How the Canadian Open fits into the golf war

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The Canadian Open has one of the richest histories of any golf tournament in the world. First played in 1904, it's the third-oldest stop on the PGA Tour, behind only the British and U.S. Opens. Past champions include icons like Walter Hagen, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Greg Norman and Tiger Woods. Jack Nicklaus never won it, but the Golden Bear was a seven-time runner-up. Tiger's breathtaking 218-yard approach from a bunker on 18 to win the 2000 tournament at Glen Abbey is arguably the greatest shot ever hit by the greatest golfer of all time.

The Shot notwithstanding, though, the Canadian Open has lost much of its lustre since the late 1980s, when it was moved from mid-summer to September. In 2007 it got bumped to an even less desirable slot on the calendar, the week after the British Open, making it a tough sell for jet-lagged stars. A promising change occurred in 2019 when the event shifted to the week before the U.S. Open, in early June, and four-time major champion Rory McIlroy won it. But the pandemic halted that momentum, causing the tournament to be cancelled in 2020 and '21.

Now, through a strange and controversial confluence of events, the Canadian Open is suddenly back in the spotlight. As it returns from hiatus this week at St. George's Golf and Country Club in Toronto, the venerable old tournament finds itself smack dab in the middle of a bitter, cash- and oil-soaked fight for the future of men's professional golf.

With the possible exception of Woods' stunning return from a catastrophic leg injury to play in the Masters, the biggest