Thanks to the new compressed schedule, the next major of the season is just one week away! Before we head to Pebble Beach for the U.S. Open, the Tour makes a quick stop north of the border for the RBC Canadian Open. A Canadian has not won the Canadian Open since Pat Fletcher in 1954. Mike Weir and David Hearn both came close to breaking that curse, but neither did with Weir losing in a playoff to Vijay Singh in 2004 and Hearn blowing a 2 shot lead heading into the final round to finish third.
Here’s a look at how we’re doing overall this season:
| (2019 – 15 Events) | Correct | Incorrect |
| Shamburger | 3 | 16 |
| Hauser | 2 | 17 |
| Two Inches Short | *2 | 14 |
| Bridget Whelan | 0 | 1 |
We clearly aren’t experts.
* Two Inches Short won our bracket challenge even though he didn’t pick the WGC-Match Play winner.
Now, on to this week’s picks…
Michael Shamburger (@mshamburger1)
Of course I’m picking first this week … the week before a major.
I don’t want to do this, but I’m going to make myself do it… Brooks.
Why? Because of this tweet
It’s Canada’s major!
— Brooks Koepka (@BKoepka) June 1, 2019
If Brooks is calling it a major, even if he’s joking, then it’s a major and he’s either going to win it or finish in the top 5. I’ve gotta go with the odds and because I’m passing on DJ, who always seems to play well at this event, I’m taking the other guy who is on top of the world right now.
Honestly, Brooks is probably going to be my pick at the U.S. Open as well. He is the top dog right now when it comes to majors and it’s a better bet to go with him than against.
Dan Hauser (@DanHauserGolf)
I am going to be honest hear and let you know that I have not really given the field list for this week a hard look. With that being said, my pick this week is Dustin Johnson.
An RBC sponsored golfer, it’s no secret that DJ’s is teeing it up this week because one of his biggest sponsors also sponsors the event. He also just so happens to be the defending champion ( I know, I’m really going out on a limb with my pick).
Since his victory in Mexico back in February, DJ has teed it up 6 times including 2 majors. In those six events, he has finished outside the top 10 twice (T40 at the Match Play and T28 at the RBC Heritage). Not only that, but DJ seems to enjoy playing golf in Canada.
Dating back to 2012, DJ has played the Canadian Open 5 times. In those 5 appearances, he missed the cut only 1 time. In his other four appearances, he has 2 runner up finishes, a T8, and the win last year.
Give me DJ to successfully defend his title this week and on to Pebble!
Two Inches Short (@TwoInchesShort)
With no Tiger in the field this week and Brooks and DJ already off the board, we’re going with a rested Rory McIlroy to win the Canadian Open.
Fresh off his first MC of the season at last week’s Memorial, McIlroy is making his tournament debut north of the border in his final tune-up before the U.S. Open.
Ball striking doesn’t seem to be an issue for Rory. He leads the PGA Tour in strokes gained: off-the tee AND tee-to-green AND is second in overall strokes gained (2.43).
He’s notched 9 top 10s in his last 11 starts, including a win at the Players and a backdoor T8 at the PGA Championship, even though he was +5 after his first 3 holes during the second round at Bethpage Black. Impressive stuff.
As long as McIlroy is able to hit greens with his wedges and roll it half-decent with the putter on a sub-7,000 yard course, there’s no reason why he won’t be in the mix down the stretch Sunday afternoon.
