(Hamilton) If golfers were decided by the number of fans cheering them on, Nick Taylor, Taylor Pendrith, and Rory McIlroy would be among the leaders at the RBC Canadian Open.
However, it was the Englishman David Skinns who was one step ahead at the top of the rankings at the end of the first round of this PGA tournament on Thursday. He signed a card of 62 (minus-8) in the afternoon.
His efforts on the final holes were watched by a fraction of the spectators who had shown up earlier in the day to follow the marquee group of Taylor, Pendrith and McIlroy, although the trio had higher scores than Skinns , or that Sam Burns and Sean O’Hair, second at minus-7.
“Usually on Thursday mornings for me there aren’t a lot of people,” said Taylor, originally from Abbotsford, B.C. The energy was high which was great, it gets the adrenaline going which is fun so early in the morning. It allows you to focus on what you need to do.
“Unfortunately it didn’t go the way I wanted, but the crowd was incredible. »
Skinns and Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre moved up the leaderboard in the afternoon to join Burns and O’Hair, who had a three-stroke lead after the first heat of the round. MacIntyre shot 64 (-6) to take sole possession of fourth place after 18 holes.
Although they avoided bogeys, Skinns and MacIntyre were followed by few supporters as several of them left after the morning round of Taylor, Pendrith and McIlroy.
Taylor and Pendrith, of Richmond Hill, Ont., are the top two Canadians on the PGA Tour, ranked 32, respectively.e and 33e of the FedEx Cup. Taylor is also the face of the event after becoming the first Canadian to win the men’s national golf championship in nearly seven decades at last year’s tournament.
“There were definitely more people watching than the last time I played at the Canadian Open,” Pendrith said. We had fun. Rory played very well. It was fun playing with Nick.
“It was a nice group and it was fun to have the support of the home crowd and it should be good tomorrow.” »
McIlroy, who won the Canadian Open in 2019 the last time it was held in Hamilton and again in Toronto in 2022, shot the best result of the trio, at 66 (under-4).
Pendrith played 69 (-1). Taylor was satisfied with a performance of 72 (+2) good for 96e place. Ontarian David Hearn was the best Canadian, at 67 (minus 3), one stroke less than his compatriot Mike Weir.
Étienne Papineau was 95e at 72 (+2). The other Quebecer in the running, Marc-Olivier Plasse, was last after the first round at 79 (+9).