Meet TPC Toronto, the new home for the RBC Canadian Open - that's not in Toronto

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CALEDON, Ont. — The RBC Canadian Open is making its debut at TPC Toronto and there is more riding on it than simply seeing how a new venue works out for the week.

The sprawling 54-hole golf facility in Caledon, about an hour northwest of downtown Toronto, isn’t just the 2025 tournament site, it’s the de facto new home of the Canadian Open for the foreseeable future.

The tournament still will make stops at great classic parkland courses such as St. George’s and Hamilton, but home base for Canada’s national open is now TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley.

“We know we’re a little bit further away from the city, but we know that, when you get here, we just have this palette to work with that we’ve never had before,” Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum said.

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The tournament will be held on the 7,389-yard North Course (formerly known as the Toot), recently renovated to championship standards by Canadian course designer Ian Andrew, and Golf Canada is in the process of building its head office and library right on site.

“The golf course is great,” Taylor Pendrith said. “It’s going to be a good test. The greens are really pure, poa annua greens, got some speed to them and I think today is going to be really windy so I expect them to get a little bit quicker, but I’m excited for the week.”

No top player in the field has as much experience at TPC Toronto as the Pendrith.

“I’ve played two Mackenzie Tour events here, had a chance to win on the Mackenzie Tour here, so I feel really comfortable here. Also played numerous rounds here with my friends from home in carts and music,” the Richmond Hill native said.

In the midst of a busy week, Rory McIlroy only had a chance to play the front nine before the tournament, teeing it up in the pro-am alongside MLSE boss Keith Pelley.

“I don’t know if you can call any course a typical TPC setup, but that’s kind of what it’s like,” McIlroy said. “A little bit of room off the tee, the fairways are quite generous, but if you miss them, the rough is pretty penal. The greens are tricky, undulating, really got to hit it into the right sections … There’s certainly going to be some birdies, but it’s a long course for a par-70.”

Tournament director Ryan Paul sees great possibilities for the new venue to create its own unique atmosphere that’s different from the tournament’s recent history at more urban, private clubs.

“With this property, we squashed a lot of rumours that were coming that this place was going to be too far away … that it wasn’t a member club,” Paul said. “But to have over 2,100 volunteers coming back to us, to have ticket sales that are running neck-in-neck with what happened in Hamilton last year really shows the growth of this tournament.

In recent years, the tournament has been leaning into a Muskoka chair/cottage vibe with it’s ‘Summer’s Open’ branding and that is something golf fans can expect more of with the tournament moving out of the city to a rural area.

“(TPC Toronto) has established a vibe and an atmosphere and a culture here that is pervasive, and it’s authentically Canadian. It feels different,” he said. “Because it’s a big expanse, it feels a little freer, it’s a little more open … It has that vibe. Lots of water, big trees, that really great feeling.”

There has been some concern that having a home base for the tournament relatively far from the buzz of Toronto could hinder visitors and players from what has been a very successful decade for the RBC Canadian Open.

Corey Conners said on Wednesday that initial reaction he has heard from fellow players has been very positive.

“The facilities here — great practice facility, great clubhouse, locker room — those are all added bonuses, which I think make the week a little bit easier. Once you’re here, you’ve got everything that you need,” Conners said. “(As for) the proximity to the city, I think it’s close enough. Yeah, it’s just a special place that a lot of people are going to take notice of. I know a lot of the players have already told me some positive feedback about it. I think everyone’s going to like it.”

McIlroy hinted that, although proximity to downtown Toronto was a plus for the tournament, the RBC Canadian Open has put itself in a position to succeed wherever it is played.

“Look, we play so much in the States anyway, and you come here, it feels a little different, but you’re not that far away,” he said. “I think when the tournament has been a little closer to the city and we’ve been able to stay in Toronto, it feels a little more, I won’t say European, but cosmopolitan and may be different from what we do week in, week out.

“But I think for the most part, it’s become a very, very good tournament, and I think because of that, and you see guys playing each and every year,” he added. “I just think this tournament has grown from strength to strength over these last few years, and that’s a lot to do with Golf Canada and RBC and everyone behind it, and they should be really proud of what they’ve built.”