Wednesday, July 22, 2015

2015 RBC Canadian Open Picks

It's that time of the season, where the PGA Tour heads north for one week to play the Canadian Open (formally RBC Canadian Open but also referred to as "The Open" by Canadians). Like many national opens, the Canadian Open venue changes from year to year. This year, the iconic Glen Abbey Golf Course in Oakville, Ontario will play host. Since RBC started sponsoring this event, the quality of players in the field has increased dramatically and today the tournament boasts world class players and a nearly $6 million purse.

The Canadian Open is the oldest non-major tournament played on the PGA Tour. It was first contested in 1904 and since then has been played and won by some of the biggest names in golf. In 1955, a young Arnold Palmer won his first PGA Tour event at the Canadian Open. In 2000, the Open was won by Tiger Woods (also at Glen Abbey) who was in the midst of completing his Triple Crown of Golf (three consecutive majors) at the time. Lee Trevino also won it three times ('71, '77, '79).

Glen Abbey is one of the most famous courses in all of Canada and has hosted the Canadian Open a record 25 times. The Jack Nicklaus-designed course measures 7,273 yards today and plays as a par 72. One of the more unique features of Glen Abbey is it's "Valley Holes", holes 11 to 15, which feature prominent elevation changes and water hazards. For example, on the par 4 11th, players tee off on top of a cliff and must hit their tee shot to the fairway below. Next, players must clear a creek separating the fairway from a tough green. The course was also the site of a PGA Tour record, when Mark Calcavecchia birdied nine consecutive holes in 2009. The record still holds today.

The field this week will feature a few players who played last week's Open Championship, as RBC charters a flight for players willing to play the Canadian Open. Given that, here's our picks for the week:

1) Jason Day
2) Luke Donald
3) Brenden De Jonge

Jason Day is coming off a great week at the Open and is really on top of his game at the moment. So is Luke Donald, who's also been playing well this past month. And Brenden De Jonge is our dark horse pick, who could have his first win this week.

Play starts tomorrow morning, but be sure to check out our Weekend Update post come Friday evening.


-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews

http://torontogolfreviews.blogspot.com/2015/07/2015-rbc-canadian-open-picks.html
 Coming off a great week at the Open Championship last week, Jason Day is our top pick this week

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