“Be a goldfish.”

The words of pop culture icon Ted Lasso as coach of AFC Richmond should ring true to the field lining up for the RBC Canadian Open this week.

There is no denying this has been a huge week in the world of professional golf and everyone involved has an opinion, or feelings, or questions without answers. And these should not be dismissed.

But there is also one of the world’s oldest national championships also on the menu, not to mention 500 valuable FedExCup points, to those who can decompartmentalize from the outside noise and essentially be a goldfish.

In the hit television show Lasso uses the goldfish analogy by explaining it is the happiest animal on earth because it has a 10-second memory. In other words, don’t let the past get in the way of your future.

It will be the players who can block out the noise for the five hours or so each day they use their clubs at Oakdale Golf and Country Club who will be their chasing a trophy on Sunday. Forget the upcoming U.S. Open. Forget the potential futures of the game. Just play the hole in front of you in the moment.

Now Rory McIlroy is the defending champion and betting favorite at +450 but I was on record last week saying I haven’t been an advocate of getting back on the Rory train… yet. Last week at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday McIlroy looked set to prove me wrong before his wedge game deserted him on Sunday and he once again fell short.

I may have been tempted to declare now is the time before the big news of the week but with such short odds I’ll once again be waiting to see McIlroy’s mental state this week given his recent workload and high-profile position in the sport.

One group of players who should benefit from the chaos of the week should be the Canadians. The last Canadian to win their national open was Pat Fletcher way back in 1954, making it one of the longest sports droughts out there. But with focus now laying elsewhere the 21 locals in the field might be slightly under the radar.

With Oakdale hosting for the first time it is obviously harder than other weeks to get a statistical profile for the type of player who may excel. Which brings us back to the staples. Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and Strokes Gained: Total are those for me. (For transparency McIlroy is 2nd on TOUR in SG: Tee-to-Green and 9th in SG: Total). Trying to match those who excel in these metrics, but can also be goldfish, is the tough ask.

OUTRIGHTS

There is a statistical lean towards favorites McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton (Hatton is 3rd on TOUR in SG: Total) but I hold concern for their focus this week. If you like Hatton, don’t let me talk you off him, but I’m also going to hold fire this week on the passionate Englishman.

Instead, I’m looking to a hometown hero who has already won this season the week before a major in Corey Conners (+1600). Conners is 20th on TOUR in SG: Tee-to-Green and 25th in SG: Total but might just be the man to break the Canadian curse.

The other man I think can keep his focus and experience on task is a man who has already won a U.S. Open in Justin Rose (+1600). The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am champion is in the middle of a mini resurgence, ranking 14th in SG: Total and 27th in SG: Tee-to-Green.

TOP 5

Shane Lowry (+375 for a Top 5) was on my radar last week and came good as my Top 20 advocate with a T16 at Muirfield Village. Now, at 16th on TOUR in SG: Tee-to-Green, I’m going back to the well and taking him up the leaderboard to the top five.

TOP 10

Incredibly cashed in this segment last week despite my player (Scottie Scheffler) making the cut on the number. This week I’m not taking the heavy favorite, instead I’m throwing a dart at Aaron Rai (+500 for a top 10). Rai is 33rd on TOUR in SG: Tee-to-Green but will need some improvement in other facets to collect here. Another to consider here is Eric Cole (+450). He’s proven this season to be a scrappy fighter and ranks 31st in SG: Total.

TOP 20

Ludvig Aberg (+210 for a Top 20) is one of the next big things in the golf world and joins the pro ranks after finishing No. 1 in the 2023 PGA TOUR University Ranking via Texas Tech. Aberg joined Jon Rahm (2015, 2016) as the only players to win the Ben Hogan Award in multiple years (2022, 2023). This is his sixth TOUR start, but first as a professional. Can he provide a Rose Zhang-like moment?

TOP 40

I’ve already shown Corey Conners love as an outright option but let’s throw a few Canadian options here as you know they’ll give their all to the final whistle so to speak. Nick Taylor (-125) sits 40th on TOUR in SG: Tee-to-Green and could even be a long shot winner choice. Aaron Cockerill (+175) is no slouch and we know the pedigree of Adam Hadwin (-135), Mackenzie Hughes (-110) and Adam Svensson (-135) also.

LONGSHOT

I floated (Akshay Bhatia +12500) as a Top 40 play a week ago and he missed the cut but I’m not jumping off his bandwagon just yet. The rookie is 50th on TOUR in SG: Tee-to-Green and has the raw talent to win out here. He won’t be as adversely affected by the outside noise this week and is highly motivated to win sooner than later.

Good luck with your fishing this week!

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