Well today is the day. It’s the morning of the final round of #OurOpen. As I sit here at 9:30 in the morning the conditions as I look out my window could be best described as benign. Nary a cloud in the sky or a breeze for that matter. What does this mean? It could be a real low scoring day during the final round of the 2018 RBC Canadian Open.
Saturday was a day full of excitement in that the first page of the leaderboard was jammed. Sitting atop the first page of the leaderboard at -17 are four golfers that have varying degrees of familiarity with golf fans abroad. First you have the “Big Man on Campus” world #1 ranked golfer Dustin Johnson. Johnson who not only is sponsored by RBC (Royal Bank of Canada) but also warmed up to everyone in attendance at ‘The Rink” on Wednesday. Johnson was garbbed in one of his father-in-law’s jersey’s and those in attendance loved it (pictured below).
The next two golfers are from South Korea.
First there is Whee Kim whose actual name is Meenwhee Kim. Kim, entered the week ranked #155 in the world. That ranking will get better if his finish holds up. Whee Kim has had a slough of missed cuts this year but he did have a 16th place finish at the recent John Deere Classic. While I don’t know a lot (if anything) about Whee Kim I do know one thing about him. On Tuesday during the practice round he was very engaging with the young fans around the 6th green.
Also from South Korea is Byeong Hun An (pictured above). Ranked 61st in the OWGR An has actually amassed a very good season very quietly. He’s had Top 10 finishes at the Memorial, RBC Heritage, and The Honda Classic. An will be paired with DJ in the final round when they tee off at 1:40 pm EST. As i recollect he played his practice round with Kim and was equally engaging with the spectators in attendance.
30 year-old American Kevin Tway is also right there in the mix at -17. He’ll be teeing off with Whee Kim in the second to last pairing. during the 2018 PGA Tour season Tway has had a very nice season. Much like An, Kevin Tway has had a very nice season. He’s seen his OWGR go from 221st during the week of the Arnold Palmer Invitational to his current position 147th. So his overall game is trending the right way. Could it be enough to hold off the likes of DJ, Whee Kim and An? Who knows really?
As far as Canadian content goes my prediction of Corey Conners was way off base (so was Varner III winning). Mackenzie Hughes could make things really interesting this afternoon. The reason why I say this is because the conditions are perfect for somebody to make a big move and go low. Maybe Hughes is that guy. Hughes tees off at 12:30 pm EST and sits at -11. Yes, the names above him have an equal opportunity to go really deep today during the final round and he needs a -6 today alone to catch the current leaders. But an astounding number like -10 would really get him into the conversation. Dare to dream right?!
Either way, what people don’t realize is that during the Canadian Open there’s a tournament within the tournament. It\s no secret that no Canadian golfer has won our Open since Pat Fletcher in 1954. That drought could have ended in 2004 when Vijay Singh beat Canadian Mike Weir in a playoff. That year Weir would win the Rivermead Challenge Trophy for being the Low Canadian. Hughes won this prestigious trophy in 2017 and he could repeat… that said he has his eyes on aspirations a little bit bigger than the Rivermead.
Time will tell how the 2018 RBC Canadian Open finishes. It very well could be DJ who wins and I’d like that a lot. As would legions of Canadian golf fans across our great, unique and diverse country. Will this be the final Canadian Open held at the famed Glen Abbey Golf Club? That answer remains unknown and flutters in the wind.
Until The Next Tee!!
The Next Tee (TNT) 