Golf Canada – HAMILTON, Ont.  —  The 110th playing of Canada’s National Men’s Open Championship gets underway Thursday with 156 of the world’s best golfers, including 26 Canadians, defending champion Dustin Johnson and world No. 1 Brooks Koepka, set to compete for the 2019 RBC Canadian Open Trophy and the champion’s share of the $7.6 million (US) purse.

Koepka, a four-time major champion and winner of the 2019 PGA Championship, is competing at Canada’s National Open Championship for the second consecutive year. 

“It’s a good golf course, it’s definitely going to be a good test,” said Koepka. “It’s always a good tournament here. The rough’s up. You’ve got to hit the fairways, and these greens are quite slopey, so you’ve really got to control your spin.”

Rory McIlroy will be teeing off at the RBC Canadian Open for the first time in his career, and says he is excited to compete in Canada. 

“I’ve heard a lot of great things about Hamilton,” said McIlroy. “I remember watching a little bit back in 2012, and then I’ve spoken to Brad Faxon a little bit, and he had a chance here back in ‘03, and he really raved about the golf course.”

While Koepka and McIlroy have limited RBC Canadian Open appearances between the two of them, Dustin Johnson is no stranger to Canada’s National Men’s Open Championship. This year will be the defending champion’s seventh RBC Canadian Open, and he experienced Hamilton Golf & Country Club for the first time during Wednesday’s Pro-Am. 

“I like the golf course. You need to hit it in the fairway,” said Johnson. “The rough’s pretty deep, but it’s not overly long. It’s kind of an old school course. But I like it so far, what I’ve seen.”

PAIRINGS FOR ROUNDS 1 and 2

Pairings and start times for the opening two rounds of the 110th playing of Canada’s National Open Championship on Thursday, June 6 and Friday, June 7 are now available online here.

PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF D-DAY

June 6, 1944 is remembered as a historic day and one of the most important dates of the Second World War. Considered the turning point in the Allied victory in World War II, nearly 150,000 troops including 14,000 Canadians landed or parachuted in Normandy off the coast of France. On Thursday, June 6th, the RBC Canadian Open will pay tribute to the 75th anniversary of D-Day with a 6:30am opening ceremony at the 10th tee War Memorial. A quartet from the HMCS Star Navy Band and Colour Guard will perform the national anthems and a bugler will also perform just before the first group tees off. At 12:10pm, the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum will perform a WWII ceremonial fly over including a Lancaster Bomber, Dakota Paratroop Plane and B25 bomber—all three of which served as part of D-Day. As a thank you for their service, all active duty and veteran members of the Canadian Armed Forces will receive FREE admission on Thursday and discounted admission throughout the week.  

INTERVIEW VIDEO, AUDIO AND TRANSCRIPTS FOR WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5

Interview audio and transcripts for the following players from Wednesday, June 5 are available here and video is available here. Please note the videos are unedited, uncut and broadcast-quality. 

• Dustin Johnson
• Rory McIlroy
• Brooks Koepka
• Corey Conners
• Adam Hadwin

2019 MEDIA GUIDE AND PLAYER PERFORMANCE BOOK:

Media can also download the 2019 RBC Canadian Open Media Guide for complete stats, records and historical information. Media can also download the 2019 RBC Canadian Open Player Performance Book which details individual player statistics from 1904-2017.

BROADCAST COVERAGE:

The following are broadcast times for the 2019 RBC Canadian Open:

Thursday, June 6

–       7:00am – 8:30am:  Twitter

–       7:00am – 3:00pm:  GOLFTV

–       3:00pm – 6:00pm:  Golf Channel/TSN/RDS

Friday, June 7

–       7:00am – 8:30am:  Twitter

–       7:00am – 3:00pm:  GOLFTV

–       3:00pm – 6:00pm:  Golf Channel/TSN/RDS

Saturday, June 8

–       8:30am – 9:45am:  Twitter

–       8:30am – 3:00pm:  GOLFTV

–       1:00pm – 2:45pm:  Golf Channel

–       3:00pm – 6:00pm:  CBS/TSN/CTV2/RDS

Sunday, June 9

–       8:30am – 9:45am:  Twitter

–       8:30am – 3:00pm:  GOLFTV

–       1:00pm – 2:45pm:  Golf Channel

–       3:00pm – 6:00pm:  CBS/TSN/CTV2/RDS

TICKETS:

Grounds tickets for the 2019 RBC Canadian Open, as well as a limited number of premium ticket packages are still available. A full list of ticket packages and pricing is available online at http://www.rbccanadianopen.com/.  

ABOUT THE RBC CANADIAN OPEN

Part of the FedExCup, stars of the PGA TOUR will compete for $7.6 million (US) at the RBC Canadian Open, June 3-9 at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Hamilton, Ont. Conducted by Golf Canada for more than a century, the RBC Canadian Open provides an opportunity for Canada’s top talents to compete against the world’s best golfers while also leaving a significant impact in the event’s host community. The RBC Canadian Open is proud to support the Golf Canada Foundation as the event’s official charity partner. Established in 1904, Canada’s national open golf championship is the third-oldest national open golf championship worldwide next to the British Open and the U.S. Open. The RBC Canadian Open is proudly sponsored by RBC, Audi, Acushnet, Steam Whistle, Levelwear, Golf Town, Coca-Cola, the City of Hamilton and the Government of Canada. For tickets or tournament information, please visit http://www.rbccanadianopen.com or call 1-800-571-6736. Follow the RBC Canadian Open on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

For all further inquiries, please contact:

Dan Pino
Communications Director
Golf Canada
(c) 416-434-5525
(e) dpino@golfcanada.ca