Fantasy Golf Insider: 9 players to target at the RBC Canadian Open

The effect of the upcoming 2016 Olympic Summer Games is really felt at this point in the schedule. This year's RBC Canadian Open is sandwiched between The Open and the PGA Championship, leading to an unusually weak field even for this event, with only 13 of the top 50 players in the Official World Golf Ranking enlisted.

The tournament will be held at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ontario, for the second consecutive year. The most household names are those sponsored by RBC, which includes World No. 1, Jason Day.

Here's a look at the past three RBC Canadian Open leaderboards:

Per FantasyInsiders, the key stats for Glen Abbey Golf Club are Scrambling Percentage (SCR), Par 5 Scoring Average (P5S), and Birdie or Better Percentage (BoB). These stats have been strengths of previous winners and need to be used in combination with recent form and course history when assembling lineups.

Top Tier, Top Dollar, Top Results

Jason Day

Don't overthink this one. Day once again "struggled" in a major this season, finishing 22nd at The Open, his worst finish in any of the three majors so far this season. RBC's marquee sponsoree will attempt his defense at Glen Abbey GC. He scored in the 60s in each of his four rounds last year. He's also the statistical favorite, ranking 33rd in SCR, second in P5S and fifth in BoB.

Freely pay up for Day in both tournaments and cash games, with so few elite, high-priced options, and plenty of value deeper down.

Emiliano Grillo

Grillo has made five consecutive cuts, placing inside the top 12 in each of the events, with the exception of a 54th-place finish at the U.S. Open. He's coming off a 12th-place result at The Open, shooting no worse than a 72 in his four rounds.

He placed 22nd at last year's Canadian Open, also held at Glen Abbey GC. He's not a statistical favorite, ranking 167th in SCR, 76th in P5S and 67th in BoB, but he has showed quality form of late and has had recent success on the course.

Ryan Palmer

The only player in the field with a better rank in P5S than Palmer is World No. 1, Jason Day. Palmer ranks third on tour in the statistic, while also ranking 16th in BoB. He finished 30th at The Open after missing the cut at the Quicken Loans National. He has made 15 of 18 cuts this season, with his most recent top-10 finish coming as a third at the Dean & DeLuca Invitational.

Palmer also ranks sixth in the field in average fantasy points per week, while coming in at the very bottom of the top pricing tier.

Best Value With a Chance

Harold Varner III

Varner III has made 17 of 24 cuts this season, including each of his past nine. He has had three top 10s in that time, highlighted by a seventh at the recent Quicken Loans National. Prior to shooting four rounds in the 70s at The Open, he had shot five of eight rounds in the 60s.

While ranking 129th in SCR, Varner III ranks sixth in P5S and 48th in BoB.

The PGA Tour Rookie of the Year candidate has not previously participated in a Canadian Open.

Michael Johnson

Coming into his second career PGA Tour event, no player in the field is in better recent form than Johnson. The All-American from Auburn used Friday and Sunday rounds of 65 at the Barbasol Championship to finish third at 17-under par in his debut last week.

His season scoring average of 70.37 was a single-season record at Auburn.

Andrew Loupe

Loupe is the contrarian pick of the week, as he enters with five consecutive missed cuts, and eight of 12 overall. He has made just 10 of 22 cuts this season, with four top 10s. The most recent coming as a fourth at the Wells Fargo Championship.

Despite the recent struggles, Loupe's key statistics still line up this week. He ranks 12th in both P5S and BoB. Even if he doesn't necessarily finish high, he should score well enough at a tournament where the top three from 2015 scored 15-under par and lower.

Loupe missed last year's cut by a single stroke at 1 under.

If Everything Goes Right

Jonas Blixt

After missing five of his first six cuts to open the season, Blixt enters this week with five consecutive weekend appearances, though his top finish was a 19th at The Players Championship. He placed 22nd at last year's Canadian Open, opening the tournament with three rounds in the 60s, before a final round of even par, 72.

He's another of the statistical favorites this week, ranking 20th in SCR, 46th in P5S and 31st in BoB. He has averaged four or more birdies per round in three of his past four tournaments.

Matthew Fitzpatrick

Fitzpatrick has missed three of his past four cuts, but he will make his first appearance in a non-marquee event on the PGA Tour this season. His top two results this season came at the Masters and the WGC-HSBC Championships, while he also won the Nordea Masters on the European Tour.

He has the ability for high finishes in strong fields, making him an even better contrarian target in this weak of a field. His salary is absurdly low considering his pedigree compared to the majority of his competition.

Alex Cejka

Cejka's excellent start to the 2015-16 season has dissipated of late, as he has missed two of his past four cuts. He has made just 12 of 20 cuts on the season, and he hasn't had a top-10 finish since a ninth a The Players Championship. Just one of his past eight rounds has been in the 60s. He placed 41st at Glen Abbey last year and 58th in 2008.

Still, he ranks 10th in SCR, 30th in P5S and 22nd in BoB. He fits the course model extremely well, and he has had success this year. He offers the opportunity to grab a potential high finisher at extremely low ownership.

Top Fades

Dustin Johnson

Entering the week with the highest salary of the field, Johnson carries more risk than anyone else. Coming off a ninth-place finish at The Open, it's odd to see Johnson enlisted in the Canadian Open, especially with the PGA Championship just one week away.

Johnson was a late withdrawal from the 2015 FedEx St. Jude Classic, just one week before the U.S. Open. He withdrew from the 2014 Shell Houston Open following an opening round of 80, one week before the Masters. He did finish second at Glen Abbey in 2013, but he carries too much risk at a handicapping salary.

Brandt Snedeker

After a missed cut at the U.S. Open, Snedeker has collected a 21st at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and a 22nd at The Open. He has made 13 of 20 cuts this year, picking up five top 10s and a victory at the Farmers Insurance Open.

While he didn't participate in last year's Canadian Open at Glen Abbey, he won the 2013 event with a score of 16-under par. His key stats are not indicative of his lofty salary, as he ranks just 27th in SCR, 146th in P5S and 51st in BoB. He can be faded at a risky cost.

Adam Hadwin

The third-ranked Canadian in the field ranks 183rd in the Official World Golf Ranking. Despite this fact, Hadwin is the ninth-most expensive player this week and the most expensive Canadian golfer. He has accrued just one top-10 results this season, picking up a sixth at the CareerBuilder Challenge in January.