The Canadian Open () is a professional golf tournament in Canada. It is co-organized by Golf Canada (formerly known as the Royal Canadian Golf Association) and the PGA Tour. It was first played in 1904, and has been held annually since then, except during World War I, World War II and the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the third oldest continuously running tournament on the tour, after The Open Championship and the U.S. Open.
Tournament As a national open, and especially as the most accessible non-U.S. national open for American golfers, the event had a special status in the era before the professional tour system became dominant in golf. In the interwar years, it was sometimes considered the third most prestigious tournament in the sport, after The Open Championship and the U.S. Open. This previous status was noted in the media in 2000, when Tiger Woods became the first man to win The Triple Crown (all three Opens in the same season) in 29 years, since Lee Trevino in 1971. In the decades preceding the tournament's move to an undesirable September date in 1988, the Canadian Open was often unofficially referred to as the fifth major.
The top three golfers on the PGA Tour Canada Order of Merit prior to the tournament are given entry into the Canadian Open. However, prize money won at the Canadian Open does not count towards the Canadian Tour money list.
Celebrated winners include Hall of Fame members Leo Diegel, Walter Hagen, Tommy Armour, Harry Cooper, Lawson Little, Sam Snead, Craig Wood, Byron Nelson, Doug Ford, Bobby Locke, Bob Charles, Arnold Palmer, Kel Nagle, Billy Casper, Gene Littler, Lee Trevino, Curtis Strange, Greg Norman, Nick Price, Vijay Singh, Mark O'Meara, and Tiger Woods. The Canadian Open is regarded as the most prestigious tournament never won by Jack Nicklaus, a seven-time runner-up. Diegel has the most titles, with four in the 1920s.
In the early 2000s, the tournament was still being held in early September. Seeking to change back to a more desirable summer date in the schedule, the RCGA lobbied for a better date. When the PGA Tour's schedule was revamped to accommodate the FedEx Cup in 2007, the Canadian Open was rescheduled for late July, sandwiched between three events with even higher profiles (The Open Championship the week prior, the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational the week after, and the PGA Championship the week after that). The tournament counts towards the FedEx Cup standings, and earns the winner a Masters invitation.
In 2019, due to a re-alignment of the PGA Tour and major scheduling, the Canadian Open moved to early-June prior to the U.S. Open. The event was also added to the Open Qualifying Series, allowing up to three of the top-ten finishers to qualify for the Open Championship.
The 2020 event, originally scheduled for June 11 to 14 at St. George's Golf and Country Club in Toronto, was cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 9, 2021, Golf Canada announced that the 2021 tournament would be cancelled as well.
Courses Glen Abbey Golf Course in Oakville, Ontario, has hosted the most Canadian Opens, with 30 to date. Glen Abbey was designed in 1976 by Jack Nicklaus for the Royal Canadian Golf Association, to serve as the permanent home for the championship.
In the mid-1990s, the RCGA decided to move the championship around the country. The owner of Glen Abbey since 2005, Clublink Corp filed an application in October 2015 to redevelop the property into a residential community, with offices and retail stores. There was no provision for a golf course in the plan. The Town of Oakville Council responded in August 2017 by declaring the golf course a heritage site under the Ontario Heritage Act, which would make it more difficult for ClubLink to develop the area as it had planned. Golf Canada was also concerned since it could not predict whether it could get the necessary permit to hold the Canadian Open at Glen Abbey in 2018 as it had planned. The dispute between the Town of Oakville and ClubLink was resolved in July 2021 when Clublink withdrew its appeals to the Ontario Land Tribunal. The 2019 Open was held at Hamilton Golf and Country Club. The event may again be held at Glen Abbey in some future years if the planned redevelopment by Clublink is not allowed to proceed. The 2023 Open was held at the Oakdale Golf & Country Club.
Royal Montreal Golf Club, home of the first Open in 1904, ranks second having hosted the event ten times. Hamilton Golf and Country Club has hosted seven Opens and Mississaugua Golf & Country Club six, while Toronto Golf Club and St. George's Golf and Country Club have each hosted five Opens. Three clubs have each hosted four Opens: Lambton Golf Club, Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club, and Scarboro Golf and Country Club.
The championship has for the most part been held in Ontario and Quebec, between them having seen all but nine Opens. New Brunswick had the Open in 1939, Manitoba in 1952 and 1961, Alberta in 1958, and British Columbia in 1948, 1954, 1966, 2005 and 2011.
Venue Location First Last TimesRoyal Montreal Golf Club Two venues 1904 2014 10 Dorval, Quebec 1904 1950 (5) Île Bizard, Quebec 1975 2014 (5)Toronto Golf Club Two venues 1905 1927 5 Toronto, Ontario 1905 1909 (2) Mississauga, Ontario 1914 1927 (3) Royal Ottawa Golf Club Aylmer, Quebec 1906 1911 2 Lambton Golf Club Toronto, Ontario 1907 1941 4 Rosedale Golf Club Toronto, Ontario 1912 1928 2 Hamilton Golf and Country Club Ancaster, Ontario 1919 2024 7 Rivermead Golf Club Aylmer, Quebec 1920 1920 1 Mt. Bruno Golf Club St. Bruno, Quebec 1922 1924 2 Lakeview Golf Club Mississauga, Ontario 1923 1934 2 Kanawaki Golf Club Kahnawake, Quebec 1929 1929 1 Mississaugua Golf & Country Club Mississauga, Ontario 1931 1974 6 Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club Ottawa, Ontario 1932 1932 1 St. George's Golf and Country Club Etobicoke, Toronto, Ontario 1933 2022 6 Summerlea Golf Club Montreal, Quebec 1935 1935 1 St. Andrews Club Toronto, Ontario 1936 1937 2 Riverside Country Club Rothesay, New Brunswick 1939 1939 1 Scarboro Golf and Country Club Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario 1940 1963 4 Thornhill Golf Club Thornhill, Ontario 1945 1945 1 Beaconsfield Golf Club Montreal, Quebec 1946 1956 2 Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club Vancouver, British Columbia 1948 2011 4 St. Charles Country Club Winnipeg, Manitoba 1952 1952 1 Point Grey Golf & Country Club Vancouver, British Columbia 1954 1954 1 Weston Golf and Country Club Toronto, Ontario 1955 1955 1 Westmount Golf and Country Club Kitchener, Ontario 1957 1957 1 Royal Mayfair Golf and Country Club Edmonton, Alberta 1958 1958 1 Islesmere Golf and Country Club Montreal, Quebec 1959 1959 1 Niakwa Country Club Winnipeg, Manitoba 1961 1961 1 Le Club Laval-sur-le-Lac Laval-sur-le-Lac, Quebec 1962 1962 1 Pine Grove Golf and Country Club St. Luc, Quebec 1964 1969 2 Montreal Municipal Golf Club Montreal, Quebec 1967 1967 1 London Hunt and Country Club London, Ontario 1970 1970 1 Richelieu Valley Golf and Country Club Ste.-Julie, Quebec 1971 1973 2 Cherry Hill Club Ridgeway, Ontario 1972 1972 1 Essex Golf & Country Club Windsor, Ontario 1976 1976 1 Glen Abbey Golf Course Oakville, Ontario 1977 2018 30 Angus Glen Golf Club Markham, Ontario 2002 2007 2 Oakdale Golf & Country Club Toronto, Ontario 2023 2023 1 TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley Caledon, Ontario 2025 2026 2
The 2002 event was held on the south course at Angus Glen Golf Club, while the 2007 event was held on the north course.
History
The Royal Montreal Golf Club, founded in 1873, is the oldest continuously running official golf club in North America. The club was the host of the first Canadian Open championship in 1904, and has been host to nine other Canadian Opens, at two locations, with the club moving to its current site on an island west of Montreal in 1959. The 1912 Canadian Open at the Rosedale Golf Club was famed American golfer Walter Hagen's first professional competition. In 1914, Karl Keffer won the event, being the last Canadian-born champion.
Englishman J. Douglas Edgar captured the 1919 championship at Hamilton Golf and Country Club by a record 16-stroke margin; 17-year-old amateur prodigy Bobby Jones (who was coached by Edgar) tied for second. The 1930 Canadian Open at Hamilton was another stellar tournament. Tommy Armour blazed his way around the course over the final 18 holes of regulation play, shooting a 64. Four-time champion Diegel and Armour went to a 36-hole playoff to decide the title. Armour shot 138 (69-69) to defeat Diegel by three strokes.
Toronto's St. Andrews Golf Club hosted the Open in 1936 and 1937 – the only course to hold back-to-back Opens until the creation of Glen Abbey – before it felt the impact of the growth of the city, and was ploughed under to allow for the creation of Highway 401. The Riverside Golf and Country Club of Rothesay, New Brunswick was host to the 1939 Canadian Open where Harold "Jug" McSpaden was champion. This was the only time the Open has been held in Atlantic Canada.
Scarboro Golf and Country Club in eastern Toronto was host to four Canadian Opens: 1940, 1947, 1953, and 1963. Three of these events were decided by one stroke, and the only time the margin was two shots was when Bobby Locke defeated Ed Oliver in 1947. With his win at Scarboro in 1947, the golfer from South Africa became just the second non-North American winner of the Canadian Open. Locke fired four rounds in the 60s to finish at 16-under-par, two strokes better than the American Oliver. After the prize presentation Locke was given a standing ovation, and was then hoisted to shoulders by fellow countrymen who were then residents of Canada.
In 1948, for the first time, the Canadian Open traveled west of Ontario, landing at Shaughnessy Heights Golf Club in Vancouver, British Columbia, where Charles Congdon sealed his victory on the 16th hole with a 150-yard bunker shot that stopped eight feet from the cup. The following birdie gave him the lead, and Congdon went on to win by three shots.
Mississaugua Golf & Country Club has hosted six Canadian Opens: 1931, 1938, 1942, 1951, 1965, and 1974. The 1951 Open tournament was won by Jim Ferrier, who successfully defended the title he had won at Royal Montreal a year earlier. Winnipeg's St. Charles Country Club hosted the 1952 Canadian Open, and saw Johnny Palmer set the 72-hole scoring record of 263, which still stands after more than 60 years. Palmer's rounds of 66-65-66-66 bettered the old 1947 mark set by Bobby Locke by five shots. In 1955, Arnold Palmer captured the Canadian Open championship, his first PGA Tour victory, at the Weston Golf and Country Club.
Montreal, Quebec's Laval-sur-le-Lac hosted the 1962 Open where Gary Player was disqualified after the first round, when he recorded the wrong score on the 10th hole. He had won the PGA Championship the week before. Californian Charlie Sifford attended the 1962 Canadian Open in part to raise the profile of African-American players on the PGA Tour. He was one of only 16 of the top 100 players on tour to play there in 1962.
Pinegrove Country Club played host to the Canadian Open in 1964 and 1969. Australian Kel Nagle edged Arnold Palmer and Raymond Floyd at the 1964 Open to become, aged almost 44 at the time, the oldest player to win the title. Five years later, Tommy Aaron fired a final-round 64 to force a playoff with 57-year-old Sam Snead. Aaron won the 18-hole playoff, beating Snead by two strokes (70-72).