Following an exiciting week of majors action in England, the PGA Tour now heads to Canuck territory for this year’s installment of the RBC Canadian Open.
All eyes will be on World No. 1 Dustin Johnson at the Glen Abbey Golf Club in Ontario, but who else are worthy of our attention? Read on below to know which golfers can be counted on for your betting needs this week.
Bad results from the last couple of majors is rather uncharacteristic for Dustin Johnson, who’s been knocked off from the top spot of the FedExCup points standings for the season by his rival, Jordan Spieth, following Spieth’s victory at The Open Championship.
Still, it’s hard to imagine that Johnson won’t be able to return to form this week. Lest we forget, DJ reeled off three-straight wins between February and April. In addition, Johnson’s also secured a couple of runner-up finishes at Glen Abbey during his career (2013 and 2016), which goes to show that this week’s tournament may be the boost that he needs to get back on the winning track.
Tour veteran Matt Kuchar came oh-so close to winning the British Open this past week, finishing a sweet solo second at Royal Birkdale. The 39-year-old has finished no worse than 16th in each of his last five starts, and that’s only the beginning of the goods that he’s bringing to the table this week.
Kuchar’s had great success at Glen Abbey just the same, with four-consecutive top-10 finishes on the course that includes a tie for second in 2013. Having said that, the product out of Georgia Tech has the momentum and terrific track record on this week’s course that could lead him to his first victory since 2014.
It’s been over 60 years since a Canadian last won the Canadian Open, and Adam Hadwin may just be the Canuck to end that drought.
Hadwin’s had his fair share of impressive performances at Glen Abbey, tying for fourth in 2011 and seventh in 2015. The Saskatchewan native also had brilliant displays of prowess earlier this March with a win at the Valspar Championship followed by a solo sixth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Most of Ian Poulter’s time this season has been spent on the European Tour, so he really flies under most people’s radars.
What folks are missing out on is that the Brit’s combined to make nine-straight cuts from PGA Tour and European Tour competition alike entering this week’s tournament. Poulter’s streak began with a superb T2 finish at THE PLAYERS in May and is capped off with a T9 at The Open this past week, making him one of the hottest golfers who can net his backers a huge payout should he end up winning it all this weekend.
Long Shot
Vaughn Taylor
After winning at esteemed Pebble Beach last year, Vaughn Taylor hasn’t been able to get anything else going since.
While Taylor did end up tied for 19th at the John Deere Classic earlier this month, it was just his fourth top-20 finish in 22 PGA Tour starts this season. The 41-year-old veteran has missed more cuts than top 20s at that (five), and he’s also failed to crack the top 40 in his last two trips to Glen Abbey.
Writer’s Prediction
Kuchar (+900) seals his first-ever victory at the RBC Canadian Open.
