The First Look: RBC Canadian Open

The RBC Canadian Open had one of, if not the most thrilling finish to a PGA TOUR event in 2023, with Nick Taylor becoming the first Canadian to win his national open in 69 years, defeated Tommy Fleetwood in a playoff.

Now there is a hearty Canadian contingent looking for even more history, as Canadians haven’t won the tournament in back-to-back years since Albert Murray and Karl Keffer in 1913 and 1914.

The event returns to the venerable Hamilton Golf and Country Club, long ranked as one of the country’s best. It underwent an impressive restoration/renovation project after it hosted the 2019 RBC Canadian Open with Golf Digest naming it the "Best Renovation" of the year in 2023.

This week – the seventh time Hamilton will be hosting the Canadian Open – is the final week for players to earn points in the Aon Swing 5 to nab a spot in the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday. It’s also part of the final qualifying series for The Open Championship, with the top three finishers not otherwise exempt earning a spot at Royal Troon this summer.

Here's everything else you need to know as the TOUR returns to Canada.

FIELD NOTES: Nick Taylor returns to defend his title at the RBC Canadian Open after his dramatic victory last year at Toronto’s Oakdale Golf and Country Club. Taylor, who won earlier this season at the WM Phoenix Open, is the country’s top-ranked male golfer. Other Canadian PGA TOUR winners in the field include Taylor Pendrith, Corey Conners, Adam Svensson, Adam Hadwin and Mackenzie Hughes (who is from Hamilton)… Rory McIlroy looks to continue his success at the Canadian Open – and so far this season. McIlroy won the last Canadian Open contested in Hamilton in 2019 by seven shots and won the next edition of the RBC Canadian, in 2022 as well. He finished T9 last year and has won twice already this season on TOUR… Shane Lowry, who finished T2 the last time the RBC Canadian was in Hamilton (behind McIlroy, with whom he won the Zurich Classic) returns to Canada… Lowry and McIlroy’s Ryder Cup teammate Tommy Fleetwood – who lost in a playoff to Taylor in 2023 – is back along with fellow Europe Ryder Cuppers Robert MacIntyre and Nicolai Højgaard… Other notable names playing in Hamilton include three-time TOUR winner Tom Kim (making his RBC Canadian Open debut), Sahith Theegala, Cam Young and Sam Burns… Adam Scott tees it up at the RBC Canadian Open for the first time since 2003 (also at Hamilton). This is Scott’s just second appearance at the event.

SPONSOR EXEMPTIONS: There will be at least 25 Canadians teeing it up in their home country this week led by International Presidents Cup team captain Mike Weir playing in his 31st RBC Canadian Open – just one back of the most all-time… David Hearn, who was in the final group on Sunday at the Canadian Open in 2015, will be playing in his 20th RBC Canadian Open… Among the other Canadians in on sponsor invites include world travellers Jared du Toit and DP World Tour member Aaron Cockerill, as well as PGA TOUR Americas in-season winners Stu MacDonald and Matt Anderson… PGA TOUR member Michael Gligic – from nearby Burlington, Ontario – will make his seventh appearance at the Canadian Open… There were four regional qualifiers over the last 12 months while defending Canadian amateur champion Ashton McCulloch and mid-amateur standout Kevin Stinson are also in the field… Ryan Palmer and Kelly Kraft round out the sponsor invites.

SIGNATURE EVENT STORYLINES: The next Signature Event on the PGA TOUR schedule is the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday… The RBC Canadian Open is the final event for players to earn FedExCup points and get into the field at the Memorial via the Aon Swing 5… With his win at Colonial, Davis Riley now tops the Aon Swing 5 (climbing 61 spots in the standings thanks to his victory), while Chris Gotterup (the winner in Myrtle Beach) is second… Mac Meissner finished T5 at the Charles Schwab Challenge and moved up eight spots to No. 4, while Pierceson Coody, who also finished T5 moved up a robust 45 spots to No 5… Hayden Buckley (also T5 at Colonial) moved up 49 spots and is just 0.5 points behind Coody for the final spot in the Aon Swing 5… The 10 golfers in the Aon Next 10 remained unchanged after last week at the Charles Schwab Challenge, but Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Jake Knapp swapped spots, with the South African moving up to No. 9 and Knapp falling to No. 10.

COMCAST BUSINESS TOUR TOP 10 UPDATES: After finishing T2 at the Charles Schwab Challenge, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler remained firmly on top of the stands. Scheffler now has 11 top-10 finishes in 12 starts this season… Collin Morikawa finished fourth in Fort Worth and moved up two spots in the standings from No. 8 to No. 6 while Ludvig Åberg and Byeong Hun An each moved down a spot… An remains the only golfer to be inside the TOUR TOP 10 every week so far this season.

FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points

COURSE: Hamilton Golf and Country Club, par 70, 7,084 yards. The golf course has been completely renovated since the last time it hosted the RBC Canadian Open, with shovels going into the ground not long after the event concluded in 2019. It was a trying effort for Martin Ebert and his team, however, as he was supposed to visit Hamilton a dozen times from the U.K. through the renovation process (a throwback restoration to Harry Colt’s original design from the 1910s) but couldn’t come at all due to the travel restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, Ebert relied on virtual reality and video calling and finally got to see the finished product in September 2021. The course has 112 yards more length than 2019 and every putting surface and bunker was re-done.

72-HOLE RECORD: 258, Rory McIlroy (2019)

18-HOLE RECORD: 60, Carl Pettersson (third round, 2010 at St. George’s G&CC), Justin Rose (fourth round, 2022 at St. George’s G&CC)

LAST TIME: Nick Taylor’s drought-busting 72-foot eagle putt to defeat Tommy Fleetwood on the fourth playoff hole of the 2023 RBC Canadian Open will go down in Canadian sport history as one of the country’s biggest moments. Taylor, who opened with a 75 but bounced back to make the cut on the number Friday (after a “talking to” from his wife Thursday night, he said), shot weekend rounds of 63-66 to finish tied with Fleetwood at 17-under. The duo went back and forth over the three playoff holes before Taylor had an eagle attempt from long range to win the tournament. When it dropped, pandemonium ensued (including fellow British Columbia native Adam Hadwin getting tackled by an overzealous security guard – in his defense, Hadwin was wearing street clothes and had no credential, and he and the security guard laughed it off quickly) as Taylor became the first Canadian to win his national open since Pat Fletcher in 1964 – although Brooke Henderson won the CPKC Women’s Open in Saskatchewan in 2018. Two-time defending champion Rory McIlroy ended up tied for ninth. He won the Canadian Open the last time it took place at Hamilton, in 2019.

HOW TO FOLLOW (all times ET):

Television:

• Thursday-Friday: 3-6 p.m. on Golf Channel
• Saturday: 2:30-5:30 p.m. on Golf Channel; 5:30-7:30 p.m. on CBS
• Sunday: 1:30-2:30 p.m. on Golf Channel; 2:30-6:30 p.m. on CBS

PGA TOUR LIVE:

PGA TOUR LIVE is available exclusively on ESPN+

• Main feed: Primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course
• Marquee group: New “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group
• Featured groups: Traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups
• Featured holes: A combination of par 3s and iconic or pivotal holes

PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and free on PGATOUR.COM/liveaudio:

• Thursday-Friday: noon-6 p.m. ET.
• Saturday: 2-7:30 p.m.
• Sunday: 1-6:30 p.m.