First time to Canada since 2019 and first time to Royal St George’s G & CC since 2010.

Let’s dig in and get ready for the US Open next week at The Country Club.

111th RCB Canadian Open

St George’s Golf & CC

Toronto

Weekly Readers:

Horses for Courses click here

Expert Picks click here

Pick ‘Em LIVE click here

PGATOUR Champions click here

Korn Ferry Tour Power Rankings click here

Yards (per official scorecard):	7,014
Par:	70 (34-36)
Greens:	Creeping Bentgrass; 4,000 square feet.
Stimpmeter:	12 feet.
Rough:	Bluegrass approaching four inches.
Bunkers/Water Hazards	104/1 (Water in play on 3 holes).
Architects:	Stanley Thompson (1929); Tom Doak/Ian Andrew (2014).
Course Record (last):	60; Carl Pettersson, 2010.
Tournament Scoring Record:	266 (-14); Carl Pettersson, 2010.
Fact of the Week:	Previous Canadian Open before 2010 held at Royal St George’s was in 1968.

Notes:

• Full field of 165
• Top 65 and ties play the final 36 holes.
• $8.7 million purse
• $1.566 winner plus 500 FedExCup points.
• WINNER GETS INTO THE US OPEN ONLY IF HE WINS FOR THE SECOND TIME in the last 12 months.

OAD

Spotter’s Game 2022

2022 Events	Golfer	Place	Total $$
Sentry Tournament of Champions	Marc Leishman	T10	188,000
Sony Open in Hawaii	Keith Mitchell	T7	227,812
The American Express	Seamus Power	T14	119,700
Farmers Insurance Open	Jon Rahm	T3	445,200
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am	Maverick McNealy	T33	43,548
WM Phoenix Open	Hideki Matsuyama	T8	248,050
The Genesis Invitational	Patrick Cantlay	T33	64,000
The Honda Classic	Sungjae Im	MC	0
Arnold Palmer Invitational	Rory McIlroy	T13	228,000
THE PLAYERS Championship	Daniel Berger	T13	327,222
Valspar Championship	Keegan Bradley	MC	0
WGC – Dell Match Play	Paul Casey	T60	41,000
Corales Puntacana	Emiliano Grillo	MC	0
Valero Texas Open	Corey Conners	T35	41,925
Masters Tournament	Jordan Spieth	MC	0
RBC Heritage	Matt Fitzpatrick	MC	0
Zurich Classic of New Orleans	Ian Poulter	13th	69,803
Mexico Open at Vidanta	Davis Riley	5th	299,300
Wells Fargo Championship	Tony Finau	T41	33,750
AT&T Byron Nelson	Will Zalatoris	MC	0
PGA Championship	Scottie Scheffler	MC	0
Charles Schwab Challenge	Max Homa	T23	77,700
Memorial Tournament	Collin Morikawa	MC	0
Total Events: 23	Top 10: 5	MC: 8	$2,455,010

This Week – 111th Canadian Open

It’s US Open prep week and John Huston, 61, is in the field!

Whoa, Canada…

I love classic tracks and this week the rough and recovery shots will be the biggest test. Tree lined fairways and tiny greens (only Pebble Beach is smaller on TOUR) will highlight ball strikers and scramblers.

Taking advantage of the three Par-5 holes is a must and the ball strikers will also shine on the Par-3 holes. Of the five on the card, four tip out at 200 yards plus so find somebody who can hit it this week or scramble from everywhere. With 101 bunkers in play this time around, that might be easier said than done.

THE CHOICE: Jhonattan Vegas

This game has broken my spirit but we continue on the road to disappointment weekly.

My only redeeming quality for this season is I have dudes loaded for the back end. Asking all of them to peak on the week I play them is a bit of a long shot but here we are.

If you take the top 20 OWGR players that I have burned this season, I think they’ve cashed in the top 10 once, Jon Rahm.

That’s amazing.

Fade ’em or use ’em, the price is always the same!

Warm Blankets: The guys who should. Safe selections that will help maintain leads. Opinions on why or why not for this event or save for later.

Scottie Scheffler (+850): Should enjoy the ball-striking challenge similar to Colonial where he lost in a playoff. Before the last major he made 26 birdies for T15 at TPC Craig Ranch.

Justin Thomas (+900): What track isn’t he comfortable playing? First start after the incredible comeback at the PGA Championship. The week prior he was T5 in preparation.

Rory McIlroy (+900): Another week of head scratching followed his weekend 73-74 when in contention at Muirfield. The results are there but sadly the value is not. “Defending” champion this week on a different course.

Cameron Smith (+1200): With two wins from 12 starts and nothing outside of T35 in 2022, yeah. Also blew a tire Sunday at Memorial to drift to T13. Imagine T13 being frustrating.

Sam Burns (+1600): Free as a bird as he keeps stacking wins. Interesting angle this week is how he handles northern grasses as he’s been killing it on Bermuda. Hard to believe he MC in a personal stretch of three events in late January/early February. I’m waiting for more Bermuda…

Matt Fitzpatrick (+1600): Yep. Tight, small greens, less than 7,500. All systems go.

Shane Lowry (+1800): I’m saving him for The Open. The end.

Corey Conners (+2000): Careful, no Canadian has won this event since 1954.

Tony Finau (+2500): Top 25 in both Off the Tee and Approach so he won’t have to hole a ton of putts this week. Navigated another top 10 at Colonial last time out. Interesting.

Spicy: This might be a week for sending out an “unknown” and saving a start. You just might get lucky. Or MC.

Harold Varner III (+2800): The angle is both of his wins are international victories so his game travels. Cashed in seven straight with six going for T21 or better including three T6 or better.

Chris Kirk (+4500): Solid Colonial and PGA Championship on demanding tracks shouldn’t be omitted after a tough (for everyone not named Horschel) weekend at Muirfield Village. Tee to Green numbers, including Around are fantastic.

CT Pan (+6600): Steady plotter should be fully interested at less than 7,100 yards. Seven straight paydays.

Dylan Frittelli (+10000): Nine straight.

3 AM at the Blackjack Table: Caution is thrown to the wind. Maybe not the best for this format but what the hell, right? Might throw these in if you’re in need of a miracle.

Aaron Rai (+10000)

David Lipsky (+11000)

Tyler Duncan (+12500)

Matthias Schwab (+15000)

Funny Money Long Shots:

Charley Hoffman (+20000)

Brian Stuard (+25000)

Luke Donald (+27500)

Last Time – Memorial

Collin Morikawa – MC

Well, that was interesting.

So much for course form, design form as his current form trumped it all.

Made golf look so easy there for a minute didn’t he?

No top 25 in his last five starts on TOUR.

Washed up at age 25! Sad!

Warm Blankets: The guys who should. Safe selections that will help maintain leads. Opinions on why or why not for this event or save for later.

Jon Rahm (+1000): I’m not sure anyone could talk me out of this. His last seven rounds here have beaten everyone by like 409580480309830 shots. He’s 238-0 heads up in that time. Super contrarian play is to fade him this week because those numbers are incredible. I’m not sure I can pull that trigger. Glad I don’t have to worry in OAD because A.) I suck and B.) I’ve used him. Automatic top 10 at this event even with is D game. Amazing. T10.

Rory McIlroy (+1200): If this is the Augusta of the North, well, it’s not surprising he hasn’t won here either. Two of his worst three starts here are his last two. Form is fantastic with three straight in the top 10 including Masters and PGA Championship. Augusta of the North, aye. Fell apart on the weekend while lurking after 36 holes. Can’t make it up. No wins here or there. T18

Patrick Cantlay (+1600): In his last 12 events on TOUR he’s racked out seven top 10 finishes. In his last six events on TOUR he has exactly one, at another course he loves, Harbour Town. With two wins in his last three here I can’t tell you this is a bad idea. With three top fours in his last four I still can’t get off of him. When the track got harder on the weekend, he got sharper (-4). T3 adds to two victories and a T4. Automatic in the future as well.

Jordan Spieth (+2000): This will be his 10th consecutive start here. No need to worry about the scheduling. Golfers golf, folks. Just two top 10s from his previous nine but six top 25s including the last three. I’ll be surprised if many/any have a start on him left. Make it four consecutive T25 or better with T18 this week. Solid if unspectacular.

Xander Schauffele (+2000): Not much value for a guy who’s never pocketed a top 10 in four starts. Yes, all three are top 15s but still. Still no top 10 but another top 20 with T18. Weird.

Cameron Smith (+2000): Every week it seems we run into conflicting forces. This week the Aussie rolls in ranked No. 3 in the world with a podium at the Masters and T13 PGA Championship his recent bests. Now, get ready for his track record here: No rounds in the 60s in six tries and exactly one round under par. This year he opened with two rounds in the 60s to lead at the halfway point. He didn’t break par on the weekend (72-77) and drifted to T13. Bad beat? Not with the info above, no.

Matthew Fitzpatrick (+2200): OK, I surrender. 10 starts, eight paydays all T18 or better. Right in until the final holes at Southern Hills and T2 previously at TPC Potomac, neither easy tracks. MC by a shot is still MC.

Shane Lowry (+2500): If you’re not saving him for The Open, then please, fire away. Stick him in for a top 20 and forget about sweating. T35 or better in his last 11 worldwide. Make it T35 or better in his last 12 (T32). Didn’t help playing the last five holes in three over to miss the top 20.

Spicy: This might be a week for sending out an “unknown” and saving a start. You just might get lucky. Or MC.

Hideki Matsuyama (+2800): Still a bit stung by the no show in Tulsa so my feelings are hurt. Only one top 10 in his last six here doesn’t have me running to the window this week. DQ for non-conforming equipment.

Will Zalatoris (+3300): Interesting to see if he’s bothered, tired or ready for the challenge this week. Two MC in TOUR events in Texas but two top 5s in the last two majors. ANOTHER T5.

Cameron Young (+3300): I mean…he’s 10th SG: Total and rolls in T3-T2-T3. What’s not to like? Maybe 77-77 at ANGC? Prophetic. He closed 73-84 for T60.

Mito Pereira (+4500): I don’t remember his number last week but that would have been a nice payday on T7. Just a fantastic recovery from what could have been a career defining WRONG WAY after Southern Hills. Bravo. Another very solid week on another very difficult track. T13. Complete stud.

Patrick Reed (+5500): Scrambles more eggs than the dude working the omelette station on Sunday brunch. He’ll be happy if it’s on fire again just like he was for T10 and T5 in his last two here. Didn’t break 70 before breaking out for LIV golf. T53.

Davis Riley (+6000): He’s played himself out of the 125-1 days, hasn’t he? ALMOST looked human with his 75 on Sunday. His first three rounds were good enough that his Sunday score only knocked him to T13. What a run he is on as well!

Aaron Wise (+7000): Hate the number, like the player. Solo second.

Chris Kirk (+7000): Backed up his T5 at Southern Hills with T15 at Colonial. Sat two back entering Sunday before limping in. 75-76 weekend for T53.

Jason Day (+7500): Sponsor’s exemption has one top 10 in his career here. Careful. 31st. Membership at MVGC only goes so far. More proof that “home games” aren’t always the play. Too many distractions perhaps.

3 AM at the Blackjack Table: Caution is thrown to the wind. Maybe not the best for this format but what the hell, right? Might throw these in if you’re in need of a miracle.

Bryson DeChambeau (+10000): Surely a dollar just to satisfy any curiosity. And we’re done here for now. MC.

Anirban Lahiri (+14000): MC

Patrick Rodgers (+15000): MC

Kevin Streelman (+16000): MC

I believe that’s the first time ever I’ve put up a bagel in the 3am column!

Funny Money Long Shots:

Cameron Champ – MC

Harris English – MC

Erik van Rooyen – MC

Pat Perez – T26

Stewart Cink – MC

Bo Hoag for a top 40, top 30, top 20 and top 10. His grandfather helped build this with Jack. It’s his major. MC

Pat Perez saves the blushes!