RBC Canadian Open: golf betting guide

The PGA Tour crosses the border this week for the RBC Canadian Open, hosted this year at the Hamilton Golf & Country Club in Ancaster, Ontario.

The Canadian Open moves destination most years, and the last time the tournament was contested at Hamilton, Jim Furyk prevailed.

That, in itself, reveals a lot about the golf course. Measuring under 7,000 yards, it is one of the shortest courses on this season's PGA Tour roster.

As such, the secret this week will be hitting plenty of greens, and the winner will probably be someone who hits the ball close from 125-150 yards.

the field is relatively strong this week, including Open Champion Ernie Els, Hunter Mahan and Matt Kuchar, but I would be slightly wary of post-major fatigue - especially when factoring in time difference.

Favourites

Hunter Mahan - 12/1 with Ladbrokes - That being said, Mahan's game is perfectly suited to this golf course. He is 9th in Driving Accuracy and 3rd in Greens in Regulation percentage, and has finished in the top 25 in each of his last three starts.

Jim Furyk - 16/1 with Ladbrokes - Furyk is an obvious choice this week on a short course which demands precision over accuracy. He won on this very course in 2006, and he is fourth in Scoring Average and 5th in Driving Accuracy on the PGA Tour.

Ernie Els - 16/1 with Ladbrokes - He may have spent the majority of this week celebrating, but you can't turn your back on the Open champion and someone who is hitting the ball better than anyone.

Mid-rangers

Ryan Palmer - 40/1 with Ladbrokes - Palmer's game is perfectly suited to Hamilton and he should do well on a ball-strikers' course. He's also finished in the top 10 in four of his last seven starts.

Noh-Seung Yul - 50/1 with Ladbrokes - The talented Korean was my pick for PGA Tour Rookie of the Year and, whilst he hasn't set the world on fire, he is in good form. His last 16 rounds have been in the 60s, and he has recorded seven top 25s in his last 11 events. He also ranks 4th in Total Birdies, which could prove telling on a short golf course.

Outsiders

Ken Duke - 80/1 with Ladbrokes - Ken Duke in enjoying the finest season of his career - only Matt Kuchar has more top 10 finishes on the PGA Tour in 2012. Duke's last three top 10's have come on par-70 courses (Hamilton is par-70), he finished 11th in this event in 2008 and ranked 3rd in Putts per Round at the AT&T on Poa Annua greens - the same as this week.

Ted Potter, Jnr - 80/1 with Ladbrokes - Potter won for the first time on the PGA Tour two weeks ago and made the cup at the Open. He is in the form of his life, ranks in the top 25 for approaches between 125 - 150 yards and second in putts from between five and 10 feet.

Gary Christian - 100/1 with Ladbrokes - the veteran Englishman is 128th in the Fed-Ex Cup standings, but has recorded three top-20 finishes in his past four outings. He is 25th in Driving Accuracy, 35th in Greens in Regulation and 25th in approaches from 100-125 yards.

RBC Canadian Open advised bets

2pts outright on Hunter Mahan at 16/1 with Ladbrokes 2pts outright on Ernie Els at 16/1 with Ladbrokes 3pts each way on Jim Furyk at 16/1 with Ladbrokes

1pt each way on Ryan Palmer at 40/1 with Ladbrokes 1pt each way on Seung-yul Noh at 50/1 with Ladbrokes

1pt each way on Gary Christian at 100/1 with Ladbrokes