SIZZLING SINGH SWINGS INTO CONTENTION Chesters in lead as rain hits European Open
MONTREAL: Former world number one and 2004 champion Vijay Singh rolled back the years to sit two shots back of the second round lead at the Canadian Open on Friday, while British Open runner-up Matt Kuchar battled late to make the cut.
Seeking to become the oldest winner in PGA Tour history, the 54-year-old Fijian mixed six birdies with two bogeys in his round of 68 at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, where Martin Flores led a trio of fellow Americans by one stroke.
Singh, a 34-time winner on the PGA Tour who has not triumphed since 2008, is off to his best tournament start all season after opening with a 66.
“Doing everything good... this is a golf course where if you are on the fairway you can attack the pins,” said Singh, who could have competed in this week’s Senior British Open. “I practised my putting pretty good last week so it’s working out.”
If Singh can clinch victory on Sunday, he would become the oldest winner in PGA Tour history, eclipsing the record held by Sam Snead, who won the 1965 Greater Greensboro Open at the age of 52 years, 10 months and eight days.
Flores was a model of consistency, firing a second successive 66 in a bogey-free round which boasted an eagle on the par-five second and three consecutive birdies from the 16th to the 18th.
American Gary Woodland soared up the leaderboard with a 10-birdie round of 63, the day’s lowest, to vault into second alongside compatriots Matt Every (68) and Brandon Hagy (68). Having started two strokes adrift, world number one Dustin Johnson shot a 69 to lie four off the pace.
Kuchar (68), who battled dizzy spells in the first round, did well to offset a back-nine double-bogey with an eagle at the par-five 13th but still needed some magic to stick around for the weekend.
The 39-year-old American caught fire with birdies at the final three holes to reach a five-under total of 139, one shot inside the cut-line.
After opening brightly with a 66, twice US Masters winner Bubba Watson shot a forgettable 73 to tumble down the leaderboard into T46, level with Kuchar.
Defending champion Jhonattan Vegas of Venezuela, who started one shot back of the leaders, shot 69 to be three behind Flores.
Graham DeLaet and Mackenzie Hughes, both at eight-under and in a share of 14th place, remain in the hunt to become Canada’s first homegrown champion since Pat Fletcher in 1954. US PGA CANADIAN OPEN SECOND-ROUND SCORES (USA unless noted, par-72): 132 - Martin Flores 66-66 133 - Matt Every 65-68, Gary Woodland 70-63, Brandon Hagy 65-68 134 - Vijay Singh (FIJ) 66-68, Kevin Chappell 6569, Ryan Ruffels (AUS) 67-67, Charley Hoffman 68-66, Harold Varner III 69-65 135 - Chad Campbell 66-69, Jhonattan Vegas (VEN) 66-69, Morgan Hoffmann 68-67, Sam Saunders 68-67 136 - Ken Duke 68-68, Rory Sabbatini (RSA) 7066, Tony Finau 69-67, Dustin Johnson 67-69, Chez Reavie 67-69, Graham DeLaet (CAN) 68-68, Ian Poulter (ENG) 67-69, Ollie Schniederjans 65-71, Andres Gonzales 67-69, Tyrone Van Aswegan (RSA) 66-70, Keegan Bradley 67-69, Mackenzie Hughes (CAN) 67-69, Tag Ridings 67-69, Noh Seung-Yul (KOR) 69-67 HAMBURG: England’s Ashley Chesters posted a bogey-free round of 67 to take the clubhouse lead in the European Open in Hamburg on Friday before bad weather brought a premature end to play.
Almost four hours of play were lost during the afternoon as heavy downpours left the course waterlogged, with fading light later meaning the second round will need to be completed on Saturday.
As one of the early starters, Chesters — beginning at the 10th — was lucky as he succeeded in finishing his round, grabbing five birdies on his way to a five-under-par 67 that left him nine-under in total.
That put him one stroke clear of Bangladesh’s Siddikur Rahman, who had a 66 to go eight under par.
France’s Alexander Levy, the defending champion, Stuart Manley of Wales and England’s Richard McEvoy were also eight-under when play was suspended for the day just before 9 pm local time (1900 GMT).
They will have to complete their rounds on Saturday, with play due to restart at 8 -am.
“It’s a completely new experience, tomorrow is going to be totally new to me but the whole year has been a learning experience for me,” Chesters, a former European amateur champion ranked 446th in the world, told europeantour.com.
He gained his European Tour card via the qualifying school in 2016 and has missed seven cuts in 14 events this season, with a best finish of joint eighth in the Hassan Trophy.
His fellow Englishman Jordan Smith had been tied at the top of the leaderboard before being forced off by the rain.
When he came back on he missed a par putt at his last hole, the ninth, and ended up with a 67 that left him at seven-under, two adrift of Chesters.
American Julian Suri had led overnight alongside McEvoy after a 66, but he could only shoot a level-par 72 on Friday and is six under par.
South Africa’s former Masters champion Charl Schwartzel, the highest-ranked player in the field at world number 21, was five-under overall when he was forced off for the day after 15 holes of his second round.