Golf Tips: Best bets for RBC Canadian Open and KLM Open

• Steve Rawlings backs Rory McIlroy for Canadian win at 11/26.50

• Dave Tindall thinks Pendrith looks well-poised  at 25/126.00

• Course info, first round leader, outsiders to back at over 100/1101.00

RBC Canadian Open tips and predictions

The Punter's Preview: Rory a very fair price at 11/2

Steve Rawlings: "Rory McIlroy is no bigger than 9/2 on the High Street and that price is perfectly fair, so I was more than happy to take 6.4 on the Exchange. He clearly enjoys this event and swerving last week's Memorial Tournament should prove to be a good decision.

"Rory has a very fair recent record in events played prior to a major championship and on the two occasions he won this event previously - in 2019 and 2022 - he did so one week before the US Opens at Pebble Beach and Brookline, where he went on to finish ninth and fifth.

"Currently a 9.8 chance on the Exchange, with recent US Open figures reading 9-8-7-5-2-2, Rory is highly likely to be a contender at Oakmont next week. He has a strong chance of lining up there having chalked up his fourth PGA Tour victory of the year following wins at Pebble Beach, Sawgrass and Augusta.

"Given its position in the schedule, following last week's Signature Event and ahead of next week's US Open, this is not a strong renewal, and Rory is only a point bigger than he was to win the US PGA Championship last time out."

Each-way picks from 25/1 to 66/1

Dave Tindall: "This event used to taunt the home Canadian contingent. Even 2003 Masters champ Mike Weir couldn't win it. In 2004 he had putts from 10 feet, 25 feet and five feet to get it done but eventually lost a play-off to Vijay Singh.

"That home win drought had reached 50 years at the time and it extended to 69 before Nick Taylor holed a 72-foot putt at the fourth extra hole to beat Tommy Fleetwood in 2023. That was what it took. But now that the door has been knocked down and the curse lifted, there are enough high-class Canadians in the game these day to suggest more will follow Taylor through.

"And the best of those this week - sorry Corey Conners - is Taylor Pendrith. The 2024 CJ CUP Byron Nelson winner heads home in excellent form after fifth place at the US PGA Championship followed by 12th at Memorial. And to show how well he's striking it, Pendrith even had better SG: Approach figures than Scottie Scheffler at Muirfield Village. Scheffler won the event by four but Pendrith ranked 1st for Approach.

"In old money, the 34-year-old ranked 4th for Greens in Regulation at both the US PGA and Memorial. Pendrith has the form but, crucially given that we're at an unfamiliar venue, another edge in terms of course knowledge."

First-Round Leader Tips: Young is worth a punt at 55/1

Dave Tindall: "Cameron Young's season was going nowhere but the man who not that long ago kept challenging for majors is enjoying a resurgence. After four missed cuts and a 61st, he flashed a bit of form when 18th in April's Texas Open.

"More recently, he posted seventh in the Truist Championship and in the last week Young has made the top 25 at Memorial and come through a five-man playoff to qualify for the US Open. At his best, the American racked up lots of fast starts and in 2022 he actually managed three first-round leads in seven tournaments between April and July.

"Young should enjoy this week's course - TPC Toronto - where driver looks a key weapon and he's worth a punt at 55s (1/4 Odds, 5 Places) from his 12.33pm tee-time."

Form stats for this week's tournament in Toronto

Andy Swales: "Two years ago the North Course was thoroughly renovated in readiness for hosting this year's RBC Canadian Open. This longish parkland course has reasonably generous fairways, plenty of sand and water on four holes.

"In September 2024, the remodelled course staged the Fortinet Cup Championship, which is a prestigious end of season event on the PGA Tour Americas. The Canadian Open will return to the North Course again next year...

"The leading five golfers teeing-up this week - based on World Ranking - are all European, with Scotsman Robert MacIntyre 28/1 heading to Toronto in good shape to defend his Canadian Open title. The Oban-born player is a two-time winner on the PGA Tour and a likely member of this year's European Ryder Cup team."

KLM Open tips and predictions

The Punter's Preview: Links form points to Lawrence at 40/1

Steve Rawlings: "Last year's winner, Guido Migliozzi, doesn't have an abundance of links form but he does have form in the desert with placed efforts in Oman, Dubai and Qatar, but one of the men he beat in extra time, Markus Kinhult, does. The Swede won the British Masters at Hillside back in 2019.

"Matt Wallace, who was in-contention until round four last year, traded at odds-on at Hillside when Kinhult won, and he also finished third here six years ago. And looking back to the first renewal here, in 2019, links and desert form came to the fore, more than it did 12 months ago...

"Thriston Lawrence is already a four-time winner on the DP World Tour and this represents an excellent chance for him to notch win number five if his fourth placed finish in Belgium wasn't a flash in the pan. Lawrence was in sensational form in late summer last year and a return to anything like that form will see him go close here.

"He finished runner-up in the European Open, fourth in the Open Championship, and after he'd popped back to South Africa to win by five strokes on the Sunshine Tour, he finished second at the British Masters before trading at odds-on to win the BMW PGA Championship, where he was beaten in a playoff."

Each-Way Tips: The clog fits 80/1 Dean

Matt Cooper: "Joe Dean was one of the standout stories of 2024, beginning his year with a surprise card earned via Q School and still driving a supermarket van at Christmas to fund his travels. But he was second in the Kenya Open, fifth in the Danish Championship, third in the Open de Espana - and also, of course, one of the beaten men in extra holes in this tournament 12 months ago.

"In addition to that, we also noted that he got off to a flier at Le Golf National with a 65 to tie the first round lead and a third round 66 helped him sit just two back of the lead with 18 holes to play before ending the week T18.

He was fifth in Ras al Khaimah and might have found something last week in Austria where he was T22 and had a warm putter - it was that part of his game which thrived 12 months ago and can do so again."

Find Me a 100 Winner: Longshots at 99/1 and 599/1

Steve Rawligs: "Joe Dean hit the headlines when he finished runner-up in Kenya on only his second start, and he made it all the way to Dubai for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, eventually finishing a very respectable 37^th in the Race to Dubai standings.

"One of his season highlights was his second-place finish in this event, where he was beaten in a playoff after shooting 30 on the back nine on Sunday, and after a poor run off form over the last few months, he might just be ready to contend again this time around.

"The 30-year-old played nicely in the US Open qualifier at Walton Heath in mid-May, finishing tied for 12^th and missing out on the playoff for a place in the field at Oakmont next week by a stroke but he missed four cuts in-a-row on the DP World Tour until he finished tied for 22^nd in Austria last week, where he improved his place day-by-day having sat tied for 67^th after round one.

"That was an eye-catching performance, and especially so on the greens given he ranked sixth for Putting Average and 13^th for Strokes Gained: Putting."

Place order to lay 8 Units @ 10.0 and 12 Units @ 2.0

Course and current form stats

Andy Swales: "Putting surfaces are large, fast, well-contoured, and offers a vast selection of potential pin positions. Water comes into play on nine holes and there is plenty of greenside sand to steer clear of.

"The course is covered with small mounds and subtle slopes, so anyone who misses greens with their approach shots will need to employ a deft short-game to secure par. There is also an interesting selection of dog-legs, meaning good course management is usually the key to creating birdie opportunities.

"Danger lurks everywhere and it doesn't appear to be a layout where playing safe is easy. It is a venue where accuracy is more important than sheer power, and finding the best positions on fairways and greens is vital. At a little under 7,000 yards, the course is shorter than most DP World Tour layouts.

"Norwegian Kristoffer Reitan 33/1 appears to be on a roll right-now. Two weeks ago, the 27-year-old secured his maiden DP World Tour title in Belgium, and he followed this by finishing joint runner-up in Austria on Sunday when he closed with a 60. Since the beginning of November 2024, and his triumph at the Challenge Tour's Grand Final, Reitan has climbed more than 500 positions up golf's World Ranking."

Now read US Open: Scheffler 16/5 favourite for fourth Major title after Memorial win