The attention of the golf world has turned to London this weekend, as LIV Golf puts on its first ever event. But the world’s best players are still on the PGA Tour, and several of them are teeing it up at the RBC Canadian Open at St. George’s Golf and Country Club in Toronto.

RBC Canadian Open odds
Rory McIlroy comes in as the defending champion as the RBC Canadian Open returns after a two-year hiatus. (Image: PGA Tour)

DraftKings Sportsbook has pegged Justin Thomas and Scottie Scheffler as the +700 co-favorites in the RBC Canadian Open.

Top players talk LIV Golf

It’s likely that Thomas, Scheffler, and other top stars would love to talk about the upcoming tournament, the course, and other pressing matters. But prior to the tournament, reports have asked the players about one topic above all others: the rival LIV Golf event in London, and the players participating in the Saudi-backed tour.

Scheffler took a shot at the strength of the LIV Golf field, pointing out that there aren’t exactly favorites missing at the RBC Canadian Open.

“I haven’t really noticed anyone missing this week,” Scheffler said, via The Athletic. “Maybe outside of DJ.”

Dustin Johnson isn’t literally the only notable over in London. Louis Oosthuizen, Sergio Garcia, Kevin Na, and Phil Mickelson are all playing in the LIV event. But as Scheffler suggested, those players and others aren’t regular contenders for titles on the tour these days.

McIlroy looks to defend RBC Canadian Open title

That may have a fact in those players deciding to take the big money available in LIV Golf. But Rory McIlroy (+800) says those golfers might come to regret their decisions.

“I want to play on the PGA Tour against the best players in the world,” McIlroy told reporters. “And I think for me, speaking to a few people yesterday and one of the comments was, anything, any decision that you make in your life that’s purely for money usually doesn’t end up going the right way. Obviously money is a deciding factor in a lot of things in this world, but if it’s purely for money it’s not, never seems to, you know, it never seems to go the way you want it to.”

The talk about LIV Golf shouldn’t distract from the RBC Canadian Open, a popular event on the PGA Tour. The tournament returns to the schedule after two years off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. McIlroy won the last edition of the tournament in 2019, shooting a 22-under 258 to set a record for the event and beat Shane Lowry and Webb Simpson by seven strokes.

Still, fans will notice the missing players – particularly Johnson, who won the tournament in 2018. The split will cause at least a temporary fracture in the golf world, and nobody seems happy about that.

“It’s a bummer,” Thomas told reporters. “I mean, I think a lot of us are, I don’t know if annoyed or tired is the right [word]. I mean, it’s just one of those things.”