Not Your Typical Swede, Carl Pettersson Wins RBC Canadian Open

Hanging out with fellow PGA Tour pro Jay Williamson, the pair knocked back a few beers – seven by the end – while waiting for a conclusion.

"My caddy had to drive me home," he said laughing. "I wasn't in that bad of shape ... I can usually handle seven beers."

It turns out the Swede with the big appetite made the cut on the number. And apparently without a hangover, Pettersson went out the next morning and carded a remarkable 10-under 60 to move him 4-shots back of leader Dean Wilson. And though he had no expectations heading into the weekend, after a final round of 3-under par 67 Pettersson finds himself Canadian Open champion.

"It's unbelievable," he said following his round. "You know, if you would have asked my Thursday if I was going to win, I would have laughed at you. I'd have probably thought you'd been drinking seven beers."

Pettersson entered the final round 4-shots back of leader Dean Wilson, who had been given an exemption into the Canadian Open. Wilson, a previous tour winner whose game had fallen on hard times, played flawlessly, recording three consecutive rounds of 5-under par.

Until Sunday, St. George's hadn't played like the monster many expected. Soft and wet conditions allowed players to fire at flags, making boatloads of birdies in the process. In all, nine rounds of 64 or better were recorded in the first three rounds of the tournament, including Pettersson's record shattering 60.

Sunday looked to be a different story altogether. Drying out under the afternoon sun, and with the wind gusting to 40 km, golfers played more defensively and scores rose significantly.

Starting at 15-under par, Wilson began the day well, but showed signs of wilting in the summer heat on the 8^th hole when his long iron approach into the 220-yard par-3 came up short in long rough on a hillside. He failed to get up-and-down, and Pettersson trimmed his lead with a birdie on the hole. Pettersson would make another birdie on the par-3 13^th and take the lead on the 14^th by making birdie while Wilson failed to get up-and-down for par.

With thousands of people surrounding the final hole at St. George's and the stands surrounding the green crammed full of excited spectators, Pettersson took a two-shot lead into the final hole, a difficult uphill par-4 that was playing into a challenging crosswind. His approach with a long iron found the front of the green, while Wilson, playing more aggressively, took a bold line, leaving himself a mid-length uphill putt. But when Wilson couldn't make the birdie, Pettersson took the victory by a single shot, despite three-putting the final hole. Englishman Luke Donald shot 4-under 66 to finish alone in third-place.

Pettersson takes home $918,000 for the win, while Wilson will be close to securing his tour card for next year by winning $550,800.

Pettersson grew up in Sweden and England before moving to the U.S. Unlike many of his Swedish peers on the PGA and European Tours, he's not obsessed with his appearance.

"I'm not your typical Swede," he joked. "I don't have a 28-inch waist and I don't eat bananas at the turn."

Winning the Canadian Open was a long way from where Pettersson was at this point last year, when the now four-time tour winner found his game going south. After making $2.5-million in 2008, he made only $564,605 in 2009 and was playing on tour this year due to his exemption for winning the Wyndham Championship. The plump golfer was worried that his physical conditioning was holding him back and went on an aggressive diet and exercise program, dropping 30 pounds. Unfortunately his golf game disappeared with the lost weight.

"I kept thinking, ‘What am I going to do to get better?'" he said. "Obviously I'm a little overweight and I thought, well I'll get fit. So I actually lost 30 pounds and my game completely left me."

Making it back to holding the trophy for a PGA Tour event was an emotional experience for Pettersson, who said he was hard on himself as his game faded last year.