First round gives fans reason to get excited
Homegrown golfers off to strong start at Canadian Open, writes Dave Hilson.
Is it too early for Canadian fans to start getting excited?
To start thinking that maybe this is the year a homegrown golfer wins our national championship?
Maybe not. A quick look at the RBC Canadian Open leaderboard shows two Canucks in the top 10 after the opening round and another three tied for 15th with a large group, not too far back from leader Keegan Bradley, who sits alone at seven-under par.
Nick Taylor was the top Canadian at Hamilton Golf and Country Club on a warm and sunny Thursday that was perfect for golf, carding a 6-under 64 to sit tied for second with four other golfers.
Adam Hadwin was another stroke back after firing a bogeyfree 65, good for a T7 with seven others, while compatriots David Hearn, Drew Nesbitt and Mackenzie Hughes worked their way around the Harry Colt-designed, par-70 course that the players had nothing but good things to say about in 4-under par.
It certainly has been a while since a Canadian won this event. You have to go all the way back to 1954, when Pat Fletcher achieved the feat.
Dustin Johnson, who has kids with Canadian royalty in Paulina Gretzky, won it last year, but that’s not quite the same. Maybe this year, though?
Taylor, one of only two Canadians to qualify for next week’s U.S. Open at Pebble Beach (veteran Mike Weir is the other), had just one bogey to go along with seven birdies. He said that, despite an up-and-down season in which he has two top-10 finishes but has also missed his past two cuts, things are starting to come around.
“I missed the last couple of cuts, but I’ve been playing well. Sandwiched in between there, I qualified for the U.S. Open, so I know I’ve been playing well,” he said.
Taylor is playing in his 10th Canadian Open, but has never done particularly well in the event, as a T71 last season and missed cuts the previous two years will attest.
“I think probably I put a little too much pressure on myself,” said Taylor, of Abbotsford, B.C. “I’m trying to come in this week and just kind of see the shots and try and hit them. That’s what I’ve been doing.”
Hadwin, also of Abbotsford, said if felt “amazing” to have a blemish-free card.
“I’ve been playing some pretty decent golf,” he said. “Just haven’t been scoring lately, and it was nice to hit a lot of greens, lot of easy pars, made putts, and adds up to 65 today.”
As for Hughes, who has probably played this parkland-style course more than anyone else in the field due to his nearby home in the Hamilton community of Dundas, it was a matter of what might have been.
He was inches away from a hole-in-one on the par-three 16th, but settled for a birdie instead to get to 6-under, and was looking to catch leader Bradley (7-under 63) before a double-bogey on the final hole derailed his plans.
“Dinner won’t taste as good tonight,” he said after his round.
World No. 2 Johnson, who is looking to become the seventh player in tournament history to successfully defend his title, fired an uneven 1-over 71 that included five birdies and six bogeys.
World No. 4 Rory McIlroy, making his first start at this event, carded a 67 and sits tied for 25th.
“I feel like it’s the highest score I could have shot out there. I played well,” said McIlroy, who had five birdies and two bogeys on his card.
Brooks Koepka, the reigning U.S. Open and PGA Championship titleholder, shot an even-par 70 and is tied for 84th.
“I actually thought I played really well. I struck it beautifully. Just had one foul ball there on 10. I don’t know if that’s a little bit of rust or whatever, but I thought I played great,” he said.
Justin Thomas, the world No. 6 who has missed a chunk of this season due to a wrist injury, matched Koepka’s score. Former Masters champion Weir was right there with them.
JERSEY BOY
Hughes got the home crowd worked up when he pulled a Kawhi Leonard jersey over his golf shirt and played the 13th hole, known as The Rink because of its hockey theme.
“Normally I’d rock a Leafs jersey, but I thought given that Toronto, the Raptors are on this run, I thought it would be cool to support them,” he said. “I try and have some fun with that hole. Life is short, so whatever.”
The Raptors currently lead their NBA Finals series against the Golden State Warriors 2-1.
BRADLEY’S BUNCH
Bradley’s impressive bogeyfree 63 included a stretch of five straight birdies from hole No. 7 through to No. 11 after starting off rather quietly with six straight pars.
“All those pars could have been birdies, too,” he said.
Equally impressive to his string of birdies was the fact that he didn’t have to make one chip during his entire round.
“Yeah, the green I missed, I was actually able to putt. I didn’t have to chip it today. I felt so calm the whole day. This course just really fits my eye,” said Bradley, who hit 12 out of 14 fairways and 17 out of 18 greens.