The Canadian national inferiority complex kicks into high gear this week as pundits and fans across the country assess the field for this week’s RBC Canadian Open and ask themselves, why won’t Tiger come back? Doesn’t he like Canada? Why doesn’t Phil ever come here to play? Where are all the top players? Why won’t they play in our national championship?

The answers are as varied as the players themselves. There are larger issues like the unfortunate schedule that places our Open right after “The Open” and even though RBC Canadian Open Tournament Director Bill Paul does everything possible short of personally going to Britain and kidnapping players, some just don’t want to play golf the week after a major. Bill does send his personal jet over to provide Sunday night ferry service back to Canada for the willing participants and occasional freeloaders but even that courtesy isn’t enough to entice some of the pampered class.

The argument that the players are independent contractors gets kind of tiring. The guy who cuts my grass is an independent contractor too but if he doesn’t hack my weeds on a weekly basis, he’ll be more independent and less contractor real quick. Sooner or later, hopefully sooner, the top players, and that really means Tiger, Phil and a few others, will realize that if they don’t support ALL of the tournaments on a semi-regular basis, some will vanish for lack of sponsor support. Naturally that won’t affect Tiger’s bank balance but there are 143 other players on a weekly basis who depend on those second and third tier events. And there are fans and communities and charities too who need those events for a multitude of reasons.

Anyway, the purpose of this blog is not to lament the absence of a few top players from the 2009 RBC Canadian Open. In fact, the field looks to be one of the strongest in years. Among the top ranked players who will tee it up at Glen Abbey this week are Anthony Kim, Sean O’Hair, Retief Goosen, Camilo Villegas, Trevor Immelman, Luke Donald, Bubba Watson, J.B. Holmes and Dustin Johnson. Fan favourite Fred Couples and tabloid phenom John Daly will be there as will Canadian PGA TOUR stars Mike Weir and Stephen Ames.

Sometimes in all the hoopla about which top players will or won’t be there and who has a valid reason and who doesn’t, we forget about the guys who have been loyal to the Canadian Open for a long time. A few years back I was standing near the 10th tee at The Abbey and noticed Billy Mayfair sitting under a tree near by. Nobody was near him and he wasn’t due to tee off for another thirty minutes or so so I moseyed on over and struck up a conversation. Turns out Billy just wanted to get away from the practice area and all the ruckus and enjoy a bit of the tournament.

We spoke for about ten minutes and among other things he told me that he really enjoyed coming to Canada and loved the atmosphere of our national championship. He asked me as many questions as I asked him. Most of his were about Canada, our history and places to visit. For PGA Tour players, those are pretty unusual questions. Typically, if they do ask you any questions and it is rare, the questions are, “do you know any good restaurants nearby?” or “is there any nightlife around here?” (That last question usually gets phrased a bit more graphically too.)

After my conversation with Mayfair I did some checking. Billy first came to the Canadian Open back in 1989, tied for 70th spot and earned $1,773. Following up for 2009, the record shows that Mayfair will play his 15th Canadian Open this year. Billy is one of the nicest guys on Tour and has compiled a solid record over his career, yet rarely gets mentioned when the field is released for any event.

Likewise a few others who have been staunch supporters of the Canadian Open over the past 20 to 25 years. How about Billy Andrade, 1998 Bell Canadian Open champion, who began his pro career in 1987 and this year will be making his 18th trip north of the border for our Open. Or 2010 American Ryder Cup captain Corey Pavin who will be making this year’s Open his 19th in the past 25 years.

Mark Calcavecchia used the 2005 Bell Canadian Open at Shaugnessey GC in Vancouver to kick-start a career that had been on the skids for a few seasons. His win there marked just one of twenty appearances that Calc has made in the Canadian Open over a 28 year career. He’ll be at Glen Abbey this year too in spite of four rounds on the grueling Turnberry course last week.

As far as I can tell though, the longest streak at the Open belongs to 2003 Champion Bob Tway who will play his 24th this year. Bob first came to the Canadian Open in 1985 and has played every year since except 1987. What happended in 87 Bob? His streak of 22 consecutive Opens including this year is incredible and perhaps now even more so since Tway became eligible for the Champions Tour this past spring, yet still wants to play a full scedule on the regular Tour.

Apart from an exciting playoff win over Brad Faxon in 2003 at Hamilton, Tway’s Canadian Open record is solid but unspectacular. Therefore, outside of the past champion mention, he doesn’t get a lot of press and isn’t one of the marquee players that everyone talks about. Bob’s a quiet guy from Oklahoma with a wife and two kids. He has eight career victories including one major. (1986 PGA Championship where he chipped in from the front bunker to skewer Greg Norman one more time). Recently his greater claim to fame has come from caddying for his son Kevin as he begins his golf career.

All in all, Bob Tway is a pretty regular guy who just happens to be a strong supporter of the Canadian Open. For that, I think he, along with Billy Andrade, Billy Mayfair, Corey Pavin, Mark Calcavecchia and probably some others I’ve missed, deserve special recognition. If you get out to Glen Abbey this week, let them know that we appreciate them. For that matter, let all the players know that we appreciate them. They deserve it.