The PGA Tour makes its annual trip north of the border for the RBC Canadian Open, starting Thursday at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in Caledon, Ontario. This week, which marks the second straight year at TPC Toronto, there is some major talent on hand. Englishmen Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood and Aaron Rai will play, as will Collin Morikawa and Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre, the 2024 champion.
Local Favorites Compete
Of course, what matters more to local fans is to see the top Canadian golfers vying to win their national open. When Nick Taylor beat Fleetwood in a playoff in 2023 on a dramatic 72-foot eagle putt, he was the first countryman to lift the trophy since 1954. Taylor is one of the 21 Canadians competing this week, along with PGA Tour veterans Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes, Adam Hadwin and 56-year-old Mike Weir, playing for the 33rd time.
Morikawa skipped last week’s signature event, the Memorial Tournament, in favor of making his first start at the Canadian since 2019. It’s been a busy year for Morikawa: He won his first tournament in almost 2 1/2 years at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am; hurt his back at The Players Championship and withdrew; and he and his wife just welcomed their first baby.
“I left the PGA Championship uncomfortable in a way,” Morikawa said. “I’ve been grinding (with this) back injury since The Players. It still hadn’t felt that comfortable. So it was nice to take a full reset and just focus on other things going on in life. I think after that I’ve just been able to relax a little bit more.
“There’s still a trust factor that I’m looking for that I’m trying to find this week going into (Thursday) and into next week, essentially. But it’s a lot better of a swing than I’ve been putting on and that’s, for me, a positive thing.”
Course and Field
TPC Toronto’s North course is a par-70 track measuring 7,389 yards. Two players posted 9-under 61 in the first round last year, but the winning score settled in at 18-under par. Last year, Ryan Fox of New Zealand took down Sam Burns in a playoff for his second PGA Tour win, which came one month after his first in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Fox gets the benefit of defending his title at a course he’s familiar with rather than a new venue.
Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
