RBC Canadian Open Picks and Predictions: Look for Sam Burns and Eric Cole to Find Success
RBC Canadian Open Picks and Predictions: Look for Sam Burns and Eric Cole to Find Success
The first leg of back-to-back National Opens begins this week with the RBC Canadian Open. As a nice primer for the U.S. Open taking place in a week’s time, some of the best golfers in the world will be teeing it up one last time before the big week at LACC.
We are getting a decent field for the week before a major this week. Many RBC-sponsored golfers and hometown Canadians will be in the field this week. Two-time defending champion Rory Mcllroy headlines the field. Other big names headed north this week are Sam Burns, Tyrell Hatton, Matt Fitzpatrick, Cameron Young, Shane Lowry, and Tommy Fleetwood.
RBC Canadian Open Start Time and Where to Watch
- Dates: June 8 - June 11, 2023
- Where: Oakdale Golf & Country Club - Toronto, ON
- Where to Watch: ESPN+, Golf Channel, CBS
RBC Canadian Open Prediction
The Canadian Open is one of the longest standings events on the PGA Tour. This event has been on the rotation since 1904! We have seen over 35th different courses host this event since its inception, and this year’s host course of Oakdale Golf and Country Club will be its newest venue.
That’s right; we have the difficult test of trying to handicap a golf course that has never seen PGA Tour golf before. This happens every so often and always makes things a little more difficult. Luckily many people in the industry devote a lot of time to finding everything they can about the course. There is also a lot of information on the course online. There are flyovers, and the official scorecard is already out.
I think the biggest thing that jumps out this week is that this course is very short for PGA Tour standards. It is common sense that the less club these guys have in their hands, the more they will score. The course will play as a 7,200-yard par 72 this week. This will be one of the shortest courses the pros play all year.
As we saw two weeks ago at Colonial, a short course does not equal low scores. However, in my opinion, the straightforward nature of the holes, lack of fairway hazards, and the ability to hit the driver on a large majority of holes makes me believe the winning score will be above -18.
I am looking for golfers that have shown the ability to win low-scoring events, are great from 150, and are elite putters.
RBC Canadian Open Picks
Sam Burns +1600 is currently the best odds. Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds for this pick
It is no surprise after reading that last sentence that I have found myself on Sam Burns this week. It's quite an obvious selection as the 13th-ranked golfer in the world is not shy to find himself in the winner's circle come Sunday afternoon. This five-time winner on the PGA Tour is someone that has two wins in each of the last calendar years. I think he will continue that trend in 2023.
We saw what Sam Burns could do to a short golf course that requires a hot putter and a lot of birdies in his dominating victory at the WGC Matchplay. He defeated the world’s best with his wedges and putter. Burns has also won on another driver-heavy course with easy scoring conditions, as he was victorious at the Sanderson Farms with a winning score of -22.
Burns has also been in some great form recently. He defended his 2022 Victory at Colonial with a respectful 6th-place finish. He then backed it up with a T16 at the Memorial. I also like that at the best comp course, St. George's, that hosted last year's Canadian Open, Sam finished 4th. I think Sam is the best bet at the top of the board this week.
Eric Cole +9000 is currently the best odds. Click here to see which sportsbook has the best odds for this pick
This is a pure numbers play for me. Eric Cole rates out extremely well in some of the key stats I am looking for this week, and with the attractive price of 90/1, I am more than willing to take a stab. Eric Cole busted on the PGA Tour scene at the Honda Classic, where he battled Chris Kirk down the stretch and eventually lost in a playoff.
Cole has not stopped there, and he has managed to play some pretty great golf since Honda. Fifth at the Mexico Open, 23rd at the Byron Nelson, 15th at PGA, and 24th at Memorial. These are all great results at a wide variety of courses.
Per the numbers, this should be a great course for Cole. Over the past 50 rounds, Cole ranks 6th in proximity from 100-125, 10th in proximity from 125-150, 22 in SG: P, and 21st in Birdies or Better Gained. I think this is a great number on a golfer having a great rookie season and should rate out really well for this course.
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Article Author
Brian Kirschner is the host of the Tap in Birdie Podcast and is a golf betting content creator from Long Island. Every week Brian has prominent guests in the industry come on his podcast and break down the upcoming PGA Tour event from a betting/DFS perspective. Brian loves nothing more than sweating first round leader and outrights bets.