Canadian Open possesses unique mystique, rich history

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Ontario native Mike Weir would love to win his country's national open for the first time in his career.

In the FedExCup era, it is not just the players who are jockeying for position. Any tournament director will tell you that. Every tournament wants to be positioned on the schedule in a way that will maximize the strength of its field and visibility.

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From year to year, there isn't a lot of switching of tournament dates, so it is incumbent on the tournaments to try to get the players to alter their schedules. Several factors go into a player choosing whether or not to play a particular event. The course and schedule proximity are the two overwhelming factors; obviously real-life issues play a part as well.

This week most PGA TOUR players will tee it up in the last National Open of the year, the RBC Canadian Open, that has boasted a list of champions as impressive as its two more famous counterparts on the schedule. From Tommy Armour, Byron Nelson and Walter Hagen to Arnold Palmer and Lee Trevino a generation ago, the Canadian Open has hosted the game's best for more than a century. Most recently Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh have etched their names on the game's most important trophy north of the border.

These days the Canadian Open is in a tough spot following the year's third major, the British Open, which is an ocean and a continent away. Still, the Canadian Open has an advantage that other tournaments with those pre- and post-major spots on the calendar don't have -- it has an entire country to choose from in terms of its support and its venue.

Obviously, Glen Abbey Golf Club has served the Canadian Open well as a venue and it has become the staple of the event. But on those years when the RCGA and the PGA TOUR has moved the tournament, the players have responded. Royal Montreal, Shaughnessy (in British Columbia) and Hamilton Golf Club (outside Toronto) each has hosted the event over the last 15 years -- Hamilton and Royal Montreal twice -- and the players have loved it.

Although the volumes of golf history in Canada may not be as thick as those in the United States, they are just as rich and date back as far.

From Vancouver Island in the west to Prince Edward Island in the Maritime Provinces to the east, the country is laden with tremendous golf venues. Next year the game's best will be introduced to another of these Canadian gems just outside Toronto when St. Georges Golf and Country Club hosts the Canadian Open for the fifth time next year, but the first time since 1968.

The following year the Canadian Open will travel west once again to Shaughnessy just outside Vancouver. The city of Vancouver alone would be enough to raise an eyebrow or two on the schedule. It is one of the most dynamic and interesting cities in the Western Hemisphere. Add this incredibly challenging and scenic golf course and it becomes a difficult week to take off.

Glen Abbey is an interesting Jack Nicklaus-designed course that has given us some memorable moments in the last few years. Certainly the 6-iron that Tiger hit in the playoff against Grant Waite in 2000 will be forever remembered -- it may still be the greatest shot that Tiger has ever played.

This week the field at Glen Abbey boasts several major champions and is led by Canadian Mike Weir. Mike has been the best ambassador this event has seen and will once again try to capture his country's national title. If he is in contention again, the excitement at Glen Abbey will be fever-pitched.

Young Matt Hill, the amateur who won the Nicklaus Trophy as the best college player and NCAA Champion, also will be in the field. This tall young man who plays at North Carolina State will certainly garner his fair share of excitement as well.

The RBC Canadian Open is a tournament that holds a slightly different allure and mystique than many of its counterparts south of the border. It is an international championship with a touch more prestige -- being a national Open, that is -- than many of the other events on the schedule.

Furthermore, it is an opportunity to showcase the great golf of Canada on an equally international stage. For those players who couldn't fit this week onto the hectic schedule that concludes with the THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola 10 weeks from now, they are missing out on a tremendous event.

When the tournament becomes the road show again next year, it will be even harder for these guys to decide to take a pass. I will bet you a loonie on that.

John Maginnes is a columnist for PGATOUR.COM. His views do not necessarily represent the views of the PGA TOUR.