RBC Canadian Open preview and golf betting tips 2023

Danny Specks RBC Canadian Open Golf Tips

2pts ew Matt Fitzpatrick 14/1 (8)

2pts ew Shane Lowry 20/1 (8)

1pt ew Sahith Theegala 33/1 (6)

1pt ew Eric Cole 80/1 (8)

Viktor Hovland finally wins in America at the Memorial Tournament and it was a win that had been coming with four top-10s already this year, three of them in the two major championships and one in The Players Championship too. It was even better that I managed to put him up on my twitter at 20/1 so I’ll be going for back to back winners this week in the Canadian Open. A week before the US Open and we return to Canada but we’re at a new course this week which has never been seen before on the PGA Tour - Oakdale Golf & Country Club, located in Toronto, Ontario. Oakdale is a classical, tree lined 7,264 yard par 72 which, this week will feature holes taken across three 9-hole courses on the complex. This course also appears to be very short and scorable, we have five par 4s that all measure under 400 yards and a 496 yard par 5, quite unusual on a PGA Tour course.

The field this week is fair, even though we are a week away from the US Open we still have some big names teeing it up this week. Some of the players teeing it up include, Rory McIlroy who will be aiming to win the Canadian Open for the third straight time, RBC Heritage winner Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Sam Burns, Cameron Young, Corey Conners will be the highest ranked Canadian in the field.

Key Stats Analysis

Obviously with this being a course we haven’t seen before, these stats will be from the previous five Canadian Opens which have been over three courses; Glen Abbey GC (2016-2018), Hamilton Golf & Country Club (2019) & St George’s Golf & Country Club (2022). Rory ranked 1st for strokes gained: tee-to-green on both his wins in this event and so did Dustin Johnson. Jhonattan Vegas ranked 6th and 2nd in this stat on his way to winning. Four of the last five winners ranked inside the top-10 on approach too. Interesting to know that only Rory in 2022 and 2019 ranked inside the top-10 for strokes gained: putting. Johnson in 2018 ranked 41st, whilst Vegas ranked 26th (2017) and 41st (2016), one thing to note there though is that the ‘16, ‘17 and ‘18 renewals were all at Glen Abbey.

Matt Fitzpatrick 14/1

A week before a major championship always makes for a tough betting week but I couldn’t ignore Matt Fitzpatrick, who is aiming to land the RBC double after winning the RBC Heritage in April. I tipped him that week so hopefully he can come good again for us. I think Oakdale should really suit him, a short tree lined track in which Fitzy usually excels. Two wins at Crans as well as a win at Valderrama and Brookline Country Club strengthens that point. Fitzpatrick ranks as the current third best player in this field over the last 20 rounds ranking inside the top-20 for every key statistic including 3rd in strokes gained: tee-to-green. Also worth noting that he finished 10th in last years’ renewal at St George’s just a couple of weeks after his disappointing final round at the PGA Championship.

Shane Lowry 20/1

Irishman and world number 26 Shane Lowry is next on my list for this weeks’ test in Canada, who similar to Fitzy enjoys the shorter tree lined assignments and I think he will go well at a fair price. Lowry has enjoyed a nice return to form in recent weeks with a T12 at the PGA Championship and a T16 in the Memorial last week, two tough golf courses and solid finishes. He gained strokes in every department on both starts too, showing his game is currently in good shape. He finished 10th in the Canadian Open last year alongside Fitzpatrick. I was close to backing Sam Burns but instead opted for the slightly bigger priced Lowry in the hope that he can have a solid week with the putter and is hopefully there or thereabouts come Sunday evening.

Sahith Theegala 33/1

Once again I’m going back to Sahith Theegala, I’ve tipped him a fair few times this year and I still feel confident that he will land his first PGA Tour win before the season finishes at the end of August. He’s more than likely going to get his first victory in a weaker field like we have this week and I think the 33/1 quotes about him doing so were more than fair. Theegala hasn’t missed a cut since October, finished 9th in The Masters, along with top-5s at the RSM, the ZOZO Championship, the Farmers and the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town. Not bad for his second full season on Tour. The fact that Oakdale is significantly shorter means that Theegala won’t have to pull driver out as much - this being the club that holds him back the most - being able to hit irons off tees which certainly help his cause. With this week expected to be low scoring, you need to score with your putter and Sahith ranks 7th on putting over the last 20 rounds amongst players in this field. Will he finally land that elusive victory this week? Let’s hope so.

Eric Cole 80/1

Last up in my portfolio is a player who’s rise in 2023 has been seriously impressive. Eric Cole earned his PGA Tour card through the Korn Ferry Tour in 2022 and has shot up the world rankings. He finds himself world number 89 and ended last year ranked 384, proving how good his form has been this year. An unlucky playoff loser to Chris Kirk in the Honda Classic back in February, he’s continued to push on with some good results since. A top-5 in Mexico, followed by T15 in only his second ever major championship appearance at the PGA Championship where he ranked 12th T2G in a stellar field. Cole isn’t the longest of hitters and this course at Oakdale should certainly suit. He’s the best longshot of the week for me.

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