The RBC Canadian Open is a golf tournament which was founded in 1904. As a national open, and especially as the most accessible non-U.S. national open for American golfers, the event had a special status in the era before the professional tour system became dominant in golf. In the interwar years it was considered the third most prestigious tournament in the sport after The Open Championship and the U.S. Open. This previous status was noted in the media in 2000, when Tiger Woods became the first man to win The Triple Crown (all three Opens in the same season) since Lee Trevino in 1971. Nonetheless, this special status has largely dissipated, but the Canadian Open remains a well-regarded fixture on the PGA Tour. A limited number of entries are allocated to players of the Canadian Tour; however, prize money won at the Canadian Open does not count towards the Canadian Tour money list. Celebrated golfers who have won the tournament include: Walter Hagen, Tommy Armour, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Bobby Locke, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Greg Norman and Tiger Woods. The Canadian Open is regarded as the most prestigious tournament never won by the great Jack Nicklaus, a 7-time runner-up. Leo Diegel has the most titles with four. Nick Price celebrates his 1994 victory at the Canadian Open In the early 2000s, the tournament was held in mid-September. Seeking to change this, Golf Canada lobbied for a summer date. When the Tour schedule was revamped in 2007, the tournament was rescheduled for July, albeit sandwiched between three events with even higher profiles (The Open Championship the week prior, the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational the week after, and the PGA Championship the week after that). A further tweaking of the schedule in 2009 saw the Canadian Open receive a slightly more favourable date; while it is still held the week after the Open Championship, it now is two weeks before the Bridgestone Invitational. Still, the tournament counts towards the FedEx Cup standings. Glen Abbey Golf Course has hosted the most Canadian Opens, with 25 to date. Glen Abbey was designed in 1976 by Jack Nicklaus for the Royal Canadian Golf Association, to serve as the permanent home for the championship from 1977, with occasional visits to other clubs. From the mid-1990s, the RCGA decided to move the championship around the country. Royal Montreal Golf Club, home of the first Open in 1904, ranks second with nine times hosted. Mississaugua Golf & Country Club has hosted six Opens, Toronto Golf Club has hosted five Opens, and four clubs have each hosted four Opens: Lambton Golf Club, Hamilton Golf and Country Club, St. George's Golf and Country Club, and Scarboro Golf Club. The championship has for the most part been held in Ontario and Quebec, the two most populous Canadian provinces. Ontario and Quebec have seen all but eight Opens. New Brunswick had the Open in 1939, Manitoba in 1952 and 1961, Alberta in 1958, and British Columbia in 1948, 1954, 1966, and 2005.
Past Winners 1904 John H. Oke 1905 George Cuming 1906 Charles R. Murray 1907 Percy Barrett 1908 Albert H. Murray 1909 Karl Keffer 1910 Daniel Kenny 1911 Charles R. Murray 1912 George Sargent 1913 Albert H. Murray 1914 Karl Keffer 1919 J. Douglas Edgar 1919 Robert Jones, Jr. 1919 Karl Keffer 1920 J. Douglas Edgar 1920 Charles Murray 1921 William Trovinger 1922 Al Watrous 1923 Clarence Hackney 1924 Leo Diegel 1925 Leo Diegel 1926 MacDonald Smith 1927 Tommy Armour 1928 Leo Diegel 1928 Walter Hagen 1928 MacDonald Smith 1929 Leo Diegel 1930 Tommy Armour 1931 Walter Hagen 1932 Harry Cooper 1933 Joe Kirkwood, Sr. 1933 Lex Robson 1934 Tommy Armour 1935 Gene Kunes 1936 Lawson Little 1937 Harry Cooper 1938 Sam Snead 1939 Harold McSpaden 1940 Sam Snead 1941 Sam Snead 1942 Craig Wood 1945 Byron Nelson 1946 George Fazio 1947 Bobby Locke 1948 Charles Congdon 1948 Ky Laffoon 1948 Dick Metz 1949 E. Harrison 1950 Jim Ferrier 1951 Jim Ferrier 1951 Ed Oliver 1952 Johnny Palmer 1952 Dick Mayer 1953 Dave Douglas 1955 Arnold Palmer 1956 Doug Sanders 1957 George Bayer 1958 Wes Ellis 1959 Doug Ford 1959 Bo Wininger 1959 Art Wall 1960 Art Wall 1960 Jay Hebert 1961 Jacky Cupit 1961 Buster Cupit 1961 Bobby Nichols 1962 Ted Kroll 1963 Doug Ford 1964 Kel Nagle 1965 Gene Littler 1966 Don Massengale 1967 Billy Casper 1968 Bob Charles 1969 Tommy Aaron 1970 Kermit Zarley 1971 Lee Trevino 1972 Gay Brewer 1972 Dave Hill 1973 Tom Weiskopf 1974 Bobby Nichols 1974 Larry Ziegler 1975 Tom Weiskopf 1976 Jerry Pate 1977 Lee Trevino 1978 Bruce Lietzke 1979 Lee Trevino 1980 Bob Gilder 1980 Leonard Thompson 1981 Peter Oosterhuis 1981 Jack Nicklaus 1981 Andy North 1981 Andy North 1982 Bruce Lietzke 1983 John Cook 1984 Greg Norman 1985 Curtis Strange 1985 Greg Norman 1986 Bob Murphy 1987 Curtis Strange 1987 Jodie Mudd 1987 Nick Price 1988 Ken Green 1988 Scott Verplank 1989 Steve Jones 1989 Mark Calcavecchia 1989 Mike Hulbert 1990 Wayne Levi 1990 Jim Woodward 1991 Nick Price 1992 Greg Norman 1993 David Frost Bell Canadian Open 1994 Nick Price 1995 Mark O'Meara 1996 Dudley Hart 1997 Steve Jones 1998 Billy Andrade 1999 Hal Sutton 2000 Tiger Woods 2001 Scott Verplank 2001 Joey Sindelar 2002 John Rollins 2002 Justin Leonard 2003 Bob Tway 2004 Vijay Singh 2005 Mark Calcavecchia 2005 Ryan Moore Canadian Open 2006 Jim Furyk 2007 Jim Furyk 2008 Chez Reavie RBC Canadian Open 2009 Nathan Green
