Fantasy golf advice for the RBC Canadian Open

Sergio Garcia, Martin Kaymer, Billy Horschel, Jimmy Walker and Barbasol Championship winner Troy Merritt will appear in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider along with other notables.

For competitors who made the trip to Oakville, Ontario, Glen Abbey presents as a soft landing just as long as they hit the ground running. This includes the 32 who jetted from The Open Championship at Carnoustie in Scotland. They in particular will be reminded of what it’s like to sign for red numbers again.

Glen Abbey is a stock par 72, albeit with respective pars of 35 and 37. The par 5s are Nos. 2, 13, 16 and 18. Last year’s scoring average of 70.371 established a tournament low for the course (since data was first maintained in earnest in 1983). When the wind blows, as it did early in 2016 and will a bit this week, the 5,600-square foot greens get even smaller, but Glen Abbey has yielded the most eagles of any course in each of the last five seasons it’s hosted the RBC Canadian Open (2009, 2013, 2015-2017), so they are still magnets.

Given that Vegas prevailed despite finishing outside the top 50 in fairways hit during both of his titles proves that the only challenge besides hitting greens and rolling in putts – standard-operating procedure in all shootouts – is keeping pace. Of the 13 who finished inside the top 10 here last year, nine ranked inside the top 15 in greens in regulation. The field average of 36.32 percent in converting GIR into par breakers was a season high.

Hitting it a long way doesn’t hurt, either. Only two of the top 13 on the leaderboard in 2017 averaged fewer than 299 yards in distance of all drives for the week. Vegas ranked inside the top 15 in both distance of all drives and GIR en route to both victories.

Rough is trimmed from two-and-a-half inches to three-and-a-quarter inches, with the thickest stuff protecting the primarily bentgrass greens. They’re prepped to run upward of 12-and-a-half feet on the Stimpmeter, but the persistent threat of rain is poised to slow them down. Daytime temperatures will climb into the upper 70s.

Earlier this month, it was announced that Hamilton Golf & Country Club will be hosting next year. The tournament will shift to the week prior to the U.S. Open.


ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE

PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton reviews and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled.

MONDAY: Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Power Rankings

TUESDAY*: Sleepers, Facebook Live, Fantasy Insider

WEDNESDAY: One & Done, Champions One & Done

* – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by SERVPRO, which also publishes on Tuesdays.

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