David Skinns of England is the unlikely first-round chief on the RBC Canadian Open after he fired an 8-under 62 within the first spherical Thursday at Hamilton Golf & Nation Membership.
A 42-year-old journeyman who has but to win his first PGA Tour title, Skinns is joined by 41-year-old Sean O’Hair close to the highest of the leaderboard. O’Hair is tied for second with fellow American Sam Burns at seven beneath.
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre is fourth at six beneath whereas two-time Canadian Open champion Rory McIlroy is a part of a tie for sixth at 4 beneath.
That is Skinns’ first profession 18-hole lead on tour, though he has held not less than a share of the lead after 54 holes twice this season. He had top-10 finishes on the Cognizant Basic and the Texas Youngsters’s Houston Open, the primary two top-10s of his PGA profession.
“I think once you know your good golf can compete, it’s a lot easier to trust that and to have those feelings of comfort a little more than maybe otherwise if you hadn’t been there before and held up,” Skinns stated. “Yeah, not particularly uncomfortable right now.”
Skinns began his spherical on the again 9 and made his transfer on the flip, when he strung collectively six birdies in a seven-hole stretch between the seventeenth and fifth.
He caught his method on the par-four 18th inside three ft of the cup and later drained a 35-foot birdie putt on the third and a 47-foot birdie on the eighth.
It might be untimely, however Skinns was requested what a win would imply to him.
“I think everyone knows the answer to that,” he stated. “I’ve been working at it for 20-something years. I’ve got to play [Friday] first, though.”
O’Hair made a 27-foot eagle putt on the par-five seventeenth gap to make sure he tied his lowest profession spherical on tour. He was initially the sixth alternate for the occasion and was the final participant added to the sector Tuesday after a collection of withdrawals.
“I like to be prepared. I just, I didn’t have an option,” O’Hair stated. “I think when you don’t really have an option and you’re kind of making a big deal about it, it almost hurts you, so I kind of just said, ‘look, I don’t really expect a whole lot today, I haven’t really been playing that great either’, so to come out here and shoot the score I did today was definitely kind of a shocker for me.”
Burns, although a five-time winner on tour, has not had one of the best season thus far.
Fortunately for him, he bought two eagle putts to go Thursday, a 37-footer at 17 and a 10-footer on the par-five fourth.
“I think with all the rain we had early in the week the greens are still pretty receptive,” he stated. “It makes a big difference on par-fives when you have a long iron or a wood coming in there to be able to stop the ball pretty quick.
“That makes an enormous distinction. So I feel that was actually the distinction in my spherical at the moment. Making two eagles form of kickstarted me and it was general a stable spherical.”
Defending champion Nick Taylor of Canada opened with a two-over 72 and is in danger of missing Friday’s 36-hole cut.
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