Canadian Open predictions: Veteran Scott targets 15th PGA title
- The tournament returns to Hamilton for the seventh time
- Nick Taylor ended a 69-year wait for a Canadian winner in 2023
- Recommended bets:
- Adam Scott to win and each-way
- Taylor Pendrith to win and each-way
- Mark Hubbard – First Round Leader
Hamilton Golf and Country Club is the venue for this year’s Canadian Open, with the Ontario course hosting this event for the seventh time.
The par-70 course measures in at 7084 yards, with just two par fives – one on the front and one on the back nine – and 12 par fours.
Rory McIlroy won this tournament when Hamilton last held the event, carding a four-round total of 258 (-22) in 2019 to eventually win by seven shots.
Scott seeks another Aussie victory
There have been two Australian winners of the Canadian Open in the last 14 years and Adam Scott will this week look to follow in the footsteps of Jason Day (2015) and Nathan Green (2009).
He might be seen as being the wrong side of 40, but Scott’s form this season suggests he has more wins in the locker having already racked up 14 wins on the PGA Tour.
Since the start of April, Scott has recorded two top-15 finishes and three top-30s in his six tournaments. The Aussie missed the cut at the PGA Championship but bounced back with a T12 spot at the Charles Schwab Challenge with three sub-70 rounds.
Scott has played in three previous Canadian Opens and his last was at this course in 2019, when he finished T32, with the shorter course favouring the 43-year-old.
Pendrith can challenge on home soil
Nick Taylor’s win at Oakdale last year was the first time a home player had won the Canadian Open since 1954 but sometimes one victory can very quickly lead to another and Taylor Pendrith could be the Canadian to be on this week.
The 32-year-old has shown some good recent form, winning the CJ Cup in early May and he followed that up with a T10 finish at the Wells Fargo Championship.
The world number 61 will have big support from the crowds this week, with Pendrith born in Richmond Hill in the province of Ontario.
The Canadian, who took last week off, is currently 12th in the PGA Tour putting stats and success on the greens should be key this week.
Consistent Hubbard can go low
Mark Hubbard is still looking for his maiden PGA Tour victory, but his performances so far in 2024 suggest he might enter the winner’s enclosure soon enough.
The American has not missed a cut all year and has two top-10 and four top-25 finishes to his name.
Hubbard has carded eight sub-70 first rounds in his 15 tournaments in 2024 – including a 65 at the PGA Championship – and the 35-year-old ranks fifth in the Total Birdies stats, whilst also 18th for Birdie Average, which could be vital in Ontario.
