NORTH YORK, Ontario — A soggy morning became a delightful afternoon on Friday as players took advantage of soft conditions at the 2023 RBC Canadian Open.
Twenty players were 4-under par or better during the second round at Oakdale Golf and Country Club, producing a bunched leaderboard that should make for a tight finish come Sunday just outside Toronto. Rory McIlroy (T-12, 6 under) is in the mix for a historic three-peat, while Corey Conners (T-2, 8 under) is aiming to become the first Canadian to win the RBC since 1954.
A national open debut to remember, would be first-time winners in the mix and another made cut for a rising star highlight what you missed from the second round of the 2023 RBC Canadian Open.
Check out who’s got an early flight home from Toronto.
NORTH YORK, Ontario — A field of 156 players entered, and after 36 holes just 75 remain.
The PGA Tour is making its annual stop up north this week with the 2023 RBC Canadian Open at Oakdale Golf and Country Club. Established in 1904, the Canadian Open is the second-oldest non-major on the PGA Tour schedule behind the BMW Championship.
Two-time defending champion Rory McIlroy will try to become the first player to win the same event three times in a row since Steve Stricker made the John Deere Classic his personal ATM from 2009-2011, and just the fourth player overall to accomplish the feat, joining Stuart Appleby and Tiger Woods, who hit the trifecta (at least) at six different events.
Meanwhile, Corey Conners is attempting to be the first Canadian to win his national open since Pat Fletcher did so in 1954.
But what about those who missed the cut? Check out the notable players who have an early flight home from the 2023 RBC Canadian Open after finishing worse than 1-under par.
NORTH YORK, Ontario – Wil Bateman was stuck in traffic heading from the driving range to the putting green on Friday morning at the 2023 RBC Canadian Open.
He arrived at the green with just seven minutes before his tee time, and despite the fact that he’s playing in his second PGA Tour event and first national open, the 29-year-old made a bold move and changed putters from a blade to a mallet.
“Honestly, I felt like I hit it great yesterday and just, I didn’t make anything at all. Last night I was like, ‘You know what, I’m just going to put the blade in the bag and go warm-up with it this morning and see what happens,’” explained Bateman. “I made like the first six putts from like 20 feet or so, and I was like, ‘Okay, this is in the bag today.’”
And it’s going to stay in the bag after Bateman signed for the low round of the tournament thus far, a 6-under 66 at Oakdale Golf and Country Club that moved him inside the top 20. As Bateman said, “When they bring out the cameras and the little fuzzy little mic, you know you’re doing something right.”
The only thing crazier than making a last-minute putter change is the fact that he has never used that putter in competition before. Talk about high risk, high reward.
After attending San Diego State, Bateman’s journey through professional golf has been a bumpy one. The Edmonton native, who now lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, has spent the majority of his career bouncing around between PGA Tour Canada and Latinoamerica. His only previous PGA Tour start came at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open (missed cut), but after finishing No. 1 last season on PGA Tour Canada, Bateman has made 11 starts this year on the Korn Ferry Tour, with two top-five finishes.
“Coming here this week, I just try to treat it as another tournament. Coming here, I knew I was a little bit nervous, but then when I got out there and played some practice rounds it really does feel like another tournament,” he said. “Obviously it’s a bigger stage and players are better. But everybody’s trying to do the same thing. Still trying to get the ball in the hole. So obviously this weekend’s going to be electric. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Electric indeed.
Bateman’s entire family is on hand to witness his Tour debut in his home country – brother, mom, dad and step parents, the whole lot – and the Canadian contingent of fans have rallied around him, as well.
A Canadian hasn’t won his national open since Pat Fletcher in 1954, a drought that fan-favorite Mike Weir nearly ended in 2004 before his playoff loss to Vijay Singh. Canadian golf is trending in the right direction this year, with Mackenzie Hughes (Sanderson Farms Championship), Adam Svensson (RSM Classic) and Corey Conners (Valero Texas Open) all earning wins.
What a story it would be if Bateman added his name to the list.
NORTH YORK, Ontario — The PGA Tour is making its annual pit stop in Canada this year for the 2023 RBC Canadian Open, this year at Oakdale Golf and Country Club.
As soon as you step inside the massive merchandise tent near a fan village area loaded with food trucks, bars and games, you’re peppered with red Maple Leaf logos and the signature blue-and-yellow RBC colors. The tent has a little something for everyone, from men’s and women’s hats, shirts, polos and more to a strong collection of kids gear and knick-knacks.
Check out the best merchandise on sale this week at the 2023 RBC Canadian Open.
Thursday was business as usual at the 2023 RBC Canadian Open, the lone Canada stop on the PGA Tour’s schedule at Oakdale Golf and Country Club.
Corey Conners is looking to become the first Canadian to win the tournament since Pat Fletcher in 1954, and he’s tied for the lead after the first round, the first time a Canadian has held a share of the first-round lead since Mike Weir did it in 2004.
Conners is at 5 under, along with Aaron Rai, Justin Lower and Chesson Hadley. Two-time defending champion Rory McIlroy is at 1 under.
From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the second round of the 2023 RBC Canadian Open at Oakdale Golf and Country Club.
Friday tee times
1st tee
Tee time
Players
7 a.m.
George McNeill, Sean O’Hair, Callum Tarren
7:11 a.m.
Kevin Chappell, Wesley Bryan, Andrew Novak
7:22 a.m.
Tommy Gainey, Maverick McNealy, Kelly Kraft
7:33 a.m.
Brian Gay, Tyler Duncan, Keith Mitchell
7:55 a.m
Cameron Champ, Robert Streb, Jim Herman
7:55 a.m.
Chad Ramey, Richy Werenski, Brendon Todd
8:06 a.m.
James Hahn, Doug Ghim, S.H. Kim
8:17 a.m.
Sung Kang, Arjun Atwal, Will Gordon
8:28 a.m.
Austin Cook, Kramer Hickok, Joseph Bramlett
8:39 a.m.
Paul Haley II, Augusto Nunez, Kevin Roy
8:50 a.m.
Zecheng Dou, Kyle Westmoreland, Carl Yuan
9:01 a.m.
David Carey, Sam Bennett, Ryan Hall
9:12 a.m.
Aaron Cockerill, Stuart Macdonald, Myles Creighton
12:15 p.m.
Adam Long, Patton Kizzire, Cameron Percy
12:26 p.m.
Ricky Barnes, Henrik Norlander, Harry Higgs
12:37 p.m.
Brice Garnett, Ryan Armour, Eric Cole
12:48 p.m.
Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy, Webb Simpson
12:59 p.m.
Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, Ludvig Aberg
1:10 p.m.
Corey Conners, Nick Taylor, Tommy Fleetwood
1:21 p.m.
Bill Haas, Doc Redman, Greyson Sigg
1:32 p.m.
Martin Trainer, David Heard, Lee Hodges
1:43 p.m.
Scott Piercy, Chris Stroud, Nick Watney
1:54 p.m.
David Lingmerth, Ben Crane, Chesson Hadley
2:5 p.m.
Michael Gligic, Matti Schmid, Ryan Gerard
2:16 p.m.
Drew Nesbitt, Peter Kuest, Luis Carrera
2:27 p.m.
Ben Silverman, Daniel Kim, Johnny Travale
10th tee
Tee time
Players
7 a.m.
Sangmoon Bae, Scott Brown, Adrian Meronk
7:11 a.m.
Aaron Baddeley, Brian Stuard, Alex Smalley
7:22 a.m.
David Lipsky, Austin Smotherman, Tyson Alexander
7:33 a.m.
Sam Burns, Matt Kuchar, Sahith Theegala
7:55 a.m.
Adam Svensson, Mackenzie Hughes, Adam Hadwin
7:55 a.m.
Shane Lowry, Brandt Snedeker, Cameron Young
8:06 a.m.
Geoff Ogilvy, Mike Weir, Taylor Pendrith
8:17 a.m.
Kevin Tway, Michael Kim, Robby Shelton
8:28 a.m.
Nate Lashley, Ryan Moore, Matthias Schwab
8:39 a.m.
Harry Hall, Akshay Bhatia, Michael Block
8:50 a.m.
Dylan Wu, Trevor Werbylo, Nicolai Hojgaard
9:01 a.m.
Vincent Norrman, Brent Grant, Trevor Cone
9:12 a.m.
Wil Bateman, Jake Knapp, Michael Thorbjornsen
12:15 p.m.
Kyle Stanley, Camilo Villegas, Derek Ernst
12:26 p.m.
Hank Lebioda, Aaron Rai, Justin Lower
12:37 p.m.
Ben Martin, Jonathan Byrd, Brandon Wu
12:48 p.m.
Erik van Rooyen, Lanto Griffin, Aaron Wise
12:59 p.m.
Ryan Brehm, Garrick Higgo, Andrew Landry
1:10 p.m.
Chez Reavie, Lucas Glover, Martin Laird
1:21 p.m.
C.T. Pan, Jason Dufner, Peter Malnati
1:32 p.m.
Grayson Murray, Mark Hubbard, Max McGreevy
1:43 p.m.
William McGirt, Vince Whaley, Roger Sloan
1:54 p.m.
Cody Gribble, Russell Knox, S.Y. Noh
2:5 p.m.
Scott Harrington, Harrison Endycott, Brandon Matthews
2:16 p.m.
Derek Lamely, Carson Young, MJ Daffue
2:27 p.m.
Sebastian Szirmak, Etienne Papineau, Taylor Durham
How to watch
You can watch Golf Channel for free on fuboTV. ESPN+ is the exclusive home for PGA Tour Live streaming. All times Eastern.
Here’s what you missed from the first round of the 2023 RBC Canadian Open.
NORTH YORK, Ontario – The RBC Canadian Open, established in 1904, is the second-oldest non-major on the PGA Tour schedule behind the BMW Championship, which dates back to 1899.
This week, some of the PGA Tour’s best are getting a first look at Oakdale Golf and Country Club, as the course hosts the event for the first time and becomes the first new venue for the Canadian Open since 2002.
Two-time defending champion Rory McIlroy called the course good, but also penal if you miss fairways. Justin Rose called it “quirky.”
Despite the unconventional setup – the par-5 18th is forcing most players to tee off with an iron, but more on that later – and inclement weather in the afternoon, players went low and produced a bunched leaderboard after Thursday’s opening round.
From history in the making to stellar Tour debut and more, here’s what you missed from the first round of the 2023 RBC Canadian Open.
NORTH YORK, Ontario – Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose were grouped together for the opening round of the 2023 RBC Canadian Open and walking down the first fairway the pair made a deal: no talk about the PGA Tour’s partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund until lunch.
“Rosie and I said, ‘All right, no chatting until lunch so that we can actually concentrate on what we’re doing out there,” said McIlroy, the event’s two-time defending champion who shot a 1-under 71 at Oakdale Golf and Country Club. “So it was nice to play a round of golf and focus on something else for those five hours we were out there.”
After fighting for professional golf supremacy for more than a year now, PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan shocked the sports world with the news that the Tour would be partnering with the PIF, the very group it was countersuing amid its struggle with LIV Golf. With the PIF as its sole funder, the upstart circuit has long been criticized as a way for Saudi Arabia to sportswash its controversial human rights record, which includes accusations of wide-ranging human rights abuses, including politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners.
And while the dust has far from settled on the announcement of the new deal that may shake up professional golf as we know it, it was back to business as usual for the PGA Tour on Thursday in Canada, where the people were just as welcoming as the golf course (so long as you’re in the fairway).
After the early wave of the first round of the 2023 RBC Canadian Open, four players are tied for the lead after taking advantage of calm conditions on Thursday morning at Oakdale Golf and Country Club. Playing in his national open for the seventh time, Corey Conners fired a bogey-free 5-under 67 and sits atop the leaderboard alongside Aaron Rai, Justin Lower and Chesson Hadley.
Conners is looking to become the first Canadian to win the Canadian Open since Pat Fletcher in 1954, a drought that Mike Weir nearly ended in 2004 before his playoff loss to Vijay Singh. David Hearn had a two-shot lead in the final round in 2015 as late as the 15th hole, but ultimately lost out to Jason Day. A year later, amateur Jared du Toit was a shot back on Sunday before finishing T-9, three behind winner Jhonattan Vegas.
“I think golf is a funny game. It’s very different on a day-to-day basis,” said Rai, who has missed four of his last five cuts on Tour. “But it’s funny, the more you try and force it and impose it on coming days, the less it seems to happen. So we’ll definitely take the positives and just try and approach the rounds with the right kind of mindset. Stay patient. Just see what happens, really.
“I’ve been really working hard on driving it better. I’ve driven it like crap all year,” added Lower. “Just really trying to get the ball in the fairway. Especially around this place with the rough being so thick.”
“Course is good. It’s penal,” echoed McIlroy. “If you miss fairways the rough is very, very thick … I certainly hit a few loose shots and got myself out of position, and the golf course does start to get quite tricky from there. So need to do a better job of just putting my ball in play off the tee. Then from there the golf course is still quite scorable.”
While he isn’t at the top of the leaderboard, one of the stars of the day was rookie Ludvig Aberg, who is making his pro debut this week after finishing atop the PGA Tour University rankings and earning a Tour card for the rest of the season. The Texas Tech product began his professional career 4 under on the front nine before signing for a 3-under 69.
“I was nervous. I mean, I think it would have been weird if I wasn’t nervous,” said Aberg of his emotions on the first tee. “But I tried to embrace it. I tried to view it as something fun.”
“I’m super fortunate to be in this position, to actually get my Tour card,” said the 23-year-old from Eslov, Sweden. “I’m just going to be prepared to play a lot of golf. Play as much as I can, get as many points as I can and kind of see where that takes me.”
NORTH YORK, Ontario – Wednesday on the PGA Tour was just different this week.
Sure, there were a handful of press conferences and a pro-am for the 2023 RBC Canadian here at Oakdale Golf and Country Club, and while players like two-time defending champion Rory McIlroy, Matt Kuchar and the Canadian contingent competing in their national open desperately want to keep the attention on the tournament, for many in the field of 156 players, the event isn’t their main focus.
On Tuesday the PGA Tour announced the formation of a new golf entity alongside the DP World Tour and with the backing of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, which had been funding LIV Golf, a rival upstart circuit that has been a thorn in the Tour’s side for more than a year now. The vibe around the course on Wednesday was just flat-out weird, a sentiment echoed by the handful of players willing to talk about the news of the week. It’s not that players refused to speak, they just didn’t know what to say.
“I wish I knew more synonyms, but I would say somber,” said Harry Higgs. “Not in like a death in the family somber, but it’s a little difficult to go about business as usual … Part of me doesn’t feel like I really should be here right now, not that I should leave the tournament, this just feels kind of weird.”
“From the sounds of it, it was something that (PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan) thought about and couldn’t avoid. So it does distract you,” said Mackenzie Hughes. “I mean, I’m answering a question now about something that’s not really pertaining to this week or this championship … but once we get through today and we get going tomorrow, I think that the focus will be on the RBC Canadian Open and that’s where it should be.”
Mackenzie Hughes plays a shot during the pro-am ahead of the 2023 RBC Canadian Open. (Photo: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports)
Fans and even players are learning about the new entity on the fly, and the press release offered little concrete information. What we know is all pending litigation between the Tour and LIV has vanished, and if approved, players would be united once again. Current PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan will be the CEO, while Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the governor of the PIF, will be the chair of the board. The PIF will also be the sole investor and has right of first refusal for new money coming in.
“Sports is business and it’s big business. It’s hard to turn somebody away when they want to invest in what you do,” said Higgs. “There are certainly reasons why you could turn this investor away, many reasons, but eventually the dollar wins out.”
With the PIF as its sole funder, LIV Golf has long been criticized as a way for Saudi Arabia to sportswash its controversial human rights record, which includes accusations of wide-ranging human rights abuses, including politically motivated killings, torture, forced disappearances and inhumane treatment of prisoners.
Players used words like betrayed, frustrated, blind-sided and confused to describe their initial reactions to not just the news, but how the information was relayed. Corey Conners said it was “off-putting” for players in a member-led organization to find out on Twitter, while countryman Hughes noted how players are “used to having bombshells dropped every now and then” since the formation of LIV Golf.
“Even those that have agreed on this deal, it’s an idea,” added Higgs. “There’s no way to know what’s coming, even those that agreed on it don’t know.”
That’s where a lot of the frustration comes in to play. Players are the CEO of their own business, and they all want to benefit from the proposed changes. While most are cautiously optimistic for the future and what may come, they all want answers to their questions, sooner rather than later.
“We don’t know what professional golf is gonna look like and Jay and everybody, they don’t know either,” explained Higgs. “They’re working through this. We just have to trust that those that are working through this on our behalf are going to do so with everybody in mind, everybody to some degree. Certainly Rory should benefit more from this than me. It’s just a constant, ‘We don’t know, wait and see, a true who’s to say.’”
Like McIlroy, Higgs said he still has confidence in Monahan despite his dealings in the dark, but it’s “waning.”
“When you do what we’ve done and keep it a secret, you lose some trust, but I also understand why things were kept a secret, too. I get how business works and again, all of sport is a big business and now golf has a seat at that table,” said Higgs. “We are a big, big business now, which should be a great thing, but no one knows how it’s gonna go in the next 5-10 years, 5-10 weeks, 5-10 days. Sadly, it’s just a lot of wait and see, and that’s just a weird place to be as a professional golfer.
“We don’t know, and now we feel a little uneasy that we could wake up in a week to an email that could say something different. Things are gonna start changing and obviously professional golfers don’t like change, but it should be, in time, a change for the better.”
“I’m super fortunate to be in this position, to actually get my Tour card.”
Ludvig Aberg has never been to Canada before this week. He doesn’t know much about the country. But one thing he does know?
“Hockey. Lots of Swedes playing hockey here.”
Aberg, a 23-year-old from Eslov, Sweden, is making his professional debut this week at Oakdale Golf and Country Club in Toronto, Ontario, at the RBC Canadian Open. It’s not his PGA Tour debut, as he has played twice this year, including a T-24 finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, but he made history last week when his college career ended at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona.
“I’m super fortunate to be in this position, to actually get my Tour card,” Aberg said. “I’m just going to be prepared to play a lot of golf. Play as much as I can, get as many points as I can and kind of see where that takes me.”
He will play alongside Matthew Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton, teeing off at 7:44 a.m. ET on Thursday in featured group coverage.
Last year, Aberg has the opportunity to turn pro but passed it up. He decided to be patient and return to Texas Tech for his senior year. It paid off.
“One of the things that I didn’t really know was how the PGA Tour University program was going to develop,” Aberg said. “Obviously now looking back at it I was, I definitely made the right call. And, honestly, to be fair, I didn’t think I was good enough at that point, too. There was a few things that I wanted to still develop and get better at and improve on. I feel like I’ve done that. So I’m super fortunate to be here at this stage of my career, too.”
And get better Aberg did. He won the Haskins Award as the men’s collegiate player of the year. He became the first golfer in Big 12 Conference history to win consecutive individual conference titles, then he won the NCAA Norman Regional before a T-29 finish at NCAAs. He won four times this spring and heads into the latter half of the Tour season in great shape.
“The last couple of weeks has been pretty intense,” Aberg said, “but it’s something I’ve been preparing for for a long time and now it’s actually happening. So I’m super happy about that. I think as a competitor, you really look forward to playing those big events.”
Deciding to stay in school paved the path for Aberg to play in those big events right off the bat. And the program is something Aberg thinks will benefit the college game.
“I’m just fortunate to be kind of the first guy to take advantage of it, but I think it’s going to get better,” Aberg said. “I think more guys are going to be able to take advantage of it. I think it’s going to make college golf better. I think the incentive to stay in school, finish your degree and then all the opportunities that you can take advantage of. If someone told me two or three years ago that I would have status right out of college, I would be over the moon.”
Another talented college star made her professional debut last week. Rose Zhang, who won the individual NCAA title again and the ANNIKA Award for women’s player of the year for the second straight season, won the Mizuho Americas Open in a playoff.
Aberg watched Zhang’s success and hopes he’s able to find some of his own just as quickly.
“Rose is unbelievable,” Aberg said. “She’s an unbelievable player, unbelievable person and what she’s done is pretty amazing. If I can do something along those lines, I think I’m doing pretty well.”
