We head to Hamilton Golf & Country Club for the first time since 2019 for the 2024 RBC Canadian Open. The Hamilton, Ontario golf course is home to Rory McIlroy's first of two Canadian Open victories. Since we do not see this course on an annual basis, we do not have years of course data to lean on.
Hamilton Golf & Country Club went under a few restorations after this event took place in 2019. At the end of the day, it will play fairly similar. This is one of the shorter golf courses on Tour at just over 7,000 yards. Outside of that, the greens are on the smaller side at 6,00 square feet.
Although McIlroy won this event by seven at -22 five years ago, the rest of the leaderboard consisted of a ton of plotters. The short course and small green complexes bring a lot more golfers into the mix and put a premium on playing from the fairway and controlling iron shots. McIlroy was a true outlier to the event.
Scoring is not overly easy on this shorter course, which is somewhat similar to what we saw this past weekend in Fort Worth. Hamilton Golf & Country Club's tricky green complexes are the course's main defense as they demand precise iron shots and will challenge players to find the right reads on their putts.
I have found a few golfers who fit the build of this course to use as your 2024 RBC Canadian Open One & Done Picks.
Cameron Young +2200
The masses are done with Cameron Young in all markets because he is one of the most talented players on the Tour who has not won yet. Simply enough, this field is so weak that Young's baseline starts at T10 because he is an elite driver and has as much upside as anyone in this field with his irons.
While he is coming off his worst approach week of his entire career, the last time he lost strokes on approach, he bounced back well enough for me to trust him here. Young will go overlooked this week and has plenty of upside for you to make a move in your One & Done pool.
Adam Svensson +8000
What's the Canadian Open without mentioning one of the PGA Tour's staple Canadian golfers? Svensson is playing solid golf heading into his national open. He has gained strokes on approach in each of his last seven starts.
This is perfect for Hamilton Golf & Country Club because he does his best work on short courses. His only win on Tour and most of his best finishes have came on courses under 7,500 yards. Hamilton Golf & Country Club demands a a ton of 125-175 yard iron shots, which is what Svensson does best.
A majority of people in your pool are probably saving Corey Conners, Nick Taylor or Adam Hadwin among the Canadians for this spot. Let's get a little contrarian while still keeping some Canadian flair for the week.
Erik Van Rooyen +5000
Erik Van Rooyen is a winner! The South African has two wins in his PGA Tour career, and they both came in relatively easy scoring conditions. That should translate to Hamilton Golf & Country Club this week.
He is a streaky iron player but is in the middle of a really hot run. EVR has gained strokes on approach in three straight starts and is having the best season in terms of approach play of his career.
Outside of that, he is generally a very accurate driver. If he is hitting fairways, he can lean on the hot iron play to make some birdies this week. Van Rooyen has experience here as he played this event back in 2019. He tied for 20th that week despite a poor final round. He is a confident player and is trending in the right direction.
Pencil in the South African to make some noise in your 2024 RBC Canadian Open One & Done Pool.
