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OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, July 29, 2009 · 18 Green shaky to start playoff Continued from page 17 Glen Abbey throughout the weekend, players could not finish their third round until Monday. Once the third round was completed, the fourth and final round began directly after, something that Green felt was an advantage for a player who tended to struggle under the pressures of being near the top of the leaderboard. "Being able "That's to go straight more than I from the third thought I round into the could have fourth round, I done." didn't have to sleep on it," he RBC said. "I was hitCanadian ting the ball Open winner well and was Nathan Green able to take that straight into the final round." Green, who began that final round a stroke behind three players -- including Goosen -- for the lead, nearly didn't make it to the playoff. He was tied with Goosen at 18under-par going into the final hole, but hit his approach shot on 18 into the gallery behind the green. Green's chip then nearly went into the water in front of the green, stopped only by the thick rough along the edge. Green made par to force the playoff, where he nearly lost again on the first hole. Playing the 18th hole over again, he blasted another approach shot into the gallery behind the green, this one landing near a television tower. He chipped out to nearly the same place he did a hole earlier, then made his par. Meanwhile, Goosen had a five-foot putt for birdie and the win, but the 40-yearold PGA Tour veteran missed it to the right. Green regained his form on the second playoff hole, hitting the 17th fairway and then drilling a four-iron to within 12 feet of the cup. Goosen, meanwhile, found trouble when he drove his ball into the rough and then went right of the green on his approach. When Goosen wasn't able to scramble to make par, the memorable 100th playing of the Canadian Open was finally over. "It's just such a buzz for me to be able to turn the year around dramatically," Green said. "That's more than I thought I could have done." TOURNAMENT NOTES: Coincidentally, another Green -- first name Ken -- won the championship the last time a fifth day of play was needed to decide the Canadian Open (in 1988, also at Glen Abbey)... Holes-in-one were among the biggest stories of the week at the RBC Canadian Open. Going into the tournament, 21 aces had been recorded over the course of 32 PGA Tour events this year. There were eight recorded at Glen Abbey, including one by Canadian crowd favourite Mike Weir. Peter Lonard, Joe Durant, Leif Olson, Arjun Atwal, Casey Wittenberg, Briny Baird and Kevin Sutherland notched the other ones... Low Canadian honours went to Chris Baryla (amateur) and Stephen Ames, both finishing at minus-12 (tied for 8th). Weir's final score of minus-10 tied him for 24th... Weir was involved in an unusual incident during the second round Saturday, when his ball moved while at rest prior to his second shot on the 18th hole. Weir was initially penalized one stroke, but that penalty was rescinded after the round when it was determined it was inconclusive whether Weir had caused his ball to move. Additional video was then reviewed the following day, causing both Weir and the rules committee to agree that Weir should be penalized one stroke... Defending champion Chez Reavie missed the cut. Thirteen players withdrew during the tournament. THIRD: Anthony Kim, ranked 22nd on the PGA Tour's money list this season, follows his drive during Monday's final round of the RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey. Kim was tied for the lead going into the final round but finished tied for third, four strokes behind champion Nathan Green. JON CURRIE / OAKVILLE BEAVER Fastpitch nationals in Oakville By Jon Kuiperij The Angels, coming off a fifth-place showing at this year's provincials, are seeded last in the 12-team field. But Oakville coach Dean Wilcox feels his team's perDays after hosting the RBC Canadian Open, Oakville formance at provincials might be misleading, considerwill be the venue for another national championship ing the Angels were already guaranteed a spot in the this week. nationals. Oakville has won two The country's top under-16 OAKVILLE BANTAM ANGELS SCHEDULE tournaments in the U.S. this seaTIME OPPONENT girls' softball teams are gathering DAY son and finished third at another. Noon ONT-2 at Trafalgar Park for the Bantam Wednesday "We've got a really talented Wednesday 8:30 p.m. QC-1 Girls Canadian Fast Pitch Thursday team," he said. "We'll certainly be 2 p.m. BC-1 Championship, which gets under- Thursday competitive. Our focus will be do 6 p.m. BC-2 11 a.m. AB-2 way today (Wednesday) and con- Friday to our best and win the nationals." Friday 7 p.m. MB-2 cludes Sunday. The team has competed in two Three Ontario teams are com- * All games at Trafalgar Park. Playoffs begin national championship tournapeting in the tournament, includ- Saturday. Bronze-medal game Sunday at 2 p.m. ments in the past, winning silver ing the host Oakville Angels tier 1 Gold-medal game Sunday at 4 p.m. as novices two years ago in squad. British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba. Manitoba and Quebec have two representatives, while Wilcox said the Angels are a balanced squad. Saskatchewan has one entry. "We have strong pitching, we have strong batting, Games were slated to begin this morning, with and defensively we can compete with anyone in the opening ceremonies scheduled for 6 p.m. today. tournament," he said. BEAVER SPORTS EDITOR OAKVILLE SOCCER CLUB NHLers to play exhibition softball game The bantam fastpitch nationals' opening ceremonies (tonight, 6 p.m.) will be followed by an exhibition game at 7 p.m. between former and current National Hockey League players and the Oakville Angels midgets, organized by former long-time Oakville Girls Softball Association (OGSA) coach and ex-Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Rick Wamsley. Wamsley, now an assistant coach with the St. Louis Blues, has enlisted current NHLers Brad Boyes and B.J. Crombeen (Blues) and Raffi Torres (Columbus Blue Jackets). Montreal Canadiens prospect Andres Benoit -- Wamsley's son-in-law -- is also expected to play, as is Detroit Red Wings draft pick and local resident Evan McGrath. Rounding out the NHL squad will be retired Robert Baliat Sponsored by: Week Ten Photo Contest Winner: The Oakville Beaver and A Proud Sponsor of Oakville Soccer Club players Mark Curtin, Tom Fergus and Wamsley, and Fan 590 radio personality Gord Stellick. Former Canadian Football League player Dan Ferrone, a member of the Oakville Sports Hall of Fame, will coach the team. Wamsley, who organized a similar game when the OGSA hosted the national peewee championships in 2004, says the exhibition is designed to create awareness of girls' softball in the area. "We hope to get a decent walkup (crowd)," said Wamsley, whose daughters Megan, Colleen and Kelly will play in the exhibition game. "Hopefully, (people) will come back and watch a few games of the nationals. We hope to defray some of the costs of the tournament for the OGSA." -- Jon Kuiperij