Robert Garrigus leads at the Canadian Open
OAKVILLE, Ontario — Robert Garrigus made a birdie after a rock saved his ball from the water and had a one-stroke lead at 9-under-par 63 on Thursday when firstround play in the RBC Canadian Open was suspended because of dangerous weather.
“Hit it right in the middle of the water, and it hit a rock and bounced over the thing,” Garrigus said about the break on the par-5 13th.
The 40-year-old American wasn’t as fortunate on Nos. 10 and 17 at rain-softened Glen Abbey Golf Course.
“Could have been 59 there if a couple putts didn’t lip out,” Garrigus said.
He made five straight birdies on Nos. 2-6, and birdied four of the last six holes — three of them par 5s.
“I think 20-somethingunder is going to win, so we’ll forget about it when I get home,” Garrigus said. “This was a good day, get to enjoy it for a minute, but I’ve got to close my mind off.”
He played in the morning, well before a more than two-hour delay because of high wind and potential lightning strikes. Play resumed at 6:44 p.m. and was stopped for the day at 8:04 p.m.
PGA Tour rookie Adam Schenk was second. He birdied the first five holes, as well as the last three.
“If you were in the fairway, it was much easier to attack, but you could still play from the rough, so I did that too often today but was fortunate to get away with it,” Schenk said. “But if you can get within 20 feet of the hole, you’re going to make some putts, especially in the morning. The greens are very smooth.”
Garrigus won his lone PGA Tour title in 2010. Last week at the Barbasol Championship in Kentucky, he followed a third-round 66 with a 79, including a quadruple bogey on the 17th.
“I prayed a lot this week, I’ll tell you that much,” Garrigus said. “There was a lot of prayers for my family, just to give me peace and calm, just to come out and not worry about it, not worry about where I am.”
Last year at Glen Abbey, Garrigus shot a 62 in the third round to match the course record.
Chris Stroud was third at 65, and Byeong Hun An, Ben Crane, Ian Poulter and Hudson Swafford were another stroke back in fourth. Kevin Tway also was 6 under with three holes to play.
Three former Baylor School golfers are in the 154-man field. Stephan Jaeger was tied for ninth at 5 under with five holes to play, while Keith Mitchell (69) was tied for 41st and Harris English (71) was tied for 83rd.
Tied at top
ST. ANDREWS, Scotland — Kirk Triplett and Thaworn Wiratchant each shot a 7-under 65 to share a one-stroke lead after the opening round of the Senior British Open, but both will be keeping a close eye on 2017 tournament champion Bernhard Langer.
Long the dominant figure in senior golf, the talented German arrived at the Old Course at St. Andrews as the man to beat, and not much changed Thursday. Although he’s not leading, having Langer (67) lurk in a tie for fifth should be enough to get the attention of every other contender.
Triplett, a 56-year-old American, avoided bogeys while making seven birdies. Thailand’s Wiratchant, 51, made two bogeys but nine birdies. He is the Asian Tour’s all-time leader in wins with 18.
Canada’s Stephen Ames and Ireland’s Paul McGinley were tied for third, with Langer — a three-time Senior British Open champion — sharing his fifth-place spot with Americans Scott McCarron and David Toms.
Strong start
HAMBURG, Germany — Bryson DeChambeau shot a 6-under 66 to take the first-round lead at the European Open.
The 25-year-old American carded his best European Tour round in more than two years for a oneshot advantage over Germany’s Benedict Staben and the French trio of Mike Lorenzo-Vera, Joel Stalter and Romain Wattel.
DeChambeau’s seven birdies included all but one of the five par-5s on the tournament layout at Green Eagle Golf Courses, and he made just one bogey.
Putts falling
GULLANE, Scotland — Tiffany Joh credited her “hot putter” as she shot a career-best 9-under 62 at the Ladies Scottish Open to take a four-shot lead after the first round.
“I pretty much kept it in play and putted amazing — that’s the only way I could describe it today,” said the 31-year-old American, who opened and finished her round with birdies.
South Korea’s In-Kyung Kim, Jenny Shin and Amy Yang were tied for second at Gullane Golf Club.