Featured Groups: RBC Canadian Open

Oh Canada! It is time for the national championship of those living under the Maple Leaf, where the locals are hoping to end a significant title drought, but several of those from other parts of the world have other ideas as the race for the FedExCup Playoffs gets super serious. The RBC Canadian Open has been played since 1904, but Pat Fletcher was the last Canadian winner of the tournament in 1954, but he was born in England. Karl Keffer is the only Canadian-born champion, winning in 1909 and 1914. English-born Canadian brothers Charlie Murray (1906) and Albert Murray (1908 and 1913) also captured the title. This week’s PGA TOUR LIVE coverage gives us a look at some Canadian hopefuls but also FedExCup No. 2 and world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, plus the in-form Matt Kuchar, who wants to quickly get over his Open Championship loss. PGA TOUR LIVE will broadcast between 7 a.m. Eastern and 6:00 p.m. on both Thursday and Friday. The coverage will switch to Featured Holes at 3:00 p.m. Featured Hole Coverage consists of the 15th (Par-3) and 17th (Par-4) on Thursday and Friday. PGA TOUR LIVE also will be available on Twitter for approximately 90 minutes, beginning at 7 a.m. Here’s a look at this week’s Featured Groups. Click here to subscribe to PGA TOUR LIVE. (Note: FedExCup rankings in parentheses) THURSDAY Mackenzie Hughes (26), Scott Piercy (76), Ernie Els (210): Hughes will be flying the Canadian hopes as a TOUR winner this season. He’s proven he can win, now can he do it at home? Scott Piercy showed how to win the Canadian Open in 2012 and now he’s chasing a fourth TOUR win while Els is looking to capture the old magic as one of the Team RBC ambassadors. Tee time: 8:00 a.m. Eastern off 10th tee. Bubba Watson (117), Graeme McDowell (119), Matt Kuchar (17): Some big-name star power here with Kuchar coming off his runner up finish to Jordan Spieth at the Open Championship. He’s likely to want to put the memory aside with a dominant display. Watson and McDowell, both major winners sitting just inside the top 125 in the race for the FedExCup. They need some results to make sure of their place in the post season. Tee time: 8:10 a.m. Eastern off 10th tee. FRIDAY Grayson Murray (60), Adam Hadwin (13), Nick Taylor (78): Murray kept the trend of young winners running with his breakthrough at the Barbasol Championship last week and now gets the chance to back it up in a full-field event. He will be playing in front of some vocal locals as Hadwin and Taylor fly the Canadian flag. Hadwin, a winner earlier this season, is looking to consolidate a place in the International Presidents Cup team and Taylor wants a breakthrough result of his own. Tee time: 8:00 a.m. Eastern off 10th tee. Dustin Johnson (2), Jhonattan Vegas (87), Jim Furyk (147): Johnson lost the top spot on the FedExCup list with Spieth’s win in England but he can get it back if he wins in Canada. He’s burning after a slide on Sunday and will now look for win no.4 on the season with a chip on his shoulder. Vegas claimed the win at Glen Abbey last season and with hopes of making a run towards the International team in the Presidents Cup this week comes at an opportune time for the Venezuelan. Furyk, an RBC man, needs something big to make the FedExCup Playoffs. This could be the week he makes his move. Tee time: 8:10 a.m. Eastern off 10th tee.

Click here to read the full article…