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TORONTO, Ont. – At the RBC Canadian Open media day in May, tournament organizers said their only wish for the event’s first playing since 2019 was for Mother Nature to cooperate. They got that – Sunday’s predicted storms blew through with minimal impact – and lots more. RELATED: What’s in McIlroy’s bag? Propelled by rabid fan support throughout the week, Rory McIlroy successfully defended his 2019 title with a final-round, 8-under 62 at St. George’s G&CC and 19-under total. He topped Tony Finau by two shots and Justin Thomas, who was in the final trio with Finau and McIlroy, by four. “It feels really good,” said McIlroy. “For the Canadian Open, a national championship, to have a week like it’s had, three of the best players in the world going at it down the stretch, trying to win in front of those crowds and that atmosphere … it doesn’t get much better than that.” The victory marked McIlroy’s 21st TOUR title and his first successful title defense. In the process, he became the first TOUR pro to defend his title at two different courses (Jim Furyk was the last, winning the RBC Canadian Open in 2006 and 2007). In 2019, McIlroy carded a final-round 61 at Hamilton Golf and Country Club, and he was trending towards another low finisher right out of the gate on Sunday. He shot a 5-under 29 for his first nine holes, and he then made birdie on Nos 10-12. The two-time FedExCup champion said his fast start was key to finding the winner’s circle this week. He birdied the first hole of the day and his approach on the par-4 fourth, he said, was the best shot he hit all day, even though he chipped in for birdie just two holes later. “After that I just went on this run, and once you see a few birdies go in early, all you’re thinking about is making more,” said McIlroy. “And I just got a little bit of momentum on my side and sort of carried that through the rest of the front nine and obviously into the start of the back nine as well.” McIlroy closed with birdies on the final two holes as well. For his 72nd-hole effort, the ropes were dropped and the Canadian faithful showed McIlroy plenty of love. “I mean the fans here this week have just been absolutely unbelievable,” said McIlroy. “Like so good and so cool to play in an atmosphere like that. Boisterous, loud, but respectful. It was really, really cool. That’s as top-notch as you’re going to get. “It was a pleasure to be a part of and I’ll look back on this week and this, especially today, with very, very fond memories.” McIlroy’s 62 tied the lowest final round by a winner on TOUR this season. And he did it with a fill-in caddie. Longtime friend Niall O’Connor took the bag with Harry Diamond, McIlroy’s usual looper, at home for the birth of his second child. O’Connor caddied for McIlroy once before, at the 2019 DP World Tour Championship, where they finished fourth. Add that to a first-place result this week and McIlroy was chuffed with his pal’s performance. “Any time that he needs to fill in for Harry, I’m feeling pretty confident about that,” said McIlroy with a smile. Given O’Connor was just a fill-in this week, it forced McIlroy to do some of the heavy lifting on his own, no pun intended, when it came to dialing in his yardages. He said he doesn’t usually pace out his yardages or write down notes in his book. McIlroy admitted he’s “gotten away” from that and relies on Diamond for most of those numbers. Turns out the change was beneficial. “(Thomas) and I were having lunch beforehand today and I was like, I had my head in my book a lot more today and was really into my shots and into my golf,” said McIlroy. “Honestly, I think that helped.” Three years go by, the world changes, but as far as the RBC Canadian Open champion, history – much to the happiness of tournament organizers and Canadian golf fans – repeated itself this week. “I think it had all the ingredients,” said McIlroy. “It had the golf course. It had the cast of players that you would want to be up there. It had the caliber of golf. And it had the atmosphere. You had everything this week to have a really top-class golf event. As I said, being a part of it, it doesn’t get much better than that.” McIlroy wasn’t the only winner this week, as Corey Conners claimed his first Rivermead Cup as low Canadian. He finished at 12 under and was sixth – his third top-10 finish of the season. “Obviously there’s another trophy that we’re all out here playing for, so hopefully someday can get my name on that one as well,” said Conners, “but it feels really special.”
Early within the lineup of tentpole stops from March through July is a subset of something for everyone. It starts pre-Florida Swing with a World Golf Championship/additional event doubleheader, continues with another a month later – except the WGC is a Match Play – and lingers all the way to last week’s team event in New Orleans. It’s a harrowing stretch of competition, er, opportunity. The Valspar Championship represents the other side of it, but it’s not for the weary. Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club’s Copperhead Course perennially ranks among the most challenging courses every season. Scroll past the projected contenders for more on the brief history of the tournament, what’s new this year – other than its position on the schedule – and mre. RELATED: The First Look | How the field qualified POWER RANKINGS: VALSPAR CHAMPIONSHIP Sungjae Im, Joaquin Niemann, Abraham Ancer and Henrik Stenson will be among the notables reviewed in Tuesday’s Fantasy Insider. As a nascent event from 2000-2006, the Valspar Championship was contested later in the calendar year. It then transitioned into a fixture of the Florida Swing when the FedExCup was introduced in 2007. Like many other tournaments, it was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic and repositioned this season by more than a month later than when it was accustomed. Thanks to extended daylight hours at this time of year, the 2021 edition will host 156 golfers for just the third time in its history (2002, 2013). It’s the first of a dozen tournaments extending through the Wyndham Championship in which reservations are made for the maximum. The only individual event staged on one course with as many golfers earlier in the season was the Safeway Open in early September of 2020. As it concerns the test itself, Copperhead is unchanged. It’s a par 36-35—71 that tips at 7,340 yards. It has the full complement of four par 5s, and they’re challenging, but it has five par 3s, which are just as daunting. However, what’s primarily different this year is that there’s no overseed on the Celebration bermudagrass fairways. Overseed still exists elsewhere, including on the TifEagle bermuda greens. Where it’s transitional won’t be an issue. Because the greens average just over 5,800 square feet, golfers who are stronger tee to green than they are wielding the flat stick have the inside lane. Two-time defending champion Paul Casey proved this in 2019. He led the field in total driving and Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, but he finished a pedestrian 43rd in Strokes Gained: Putting. Sharpen the focus and you’ll find a winner who performed like any in a shootout, which this tournament most definitely is not. Casey ranked T5 in greens hit and second in converting those chances into par breakers. He also paced the field in par-5 scoring. All of that compensated for finishing T55 in par-4 scoring en route to his one-stroke title at 8-under 276. Leave it to the grizzled Englishman with the million-dollar smile to make it look easy. Copperhead averaged 71.981 in 2019, highest among all par 71s in non-majors that season. It was the third time in four season that it claimed that distinction. Moderate winds will contribute to the high scores again this week. They’ll start from a southerly direction early in the tournament before pushing in from the north on the weekend. A threat of inclement weather mid-tournament could cool the air, but daytime highs will reach the low- to mid-80s. The primary rough exceeds three inches and the putting surfaces can race to 12-and-a-half feet on the Stimpmeter. If you’re new to the tournament, you’ll be learning how unrelenting The Snake Pit can be. It consists of the closing par 4-3-4. In 2019, Nos. 16, 17 and 18 ranked a respective first, eighth and third in terms of difficulty on the course. Collectively, they averaged 0.611 strokes over par for the week. Casey scored 1-over on the trio during both victories. His only birdie on the stretch in 2019 occurred on the par-4 16th in the opening round. ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE PGATOUR.COM’s Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous angles. Look for his following contributions as scheduled. MONDAY: Power Rankings TUESDAY*: Sleepers; Fantasy Insider SUNDAY: Qualifiers, Reshuffle, Medical Extensions, Rookie Watch * – Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.
Tiger Woods was watching the leaderboards, and he wasn’t alone. Woods returned to competition for the first time in 301 days, and just like his previous four comebacks from back surgeries, no one was quite sure what to expect. Matt Kuchar was among those who looked for Woods’ name whenever he passed a scoreboard at the Hero World Challenge. “Absolutely, we wanted the Tiger Woods update,” Kuchar said Thursday. “I think everybody was excited and couldn’t wait to see how he would do.” In his first tournament in 301 days — his first time competing since a fourth back surgery in April — Woods did fine. He made five birdies. He muffed two chips. He saved par. He twice dropped choice words. He once
