ANCASTER, Ontario – Brandt Snedeker’s early record-tying round didn’t stand up to late charges by Scott Brown and Matt Kuchar at the RBC Canadian Open on Friday.
The Nashville native fired a 10-under-par 60 to tie the tournament mark, which was good enough for an early clubhouse lead at 11 under at Hamilton Golf and Country Club.
Brown and Kuchar went low as well, though, with each shooting a 7-under 63 in the afternoon to share the 36-hole lead at 12-under 128. They said Snedeker’s round challenged them to play their best and confirmed that low scores were possible.
“You kind of feel like you have to go out and shoot a good one, and then you kind of feel like there is a good one out there,” Brown said. “So I think the key is just to not get crazy aggressive. I’ve kind of been conservatively aggressive.”
Snedeker and Carl Pettersson are the only players to shoot 60 at the Canadian Open. Pettersson did it at St. George’s Golf and Country Club in Toronto on his way to victory in the 2010 tournament. Greg Norman had a round of 10 under on the par-72 course at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ontario, on his way to a runner-up finish in 1986.
“I’m not scared about going low. I realize these days don’t happen very often,” said Snedeker, who carded a 59 at the Wyndham Championship last August. “Almost get more excited when I feel like it’s going that way. More often than not, you’re getting beat up. You have to take advantage of it.”
Most golfers coming off the 6,966-yard layout spoke about wrestling with the poa annua greens that were playing exceptionally slow. The hilly course has sloping greens that need to be soft to prevent balls from rolling off.
Snedeker was one of the few able to consistently drain long putts Friday.
“Didn’t help me yesterday. I think I left every putt a foot short yesterday,” said Snedeker, who opened with a 1-under 69. “I was excited for this morning because I got out here and I knew they would be a little faster and I could still be aggressive, which I felt like needed to be.”
Nick Taylor (65), one of four Canadians within four shots of the lead, was tied with Snedeker. No Canadian has won the country’s national championship since Pat Fletcher in 1954 at Vancouver’s Point Grey Golf and Country Club.
Former Baylor School standouts Harris English (69) and Stephan Jaeger (64) were among those tied for 25th at 5 under.
Etienne Brault, who completed his University of Tennessee at Chattanooga career this spring and is from Canada, missed the 2-under cut after following his opening 72 with a 69. He made the field in Monday qualifying.
Jeonguen Lee6 shares lead at ShopRite LPGA Classic
GALLOWAY, N.J. – Jeongeun Lee6 got right back to work after winning the U.S. Women’s Open last weekend.
Coming off her first major title, Lee6 shot an 8-under 63 to grab a share of the lead after the opening round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic.
“I felt pretty relaxed on the course,” said Lee6, a 23-year-old LPGA Tour rookie from South Korea. “I didn’t feel nervous. I think I did pretty good. I played it just like how I played it last week.”
Lee6 posted an eagle, nine birdies and three bogeys on the Bay Course at Seaview Hotel and Golf Club. Her two-putt birdie at her last hole, the par-5 ninth, moved her into a share of the lead with 29-year-old Pornanong Phatlum of Thailand, who is looking for her first win on the U.S.-based circuit. Phatlum had seven birdies and closed her round with a 12-foot eagle putt.
Kristen Gillman and Lexi Thompson of the United States and China’s Muni He were tied for third at 64. Thompson, the top-ranked American in the women’s world rankings at No. 4, tied for second at the U.S. Women’s Open.
Ken Tanigawa on top in Japan
NARITA-SHI, Chiba – Ken Tanigawa shot a 7-under 65 for a two-stroke lead after the opening round of the Mastercard Japan Championship.
Tanigawa – who was born in Kobe, spent the early portion of his childhood there and still has family in Japan – won the Senior PGA Championship two weeks ago for his second PGA Tour Champions victory and first major title. The 51-year-old American avoided bogeys Thursday at Narita Golf Club, where three of his seven birdies came in the final four holes.
Two other golfers from the United States were tied for second. Doug Garwood offset his lone bogey with four birdies and an eagle on the par-5 17th, and Dudley Hart had six birdies against one bogey.
Five golfers were tied for fourth at 68. Ooltewah’s Gibby Gilbert III opened with a 74 and was tied for 39th.