Our PGA pro’s 10 rules for winning your RBC Canadian Open and U.S. Women's Open bets

Golf betting is a superstitious game. At Read The Line, I cover the PGA TOUR and LPGA from a wagering perspective week after week. Did you know the RBC Canadian Open is being played in Ancaster, Ontario this week while the U.S. Women’s Open is being contested in Lancaster, Pennsylvania? What are the chances?

Needless to say, I’m very bullish based upon this knowledge and our 10 Things for the week. Dive in, these are really good for both national championships.

1. Hamilton Golf and Country Club is hosting the Canadian Open for the seventh time. Only two courses north of the border have hosted more. The venue has been visited four times since 2000. Take a look at the results: Bob Tway (2003, -8 playoff), Jim Furyk (2006, -14), Scott Piercy (2012, -17), and Rory McIlroy (2019, -22).

We discuss the best and worst value bets of the week for the 2024 RBC Canadian Open below:

2. McIlroy set the all-time tournament record at 22-under par closing with a Sunday 61! He won the tournament by seven but even more interesting was the rest of the top 5 finishers. Shane Lowry, Webb Simpson, Matt Kuchar and Brandt Snedeker filled out that leader board.

3. Since 2019, Hamilton Golf and Country Club went through an extensive course renovation. The mission was to recreate the original essence of the Harry Colt design. Golf Digest even awarded the club its “Renovation of the Year” award in 2022. Yes, it took three years through covid to complete.

4. Hamilton has a par-70 scorecard measuring 7,084 yards. The best par-70 players in the field over the last six months are: Mark Hubbard, KH Lee, Davis Thompson, SH Kim and Joseph Bramlett. Good names to know for building out DFS lineups and betting cards.

5. A par-70 scorecard implies more par 4s than usual, Hamilton has 12 of them. Three of them measure under 400 yards, and four over 450 yards. Tommy Fleetwood, Alex Noren, Rory McIlroy, Mark Hubbard and Justin Lower are the five best par-4 scorers in the field over the past 24 rounds.

6. Ancaster received some rain this week. Course conditions should be soft and primed for low scoring. The final total over/under is -18.5. Make sure you pick guys who can go low on parkland, par 70, short courses.

7. I took a deep dive into the top 10 leader boards from 2012 and 2019. Twenty-four players (ties) filled out those leader boards. Those guys gained more on the greens than any other major strokes-gained category. Their average was a full stroke more than strokes gained/approach. Eight of the top 10 from 2019 finished inside the top 10 for SG/putting that week. Keep your eyes on Mac Hughes, SH Kim, Matt Kuchar and Sahith Theegala when they have the putter in hand at Hamilton.

8. The par 3s average 211 yards. Three of them rank inside the top-four toughest holes relative to par on the course. The top-10 players in 2019 gained an average of two and half strokes on the field playing the one-shotters. Don’t just focus on par-5 scoring this week. Players like Brice Garnett, Chez Reavie and Akshay Bhatia differentiate themselves from the field with their long par-3 play.

9. Hamilton’s original course architect is Harry Colt. Colt also designed last year’s Open Championship venue Royal Liverpool. Another one of his famous links layouts is Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. You’ll need some short-game moxie to score this week. Tom Kim finished runner-up to Brian Harman at Hoylake last year. And Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood finished first and second there respectively at Portrush in 2019.

10. How about Lancaster? The 79th Women’s Open starts Thursday. Nelly Korda (+350) is the favorite five times over. Yet, her U.S. Open history is rather mediocre. Brooke Henderson, XiYu Lin and Sei Young Kim have all finished inside the top 16 each of the last three years! I have high hopes for Henderson (+2800) as she finished fifth the last time the ladies came to Lancaster C.C. in 2015.

Golf Digest's Expert Picks column are always available on a Wednesday as well. Many of these themes are seen across the panel’s picks. Both Hamilton Golf and CC and Lancaster CC are par-70 layouts. One should be a brutal test against par for the United States national championship. The second above the border will test scoring savvy and scrambling skill. Both should be extremely entertaining in their own way and for whatever reason, both locations end in “ANCASTER.”

Looking for more insider golf betting knowledge on both tournaments? Subscribe to Read The Line, where we provide insights and more bets on the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour every week. Subscribe here.

Keith Stewart is a five-time award-winning PGA professional, a betting contributor and content partner with Golf Digest and founder of Read The Line, the premier on-site live golf betting insights service covering the LPGA and PGA TOUR. Subscribe to Read The Line’s weekly newsletter here and raise your golf betting acumen. Keith's winning content can also be found on Sports Grid, Bleacher Report and The Sporting News. Follow him on Twitter @readtheline_.