RBC Canadian Open 2024: Course and current form stats

• Short, undulating venue with minimal threat of water

• Tom 40/141.00 to rediscover his mojo in Canada

• Noren 25/126.00 can double up as e/w option

Tournament and Course Notes

• The PGA Tour makes one of its longest journeys of the year, as it travels over 1,350 miles north-east from Fort Worth in Texas, to set up camp in Hamilton, Ontario. After a gap of five years, Canada's national open returns to Hamilton Golf & Country Club which will be hosting the tournament for a seventh time. The first occasion was in 1919;

• Originally designed by English architect Harry Colt, 110 years ago, the course underwent major renovation work following the Canadian Open of 2019. Hampered by Covid and lockdown, this $11.5m project took two years to complete, after which it won Golf Digest's 'Renovation of the Year' award for 2022;

• Overseen by Martin Ebert, of UK-based design firm Mackenzie & Ebert, this upgrade included the rebuilding of every green, as well as extensive adjustments to bunkers. Hamilton is a rolling, parkland course approximately 45 miles from Toronto. And Ebert explained: 'We created deeper bunkers, and designed greens that offer a greater number of tricky pin positions.'

• Although the well-wooded Hamilton has added yardage in recent years, it remains one of the shorter venues on Tour and length off the tee is unlikely to be a decisive factor this week. Hamilton's putting surfaces are slightly smaller than the PGA Tour average, while water is barely a threat. This week's event takes place over a composite layout comprising the West and South courses;

• First staged in 1904, the Canadian Open used to be one of the premier events in world golf. However, over the last two or three decades, its prestige has dwindled considerably.

Latest betting for this week's RBC CANADIAN OPEN

Good Current Form

With only one PGA Tour event staged at Hamilton during the past 11 years, course form is of little value for those keen to track down a potential winner this week.

That said, Rory McIlroy 10/34.33 and Shane Lowry 20/121.00 who finished first and second respectively when Hamilton last hosted Canada's national open in 2019, are among the entries in Ontario.

The Irish duo teamed-up to win the Zurich Classic team event at TPC Louisiana last month.

Since then, McIlroy has won again at Quail Hollow, while Lowry tied-sixth in the PGA Championship two weeks ago.

World No 12 Sahith Theegala 20/121.00, the second highest-ranked golfer in the field, makes his Hamilton debut.

At No 5 in the current FedEx Cup standings, the Californian has a strong all-round game and is currently an impressive fourth in the PGA Tour category for Strokes Gained: Putting.

A little further down the pecking order is Tom Kim 40/141.00: The Korean has not played particularly badly this season, posting six top-30 finishes, but his most recent top-10 came in Las Vegas last October when he won the Shriners Children's Open.

But don't be surprised if the 21-year-old rediscovers his mojo in this week's mediocre field.

Finally, this week's tournament offers the perfect opportunity for Alex Noren 20/121.00 to secure a long-overdue triumph on the PGA Tour.

The 41-year-old from Stockholm has finished inside the top-25 in each of his last eight PGA Tour starts.

He stood on the podium at the recent CJ Cup in Dallas and is a 10-time winner on the DP World Tour.

Noren, who is certainly good enough to hold aloft the trophy on Sunday, is also an ideal e/w option in Canada.

Latest betting for next month's US OPEN

World Ranking Points

Most Points During 2024 (Top 10 Listed)
Pts
160.83: Rory McIlroy
129.12: Sahith Theegala
89.89: Akshay Bhatia
86.14: Cameron Young
85.54: Tommy Fleetwood
80.45: Nick Taylor
68.84: Shane Lowry
66.77: Taylor Pendrith
58.99: Davis Riley
58.34: Alexander Noren
Only those entered this week are included in table

Betfair Sportsbook

Note: List Contains Leading Reserves