Inside the Field: BMW Championship

TORONTO, Ont. – Rory McIlroy marked his ball with a Canadian $1 coin, nicknamed a ‘Loonie,’ the last time he played the RBC Canadian Open. He received one from his pro-am partner in 2019 and that extra luck worked. He won. This year, tournament organizers came prepared. “I turned up to the locker room and there was already one in my locker,” said McIlroy with a smile. “And then one of my pro-am partners gave me one this morning on the first green as well. “I’m loaded with loonies this week.” McIlroy will (finally) defend his title this week in Canada, three years after he won by seven shots at Hamilton Golf and Country Club. He flirted with 59 much of the final day before shooting a thrilling 61 that separated him from the field. He comes to St. George’s Golf and Country Club looking to go back-to-back for the first time on the PGA TOUR, but to do it he’ll have to top one of the strongest fields north of the border in recent memory. McIlroy is one of five golfers ranked in the top 10 in the world who are teeing it up this week in Toronto, including Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns. The top two players in the FedExCup are making their Canadian Open debuts. Scheffler, who also sits atop the world ranking, has won four times this year, including the Masters, while Burns earned his third win of the season by beating Scheffler in a playoff at the recent Charles Schwab Challenge. PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas and THE PLAYERS champion Cameron Smith are the other two top-10 players in the field this week. There are 20 Canadians teeing it up in their national open as well, including Corey Conners, the top-ranked Canadian in the FedExCup standings. “It’s really exciting to have those guys here,” Conners said of the stout field. “I think national championships, wherever they’re played, have a little bit more prestige and guys think really highly of this event. There are so many historic names on the trophy, and it would be awesome to be added to that and I think a lot of those guys feel the same way. It’s a good part of your legacy to be able to call yourself a Canadian Open champion and national open champion.” McIlroy comes into the week after a T18 at the Memorial. He notched three consecutive top-10 finishes in his previous three starts, including a runner-up at the Masters and an eighth-place finish at the PGA Championship. He sits 15th on the FedExCup standings. So far, he’s “loved” St. George’s Golf and Country Club, which is hosting its sixth RBC Canadian Open. He said it’s a “really good” traditional layout – built in 1929 – that will serve as a strong place to compete before next week’s U.S. Open. McIlroy will be grouped with Conners and Thomas for the first two rounds. Thomas said he took a few days off after he missed the cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge and celebrated his PGA Championship victory with some high-school friends back home in Louisville. Playing the week before the PGA Championship paid off with his win at Southern Hills and he’s hoping it will do the trick again with the U.S. Open coming next week. But Thomas is quick to recognize the legacy of the Canadian Open, as well. This is the 111th playing of the tournament. “You look at the history of this event, it kind of speaks for itself,’ says Thomas. “The opportunity to come to a place and a tournament that’s so historic … definitely makes it a little bit more special.” Scheffler said “it was easy” for him to include the Canadian Open in his schedule with a comparable set-up at St. George’s to The Country Club at Brookline. With seven of the top 25 in the world (Matt Fitzpatrick, Tony Finau, Tyrell Hatton and Shane Lowry are the others) all playing this week, it’ll be a solid challenge. “I’m preparing for next week’s U.S. Open, but I really want to win this week. I really want to win every time I tee it up and play,” says Scheffler. “We (drew) a really good field this week and so definitely looking forward to competing against these guys.” While Scheffler is on top of the FedExCup standings with his excellent play so far this season, it’s two-time FedExCup winner McIlroy who has quickly become the top draw in Canada. This is, of course, attributed to winning in his debut in 2019 – “It would be nice to keep that percentage up this week, for sure,” he said – and the fact that he acted as the ‘defending’ champion for two extra seasons. His group drew the biggest crowds in Wednesday’s pro-am at St. George’s. “I’ve worked hard to get to this position,” he says. “I mean if I didn’t like the attention I would go and I would play another sport or I would get another job or whatever. But there’s a lot of things that come along with being one of the top players in the game and yeah, I do relish it. I like that, I like being in that position.” Another position McIlroy enjoys being in is first place on PGA TOUR leaderboards, something he’ll try to do again this week in Canada. And he’s got a good-luck coin ready to go.

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Here are nine tidbits from the second round of the Sony Open at Waialae Country Club (par 70, 7,044 yards) in Honolulu that gamers can use tomorrow, this weekend or down the road. Be looking for the Emergency 9 shortly after the close of play of each round of the tournament. Pain or Gain These were the top five picked golfers in the PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO: It’s all to play for on the weekend as all of these fellas made the cut! We’ll see what moving day Saturday brings us as everyone is chasing Brian Harman on 13-under-par. Different Day, Different Dawg Brian Harman (Georgia Bulldogs) took the lead from fellow alum Chris Kirk as he backed his opening round 64 with 63 on Friday. Harman is blossoming into a force regardless of course. Last year he won at a difficult Eagle Point (par 72, 7,396 yards) and was T2 at the U.S. Open at Erin Hills (7,800 yards) so his game is translating on all tracks. While he’s not long, he can putt the dimples off the golf ball. He sits No. 1 in SG: Putting through 36 holes and leads by three. Georgia on My Mind Friday saw golfers with college ties to the state of Georgia get moving. Chris Kirk (Georgia Bulldogs) backed up his co-first round lead with 67 to sit three back … Former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket Ollie Schniederjans fired 65 to finish the day T7 … Kevin Kisner was a great sport yesterday wearing an Alabama jersey on the walk up No. 17. The Golf Gods smiled today as he posted 64 and moved up 31 spots to T10 … The curious case of Harris English (Georgia Bulldogs) caught my eye last fall as he didn’t fire on courses he has in the past. He’s rallied this week on a course he loves and moved up 49 spots with 65, his lowest round since the FedEx St. Jude Classic last June … Stewart Cink (Georgia Tech) loaded up with 64 and moved up 62 spots to T16 … Hudson Swafford has three top-15 finishes in four trips to Waialae and his 66 on Friday moved him to T16. Remember Me? John Peterson won the 2011 NCAA championship at LSU. The following year he finished T4 at the U.S. Open at Olympic Club. He was on the path. Hand surgery forced him to miss the majority of the 2016 season. He has seven starts after this week to rack up 273.76 FedExCup points to meet the terms of his Major Medical Extension. The recent father (#NappyFactor) is making his first start since WD at the Web.com Tour Championship in October. He’s posted 66-64 and is T2. He tweeted today “too blessed to be stressed” and his game is reflecting that through two rounds. Check out all of the exemptions here: One is the Loneliest Number Tom Hoge is one of four players three back tied for second. He was selected by exactly one gamer in PGA TOUR Fantasy One & Done presented by SERVPRO. This is his third trip to Waialae and there’s something about this track that catches his eye. In 2015 he finished T71 but fired a second round 64. He has a pair of 65s this week and will look to eclipse his best finish on TOUR, T4 at Barracuda last August. Fort Knox Russell Knox racked up four birdies and an eagle with 13 pars to jump 53 spots to T12. After missing the cut in his first three trips he’s cashed T11 and T13 in two of his last three. Even the year he MC he still posted a 65. Opening 69-64 makes it four consecutive trips to Waialae recording 65 or lower. I’m writing that down for next year. I Can’t Si I feel like I write this every week but I cannot figure out Si Woo Kim. He opened the season with three events T44 or worse. His last three events have been solo third, MC and 10th last week on Maui. He’s the perfect guy for season-long games as his weekly volatility has me on a steady diet of Pepto Bismol. His 71 after opening with 67 saw him make the weekend on the number. Whew. History’s Mysteries Plenty of gamers RELY on course history in making their weekly selections. I have always suggested that it should be a PART of your formula. Perennial contenders Zach Johnson (T2) Jerry Kelly (T12) and Charles Howell, III (T28) did the business but recent champions Russell Henley, Jimmy Walker and Fabian Gomez all are heading home after Friday. Howell has too many rounds here in the 60s to count so I’m on board with him on Moving Day tomorrow to jump up into the top 10. Study Hall Patrick Rodgers withdrew on Friday citing the flu. Rodgers, who won 11 times at Stanford, has a new caddie on the bag this year as he looks for his first TOUR win … I learned during the telecast that Wesley Bryan is NOT carrying a driver this week nor is he going to until the Florida Swing. Well, something is working as he opened 68-66 and is currently T17. He said he had no confidence in hitting driver so he took it out of the bag. Stay tuned … The biggest jump of the day went to 2009 champion Ryan Palmer as his 64 moved him up a whopping 71 places after an opening round 71. He needs just 29.686 FedExCup in six starts to meet the terms of his Major Medical Exemption … Sangmoon Bae couldn’t back up his 66 yesterday as his 73 saw him slam the trunk.

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