2026 RBC Canadian Open: Top DraftKings Showdown Plays & Live Bets Ahead of Round 2

The 2026 RBC Canadian Open is officially underway, with TPC Toronto producing an eclectic group of contenders after its first round. Six players share the lead at 6 under par, including pre-tournament favorites Brooks Koepka and Sam Burns, as well as Sahith Theegala, Emiliano Grillo, Eric Cole, and Matthew Anderson.

Looking ahead, we have new data at our disposal to adjust our approach in DFS formats before Round 2 gets underway on Friday. Conditions were cloudy with passing showers on Thursday, but the sun appears to be out for the duration of the tournament. Ahead, we’ll look to identify the players who have shown they are most due for a Round 2 breakout.

Take a look at some of the best pillar players for the RBC Canadian Open DFS contests and live betting opportunities.

DraftKings Showdown Golf Strategy

DraftKings Golf Showdown Golf is a one-round Daily Fantasy format in which players aim to construct the best-scoring one-round lineup while staying within the allotted salary cap. To identify value in Golf Showdown, it’s typically best to focus on buy-low opportunities on players who’ve shown uncharacteristically poor putting in the prior round. There is also an opportunity to find leverage by identifying favorable weather splits and players who are more likely to card birdies-or-better.

Round 2 RBC Canadian Open Showdown Pillar Plays

Birdies have been much easier to come by at TPC Toronto than we saw at Muirfield Village in the week prior. TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley is not overbearingly long, and its dramatic elevation changes help the course play even shorter than its actual scorecard yardage. The inaugural tournament at this venue last year showed a clear formula of wedges and long irons as the key to scoring. That trend remains constant in 2026, as the top of the leaderboard includes an even split of top wedge players (Eric Cole, Emiliano Grillo, Shane Lowry) and longer-distance long-iron marksmen (Brooks Koepka, Sahith Theegala, Tony Finau).

Identifying value players who check each of these boxes can provide valuable bonus points in the DraftKings Showdown format. The three players below will be foundational plays in my Round 2 Showdown lineups for these reasons.

Shane Lowry ($8,700)

TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley has a reputation as a bomber’s paradise, but the data has shown us that striping your wedges from the fairway is the most crucial formula for scoring, regardless of distance. That is what Lowry does best, so it’s not much of a surprise to find him T7, just one stroke off the lead after his opening round.

Lowry ranks 3rd in SG: T2G through the opening round, and is top-30 in terms of SG: OTT, SG: APP, and SG: ARG. That creates a high floor as he enters round two, with room to go lower if his putts begin to drop. Lowry ranked 79th in SG: P in the opening round, but has looked great on the greens of late, gaining with the flat stick in six of his last seven starts. I have my concerns about his ability to convert on Sundays, but that pressure will not set in yet on Friday.

Jackson Suber ($7,300)

Suber is was a popular longshot consideration leading into this week, and he did not disappoint in his first round at the RBC Canadian Open. Profiling very similarly to Lowry, Suber ranks 4th in SG: T2G, and ranked top-30 OTT, APP, and ARG, but finished outside the top-100 in SG: Putting.

Suber took a liking to this course in his 2025 debut, finishing T18, and continues to look comfortable here. Improved year-over-year form helps as well, as Suber entered this week with finishes of 4th and T19 over his last three starts. With his tee-to-green game continuing to look solid, he is a great high-ceiling, low-price option in Showdown, as he’ll enter round 2 at T19 on the leaderboard, just two strokes off of the lead.

Matthew Anderson ($6,400)

The most surprising story of the RBC Canadian Open thus far is the emergence of local Ontario man, Matthew Anderson. Currently a full-time player on the Korn Ferry Tour amidst a stretch of five consecutive missed cuts, Anderson turned heads with 6-under-par opening round, and a share of the lead going into round two.

Conventional wisdom would suggest this is just a flash in the pan, and that he is due to crash back to reality in round 2. However, I see plenty of room for optimism that he can keep himself inside the top-10 going into the weekend. Anderson successfully made it through the cut at this event last year in his only PGA Tour start of the season, so it’s clear his Ontario connection has him feeling comfortable on this layout. Amongst the players in the top-18 on the leaderboard, Anderson leads them all in SG: APP, ranking 7th in the category.

Live Bets To Consider Entering Round 2

Round 2 – 3 Ball: Andrew Putnam over Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Ben Martin

Best Available odds: +148

In this battle of the short-hitting wedge marksmen, I believe it’s Putnam who has the most sustainable upside going into the second round. The odds suggest this is a toss-up between Putnam and Bezuidenhout, with Martin a distant second. I agree with that assessment, as Martin’s form has been woeful in 2026, with nine missed cuts over his last 13 starts.

Bezuidenhout dominated this 3-ball in round one, carding a 3-under round propelled by a hole-in-one on the par-3 7th. Outside of that one strike, however, it was a very pedestrian round for the South African. Putnam has been the better player over the last 2 months with three top-20 finishes over that span, so I’m expecting a better showing from him in round 2, where he’ll be motivated to play himself onto the good side of the cutline.

Leader After Round 2: Brooks Koepka

Best Available odds:

I am biased in my support for Koepka this week, as he was my pre-tournament pick to win and One And Done selection. I could not have foreseen him looking this good on the greens, however, and with him ranking 5th in the field in SG: Putting after the opening round, that unlocks a whole new level of scoring opportunities for him.

There were no questions surrounding Koepka’s ball striking form leading into this week, and his continued efforts to tinker with his putting equipment have been well-documented. If he has in fact found something with his putter, he is the most dangerous player in this field, and has a great chance to maintain his position atop this leaderboard after round 2.

Best of luck with your RBC Canadian Open  DFS lineups and bets!

Photo Credit: AP/Chris Carlson