Jason Day holds off Canadian David Hearn to win the RBC Canadian Open

WATCH ABOVE: Jason Day held on against Canadian David Hearn and American Bubba Watson to win the RBC Canadian Open. Rob Leth reports. 

OAKVILLE, Ont.—David Hearn wanted to put the ghost of Pat Fletcher to rest by becoming the first Canadian in 61 years to win the RBC Canadian Open. But Australian Jason Day had another idea altogether.

Day’s birdie on the final hole sealed a win over Hearn and American Bubba Watson, who valiantly tried to chase the Australian down on the final hole only to come up short.

WATCH: Global’s Rob Leth and Robert Thompson break down the final round of the RBC Canadian Open

“I’ve never felt so much at home, and I’m not even from Canada,” Day said after his 17-under win put him a single shot ahead of Watson. “True golf fans—they understand what a good shot is and what a bad shot is. It was just amazing to play in front of the crowd that we had this week.”

And that crowd was sizable, coming to Glen Abbey to cheer on its native son, Hearn, the Canadian from Brantford, Ont., who led by two shots heading into the final round. He was attempting to become the first Canadian since Fletcher in 1954 to win the Canadian Open.

With a massive crowd cheering him on, singing “O Canada,” and roaring their support, Hearn came out firing, making birdies on his first two holes to open a wider lead.

READ MORE: National pride on display at the RBC Canadian Open

“I felt very confident,” Hearn said. “I’ve been putting the ball great all week. Coming into today I made some nice putts out of the gate.”

In the meantime his pursuers, Day and Watson, were fumbling.

Watson bogeyed four of five holes, while Day bogeyed both of the closing holes on the front nine. Unfortunately Hearn wasn’t faring much better, making bogeys on three and seven. A final round that many expected to be a shootout had, for the time being, become a war of attrition.

“It’s one of those things where I was making silly bogeys,” said Watson. “I never had swing problems. It’s all mental problems. So I knew I wasn’t far off.”

While Hearn is an exacting golfer who plots his way around the course, Watson and Day bomb the ball and are able to overwhelm Glen Abbey with their length off the tee. That meant Hearn needed to be in a strong position heading into the final holes. Unfortunately a poor chip on the par 3 12^th led to an untimely bogey, and the golfer never really found the form that led him to the top of the leaderboard.

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Day, on the other hand, found his swing on the last three holes, making a birdie on the par 5 16^th, and smashing a 385-yard drive on the 17^th, which led to another birdie. He finished the triumvirate off by rolling in a 21-foot putt on the last hole to take a two-shot lead.

“I was yelling,” Day said of his response as the putt rolled in. “I felt like I nearly threw my throat out. Then I just can’t remember what I did. I was so pumped that it went in the hole and I’m looking forward to watching the replay.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I was yelling," Day said of his response as the putt rolled in. "I felt like I nearly threw my throat out. Then I just can't remember what I did. I was so pumped that it went in the hole and I'm looking forward to watching the replay."

Hearn and Watson had a shot at tying Day on the 18^th hole, and both hit strong drives. Hearn was left with a daunting 220-yard shot over water, which found the back bunker. The Canadian hit a strong sand shot to 10 feet, but seemed almost resigned on his final putt, which lipped out. He finished at even par for the day and 15-under for the tournament.

READ MORE: Five things you need to know about RBC Canadian Open leader David Hearn

“I played great golf and like I said I gave myself a chance right until the very end, even though I didn’t have my best stuff today,” Hearn said. “The support and the Canadian crowds were truly incredible. I’ve never experienced anything like that before.”

Canadian Adam Hadwin, from Abbotsford, B.C., also wowed the crowd early with birdies on four of his first six holes to roar up the leaderboard. After starting the first round at 2-over par, and making the cut on the number, Hadwin showed the form that allowed him to contend at the 2011 Canadian Open at Shaughnessy in Vancouver.

WATCH: David Hearn receives the Rivermead Cup, congratulates Jason Day on close win

Although a costly double-bogey 6 on the 14^th hole set him back, Hadwin made birdies on two of the last three holes to move up 13 spots and finish in a tie for seventh.

“After the start I got off to 5-under through six, I though today could be something special,” Hadwin said. “Getting off to a start like that is something you sort of dream of. I was thinking I can win it.”

Hadwin finished at 12-under par, five shots behind Day. Surrey, B.C.’s Adam Svensson played himself into a strong position for the final round, and closed with a 1-under round to finish in a tie for 34^th.