Jim Furyk will look to become the first back-to-back winner of the Canadian Open in 56 years this week in a competition that will include just five of the world's top 50 golfers.
A field of 156 will tee off on Thursday at the $5 million tournament without some of golf's biggest names who opted to rest after the British Open which finished on Sunday.
Vijay Singh, who beat Canada's Mike Weir in a playoff to win the Canadian Open in 2004, will return to the tournament for the seventh year in a row.
The Fijian, the only other top-30 golfer in the field apart from Furyk, earned his 31st PGA tour victory earlier this year.
The hometown crowd will pin their hopes on Weir, who missed the cut at last year's event by five shots and Stephen Ames, who withdrew in 2006 with a sore back.
Weir is coming off a pair of top-10 finishes, including his best showing at a British Open, while Ames has a remodeled swing designed to relieve stress on his back.
The last Canadian to win the Canadian Open was Pat Fletcher in 1954.
Furyk, the world's number three golfer, has not won a tournament this year but has been in contention at the first three major championships, including a second-place finish at the U.S. Open in June.
Last year, Furyk fired a closing five-under-par 65 to edge out fellow American Bart Bryant by one shot.
This year's tournament will be held at the Angus Glen Golf Club just north of Toronto.
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