Matt Kuchar looks to push on at Canadian Open

The PGA Tour travels west across the Atlantic to Ontario this week for the RBC Canadian Open. Venezuela’s Jhonattan Vegas defends the title at Glen Abbey GC and Matt Kuchar will look to bounce back strongly after narrowly missing out in The Open Championship at Birkdale.

A number of star players will tee it up at Glen Abbey GC this week including 22 who competed in The Open Championship last week. Runner-up at Royal Birkdale, Matt Kuchar, will start with a view towards bouncing back after the disappointment of losing out to Jordan Spieth in the year’s third Major.

Kuchar is joined on the start sheet by the World Number 1 Dustin Johnson. DJ’s form has has gone off the boil somewhat over the summer. He missed the cut in the US Open and finished tied 54th in The Open Championship. But he’s been runner-up at Glen Abbey twice before and will hope to feed off those past successes this time out.

Canada will be represented by 13 players seeking to win their home tournament. The line-up includes Adam Hadwin and Mackenzie Hughes, both of whom have already tasted victory on the PGA Tour this season.

Ian Poulter plays in Canada this week. The Englishman has been on great form and will look to continue that this week in Ontario.

Ian Poulter swing analysis:

This is an historic tournament that began life back in 1904. Since that time, there have been many famous winners of the event. In fact, the roll call of champions reads like a who’s who of golfing legends: Tommy Armour, Walter Hagen, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Bobby Locke, Arnold Palmer, Bob Charles, Lee Trevino, Tom Weiskopf, Greg Norman, Curtis Strange, Nick Price, Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh and Jim Furyk have all been winners.

Last year Venezuela’s Vegas closed with a superb 64 at Glen Abbey to win by a single shot over three players: Jon Rahm of Spain, Scotland’s Martin Laird and the 2015 champion Dustin Johnson.

This will be the 28th time Glen Abbey has been used for this tournament. A Jack Nicklaus creation, the Canadian Open first visited in 1977.

The weather forecast looks sketchy for the first couple of days with the threat of a thunderstorm or two. That should clear though and the weekend looks like being fine.

Venue: Glen Abbey GC, Oakville, Ontario Date: July 27-30 Course stats: par 72, 7,253 yards Purse: $6,000,000 Defending Champion: Jhonattan Vegas (-12)

TV Coverage: Thursday 27 – Sky Sports 4 from 8pm Friday 28 – Sky Sports 4 from 8pm Saturday 29 – Sky Sports 4 from 7pm Sunday 30 – Sky Sports 4 from 7pm

Player Watch:

Matt Kuchar – He’s clearly on great form after his near-miss at Royal Birkdale. His last three visits to Glen Abbey have resulted in three top-10 finishes.

Charley Hoffman – He’s another player who has been on great form in recent months. He’s currently 24th on the FedEx Cup standings. He was tied 7th in his last start at Glen Abbey.

Ian Poulter – Tied 9th in the Scottish Open, then tied 14th at Birkdale, Poulter has looked back to his old self. A win here would confirm his return.

Key hole: 18th. A 524-yard par 5, it’s reachable in two for anybody in the field who gets a decent tee shot away. There’s definitely a possibility of someone recording an eagle three to win the tournament, but with water guarding the front of the green, it’s a risky shot to take on.