It might have been The Open last week and there might be a WGC event next week but that has not stopped a decent field being assembled for the RBC Canadian Open on the PGA Tour this week, as the focus on the FedEx Cup playoffs begins to intensify.
Jhonattan Vegas will certainly be pleased that this tournament has come around as he has won it for the past two years and will go in search of a hat trick here. A decent set of players will be looking to deny him that honour though.
Recent Winners
2017 – Jhonattan Vegas
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
The Course
Once again Glen Abbey Golf Club in Ontario is the venue for this tournament. The course is a par 72 which measures 7,253 yards and is designed by Jack Nicklaus which means it is a decent test of most of the clubs in the bag.
This is one of the lower scoring Nicklaus tracks on the PGA Tour. A reason for that is the four par 5s are generally pretty gettable and with rain on the forecast making the course play wider you get the feeling that a low score will be needed to win. Although this isn’t a long course length is never a bad thing here but the key statistic is greens in regulation as the defence of this course is the small putting areas. With rough not much of an issue and the moisture making the fairways wider the bigger hitters can showcase themselves once again.
The Field
The world number one Dustin Johnson is in the field this week and is the star attraction although I’m sure the organisers will be delighted to have the US Open champion Brooks Koepka here too. Tommy Fleetwood is making big strides in the game and heads to Canada this week.
There are plenty of seasoned PGA Tour winners on show this week. Bubba Watson is chief among them while the likes of Charley Hoffman, Matt Kuchar and Kevin Kisner know how to get it done on Tour. Sergio Garcia is another major winner pegging it up this week.
Market Leaders
Dustin Johnson is the 11/2 favourite this week and while his length will certainly assist him nicely this week it was pretty clear from an early stage last week that his game is not in tip top shape and while he’s had the weekend off his coaches were both working for Sky so I’m not convinced he’ll have found what he needs ahead of this tournament. He’s definitely not for me.
Brooks Koepka might be more interesting at double the price but he had a bit of a horror show at Carnoustie last week which might not have done much for his confidence so that has to be a concern. If he’s at his best though he could lead any field a bit of a merry dance let alone this one.
Tony Finau had a good time at The Open and is a 14/1 shot here. This course sets up nicely for him but he feels a little short even allowing for how well he is hitting the ball right now. I get the impression he needs to be slightly under the radar to win and he won’t be here. Tommy Fleetwood won’t be either at 16/1. Course inexperience may count against him. It is 20/1 bar.
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Main Bets
I can’t get away from Bubba Watson here. He has already won for me this season and I’m in no rush to desert him just yet. He has made it clear this is a tournament he is targeting winning having married a Canadian and he has the ideal set up for this course. He’ll bang it miles off the tee and have short irons into the greens and we’ve seen him putt well all year. A weekend off to prepare for this will have done him no harm and at 18/1 he looks a leading chance to me.
Gary Woodland had a good run here last year and we saw enough of him at The Open last week to suggest a big run isn’t far away from him. There are a few tracks coming up which suit him so I’m expecting him to make a run over the next few weeks and that can begin here. He’s long and solid off the tee and if he can get some putts to drop I really don’t think he’ll be that far away.
Outsiders
I’ve backed Keith Mitchell a couple of times this season and I think this could be a good time to back him again. He is one of the longer hitters off the tee and we’ve seen in those events I have backed him for that he is nowhere near the worst putter in the world. There have been a few fiddly events that have gone against him in recent times but this one should be much more to his liking and I think we’ll see a big effort from him accordingly. He looks overpriced.
Another man who I think is overpriced is Patrick Rodgers. He gets it out there off the tee, regularly averaging over 300 yards and he is a good putter too. He ranks high up in the strokes gained putting statistics so if he can find the greens well enough, and with short irons into a lot of them he should do, then I see no reason why he can’t travel well at a three figure price.
Tips
Back B.Watson to win RBC Canadian Open (e/w) for a 1.5/10 stake at 19.00 with Skybet (1/5 1-8)
Back P.Rodgers to win RBC Canadian Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 101.00 with Skybet (1/5 1-8)
Back them here:
Back G.Woodland to win RBC Canadian Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 51.00 with Betfred (1/5 1-7)
Back K.Mitchell to win RBC Canadian Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 81.00 with Boylesports (1/5 1-7)
Back him here:
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