Whoa, Canada
104th RBC Canadian Open
Glen Abbey Golf Club
Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Glen Abbey Golf Club
Twitter: @RBCCanadianOpen
Yards: 7,253
Par: 72 (35-37)
Greens: Bentgrass; Poa annua; 4,500 square feet on average.
Stimpmeter: 10.5
Rough: Kentucky bluegrass; perennial ryegrass 4”
Bunkers: 97
Water Hazards: 12
Course Architects: Jack Nicklaus (1977)
Purse: $5,600,000
Winner’s Share: $1,008,000
FexExCup Points: 500 to the winner
Defending Champion: Scott Piercy held off Robert Garrigus and William McGirt by one shot to win for the second time in two years on TOUR.
Dates: July 25-28
Notes: The RBC Canadian Open rotates its venues. This event was last played here in 2008 and 2009.
History Lessons
The RBC Canadian Open is the third-oldest tournament on TOUR. Only The Open and U.S. Open have been around longer!
There have been 30 tournaments this season. The Stars and Stripes have won 25 of them and Phil Mickelson gets on the board for the majors with Adam Scott and Justin Rose with his win last week at The Open Championship.
There have also been 11 first-time winners this season. There have also been just two multiple winners, Tiger Woods (four) and Matt Kuchar (WGC-Match Play; Memorial). There were only nine first-time winners in 2012. Mickelson makes it three.
Chez Reavie (2008) was the first player to win in his first appearance at this event since Jerry Pate in 1976.
Mark Calcavecchia at 45 years of age is the oldest winner.
Jim Furyk (2005-2006) is the only player since the 1950s (Jim Ferrie 1950-1951) to defend the title at Glen Abbey
Greg Norman (last to do so) holds the course record, 62, in 1986.
Chez Reavie opened 65-64 here in 2008 to set the 36-hole record.
Only three players played all four rounds in the 60s in the last two RBC Canadian Opens at Glen Abbey (2008-2009).
Past Champions in the field:
Scott Piercy 2012
Nathan Green 2009—Glen Abbey
Chez Reavie 2008—Glen Abbey
Jim Furyk 2006-2007
Vijay Singh 2004—Glen Abbey
John Rollins 2002
Scott Verplank 2001
Billy Andrade 1998
The winners on TOUR have been Johnson, D (28), Henley (24), Gay (41), Woods FOUR times (37), Mickelson TWICE (42), Snedeker (32), Merrick (30) Kuchar TWICE (34),Thompson, M (27) Brown (29), Streelman (34), Points (36), Laird (30), Scott (32), G-Mac (33), Horschel (26), Ernst (22), Bae (26), Weekley (39) English (23), Rose (32), Duke (44) Haas (31), Blixt (29) and Spieth (19). The young folks (30 and younger) now have 12 victories; the 30-somethings have racked up 14 victories, and the “old folks” (40 and up) have five wins on the year thanks to Mickelson’s win at The Open and Woody Austin’s playoff win at the Sanderson Farms Championship.
Rank and File
As of Monday afternoon, 12 of the top 50 in the OWGR are entered this week. It sounds better this way: nine of the top 25 in the OWGR are in the field this week.
Of Course
Canada’s national championship returns to its most popular venue, Glen Abbey Golf Club for the first time since 2009. This will be the 26th edition of the RBC Canadian Open as it is played in the Toronto suburbs. In 2008, Glen Abbey, which played to par-71 at the time, ranked 33rd most difficult out of 54 courses used on TOUR that season. Chez Reavie was victorious by posting a score of 17-under-par 267 for his first TOUR victory. In 2009, Nathan Green and Retief Goose both fired 18-under 270 with Green prevailing in the playoff. That season, Glen Abbey rated 40th out of 51 courses used on TOUR as the additional par five greatly reduced the scores.
This year, Glen Abbey will also feature as a par-72 layout so expect the scoring to be in that same range. This means players who routinely make birdies and abuse par-fives will be at the top of the food chain this week. The course is one of Nicklaus’ first solo designs. Sure, its tree-lined fairways and smallish greens will pose issues but nothing that is going to make touring pros shiver in their spikes, especially any of them who teed it up last week across the pond in Scotland.
Speaking of last week, over the last few years, the premium players that have entered this event haven’t found that “slam dunk” success gamers are looking for out of them. Last year, of the players who teed it up at Royal Lytham and played in this event, only Bo Van Pelt (T7), Vijay Singh (T9) and Retief Goosen (T10) were the ONLY players to hit the top 25. In 2011, there were six players who played across the pond and hit the top 10. Raise your hand if you knew Sean O’Hair (MC at Royal St. George) won, Geoff Ogilvy (MC) T4, Van Pelt (T54) T6, John Daly (MC) T9, and was Spencer Levin (T44) T9, well you know that the “heavy hitters” didn’t factor that time either. Charl Schwartzel was the only premium player (T16 at RSG; T9) to make a stand. He was playing some excellent golf that year as he won his first major at Augusta that spring. I know it’s just two examples but you might want to dig a little deeper this week for the guys who weren’t beaten up too bad at Muirfield or guys whose form in the States has been hot of late. Also, players only have four tournaments to set themselves for the FEDEXCup Playoffs but I believe it’s too early to have that become the determining factor just yet.
Best 10, Plus One
Often referred to as “the chalk” in the Sunday wrap-up column, these are the best players in the field for my money.
Brandt Snedeker: After a rib injury saw him miss three cuts in a row, Snedeker finished T17 at the U.S. Open, T8 at the AT&T and T11 last week in Scotland so his game is in fine shape. He makes tons of birdies, especially on par-fours, and has seven top 10s. I’ll be glad when the Sneeeeeeeeeeeeeeedeker commercial ends its rotation…
Hunter Mahan: He’s now played in the final group in the last two majors so that tells me he’s close. He has 12 top 25s in 16 weekends so if he makes the cut, he’s cashing a nice check. Hitting as many fairways and greens as he does should come in handy this week.
Charl Schwartzel: He’s finished T15 or better in four of his last five starts on TOUR with his only hiccup MC at Colonial. His birdie percentages are off the charts and it’s easy to see why as he ranks No. 14 in total putting. He can’t have the “blow up” round this week like he did at Memorial, Merion and Muirfield. This course doesn’t begin with the letter M so he should be fine…
Dustin Johnson: Small greens you say? Perfect as Johnson has shown his success on hitting them in the past. He’ll also enjoy the fact that there are four par-fives this week that he can destroy. His putter and short game have been the crutch but he’s still finding ways to get it in the hole. Get your mind out of the gutter, PLEASE.
Matt Kuchar: The last time he missed a cut on TOUR outside of a major was at this event in 2011. Take that in for a minute before you wonder why I have stopped typing. If he’s playing, he’s in this column.
Daniel Summerhays: The only other player on TOUR that is hotter at the moment is the guy who’s snuggling up to the Claret Jug as you read this. I just hope Phil has pants on. If he doesn’t, God bless him. Anyhow, Summerhays was the 54-hole leader at JDC before missing the playoff by one shot. He followed that disappointment by co-leading 54-holes last weekend and finding the guts to finish birdie-birdie to get into a playoff. Sure he lost, but that’s 145 holes of excellent golf. If he didn’t blow up last week, I can’t tell you that he will this week. He’s 38-under in his last two tournaments. Don’t over-think this.
Matt Jones: His last two events have found him finish T2 at The Greenbrier and T7 at the JDC. Did you know he is currently 12th in the all-around category? He’s also ninth in par-four performance and 14th in par-five performance.
Billy Horschel: Sure he missed the cut last week but the first time I sleep on this guy this summer will be the first time. He plays to make birdies and he’ll need plenty of them this week. He’ll be excited to bounce back from the second round 80 that he posted at Muirfield that saw him MC. He’s fourth in the all-around ranking and absolutely crushes par-fours and fives. Sold.
Morgan Hoffmann: After finishes of T9, T8, T23 and T15, the youngster will be fresh and rejuvenated as he looks to add to his reign of terror this summer. He’s played three rounds of golf over par in his last 16 so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him contend again this week. He ranks in the top 10 in the birdie-or-better percentage category as well.
Hideki Matsuyama: His T3 turned into T6 last weekend because of a slow play penalty. He was also T10 at the U.S. Open. He’s also 21. I’m sure “tired” in his vocabulary just yet. We’ve seen him play well on the most difficult courses but I’m guessing he can make a few birdies during a birdie-fest as well.
Graham DeLaet: Tough Open rolls into another tough Open for the Canuck. No Canadian has won this since 1954 so that huge pressure will be on his shoulders this week. He’s 17 for 20 on the season and he thrives on par-fives with his length and accuracy (first in GIR) into greens. Before The Open he amassed two rounds of 16 over par. That’s the form a nation is looking for again this week!
Chris Kirk: He broke out of his two-month funk with a T22 at JDC and backed it up with another solid T9 last week at Annandale. He’s 22nd in stroke gained-putting and 10th in birdie average. He’s third on TOUR in birdie-or-better conversion percentage. On his first trip to Canada last year, at a time when he was playing well, he finished fourth.
Just Missed
Somebody from this list will win this week. It always happens that way after a major, right? RIGHT!?!?!?
David Hearn: The Canadian missed a five-footer his last time out that would have won him his first TOUR event. He’s been playing consistently enough that I believe he’ll be in the mix after taking last week off. He’ll be facing the same pressure as Graham DeLaet and the rest of the maple syrup makers this week.
Luke Donald: Another company man, the RBC Ambassador will be happy to see trees and green after his 80-72 MC last week. Anytime a guy can roll the rock like he does he will find his way onto this list. His 72 on Friday was a nice bouce-back that tells me he’s not trending in the wrong direction.
Chris Stroud: He has bagged three top 10s in his last five starts including a playoff defeat at the Travelers. He’s 30th in total putting and an outstanding second in scrambling. He also finds himself seventh in par-four performance. No wonder why he’s made seven cuts on the bounce.
Graeme McDowell: He bounced back after MC at the Masters with a win at the other RBC event, the Heritage. He bounced back after MC at the U.S. Open to win three events later in France. He can bounce back after another disappointing majors performance this week as well. His driver and short game are too good to dismiss.
Nicholas Thompson: After MC in six event that ran from the end of April to the beginning of June, “Lexi’s brother” has cashed checks in six of his last seven including T12 at JDC and a solo fourth last week in Mississippi. Sure, his final round scoring in those events were one-under and one-over but when a guy is hot and trying to break through, he makes it on this list. He’s 13th in ball-striking so if he can hole a few putts, he’ll keep the streak alive.
Martin Flores: He’s seen the weekend in seven of his last eight outings and is 30-under in his last two tournaments. Sometimes you just have to ride the hot hand.
David Lingmerth: Since his T2 finish at THE PLAYERS, the Swede has added five more consecutive cuts to his ever-growing resume. His last time out he finished T9 at The Greenbrier. Henrik Stenson gave it a run last week and Lingmerth also has two seconds this year. Both of them are trying to add their name to the list that only Jonas Blixt occupies this year for Sweden: winner.
Chez Reavie: The 2008 champion has been as warm as the summer as he’s avoided the trunk shut for eight events on the bounce. The bad news is that he hasn’t cracked the top 10 in any of these. Don’t forget, he won the 2008 on this course.
Chad Campbell: He’s coming off T15 at JDC and T7 last week and the veteran knows the only way he’s going to keep his card is to continue down this path. Currently on a run of nine cuts made from 11 events, another quality finish this week will improve his FEDEXCup position of No. 136. He lost out late to Shaun Micheel at Oak Hill in 2003. The only way he gets another crack is a win this week.
Charley Hoffman: He’s seventh on TOUR in birdie-or-better conversion percentage because he’s 12th on the par-fours and 10th on the par fives. He’s also ninth in birdie average and has a 61 to his name from the Travelers.
Sleepers
Jim Herman: Back-to-back top 10s in his career for the first time ever. No idea if this continues but I’ll take ANOTHER swing with him this week.
S.Y. Noh: He showed signs of life last week in Mississippi and I’m trying to jump on before he bags a top 10. He has two finishes in the top 25 this year in 22 events. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.
Bob Estes: He finished T14 in 2008 and T8 in 2009 and is the only true “horse-for-course” this week. He hasn’t posted a top 25 since early April.
Brian Davis: Before 80-77 at The Open, Davis racked up seven weekends in a row. He’s the definition of “safe bet” to make the cut this week.
Brian Stuard: The Michigan native will feel right at home in Canada. He was T6 his last time out at Greenbrier. Shhhhhhhhhhhh.
Cameron Tringale: If the game was played in a vacuum directly off stats, he would be in the Top 10, Plus One every week. He’s hit the top 20 in his last two visits north of the border but only has one top 10 on the season. Lightning in a bottle, anyone?
Andres Romero: Only two rounds over par in his last 16, his solid putting leads to birdies.
Johnson Wagner: He found something after his “boot camp” with his coach before The Greenbrier (T2) and was only six shots out of the lead heading into Sunday at The Open. He’ll be under the radar.
Pack Lightly
Just because they have well-recognized names doesn’t always mean you have to panic to fill your roster out with them…Also, it seems at least one of these guys will hit the top 10 EVERY week. I’m not scared.
Whoa, Canada is right. Just because a guy is Canadian doesn’t guarantee any success here this week. Be careful if you’re just picking by flag this week. Players who teed it up last week at The Open and played all four rounds might be out of gas come the weekend after trying to tame Muirfield.
Rookie of the Week Last Week
I keep an eye on the youngin’s each week to see who is making the most noise.
Sony: Russell Henley WIN
Humana: David Lingmerth P2
Farmers: Brad Fritsch T9
WMPO: James Hahn T16
AT&T: James Hahn T3
NTO: Luke Guthrie T21
WGC-Match Play: Russell Henley 2nd round
Honda: Luke Guthrie 3rd
WGC-Cadillac: Russell Henley T28
Puerto Rico: Jordan Spieth 2nd
Tampa Bay: Jordan Spieth T7; Shawn Stefani T7; Ben Kohles T7
Arnold Palmer: Ben Kohles T14
Shell Houston Open: Robert Streb T22
Valero Texas Open: Ben Kohles T37
Masters: Russell Henley MC
RBC Heritage: Russell Henley T6
Zurich Classic: D. H. Lee T8
Wells Fargo Championship: Derek Ernst WIN
THE PLAYERS: David Lingmerth. Great back-to-back weeks for the rookies on TOUR!
HPBNC: Morgan Hoffmann T5
Colonial: Jordan Spieth, yep, him again, T7
Memorial: Russell Henley T6
FESJC: Patrick Reed Fifth
U.S. Open: David Lingmerth T17; special mentions for Hideki Matsuyama T10 and Michael Kim T17.
Travelers: Morgan Hoffmann T9
AT&T National: D.H. Lee T3; Jordan Spieth 6th; Morgan Hoffmann T8
Greenbrier: David Lingmerth and D.H. Lee both T9
John Deere: Jordan Spieth WIN
The Open Championship: Jordan Spieth T44
Sanderson Farms: Steve LeBrun T26
One-and-Done
SEASON TOTAL: $4,255,965
HTOC: Steve Stricker (2nd; $665,000)
Sony: Charles Howell III (T3; $324,800)
Humana: Tim Clark (MC)
Farmers: Rickie Fowler (T6; $204,350)
WMPO: Jason Dufner (MC)
AT&T Pebble: Hunter Mahan (T16; $94,250)
Northern Trust: Bill Haas (T3; $343,200)
WGC-Match Play: Charl Schwartzel (T33; $46,000)
Honda: Lee Westwood (T9; $156,000)
WGC-Cadillac Championship: Matt Kuchar (T35; $68,500)
Tampa Bay: Jim Furyk (T7; $148,892)
Bay Hill: Sergio Garcia (WD after three rounds)
Shell Houston: Jimmy Walker (T50; $14,838)
Valero: Cameron Tringale (MC)
Masters: Phil Mickelson (T54; $18,320)
RBC Heritage: Luke Donald (T3; $336,400)
Zurich Classic: Bubba Watson (T15; $102,500)
Wells Fargo: Webb Simpson (T32; $37,073)
THE PLAYERS: Nick Watney (MC)
HPBNC: Jason Day (T27; $46,565)
Colonial: Kevin Streelman (MC)
Memorial: K.J. Choi (T21; $58,202)
FESJC: Ryan Palmer (4th; $273,600)
US Open: Graeme McDowell (MC)
Travelers: John Rollins (MDF; $11,041)
AT&T National: Billy Horschel (T61; $14,040)
The Greenbrier Classic: Graham DeLaet (T30; $36,618)
John Deere Classic: Jordan Spieth (WIN; $828,000)
The Open Championship: Adam Scott (T3; $428,776)
RBC Canadian: Chris Kirk
GolfChannel.com Fantasy Challenge
RBC Canadian Open
(I play as “Glass” for ALL fantasy games
Mike Glasscott (Rank: 2,536; $16,729,697)
Group 1: Brandt Snedeker
Group 2: Chris Kirk
Group 3: Matt Jones
Group 4: Jim Herman
Ryan O’Sullivan (Rank: 7,025; $14,846,677)
Group 1: Brandt Snedeker
Group 2: Chris Kirk
Group 3: Daniel Summerhays
Group 4: Jim Herman
Ned Brown (Rank: 1,287; $17,671,937) “Pure Spin”
Group 1: Brandt Snedeker
Group 2: Graham DeLaet
Group 3: Daniel Summerhays
Group 4: Jim Herman
Rob Bolton (Rank: 10,007; $13,947,034)
Group 1: Brandt Snedeker
Group 2: Chris Stroud
Group 3: Daniel Summerhays
Group 4: Mike Weir
Ned said, “…
Group A
Brandt Snedeker—He is playing well right now and I thought he looked great in his T11 finish at the British Open. He did play the Glen Abbey back in '09 and finished in a tie for fifth place.
Graeme McDowell-- It would be safer to pick Bubba Watson or Chris Kirk in this spot, but McDowell has three worldwide wins this season with the last coming a couple of weeks ago at the Open de France.
SUPER SUBS
Bubba Watson, Chris Kirk, Chez Reavie
Group B
Matt Kuchar-- I'm getting very low on starts with Kuchar, but this field is field isn't that strong and he is playing some of his best golf of the season right now.
Hunter Mahan-- He was in the hunt for his first major title last week, but a final round of six bogeys and an eagle slid him down into a tie for ninth place. Mahan's best finish at Glen Abbey is a T4 in '04.
Ernie Els-- In his last eight worldwide starts he has racked up four top six finishes, and I thought he look good at the British Open in his T26 finish. He has played the Glen Abbey course twice with a T20 in '96 being his best result.
Dustin Johnson-- It's very tempting to go with Graham Delaet or Davis Hearn in this space, but Canadian players have a ton of pressure put on them to win the Canadian national title and the results haven't been good. Instead, I'm going with Dustin Johnson who looked great in the first couple of days of the British Open.
SUPER SUBS
Graham DeLaet, David Hearn, Luke Donald, Daniel Summerhays
Group C
Charl Schwartzel--He made headlines for snapping a thrown club in two at The Open, but overall he has played well over the last couple of months with four top 15 finishes in five starts. He has played in two prior Canadian Opens however this is his first start at Glen Abbey.
Hideki Matsuyama-- He got hit last week in the third round with a penalty for slow play. I was impressed with the way he handled it and the way he played the rest of the tournament. This is his first time at the Canadian Open so he is all about playing the hot player.
SUPER SUBS
Billy Horschel, Ryan Palmer, Nicholas Thompson, Morgan Hoffmann
“Pure Spin”
Points last week: 181
Points this year: 4,754
Overall Ranking: (214; 99th percentile)
Coming Wednesday
And the analysis doesn't end here. Rotoworld's Rob Bolton and I will be co-hosting a one-hour live chat WEDNESDAY at NOON ET. We will be breaking down the field at RBC Canadian Championship and answering your questions. Simply return to the golf home page to join in on the chatter. Don’t forget to follow Rob (http://twitter.com/RobBoltonGolf) and Glass (http://twitter.com/GlassWGCL) on Twitter.
