The PGA TOUR is north of the border for the RBC Canadian Open at the PGA TOUR debut of TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley’s North Course. The full field has a very international feel to it, although there is a strong contingent of American golfers teeing it up, as well, just a week before the U.S. Open at Oakmont. This week’s tournament gives golf fans another week to build their bankroll before the third major of the season. If you’re looking to play fantasy golf 50/50 games, check out my top picks for cash contests this week: Rory McIlroy ($11,900), Ryan Fox ($7,700) and Mark Hubbard ($7,400).
Make sure to also check out my top three pivot plays for tournament lineups at the RBC Canadian Open in a companion piece to this post. The pivot plays for tournament lineups are more aggressive, while these three picks are generally safer picks with higher floors and lower risk. The picks in this post typically have much higher ownership than my pivot plays, but they are good plays for contests where your lineup being unique is less important. Think of cash game picks as laying back and playing a par 5 as it was designed with three shots before reaching the green, looking for a solid birdie. Tournament picks are going driver off the deck to try to reach the green in two—more reward if it works, but much more risk, as well.
Just to be sure we’re all using the same terms, “cash games” are contests that pay out to about the top half of entries. Typically, they are in the 50/50s & Double Ups or Head-to-Head sections of the DraftKings lobby. In this format, it’s important to minimize risk and raise the floor of your entry rather than focusing too much on the ceiling.
With those ground rules set up, let’s dive deeper into my top three fantasy golf cash game plays for this week at the RBC Canadian Open.
Set your DraftKings fantasy golf lineups here: PGA TOUR Single Entry $25 Double Up
Rory McIlroy ($11,900)
It’s nice that Rory and Scottie Scheffler have alternated events recently, giving fantasy golf players one or the other to build cash games around each week. They are both bringing so much win equity and such a high floor that they’re hard to pass up, as long as you can find the right affordable options to pair with them (like the two below).
Rory has won the Canadian Open twice in his career, once in 2019 just before it was canceled for two years due to COVID-19, and then he defended his title in 2022. Both those victories were on different courses than he’ll face this week.
Still, McIlroy’s game is so strong that it fits just about any layout, especially a long one like this. He leads the field in just about everything including Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, Total Strokes Gained and Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee over the last 36 rounds. He also ranks fifth in Strokes Gained: Approach during that timeframe.
He has logged eight top 25 finishes, five top 10 finishes and three wins in his nine starts on the PGA TOUR this season after claiming the DP World Tour Championship last fall, as well. His wins have come at big events against strong fields. He won a Signature Event at the AT&T Pebble Beach, claimed his second-career win at TPC Sawgrass at THE PLAYERS, and completed his career grand slam with a win at the Masters.
He’s had a couple of quiet tournaments since that huge win and only finished T47 at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. However, he should bounce back with a big week this week in Toronto as he gets ready for the U.S. Open and a Signature Event at the Travelers Championship in a big three-week stretch heading into the summer.
Ryan Fox ($7,700)
Since he started playing more consistently on the PGA TOUR, Fox has been a regular in my lineups, as he is typically very steady and reliable. He broke through for his first PGA TOUR victory with a dramatic chip-in during a three-man playoff at the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic. He turned that into a T28 at the PGA Championship the following week and then posted a T20 at the Memorial after four consistent rounds.
Fox just got his first PGA TOUR win but he’s no “young gun.” The 38-year-old from New Zealand has proven he can win on a wide variety of courses, with 18 professional wins on the DP World Tour, the PGA Tour of Australasia and a few others.
He has made the cut in eight of his last nine events dating back to a T20 at THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass. He leads the entire field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green over the last 12 rounds, ranking fifth in Strokes Gained: Approach and fourth in Total Strokes Gained over that short span.
Getting him under $8,000 is a great value since he could definitely contend this week if his iron play stays so sharp. He makes a solid option for your fantasy golf cash game lineup this week.
Mark Hubbard ($7,400)
Hubbard is another experienced player who comes to the Canadian Open with plenty of recent momentum. His long-term form is a little clouded from a tough stretch when he missed six cuts in seven events from early February through early April. However, he seems to have gotten back on track lately. He finished T12 at the Corales Puntacama Championship, T5 at THE CJ Cup Byron Nelson and T7 at the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic behind Fox. In his most recent event, he placed T28 at the Charles Schwab Challenge and then took last week off.
Even though the RBC Canadian Open hasn’t been played on this course, it’s worth noting that Hubbard has played well in this event in the past, making the cut in his last five appearances. Two years ago, he even finished T6 in Nick Taylor’s historic victory.
Over the last 16 rounds, Hubbard ranks second in the entire field in Total Strokes Gained and 18th in Strokes Gained: Approach. Lately, his flat stick has been rolling, as well, and he typically performs at his best on Bentgrass greens like he’ll see this week.
Hubbard is a little riskier than many of the options we lean into for fantasy golf cash game lineups, but in this field, where the cheaper options all come with high risk, he stands out as a relatively strong option.
