RBC Canadian Open: A preview and best bets from the PGA Tour event in Montreal

A week after the oldest major was played at Royal Liverpool, the PGA Tour heads to a royal venue of its own with Royal Montreal Golf Club, the oldest in North America, staging the RBC Canadian Open for the tenth time.

Most of the 156-man field will be seeing the new design of the course for the first time, apart from the 13 Presidents Cup players in the line-up who sampled Rees Jones’ 2007 redesign.

It’s a shortish track in PGA Tour terms, with smaller than average greens to aim it, but in near perfect conditions scoring should still be good with the 2001 edition of the event held here being won with a score of 14-under.

24 players will be swapping the Wirral for Quebec as they travel over from the Open Championship including fourth-placed Jim Furyk, who is a big favourite this week as a two-time former champion who won back-to-back titles in 2006 and 2007.

Defending champion Brandt Snedeker is hoping to emulate that feat, as he joins Dustin Johnson, Charl Schwartzel, Graeme McDowell, Luke Donald and Matt Kuchar in a high-class field of players all desperate for FedEx Cup points with just five tournaments left until the start of the pay-offs.

No Canadian has won his home open since Pat Fletcher way back in 1954 – there are 14 man trying to snap that long drought in its 60th year, including former Masters champion Mike Weir, the well-fancied Graeme DeLaet and David Hearn, who finished T32 in the Open.

The Course

Royal Montreal is the oldest golf club in North American having been first established in 1873, and given permission by Queen Victoria in 1884 to use the ‘Royal’ in their name. The venue has since moved twice, with the final switch to its current Ile Bizard location coming in 1959 with a 45-hole complex built by Dick Wilson. It hosted the very first Canadian Open in 1904 and eight more since then, the last coming in 2001, along with the 2007 Presidents Cup. The Blue Course is the host this week and measures in at 7,153 yards as a par 70.

Last year

An eventful renewal at Glen Abbey 12 months ago saw Hunter Mahan holing the halfway lead but abandon his challenge to fly home to Dallas as his wife Kandi was about to give birth to their first child. Brandt Snedeker stepped up with a Saturday 63 and finished off with a 70 to win the title. Dustin Johnson had tied for the lead but triple-bogeyed the 17th after driving out of bounds – sound familiar?

Leading Contenders (SkyBet odds)

Jim Furyk (12/1)

The veteran will be a popular choice this week given his sparkling recent form – nine top 20s in his last ten starts including a fourth-placed finish at the Open last week. He’s won this event twice, tied for ninth last year, and with his Ryder Cup spot sewn up he’s high on confidence. Course will be to his liking and with him being ninth in fairways hit this year his accuracy will have in in great scoring positions.

Dustin Johnson (12/1 – price boosted to 14/1)

As mentioned above Johnson found himself tied for the lead in this event last year with just two holes to go, but as he tends to his nerves got the better of him and that blocked right tee shot sailed out of bounds. A new venue this year will thwart any bad memories this year though should he again be in contention down the stretch – and no doubt he’s playing superbly well overall at the moment.

Graeme McDowell (16/1)

G-Mac is reaching his best form at a crucial part of the season, finishing ninth in the Open and successfully d