It’s been a wild week in the world of golf but the show goes on at the RBC Canadian Open.
Hosting for the first time, Oakdale Golf and Country Club will present a relatively short, tree-lined challenge with thick rough and tricky greens.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the betting board to see what tournament matchups stand out.
Nick Taylor over Alex Smalley - Tournament Matchup (-120)
When I see Alex Smalley‘s name I think of coastal, exposed courses. Five of his six career-best finishes have come on such courses. So, when we head to a tighter, tree-lined track I look to at the other side of the matchup.
For Taylor, he has the Canadian fans by his side but this isn’t a home-country narrative play. His stats also line up well.
Looking at the last 15 overlapping events, Taylor has gotten the better of Smalley in nine of them.
Over the last 50 rounds Taylor has gained at least one stroke over the field in 52 percent of his rounds played while Smalley sits at just 38 percent in that regard.
So, Smalley may hang around in this matchup but I like Taylor to have the go-low upside to get the job done by week’s end.
Keith Mitchell over Adrian Meronk - Tournament Matchup (-120)
Longtime readers know that I love to seek out plus-money matchups but I’ve gravitated toward two favorites this week.
For Meronk, his stats are tremendous over in Europe but he’s still finding his footing on the PGA TOUR. He has just one finish that was better than a T40, in nine stroke-play events.
On the flip side, Mitchell has become a course-management star over the last year and the result is a steady stream of consistent results. He’s made the cut in 10 of his last 11 stroke-play events.
When playing the same tournament, Mitchell has bettered Meronk in three of the four events. I think that will improve to four out of five after this week at Oakdale.
