The 2023 RBC Canadian Open takes to a new venue this week as players ready for their last tournament before the third major championship of the season. Headlining the action is none other than world No. 3 and two-time defending champion Rory McIlroy at +550.
Envisioning a winning score around 20 under, the PGA Tour will put the difficult examinations of Muirfield Village and Colonial Country Club in the rearview mirror. It will be music to the ears of the world’s best as Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Cameron Young, Tyrrell Hatton, Justin Rose and Shane Lowry all join McIlroy in playing the week before the U.S. Open.
In total, 10 of the top 30 players in the Official World Golf Rankings will travel to Toronto, Ontario, for the longest run non-major tournament on the PGA Tour’s playing schedule. They are joined by a litany of Canadians that includes Corey Conners, Nick Taylor, Adam Hadwin, Adam Svensson and Mackenzie Hughes all looking to win in front of a home crowd.
RBC Canadian Open Odds
| Golfer | Odds |
|---|---|
| Rory McIlroy | +550 |
| Tyrrell Hatton | +1100 |
| Cameron Young | +1400 |
| Matt Fitzpatrick | +1400 |
| Sam Burns | +1400 |
| Justin Rose | +1600 |
| Corey Conners | +1800 |
| Shane Lowry | +2000 |
| Tommy Fleetwood | +2000 |
| Sahith Theegala | +2500 |
| Keith Mitchell | +3500 |
Odds as of June 6
Why Is Rory Favored In the RBC Canadian Open Odds
Fresh off contending at the Memorial Tournament, the Northern Irishman looks intent on winning his third Canadian Open title on the third different golf course. McIlroy played well for much of the week at Jack’s Place but ultimately finished in a tie for seventh and mirrored his finish from the PGA Championship at Oak Hill Country Club.
He will hope to carry this form to Oakdale Golf & Country Club which will be making its public and competitive debut. Measuring just north of 7,200 yards, this Stanley Thompson design plays to a par 72 and should be susceptible to birdies and plenty of them.
2023 RBC Canadian Open Betting Picks
Tyrrell Hatton to win (+1200): The Englishman is playing like a top 10 player in the world at the moment, and everyone knows it. Hatton arrives to Canada fresh off five straight top-20 finishes in big-boy fields such as the PGA Championship where he carded three straight under-par rounds and the Wells Fargo Championship where he finished T-3.
While he is known to play more difficult golf courses better, Hatton proved with his top-five effort at TPC Craig Ranch that shootouts are right up his alley as well.
Over the last three months, he is gaining more than two strokes per round through a balanced profile that includes ranking inside the top 12 of strokes gained off the tee, strokes gained approach and strokes gained putting among those in the field.
Cameron Young to win (+1400)
The reigning PGA Tour Rookie of the Year is experiencing a sophomore slump of sorts, but the RBC Canadian Open should be an ideal bounce back spot. Young is coming off two straight missed cuts primarily due to an uncooperative putter. Despite his short weeks in Rochester, New York, and Dublin, Ohio, the Wake Forest product continues to strike the ball well.
Young ranks second in strokes gained tee-to-green, second in strokes gained off the tee and ninth in strokes gained approach since February. During this span, he finished runner up to Burns at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play and posted a top-10 effort at the Masters.
Similar to Hatton, Young has proven to have the game to contend at both stern tests and those golf courses where birdies are there for the taking.
Cameron Young First Round Leader (+2800)
| Golfer | Odds |
|---|---|
| Rory McIlroy | +1400 |
| Tyrrell Hatton | +2000 |
| Cameron Young | +2500 |
| Matt Fitzpatrick | +2500 |
| Sam Burns | +2500 |
| Corey Conners | +3000 |
| Justin Rose | +3000 |
| Shane Lowry | +3500 |
| Tommy Fleetwood | +3500 |
| Keith Mitchell | +4000 |
Odds as of June 6
Young has always been a player to get off to hot starts when he plays well in a tournament. In his runner-up performance at The Open at St. Andrews, he was the first-round leader.
He nearly grabbed a hold of the Round 1 honors at the Arnold Palmer Invitational earlier this season when he notched his first top-10 finish of the year. He will need this putter to cooperate in order to card the lowest round on Thursday, but the 26-year-old has done it before and appears ready to do it again.
Aaron Rai top-20 Finish (+300)
| Golfer | Odds |
|---|---|
| Rory McIlroy | -400 |
| Tyrrell Hatton | -250 |
| Matt Fitzpatrick | -200 |
| Sam Burns | -200 |
| Cameron Young | -175 |
| Justin Rose | -175 |
| Corey Conners | -140 |
| Tommy Fleetwood | -140 |
| Shane Lowry | -125 |
| Sahith Theegala | +100 |
Odds as of June 6
There is a large group of English players in the field, and Rai appears to be the forgotten man.
The DP World Tour winner hasn’t had the most consistent seasons, but when he makes it into the weekend, he is good for a first or second page of the leaderboard appearance.
In his last nine starts, he has three top-20 finishes including at the Players Championship – the most difficult field of the year. His ball striking was sound in his T-12 finish at the Charles Schwab Challenge, and I am willing to suggest it will return in a big way despite the early exit from the Memorial Tournament last week.
Rai not only finds himself inside the top 20 in total strokes gained but ranks 11th in strokes gained tee-to-green and fifth in strokes gained approach over the last three months.
