Brennans Caddy Report-Bell Canadian Open

I've been in Canada for over a week now and have been really enjoying my time back in my home country.  Mike and I were in Toronto last week for the announcement of the new deal with Dynamic Funds™ which we are both really excited about.  After the announcement I spent the rest of the week in Ontario visiting with my family.  My brother and his wife were on a visit back from New Zealand, so our family got to spend some quality time together.  It is difficult because my family is very spread out geographically, and to get the entire family with all of the little kids together is rare for us, and it was a very special week for me.   

On Sunday I made the long journey out to Vancouver from Ontario.  I get to do a lot of travel with my job but flying five hours with the three hour time change is a tough trip that takes a little while to adjust.  The positive side of the trip is getting here to Vancouver for the Bell Canadian Open.  BC is always a special place for us to visit as Mike won his first PGA TOUR event out here in 1999 at the ACC Championship at Northview.  He also won on the Canadian Tour in BC and has some great memories out here.

I have never really had the opportunity to spend all that much time in Vancouver but the last few days have been great.  I've taken in a few of the hot spots in this terrific city-I toured Stanley Park and took the tram 4,000 feet up Grouse Mountain to where there is a beautiful view of the city from the top.  

Mike and I consider the Bell Canadian Open our fifth major, as it is our National Championship and an event we grew up watching our entire lives and wanting to win.  With Bell being the title sponsor, a longtime friend and sponsor of Mike and myself, it adds to the desire to win. 

Shaugnessy Golf and Country Club is the host golf course this week and is going to be one of the best we play on tour all year.  It is a good old fashion country club that is long and tough, and will be a great challenge for all the players this week.  The course plays to a par 73 for members but for this event they have made some changes to three of the par 5's and it now plays to a par 70.  The three easiest holes on the course have now been changed into potentially the three hardest.  On top of the changes, the rough is playing like US Open rough where you can get some very nasty lies.  A lot of the time the only option from the rough is to pitch the ball up the fairway towards the green.  

The course is located right on the Pacific Coast line, and along with the spectacular views, this also brings some challenging course conditions into the mix.  The morning dew stays on the ground for a lot of the day, adding to the thickness of the rough.  The rough also stays damp and wet well through the day, which makes it tough to play out of all day.  Around the greens this week the rough is also very brutal and will make chipping difficult.  The greens are very small at Shaugnessy, so it will be important to get the ball to the center of a lot of the greens for a lot of makeable putts.

The first hole out of the gate is a converted par 5 and is going to be a very tough opening hole, at 490 yards uphill.  For Mike this will be a driver and a long iron to a very small green.  This will be a hole guys will take par on all day and move on.  The fourth hole is a severe dogleg left that is in my mind the worst hole on the course.  It requires a huge slice for Mike as trees guard the left side off the tee.  I am guessing that if there is one complaint about the course it will be on this hole.  Number 8 is a great par 3, a long iron in to another slopy green.  It really requires a good shot to have any chance at birdie and another hole where par will be a good score.

Hole #11 is going to play the toughest hole all week.  It is the last of the converted par 5's, and is long and has a huge pine guarding the left side of the green.  It also has a big dip in front of the green that will prevent guys from running the ball up to the green.  A must to hit the ball in the fairway to have a chance to get to the green in regulation.  Lastly 18 is a great finishing hole.  It has a large sloping green that is very difficult to get the approach shot close to the hole, so we should see a good finish here come Sunday as it will be a great test coming down the stretch.  Don't look for a very low score to win it this week.

Overall this has to be one of the top 5 courses in Canada when setup this way.  The condition is great for a championship, and I think that there will be a lot of compliments on Shaughnessy as the week goes on.  I'm very excited about the week and would like nothing more than for Mike to win the event for himself and all the Canadian golf fans who have supported him so well over all of the years.  Here's to a great week!

Thanks for reading,

Brennan Little