PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 RBC Canadian Open

We do a lot of DFS site specific coverage here at FantasyCPR, so in an effort to bring in new golf fans, and look at Fantasy Golf as a whole, I am excited to bring you my PGA Power Rankings for this weeks RBC Canadian Open, taking place at Hamilton Golf and Country Club, in Ontario, Canada.

This PGA Power Rankings article will cover the top 20 golfers for this event, and with each golfer will come a short blurb with some justification to their respective rankings. Before we do that, let’s touch briefly on the history of the this event.

PGA Power Rankings: The RBC Canadian Open – Course and History

The PGA Tour stops in the Great White North a little earlier than normal this year, as the RBC Canadian Open has been moved up from its usual July slot, as part of the new scheduling and new events. We have a couple of stars making their debuts in Canada, in Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy.

Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka will join them, and round out a very top-heavy, star-studded field, as only ten of the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings will tee it up at Hamilton Golf and Country Club, for what is dubbed by some as “Canada’s Major.”

The RBC Canadian Open is an event on somewhat of a rotation. However, Glen Abbey GC has hosted the most to date with 30, and it had been the host for the last four years from 2015 to 2018. This will be Hamilton Golf Club’s sixth time hosting this event, with the last coming in 2012. Scott Piercy finished 17-under par to capture the victory that year.

Hamilton Golf and Country Club is one of the oldest courses in Canada, as it opened in 1915. It hosted its first RBC Canadian Open in 1919, making this year the 100th anniversary since Hamilton first hosted the event. With only six total times hosting in its history, and having hosted three times since 2003, a fair amount of golfers will be teeing it up at Hamilton for the first time.

The course does not appear to be too challenging, and it looks as though we have yet another week that will not favor the long hitter. Hamilton will play short at just 6,966 yards, and is a Par 70. Jim Furyk won here in 2006, and with Piercy having won in 2012, it feels like Hamilton will be “that” kind of golf course.

Those that hit fairways and can scramble will be the players to target this week, and with not a whole lot of course history, recent form will factor into the PGA Power Rankings a little more this week. Without further ado, let’s get to this weeks top 20 for the RBC Canadian Open.

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 RBC Canadian Open

20. Corey Conners – (83)

It was a rough weekend for Conners at the Memorial last week, as he a took a score of 3-under par into Saturday. A 74 followed by a 77 on Sunday led to a T-65 finish for Conners, but on the bright side, it was the Canadian natives third straight made cut. It wasn’t that long ago when Conners captured victory at the Valero Texas Open, and he cracks the top-20 this week here as he looks for his second PGA Tour victory. Conners missed the cut at Glen Abbey last year.

19. Sungjae Im – (69)

Im has still not been on tour for a full year, and after hammering out event after event, he will make yet another debut this week at the RBC Canadian Open. Im was on fire for a stretch in March, but the grind likely caught up to him a bit as he hit a slight funk. After missing two cuts in a row at the PGA Championship and at the Charles Schwab Challenge, Im finally made it to the weekend at the Memorial, where he finished T-57.

18. Aaron Wise – (68)

Wise is back in action this week, after narrowly missing the cut last weekend at the Memorial with rounds of 74 and 72. This was his first missed cut since the Players Championship, and just his second in his last eight events, so his recent consistency has been better than most in this field.

In this span, Wise has three top-20’s, with his best finish being his solo 17th at the Masters. The 22-year-old University of Oregon product and 2018 PGA rookie of the year will look to bounce back here in his first RBC Canadian Open.

17. Joaquin Niemann – (139)

After another missed cut at the Valero Texas Open, Niemann went home to Chile to play the 2019 Abierto de Chile presented by Volvo on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica. It proved to be a good move for the 20-year-old who was likely a little homesick in his first full year on the PGA Tour, as he was able to finish alone in third place.

Since returning, Niemann has missed just one cut which came at the PGA Championship, and he has finished no worse than T-38 in three additional starts. He keeps progressing forward, and he comes into his second RBC Canadian Open off a T-27 at the Memorial.

16. Keegan Bradley – (35)

Well Keegan went full Keegan last week as he is known to do. If you are unaware to this phenomenon, going full Keegan simply means that when things seem to be going well for this guy, he promptly seems to have a blow-up hole or round or whatever it may be, and can never seem to put it all together.

After a T-29 at the PGA Championship in his previous action, Bradley missed the cut last week at the Memorial, after shooting 74, 74. With the benefit of a weaker field as the U.S. Open approaches, Bradley still finds himself just outside the top 15 at Hamilton Golf and C.C for this week RBC Canadian Open.

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 RBC Canadian Open

15. Bud Cauley – (145)

Cauley had a so-so start to 2019, and was either missing cuts, or finishing near the top 20. After missing two straight cuts at the Valero Texas Open and the Valspar Championship, Cauley seemed to turn a corner a bit and finally show some consistency by making the weekend in three straight events. That streak was derailed by another missed cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge, but Cauley was able to bounce back and play very well last week at Muirfield Village.

Cauley shot his worst round of the tournament on Sunday which was an even par 72, and finished T-9. The 29-year-old was once an up-and-comer whose career has only really been held back by injuries, and it is good to see him playing well enough to crack the rankings. Cauley did play this event 2012 when it was hosted here at Hamilton, and finished T-4 at 14-under par.

14. Adam Hadwin – (77)

Hadwin will get the home country rankings bump this week, despite the fact that back in 2012 when the RBC Canadian Open was last held here at Hamilton, he failed to make the weekend. I am obviously not putting too much weight into an event that took place seven years ago for this weeks version, but it is of course worth noting.

Hadwin has been consistent as far as making cuts go in 2019, but he has had just one top-20 finish since his T-2 back at the Desert Classic back in January. He is currently on a run of four straight full tournaments, and is coming off a T-52 last week at the Memorial. Hadwin T-29 in his previous action at the 101st PGA Championship at Bethpage.

13. Shane Lowry – (42)

Lowry will come into the RBC Canadian Open fresh off of a T-8 at the PGA Championship. He had missed the cut at the Masters, which had given him three missed cuts in his last four events. However, he followed Augusta with an impressive T-3 at the RBC Heritage, thus he comes into Hamilton off of back-to-back top tens.

Lowry has always been a player of the elements, and morning tee times could be on the cold side in Ontario this weekend. At last years RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey, Lowry finished T-12 at 14-under par. He did not play here in 2012.

12. Jim Furyk – (50)

It looked as though the run for Furyk was coming to an end, but after following up his T-13 at the Charles Schwab Challenge two weeks ago with a respectable T-33 at the Memorial last week, it is safe to say he might not be quite done yet. Hamilton is another short type course that will only play in favor of the bombers if the conditions are extremely wet. I think we see another weekend where the GIR and short game prevail, and Furyk sets up to do well here.

Furyk won this event at this venue 13 years ago in 2006, and missed the cut back in 2012. The win in 2006 was his first of two RBC Canadian Open victories, and he was a runner-up again in 2014 when it was held at Royal Montreal Golf Club. It seems like whenever we are away from Glen Abbey, Furyk does well.

11. Brandt Snedeker – (48)

At number eleven this week, we have the 2013 RBC Canadian Open champion Brandt Snedeker. The year prior when this years host Hamilton Golf and C.C. hosted in 2012, Snedeker shot 6-under par for the tournament, and finished T-34. He has made three straight cuts since he missed it at the Masters, and is coming off of back-to-back top-20 finishes.

Snedeker took last week off, but at the Charles Schwab Challenge in his last action, A 69 on Sunday after clawing back from an opening round 74 put him in a tie for 19th place. Prior to that, Sneds T-16 at the 101st PGA Championship. At Glen Abbey at last years RBC Canadian Open, Snedeker notched a top-ten with a T-8 finish.

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 RBC Canadian Open

10. Scott Piercy – (63)

It has been stated a few times now, but last time we had a PGA event here, Scott Piercy was your champion. He won that 2012 RBC Canadian Open by one stroke at 17-under par, holding off Robert Garrigus and William McGirt. WIth the mix of winning here albeit a long time ago, and his recent form which is arguably the best it has been in his career, Piercy cracks the top-ten of the PGA Power Rankings for the first time.

Piercy has now gone six straight without missing a cut. This stretch was obviously highlighted by his recent back-to-back top-fives at the RBC Heritage and the Byron Nelson, where he finished T-3 and T-2, respectively. He also held his own at Bethpage finishing T-41, and grabbed another top-20 with a T-19 in his last action two weeks ago at the Charles Schwab Challenge.

9. Henrik Stenson – (44)

Talent wise, Stenson is arguably the best in this field after the big four, but the 43-year-old might be on the down-swing of his career, as he just cannot seem to turn the corner completely. Stenson is not playing bad golf per se, but good finishes are not happening either. After a rough stretch to start 2019 in which he missed cuts at four of six events on the Euro and PGA Tours combined, he seems to have at least bucked that trend, and has now made the weekend in six straight.

In his last five events, Stenson’s best finish came at the Byron Nelson where he T-20. He was decent at the Masters tying for 36th, and T-48 at Bethpage in the second major. Last week at the Memorial, Stenson failed to shoot a round in the 60’s, and ended up T-37.

8. Bubba Watson – (18)

As we get closer to tee off on Thursday, a lot will likely be made of the weather. With wet softer conditions, we could hear talk of bombers moving up the rankings. If this is the case, things could look really well for a guy like Bubba. Of course he will still have to keep it in the fairway off the tee, but with the wider forgiving fairways here at Hamilton it could shape up to be a nice week for Watson.

Watson last teed it up at the 101st PGA Championship, and prior to that, he skipped the whole month in between the first two major championships of the year. Bubba T-12 at the Masters following his T-4 at the Valspar Championship, but he is coming into the RBC Canadian Open off of a missed cut at Bethpage.

7. Sergio Garcia – (28)

Well I went as far back as 2012 and the last time Hamilton Golf and C.C. was the host of the RBC Canadian Open, and in that span, Garcia has not made an appearance. A new PGA rule states that all card-carrying members on tour must play an event that they previously have not played, so we have seen quite a bit of big names on tour making debuts at lesser events all season long.

We do have four of the best in the world teeing it up this weekend, but if Garcia plays his game, he could easily be in contention here. In recent action, Garcia missed cuts at both major championships, but T-4 at the Wells Fargo Championship in between.

6. Matt Kuchar – (12)

I can’t quite bring myself to putting Kuchar in the top-five after last weeks debacle. As 2019 goes on, this guy is getting pretty easy to root against, as his personality was on display yet again last week at the Memorial. From what I gathered, Kuchar’s ball indeed landed in a divot, and he wanted relief.

However, with other divots in the area, there was no way to determine if the divot his ball lied in was indeed his divot. After complaining to multiple officials, the decision was made that Kuchar play the ball as it lied.

Kuchar made a fool of himself acting unprofessional, and it was obvious he never got it together after that. He was one of the favorites at Muirfield Village, a course that set up perfect for him, and his meltdown ultimately led to his first missed cut in over a calendar year. He had been rock solid all year coming off of a solo second at the RBC Heritage and a T-8 at the PGA Championship, and I fully expect him to bounce back here in Canada. Kuchar T-34 here at Hamilton in 2012.

PGA Power Rankings: The 2019 RBC Canadian Open

5. Webb Simpson – (19)

With Kuchar off that missed cut, Simpson gets the nod in the five-spot this week. He has not teed it up since his T-29 at the PGA Championship, and he has missed just one cut this year. That T-29 was his worst finish in his last four, with his best being his T-5 at the Masters. Like many others before him, Simpson has no recent history here at Hamilton Golf and Country Club, nor in the RBC Canadian Open for that matter.

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4. Justin Thomas – (6)

Watching Thomas on Thursday, and seeing him take that first full swing out of the rough answered a lot of questions for me. It wasn’t that I had any doubts, he did miss six weeks after all. But I am always an “until I see it” type of guy, and from what I saw, Thomas is over the wrist injury.

However, like I also suspected, there was plenty of rust to shake off. Thomas said himself on Twitter that there was nothing to do in Florida when you can’t golf or fish, speaking of his wrist injury of course, and I am pretty certain he has not played very many completely pain-free rounds all that much yet. Thomas shot an 80 on Friday and it obviously led to his first missed cut since the Open Championship last year.

3. Rory McIlroy – (4)

Just like the Kuch train came to a screeching halt last week at the Memorial, McIlroy shocked many as he also missed his first cut in quite some time. He had been rolling along since his Players Championship victory, notching back-to-back T-8 finishes at the Wells Fargo Championship, and at Bethpage for the PGA Championship.

Just like I fully expect Kuchar to bounce-back off a rare missed cut, I expect the same from McIlroy. This will be his first RBC Canadian Open, and the missed cut last week at least allowed him to get to arrive in Canada a little early and take in a Raptors playoff game.

2. Brooks Koepka – (1)

There is nobody hotter in golf right now than Koepka, so a number two ranking seems a little absurd I suppose, but this is about as 1A, 1B in the PGA Power Rankings as it gets. I fully expect to see these two battle it out all four days, and carry the momentum into Pebble Beach for the U.S. Open. This will be Koepka’s first go since his PGA Championship victory at Bethpage, and he now has three straight top-fives, including his T-2 at the Masters. He did play last years RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey, and missed the cut finishing at +3.

1. Dustin Johnson – (2)

So what gives Johnson the advantage over Koepka? The flat stick. Johnson is the Poa greens master, and couple that with the fact that he is one of the best players in the world in all conditions, and this looks like his week. He is the defending RBC Canadian Open champion, as he destroyed Glen Abbey last year, finishing 23-under par.

In his last action, Johnson finished alone in second behind Brooks at the PGA Championship. It was his second straight runner-up in a major, as he T-2 at Augusta as well. He got one tune-up in between, and T-28 at the RBC Heritage. As long as none of these top four golfers are looking ahead to Pebble Beach, they all should be right in the thick of things this week.

Thanks for stopping by FantasyCPR and checking out our ever-expanding PGA page. Be sure to keep an eye out for my FanDuel article coming soon. Please give me a follow on Twitter with the link at the top of the page, and feel free to ask any PGA Power Rankings questions if you wish.

All info derived from Smart Golf Bets, along with Data Golf and OWGR. Much thanks to these free sources of information. Thanks again for reading, and good luck with your fantasy golf this weekend.