2024 RBC Canadian Open: Top 10 power rankings at Hamilton

If this year’s RBC Canadian Open is half as exciting as last year’s, fans will be lining up by the hundreds of thousands to get into Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Ontario. Nick Taylor delighted the gallery with a 72-foot putt to win in a playoff, becoming the first Canadian in 69 years to win his national open. That was at Oakdale. This year we’re at Hamilton, one of several courses in rotation for this annual event.

Hamilton last hosted the RBC Canadian Open in 2019. Immediately after, a renovation was undertaken. The course has been lengthened, and it now features a new irrigation system, new tees, bunkers, and greens throughout the 27-hole property. The tournament course is a 7,084-yard par-70, designed to test players with a variety of hole distances. Both par-5s are reachable.

The weather forecast shows chances for rain early in the week but dry for tournament days. Temperatures are expected to be in the 50s-70s, so it may not heat up enough to make it very firm and fast. There expects to be some breezes, but nothing too extraordinary.

This is a standard tournament on the PGA Tour schedule, as opposed to a Signature Event. Nonetheless, several Signature Event caliber players are in the field, including headliner Rory McIlroy.

### Players to Watch

#### Davis Riley
Davis Riley secured his first top 10 since February 2023 by winning last week’s Charles Schwab Challenge. He won it by five shots ahead of world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and another past major champion, Keegan Bradley. Riley appeared to be running away with it on Saturday, building a commanding lead at Colonial. Scheffler inevitably made a charge, but Riley withstood it to win his second career PGA Tour title and first individually. Riley won the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans alongside Nick Hardy. This will be Riley’s maiden voyage to both Hamilton and the RBC Canadian Open.

#### Sam Burns
Sam Burns isn’t exactly the most in-form player in the field, but he’s one of the more accomplished. The five-time PGA Tour champion has a good opportunity to find the winner’s circle again this week for the first time in 2024. This will be Burns’ debut at Hamilton Golf and Country Club. He’s played well in Canada before, taking T-4th at the 2022 RBC Canadian Open at St. George’s.

#### Corey Conners
Canadian golf is as strong as ever. There are several names who could fly the maple leaf flag high this week, including Listowel, Ontario, native Corey Conners. Conners has played well at his national open before, but his two PGA Tour wins both came far away from his home country at the Valero Texas Open. Conners owns 21 straight made cuts, good for the fourth-longest streak on the PGA Tour.

#### Nick Taylor
Even if Nick Taylor repeats as champion this week, nothing will top the elation of his 2023 RBC Canadian Open triumph. Taylor sent the galleries at Oakdale into an uproar after he rolled in a 72-foot eagle putt to defeat Tommy Fleetwood in a playoff. The former Washington Husky has played well in his home open. The Winnipeg, Manitoba, native is 5-for-8 making the cut, including a T-27th the last time this event came to Hamilton in 2019.

#### Alex Noren
Even the most hardcore golf fans are likely unaware that Alex Noren is in the top five on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Total. The 41-year-old Swede has still yet to win on the PGA Tour, but it appears he’s found the fountain of youth in his quest to get it done at long last. Noren is fourth in SG: Total (1.382), sitting only behind Scottie Scheffler (2.842), Xander Schauffele (2.265), and Rory McIlroy (1.547).

#### Tommy Fleetwood
All Tommy Fleetwood could do was shake his head and smile. Usually, he’s the rooting interest of the majority of the gallery. At the 2023 RBC Canadian Open, he was the antagonist to the home country hero, Nick Taylor. Taylor stunned Fleetwood and the thousands in attendance by dropping a 72-foot eagle putt to win in a playoff. Fleetwood is still seeking his first PGA Tour victory to this day.

#### Taylor Pendrith
Taylor Pendrith got the monkey off his back a few weeks ago by winning his first career PGA Tour title in his 74th career start at age 32. Now, he can etch his name in the history books by following up Nick Taylor in 2023 to create the first back-to-back Canadian winners at the Canadian Open since 1913-14. Pendrith’s victory came at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson.

#### Sahith Theegala
Sahith Theegala might be the best player on the PGA Tour this season without a win. The one-time career champion is trending toward winning his second. He owns five top-10s in 13 starts, including solo seconds at The Sentry and RBC Heritage. Theegala is still relatively unproven at the majors, but he was in the mix for a good chunk of the PGA Championship, where he went on to finish T-12th in his most recent start.

#### Shane Lowry
Shane Lowry is hopeful to improve upon his last result in Hamilton. The only way to do so is to win or take solo second. The Irishman fired 64-68-66-67 here in 2019 to take T-2nd. Unfortunately for Lowry and the rest of the field, there was no catching Rory McIlroy who was a seven-shot victor.

#### Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy finally gets to return to Hamilton after winning the RBC Canadian Open here five years ago. The Northern Irishman delighted the crowd with three nice rounds of golf (67-66-64) before going berserk on Sunday with a final-round 61 to win by seven shots. McIlroy has taken an affinity to playing in Canada. He won the 2022 RBC Canadian Open with a Sunday 62. McIlroy ranks third on the PGA Tour in Strokes Gained: Total (1.547), filing behind only this year’s two major champions, Scheffler and Schauffele.

Fans can look forward to a thrilling week of golf at Hamilton Golf and Country Club, where a competitive field will vie for the prestigious RBC Canadian Open title.