When: May 30 – June 2

Where: Hamilton Golf & Country Club

Concert Series: May 30 – Frank Walker and Loud Luxury; May 31 – Our Lady Peace; June 1 – Linsday Ell & Josh Ross (concerts included with daily ticket)

Hamilton Golf & Country Club is a club that is well versed in hosting the RBC Canadian Open as they have welcomed the public since they first hosted the tournament in 1919, where J. Douglas Edgar won by 16 strokes and earned $200 in winnings. Since Rory McIlroy’s win in 2019, the club has gone through a $11.5-million renovation and is in prime condition to challenge the world’s best players.

Hamilton Golf & Country Club  

Many will recognize this private club based on its history and further its ability to consistently rank in the top ten Canadian golf courses. The West (front nine) and South (back nine) are the selected championship layouts that are utilized for the RBC Canadian Open which were originally designed by Harry Colt. The course will be playing 120 yards shorter compared to the Canadian Open that was hosted at Oakdale last year. Martin Ebert of design firm Mackenzie and Ebert noted that PGA players will find bunkers are a stiffer penalty as they are steeper and more rugged along with more sloping greens allowing the tour to place difficult pins throughout the weekend.

Nick Taylor—Can He Repeat?

Taylor captured the victory over Tommy Fleetwood on the fourth playoff hole last year at Oakdale, when he canned a 72-footer for eagle sending the crowd into a frenzy. This was the first time since 1954 that a Canadian won the RBC, and as Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum said at the time, “It is unbelievable for Canadian golf.” Coming off a disappointing week at the PGA Championship shooting 71-72 to miss the cut in Kentucky, let’s hope Taylor can dial it in at Hamilton and go back-to-back. That said, it is a challenge for any player to elevate their game for any one week, and it’ll be interesting to see how the increase in attention impacts Taylor’s game.

Canucks In The Field

The RBC Canadian Open always has a disproportionate number of Canadians in the field, including top amateurs and qualifiers. Led by Taylor, No. 28 in the world, the field includes all of the top Canadians—Correy Conners, Adam Hadwin, Taylor Pendrith, Mackenzie Huges, and Adam Svensson. Other Canucks in the field include President Cup Captain Mike Wier, DP World Tour standout Aaron Cockerill, Kevin Stinson, and Myles Creighton. Keep a look out for Taylor Pendrith who earned his first PGA victory earlier this May at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, hopefully, he can bring this momentum into the tournament.

Rory McIlroy  

McIlroy won the last time the tournament was at Hamilton, prior to the pandemic in 2019, and defended at St. George’s in 2022. Fresh off another win at the Wells Fargo Championship and a rather solid T12 finish at the PGA Championship, the current world No. 3 has his eyes set on his third RBC Canadian Open title.

Others in the Field  

Team RBC players include Sahith Theegala, Cameron Young, and Sam Burns. Runner-up of the 2023 RBC Canadian Open, No. 11 Tommy Fleetwood will be returning along with No. 41 Shane Lowry who earned his third PGA victory at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans alongside fan favorite McIlroy.

The Rink

The 13^th hole at Hamilton will once again by turned into “The Rink,” an homage to Canada’s hockey connection and a great place to watch both some golf—and people. Fans run to the rink section of the course and plaster themselves against the boards, taking in all the action and the atmosphere.