Mackenzie Hughes, tournament chair Paul Courneya, Adam Hadwin and Tournament director Bill Paul at the RBC Canadian Open press conference earlier this week.
My latest Sympatico column discusses the field at the Canadian Open and the fact no one seems to be raising any questions this year about who isn’t coming, and focusing on who is:
For the first time in recent memory, discussion around this year’s RBC Canadian Open is about who will be at Hamilton Golf and Country Club at the end of July, as opposed to who isn’t.
“We’re well represented by 156 of the best players playing a great golf course that week,” Bill Paul, tournament director for the Canadian Open, told reporters confidently.
Paul has reason to be pleased. The list of names coming to the tournament is impressive. Hunter Mahan and Matt Kuchar are will be there, along with Jim Furyk and Ernie Els. South African combo Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen are also anticipated to be in Ancaster for the tournament, along with Bo Van Pelt, who nearly won at the AT&T last week in a battle with Tiger Woods.
Brantford, Ont.’s David Hearn, a PGA Tour regular, says part of the lure is the golf course. Hamilton Golf and Country Club, which is actually located in the nearby town of Ancaster, last hosted the Canadian Open in 2006. This year’s event will be the fourth time it has held the country’s national open.
“Players are talking about it,” said Hearn. “They don’t get to play on the traditional tree-lined courses all that often.”
