Fantasy Golf Sleeper Report – 2025 RBC Canadian Open

RBC Canadian Open Fantasy Sleeper Report

It’s impossible to think of any more superlatives to write about Scottie Scheffler.

His comprehensive win at the Memorial Tournament was his third in his last four starts – and this is a guy that all and sundry would claim had peaked last season and would never hit such heights again.

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For a while at Muirfield Village it looked as though Ben Griffin was going to add his name to an exclusive club of players that have won in back-to-back weeks on the PGA TOUR, but when he stumbled on Saturday it was Scheffler, true to form, that went stratospheric.

At a layout where birdies had been in short supply all week, the world number one made four on a five-hole stretch to close out his back nine and dramatically shift the tournament on its head.

Would Scheffler be denied on Sunday? What do you think!? He would clinch a sixteenth PGA TOUR title, winning by four shots from Griffin.

Thankfully, Scottie won’t be playing in this week’s Canadian Open to destroy betting dreams. However, Rory McIlroy will be heading to the North Course at TPC Toronto… and he simply loves his golf in Canada.

A formline in this event of 9-4-1-1, remembering that it’s typically played at different venues each year, is a measure of the Irishman’s love affair with the country.

His Zurich Classic teammate, Shane Lowry, and defending champion Robert MacIntyre will round out the Celtic connection, while home hopes of a second Canadian winner of their home open since 1954 rest largely on the shoulders of Corey Conners, Taylor Pendrith, Mackenzie Hughes, and Nick Taylor, who obliged for the hosts back in 2023. 

Whether McIlroy will take to the North Course is a mystery to us… and perhaps to him, given that – other than some US Open qualifiers – the venue has never been used for a senior level tournament before.

The Irishman’s length will be an advantage on a layout that measures in the vicinity of 7,400 yards for its Par 70, while his penchant for risk will be tested by a drivable Par 4 and the final hole, which is said to be a ‘risk and reward’ Par 5 measuring 585 yards, with potential glory – or doom – for those tackling the green in two shots.

Robert MacIntyre faces the unique situation of having to defend his maiden PGA TOUR title at a venue different to the one he won it at.

The Scot prevailed by a single shot at the Hamilton Golf & Country Club 12 months ago – that man Griffin close behind in solo second, and he’ll be looking to frank his Ryder Cup ambitions in the weeks and months ahead.

With a new host course to discover, we don’t quite know what to expect this week. But then again, neither do the players – perhaps this is an opportunity for a long odds winner.

With such hubris in mind, here’s our sleeper shortlist for the 2025 Canadian Open.

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Thorbjorn Olesen – 50/1 – Ranking eleventh on the PGA TOUR this season, Thorbjorn Olesen is slowly building on his game Stateside.

The Dane has banked T5 and T7 finishes at the Texas Open and Myrtle Beach Classic respectively since the start of April, but he’s even started to improve in elite company too – T33 at the PGA Championship backed by gaining significant strokes on the field from tee-to-green.

Perhaps the flatstick will be a concern, but we expect the greens to run slower than the PGA TOUR average this week given the cooler temperatures – something that won’t disappoint this eight-time winner on the PGA TOUR used to such conditions.

Kurt Kitayama – 60/1 – A test of long-range ball striking will come of no concern to Kurt Kitayama, for whom that may well just describe the real strength of his game.

He’s not great on the greens, let’s be honest, but Kitayama has gained strokes on the field putting in two of his last three starts; if he can just figure out the flatstick, this is a guy who can certainly add to his solitary haul of one PGA TOUR title to date.

T5 at the CJ CUP Byron Nelson earlier in May, Kitayama is certainly knocking on that particular door. 

Gary Woodland – 66/1 – T2 at the Houston Open and T11 at the Charles Schwab Challenge are reminders that, despite his physical ailments, Gary Woodland is still very much capable of world class golf.

If the North Course does play long, that won’t discomfort one of the longest grinders around, who just also happens to be producing some of his best putting performances in years right now.

So good is Woodland’s ball striking that when he does putt well, as he did in Houston and Fort Worth, he is still a player with the profile that can win on the PGA TOUR.

Matt Wallace – 70/1 – There’s a certain amount of clutching at straws this week, but Matt Wallace has some interesting trends to his name.

He ranks 34th on TOUR this season for SG: Tee-to-Green and finished T17 at the PGA Championship in his penultimate outing, so he’s a rock-solid type that may well thrive in a low-quality field at a completely new venue to most.

The cooler temperatures in Toronto should also ensure that the North Course plays slower than some of the classic PGA TOUR layouts, and that could again play into the hands of DP World Tour veterans like Wallace.

Eric Cole – 80/1 – Wide open spaces off the tee are just what the doctor ordered for Eric Cole, who continues to struggle with the big stick in hand.

But his iron and wedge play remain as strong as it was when he was crowned PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year not long ago, while putting gains on the field in eight of his last nine completed starts confirms just how strong Cole is with the flatstick.

We don’t know if he will take to the North Course, but its generous dimensions will certainly suit and allow him to take full advantage of his strengths.

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Want more of this week’s fantasy predictions? Check out our full fantasy preview for the RBC Canadian Open here.

Fantasy Golf Predictions This Season (2024-2025)

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