Golf: Canadian Open
Venue: St George’s Golf Club, Ontario
Dates: Thursday 9th – Sunday 12th June 2022
Tournament Preview
The Canadian Open makes a welcome return to the PGA Tour, following a two year hiatus due to COVID 19. First played almost 120 years ago, the Canadian Open is one of the flagship events in North American golf and it could be the perfect tonic for the PGA Tour, with players from all over the world jumping ship to the LIV Golf Tour, backed by Greg Norman’s Saudi Arabian conglomerate. With previous winners at the Canadian Open including Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, and Jason Day, it deserves its place amongst the pantheon of world class events on the PGA Tour.
Betting Preview
Outright Winner
Plenty of the biggest players in the world are in action Canada and it will be interesting to see where each player is at this weekend, with the US Open on the horizon:
World number one Scottie Scheffler will be chomping at the bit to get going here and he will be tough to beat on favourable conditions in Canada this week.
Fresh off the back of his mentioned USPGA triumph last month, Justin Thomas should be full of confidence here and he will want to keep his form going ahead the US summer swing.
Defending champion Rory McIlroy has had to wait since 2019 to defend his Canadian Open title and he should be raring to go here, at an event he enjoys playing.
Australian Cameron Smith is a prolific performer at this level and a win here at the Canadian Open would lift him to a whole new echelon on the PGA Tour.
American Tony Finau is incredibly consistent at this level, and he should be in the running from the off here at the Canadian Open.
1st Round Leader
Those who get off to a good start could take some catching here in Ontario and there is sure to be plenty of big names in contention from the off here:
Irishman Shane Lowry has enjoyed a few superb seasons on both the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, and he is always a candidate to get off to a fast start.
Englishman Justin Rose has struggled for form over the past 12 months or so, but his game looks to be tailormade for conditions here in Ontario.
Top 5 Finish
With so many good players assembled here in Ontario, getting into the winning enclosure could be tough but there are plenty of candidates to finish in the top 5 come Sunday:
Young American Sam Burns is really starting to come of age on the PGA Tour and another top 5 showing here would establish his credentials even further.
Another man in fine form is Harold Varner III, who is starting to piece some of the most consistent performances of his career together and he’s a real candidate here.
Two time winner of this event Jhonattan Vegas clearly loves playing conditions in Canada and despite no form to speak of, he could well be in the mix this week.
Canadian Open betxchange.com Best Bets:
Outright Winner: Scottie Scheffler – 17/2
1st Round Leader: Shane Lowry – 33/1
Top Ten Finish: Sam Burns – 32/10
