In June, one thing, in addition to the CFL schedule, that will be getting back to normal is professional golf in Canada.
After a couple of years of hiatus, the national championship, the RBC Canadian Open, will be played from June 9th to 12th at St. George’s Golf and Country Club in Etobicoke. The last time a Canadian won the event was in 1954, but the increasing number of Canadians in the top flights of professional golf will lead many observers to ask, “is this the year the drought ends?”
This year has already been a record-breaking one for Canadians on the PGA Tour. In January, a record nine Canadians made the field for the Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego, California. As of May, 22nd, two Canadian golfers stood in the top 100 of the World Golf Rankings, with one just outside.
Corey Conners was the top-ranked Canadian, holding down the number 33-spot worldwide. Originally from Listowel, Ontario, Connors played collegiately at Kent State University. He already holds one PGA Tour victory at the 2019 Valero Texas Open.
Mackenzie Hughes of Hamilton, Ontario also again cracked the top-100, in those May rankings, 72nd in the world. Like Connors, Hughes is a Kent State Alum who has one PGA Tour win, coming at the 2016 McGladrey Classic (currently known as the RSM Classic).
Although just outside the top-100, sitting in the 107th position, Adam Hadwin, was the sole member of the top Canadian men’s golf troika to make the cut at the recently-completed 2022 PGA Championship at Southern Hills, finishing T71.
Born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Hadwin now resides in Abbotsford, BC. Like Connors and Hughes, the former University of Louisville golfer has one PGA Tour win to his credit, the 2017 Valspar Championship.
On May 25th, the RBC Canadian Open announced that Justin Thomas, winner of the PGA Championship at Southern Hills, had committed to competing in Canada’s National Championship this year.
The last RBC Canadian Open was played at Hamilton Golf and Country Club in 2019, won by Rory McIlroy. The 2018 Canadian Open was won by Dustin Johnson.
When it comes to national golf Championships, The RBC Canadian joins The U.S. Open, Scottish Open, and Irish Open, along with the granddaddy of them all The Open (British), as traditionally among the world’s most prestigious, with the strongest fields.
This year’s RBC Canadian Open once again serves as a part of The (British) Open qualifying series.
A week before the RBC Canadian Open, the PGA Canada Tour’s regular season will kick off, this coming Thursday, June 2nd, in British Columbia.
One of the first rungs on the ladder that leads to the PGA Tour, the PGA Canada is also back toward a normal post-Covid schedule, having recently completed a successful round of Q-School tournaments in both the States and Canada.
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