It’s a moment that will be etched in the RBC Canadian Open annals forever — seconds after Nick Taylor made a 72-foot bomb on the fourth playoff hole to the country’s national tournament, his fellow countryman and winner on the PGA Tour Adam Hadwin ran on the green, along with several other Canadian Tour players, to celebrate with him and shower him with champagne.
A security guard, just doing his job, didn’t recognize Hadwin in the moment and tackled him to the ground.
Photos: Adam Hadwin (and wife Jessica) through the years
After a year in the shadows, the man notorious for that body blow finally spoke with Canadian TV network TSN this week, although he did so anonymously.
That security guard clearly played football. Look at that amazing disguised blitz. Caught Adam Hadwin completely off guard. And then the textbook tackle not leading with his head.pic.twitter.com/3ilSvATB1I
— JABO Vancouver (@jabo_vancouver) June 12, 2023
According to the story posted on TSN, the guard (which the publication called Mr. X) went easy on the golfer.
As Taylor and the fans tracked the ball, Mr. X kept his eyes on the crowd. When the putt dropped, it set off one of the wildest wild celebrations and perhaps the most famous tackle in golf history.
“I was on the other side of Nick and his caddie,” Mr. X recalled, “which meant I had to come around him. There were a lot of people moving and I saw this person heading directly towards Nick. I saw it as if it was in slow motion, this guy coming towards Nick with a bottle and no credentials.”
Mr. X moved quickly, like a defensive back spotting the halfback getting a handoff. He intercepted him and the two ended up on the ground.
“It was a soft takedown,” Mr. X pointed out with a chuckle. “His feet never left the ground.”
The security guard and the golfer lay intertwined on the ground for only a second or two. Taylor’s caddie, David Markle, saw what was happening and paused his celebration to try to alert Mr. X that he had taken down one of Canada’s greatest golfers.
“Bryan Crawford [RBC Canadian Open tournament director] came over and it was over quickly,” said Mr. X. “We got up and laughed, said sorry to each other, and it was all over.”
The footage will be talked about all weekend as Taylor is joined by Rory McIlroy, who also won this event in 2022, Shane Lowry, Sahith Theegala, Tommy Fleetwood, Cameron Young, Sam Burns, Tom Kim and Adam Scott, among others at Hamilton Golf & Country Club in Hamilton, Ontario.