2024 RBC Canadian Open: Top 10 power rankings at Hamilton

Rory McIlroy finally gets to return to Hamilton after winning the RBC Canadian Open here five years ago.

The Northern Irishman delighted the crowd with three nice rounds of golf (67-66-64) before going berserk on Sunday with a final-round 61 to win by seven shots. And McIlroy even thought he left some out there. A 59 was realistic.

McIlroy described Hamilton’s greens back in 2019:

“There is a lot of slope on them,” McIlroy was transcribed by ASAP Sports. “There is so much slope that it's hard to find four hole locations on some greens. They are challenging. Your visuals have to be a lot different, trying to visualize the ball going in at like 3:00 or 9:00, try to sort of visualize that.”

McIlroy has taken an affinity to playing in Canada. He won the 2022 RBC Canadian Open with a Sunday 62 to win his 21st PGA Tour event at the time to pass Greg Norman’s win total of 20, something Rory was sure to mention in the post-round interview.

Though the media spotlight shifted away from McIlroy’s divorce filed Monday of the PGA Championship week due to Scottie Scheffler’s run-in with Louisville police, it still had to be a taxing week for McIlroy at Valhalla.

He still managed a T-12th the week after winning the Wells Fargo Championship. A week off last week came at the perfect time.

McIlroy ranks third on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Total (1.547), filing behind only this year’s two major champions, Scheffler and Xander Schauffele.

McIlroy is gaining strokes in every SG category, including sixth Off-the-Tee (1.381). That prowess is spearheaded by his driver, which aids him in ranking first in average driving distance (317.5 yards).

McIlroy’s short wedge play has rightfully been maligned in his majorless last decade. He’s shown improvement this year, at least outside of the majors. From 75-100 yards, McIlroy leads in average approach proximity (11’1”).