RBC Canadian Open betting tips and preview
Information
Venue: Glen Abbey Golf Club, Oakville, Ontario
Date: July 26-29, 2018
Course stats: Par 72; 7,273 yards
Purse: $6,200,000 (£4.73m)
Defending champion: Jhonattan Vegas (-21)
TV Times
Thursday: Sky Sports Golf from 08.00pm
Friday: Sky Sports Golf from 08.00pm
Saturday: Sky Sports Golf from 07.00pm
Sunday: Sky Sports Golf from 07.00pm
RBC Canadian Open preview
Jhonattan Vegas was in the headlines last week for turning up to Carnoustie via helicopter one hour before his tee time because of a visa issue. To make matters worse, he had to take to the links with a brand new set of clubs. Needless to say, he missed the cut. The Venezuelan is the centre of attention again this week, but this time for the right reasons.
Vegas is back at Glen Abbey Golf Club to try and retain his RBC Canadian Open title for the third successive year. Steve Stricker is the last man to win an event three times in a row, when he won the John Deere Classic in 2009, 2010 and 2011.
For a tournament the week after a major championship, the field for this one is surprisingly strong. World No. 1 Dustin Johnson will be looking to bounce back after last week’s missed cut, while Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood and Sergio Garcia all make appearances.
With the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational next week, there’s a chance for players to break into the top-50 and secure their spot at Firestone.
RBC Canadian Open betting tips
Johnson is the obvious player to beat here at Glen Abbey. He’s finished runner-up twice in four appearances around this layout, and again went close last year with an 8th place finish. Despite that, there was clearly something wrong with his game last week, which is all the more strange given his strong record on links golf courses.
So I’m happy to leave the top of the market alone here and go with a quartet of value plays.
First up, Brandt Snedeker (50/1, 6 places) has shown enough over the past two months to suggest that he’s finally starting to return to the player of old.
Indeed, Snedeker, on paper, is one of the class acts in this field and Glen Abbey Golf Club is a venue that he’s enjoyed a lot whenever he’s played here.
In three appearances around this Nicklaus layout, Snedeker has a win (2013) and an additional two top-5 place finishes.
It was a surprising missed cut last week at The Open, but I’m willing to overlook that in favour of his recent improving form – particularly when finishing 3rd at the Greenbrier and 6th at the FedEx St Jude Classic a month before.
That’s Keel’s top tip, but where does he see real chances for money to be made? Article continues on the next page…
Tom Irwin
Tom is a lifetime golfer, now over 30 years playing the game. 2023 marks 10 years in golf publishing and he is still holding down a + handicap at Alwoodley in Leeds. He has played over 600 golf courses, and has been a member of at least four including his first love Louth, in Lincolnshire. Tom likes unbranded clothing, natural fibres, and pencil bags. Seacroft in Lincolnshire is where it starts and ends.
