Golf
RBC Canadian Open preview: Hatton set to stop McIlroy hat-trick
With a new era of golf on the horizon, following a deal between the PGA and LIV Golf, the players will have to turn their focus to the RBC Canadian Open at the Oakdale Golf & Country Club in Ontario this week.
With Rory McIlroy hunting a hat-trick of Canadian Open wins, fellow Brit Tyrrell Hatton and outsider Keith Mitchell could pose a challenge. We preview the action below.
Hatton can capitalise on red-hot form
Tyrrell Hatton has been putting his skills on show in recent months with the Englishman now seemingly in control of his emotions on the course, and back to playing his best golf.
Hatton has finished inside the top 20 in his last five tournaments, including a tied third finish at the Wells Fargo Championship, and a tied fifth at the Byron Nelson tournament.
The fiery Englishman was very consistent in his last outing at the Memorial tournament, shooting no less than one under, and no more than one over in any of his rounds, leading him to finish tied for 12th.
Hatton is incredibly reliable from tee to green, ranking third on the tour for strokes gained in this area, with his green play not far behind as he ranks 11th on the tour for strokes-gained putting.
Despite missing the cut at this event last year, he has only missed two since and is certainly one of the most in-form players on the tour at the moment. While 11/1 may seem a relatively short outright price there is every reason to believe that Hatton can finish the weekend atop the Canadian Open leaderboard.
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Mitchell could trouble the top of the leaderboard
Keith Mitchell’s recent history at the RBC Canadian Open is not to be sneered at as he achieved an impressive seventh placed finish last year at odds of 45/1.
The American’s best run of form came in February and March this year when he finished under par in five consecutive tournaments, which included a fifth-place finish in the Genesis Invitational where he shot and impressive 12 under par.
Mitchell has a solid rate of made cuts this year, and he has performed well enough as of late, finishing inside the top 50 at the Memorial Tournament last week as he shot 79 in the last round where he was already out of contention, so we don’t need to look too much into that.
The American prides himself on steady play, rarely hitting wayward drives, and his ranking of fourth on the tour for strokes-gained off the tee reflects that. If he can keep his tee shots consistent then his approach play is no cause for concern, and he ranks 13th on the tour in his area when going for the green. Were he to get on a roll with the putter there is no reason why he couldn’t find himself towards the top of the field on Sunday.
Mitchell is 35/1 heading into this year’s tournament and, although that is shorter than he was last year, his form prior to this tournament has been far better, with a top 10 finish to his name as he arrives at Oakdale.
