Weekly PGA Preview: RBC Canadian Open

This article is part of our Weekly PGA Preview series.

RBC Canadian Open

TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley
Ontario, Canada

The PGA Tour heads to Canada for another edition of the RBC Canadian Open.

It's happening again. That thing where Scottie Scheffler is playing so well, everyone is forced to look historically for accurate comparisons because no one playing now can match up.

It's funny, a little over a month ago, all the talk surrounded Rory McIlroy and his quest for the career major, now we're right back to where we were about 12 months ago. Scheffler's path to get back here though was much different than the one he took this past year. This year his progress was delayed by a hand injury and seeing how things have shaken out over the past month or so, it's pretty clear now that the hand injury had more of an effect on Scheffler than we all thought. Makes you wonder if McIlroy would have completed the grand slam had Scheffler come out of the gate healthy in 2025.

Before we get too carried away though, let's remember that even though Scheffler dominated in 2024, he didn't exactly keep that level all throughout the year. After all, he didn't win at all in the month of July this past year, which may or may not have been the result of welcoming his first child in May, oh, and he was arrested in May as well, so maybe that threw him off for a spell. Now that I think about it, maybe there is no stopping him. 

The question as we look ahead to the rest of 2025 is this – will Scheffler keep this level going forward and if so, what does that mean? One more major, two? The competition is going to be more difficult during the majors. Not only do you have a refreshed Rory McIlroy to deal with, but you've got Xander Schauffele, who now has two majors under his belt and Bryson DeChambeau who is seemingly the second most consistent golfer now. The competition appears to be stronger now than it was in 2024, but is Scheffler also better?

Whatever Scheffler manages to accomplish the rest of the way, I doubt it will look as easy as his past few wins have looked. I'm not sure if he can play better than he has over the last month, but he'll definitely have to keep this level if he's to win the next two majors.

Okay, onto to this week. It's another version of the Canadian Open and unfortunately, we have no course history in play this week. We can lean a little on event history as course setups are often similar as well as the overall pressure of a national Open. 

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LAST YEAR

Robert MacIntyre shot a final round 68 on his way to a one-stroke victory over Ben Griffin.

FAVORITES

All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook as of 3:30 PM ET Tuesday.

Rory McIlroy (9-2) 

Playing the role of heavy favorite this week is none other than Rory McIlroy. Rory skipped the signature event this past week in order to get ready for this event, which he's won twice. Those wins came on different courses, but again, there's something to be said for playing well at a certain event, even if the venue has changed. As for the odds, they're a little low in my opinion as McIlroy did not play that well his last time out, and even though this isn't a signature event, there are still a handful of golfers that could cause problems for Rory.

Ludvig Aberg (14-1)

As recently as this past Saturday, the thought of Aberg being the second favorite this week would have been laughable. The reason was, prior to this past Sunday, Aberg was in the midst of a terrible stretch of golf, but that might have changed after his final-round 66 at the Memorial. For those that weren't paying attention this past week, a 66 on that course was something special, so perhaps he found something. Then again, it could be that he just got hot for one round. That explanation actually makes more sense if you've followed his game over the past couple months.  

Corey Conners (20-1)

The first Canadian on the list, Conners really struggled at this event for quite a while, but he's recently changed his fortunes. Conners is a great example of how a golfer can be influenced by an event and it doesn't matter which course they are on. Conners is going to treat this event unlike most players in the field because he's Canadian. That's both good and bad as there's added pressure, yet there's also added desire to win. Conners has played well this year, and he's managed two top-10s at this event in the past three years, so it wouldn't surprise me to see him in the mix come Sunday. 

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THE NEXT TIER

Robert MacIntyre (28-1)

MacIntyre hasn't exactly backed-up his breakout season this year, but he's played well enough to ensure that his 2024 season was not a fluke. He's yet to win this season after posting two wins this past year, but I think it's just a matter of time. MacIntyre will be defending this week, which is never easy, but his game appears to be trending in the right direction, so who knows, maybe he soaks in the good vibes from his most recent start in Canada and turns it up a notch.   

Sam Burns (30-1)

It's been a bit of roller coaster ride for Burns this year as he started the season well, then hit a rough patch for about a month, then pulled out of it recently. Is he ready to continue on with his recent play? If his past Canadian Open results are any indication, then I'd say yes. Burns has played this event three times and posted two top-10s. Again, not necessarily translatable to the current venue, but it's good to see that he can play well at this national open.

Sungjae Im (35-1)         

Though there are some big names at the top of the field this week, there is a pretty steep drop-off once you get to the players in this range. Not to say that Im is a bad golfer, but he hasn't won on the PGA Tour since 2022. In fact, this is a bit surprising, Im has only won twice on the PGA Tour in his career. So why bother with him this week? Well, he has played well in spots this season and he's coming off a decent week in Ohio. Hey, I told you, there's not a lot to like after the first handful of guys this week.

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LONG SHOTS

Rasmus Hojgaard (75-1)           

Is this the week for Hojgaard' s breakthrough on the PGA Tour? We've seen some signs this season that he's getting close, but he's yet to have a really big week on his own this season. That's why he's still in longshot territory every week, but that should change pretty soon. One benefit that Hojgaard has this week that he doesn't normally have is that he won't be the only first-timer here this week as this course will be new for just about everyone in the field.  

Justin Rose (75-1)         

Rose caught fire a couple months ago and nearly won the Masters, so anything is possible. His play since Augusta has not been great, but we know he's still capable of great golf. Whether or not this event will get his full attention is another story, but he does have two top-10s in two starts at this event, so it looks like he comes ready to play when he's up in Canada.     

ONE-AND-DONE LEAGUES

Highly-Chosen Pick: Corey Conners – McIlroy is not in the mix this week, no OAD owner should use him outside of a signature event or a major. Same holds true for Aberg, so by default, Conners is the top play this week. Conners is actually someone you could use at a larger event, but we're starting to run out of those, so you might as well use him here.        

Moderately-Chosen Pick:  Robert MacIntyre – I'm generally not fond of using the defending champ, but like I mentioned earlier, there aren't a lot of good options this week on paper, so MacIntyre moves up the list by default. Considering the top options aren't really in play though, MacIntyre might be a little more popular than you'd like.     

Lightly-Chosen Pick: Justin Rose – Rose had a noticeable drop-off after his near miss at the Masters, but he may have righted the ship this past Sunday. His closing round at the Memorial was nothing special, just an even-par 72, but that came after a disastrous round of 80 on Saturday. He may have slayed some demons this past Sunday. We'll find out soon enough.           

Buyer Beware: Taylor Pendrith – I want to start by stating that I don't believe Pendrith will play poorly this week, but I think expectations should be tempered. OAD players often flock to the best story and Pendrith being from Canada is surely a good story this week, but I would caution anyone taking him based on his nationality. If one thing is true about this event, it's that Canadian's often struggle for years before they finally find their footing at this event. It's likely due to the added pressure, but whatever the case, the track record for even the best Canadians at this event isn't great.         

My Pick: Justin Rose – There's really not a lot to like outside of the top few players this week and with no course history, it's tough to even find a sleeper, so with that in mind, I'm going with my gut and for some reason, my gut is telling me that Rose is going to play well this week. Play well enough to win? Well, that might be a stretch, but I like the way he rebounded this past Sunday, and I think he may have finally rid himself of the thought of what might have been at the Masters. 

Previous Results

View the PGA earnings report to find total winnings and winnings per entry via our fantasy golf stats pages.

FANDUEL PICKS

Upper Range: Rory McIlroy ($13,000)
Middle Range: Rasmus Hojgaard ($9,800)
Lower Range: Victor Perez ($8,500)

SURVIVOR LEAGUES

My Pick: Justin Rose