Rested Rory McIlroy fired up for RBC Canadian Open

ANCASTER, Ontario – The RBC Canadian Open is back at Hamilton Golf and Country Club for the first time since 2019, when Rory McIlroy had a chance at a final-round 59 in his tournament debut. McIlroy made bogey at the last for 61 and a seven-shot victory.

“Not that I still think about it,” McIlroy said Wednesday with a wry grin, recalling a special Sunday with the mindset of “keep your foot on the accelerator and keep going” that nearly produced his first sub-60 score on TOUR.

“I had to remind myself when I tapped in to look happy, because I had just won a tournament,” he continued. “But I was sort of disappointed I didn't shoot 59.”

McIlroy’s past week has been eclectic, and it leads him back to Canada's national championship, the start of a four-week stretch that includes the Wells Fargo Championship, U.S. Open and Travelers Championship. He's refreshed after spending four days in Italy last week for a good friend's wedding, reacquainting with old friends, and spending some time at home with his daughter Poppy.

McIlroy doesn't envision any 59 watches this year at Hamilton – the rough is thicker than in 2019, and a recent course restoration has amplified slopes on and around the greens that will require precision, he said Wednesday. There’s a major championship feel in the air, and the Irishman looks forward to the vibrant crowds expected – the 2019 RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton was his first appearance at this event, and he was blown away by the buzz. He returned in 2022 (winning at St. George’s), and he placed ninth last year at Oakdale.

“I was blown away by just the enthusiasm that the fans have, and it was such a great atmosphere to play in,” McIlroy said of his tournament debut here in 2019. “It’s important to keep coming back, and to play in front of crowds like this is amazing, and it’s always a pleasure to come back up here.”

There's ample buzz this week, with 28 Canadians in the field looking to follow Nick Taylor's dramatic victory in 2023, making a 72-foot eagle on the fourth playoff hole to defeat Tommy Fleetwood, who is still seeking his first TOUR title. McIlroy was one of the few in Canada not rooting for Taylor in that playoff; he was listening on the radio while en route from the golf course to the airport, supporting his good friend Fleetwood.

That was one of two lighthearted confessions McIlroy made to the Canadian media in Wednesday's pre-tournament presser, also noting that he has yet to attend an ice hockey game. (That streak will continue, as the local Toronto Maple Leafs were eliminated from the NHL Playoffs in the first round.)

McIlroy enters this week at No. 4 on the season-long FedExCup standings, his results trending with back-to-back wins at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans (alongside Shane Lowry) and Wells Fargo Championship, followed by a T12 at the PGA Championship.

Last week was for R&R (he hit an estimated 150 golf balls in total), but McIlroy feels plenty sharp into the RBC Canadian Open, as he had competed in six of seven weeks before the week off. He's still looking to snap a nagging 10-year victory drought in major championships, of course, a storyline that will factor prominently until the drought subsides. But he’s playing to his strengths (he leads the TOUR this season in Total Driving and ranks sixth in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green), and as Fleetwood noted Wednesday, it’s hard to take down McIlroy in full form.

“I still believe from everything that I've experienced since I've been playing that Rory is the best of our generation,” Fleetwood said. “I still believe that.”

A seven-shot win is hard to come by, but nobody would be surprised if McIlroy replicated his 2019 effort this week at Hamilton.