The PGA Tour heads back across the Atlantic Ocean this week for the RBC Canadian Open. A field of 156 players will tackle Glen Abbey Golf Club, which is hosting the event for the fourth time since 2013.
Be sure to join the all-new Golf Channel Fantasy Challenge to compete for prizes and form your own leagues, and log on to www.playfantasygolf.com to submit your picks for this week’s event.
Jhonattan Vegas won this event last year by one shot over a trio of players. Here are 10 names to watch in Ontario:
1. Matt Kuchar: After coming so close to a maiden major breakthrough, Kuchar heads to a course where he has finished T-9 or better each of the last three times it has hosted the event. The veteran is playing some of the best and most consistent golf of his career, with six straight finishes of T-16 or better.
2. Dustin Johnson: There isn’t a ton of star power in this week’s field, but the world’s top-ranked player certainly qualifies. Johnson was a runner-up last year at Glen Abbey in both 2013 and 2016, and after stumbling to a 77 in the final round of The Open he’ll be eager to increase the gap between himself and new world No. 2 Jordan Spieth.
3. Charley Hoffman: Hoffman continues to be a consistent presence on leaderboards this season, the latest being a T-20 finish at Royal Birkdale. Hoffman was also a runner-up at Bay Hill, finished T-3 at the Travelers Championship and tied for seventh two years ago at Glen Abbey.
4. Bubba Watson: After miring through months of disappointing play, Watson appears to be in the midst of a turnaround. He contended through 36 holes at The Open before fading to a T-24 finish, but he has now made three cuts in a row and returns to a course where he was barely edged out by Jason Day in 2015.
5. Ian Poulter: Poulter is making his tournament debut fresh off a T-14 finish in England where he failed to spark a final-round rally. The Englishman also finished T-9 at the Scottish Open the week prior, and is clearly in the midst of a renaissance after a runner-up finish at the Players Championship solidified his long-term playing status.
6. Chad Campbell: The veteran has rekindled his form in a big way, with three straight top-20 finishes. He’s among the Tour leaders in fairways hit, greens in regulation and scrambling, and Campbell’s success at Glen Abbey includes finishes of T-26 or better in each of his three trips.
7. Tony Finau: The long hitter already has one PGA Tour win under his belt, and a second may come along sooner rather than later. Finau has four straight top-30s, including last week’s T-27, and six such results over his last seven starts dating back to a T-3 finish at the Valero Texas Open.
8. Jim Furyk: Furyk was notably absent last week at Royal Birkdale, but he still teed it up at the Barbasol Championship and tied for 35th. The Ryder Cup captain also had top-30 finishes in his two prior starts, and while his two Canadian Open wins came away from Glen Abbey, he has cracked the top 15 there in each of his last four trips.
9. Danny Lee: Lee withdrew from the John Deere Classic because of injury and barely missed out on a spot in The Open, but prior to that he had a pair of top-10s and three straight finishes of T-26 or better. The Kiwi finished T-32 at Glen Abbey last year and is beginning to show signs of the form that got him to the Tour Championship in 2015.
10. David Hearn: In a field full of Canadians, it’s likely that one native will emerge onto the leaderboard and contend for the title. Hearn was that player two years ago, when he finished second behind Day and Watson, and now he has another shot at Glen Abbey with three top-15 finishes in his last six starts.
