Get your passports ready.

The PGA Tour is heading to TPC Toronto for the RBC Canadian Open, the second-oldest non-major tournament, one week ahead of the U.S. Open. A 156-player field will tee it up for a $9.8 million purse, with the winner collecting $1,764,000. 

From its field, course, history, tee times and how to watch, here’s everything you need to know for the RBC Canadian Open. 

The field 

Rory McIlroy is back. 

Having not played since the PGA Championship, the Northern Irishman, who won the Canadian Open in 2019 and 2022, will be the only top 10 player in the field, along with Ludvig Åberg. 

Including McIlroy and Åberg, there will be eight of the top 25 players in the world playing this week: Shane Lowry (No. 12), Justin Rose (No. 19), Robert MacIntyre (No. 20), Corey Conners (No. 21), Sungjae Im (No. 22) and Wyndham Clark (No. 25).

There are also eight Canadians in the field, eight of whom are Tour winners: Mike Weir, Nick Taylor, Conners, Mackenzie Hughes, Adam Hadwin, Taylor Pendrith and Adam Svensson. 

There are also four past champions: MacIntyre (2024), McIlroy (2019, 2022), Brandt Snedeker (2013) and Taylor (2023). 

Also, former college golf stars Luke Clanton and Gordon Sargent will both be making their pro debuts this week.

The course 

The RBC Canadian Open is in uncharted waters this year. 

The event will take place at TPC Toronto’s Osprey Valley’s North course in Caledon, Ontario, Canada. It’ll be the 38th golf course in the 121-year history of the tournament. 

In 2023, Ian Andrew led a restoration of the property with consultation from the PGA Tour. Bunkers were repositioned, green complexes were enhanced and hazards were added.

It’ll play as a 7,389-yard par-70 with an average green size of 6,500 square feet, 48 bunkers, three water hazards and bentgrass greens.

Its closing hole is a 585-yard par-5 with a closely mown runoff area in front of the green into water, providing a risk/reward finish. 

“This is a special and deserving moment for TPC Toronto in stepping onto the global golf stage in hosting the 114th playing of our national open championship,” Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum told the PGA Tour. 

And the “Rink,” which is a rowdy, hockey-themed hole that has become a Canadian Open staple, will be the scorable 125-yard par-3 14th. 

“It’s a scoring club in all of our hands and will provide a lot of excitement. I’ve got some good vibes, and I think you might be able to see (an ace) this year with some of the pin positions,” Taylor Pendrith told PGATour.com. “That’s going to be a really exciting hole and provide a good birdie chance coming down the home stretch.”

History: Tiger’s best shot ever? 

In 2000, Tiger Woods had his greatest season, perhaps the most impressive in golf history. 

Amid the transcendence, he also produced (arguably) his best shot. 

On his 72nd hole in the rain at the Bell Canadian Open, Woods found himself in a fairway bunker on the par-5 18th at Glen Abbey. He then blasted a 6-iron, barely touching even a grain of sand, over the water, directly at a tucked pin. 

“When the ball landed, the roar shook the ground,” TSN reporter Bob Weeks told PGATour.com in 2020. 

The settled 18 feet behind the hole. Woods failed to chip in for eagle, but a birdie would be the difference, as Woods edged Grant Waite by a stroke. 

“The guy takes out a 6-iron, fires at the flag, with the tournament on the line,” Waite said. “I told him after we where through, ‘You’re not supposed to do that. You’re supposed to hit at the middle of the green.’ He said, ‘The shot was on.’ I guess it was.”

Woods wasn’t even supposed to be at Glen Abbey. A week before the event, Woods lost the famous Battle of Bighorn to Sergio Garcia on Monday Night Golf while battling the flu. A few days later, though, he committed to play in Canada. 

He came away with his victory, which made Woods the only player besides Lee Trevino in 1971 to win the U.S. Open, British Open and Canadian Open in the same season. 

But his shot from the bunker is what lives on the most, even a quarter of a century later. 

“When pressure is at its peak, that’s when your concentration level is at its highest,” Woods said afterward. “It builds to a crescendo.”

That’s what made him great. 

“The only way to beat him is to outplay him,” Waite said. “Right now, that’s a difficult task. He’s an extraordinary player who comes along once every generation—or his case, maybe once in forever.”

How to watch (all times ET)

  • Thursday: 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
  • Friday: 3-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel)
  • Saturday: 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS)
  • Sunday: 1-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3-6 p.m. (CBS)

ESPN+ will also have featured coverage during each round. 

Round 1 and 2 tee times 



This article was originally published on www.si.com as RBC Canadian Open Preview: Field, Course, History, Tee Times, How to Watch.

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