How to Bet on the Canadian Open Golf: Outrights, Each-Way, Top-10s, Matchups and Backing Canadians Sensibly

Updated October 2026 · By the BetHubCA team

Golf betting is unlike betting on hockey or football. Instead of two teams, you're picking from a field of around 150 players, and even the favourite usually has odds well into double figures. The RBC Canadian Open, Canada's national championship and a stop on the PGA Tour, is a great event to learn on: plenty of markets, lots of coverage, and the added fun of cheering home-grown players.

This guide explains how golf odds work, the main markets, what to look at before betting, and how to keep your stakes sensible over four days. Before anything else: the licensed online options are PlayNow in BC (19+), PlayNow.com in Manitoba (18+) and Saskatchewan (19+), and Loto-Québec in Quebec (18+). Offshore books like Cloudbet hold a Curaçao licence and aren't licensed in any province. This site doesn't serve Ontario or Alberta residents.

The tournament in brief

The Canadian Open is one of the oldest national golf championships in the world, first played in 1904. Today it's a PGA Tour event played in June, usually at a different course from one year to the next. Like most Tour events, it's 72 holes over four days, with a cut after 36 holes that typically keeps the top 65 players and ties.

The rotating venue matters for betting. Unlike events held at the same course every year, past results at "the Canadian Open" may come from different courses, so course history is less useful. Always check this year's venue and its characteristics, and look at how players have performed on courses with a similar layout, grass and exposure elsewhere on the Tour.

How golf odds work

Golf outright prices are long because there are so many players. You'll see them in American or decimal format:

Add up the implied chances of every player in an outright market and you'll typically get well over 100%, often much more than for a two-team game. That's the bookmaker's margin, and it's usually large in golf outrights. This is one reason golf bettors use other markets as well.

The main markets

Outright winner

Pick the player who wins the tournament. Big payouts, low hit rate. Even good golf bettors go long stretches without backing a winner.

Each-way

An each-way bet is two equal bets: one on the player to win, and one on him to "place", meaning finish within a set number of positions. The place part pays at a fraction of the win odds, commonly 1/5 or 1/4, and books choose how many places they pay, often 5 to 8 or more for big events.

Example: C$5 each-way (C$10 total) at +4000 (41.00), 1/5 odds, 8 places. If the player finishes 3rd:

• The win part loses: -C$5.
• The place part pays at one-fifth of 40/1, which is 8/1. C$5 at 8/1 = C$40 profit, plus the C$5 stake back.
• Net: C$45 back on C$10 staked, a C$35 profit.

Dead heats

Ties are common in golf. If your player ties for the last paying place, "dead-heat rules" reduce your payout. For example, if two players tie for 8th and only 8 places are paid, each place bet is paid at half the stake. Check the rules, because dead heats also apply to top-10 markets.

Top 5, top 10, top 20

Bet on a player to finish in that range, with dead-heat rules for ties. These offer shorter prices and hit more often, so they're a good place for beginners to start.

Head-to-head matchups

Pick which of two players will finish higher, over the tournament or a single round. You only need one player to beat another, which makes matchups more like a two-way market. Check the rules for what happens if one player misses the cut or withdraws.

Three-balls and two-balls

For each round, books often offer markets on the actual playing groups: a "three-ball" when three players tee off together, or a "two-ball" when two do, usually on the weekend. You pick who scores lowest in that group for that round. Ties are common, so dead-heat rules usually apply. These markets suit bettors who follow how players are striking it day to day, and the stakes and swings are smaller than outrights.

Round leader and round score markets

Some books also offer "round two leader" or over/under markets on a player's score for a round, like over or under 70.5. These depend heavily on conditions: if the wind picks up, the whole field's scores rise, so compare the line with the forecast rather than the player's season average.

First-round leader

Who leads after day one. Long prices, plenty of ties and lots of randomness, but tee times and weather can matter a great deal, which gives careful bettors something to work with.

Make or miss the cut

A simple yes/no on whether a player is still playing on the weekend.

Nationality and specials

Books sometimes offer markets like "top Canadian" or "will a Canadian win". These can be fun at a national championship, but check the margins; specials can carry high ones.

When each-way makes sense

Each-way betting shines when the place terms are generous relative to the field. Two things to compare:

• Number of places: 8 places is more generous than 5. Some books offer extra places as a promotion for big events; that's often the best value in golf betting.
• Fraction: 1/4 odds is more generous than 1/5.

Each-way usually works best on mid-priced players, roughly +2000 to +8000, who have a realistic chance of contending. On short-priced favourites, the place part pays very little. On huge long shots, the place part rarely lands. Think of each-way as a way to get paid for a good week even when your player doesn't quite win.

Strokes gained, simply explained

Strokes gained compares each shot a player hits with how the field typically performs from the same situation. It's split into categories:

• Off the tee: driving distance and accuracy combined.
• Approach: shots into the green, often the most predictive category.
• Around the green: chips, pitches and bunker play.
• Putting: the most up-and-down category week to week.

A useful rule of thumb: a player hitting the ball well (good approach and tee numbers) but putting poorly may be due for a better result, while a player relying on a hot putter may cool off. Strokes-gained data comes from the PGA Tour's own measurement system.

What to look at before betting

The course

• Length: long courses favour big hitters; shorter, tighter ones reward accuracy.
• Greens: speed and grass type affect putting.
• Rough: thick rough punishes wayward drivers.
• Exposure: open, links-style or waterfront courses can be hit hard by wind.

Recent form

Look at the last several starts, not only finishing positions. Strokes-gained statistics from the PGA Tour's website can show whether a player is hitting the ball well but putting badly, or the reverse. Approach play is often a better guide to future results than recent putting.

The schedule

The Canadian Open sits in a busy part of the season, close to major championships. Some top players skip it; others play while thinking about the next week. Withdrawals happen. Bet after the field is confirmed, and check for late changes on Wednesday.

Weather and tee times

In the first two rounds, players are split into morning and afternoon groups that swap for round two. If the forecast shows calm mornings and windy afternoons on Thursday, the morning wave may have an edge in the first round, which matters most for first-round leader and round-one matchup bets.

Golf vs team sports: a mindset shift

If you're used to betting on the Canucks or the Riders, golf takes some adjustment. In a hockey game, a favourite might win 60% of the time. In golf, even the best player in the field might win only around one tournament in six or seven when he's in top form, and usually far less. That means:

• Losing streaks on outrights are normal and can last for months.
• Small stakes matter even more than usual, because a single winner may have to pay for many losers.
• Markets like top-20 and matchups give you more frequent feedback on whether your reads are good.
• Patience beats excitement. The best golf bettors place fewer, better-reasoned bets, and accept that most weeks won't produce a winner.

If that sounds less thrilling than backing a winner every week, that's the honest reality of golf betting, and knowing it upfront protects your budget.

Backing Canadian golfers

Canadian players get huge crowd support at their national open, and books know home fans love to back them. That can make Canadian players' prices shorter than their form justifies. A few honest tips:

• Judge every Canadian player on form, like any other player.
• If you want a fan bet, consider a top-20 or make-the-cut market rather than a long-shot outright.
• "Top Canadian" markets let you back home players against each other rather than the whole field.
• Remember that home pressure can cut both ways.

A worked betting plan

Suppose your tournament budget is C$50 and you want to spread it sensibly:

1. Two each-way outrights, C$2.50 each-way (C$5 total each) on mid-priced players whose approach play has been strong: C$10.
2. Two top-20 bets at around +200 on consistent players: C$5 each, C$10 total.
3. Two tournament matchups where you think the market has the wrong favourite: C$5 each, C$10 total.
4. One first-round leader bet in the favoured wave of the draw: C$2.
5. Leave C$18 unspent, for live betting after round two, or not at all.

This keeps your stakes small, spreads risk across markets, and avoids the trap of putting everything on one long shot.

Live betting during the tournament

Golf is well suited to live betting: odds update shot by shot over four days. After round two, you know who made the cut and how players are striking the ball. Things to remember:

• Leaders after 36 holes still lose plenty of tournaments. A four-shot lead is significant, not decisive.
• Weekend weather can change everything.
• Players starting later on Sunday can face different conditions from those already finished.
• Don't use live bets to chase earlier losses.

Matchup rules to check

Matchup bets look simple, but the rules vary. Read them before betting:

• Missed cut: if one player misses the cut and the other makes it, the one who made it usually wins the matchup. If both miss, it's usually decided on 36-hole score.
• Withdrawal: if a player withdraws before teeing off, the bet is usually void. After teeing off, rules differ: some books void it, others count it as a loss.
• Ties: some matchups offer a tie option; others refund stakes on a tie.

Weather delays and suspended rounds

June storms can interrupt play, sometimes for hours. When play is suspended, players may finish their rounds the next morning, with very different conditions. A tournament can even be shortened to 54 holes in extreme cases. Check how your book settles bets if a tournament is shortened; outright bets usually stand on the official result, but some markets, like specific round bets, may be voided.

Keeping a golf betting log

With long odds, results swing hugely, so a log is the only way to see whether you're improving. For each bet, note the tournament, market, player, odds, each-way terms, stake and result, plus the price just before the first tee. Over a season, check whether your players' prices tend to shorten after you bet; if they do, you're spotting value before the market.

A Sunday live example

Suppose you're watching the final round. A mid-priced player you like is two shots off the lead with nine holes to play, and is now +450 (decimal 5.50) to win. Implied: 1 / 5.50 = 18.2%.

Ask yourself honestly: with nine holes left, two shots back, and several players in between, does he win more than about 18% of the time? Two shots over nine holes is a real gap, and others have to falter too. If you can't honestly say yes, don't bet just because the leaderboard is exciting. And if you already backed him each-way before the tournament, he's likely in the places anyway, so think twice before adding more exposure to the same player.

Common mistakes

• Spreading the budget across 15 long shots and hoping.
• Ignoring each-way terms (place fraction and number of places).
• Forgetting dead-heat rules.
• Over-relying on course history at a rotating venue.
• Backing a Canadian player at a short price purely out of national pride.
• Betting before the field and tee times are confirmed.

Golf betting glossary

• Outright: the tournament winner market.
• Each-way: a win bet plus a place bet of equal stakes.
• Place terms: the fraction of the win odds and number of places paid.
• Dead heat: a tie that reduces payouts proportionally.
• Cut: the 36-hole cutoff for the weekend.
• Wave: the morning or afternoon group of tee times.
• Strokes gained: a stat showing how many shots a player gains or loses against the field in each part of the game.
• Matchup (H2H): a bet on which of two players finishes higher.

Payments and staying in control

Provincial sites use Canadian dollars and Canadian payment methods. Offshore sites like Cloudbet mostly use crypto and aren't licensed in any province, so keep deposits small if you use them. Golf tournaments last four days, so set your budget on Wednesday and stick to it until Sunday.

Free, confidential help 24/7: BC 1-888-795-6111, Manitoba 1-800-463-1554, Saskatchewan 1-800-306-6789, Quebec 1-800-461-0140. See our responsible gambling page.