The RBC Canadian Open Power Rankings: The 10 Best Golfers at Hamilton Golf Club
By Todd Moser
The PGA Tour moves north of the border for a national open. This week’s Canadian Open has been a Tour stalwart since 1904. It is the third oldest continuously running tournament after The Open Championship and the US Open. And a bit of trivia here, it also happens to be an event Jack Nicklaus never won.
We don’t have a deep field, but we do have Rory McIlroy as a heavy favorite this week at +400 who happened to win the tournament in 2019 the last time it was held at Hamilton CC. We have a unique countdown this week as our power rankings are USA-free as in no Americans in our Top 10, and our podium is all Canadian.
All odds listed are via FanDuel Sportsbook
The RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Power Rankings
10. Aaron Rai (England) +4000
Rai has five Top 25s this year including a season-best T-4 three weeks ago at The Byron Nelson. He has a steady game with some very good stats including 19th in total strokes gained (SG), 36th in SG off the tee, ninth in SG on approach, 10th in driving accuracy, fifth in GIR, and 24th in scrambling.
Why hasn’t he won with those stats? Putting. He ranks in the 100s in 16 putting categories. If he has a putting week, watch out.
9. Erik Van Rooyen (South Africa) +5500
EVR has seven Top 25s including three Top 10s with a season-best T-2 at The Cognizant in Palm Beach. He also finished T-4 in Myrtle Beach just a few weeks ago. Like Rai, he has some decent stats with better putting. He ranks 15th in total SG, 46th in SG off the tee, 45th in SG on approach, 33rd in GIR, and 17th in SG putting. He played Hamilton in 2019 and finished T-20.
8. Taylor Pendrith (Canada) +5000
Pendrith picked up a win three weeks ago at The Byron Nelson and 10th at the Wells Fargo. He ranks 37th in total SG, 9th in driving distance, 13th in SG putting, but only 28th in SG on approach. He’s in good form and motivated to win his national championship.
7. Tommy Fleetwood (England) +1600
Fleetwood is one of those, “always a bridesmaid, never a bride” players. He’s often seen close to the leaderboard but rarely cashes in. Last year, he finished second to Nick Taylor (see below) in this event albeit at a different course. He has four Top 13s including a T-3 at The Masters. He’s driven the ball well this year (3rd in driving accuracy and 22nd in total driving) but is a dismal 165th in SG on approach and 126th in GIR.
6. Shane Lowry (Northern Ireland) +2200
The jolly Irishman makes another appearance on our countdown. He’s had two close calls but couldn’t hold onto the lead in round four. He did pick up a win with Rory McIlroy at the team event in New Orleans and finished T-6 at the PGA. He’s got the full game. He ranks 26th in total SG, 37th in SG off the tee, 10th in SG on approach, first in driving accuracy, and 31st in GIR, but ranks in the 100s in 17 putting categories. Lowry finished runner-up in 2019 at Hamilton, so he’s had prior success here.
5. Nick Taylor (Canada) +6000
Last year, Taylor gave us a big +6600 outright win. He’s not getting a lot of respect judging by his odds this week. He had a really hot start this year picking up another outright win for us in Phoenix but has finished no better than 64th in five of his last six events. But I have faith in the defending champ. He ranks 53rd in total SG, 52 in SG on approach, and 30th in SG putting. He also has course experience here with a T-27 finish in 2019.
4. Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) +400
It’s a no-brainer to pick Rory to win. He has it all and won here in 2019. I like him as well, but I’m going out on a limb and saying a Canadian will win for the second year in a row.
3. Corey Connors (Canada) +2200
Year after year, Connors has been the favorite (Canadian) to win this event, and this year is no exception. Is this finally his year? He played here in 2019 but missed the cut. He’s always been consistent. This year, he has nine finishes in the Top 35, and three in the Top 15. One of the Tour’s best ball strikers, he ranks second in SG on approach, second in GIR, and 21st in SG off the tee. But like many on our list, his putting is simply bad. He ranks in the 100s in 21 putting categories. Yikes!
2. Adam Hadwin (Canada) +5000
It was Hadwin who was the guy security tackled trying to congratulate his fellow countryman Nick Taylor after Taylor’s historic win last year. Perhaps the roles will be reversed this year. Hadwin finished sixth here in 2019. It’s been an up-and-down year for him. He has four Top 10s but six events T-50 or worse. He drives the ball fairly well and is a decent putter but struggles with the iron game. He ranks 45th in total driving, 29th in driving accuracy, 33rd in putts per round, but 133rd in GIR and 99th in SG on approach.
1. Mackenzie Hughes (Canada) +4000
In a year of longshot winners, I’m picking yet another one. Hughes finished T-14 here in 2019. He has three Top 15s in his last six events including two Top Fives with a most recent T-6 at the Wells Fargo. I like the fact that he can putt and has good stats in the final round. He ranks in the Top 15 in nine putting categories including seventh in total putting. His final-round scoring average ranks 18th. If he can hang around until then, we might have a winner.
Longshot Plays at The RBC Canadian Open
Of course, we have two more Canadians on our list for longshots this week.
Adam Svensson (Canada) +8000
I’ve noticed I’m not alone in this pick. He showed up on the Genesis leaderboard at Torrey Pines before finishing T-10 and last week finished T-24 at Colonial. He’s another bad putter this year with rankings in the 100s 24 times. Makes you wonder how he makes a living.
Ben Silverman (Canada) +125000
Super longshot Silverman is our last Canadian pick. He has four Top 20s this year including a recent T-16 at Myrtle Beach. He has some credible stats including 41st in total SG, 20th in GIR, 20th in scrambling, 34th in SG putting, and 36th in scoring average. Not a bad resume for success this week.
First Round Leader (FRL) Plays at The RBC Canadian Open
For some small pancake bets, here are the guys I like as potential FRLs with their current first-round scoring average in parenthesis, and all of whom have early morning tee times.
Rory McIlroy (9) +1100
Alex Noren (2) +3300
Nick Taylor (22) +6600
Maverick McNealy (7) +4500