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TSN Senior Reporter

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The field this week is not the deepest of the year by any means. Much of that is due to its spot on the calendar being scheduled just a few weeks before the Open Championship and after the U.S. Open. As such, there are only two players inside the top 75 on the Official World Golf Ranking in the field this week. That makes picking favourites both an easier and more difficult task as there seem to be some obvious choices but also the probability of unpredictability.

The course is traditional in look and playability with it being just a shade over 7,100 yards and playing to a par 71. There are three par-5s, four par-3s and 11 par-4s. The trio of par-5s play long, with yardages up near 600 yards. But there are plenty of birdie opportunities throughout. Look for the winner to be somewhere in the -10 to -12 range.

Favourites

Webb Simpson +1000

Simpson’s game has started to look strong after he returned from a neck injury. A T20 at the PGA Championship, a T27 at the Charles Schwab Championship and a T13 at the Travelers are in his last four starts. Simpson hasn’t played this event since 2010 so there’s not much history to delve into, but his game seems a good fit. He is great with driving accuracy, which will help with the tree-lined fairways, and sits 34th in scoring average with a nice mark of 70.214. More than anything, his experience should help him shine this week.

Adam Hadwin +1800

Coming off his career-best finish in a major at the U.S. Open, Hadwin’s game is starting to provide results from a lot of hard work on reshaping it. He is seeing the ball go where he wants it to go and is exceptionally pleased with the distance control. In addition to the physical side of his play, his mental side is also strong with plenty of stay-in-the-moment focus. All that is to say that he is overflowing with confidence and should be in line for a good performance this week. He's playing here for the first time since 2016 where he tied for eighth.

Top 10 Finish

Sahith Theegala +280

Coming in off that heartbreaking loss at the Travelers, Theegala is either going to be buoyed with his close call and the realization of how well he’s playing or he’s going to have another layer of scar tissue. I tend to think the former as his hip, home-made swing is producing results for the rookie. One of the best stats to look at for Theegala is number of birdies made – he’s dropped 328 this season which is tops on the PGA Tour. If he can keep that going and stay positive with his play, then he should be well up the leaderboard by Sunday.

Patrick Rodgers +350

A steady player who has only missed one cut in his last eight starts and had a tie for 18th at the RBC Canadian Open highlighted by a Sunday 65. He’s also been on the positive side of Strokes Gained: Total in five of his last six starts, including the U.S. Open. Rodgers is a guy I always expect to have a breakout week, month or year but instead it’s been more of a grinder who keeps his card and has flashes of brilliance. I’m thinking this might be one of those weeks.

Top 20 Finish

Adam Svensson +260

After a string of mediocre play where he missed the cut in five of six starts, Svensson is showing some good signs of improvement in his game, making the cut in his last five tournaments. He’s been on the positive side of Strokes Gained: Total in his last four events and even better than that, he’s been on the positive side of Strokes Gained: Putting in his last five. When he putts well, he generally scores well. Also, he has the ability to go on crazy runs where he puts up some really low numbers. Fingers crossed this is one of those weeks.

Adam Schenk +260

You might accuse me of trying to stuff my picks with Adams this week and you wouldn’t be wrong but Schenk is here for some good reasons. First, he was tied for fourth and tied for sixth the last two years here. Also, he played well at the U.S. Open and the Memorial, a couple of tough setups that show he has some grind in him. I’ll admit that this is a longer shot than the other two Adams, but he does have three top-10 finishes and five top-25 finishes on his record this season.