RBC Canadian Open 2023
Preparing for a major week
The RBC Canadian Open 2023 is set to take place at the Oakdale Golf & Country Club in Toronto for the first time. The course is expected to play somewhat similar to Stanley Thompson’s St. George’s Golf & Country Club, host of the 2022 RBC Canadian Open, but easier. Approach play from within 150 yards will be critical, and players who can find the fairway and are strong birdie-makers in easy scoring conditions will have an advantage. Notably, Rory McIlroy is expected to be a strong contender for the title, given his impressive performances in the previous years.
The field for the Open is a mix of seasoned pros and up-and-comers, with 10 OWGR top-30 players expected to compete, including names like Matt Fitzpatrick, Sam Burns, Cameron Young, Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Sahith Theegala, Justin Rose, and Corey Conners. Also, former Canadian Open winners Brandt Snedeker, Scott Piercy, and Sean O’Hair are expected to be in the mix. Several notable Canadians, including Conners, Adam Hadwin, Mackenzie Hughes, Nick Taylor, Taylor Pendrith, and Adam Svensson, will also be taking part.
Course Overview
As for the Oakdale Golf & Country Club, it's making its debut as a host for a professional tournament, despite its rich history dating back to 1926. The course is known for its Bentgrass and Poa-blended greens and its connection to Canada’s most famous architect, Stanley Thompson.
Chairman's note: Because this is the new course we asked our assistant team to dive deep in the course details. In our experience these are great spots to find value.
The Course Layout
The Oakdale Golf and Country Club is known for its composite routing, with each of the nine holes named after Canadian icons in the sport. For the RBC Canadian Open, the front nine will be made up of four holes from the Thompson and five holes from the Homenuik. The full Knudson nine will make up the back nine. The front nine will play nearly 400 yards longer, at approximately 3,800 yards, while the back nine will be approximately 3,400 yards. It will play as a par-72, with two holes being converted to par-4s for the TOUR’s best (the third hole and sixth hole).
Course Challenges
Oakdale Golf and Country Club is a course where accuracy is key. The major defense of Oakdale being the small greens, there are a couple of fairways heavily sloped, requiring golfers to land in the right portion. The greens are not necessarily the most well-bunkered but there is great undulation and tricky slopes. Black Creek runs through the course, adding an extra layer of challenge as players will have to consider whether their putts will break towards the creek.
Course Preparation
The course has undergone significant improvements to prepare for the tournament, including the addition of a few extra tee blocks and an extra bunker on the back nine, as well as upgrades to the fairways, drainage, and irrigation systems. The 18th hole has been converted from a par-4 to a par-5, which is a significant change from the previous year’s qualifier when it was the hardest hole on the course.
Here's all of this in a nutshell:
2023 RBC Canadian Open - Oakdale Course Preview
— Ron Klos (@PGASplits101) June 5, 2023
-Classical tree-lined course
-4-5" rough, sloped greens
-Elevation changes throughout
-Not many hazards to challenge players
-Front nine drastically tougher than the back
-An easier version of St. George's?https://t.co/hv2uqirUio
Betting card and thoughts
It seems the market thinks that Rory's focus is elsewhere and he's not able to finish tournaments (as we've seen lately) as he's market share has been shrinking for past few days. After dozen+ WD's the field seems top heavy with really "off" players making more than half of the field.
Our focus on this competition is to play the top & trending underdogs. Less is more this time and we'll done a lot of restructuring on our models after a somewhat miserable month where we've had a great positions before Sunday's round just to see them disappear from contention before any sells could've been done.
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Here are the picks and preview of data for the week is here.
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This model yielded a solid result last week although there were 7 players that placed 1 to 2 shots out of payout. Looking for ways to automatize these in the future.
Might add something live and I'm especially interested in Justin Rose, Michael Kim and Tyrrell Hatton in the winner market.
Good luck!
