A day at TPC Toronto
Looking ahead to the RBC Canadian Open
The run of interesting winners continued over the weekend as Scottie Scheffler ran away with the CJ Cup Byron Nelson, shooting 31-under (!) to tie the all-time record.
Elsewhere, Bryson DeChambeau claimed LIV Korea, beating out the powerhouse duo of, um, Charles Howell III and Richard Bland.
Unfortunately, the tourneys themselves were much less interesting than their eventual champions.
So we’ll begin today’s newsletter by looking forward…
The leading edge
By Myles
“Rory is on record as never having been to a hockey game. How can you ensure the Maple Leafs are still playing by the time of the tournament?”
And that’s how you know you’re at the press conference for the RBC Canadian Open, which will run from June 4-8 at TPC Toronto.
I was invited to media day as part of my work for CBC Sports, and couldn’t pass down the opportunity to play the newest course on the rota, even despite the 90-minute drive.
First things first: I arrived a mature 30 minutes before my tee time. Last year, I ran from my car to the first tee, forgetting to change into my golf shoes, and the embarrassment (however slight) stuck with me. Wasn’t happening this time — I even managed to sneak in a few swings on the range.
My group included three older media guys, all of whom came at golf from slightly different angles. One of them owns and runs Fairways Magazine, which began as a publication through which a couple buddies wanted to launder a fantasy golf league, and has now been running for nearly 25 years.
At one point, toward the end of the round, one of my playing partners needed to share some intel.
“I was talking to one of the Golf Canada folks, and she told me they barely even have reporters at media day anymore. It’s all … influencers!”
The other two were aghast — though one did admit to watching a recent Grant Horvat match against Josh Allen.
As for the course itself, the scores at the tournament could be low.
The north course at TPC Toronto presents fairly nicely — though we got a cloudy day — as a links-style loop. But none of the usual links-style defences were present — no overly punishing bunkers (and I would know), no fescue and pretty soft greens.
Given that context, a strong quartet of commitments — Justin Rose, Shane Lowry, Max Homa and Wyndham Clark — could be a blessing and a curse. The better the field, the more the course might be exposed.
Those guys will tee it up alongside Rory, reigning champ Bob MacIntyre (who made a point of shouting out all the Canadian lefties in his presser), Sam Burns, Sahith Theegala and, of course, the Canadian contingent we all know and love.
OK, maybe not love. But we still like to support Conners, Taylor, Hughes, Pendrith, Hadwin and co.
After 16.5 holes, I went in for a meh lunch featuring soggy chicken parm. Bucci would absolutely not approve. Might need to step it up for when the pros arrive.
Anyway, the last possible date for the Stanley Cup Final is June 23. Work backwards from there, and June 4-8 should be about the end of the conference finals or the start of the Cup.
Here’s hoping Rory finally gets out to the rink.
The false front
By Nate
My advice to everyone: quit playing golf.
No seriously, pack up your crappy old garage sale bag and RocketBladez irons and hit the road! Not because I had a traumatic round and I’m projecting and not because it’s a hard and frustrating game.
The real reason I need you to quit (I don’t actually), is because it’s getting too fucking expensive. This weekend I drove up to Shawneeki expecting to pay a steady $75 in the pro shop, only to find out prices went up by 33%. Immediate shock.
It’s not just a Shawneeki ownership issue — this is a widespread price pandemic closely correlated with the actual pandemic. A recent study from Today’s Golfer shows tee times are 29% more expensive than pre-Covid.
The math is pretty simple: more golfers + less courses = higher prices. Somehow, inflation and lower disposable incomes are not stopping golf sickos from paying exorbitant green fees.
This is one of those problems I’ll continue to rant about without a clear solution. I want everyone around me to golf and I’ll literally still fight you for an overpriced tee time.
I guess the only real solution is to build more courses?
Links roundup
NLU’s ‘Strapped’ series is always a good time, and the West Texas season delivered yet again
The PGA Tour put out a doc on Tiger Woods’ best season of golf and once again we’re reminded how freaking impressive 2000 was.
Swing thoughts
By Myles
OK, OK, I know (at least some of) you were wondering how I played.
Well, I made two pars, hit some good shots and hit some bad shots.
But my biggest revelation was that I didn’t even keep score — and it was pure freedom.
Like, instead of making a 7, then having to write down that 7, then having to stare at that 7 for the rest of my round, I was pretty much able to wipe it immediately.
I didn’t leave thinking about how many triples I made (too many) or how few bogeys I made (too many doubles and triples instead). Instead, I had the two pars and some nice shots in my head.
As a notoriously mentally weak golfer, this was all quite the revelation.
But as an overly competitive person, I know, sadly, that it was just a blip.