DraftKings Preview: RBC Canadian Open

One week before the U.S. Open, the PGA TOUR heads up north to Canada for the RBC Canadian Open. Oakdale Golf and Country Club will host measures as a 7,271-yard par 72, featuring a blend of Bent and Poa grass greens.

Despite this tournament being wedged between an elevated event and a major, the field is pretty strong this week. Rory McIlroy will headline, but plenty of other elite players will be in attendance, such as Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton and Cameron Young.

Below I have outlined three of my favorite DraftKings plays for the week.

Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $700K Pitch + Putt [$200K To 1st]

GOLFERS TO CONSIDER

Shane Lowry ($9,400)

Lowry loves heading to Canada. He’s played this event each of the past two times it was held (2022, 2019) and finished T2 and T10. The course is not the same, but reports are that Oakdale going to play quite easy this week, with multiple drivable par 4s and short par 5s. After having somewhat of a down season, Lowry is rounding into form with a T16 at the PGA Championship and then a T12 last week at The Memorial.
The Irishman was extremely sharp with his irons last week at Muirfield, gaining 4.5 strokes on approach. Lowry now ranks No. 2 in this field over his past 24 rounds in that department, while sitting fourth in SG: Ball-Striking and 12th in SG: Total. The field really drops off this week after the top of the board, so simply jamming Rory McIlroy at $11,500 may not be as easy as it seems.
Starting your teams with Lowry at $9,400 is a really strong way to save salary, while not losing any upside. Lowry’s tournament history, recent form and rolling stats are all lined up for him to post his third consecutive top-10 finish at this event.

Eric Cole ($7,900)

Cole has really been rolling of late. His T24 at The Memorial last week marked his third top-25 finish across his past four starts. Over his past 24 rounds in this field, Cole ranks 10th in SG: Tee-to-Green, 24th in SG: Ball-Striking and sixth in SG: Total. The five guys who rank ahead of him in that stretch are Matt Fitzpatrick, Rory McIlroy, Corey Conners, Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton — all of who cost $9,600 or more on DraftKings this week.

Cole has also shown the ability to play well at different types of tracks this season, as evidenced best by his T5 in Mexico and his runner-up finish to Chris Kirk at the Honda Classic. PGA National (Honda Classic) is one of the toughest courses on the PGA TOUR, while Vidanta (Mexico) is a resort-style course.

Birdies are going to be paramount this week, and Cole ranks eighth in this field in total birdies made over his past 24 rounds, all while ranking 13th in bogeys avoided. His $7,900 price tag is a pretty big misprice for how he’s been playing, and he makes for an elite play in all contest formats this week in Canada.

Mackenzie Hughes ($7,300)

The Canada native always gets up for this event. As mentioned previously, it will be held on a different course this year, but it should still play quite easy, emphasizing strong short iron play and putting. Hughes has finished T8, T14 and T28 in his three starts north of the border in his career. In that stretch, he’s averaging the seventh most SG: Tee-to-Green per round at this event at 1.38 (among anyone with more than one start).
Hughes missed the cut on the number last week at The Memorial, but he gained 2.6 strokes with his irons on Friday, a very encouraging sign heading into this week. He missed the weekend at Jack’s Place due to a rare poor putting week. Hughes is never going to blow you away with his ball-striking, but on shorter courses where mid-range iron play and putting becomes paramount, he’s popped plenty of times before. He lit it up in the Fall Swing as well, winning the Sanderson Farms Championship while posting three additional top-25 finishes.

It feels a little narrative-based, but Hughes should absolutely play well this week and is only $7,300 in a field with very little depth below $9,000.

Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR $700k Pitch + Putt [$200K To 1st]

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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and customer (my username is Lan1228) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.