Venezuela—where Vegas was born, learned the game using a stick and a rock and still has many family members and friends—has been engulfed in deadly violence with protests over the election of a controversial new constitutional assembly led by the country’s President, Nicolas Maduro, who the opposition has said would turn the nation into a dictatorship.

“It’s always on my mind,” said Vegas, who was searching for an update on the latest news back home. “It hurts a lot, seeing the country the way it is, seeing a government that treats people that way when they don’t deserve it, just to remain in power, and all the suffering that even my family and friends that are having right now. It’s just not fair.”

Never mind that Vegas had to try to win a golf tournament with such heavy thoughts on his mind. He did anyway, closing with a seven-under 65 to finish regulation tied with Charley Hoffman before making a birdie on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff at Glen Abbey outside of Toronto to win the RBC Canadian Open for a second straight year.

Never mind, too, that Vegas had missed the cut in each of his last five starts and seven of his last nine coming into the week.

“I’ve had a horrible summer to put it the best way,” Vegas said. “But it’s golf, and you have to keep a positive mentality and always think that you’re going to play your best.”

He certainly did that on Sunday.

Vegas birdied four of his last five holes on the front nine to make the turn in 30, punctuated by a 40-foot bomb on the par-4 ninth to tie for the lead.

He added three more birdies and made just one bogey on the back, but after failing to birdie the par-5 18th he had to wait out his fate with Hoffman a stroke back and playing behind him.

Hoffman reached the finishing hole in two but narrowly missed his eagle putt before tapping in for birdie to cap a 68 and finish regulation at 21-under 267 with Vegas.

Playing the same hole a few minutes later, Vegas’ approach from the left fairway bunker hit the grass just above the lip but the shot had enough oomph to clear the water and go through the green.

“When I heard the clip, because obviously I didn’t see it, I knew that it was probably going to go in the water, because I didn’t know exactly how hard it hit [the lip],” Vegas said. “But then when I saw the ball in the air, it was still going really hard and forward.”

Vegas chipped to within a foot and when Hoffman’s birdie attempt from the greenside bunker rolled past the hole the 32-year-old Venezuelan had his third career victory.

“It’s been a special day,” Vegas said. “I just came out with an aggressive mentality, just feeling really good about my game. When I started making a few birdies, especially the putt for birdie on 7, I started feeling the same chills that I felt last year when I won, and I just knew that something good could happen if I kept that going.”

For Hoffman, meanwhile, it was another case of close but not enough.

For the third time in his last five starts the 40-year-old who lives in Las Vegas had a chance to win but didn’t.

“I gave myself a chance,” Hoffman said. “Except I putted horribly today and left everything short. Jhonny played great today. All credit to him. [I] didn’t make that many putts of any significance at all on the back nine unfortunately. … Just didn’t get the putts to the hole, which is probably going to be what I’m probably going to lose a little sleep over.”

Despite finishing a stroke out of the playoff, Ian Poulter had plenty to be pleased about. He shot 64, the best round of the day, and has turned his season around after facing the possibility of being without a PGA Tour card at the end of the year.

“I played good golf today,” he said. “The confidence tin was empty a few months ago … Life’s all good.”

It is for Vegas, too, after a rough two months. Still, his mind was elsewhere Sunday night as he held the trophy.

“It makes me a little bit angry obviously,” he said of the unrest in Venezuela. “But it’s something that obviously I use as motivation to raise a voice against the government that we’re having right now. Obviously by me winning and the exposure of me getting here can inspire other people in my country to revolt against the government. Obviously we need a change, and you know, hopefully by making this a little more public, we can get something positive going for the country.”

The post Jhonattan Vegas balances tour life with real-world worries back home in Venezuela appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Woodland, 33, is one of the longest hitters on tour, ranking 16th in driving distance, but he relied on his precise approach shots to make 10 birdies in the second round. The Kansas native’s longest birdie putt of the day was just 12-feet, and had he made one more 12-footer on his final hole he would have tied the course record at Glen Abbey. He’ll play the weekend for the 17th time in 20 events this season, with a chance to get his first victory since the 2014 Reno-Tahoe Open.

Woodland trails leader Martin Flores, who shot a bogey-free six-under 66 that got him to 12-under 132 for the tournament. This is his six appearance at the RBC Canadian Open, an event he’s had mixed success in with three missed cuts and a T19 finish in 2012. Flores is currently in one of the better stretches of his season, having made five of his last six cuts with a T18 finish at last week’s Barbasol Championship. He’s never won on the PGA Tour and finished in the top-10 just once this year.

Tied with Woodland at 11-under are Matt Every and Brandon Hagy, who each posted a four-under 68s. Every, 33, has made just five cuts in 20 starts this season, and hasn’t finished any higher than T27, while Hagy will extend his made cut streak to five.

Vijay Singh is just two shots back at 10-under 134 after carding a four-under 68. Singh, 54, came into the week missing 10 of his last 12 cuts, but did post a strong T16 finish at the Players Championship in May. The 34-time tour winner is looking for his second victory at the RBC Canadian Open, the first coming in 2004 at Glen Abbey in a playoff over Canada’s Mike Weir.

World No. 1 Dustin Johnson posted a three-under 69 and sits four back at eight-under 136.

Two Canadians, Graham DeLaet and Mackenzie Hughes, are tied with Johnson at eight-under. A win this week for either of them would be the first time a player from Canada has won the nation’s open since Pat Fletcher did it in 1954.

The post Gary Woodland shoots 63, trails Martin Flores by one at RBC Canadian Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Throughout his first round at Glen Abbey, Kuchar struggled to stay on his feet, at one point visiting an on-course medic. Speaking afterwards with reporters, Kuchar said he was experiencing faintness throughout the day.

“I had a couple of spells where I got a little bit dizzy and I felt weak. I don’t know where it came from,” Kuchar said to the media. “I’ve had plenty of time to get over the travel. Hopefully it’s just something that passes real quick.”

Kuchar said it was the first time getting hit with such a sensation, and that he was able to shake it off by the end of the round.

Amazingly, Kuchar was able to manage a one-under 71 in these conditions. He’s currently six back of the leaders.

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