During the 2022 golf season, Stadium sports betting analyst Nate Jacobson will share his betting targets each week using odds as of Tuesday morning. Here are his thoughts on this week’s RBC Canadian Open.
Note: Nate will tweet out his official bets when they are placed before the event. He also discusses his bets in all sports on the Sharp Lessons podcast. Subscribe on Spotify and Apple for episodes and follow Stadium Bets on Twitter for more sports betting content.
About the tournament
The PGA TOUR heads to Canada for the first time since 2019 to play the RBC Canadian Open at St. George’s Golf and Country Club near Toronto. The course is a par 70 that plays just over 7,000 yards and is hosting the event for the first time since 2010.
Five out of the top nine players in the world are committed to play this week, which is a good amount the week after a big tournament in the Memorial and a week ahead of the U.S. Open.
Top of the board
The highest ranked players in the Official Golf World Rankings occupy the top five spots on the oddsboard. Masters champion Scottie Scheffler (8/1) and PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas (9/1) both skipped the Memorial last week to use this event to prep for the U.S. Open. Rory McIlroy (10/1) won the 2019 Canadian Open, which was the last time the event was played, but the tournament was at a different course. Cameron Smith (12/1) and Sam Burns (16/1) come right behind the big three.
My interest with outright betting this week starts with Matt Fitzpatrick (18/1) and Corey Conners (20/1).
Fitzpatrick made a name for himself when he was in the second to last group in the final round of the PGA Championship, but finished two shots off the lead and in a tie for fifth place. The Englishman had a very strange week at the Memorial where he missed the cut after an uncharacteristically bad putting week. Fitzpatrick’s tee-to-green numbers were fine in his two rounds of play, and I like him to bounce back off a missed cut. Fitzpatrick missed the cut at THE PLAYERS Championship in March and finished fifth place the next week at the Valspar, and he missed the cut at the RBC Heritage in April and finished tied for second in his next start at the Wells Fargo.
I do have some concern betting on Conners playing in his country’s championship, considering the potential distractions and off-course obligations he has this week. But his recent form is strong since a sixth-place finish at the Masters, and he led the field in strokes gained approach this past week at the Memorial. This type of course should also suit Conners’ game well.
Mid-range targets and longshots
The week’s field is top heavy with a number of elite players, so there’s a lot of uninspiring options in the mid-range of the board. The two players I have the most interest in betting are Keith Mitchell (50/1) and Sahith Theegala (66/1).
Mitchell is a player I’ve been eyeing to bet over the last few months, but haven’t found the right spot or price to take him. Mitchell is down a bit from the 66/1 he opened at on Monday morning, but I’ll take a shot with him at his current number in this field. He’s coming off a tied-for-18th finish at the Memorial last week.
Theegala is coming off a tied-for-fifth finish at the Memorial, and he ranked third in the field in strokes gained tee to green. He has consistently made the cut in events this season and has two additional top-seven finishes, so he has the upside.
I’m not going to bet many longshots this week because I want to save some money to bet more on the U.S. Open next week. I was going to bet on Adam Schenk at 125/1 coming off his strong week at the Memorial, but he withdrew from this event late on Monday night. If you’re looking to play the Canadian narrative, I would take a closer look at Adam Svensson and Nick Taylor at 125/1 apiece.