Canadian Open will hold the early June spot, the week before the U.S. Open, until at least '23getty images
The PGA Tour RBC Canadian Open will be "played in early June" starting next year, moving the event "out of the shadow" of the Open Championship, according to John Chidley-Hill of the CP. Golf Canada said that it is "increasing the overall purse" to $7.6M for '19, up from $6.4M. Starting in '07, the Canadian Open was "played in late July, the prime golf season." Unfortunately, it also was the week after the Open Championship, "causing many of the PGA Tour's top players to miss the tournament as they recovered from the challenging major." Canadian golfer Adam Hadwin said, "It'll make it a lot easier to attract all the great players that I know want to come up and play but maybe just haven't been able to fit it into their schedule before" (CP, 7/3). GOLFWEEK's Brentley Romine noted the Canadian Open will "continue to hold" the early June spot until at least '23, the week before the U.S. Open. With Memphis "getting a WGC event and moving to July next season, there was a spot open on the schedule right before the year’s second major championship" (GOLFWEEK.com, 7/3).
LOOKING FOR STARS: In Toronto, Dave Feschuk noted there is a "hope the Canadian Open could become a reliable major-championship tune-up in the vein of the Scottish Open, which serves as a week-before prelude" to the Open Championship. As much as it is a "habit of many top players to sit out the tournament that precedes the U.S. Open," a recent trend "bodes well." The winners of the past three U.S. Opens have played at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, the tournament that "currently occupies the space the Canadian Open is inheriting." Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum said, "We never had a chance of getting Phil Mickelson post-British Open. In 22 years he never played post-British Open. But he’s open to this new week. And that’s a real game-changer for us" (TORONTO STAR, 7/4).
