The PGA Tour heads north this week for the RBC Canadian Open, marking the last stop before heading to Oakmont for the U.S. Open.
The Canadian Open, the oldest non-major on the PGA Tour calendar, has been nomadic in recent years and will be contested this time around on the North Course at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley.
Like we got with the Philadelphia Cricket Club, which served as a replacement for Quail Hollow at this year's Truist Championship, a new course is always exciting to see on Tour, but I just wish it wasn't part of the TPC network.
Rory McIlroy makes his return after an extremely disappointing PGA Championship, so hopefully he's had enough time to fall in love with his new driver and can find his form again.
TPC Toronto seems to be setting up to favor the longer hitters in the field this week. A par-70 that will play close to 7,400 yards, the North Course is a large, open park with wider-than-average fairways that will entice players to take driver and shave off as much distance on their approaches as possible. With multiple 500-plus-yard par-4s, scoring shouldn't be anything crazy this week, but good iron play will be key.
We have achieved eight consecutive weeks with a winner, following Scottie Scheffler's win at the Memorial, and are now up to a 50% hit rate on the season. Has it been made easier with all the Signature Events? Possibly. But we're still very happy with where we stand. So, let's get to nine.
Honorable Mentions: Niklas Norgaard, Thorbjorn Olesen, Matti Schmid, Alex Smalley, Karl Vilips
9. John Keefer
The current leader on the Korn Ferry Tour points list, John Keefer has most likely already wrapped up his PGA Tour card for next season, so now we've reached the point for him to get more experience at this level.
Keefer is one of the few guys in the field this week with experience at TPC Toronto, where he finished T3 last year at the Fortinet Cup Championship on PGA Tour Americas. Keefer has had five top-10 finishes on the KFT this season, including a win in April. With no experience advantage this week for the vast majority of the field, Keefer could sneak up and surprise us all.
8. Harry Hall
Back at the Farmers Insurance Open, I noted how Harry Hall's Data Golf ranking was far outpacing his world ranking, indicating that he's performing much better than people realize.
As of now, that is still the case.
Hall has finished in the top 20 in each of his last three starts, including a T19 at the PGA Championship. He can make a ton of birdies and sits sixth on the PGA Tour in birdie average. On a course where birdies are going to be in short supply, having that skill should help the Englishman this week.
7. Ludvig Åberg
Sunday at the Memorial felt like Ludvig Åberg waking up from the coma that he's been in basically all season.
The Swede's 2025 campaign has basically been three weeks of poor performance, followed by a quick peak, and then a return to disappointment. I would classify his T16 at Muirfield Village as the beginning of his newfound peak again.
Åberg's length off the tee will be a major weapon for him around a course that, based on the flyovers, doesn't have a ton of trouble for these pros off the tee. The 25-year-old needs to reestablish himself as one of the best young talents in golf, and TPC Toronto should be a good venue for him to do so.
6. Jake Knapp
Mr. 59 for 2025, Jake Knapp has also played at TPC Toronto, finishing 3rd in the 2019 Osprey Valley Open on what was then PGA Tour Canada.
Now, the course has undergone a renovation since then, so it's not the exact same course he played so well six years ago. However, the good vibes, wide fairways, and lack of real trouble off the tee set up great for Knapp coming into this week.
5. Sam Burns
On one hand, Sam Burns' iron play isn't strong enough right now to take advantage of his driving around TPC Toronto.
On the other hand, he's in the midst of his best golf in quite a while, and this past week at the Memorial saw him end the week gaining strokes in all four skill categories for the first time since last year's BMW Championship.
For someone on the outside looking in for the Ryder Cup team right now, some well-timed good form should help the Texan reunite with Scottie Scheffler at Bethpage.
4. Corey Conners
Yes, I know, we're all disappointed in Corey Conners' performance last week at the Memorial. However, when he's playing in front of his home nation, Conners knows how to perform.
He's finished in the top 20 at the RBC Canadian Open each of the last three years (twice finishing sixth), all at different venues.
His lower-than-average driving distance may limit his ceiling at this event, but Canadian players always seem to rise to the occasion for their national open, so the best Canadian on the PGA Tour feels like a good pick.
3. Luke Clanton
Could No. 3 be a tad bit aggressive for Luke Clanton in his professional debut? Maybe. But on a course where the main question being asked is "Can you go out and make a bunch of birdies?", the 21-year-old is a great fit.
The Florida State product has already shown flashes in his previous PGA Tour appearances, posting six top-25s in 13 starts, and his driving ability should make him a force to be reckoned with in Ontario this weekend.
2. Taylor Pendrith
I wasn't convinced at first on this pick for this week, but there is a full interview all about the course and its renovation with Taylor Pendrith on the TPC Toronto website.
He's played well at this course before, grew up not too far from the facility (home game models are off the charts), and can drive the ball like nobody's business. He followed up on his T5 at Quail Hollow with a T12 at Muirfield, capitalizing on his strong iron play at both events.
The same mix of distance and solid irons should play at TPC Toronto, and we could see a Canadian back on top come Sunday afternoon.
1. Rory McIlroy
In four starts at the Canadian Open, Rory McIlroy has had the following finishes: Win, win, T9, and T4.
The biggest thing for McIlroy this week will be if his irons show up for him like they did earlier in the season, as that's been the part of his game that has really fallen off since The Masters.
Rory's swagger that he had going into Augusta seems to have gone since the weight of the galaxy left his shoulders, but maybe he can find it again in the Great White North.