Five tied for lead at Canadian Open
Sitting in the clubhouse at Glen Abbey Golf Course during a nearly two-hour suspension of play Ollie Schniederjans, Kevin Chappell and Matt Every all killed time in different ways. But when the thunderstorm finally passed, they put together identical 7-under 65s.
Schniederjans, Chappell and Every entered into a five-way tie with Brandon Hagy and Hudson Swafford, the clubhouse leaders from the morning group, atop a crowded leaderboard on Thursday after the first round of the RBC Canadian Open.
“I honestly struggled going back out there afterwards,” said Chappell, who was thrust to the top by a pair of eagles. “Just kind of caught myself in a little bit of a daze, maybe lacking energy. I tried to eat as much as I could and tried to just kind of pick myself up a little bit.
“That’s the hardest part about those delays.”
Every, who is paired with Chappell and Danny Lee for the first and second rounds, was happy to let his mind wander.
“I don’t know, (the break) wasn’t a big deal to me. I probably didn’t stay focused,” laughed Every, who had seven birdies and never bogeyed. “Just had a coffee and kept my body warm. That’s about it.”
Schniederjans also eagled twice and finished his round just a few minutes before play was suspended due to darkness. He was philosophical about the thunderstorm disrupting play, saying it just comes with the territory.
“You’re going to get one every now and again. Definitely changes the vibe for the day,” said Schniederjans, who three-putted on his first hole back after the delay. “Mentally, it’s tough to go twoputt a 70-footer after a delay over a giant hill. I was kind of forgiving on that, and got it back with an eagle on 18.”
Although a downpour that lasted most of the morning didn’t delay the early group, it still affected how the Jack Nicklaus-designed course played. The normally firm fairways and greens softened, letting players stick their drives and play a straight-forward game.
“Today was the most gettable I’ve seen it,” said Swafford. “You didn’t have to worry about run-outs off the tee. Balls weren’t running through the greens like they normally do.
“You didn’t have to be quite as cautious as you normally do around here. A 2 or 3 under is a really good round around here the last few years, but the mind-set is a little different today.”
Starting just four days after the Open at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England, it’s a depleted field at the Canadian Open this year. No. 2 Dustin Johnson (67) and No. 13 Adam Hadwin (75) of Abbotsford, B.C., are the highest ranked players on the FedExCup standings at the tournament.