Son rises over Open field
Tway midway leader 15 years after dad won at Hamilton, Taylor and Silverman in hunt
After every PGA Tour round, Kevin Tway calls his longest-serving coach: his dad, Bob.
That pipeline of advice will come in especially handy as the Tways try to become the first father-son duo to win the Canadian Open.
Tway birdied the par-518th hole to take the clubhouse lead midway through the second round of the RBC Canadian Open on Friday. He fired a 7-under 65 to finish his day at 13 under overall at Glen Abbey Golf Club. No one caught him in the afternoon, putting him in a prime position to win this weekend.
After signing his scorecard and grabbing a meal in the clubhouse, Tway expected he would phone his dad.
“I talk to dad every day — no matter if I’m home, here,” said Tway, who is from Edmond, Okla. but resides in Jupiter, Fla. “We talk about every round. He can probably tell you what kind of shots I’m hitting just by, like, watching on TV. He knows what the swing looks like … he’s a big key for me.” Bob Tway won the Canadian Open in 2003 at Hamilton Golf and Country Club, which will host the championship in 2019. The elder Tway won eight PGA Tour events with his best finish coming in 1986, when he won the PGA Championship two years before Kevin was born.
“It would be great to match (Canadian Open titles),” said Kevin. “He’s given me insight on this course. Although he won (in Hamilton), he’s played here many times.”
Bob Tway twice finished in a tie for ninth at Glen Abbey in 1986 and 1995.
Although no father-son duo has won the Canadian Open, brothers Charles and Albert Murray of Montreal both won the national title twice during their Canadian Golf Hall of Fame careers. Charles won his first in 1906, while Albert earned the brothers’ final title in 1913.
Keegan Bradley was in Tway’s pairing Friday morning and made birdie-eagle-birdie-eagle on the final four holes to launch himself into a tie with Whee Kim for second at 12 under.
After sinking a 21-foot putt on No. 18, Bradley turned to Tway and said something along the lines of “I’m coming.” Neither could remember the specifics because they were so excited.
“That was crazy,” said Bradley, who also had an eagle on the second hole. “I’ve never had anything close to that happen in my career.” Byeong Hun An (67) and Johnson Wagner (65) were tied for fourth at 11 under. World No. 1 Dustin Johnson shot a 6-under 66 to enter a four-way tie for sixth with Zac Blair, Joaquin Niemann and Aaron Baddeley at 10 under.
Robert Garrigus, leader after the first round, shot par Friday but was in a tie for 10th on the strength of his 9-under performance to start the tournament.
Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C. was the low Canadian. He fired a 5-under 67 to move to 9 under at the $6.2-million U.S. PGA Tour event.
“I hit it great off the tee, which set me up for a lot of short irons, and I gave myself a lot of chances,” said Taylor. “I actually missed a couple chances that I had on the back, as well, so I had a lot of chances and it was nice to make a bunch of them.”
Ben Silverman of Thornhill was one stroke behind Taylor after a torrid round of 9-under 63. Silverman had a chance to tie the course record, but missed a 39-foot putt for eagle on the 18th hole and sits in a tie for 15th. Silverman said later he didn’t know that he was close to the course record at Glen Abbey, which is shared by many golfers and most recently matched by Garrigus last year.
“I had no idea,” said Silverman. “I was just trying to keep going lower.”
Amateur Chris Crisologo (69) of Richmond, B.C. and Roger Sloan (69) of Merritt, B.C. were tied for 23rd at 7 under. Mackenzie Hughes (69) of Dundas, Ont. was in a group at 35th sitting at 6 under, while Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C. (71) finished at 3 under. The cut line was 4 under.