Power ranking, RBC Canadian Open: Three wins on three courses for Rory McIlroy?
Rory McIlroy will have his eyes set on a three-peat at this week’s RBC Canadian Open, but he’ll have a new course to learn as the event moves to Oakdale Golf and Country Club.
The Canadian Open moves around frequently with five different courses hosting since the 2011 edition.
This week’s host venue is making its Canadian Open debut. They’ll see a full field of 156 players and the 36-hole cutline will see the field trimmed to the low 65 and ties.
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PLAYERS TO WATCH
Rory McIlroy
He stumbled on Sunday at the Memorial but at least he was in the mix. After the round, he said he felt much more comfortable with his swing, which was a big improvement over his swing thoughts at the PGA Championship. McIlroy is the back-to-back champ at this event, both at different courses. He’ll try for the rare “three wins at three separate venues” three-peat this week.
Corey Conners
You have to go back to 1954 to find the last time a Canadian-born golfer won this event. There have been many close calls and Conners likely provides the best chance to snap that slump this week. At 29th, he is the highest-ranked Canadian in the world and he finally got his first taste of success at this event last year. He twirled a sixth-place finish at St. George’s after opening his tournament resume with five missed cuts and an 80th-place showing. Conners won two months ago at the Valero Texas Open and he’s bagged two more top-15s in the five starts since the win.
Adam Hadwin
Looking at close calls from Canadians in their national open, Hadwin has more than his fair share. He was solo second ahead of the final round back in 2011 before finishing in a share of fourth place. He has two other top-10s on his tournament resume. If this turns into a scoring-fest then Hadwin has proven he can hang, evidenced by his strong track record at PGA West. He’s also played well on tighter, tree-lined layouts, with big finishes at Colonial, Firestone and Innisbrook to name a few.
Mackenzie Hughes
If short game becomes a priority then Hughes would rise to the top in terms of Canadians to target. He ranks 18th on Tour in strokes gained: around the green and 40th in putting. He’s finished T-32 or better in all four tries at this event since becoming a regular Tour member.
Ludvig Aberg
Gamers love to be early on the next big, breakout star so expect to see a lot of love for the Swede this week. Aberg played his way into the title of world No. 1 amateur, but he’s made the leap to the pro ranks and he’ll get his feet wet over the summer before having another full season of status in 2024. He’s finished outside the top 50 in four of his five previous starts on the PGA Tour, but was T-12 through 54 holes at this year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational (T-24).
RANKING THE FIELD
1. Rory McIlroy
2. Tyrrell Hatton
3. Matt Fitzpatrick
4. Justin Rose
5. Cameron Young
6. Tommy Fleetwood
7. Sam Burns
8. Sahith Theegala
9. Corey Conners
10. Shane Lowry
11. Adrian Meronk
12. Keith Mitchell
13. Matt Kuchar
14. Adam Hadwin
15. Nick Taylor
16. Nicolai Hojgaard
17. Adam Svensson
18. Joseph Bramlett
19. Eric Cole
20. Mackenzie Hughes