It’s a special week for Canadians.
The NHL’s Stanley Cup Final begin Wednesday night, with the Edmonton Oilers hoping to beat the Florida Panthers and take Lord Stanley’s Cup north of the border for the first time in 32 years.
Of course, the start of the Cup Final also means it’s a special week for Canadian golfers and golf fans as the PGA Tour stops in Ontario for the 2025 RBC Canadian Open at TPC Toronto, a golf course hosting the tournament for the first time.
There are 24 Canadian golfers set to play in their national open, including PGA Tour stalwarts Corey Conners, Taylor Pendrith and Nick Taylor.
Taylor, who finished fourth at the Memorial last week, famously sunk a 72-foot eagle putt on the 18th green at Oakdale to win the 2023 RBC Canadian Open in a marathon playoff over Tommy Fleetwood.
“I actually drove in with my wife, and we saw the one photo that’s the silhouette of that [putt in 2023],” Taylor said in a press conference Wednesday. “In that moment, I always remember, when I see my face, it’s when I found Dave [Markle] and just was like ‘holy-you-know-what’ in the moment. It’s a cool thing to see it, and it only is good memories. It’s pretty fun to see it around here the whole week.”
Adam Hadwin — who was hilariously tackled by a security guard when he ran onto the green to celebrate with Taylor after he made said putt in 2023 — will also tee it up this week.
The Canadian contingent of Pendrith, Taylor and Mackenzie Hughes will play together for the first two rounds. The group tees off at 7:29 a.m. ET Thursday.
“It’s going to be really fun,” Pendrith said. “We were all at the same event yesterday when the tee times came out and there was a group chat. We were all fired up. I don’t think I’ve played with Mackenzie on the PGA Tour, not that I can remember, so that’ll be fun. And Nick, I mean, legend of the tournament in Canada, so that’ll be really fun. There will be a lot of people out there.”
World No. 21 Conners, who’s the highest-rated Canadian in the Official World Golf Rankings, will not be joining in on the fun with his countrymen.
“I spend enough time playing with those guys, I’ll be okay,” Conners said. “I got paired with Taylor [Pendrith] last week at the Memorial, which was a lot of fun. I’ve got a great pairing. I know those three guys will have a lot of fun together. Regardless who I’m playing with, I’ll be feeling the love from the Canadian fans, and it’s going to be a fun week.
Conners is set to tee off at 12:55 p.m. ET with Shane Lowry and defending RBC Canadian Open champion, Robert MacIntyre.
Canadian golf legend Mike Weir is also in the field this week, playing in his 32nd Canadian Open.
“Mike, he was an icon in Canada,” Conners said. “He was an inspiration to me when I was growing up and an aspiring junior golfer. He’s someone that I’ve always had my eye on. The success he was able to have really motivated and inspired me to work hard and try and get to the top level of professional golf someday.”
Weir, the 2003 Masters Champion, plays with fellow Canadian Ben Silverman and Chan Kim of the U.S. That group tees off at 7:07 a.m. ET on Thursday.
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