2023 RBC Canadian Open
Oakdale Golf and Country Club
Rory McIlroy made it back-to-back wins at the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday.
Hello, DFSArmy, it’s your boy DFSUpNorth, Josh Thomas, back with another course preview for the final preview before the US Open, it’s little brother, the RBC Canadian Open! This week, we head to Toronto, Canada and Oakdale Golf and Country Club who is hosting this event for the very first time! Let’s dive into the details.
The Course:
Oakdale Golf and Country Club pays tribute to Canadian golfing legends through its distinctive hole nomenclature. Each of the nine holes on the course is named in honor of a Canadian icon in the sport. The “Thompson” commemorates architect Stanley Thompson, the “Knudson” celebrates eight-time PGA TOUR victor George Knudson, while the “Homenuik” is named in tribute to Wilf Homenuik, a revered Canadian Golf Hall of Famer and former head pro at Oakdale.
During the RBC Canadian Open, the initial nine holes will comprise a blend of four holes from the Thompson layout and five from the Homenuik design. The concluding nine holes will entirely consist of the Knudson design.
The first half of the course is expected to measure around 3,800 yards, nearly 400 yards longer than the back half, which totals roughly 3,400 yards. The course will adhere to a par-72 format, with two modifications to adapt to the skill level of the PGA Tour professionals: the third and sixth holes will be redefined as par-4s.
The expectation is that the players will hold on and par will be a good score on the front nine, with the back nine, or the Knudson nine, is where the scoring will be.
Alex Archyuk, head golf pro at Oakdale has said there is a premium on accuracy, with the “major defense” of Oakdale being the small greens.
“We’re not the longest golf course, but speaking specifically off the tee, there are a couple of fairways heavily sloped, so golfers will need to land it into the right portion,” he explained. “(The greens) are not necessarily the most well-bunkered but there is great undulation and tricky slopes.”
Looking at the scorecard, and some shots and videos of the course, it doesn’t look to be that intimidating but the word on the street is that the rough is VERY thick and a premium could be placed on finding fairways at the treelined parkland course. The greens as noted above are going to be very tricky as well with some putts breaking toward the creek that runs through the course and others not. My best guess is we see a winner approaching -20 or better just due to the par 5’s being so scoreable, but maybe we will get a Canadian course that shows some grit for once.
Tournament Set-up:
Oakdale Golf and Country Club
Par: 36-36–72
Yardage: 7,264
Greens: Bentgrass / Poa annua
Fairways: Bentgrass
Note: As this event is hosted in Canada, we don’t get as detailed of a sheet from the Golf Course Superintendents Society of America.
• The Black Creek runs throughout the property.
• Since 2018 Ian Andrew has overseen renovation removing trees to open up views, restoring bunkers and altering Robinson’s nine to make it more in line with Thompson’s vision of the property.
• This is the first year the course has hosted this annual event, which will return in 2026.
Links to DFS Army Tools
- PGA Research Station – Every single stat you could want for this week’s event!
- PGA Cheatsheets – Notes on all the viable players in the field
- PGA Domination Station – One-click Optimized Lineups in Seconds
Important Statistics
Being that this is a new course, it’s tough to say what will be most important this week but here are some stats that I will be focusing on.
- Strokes Gained: Approach (SG:APP): Oakdale rewards accuracy on approach shots. With protected greens and several risk-reward elements on the course, golfers who can excel with their irons and consistently put themselves in a good position for birdie will have a distinct advantage.
- Strokes Gained: Putting (SG:PUTT): The greens at Oakdale are known to be quite challenging, requiring excellent green reading skills and distance control. Golfers who consistently perform well on the greens are likely to succeed.
- Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green (SG:T2G): Given Oakdale’s strategic design, golfers need to perform well both off the tee and on approach shots to the green. Consistent ball strikers who can navigate the course’s hazards and out-of-bounds areas will have a leg up.
- Par 5 Scoring: Making hay while the sunshines on these par 5’s will be vitally important. Have to make birdie at minimum if you want to keep up this weeks.
These key stats can serve as a starting point for evaluating a golfer’s potential success at Oakdale Golf and Country Club. When building DFS lineups or making predictions, consider each player’s current form, tournament history, and how their skill set aligns with these crucial areas.
Golfers coming in 🔥🔥🔥
Tyrrell Hatton: 39.13 SGT
Eric Cole: 28.78 SGT
Joseph Bramlett: 21.69 SGT
Rory McIlroy: 21.49 SGT
Carson Young: 20.53 SGT
Hatton has continued his strong play of late, and so has Cole who missed the cut two weeks ago but bounced back well. Rory smashed last week to vault him up the board. Bramlett will be super sneaky this week and might be one of my favorite cheap plays. Carson Young is no longer a secret GPP stud but I still think his ownership will be lower than it should be.
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Weather:
I’m not posting a picture AGAIN. this week. The weather looks PERFECT all week. As always we can see pop up thunderstorms in the afternoon when it’s warm but as of right now, it’s going to be mid 60s all week so it should be perfect.
Final Thoughts:
The 2023 RBC Canadian Open at Oakdale Golf and Country Club in Toronto, Ontario is shaping up to be a great test and primer for the US Open in two weeks. By understanding the course’s unique characteristics and tailoring our DFS strategy accordingly, we can put ourselves in a prime position to succeed. I will break it all down for our VIPs with my weekly PGA Cheatsheets! This is DFSUpNorth, Josh Thomas, signing off. Best of luck to everyone in their DFS contests this week. Let’s get those green screens!
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