July 25, 2018
Oakville, Ontario, Canada
The third oldest tournament on the PGA Tour is taking place for the final time in July before it moves to June next year. The RBC Canadian Open, Canada’s national golf championship, is welcoming the deepest field of golfers in years. Major champions such as Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Bubba Watson, Jim Furyk (former Canadian Open winner) and Sergio Garcia are teeing it up to prepare for the PGA Championship in two weeks. Rising stars and fan favourites Tommy Fleetwood, Tony Finau, Matt Kuchar and Ian Poulter are looking to have a successful result before the FedEx Cup Playoffs begin. Jhonattan Vegas is trying to join Lee Trevino and Sam Snead to have three Canadian Opens on his resume.
And then there is the plethora of Canadian talent being represented this year at Glen Abbey. 21 Canadians will be in the tournament, at a time when success in Canadian golf development is at an all-time high. Adam Hadwin, David Hearn, Corey Connors, Mackenzie Hughes and Ben Silverman are leading the charge as the highest ranked players from Canada, eager to be the first Canadian-born winner of the Open since Carl Keffer in 1909 and 1914.
Brooks Koepka Eager to Have Success on Canadian Stage
Brooks Koepka is entering the Canadian Open as the only player with a major championship in this calendar year. After winning his second consecutive U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills in June, Koepka is looking to have success on the Canadian stage, as he aims to be competitive at the PGA Championship in two weeks.
“It’s nice to be back in Canada, in Toronto,” stated Koepka. “I love the city. It’s fun, and this golf course is a great test that has the potential for an exciting finish.”
Brooks had a disappointing Open Championship last week at Carnoustie, where he finished two over par and a tie for 39th. He admits that it is nice to be back on the soft, green grass of Glen Abbey. Koepka is trying to be the 16th golfer to win the U.S. Open and the Canadian Open and to join Tiger Woods, Jerry Pate, Lee Trevino and Tommy Armour to win the two tournaments in the same calendar year.
“The conditions of the golf course are great. It’s nice to have a soft, receptive golf course,” said Koepka. “The greens are a perfect speed. If you’re going to miss fairways and try to hold the green, especially with some front pin locations, that ball is going to release quite a bit to the back of the green, making this course quite the test.”
The 18th hole at Glen Abbey has produced some terrific drama as a risk-reward par-5. Nestled to the left is a pond and there are bunkers on the right side of the fairway. At the 2000 Canadian Open, Tiger Woods, instead of laying up, took a gamble by hitting a miracle shot from the bunker over the water to the green, leaving an easy up-and-down to make birdie and win the tournament.
"The hair on my arm is standing up!"
Some call this @TigerWoods' greatest shot.#TOURVault pic.twitter.com/HixPpugQoA
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 24, 2018
Many golf pundits consider Tiger’s shot the best of his career. But it still points out to how difficult the 18th hole can be, especially for a natural draw ball striker like Koepka.
“It’s a tough tee shot for me. It brings those far traps into play and if you get jammed up by that lip, you never know what you’re going to get,” Koepka said. “These last couple holes you can really make up some ground. You need to be in the fairway, control your spin and you’ll have a good chance at making three threes to end your round.”
Dustin Johnson Aims to Take Advantage of Glen Abbey
After missing the cut last week at the Open Championship, Dustin Johnson, RBC’s golf ambassador, is looking to win to his first Canadian Open. After having two runner-ups and a top-10 last year at this tournament, Johnson is hoping that a successful result this week will still keep him atop the FedEx Cup standings.
“Every win is special, especially at a tournament I love to come to every year,” said Johnson. “I have never won a FedEx Cup. I need to continue to play well at the big events like the Canadian Open so I maintain a top-five spot heading into East Lake at the Tour Championship.”
Dustin is first in on the PGA Tour in strokes gained tee-to-green (2.036) and strokes gained off the tee (1.036). He is eighth in driving distance, averaging 312.4 yards, which will be crucial this week at a course that yields a lot of birdies and favours the big hitters.
“This is a golf course that suits my game. Many of the par-5’s, like the 18th, are risk-reward,” stated Johnson. “If I hit it in the fairway, I only need a five or six iron to get to the green and make a birdie. The challenge will be where the wind is blowing and the pin placements. It can be the difference between a birdie or a bogey. The course is in the best shape I’ve seen, so it should be a good week for me to make a lot of birdies.”
Being a former U.S. Open champion, the American golfer spoke of the schedule change to the Canadian Open, as next year the tournament will take place in June.
“I think it will be good for the golf tournament. A lot of top players like to play the week before the U.S. Open so I am sure the field will improve and get stronger,” stated Johnson.
Canadian Golfers Looking to Break Streak
Golf in Canada has never been more successful, demonstrated in a record 21 Canadians playing this week at the Canadian Open.
“Before I was in this tournament, I remember when I was a junior looking to see who all the Canadians were in the Canadian Open. So to be one of them that was a regular PGA TOUR member, I am happy to be able to represent Canada in this tournament,” said Ben Silverman, who shot a career-low 65 last week at the Barbasol Championship in Kentucky.
It has been 104 years since Carl Keffer’s victory, as he was the last Canadian-born to win the national championship. It has been 15 years since Mike Weir won The Masters, the lone Canadian golfer to win a major championship.
“We all want to do well, we all want to play well,” said Adam Hadwin, Canada’s highest ranked golfer. “I know it’s been a long time (since a Canadian won).”
Over the last few years, a lot of investments have been made by Golf Canada, the governing body of golf in the country, to grow the game and encourage youth participation. As the Golf Canada mission states, “By investing in the growth of the sport and introducing more participants of all ages to the game, our goal is to be relevant to and respected by all Canadian golf enthusiasts from coast to coast.” Many of the notable Canadian golfers, like Corey Conners, credit Golf Canada for the success the country has had in producing quality players.
“I give a lot of credit to Golf Canada and their development programs in helping us get to this level,” said Conners. “I hope that I serve as an inspiration to young Canadians, who look to join the game and hopefully one day make it to the PGA Tour.”
Golf is such an individualistic game so it is rare to have two close friends and country counterparts on the PGA TOUR like Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes. They both grew up playing in the Golf Canada development programs together, they attended Kent State together and now are trying to compete for a Canadian Open.
“Mackenzie has been out here before me and I was just trying to follow in his footsteps. We’ve played a ton of golf together, he’s a fun guy to be around and I can learn a lot from him,” said Conners.
“I got on Tour when Corey was still on the Web.com Tour. I knew it would be a matter of time until he would make it to the PGA Tour,” said Mackenzie Hughes. “He’s got a great game for the PGA TOUR, and it’s just cool to be able to experience a lot of these things with a close friend.”
Hughes was in the mix last year at the Canadian Open, sitting four back of the lead. But a disappointing Saturday and Sunday rounds knocked him out of contention, so he is looking at some redemption this week to try and hoist the trophy.
“I didn’t play really well Saturday, but it was nice to get 10 times the support from the gallery. Looking forward to another good week and hopefully can eliminate that one round that kind of keeps you out of the tournament.”
Despite there being 21 Canadians, including three French Canadians for the first time since 1998, the golfers get along tremendously and have developed a Canadian camaraderie that has transcended the game, not only in the present but also for the future to inspire golfers from Canada.
“It’s awesome to have so many Canadians here, and to have all the Canadians on TOUR, we spend a lot of time together,” said Conners. “It’s nice to be able to support one another and to have mentors willing to guide you in different things. It’s been a lot of fun for me this year to learn from my fellow Canadian players, and I’m sure it’ll be continuing in the future.”
