2009 RBC Canadian Open Preview and Picks
Thur. July 23 Sun. July 26, 2009
Glen Abbey Golf Club Ontario, Canada
The Golf Channel/CBS
by Matt of Predictem.com
The British Open is behind us, but the PGA stays international as Glen Abbey Golf Club in Ontario, Canada welcomes the Tour for the 2009 RBC Canadian Open. The Canadian Open has a lot of history with the PGA Tour, but many golf fans have overlooked the event as players like Tiger and Phil have skipped the stop as it follows a Major. Still, there are several top players to watch this week, including native Canadians, Mike Weir and Stephen Ames, both looking to win their national title. The Golf Channel brings you the early round coverage with the broadcast switching to CBS for the weekend finish.
Glen Abbey is among the highest rated courses in Canada and is hosting the Canadian Open for the 25th time. The Jack Nicklaus design will play at par-71 and measure 7,222 yards for the championship, and while the track isnt overly long, it will challenge the players to hit precise approaches to smallish greens. Once on the greens, the stronger putter will have the advantage in negotiating some heavy undulations. All players will have to take advantage of the three par-5s that rank as the easiest holes on the course.
Each week, we take a look at the golf sportsbooks and highlight a few players expected to contend. We pick a short, middle and long odds player for the outright win and breakdown a few head to head matches as well. Here are our picks the 2009 RBC Canadian Open with odds and line information courtesy of the board at Superbook.
Short Favorite:
Mike Weir (15 to 1 for the win)
With no clear-cut favorite in the field, Weir claims the low odds spot this week as he looks to play hero to the locals. Mike has had a good run at Glen Abbey, losing in a playoff to Vijay Singh in 2004 and notching a T5 last year. Weir has four top-10s in sixteen starts this year, including a second and third in the early part of the season, but missed the cut at the British. The extra rest may do him well as hell probably feel the pressure to show up for the crowds. Mike is our short pick this week based on the home cooking and his 27th ranked putting average. He should be able to limit the damage with a 16th best scrambling stat and a hot start is a good possibility as Weir is 11th in pre-cut scoring average.
Middle of the Road:
Anthony Kim (20 to 1)
Kim has been scuffling a bit n 2009 but has been playing well of late with finishes of 16th, 11th and 3rd before missing the cut at the British. Anthony wasnt bad at the Open, going 73/73 to miss by two, and the couple of extra days should help with the adjustment out of links golf. Kim ranks 16th in driving distance and abuses the par-5s with the 3rd best birdie conversion rate on those holes. Anthony is actually 1st in overall birdie conversion percentage, thanks largely to the 5th best putting average on Tour. Without the really big guns this week, Kim is likely the most talented player in the field and needs just a nice week to be there on Sunday.
Longshot:
Jason Day (50 to 1)
Day has only missed three of thirteen cuts this year, finishing in the top-25on five occasions, including a 2nd in Puerto Rico and a 4th at the Crowne Plaza. Jason has a nice all around game, ranking 51st in greens hit, 40th in putting average and 16th in birdies per 18. Day also has the 14th overall scoring average and eats up the par-5s. This is a good week for an unknown to break through.
Hail Mary Long Shot:
John Daly (150 to 1)
We just couldnt resist putting a little action on the longest shot on the board. Daly seems far from regular contention on the Tour, but his two starts since his suspension have included some very solid golf. Long John was only T59 at St. Judes, but he was never in trouble, carding rounds of 72, 68, 71 and 70 and his 4-over total at the British was good for 27th. He can obviously score on the shorter par-5s at Glen Abbey, and his 2-under aggregate on his par-3s shows good proximity numbers with his irons. Have fun with this one if youve got an extra $10 lying around.
Head to Head Matches (our pick) *all matches are for entire tournament. Check with your favorite sportsbook for single round matches, updated daily.
Retief Goosen (-120) v. Camilo Villegas (-110) (Villegas)
Goosen is rounding back into form after a couple of off years, but Villegas has got the better game for Glen Abbey. Camilo has a big edge in greens hit, and has the advantage in birdies as well. Goosen limits bogeys better, but the strength of Villegas is too good to pass on here.
Robert Garrigus (-115) v. Michael Letzig (-115) (Garrigus)
Garrigus is one of the longest drivers on Tour and complements that with a 14th best GIR%. Letzig is only 120th in greens hit and the distance advantage for Garrigus will pay of with easy birdies on the par-5s.
Good Luck!!
