Lost in all the shuffle ahead of the first Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf event in London is an actual feel-good story – the return of a proper national championship for our neighbors to the north at the RBC Canadian Open in Toronto.

The event has been off the schedule for two years due to COVID-19 restrictions, with Rory McIlroy winning the last installment in 2019 at Hamilton. This is the premiere golf event in Canada having first been played in 1904. Its two-year hiatus was a noticeable loss on the rotation, and native Tour players can’t wait to get back in front of the fans in their home country.

“We haven’t been back there to compete in a few years,” Mackenzie Hughes said at last week’s Memorial Tournament. “Us Canadians missed that one on the schedule, so it’s gonna be a lot of fun.”

Now the Canadian Open heads to St. George’s Golf and Country Club in Toronto – the par-70 layout has only hosted this event five times, most recently when Carl Pettersson set the course record with a third-round 60 and went on to win in 2010. The timing of its return couldn't be better, following the launch of online sports betting in Ontario in April.

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That means legal betting for locals in the province, but the golf betting board looks a little different this time around compared to 2019, with two big names at the top – Justin Thomas and Scottie Scheffler, both of whom go off with +700 odds on betting sites and betting apps.

Rory McIlroy is next at +800 after a disappointing T-18 finish at Muirfield Village. McIlroy is still the defending champion and finished seven shots ahead of the field in 2019 for one of the most dominant wins of his career. 

Cameron Smith is next at +1000, while Matthew Fitzpatrick and Shane Lowry round out the top six with golf odds of +1600. 

Top 2022 RBC Canadian Open Odds

Player	Winner	Top 5	Top 10
Justin Thomas	+700	+150	-150
Scottie Scheffler	+700	+150	-150
Rory McIlroy	+800	+200	-125
Cameron Smith	+1000	+240	+100
Matthew Fitzpatrick	+1600	+330	+150
Shane Lowry	+1600	+330	+150
Sam Burns	+1800	+350	+180
Tyrrell Hatton	+2000	+350	+190
Corey Conners	+2200	+400	+200

Odds via DraftKings and current as of publication, for more information visit the DraftKings promo page.

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RBC Canadian Open Expert Picks & Predictions

Adam Hadwin Top-10 Finish

Odds: +350 at DraftKings

We hit on a Max Homa Top-10 finish at +330 odds last week and have our eyes on another top-10 for the RBC Canadian Open. Adam Hadwin is a British Columbian native who’s had success in his national open before, with three top-10s in 10 appearances. And while this is a new course, it should be a great fit. 

Hadwin is coming off a solid T-18 at the Memorial and hit it great tee-to-green all week. His biggest weakness, driving distance, is negated this week with St. George’s stretching out at just over 7,000 yards – very short by today’s Tour standards. Accuracy and iron play is the name of the game and Hadwin is 30^th on Tour in Strokes Gained Approach this season. He’s also in the fairway more often than not. 

This is also a unique layout in that it features five par-3 holes. Hadwin ranks 13^th on Tour in par-3 scoring and also does some of his best work around the greens. He already has four top-10 finishes this season, the game seems like a great course fit and he just played strong golf at one of the tougher courses on Tour – even more so for short hitters.

We’re on Hadwin for a top-10 finish with +350 odds at DraftKings.

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RBC Canadian Open Betting Tips

There’s no course history to go on here, as it’s been 12 years since St. George’s last hosted a Tour event. But the yardage alone and course knowledge we do have indicates position off the tee and approach shots will make the biggest difference as opposed to distance. 

We’re looking at strong irons players and leaning on par-3 scoring averages, with five par-3s and just three par-5s on the course. Driving accuracy will be important, and we can look at the Strokes Gained Approach stats from the Memorial to see who’s hitting it well. Muirfield Village is another second-shot golf course that can be punishing off the fairways. 

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There’s been some discussion of the fact that no Canadian player has won this event since Pat Fletcher in 1954, but there’s no reason to fade the natives this week. Corey Conners and Hadwin are playing great and Mackenzie Hughes has two straight top-15 finishes at the Canadian Open. 

For our PGA betting picks, we’re looking at the best irons players and fading the bomb-and-gouge crowd.

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RBC Canadian Open, Date & TV

When: Thursday-Sunday, June 9-June 12

Where: St. George’s Golf & Country Club, Toronto, Ontario

TV: CBS, Golf Channel