that started as an idea really culminate into a fantastic event,” said Tim McLaughlin, Chief Marketing Officer at Golf Canada. “We had great support from the NHLPA, all the players were really enthusiastic, and we saw some amazing golf being played. A great way to set up what shapes up to be one of the most exciting RBC Canadian Opens on record.”
The RBC Canadian Open is set to run from June 4-8, also at TPC Toronto in Caledon, ON.