Caledon, Ontario – 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.”
CANADIAN OPEN SCOREBOARD
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.
DeChambeau prepares for U.S. Open title defense
Gainesville, Va. – As much as Bryson DeChambeau loves to practice and compete, the U.S. Open champion also appreciates the limited LIV Golf schedule that gives him time to pursue other interests.
DeChambeau arrived at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club for LIV Golf Virginia after a characteristically busy few days that included a round of golf with President Donald Trump and some short-game practice on the South Lawn of the White House.
Now the big-hitting YouTube star turns his attention to the 54-hole LIV event that starts Friday at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. He said the thick rough and fast greens at RTJ would help prepare him for Oakmont, where he will try next week to win his third U.S. Open after triumphs last year at Pinehurst No. 2 and in 2020 at Winged Foot.
“I think LIV afforded me the opportunity to spend more time thinking, strategizing, getting my body healthy, ready for majors in a pretty unique way,” DeChambeau said Wednesday. “For me, it was a great thing. I thought there was an opportunity to do other things in life, and look, do I want to win every single tournament I show up to? 100%.”
The RTJ event is the eighth of 14 tournaments this year for the globetrotting, Saudi-funded LIV Golf League. Although PGA Tour players have more freedom to set their own schedules, they typically play more often. For top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, the U.S. Open will be the fourth of five events in a seven-week stretch.
DeChambeau hasn’t competed since last month’s PGA Championship, won by Scheffler. While DeChambeau was enjoying a friendly round with Trump and posting a YouTube short in which he hit golf balls from the top of a mountain and the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, Scheffler was finishing off his third win of the past month at the Memorial.
“I’ve been doing some fun side quests, yes, there’s no doubt,” DeChambeau said.
When he does compete, nobody practices harder than DeChambeau. He hit 1,029 range balls – more than anyone else in the field – at the Masters, where he finished in a tie for fifth.
The 31-year-old DeChambeau said he developed his practice habits as a teenager, when other junior golfers in California were beating him even though they didn’t appear to try as hard.
“It stemmed from me not being as good as others and then realizing I can only be as good as how hard I work,” DeChambeau said. “So I just became obsessed with hitting crazy amounts of golf balls.”
Known for trying to optimize his swing and his equipment to produce a consistent ball flight – a long, high draw – DeChambeau also spends time practicing the unusual shots he needs to finish off tournaments.
“As much as I am a robot, and try to swing it as straight as possible and just stable as possible, I still do have to hit cuts and draws and hit weird shots every once in a while,” he said. “Giving myself those opportunities in the bunker, in the bush, whatever, has only aided in my golf career.”
Phil Mickelson nears the end
After he shocked the golf world four years ago by winning the PGA Championship at age 50, Phil Mickelson had a moment of honest self-assessment.
“It’s very possible that this is the last tournament I ever win. Like if I’m being realistic,” Mickelson said on that triumphant Sunday at Kiawah Island.
Mickelson hasn’t won since, and while he wasn’t eager to reflect Wednesday on a career that includes six major titles and just as many famous near-misses, he indicated his competitive future is limited.
He said he wants to help his teammates on LIV’s HyFlyers squad and would step away if he’s no longer doing that.
“I’m also going to be 55 in a couple weeks, so I want to be realistic there, too. I want this team to succeed. I don’t want to hold it back,” Mickelson said. “If I’m holding it back, then it’s time for me to move on and get somebody else in here.”
Mickelson also acknowledged the possibility that Oakmont will be his last U.S. Open. He has a record six runner-up finishes at the national championship, the only major he hasn’t won.
“There’s a high likelihood that it will be,” Mickelson said, “but I haven’t really thought about it too much.”
The USGA gave Mickelson a special exemption to the 2021 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, which he ultimately didn’t need because he won at Kiawah a month earlier. Nonetheless, the USGA historically does not grant more than one special exemption to non-U.S. Open champions. The only player to get more than one such invitation without having won the championship is Seve Ballesteros, who got two.
Mickelson has missed the past three U.S. Open cuts. He remains exempt for the other three majors as a past champion.
Detroit-area schedule
▶ June 6-8: Epson Tour, Battle Creek Country Club
▶ June 9-12: Michigan Open, Shanty Creek, Bellaire
▶ June 12-15: Meijer LPGA Classic, Blythefield Country Club, Belmont
▶ June 13-15: Epson Tour, The Highlands, Harbor Springs
▶ June 17-21: Michigan Amateur, Belvedere, Charlevoix
▶ June 20-22: Epson Tour, Sweetgrass, Harris
▶ June 21-22: John Shippen Men’s Invitational, Detroit Golf Club
▶ June 23: Rocket Classic Monday qualifier, Fieldstone, Auburn Hills
▶ June 23-25: Michigan Women’s Open, Crystal Mountain, Thompsonville
▶ June 26-29: Rocket Mortgage Classic, Detroit Golf Club, Detroit
▶ July 7-11: Michigan Women’s Amateur, Eagle Eye, Bath Township
▶ July 14-19: Women’s Western Amateur, Red Run Golf Club, Royal Oak
▶ Aug. 22-24: LIV Golf, The Cardinal, Plymouth
▶ Aug. 22-24. Ally Challenge, Warwick Hills Country Club, Grand Blanc
▶ Sept. 8: Detroit News/Golf Association of Michigan Hole-In-One Contest, Whispering Willows Golf Course, Livonia
▶ Sept. 8-10: Folds of Honor Collegiate, American Dunes, Grand Haven
▶ Sept. 28-29: Jim DeLapa Collegiate, Point O’ Woods, Benton Harbor
