The PGA Tour heads north of the border this week for the RBC Canadian Open which is actually one of the oldest events on the circuit. With just two more regular tournaments to come after this for those chasing FedEx Cup playoff spots and tour cards this is a big week while for those who are safe in those areas it is the chance to fine tune their preparation for the two big tournaments to come.
Recent Winners
2016 – Jhonattan Vegas
2015 – Jason Day
2014 – Tim Clark
2013 – Brandt Snedeker
2012 – Scott Piercy
2011 – Sean O’Hair
2010 – Carl Pettersson
2009 – Nathan Green
2008 – Chez Reavie
2007 – Jim Furyk
The Course
Glen Abbey Golf Club in Ontario is the venue for this tournament for the third year in a row. The Jack Nicklaus designed track is a par 72 which measures 7,253 yards so it is not particularly long.
There are four quite easy par 5s on the course so the winner this week is likely to take care of them. The defence of the track is the small greens so we are certainly looking for green in regulation hitters. As ever with Jack courses there is freedom off the tee but scrambling will be a big facet too.
The Field
You have to say given when this tournament falls a decent field has been put together. It is headed by Dustin Johnson and includes the man who but for a spell of brilliance from Jordan Spieth would be the champion golfer of the year in Matt Kuchar.
Defending champion Jhonattan Vegas is here to try and retain the title while the likes of Bubba Watson, Jim Furyk, Stewart Cink and Keegan Bradley add a major winning flavour to the field.
Market Leaders
Dustin Johnson is the favourite to win the tournament this week. He has been runner up on his last two visits to this course and is clearly a better player now but he hasn’t been in the best of form since his injury which is clearly still affecting him so I couldn’t take him at 13/2.
We will need to apply guesswork over the 11/1 second favourite Matt Kuchar. Will he be up for the battle after The Open or did that fight take it out of him. We will probably only really know during the event so that is enough to put me off him.
Charley Hoffman is the third favourite which highlights both how competitive this tournament could be behind the two favourites. He is 25/1 which is a touch on the skinny side although he has threatened to win a number of times this year and he will get over the line eventually. It is 28/1 bar those named.
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Main Bets
I’m going with a couple of main bets this week who hit it long, hit a number of greens and take care of the par 5s. Tony Finau does just that and at 28/1 he looks a good bet this week. He is in great form at the minute and sits sixth in GIRs this season. He is in the top 15 for birdies too and given how he should eat up the par 5s he is a solid first main bet.
The other one is a bit more of a risk in the shape of Bubba Watson but there are signs he is playing his best stuff since he started using this hideous yellow ball. He put up a solid effort at Royal Birkdale last week where he actually led the putting stats and with the way he hits the ball if the short stick stays warm he can score here. He will eat the par 5s up and if last week boosted his confidence on the greens Watson could go one better than his runner up the last time he teed it up here.
Outsiders
Luke List ticks all the boxes I’m looking for this week. He belts it miles off the tee which brings the shorter irons into the greens into play and will give him the ammunition to take care of the par 5s. He has a couple of decent efforts around here and has been playing well for much of this season. At a three figure price he is worth supporting.
Hudson Swafford is another one who both has a solid record here and the tools to take care of the par 5s. He has already won on Tour this year so he is playing with freedom. Swafford hits a lot of greens and is high enough up the par 5 rankings to suggest he can be a threat this week and go better than his 14th place from 12 months ago.
Tips
PLACED – Back T.Finau to win RBC Canadian Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 29.00 with Boylesports (1/5 1-6)
Back him here:
Back B.Watson to win RBC Canadian Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 31.00 with Paddy Power (1/5 1-7)
Back him here:
Back L.List to win RBC Canadian Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 101.00 with Coral (1/5 1-7)
Back him here:
Back H.Swafford to win RBC Canadian Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with Bet365 (1/4 1-5)
Back him here:
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