Hughes opens strong
Watson shines, Hagy unleashes heavy artillery
OAKVILLE, ONT. Mackenzie Hughes finally feels like he belongs.
And he posted a score during the opening round of the RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey on Thursday to prove it.
Starting on the 10th tee, the Dundas, Ont., native carded a 5-under 67, with six birdies and a bogey, to stay right in the thick of things and announce to everyone that Canadians should be taken seriously here.
“You can’t win it on Thursday, but you can lose it on Thursday,” said Hughes, who sits 26th in the FedExCup standings. “I put myself in a pretty good spot. I know that the scores are out there today and someone might go out and shoot seven or eight under, but it’s a fourround tournament and I’m off to a great start.”
He’s right, somebody did. Americans Hudson Swafford and Brandon Hagy carded 65s in wet morning conditions that made the 7,253-yard par-72 course ripe for picking. Their scores had held up when play was suspended due to rain at 3:45 p.m., and were later matched by Americans Matt Every, Kevin Chappell and Ollie Schniederjans.
Another 11 golfers, including two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson, were one shot back, with Hughes among a group of 15 in the clubhouse at 67.
Hughes had 20 to 30 friends and family following him around a course he hadn’t played since 2013, when as an amateur he missed the cut for a second straight year. He’s among 17 Canadians trying to end a drought dating back to 1954, when Pat Fletcher was the last Canuck to win the event.
Graham DeLaet (-4) of Weyburn, Sask., is a shot back of Hughes, followed by Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and David Hearn of Brantford, Ont. (-3).
OAKVILLE, ONT. Hopefully, it will not come to this, but the RBC Canadian Open could be in danger of losing this year’s British Open runner-up.
Matt Kuchar was having a problem with his balance during his run through the valley holes, No. 11 through No. 15, at Glen Abbey on Thursday morning.
Kuchar, who was playing the first round with past major champions Bubba Watson and Graeme McDowell, appeared to lose his balance on one of the greens of his opening nine when he stepped back from a putt and walked to the edge of the surface while poking a finger into his right ear.
A medic came out to check on the world No. 12 and walked with him for a couple of holes. Kuchar was able to complete his round but also was given medical attention after shooting a 1-under-par 71 at the 7,253-yard course.
Kuchar said after he wasn’t sure what was going on.
“I had a couple of spells where I got a little bit dizzy and I felt weak,” said Kuchar, who has had a good 2017 so far with a tie for fourth at the Masters, a tie for 16th at the U.S. Open, a tie for fourth at The Memorial, and second place at last week’s British Open where he lost to Jordan Spieth.
“I don’t know where it came from,” Kuchar said of the dizziness. “I’ve had plenty of time to get over the travel. Hopefully, it’s just something that passes real quick.”
Kuchar said he has never experienced this kind of thing before, but perhaps he is just worn out from his emotional loss to Spieth, which on Wednesday he called “bittersweet.”
Playing together in the final pairing, Spieth got into trouble on the 13th hole at Royal Birkdale when he hit his drive way off-line and it looked as though Kuchar had a good chance at hoisting the Claret Jug. But Spieth escaped with just a bogey and then went birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie, par to defeat his American compatriot by three strokes.
“He was just dizzy,” Watson said of Kuchar. “He had been over to mark a putt after he missed it, and got a little lightheaded. He just came up a little slow. I don’t know why.
“It was a little warm after the rain. Had a rain jacket on. Probably just a little light-headed. And then the travel. He played over there, a lot of energy used last week. Second place is a lot of energy used over that and then flying back over here with the time change, probably just one of those things.”
BUBBA ON THE MOVE
Speaking of Watson, he slid into this year’s edition of our national championship pretty much unnoticed — no media, no anything. But he was noticed Thursday.
Watson carded six birdies against no bogeys for a 66 to put himself in a great spot heading into Friday’s round.
“I had maybe two wayward shots, two mistakes that I can think of,” said Watson, who sits 117th in the FedEx Cup Standings. “Other than that, it was a good day, and you know, the one mistake on No. 1, my 10th hole of the day, I got up-and-down for par. So it worked out there.”
Generally, though, things haven’t been working out so well for Watson this year.
The former world No. 2 has slid all the way down to No. 46 and sits in the 33rd spot for the U.S. Presidents Cup team, way outside the top-10 exemption line.
Undoubtedly, he would like to find his game here. His wife, Angie, is from nearby Scarborough, Ont.
SOMETHING TO SMYLIE ABOUT
It hasn’t been a great summer for Smylie Kaufman, who has yet to put together four consistent rounds. But maybe the American can change that this week.
Kaufman got off to a flying start Thursday, carding three birdies and an eagle over his first five holes to take the early lead.
He stumbled at the hockeythemed par-3 7th hole, with a double-bogey, but immediately righted the ship with a birdie at eight and wrapped up his day at 6-under.
“I felt good right from the getgo today,” said Kaufman, who has only made 10 cuts in 23 starts. “I was lucky to get off to such a great start. I had a few bad breaks but kept battling back.”
Brandon Hagy is a big bomber, the biggest on the PGA Tour. He even has bragging rights over Dustin Johnson. His 313.8-yard average outdoes DJ by .5 yards.
No wonder Hagy was among the leaders at 7-under par after Round 1. With the wet conditions, Hagy could pull out driver and pound away all day long.
“Yeah, it definitely put (the) driver in my hands a few more times,” Hagy said of the conditions. “I knew if I could get down there far enough and with the softness of the greens in the rain, I could still stop it from the rough. I hit driver a lot and the ball is definitely spinning.”
His longest drive of the day was a 341-yard bomb that came on the 437-yard, par-4 third hole, where he picked up a birdie.
But that’s nothing. Kaufman cranked one out 366 yards on the par-5 16th hole.
CHIP SHOTS
Kaufman on his good friend Spieth winning the British Open: “I FaceTimed him right after my round (at the Barbasol Championship). It doesn’t seem like the Claret Jug has left him since he’s left The Open. He’s definitely enjoying it. Looks like he is staying hydrated out of the Jug as well.” … Canadian Mackenzie Hughes is playing his first two rounds with major winner Ernie Els, who still swings it easy as all heck, even at the age of 47. The two seemed to be enjoying each other’s company on Thursday. “Ernie’s a pretty relaxed guy,” Hughes said. “It’s always nice to play with guys who have a good rhythm and are very calm, collected. Playing with a guy like Ernie is a good thing.” Hughes shot 5-under 67 for his first round, while Els shot a 1-over 73.