This article is part of our PGA Tour Stats Review series.
Well, the Open Championship sure gave us the major drama we all yearn for from golf's biggest championships, and it's only fitting that we follow up golf's oldest championship with another one of golf's oldest titles: the RBC Canadian Open. Here's our stats preview.
History Lesson
The defending champion is Tim Clark, who beat Jim Furyk by one shot. In 2013 Brandt Snedeker beat Jason Bohn, Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar and William McGirt by three, and in 2012 Scott Piercy beat Robert Garrigus and McGirt by one.
First, Snedeker withdrew Monday with a hip injury. Second, Johnson is not in the field this week.
As for those you should take, we recommend Piercy, who won last week at the opposite-field Barbasol Championship and did it going away. For the week he ranked T1 in greens in regulation and first in strokes gained-tee to green, gaining 15 strokes on the field in that department. Impressive stuff.
RBC ALERT!
Ah yes, have a look at our sponsor. It's RBC, the Royal Bank of Canada. That means financial-services partner Team RBC will be strong in the field (minus Sneds) this week, offering a lot of high-quality options. The RBC players in the field this week are: Jason Day, Graham DeLaet, Luke Donald, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Adam Hadwin, David Hearn, Kuchar, Graeme McDowell, Ryan Palmer and Nick Taylor.
Out of that group our picks are Day and DeLaet. Yes, Day didn't get it done Monday at The Open and let another chance at
Well, the Open Championship sure gave us the major drama we all yearn for from golf's biggest championships, and it's only fitting that we follow up golf's oldest championship with another one of golf's oldest titles: the RBC Canadian Open. Here's our stats preview.
History Lesson
The defending champion is Tim Clark, who beat Jim Furyk by one shot. In 2013 Brandt Snedeker beat Jason Bohn, Dustin Johnson, Matt Kuchar and William McGirt by three, and in 2012 Scott Piercy beat Robert Garrigus and McGirt by one.
First, Snedeker withdrew Monday with a hip injury. Second, Johnson is not in the field this week.
As for those you should take, we recommend Piercy, who won last week at the opposite-field Barbasol Championship and did it going away. For the week he ranked T1 in greens in regulation and first in strokes gained-tee to green, gaining 15 strokes on the field in that department. Impressive stuff.
RBC ALERT!
Ah yes, have a look at our sponsor. It's RBC, the Royal Bank of Canada. That means financial-services partner Team RBC will be strong in the field (minus Sneds) this week, offering a lot of high-quality options. The RBC players in the field this week are: Jason Day, Graham DeLaet, Luke Donald, Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Adam Hadwin, David Hearn, Kuchar, Graeme McDowell, Ryan Palmer and Nick Taylor.
Out of that group our picks are Day and DeLaet. Yes, Day didn't get it done Monday at The Open and let another chance at a major slip away in a final round, but he contended again on golf's biggest stage after zero reps following his valiant effort at the U.S. Open fighting through vertigo. He made no bogeys following the 13th hole in the third round, and although he left his birdie putt short on the 72nd hole, gave himself a shot at the win. If he gets over the jetlag, he could win this week.
DeLaet is our other recommendation because plain and simple, this Canadian, playing in an event he so desperately wants to win, his overdue for his first PGA Tour victory. This season hasn't been his best year -- he has just one top-5 finish, a fourth in Hartford -- but would seem to prime to break into the winner's circle on home soil. Stats wise he ranks 24th in greens in regulation and 55th in strokes gained-tee to green. If he can improve on his putting -- he ranks 127th in strokes gained-putting -- then maybe this could be his week to breakthrough.
Three others to watch for are Hadwin, Hearn and Taylor, as they are Canadians and have that added motivation.
Who Else is Playing
The field also includes Bubba Watson, Hunter Mahan (who had the 36-hole lead in this event two years ago before his wife went into labor and had to withdraw), Aaron Baddeley, Erik Compton, Austin Cook, Tony Finau, Tom Gillis, Lucas Glover, Morgan Hoffmann, J.B. Holmes, Davis Love III, Patrick Rodgers, Ollie Schniederjans (who played so well last week at The Open) and Nick Watney.
Our picks are Badds and Cook for their play at the Barbasol Championship.
Baddeley tied for 10th last week, a finish that included a Saturday 64. He ranked first in strokes gained-putting, gaining 11 shots on the field for the week on the greens.
Cook, meanwhile, tied for sixth, shooting weekend rounds of 65-67. He was 13th in strokes gained-tee to green and T6 in strokes gained-total.
