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Associated Press
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
`Mr. 57' Cristobal Del Solar flirts with 59, settles for 61 and share of Canadian Open lead
CALEDON, Ontario (AP) — Cristobal Del Solar came off the Korn Ferry Tour with the nickname 'Mr. 57.' He flirted with a 59 late Thursday afternoon in the RBC Canadian Open. Ten under with two holes left on the par-70 layout, Del Solar bogeyed the par-4 17th and parred the par-5 18th for a 9-under 61 and a share of the first-round lead with Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark. 'I was just trying to hit good shots.' Del Solar said. 'I was just trying to stay in the present and have fun. That's what I was trying to do.' Del Solar, the 31-year-old PGA Tour rookie from Chile, and Olsen took advantage of soft greens on the North Course at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley after rain Wednesday night that continued into the morning. Del Solar earned the 'Mr. 57" moniker in February 2024 when he shot a 13-under 57 in the first round of the Astara Golf Championship in Colombia for the lowest score in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event. On Thursday, Del Solar had seven birdies in an eight-hole stretch in the middle of the round. The former Florida State player made a 6 1/2-foot birdie putt on the par-3 14th, and ran in a 15 1/2-footer on the par-4 16th to get to 10 under. On the 17th, he hit into a right greenside bunker, blasted 10 feet past and missed the par putt to the right. Needing an eagle on 18 for a 59, he drove into the left rough, then hit his second about 80 yards short of the green. 'I just want to go and execute each shot,' Del Solar said. 'I think everyone kind of sometimes gets ahead themselves and thinking of the result or whatever. You just want to go out and just hit the golf shots.' Olesen eagled the 18th — his ninth hole of the day — and had eight birdies and a bogey on the course hosting the national championship for the first time. 'Obviously, 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.' Olesen qualified for the U.S. Open next week at Oakmont on Monday, holing a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole at Lambton in Toronto. 'I took a lot from that last putt,' Olesen said. Afternoon starters held the top eight spots and 15 of the first 18, with Masters champion Rory McIlroy bogeying the final two holes in the morning in a 71. 'Missed a couple of greens and didn't get them up-and-down, especially those last couple holes,' said McIlroy, the tournament winner in 2019 at Hamilton and 2022 at St. George's. Del Solar and Olesen were a stroke off the tournament record of 60 set by Carl Pettersson in 2010 in the third round at St. George's, and matched by Justin Rose in the fourth round in 2022, also at St. George's. Cameron Champ shot a 62, Jake Knapp had a 63, and Rasmus Hojgaard, Shane Lowry, Trey Mullinax and Ricky Castillo were at 64. Knapp shot 59 in March in the first round of the Cognizant Classic. Canadian Taylor Pendrith was at 65 with defending champion Robert MacIntyre. Alex Smalley, Paul Peterson, Danny Willett, Rafael Campos, Kevin Yu, Alejandro Tosti and Paul Waring. MacIntyre won last year at Hamilton. Canadian Nick Taylor, the 2023 winner at Oakdale, opened with a 66. ___ AP golf:
CTV News
10 hours ago
- Business
- CTV News
Canada's Taylor Pendrith has share of clubhouse lead at RBC Canadian Open
Taylor Pendrith of Canada lines up his putt on the 9th hole in the first round of the RBC Canadian Open golf tournament in Caledon, Ont., Thursday, June 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn CALEDON — Three of Canada's best golfers are in one of the marquee groups at the RBC Canadian Open and they're living up to that top billing. Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., were in the morning wave together in Thursday's opening round. They were just ahead of a group that featured world No. 2 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, Sweden's Ludwig Aberg and Luke Clanton of the United States. Pendrith was tied with Americans Alex Smalley and Paul Peterson at 5-under 65 to hold the clubhouse lead by the early afternoon. 'It was great out there. I felt like the crowd really filled in on the back nine,' said Pendrith, standing within sight of the 18th green. 'Nick was making some birdies, and I was making some birdies. Mac holed a 6-iron on 5. '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. We had a blast out there, and we all played pretty well.' Taylor, the 2023 winner of the men's national golf championship, was a shot back tied with a group for fourth. Hughes shot a 2-under 68 to sit in a tie with Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., among others. 'It was fun to feed off each other. It's better than going the other way, obviously,' said Taylor. 'Everyone played well. 'Mac probably could have made a couple more putts where he normally does, but for all of us to be under par, it was a good start.' It was a far cry from their first appearances at the Canadian Open, when they were all amateurs getting to play in the national championship thanks to sponsor exemptions. 'It's cool to look back on. I think 2008 might have been my first Canadian Open, and I teed off at 7:30 at night because we had a long rain delay, and that was kind of my unique first start,' said Taylor. 'Fast forward 17 years, being the featured group, it's cool. It's what we dreamt about.' Pendrith agreed with Taylor, adding that his first Canadian Open appearance at Royal Montreal Golf Club in 2014 was formative for him. 'Those experiences, I think, help me,' said Pendrith. 'It's one of the biggest events for us, and it's one that we look forward to all year. 'It's my fifth or sixth Canadian Open now, and 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.' It's a tradition on the PGA Tour that all the Canadians in the field practice together on the Tuesday of tournament week. That camaraderie bled over into Thursday's round. 'To play a practice round with a couple buddies — excuse me, tournament round, it felt like a practice round is what I'm trying to say — It was a lot of fun,' said Taylor. 'We kept it loose. It was nice to see a few birdies go in.' A thunderstorm Wednesday night and continued rain into the morning made the greens soft and accuracy important. It had a direct impact on spectators, too, as they had to seek cover in the mornings. Fans who tried to come in the early afternoon struggled to find parking as one of two public parking lots at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley had to be closed because the heavy rainfall made the ground too soft to be driven on. The other parking lot quickly filled up, so Golf Canada encouraged spectators to use ride share or public drop-off if possible. This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2025. John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
National Post
12 hours ago
- Sport
- National Post
Rory McIlroy breaks down his first round with new driver at RBC Canadian Open
CALEDON, Ont. — Following a highly publicized failed driver test at the PGA Championship three weeks ago, Rory McIlroy is working in a new driver this week at the RBC Canadian Open. Article content 'It was my first outing with a new driver and I felt like that went pretty well,' he said after a lacklustre one-over 71 at TPC Toronto on Thursday. 'I hit some drives that I liked and that I liked to see, so that was encouraging.' Article content Article content McIlroy's TaylorMade Qi10 failed USGA testing ahead of the season's second major, the fallout from which, he explained on Wednesday, was a major reason he didn't speak to media at Quail Hollow at any point during the championship. Article content I asked Rory about his curious decision not to speak to media after any round at PGA Championship last month. Thought he explained himself well. My column in today's @TheTorontoSun: 👉 — Jon McCarthy (@jonmccarthySUN) June 5, 2025 Article content This week in Caledon, Ont., he is debuting a TaylorMade Qi35 and, despite some encouraging results with his new driver, the five-time major champ couldn't take advantage of soft conditions on a wet, soggy morning at Canada's national open. Article content 'Weather permitting, if it holds off, I'll go hit some balls,' he said. 'It's hard with the driver, like with the one I had been playing with previously, when I missed with it, I was a little bit left. Then my miss with this one is a little bit right. It's just trying to figure that out and manage it a little bit.' Article content The driver had been McIlroy's greatest weapon throughout his entire career and it only has gotten better as the years have gone by. It is vital for the Northern Irishman's chances this week — and, more importantly, next week at the U.S. Open — that he figures out how to get the most out of his new weapon. Article content 'It's a nice feeling to get up the middle of the fairway and fully release it and know it's not going to go left on you,' he said. 'Yeah, a little bit of practice this afternoon and get ready for tomorrow.'
Globe and Mail
13 hours ago
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Canada's go-to guy for PGA-level golf course renovations likes to reward boldness
Taylor Pendrith plays it safe off the first tee. The long-hitting Canadian pulls a fairway wood and launches what looks like a perfect drive – until it nestles against the steep face of a bunker. Strolling down the fairway, Pendrith turns to Ian Andrew, the 59-year-old golf course architect responsible for the newly placed trap. 'You did that,' he says, half-laughing. Andrew grins. Guilty as charged. Since his renovation of TPC Toronto's North Course two years ago, Andrew has worried: Would his tweaks be an adequate test for the world's best? Or would the pros shrug and shoot a 59? Pendrith's sandy fate during Wednesday's pro-am offered a reassuring answer. Pendrith was annoyed. Andrew was thrilled. Nick Taylor leads trio of Canadians playing together at RBC Open Over the past decade, Andrew has become Canada's go-to guy for PGA-level renovations, having refreshed three of the last four Canadian Open venues. It's a curious line of work. Course designers are part landscaper, part engineer – and part riddler. As he walked the Caledon, Ont., property, Andrew wasn't just sketching bunkers, he was setting up puzzles for the likes of Rory McIlroy to solve. The North Course opened in 2001, part of Osprey Valley's sprawling 54-hole complex conceived by famed architect Doug Carrick. Back then, pros averaged 280 yards off the tee. Now, it's closer to 300, rendering many courses obsolete. In 2023, with the possibility of landing the Canadian Open in sight, Osprey Valley president Chris Humeniuk wanted to revamp the original design and tapped Andrew. 'The aha moment came when I said that I didn't want to build a public course that hosts championship golf, I wanted a championship course that the public can play,' Humeniuk said. 'Ian really embraced that vision. He doesn't get emotionally attached to drawings. He spends a lot of time on site making sure what's on paper makes sense in time and space.' It was a homecoming of sorts. Andrew grew up nearby, a typical kid obsessed with brook trout and the Toronto Maple Leafs. But at 13, he fell in love – with Pebble Beach. Watching the Bing Crosby Pro-Am on TV, he became captivated by the holes themselves. He started sketching courses, memorizing classic layouts and devouring books on design. Family vacations turned into course tours. Barely a teen, he'd already found his calling. He joined Carrick's firm in 1989 before going solo in 2005. For years he avoided working on courses designed by Carrick 'out of respect.' With Osprey Valley's North Course, he finally felt comfortable taking on one of his old boss's works. 'I had a bit of an attachment to the North,' he said. 'I did all the greens as part of my role within the original project and I had been involved with quite a bit of the design.' He wanted to reward boldness. Many of the old fairway bunkers were ornamental, the fairways too generous. The endless hunt for your next, maybe first, great golf shot Like a tailor taking in a baggy suit, he narrowed the corridors, set bunkers just past the 300-yard mark and forced players to alternate between fades and draws. The 15th hole, a short par-4 with a big personality, exemplifies his approach. From a new back tee, a large tree looms along the right edge of a doglegging fairway. Play it safe with an iron left of the tree, and the fairway's tilt might kick your ball into the tullies, leaving you with a long approach – and little chance at birdie. Braver souls might go over the tree and leave a wedge in. The boldest – big hitters with a fade – can aim for the tight gap right of the tree and try to drive the green. 'If you miss that shot and you end up in the woods, that could easily be a six on the scorecard,' Andrew said. 'But if you play too passively, you're essentially playing for par and you may give up a shot to the field. That's where it gets exciting.' At the end of his pro-am round, 2023 champion Nick Taylor seemed adequately puzzled by Andrew's angled fairways. 'If you're missing a lot of fairways, it'll be tough to make birdies,' he said. 'I don't think it'll be a shootout by any means, but there'll be some low scores.' That's the kind of line that lets Andrew breathe easy.
CBC
13 hours ago
- Climate
- CBC
Canada's Taylor Pendrith tied for clubhouse lead in 1st round of Canadian Open
Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., has a share of the clubhouse lead in the first round of the Canadian Open. He was tied with Americans Alex Smalley and Paul Peterson at 5-under 65 in the morning wave in Caledon, Ont. Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., the 2023 winner of the men's national golf championship, was a shot back tied with a group for fourth. Pendrith, Taylor and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., are one of the marquee groups of the first two rounds. Hughes was tied for 20th after a 2-under round. A thunderstorm Wednesday night and continued rain into the morning made the greens soft and accuracy important.
