Johnson races to top, shares Canadian Open lead
Top-ranked Dustin Johnson used a fast start and a late eagle to grab a share of the lead Saturday in the RBC Canadian Open.
Johnson shot a 7-under 65 at Glen Abbey in Oakville, Ontario, to match Kevin Tway (68), former Cal golfer Byeong Hun An (66) and Whee Kim (67) at 17-under 199.
“I like the golf course, I feel like my game’s in really good form, I’ve got a lot of confidence in it,” said Johnson, who tied for second at Glen Abbey in 2013 and 2016.
Johnson birdied the first three holes and five of the first six, then rebounded from two back-nine bogeys with a birdie-birdie-eagle run. He’s seeking his third victory of the season and 19th on the tour.
Mackenzie Hughes was the top Canadian. He was tied for 13th at 11 under after a 67.
Johnson insists he’s only popular in Canada by proxy fiancee as Paulina Gretzky is the daughter of NHL great Wayne Gretzky.
“Well, I can thank Wayne for that,” Johnson said. “There’s a lot of Gretzky fans out there, and so they tend to pull for me, which, ‘Thanks, Wayne, I appreciate that.’ I do get a lot of love up here, and the fans have been great this week.”
JIMENEZ SURVIVES ON TOUGH DAY >> Miguel Angel Jimenez shot par 72 in blustery conditions to remain 9-under overall and two shots clear heading to the final round of the Senior British Open at the Old Course at St. Andrews. Tied for second were Tom Pernice (71) and Kirk Triplett (73) of the United States, defending champion Bernhard Langer (73) and Stephen Ames (74) of Canada. A dozen others, including 68-year-old Tom Watson, were within four strokes of the leader. Only 13 players broke par in the third round in winds gusting up to 25 mph
DECHAMBEAU, MCEVOY LEAD BY 1>> Bryson DeChambeau (70) shared a one-shot lead with Richard McEvoy (69) at 12-under par heading to the final round of the European Open in Hamburg, Germany. Right behind them were Masters champion Patrick Reed (69) and Austria’s Matthias Schwab (70).
TWO SHARE LADIES SCOTTISH OPEN LEAD >> Ariya Jutanugarn and Amy Yang led the Ladies Scottish Open by one stroke after an increasingly tough scoring day in the third round in Gullane Golf Club. None of the top five broke par 71, as the wind picked up in the afternoon and grew to a howling 35 mph at Gullane.
Ariya and Yang carded 2-over rounds of 73 to be 8 under for the tournament. Minjee Lee (71) was in second.
Tiffany Joh, the overnight leader after a course-record 62, played in the final group with Ariya and Yang and hit trouble. She dropped seven shots over six holes before the turn, and finished her round on 9-over 80. But she was only four shots back. TOUR WINNER LIETZKE DIES >> Bruce Lietzke, a 13-time PGA Tour winner, died Saturday of brain cancer. He was 67. His family said he died at his Athens, Texas, ranch.