Photo: All Square Golf
In the midst of some of the most turbulent times the professional golfing world has ever seen, there is still golf to be played this week. The 2023 Canadian Open is taking place at Oakdale in Toronto, Canada. This is the first time that this venue will host this event, and it is slated to return here in 2026 as well. With this being the debut of this course on tour, we do not know much about it. We lack the usual data that we have coming in on past performances and archetypes of players who succeed. From watching the hole by hole flyover videos, the course seems to have some tight fairways and thick rough. The other distinguishing feature of the golf course is a fair amount of elevation changes with small green complexes. With that in mind, let’s make our picks for the event this week. Our classic three pick format with one from the top, middle, and bottom of the odds board is in play this week.
Shane Lowry
Shane Lowry is on his best run of form so far this season. Part of that is him playing great golf recently, and the other is his season has been slightly lackluster up to this point. He is coming off of a T16 at The Memorial and a T12 at The PGA Championship. In those events he has posted two of his five best performances in approach play from a strokes gained perspective, which has really helped mitigate some of his poor putting that he has been fighting. Ball striking is the one skill that travels more than any other. In a field where a lot of the “top contenders” have some red flags in their game or circumstances right now, Shane Lowry emerges as someone we feel good about this week. The field is not considerably deep this week with the US Open being next week. With all that being said, Shane Lowry is our pick to win this event this week.
Ludvig Aberg
I know this feels like cheating. Ludvig is not exactly a middle odds player this week. However, his first start as a member of The PGA Tour is too important to pass up. Ludvig is the back to back winner of The Ben Hogan award, going to the best college golfer each season. The last player to win it in back to back years? Jon Rahm. Now that is obviously a lofty expectation to throw anyone’s way before their career starts, but Ludvig has some serious game. This year data golf has him playing at true strokes gained of 3.02, which adjusted for his events and level of competition, is above the quality of an average PGA Tour player already. He has a beautiful all around game and after watching Rose Zhang go out and win in her LPGA Tour debut as a pro, Ludvig will play some inspired golf to make a similar statement. Look for Ludvig to grab a top 10 finish this week.
Brandt Snedeker
Brandt only has two starts this season, The Fortinet and The Memorial. Brandt underwent a rare surgery in which they essentially rebuilt his sternum and he has been out for the last nine months prior to his return at The Memorial. He grabbed a T41 at The Memorial which was very impressive considering his circumstances coming into the event. His biggest drawback as of now is how short he is off the tee. He is one of the shortest players on Tour. With that being the case, he is not a good fit for many of the venues which The Tour stops at these days. With the information we have, it does not seem like Oakdale will be a bombers paradise which gives him a chance to succeed. He has some pedigree with nine career PGA Tour wins to his name. We hope to see the positive comeback for Brandt continue and expect him to grab a top 20 finish this week.
