Author: Matt Rumack
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thing that makes Spieth the most special, is that when the pressure is at its greatest, he is as well. His last two wins came as a result of a holed bunker shot in a playoff, and a five-under stretch on holes 14 through 17 at the British Open. Matt Kuchar went two under during that stretch of holes, and he was toast. Finished. No chance. If not for the 23-year old prodigy, Kuch would’ve had his first major. The future of golf is in good hands with Spieth leading the way. Unfortunately, for guys like Matt Kuchar, Brandt Snedeker, Paul Casey, Lee Westwood, Charley Hoffman and others, their window to win a major is shutting quicker and quicker.
The RBC Canadian Open is where we will take our attention this week. Following the British Open there is a very light field to choose from, but we do get the number one golfer in the world, Dustin Johnson. Matt Kuchar will be there following his runner-up finish at the Open. We’ve got some decent mid-upper tier players in Kevin Chappell, Charley Hoffman, JB Holmes, Danny Lee, Tony Finau, Shane Lowry, Bubba Watson, Ian Poulter, James Hahn, and the 2016 champion Jhonattan Vegas will also be teeing it up at Glen Abbey.
It’s hard to imagine Dustin Johnson finishing outside the Top 5 this weekend. Photo Credit: Dave Thompson/AP
Glen Abbey has been host to this golf tournament three of the past four years. The course plays at a moderate 7,252 yards. Recent winners have had all had great success getting off the tee into the proper position to attack the pin. Look for players who gain strokes off the tee because Glen Abbey will yield birdies if you can find the right angle in the fairway. This Jack Nicklaus designed course has over 100 bunkers, a handful of water hazards, and a lot of undulation. This makes strokes gained: approach also an important statistic. Hazards and undulation will torment a player who doesn’t have their irons in check, so I’m favoring ball strikers who can get out of the sand well. This course has six par 4s in the 400-450 range, so look for players who are efficient from that distance. Lastly, but still very important, look for golfers who score well on Par 5s. It feels like every week they’ve been playing on a Par 70 track with only two par 5s. Well, this week the field will have 16 good chances to pick up a shot and sometimes two on the Par 5s at Glen Abbey.
Recent Champions
2012: Scott Piercy
2013: Brandt Snedeker
2014: Tim Clark
2015: Jason Day
2016: Jhonattan Vegas
RBC Canadian Open Daily Fantasy Picks
Dustin Johnson ($12,200) In this weak field, it’s hard to imagine Johnson will finish anywhere outside of the Top 5. Johnson is number one on Tour in SG: off-the-tee, number seven on Tour in Par 5 scoring, and is within the top ten in SG: approach. He should have some legitimate opportunities at eagle this week and pick up bunches of birdies on the par 5s. DJ has come back down to earth of late, but he’s still the most talented golfer in the field by a few furlongs.
Patrick Cantlay ($8,100) Patrick Cantlay hasn’t played enough events to be ranked on the PGA Tour, but he’s fared well in the tournaments he has played in. He’s keeping his schedule light in order to keep the stress on his recently healed back at a minimum. For this field, $8,100 is a very moderate price. He has two top 10s in his six events and no finishes worse than 48th. Cantlay has no holes in his game, and should be able to hang with the top of the pack for all four days.
Kevin Tway ($7,700) Kevin Tway burst onto the scene in April and May with a streak of four straight Top 20 finishes. Tway can really bomb the ball (sixth in distance) and ranks 43rd in SG: off-the-tee. Not surprisingly, he’s one of the best Par 5 scorers (25th) on Tour, and has shown that he can sniff the top of the leaderboard most weeks, especially with a field like this one.
Danny Lee ($8,000) Danny Lee was picking up steam in the weeks since he withdrew from the John Deere for an undisclosed reason. Lee is pretty solid off the tee and in par 5 scoring. His stellar iron play makes him very dangerous in the 400-450 yard range as he ranks 38th in SG: Approach. Lee is also one of the best players out of the sand (16th). If his irons are as hot as they were in the late May-early July period, he won’t even need his nifty sand game.
David Hearn ($6,900) I have to have a Canadian in my lineup for the Canadian Open. Hearn is more than just a sympathy pick, though. He finished third behind Bubba Watson and Jason Day in this event in 2015. Hearn has had a nice summer, missing just one of his last six cuts. Hearn is an above average Par 5 scorer and ranks 32nd in sand save percentage. Hearn is one of the better choices in this price range and should be comfortable playing in his home province of Ontario.
Brandon Hagy ($6,900) When you spend over $12,000 on Dustin Johnson you’re going to need to get creative in the lower tier when making your picks. Enter Brandon Hagy. Hagy has been making cuts lately; in fact, five of his last six. His two biggest strengths statistically are SG: off-the tee (24th) and Par 5 scoring (10th). Hagy will be the pick that not a lot of owners will buy, so if he does well he could provide a major boost to your lineup.
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