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Canada’s Nick Taylor and his fellow countrymen were serenaded with renditions of ‘O Canada’ at the rink hole at Osprey Valley in Caledon, Ont., on Friday.Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images
A couple of Canadians soared into contention on Friday at the RBC Canadian Open, while Rory McIlroy fizzled badly and plummeted in the opposite direction on the leaderboard, missing the cut.
Nick Taylor starred on Friday while shooting a five-under 65 at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley to improve to nine-under for the tournament. He’s now tied for third, just three shots back of American Cameron Champ, who’s leading the tournament.
Another Canadian sits alongside Taylor at nine-under. Richard T. Lee, who plays primarily on the Asian Tour, had an unforgettable day in Caledon, Ont., scoring a 6-under 64.
Meanwhile, McIlroy, who was trying to hoist the Canadian Open trophy for the third time, had an epically bad outing. He didn’t much resemble the golfer who recently won the Masters, as he shot a bogey-filled eight-over 78. The most unenviable moment of his rough round took place on the par-4 fifth hole, when McIlroy scored an eight.
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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland failed to get over the cut line.Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images
“I think, once I made that big number on the front nine, I was always behind the 8-ball a little bit,” McIlroy said. “After nine holes, I sort of resigned myself to the fact that I’d be flying home to Florida tonight.”
Combined with his 71 on the par-70 venue on Thursday, McIlroy failed to get over the cut line. He concluded his second round ranked tied for 149th on the leaderboard. The star from Northern Ireland said he’d been trying a new driver this week, eager to solve his problems off the tee. It’s not the positive momentum he’d hoped to build before next week’s U.S Open.
“Obviously going to Oakmont next week, what you need to do more than anything else there is hit fairways. Still sort of searching for the sort of missing piece off the tee,” McIlroy said. “When I get that part of the game clicking, then everything falls into place for me. Right now that isn’t. Yeah, that’s a concern going into next week.”
McIlroy won’t play this weekend, but Taylor will remain a big headliner in Caledon. The native of Abbotsford, B.C. famously ended the tournament’s 69-year drought without a Canadian champion back in 2023. Memories of the 72-foot eagle putt that won that title for Taylor are everywhere on site, including his iconic silhouette tossing the putter in celebration, which is now part of the tournament’s logo.
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It was a hot, sunny Friday, and busy on the course. The all-Canadian trio of Taylor, Mackenzie Hughes and Taylor Pendrith were serenaded with O Canada on several tee boxes all around, especially at the rowdy 14th, the rink hole surrounded by hockey boards, fans hanging over them making noise with beers in hand.
Taylor ripped up the leaderboard with five birdies on his opening nine holes. He closed out his round with a nice birdie putt.
“The fans are phenomenal,” Taylor said. “The ovation on the first hole alone, we had the national anthem, it felt like, almost every tee box. It was fun. The rink hole was buzzing. It was a fun day.”
Lee, the fellow Canadian in third place, introduced himself to Canadian golf fans with his showing on Thursday. The native of Richmond Hill, Ont. made a Canadian Open cut for the first time in his fourth appearance at the event.
“I’m feeling great,” Lee said. “Had a perfect scorecard today and just love being out here in front of the Canadian fans.”
Nick Taylor leads trio of Canadians playing together at RBC Open
He put on a show for the crowd, which he said included 10 of his own family and friends. They watched him score consecutive birdies on each of the first four holes.
“My wife was telling me, she was watching the scoreboard yesterday, and if you make three [birdies] in a row, there’s a little fireball next to your name,” said Lee as he came into the clubhouse tied for second. “I was thinking about that all today, and I was like, ‘Oh, I want to see a fireball next to my name again.’ Luckily I made four today, and I think there was a fireball.”
Pendrith, who had the best Canadian performance on Thursday, scored 68 on Friday and is seven under, five shots back of the leaders and tied in 13th. Hughes is tied for 18th, sitting six under.
Other Canadians who will play on the weekend are: Adam Hadwin, Matthew Anderson, Corey Conners, and Ben Silverman.
