Afternoon groups go low, Rory McIlroy fizzles in first round at RBC Canadian Open
Richmond Hill native Taylor Pendrith finished his round atop the leaderboard at TPC Toronto
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CALEDON, Ont. — Taylor Pendrith is very comfortable and familiar with TPC Toronto, and he proved it on Thursday at the RBC Canadian Open playing in an all-Canadian marquee group with Mackenzie Hughes and Nick Taylor.
Pendrith finished the opening round as the low Canadian of the 24 in the field, but after 18 holes everyone is chasing Cristobal Del Solar and Thorbjorn Olesen who both shot 61.
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Afternoon groups go low, Rory McIlroy fizzles in first round at RBC Canadian Open Back to video
“I played great, but my putting was exceptional today,” Olesen said. “Don’t think I missed any putts really out there. I definitely holed some long ones as well. It was nice to see everything go in.”
One of the last players on the course Thursday evening, Del Solar played in dream conditions as temperature warmed, the wind calmed to nearly nothing, and the greens were perfectly receptive.
Last year, Del Solar set a record score for a PGA-sanctioned event, shooting a 57 in the Astara Golf Championship on the Korn Ferry Tour. Del Solar had a chance to break 60 on Thursday before making his first bogey of the day at the par-4 17th hole and settling for par on the closing par-5 18th.
Earlier, on a drizzly and gray morning in Caledon, Ont., the RBC Canadian Open didn’t waste any time getting the stars out on the golf course with the Canadian group teeing off just before 7:30 a.m. and Rory McIlroy headlining another featured trio ten minutes later on the back nine at TPC Toronto’s North Course.
All three Canadians shot under par in the opening round, with Pendrith walking off the 18th hole the early leader at five-under as the afternoon groups began their day.
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“It was great out there,” Pendrith said after shooting a 65. “Nick was making some birdies, and I was making some birdies. Mac holed a 6-iron. So it was a lot of fun. The crowd was into it. Nice to see a lot of people out here on a rainy day.”
Pendrith comes into the week full of confidence, three weeks removed from being the first Canadian in 20 years to finish in the top five at a major championship after a great performance at the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.
The big-hitting Richmond Hill native has more experience at this new home for the Canadian Open than any contender in the field.
“I’ve played two Mackenzie Tour events here, had a chance to win on the Mackenzie Tour here,” he said. “I also played numerous rounds here with my friends from home in carts and music, so I feel pretty comfortable on the grounds.”
Nick Taylor, the man whose 2023 celebration silhouette is now part of the tournament’s permanent logo, also got off to a good start on Thursday, shooting a four-under 66.
“I think the difficulty today was the softness of the greens with the short irons,” Taylor said of the early soggy conditions. “There was a lot of spin. So some of the back pins, you couldn’t hit your normal stock wedges because they were going to spin back 20 feet. That was probably the biggest challenge of the day of managing how much spin, taking some off with shots.”
As the sun came out in the afternoon, the greens began to dry and over-spinning approach shots became less of a concern for Del Solar and others in Thursday’s afternoon wave.
The six players who finished ahead of Pendrith all came from the afternoon wave. Trailing Del Solar and Olesen’s 61 was Cameron Champ’s 62, then Jake Knapp’s 63 and Rasmus Hojgaard’s 64.
“If we don’t get rain in the next couple of days, it’s going to change dramatically,” Champ said of the conditions. “Kind of how it was Tuesday (practice rounds), which it was rock hard and skipping four or five paces with a lob wedge. It will definitely be a test.”
It was a challenging day for short game wizard Hughes who didn’t get the usual magic out of his putter, although he did conjure up a disappearing act with his 6-iron on the fifth hole by holing a blind approach shot for eagle from 194 yards. The Dundas, Ont. Native shot a two-under 68.
As for playing alongside good friends Pendrith and Hughes, Taylor said it was a good reminder of how far they have all come, mentioning that at his first Canadian Open in 2008 he teed off at 7:30 p.m. following a long weather delay; a very different experience than playing in a marquee group.
“It’s what we dreamed about,” Taylor said of Thursday’s round. “It felt like a practice round. It was a lot of fun. We kept it loose. It was nice to see a few birdies go in.”
Corey Conners drew an afternoon tee time but didn’t take advantage, shooting an even par 70.
Two-time winner Rory McIlroy will have some work to do if he hopes to add another Canadian title to his resume this week. The five-time major winner struggled on Thursday shooting a one-over 71.
“I actually felt like I played okay,” McIlroy said. “Hopefully that’s the end of the rain, and it can firm up a little bit. Overall, look, it’s a very gettable golf course, especially with how soft it is. I’m going to have to do a little bit better tomorrow to be here for the weekend and give myself a chance.”
McIlroy should get his wish, as the weather forecast looks much better for the next three days as the golf world gets its first look at the RBC Canadian Open’s new homebase at TPC Toronto.
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