American leading rain-delayed Canadian Open
OAKVILLE, Ont. (CP) — As good as Robert Garrigus has been at the RBC Canadian Open, he thinks he could have been even better in Thursday’s first round.
The American shot a 9-under 63 to take the clubhouse lead. A rainstorm suspended play for over two hours in the late afternoon before the PGA Tour tournament resumed for a little over an hour. By the end of the day, Garrigus was still one shot ahead of fellow American Adam Schenk at the Glen Abbey Golf Club.
“Could have been 59 there if a couple putts didn’t lip out,” said Garrigus, who had birdie putts lip out on Nos. 10 and 17. “I think 20-something-under is going to win, so we’ll forget about it when I get home. This was a good day, get to enjoy it for a minute, but I’ve got to close my mind off.”
Keeping focused has been an issue for Garrigus of late.
He shot an impressive 6-under 66 in the third round of the Barbasol Championship last Saturday, before coughing up an ugly 7-over 79 in the final round. The low point for Garrigus was when he quadruple bogeyed the 567-yard par-5 No. 17, finishing tied for 66th at 4 under.
Last year at Glen Abbey, Garrigus shot a 10-under 62 in the third round to match the course record. If not for those two missed putts on Thursday, he could have tied or surpassed that mark.
“I love this place. I’ve always played well in Canada. There’s a lot of good vibes here. And the golf course is absolutely pure,” said Garrigus. “The conditions are absolutely perfect.”
Schenk closed out his round in the rain with three straight birdies as the morning group finished its day at the US$6.2-million PGA Tour event.
Chris Stroud was third after shooting a 7-under 65.
David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., carded a 4-under 68 to tie for the top score among Canadians. After play resumed, Nick Taylor of Abbotsford drained a six-foot putt on No. 18 to match Hearn. Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., the 2003 Masters champion, shot 75.
Adam Hadwin, also from Abbotsford, the top-ranked Canadian on the PGA Tour, fired a 2-under 70 playing alongside world No. 1 Dustin Johnson (68) and No. 4 Bubba Watson (70) in the early marquee group.
“No one was paying attention to me,” Hadwin joked.