McIlroy misses the cut before US Open, Champ leads
Masters champion Rory McIlroy has tumbled out of the Canadian Open with his worst round in nearly a year, with Cameron Champ taking a two-stroke lead into the weekend in the final event before the US Open.
McIlroy shot an eight-over 78, making a mess of the fifth hole with a quadruple-bogey eight in his highest score since also shooting 78 last year in the first round of the British Open. He had a double bogey on No.11, four bogeys and two birdies.
"Of course it concerns me," McIlroy said. "You don't want to shoot high scores like the one I did today.
"Still, I felt like I came here obviously with a new driver thinking that that sort of was going to be good and solve some of the problems off the tee, but it didn't."
At nine over, the two-time Canadian Open winner was 21 strokes behind Champ on the rain-softened North Course at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley.
"Obviously, going to Oakmont next week, what you need to do more than anything else there is hit fairways," McIlroy said. "Still sort of searching for the sort of missing piece off the tee."
Champ had four birdies in a 68 in the morning a day after opening with a 62. He was at 12 under, playing the first 36 holes without a bogey.
"It's firmed up a little bit, but fairly similar to yesterday," Champ said. "The fairways I feel like were firming up a little bit. The greens slightly, but pretty close to how they were yesterday."
The three-time PGA Tour winner got one of the last spots in the field after being the eighth alternate Friday when the commitments closed.
"I definitely didn't think I was getting in," Champ said.
Andrew Putnam was second after a bogey-free 62 on the course hosting the event for the first time. He won the 2018 Barracuda Championship for his lone tour title.
"I hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of good iron shots, too, and my putter was on fire," Putnam said. "Pretty much did everything right. Didn't really make many mistakes."
Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen, tied for the first-round lead with Cristobal Del Solar after a 61, had a 70 and dropped into a tie for third at nine under with Canadians Richard Lee (64) and Nick Taylor (65), and France's Victor Perez (65).
Del Solar was eight under after a 71. Shane Lowry (68) also was eight under with Ryan Fox (66), Jake Knapp (69), Sam Burns (66) and Matteo Manassero (65).
None of the Australian trio, Harryson Endycott (two-under) and Aaron Baddeley and Karl Vilips (both two over), made the three-under cut.
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