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    • Putting guru from London, Ont. helped Nick Taylor win the RBC Canadian Open

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    The roar could be heard from coast to coast.

    Nick Taylor drained a 72-foot putt on the fourth playoff hole to win the 2023 RBC Canadian Open.

    “The putter was hot, and it’s been great for four-to-five months now,” said Taylor, the BC native after becoming the first Canadian to win the National Open since 1954.

    That “hot putter” is thanks to his coach on the greens. London, Ont. professional and putting guru Gareth Raflewski.

    “He did all the hard work there, but I don’t think people don't realize it is years of training,” said Raflewski. “It is months and months of doing the same thing over and over again.”

    Raflewski is the head professional at Riverbend Golf Community. He has a stable of 14 players including members of the LPGA, PGA Tour, and DP World Tour.

    When he started working with Taylor less than two years ago, he made two key changes.

    “We just needed to tidy up some things as he would struggle inside seven or eight feet,” said Raflewski.

    “When he would stand over the ball and his perception of where things were was not quite right. A lot of that had to do with his setup. His body would be a little bit behind his head,” he said. “He would start to see the ball a bit more to the right. All of a sudden you think you're hitting bad putts but really it was down to what your eyes are seeing.”

    The second change was going to a claw grip.

    London, Ont. golf professional Gareth Raflewski, seen on June 12, 2023, shows the “claw grip” that he implemented with Nick Taylor, which helped him win the RBC Canadian Open on June 11, 2023. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

    “What that did is it put his whole body in a nice position,” said Raflewski. “A lot of players will have an active right hand. So getting this hand on here, allowed it to be a little more passive and obviously from there, we just build on from that.”

    It was on display with the clutch putt on the 18th hole to get him into the playoff. Then four holes later came the 72-foot eagle to win the tournament.

    He’s now up to sixth in the FedExCup standings.

    Raflewski spent Monday to Friday last week at Oakdale Golf Club and Country Club in the GTA working with Taylor.

    After he made the cut with a round of 67 on Friday, he knew he was in good shape heading into the weekend and his job was done.

    “There's an old saying that I have when the player struggles, I'm always there,” said Raflewski. “When they're playing well I’m going to get out of the way and let them do their thing”

    London, Ont. golf professional Gareth Raflewski, seen on June 12, 2023, shows how Nick Taylor’s alignment was off when he started working with the PGA player on his putting. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

    That's exactly what he did. The win thrilled golf fans across the world, including those who see Raflewski work on a daily basis.

    “Gareth has a reputation as a master putter and people seek his guidance, that's for sure,” said Rick Finkenzeller, the starter at Riverbend GC. “Taylor made a lot of clutch putts [Sunday].”

    Helen Winslow and Nancy Fisher take lessons from Raflewski.

    “Gareth has trained the rest of us, and our putting should be that good, but it isn't always,” Fisher said with a laugh. “That [72-foot putt] will go down in the golf hall of fame for an exciting event.”

    Taylor's win wasn't the only win one that Raflewski was celebrating Sunday. One of his other clients Ashley Buhai also won on the LPGA Tour in New Jersey.

    But it was Taylor who stole the show. It’s the type of moment which will be remembered for decades.

    Canadian Nick Taylor kisses the trophy after winning the Canadian Open golf championship in Toronto on Sunday, June 11, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Lahodynskyj

    “It's iconic,” said Raflewski. “It's also one of the things up there with Mike Weir winning the Masters. It will go down as a great moment in Canadian history and it will propel golf in Canada.”

    At his post tournament press conference, Taylor, like the rest of us watching, didn’t know what to say.

    “I’m speechless,” said Taylor. “I don't think its going to sink in for quite sometime what happened.”

    What happened, was the stuff of legends.

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