Canadian Open thriving during golf ’s civil war
Sponsor, fan support among best in sport
Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka plays a backhand return to Russia’s Mirra Andreeva during their first-round match at the French Open at the Roland Garros Complex in Paris on Tuesday. Sabalenka made quick work of the Russian, taking just over an hour to win 6-1, 6-2.
Deepest apologies if the golf world has blown up or been turned upside down since this was written, but it’s RBC Canadian Open week, so that’s a distinct possibility.
When our national open moved from late July to June in 2019, it picked up the catchy slogan “Summer’s Open,” but in hindsight with all the news and interruptions the tournament has dealt with over the past five years it could have chosen “Keep your phones on.”
Last year, Tuesday of Canadian Open week became an infamous day in golf history when the PGA Tour stunned the sports world — and blindsided its players — by announcing a deal with LIV Golf’s Saudi owners. The tournament was in serious danger of becoming an afterthought, until Nick Taylor saved the day.
The year before that, the tournament at St. George’s was in danger of being overshadowed by LIV Golf’s inaugural event in England, until Rory Mcilroy shot a Sunday 62 to win.
The two years prior, the tournament was cancelled because of COVID-19.
Needless to say, circumstances have delivered a very difficult half-decade for the RBC Canadian Open. Which is why it’s even more impressive that recent editions of the tournament have been among the best, most successful, and most memorable since the tournament began 120 years ago.
The question this year at Hamilton Golf and Country Club is whether our national open can manage to keep the momentum going. And let’s be clear, it’s a question that will have to be answered by the PGA Tour because that’s where the chance of any future failure lies, not with tournament organizers or Canadian golf fans.
By every metric, Golf Canada, RBC and this country’s golf supporters have done everything possible to continue to deliver great tournaments. With the announcement of a new quasi-home base for the tournament at TPC Toronto in Caledon, and the continued support of some of the country’s finest private courses, the path ahead on the venue front is secure. On the corporate side, the support of the business community is booming. From a fan standpoint, the atmosphere has garnered a reputation across the golf world. With all of that going for it, there shouldn’t be a problem. But there is.
The PGA Tour finds itself in a mess of epic proportions. To put it in golf terms, LIV Golf put the PGA Tour in a deep bunker, and the tour keeps stepping on the rake and hitting itself in the face trying to get out.
It would take too long here to detail the chronology of events and failures — some unavoidable, some self-inflicted — that have put the game in this tenuous position, but RBC executive vice-president Mary Depaoli summed up the PGA Tour quite well earlier this month.
“It’s like they’re flying the plane and building it at the same time,” she said.
Which brings us to a problem for our national open. Depaoli in her role with RBC is one of the most powerful figures in Canadian golf and a key decision-maker of a two-tournament title sponsor on the PGA Tour. Once the final putt rolls in on Sunday in Hamilton, both of RBC’S contracts with the tour will expire. The multi-year contracts for both the RBC Canadian Open and the signature RBC Heritage event expired last year, before 2024 was added as a one-year extension. Ostensibly, the oneyear deal was made so RBC could see how the PGA Tour resolved its internal issues and offered a vision for its future. Which makes sense because the vision the tour offered a year ago wasn’t very sponsor friendly and went along the lines of: “Pay us more money for a slightly watered down version of the same thing.”
It’s no surprise RBC and other longtime sponsors had reservations.
Canadian golfer Mackenzie Hughes shared his concerns with Postmedia earlier this year. Hughes was raised near Hamilton Golf Club in that city’s Dundas district and has made a home near Quail Hollow in Charlotte, N.C., where Wells Fargo has recently announced it’s pulling its longtime title sponsorship.
“It’s a little troubling to think that maybe we aren’t doing those dealings in the right way and we’re chasing away some of the good sponsors that we have,” Hughes said.
“To my knowledge, I don’t know if we have dozens of sponsors waiting in the wings to jump on board and fork over tons of money, but I think we need to tread somewhat carefully there.”
There’s a very good chance that RBC with its deep connections to golf — especially Canadian golf — will, at the least, agree to another oneyear extension of its title sponsorship, so it’s far from time to hit the panic button. But with LIV Golf and PGA Tour’s signature stars-only events taking the professional game toward a more closed system, the RBC Canadian Open, and all national opens, are more important than ever to keep the game’s history alive.
Let’s just hope those deciding on the future of the game care.
“Just progressively increasing the distance, and usually anywhere from 60 to 70 pitches. I’m not quite sure how far I’m going to go out there.”
— Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani after 80 throwing at m.p.h. 60 from feet week. Ohtani last is recovering after tearing the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow for the second time last august.