Canadians sizzle, Rory McIlroy fizzles in first round at RBC Canadian Open

National Post

a day ago

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.
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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.'
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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.
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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's one of the biggest events for us and it's one that we look forward to all year,' Pendrith said. 'It's nice to play in a group with those guys and have all the fans supporting us. It's the week that we look forward to every year. So it was a lot of fun.'
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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.
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The big-hitting Richmond Hill native has more experience at this new home for the Canadian Open than any contender in the field.
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'I've played two Mackenzie Tour (now PGA Tour Americas) 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.'
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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.
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'I think the difficulty today was the softness of the greens with the short irons,' Taylor said of the 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.'
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It was a more 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.