First staged in 1904, the Canadian Open is the third oldest continuously running tournament on the PGA Tour and the oldest non-major.
Rory McIlroy, the favourite this week, has won the event twice, while Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Lee Trevino and Byron Nelson stand out among the long list of illustrious winners.
Key Stats/Skill Set Required
- Bogey Avoidance
- Par 4 Scoring
- Strokes Gained: Approach
- Proximity
- Scrambling
- Strokes Gained: Around The Green
TPC Toronto hosts the time-honoured Canadian Open for the first time this year.
Fairways are about as wide as you will see on the PGA Tour so finding them won’t be hard but with so many dog legs, distance is taken out of the equation somewhat.
Form with the irons and around the green is key while getting out of trouble is the most important factor on this long Par 70 course.
Key Correlation Courses/Tournaments
- Nil
BEST BET
SUNGJAE IM ($29)
Two-time PGA Tour winner Sungjae Im seems outstanding value in the Canadian Open, where Masters champion Rory McIlroy dominates the betting.
It has been over three years since he has won but he has been building nicely.
After finishing T-5 at Augusta, he has three Top 23 finishes from his last six starts.
He has played the Canadian Open just once but finished seventh back in 2019.
Ranks sixth in Strokes Gained: Around The Green and 14th in Par 4 Scoring.
Big hope.
BEST VALUE
NICK TAYLOR ($41)
Taylor famously became the first Canadian winner of this event in over a century when he drained a monster putt in a playoff to win in Hamilton last year.
He is clearly going well enough to defend after finishing 4th in The Memorial last week.
He ranks Top 15 in Bogey Avoidance, Par 4 Scoring and Strokes Gained: Approach.
Looks a great play this week.
CHRIS GOTTERUP ($51)
Young American Chris Gotterup has been playing some outstanding golf of late with four Top 18 finishes in his last five starts.
He is quality around the green, ranking sevebth in Scrambling and also ranks ninth in Bogey Avoidance and 14th in Par 4 Scoring.
He won the Myrtle Beach Classic last year so does know how to get the job done
BEST ROUGHIES
ALEX SMALLEY ($81)
We have been riding Alex Smalley much of the season and we are on again in an event he absolutely can win.
He has performed well in his two trips to Canada, finishing Top 25 in both.
Two starts back he finished T-28 at the PGA Championship.
Ranks third in Par 4 Scoring, 10th in Bogey Avoidance, 10th in Strokes Gained: Around The Green and 14th in Scrambling.
ANDREW PUTNAM ($101)
Veteran Andrew Putnam is not averse to a strong showing on the PGA Tour, finishing T-15 at the CJ Cup three starts back.
Ranks third in Bogey Avoidance, eighth in Scrambling, 14th in Par 4 Scoring and 15th in Strokes Gained: Around The Green.
Very strong Top 10 play this week.
TOP CONTINENTAL EUROPEAN
MATTEO MANASSERO
Manassero is huge odds in this one with Ludvig Aberg the clear favourite but Manassero is a wizard around the green and should be in for a good week.
TOP CANADIAN
NICK TAYLOR
A huge contingent of Canadians are turning out for their national open but with Taylor defending his crown and in the form he is in, he has to be the bet.