CALEDON 鈥� It's always a busy week for Canada's top male golfers ahead of the RBC Canadian Open, with more media appearances and sponsor events than other PGA Tour events.
But on Tuesday, as Nick Taylor, Taylor Pendrith and Mackenzie Hughes were participating in the event's media day, their cellphones came alive. The tee times for the only PGA Tour event in Canada had been announced and the trio would play together in an all-Canadian group for the tournament's first two rounds.
"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," said Pendrith. "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."
The group includes three of the four highest-ranked Canadians on tour. Taylor, from Abbotsford, B.C., is 16th. Pendrith, from Richmond Hill, Ont., is 29th, and Hughes, from Dundas, Ont., is 46th.
However, Taylor is the face of the Canadian Open 鈥� his silhouette is literally the "I" in the tournament's logo 鈥� and one of the marquee attractions after he won the men's national championship in 2023 to end a 69-year drought for Canadians at the event.
Taylor said that it will be a comfortable pairing for him since he knows Pendrith and Hughes so well. They also expect some of the largest galleries on Thursday and Friday, with Canadians supporting them but also waiting to see the big-name grouping of Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, Sweden's Ludvig Aberg and Luke Clanton of the United States immediately behind them.
"I play with those guys a lot of weeks in practice rounds so it will be fun," said Taylor. "Two Ontario boys, there's going to be a lot of support for the three of us. I'm going to enjoy that.
"All of us 鈥� caddies, players 鈥� all six of us are Canadian. We just know each other well. (...) Hopefully, we can get some birdies going early, get some energy going our way, and hopefully have a few nice rounds."
Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., is the top-ranked Canadian in the world, sitting ninth in the FedEx Cup standings. He said his feelings were barely hurt to not be in the all-Canadian trio.
"I spend enough time playing with those guys," joked Conners, who will have to settle for playing with 2024 Canadian Open champion Robert MacIntyre of Scotland and Ireland's Shane Lowry. "I know those three guys will have a lot of fun together.
"Regardless of who I'm playing with, I'll be feeling the love from the Canadian fans, and it's going to be a fun week."
Pendrith, Conners's teammate at Kent State University and later on the International Team of the Presidents Cup, said his friend will be OK.
"Corey has got a good group. He'll be fine," Pendrith said with a laugh. "I was expecting to hopefully play with one of my fellow Canadians this week because it's a cool week for us, and to get a full group of them will be a blast.
"But Corey will be all right. He'll have lots of fan support. He's got a good group, as well."
There are 24 Canadians in the field at TPC Toronto in Osprey Valley, a sprawling parkland-style course in Alton, a community within the municipality of Caledon, Ont.
That includes Hall of Famer Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., and Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont.
Sudarshan Yellamaraju of Mississauga, Ont., the top-ranked Canadian on the second-tier Korn Ferry Tour, will make his PGA Tour debut on Thursday. A.J. Ewart of Coquitlam, B.C., the top-ranked Canadian on the third-tier PGA Tour Americas, will play in the Canadian Open for a second time, having missed the cut in 2022.
David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., Matthew Anderson of Mississauga, Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S., Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., Toronto's Richard T. Lee, Vancouver's Brett Webster, Mark Hoffman of Wasaga Beach, Ont., Matthew Scobie of Oshawa, Ont., Calgary's Wes Heffernan, and Cougar Collins from Caledon will also tee it up.
Calgary's Hunter Thomson, who just ended his collegiate career at the University of Michigan, will be playing in his first tournament as a professional.
Amateurs Ashton McCulloch of Kingston, Ont., Justin Matthews of Little Britain, Ont., and Toronto's Matthew Javier are also in the field.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 4, 2025.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
