The 2023 RBC Canadian Open was one for his history books. Hometown hero, Nick Taylor, won the event in sensational fashion that send Canadian fans into a state of euphoria. The PGA Tour ventures to Hamilton Golf and Country Club for this years’ event, but will a new course bring a new winner?
Canadian Open: The Course
The RBC Canadian Open will be played at Hamilton Golf & Country Club for the seventh time in its history and the first since a huge renovation. The course is now longer and tougher than ever, forcing more focus on precision and punishing wayward strikes with trickier bunkers, which is going to make it tough on the shorter hitters in the field. But just like recent tradition ‘The Rink’ will return, with hockey boards surrounding the tee box on 14 to create a remarkably unique atmosphere.
Canadian Open: The Field
| Rory McIlroy | +360 |
| Tommy Fleetwood | +1600 |
| Sahith Theegala | +1800 |
| Sam Burns | +2200 |
| Shane Lowry | +2200 |
| Corey Conners | +2200 |
| Cam Young | +2200 |
| Alex Noren | +2200 |
| Maverick McNealy | +3000 |
| Adam Scott | +3000 |
Rory McIlroy comes into this event as the heavy favorite and for good reason. It’s a quieter field compared to that of the recent majors and Rory is by far the best Golfer in this field. However, he was also the favorite last year and underdelivered.
With that said, McIlroy won The Canadian Open with a tournament record in 2019. Which course hosted it that year? This one. With McIlroy back to winning ways in 2024 and The Open on the horizon, this is the perfect tune-up spot to attack a course he absolutely dominated 5 years ago.
As far as Canadian candidates go, Corey Conners is the highest-priced at +2200. He finished 20th at the RBC Canadian Open last year and is coming off of a 26th place finish at the PGA Championship. In fact, he’s had 6 top-25’s in 14 events this season and while his short game remains a weakness, he’s become one of the better approach players on tour, which should benefit him around this course.
There are 4 other players priced identically to Conners, but the one with the highest upside might well be Shane Lowry. He finished 6th at the PGA Championship and has only missed one cut this season while also adding another trophy to his cabinet. Lowry is playing some of his best Golf right now and is another lethal ball-striker, which should make him a handy betting candidate ahead of this weekend.
If you want a value play, then Rob Macintyre is worth a look. The Scotsman has been streaky over the last month, finishing inside the top 33 in 4 of his last 7, but missing 3 cuts. He has 3 top-15’s in his last 4 though and ranks 1st in the field on approach >200 yards which could be a big factor this weekend. If not for a win, it’s at least worth backing him to finish inside the top-10 at +650.
Canadian Open: The homefield advantage
Last years’ winner, Nick Taylor, is +6000 to win this weekend, which could be a great lotto ticket for anyone wanting to see him make history. Mackenzie Hughes sits at +3500 having played some solid Golf this season, resulting in 4 top-25’s, and Adam Svensson is priced at +6000. The most appealing player from a betting perspective has to be Corey Conners due to his brilliant form as of late.
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Andrew Lahodynskyj/The Canadian Press via AP
