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Returning to Hamilton Golf & Country Club for the first time in five years, the 2024 RBC Canadian Open got off to a blazing start with Sam Burns and Sean O’Hair leading the morning wave courtesy of their 7-under 63s only to be upended by David Skinns’ 62 in the afternoon hours. Skinns and company were not the only players to take advantage of the ideal scoring conditions as big names like Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood are right in the thick of it after 18 holes of play.
Despite big presences on the leaderboard, Thursday belonged to Burns, who arrived in Canada this week without the best of form. Missing the cut in three of his last five tournaments — including the first two major championships of the season — the new father found his footing around the par 70 in Round 1, due largely to not one but two eagles.
“I think with all the rain we had early in the week the greens are still pretty receptive,” Burns said. “It makes a big difference on par 5s when you have a long iron or a wood coming in there to be able to stop the ball pretty quick. That makes a huge difference. So I think that was really the difference in my round today. Making two eagles. Kind of kick started me and it was overall a solid round.”
After making a couple of early birdies, Burns found a new gear around the turn by carding two eagles and a birdie across a six-hole stretch. One more on his 16th hole — the par-4 7th — pulled Burns alongside O’Hair, a winner at this tournament back in 2011.
Burns and O’Hair will not only try to surpass Skinns but fend off many names over the next 54 holes — none bigger than the man who won the last time the Canadian Open was held at Hamilton. McIlroy carded a bogey-free 66 but still has plenty of room for improvement as he searches for his third victory at Canada’s national open.
The leaders
1. David Skinns (-8)
T2. Sam Burns, Sean O’Hair (-7)
Burns’ name finding the top of the leaderboard isn’t too much of a surprise, but the same can’t be said of O’Hair and Skinns. Originally listed as an alternate, the 41-year-old gained entry in the field when last week’s winner, Davis Riley, withdrew, but that marks only the beginning of his adventures. O’Hair’s flight on Tuesday up to Canada was canceled and forced him to drive five hours to Dallas to find another. This cancellation made it so he was unable to play a practice round at a golf course he had never seen before. On Thursday, none of it mattered as O’Hair went around Hamilton Golf & Country Club in a bogey-free fashion, carding five birdies and an eagle along the way.
“I mean, it definitely felt uncomfortable,” O’Hair said. “I like to be prepared. I just, I didn’t have an option. I think when you don’t really have an option and you’re kind of making a big deal about it, it almost hurts you, so I kind of just said, ‘look, I don’t really expect a whole lot today, I haven’t really been playing that great, either.’ So to come out here and shoot the score I did today was definitely kind of a shocker for me. Ride it out I guess as long as I can.”
Meanwhile, Skinns has had varying form here in 2024 with contention runs at the Cognizant Classic and the Houston Open, where he shared 54-hole leads. He hasn’t done too much outside of those two finishes, but with the way he is hitting the golf ball and the way he seems to stay on the first page of leaderboards when he gets there, the Englishman could surely factor over the next three days.
Other contenders
4. Robert MacIntyre (-6)
5. Ryan Palmer (-5)
T6. Rory McIlroy, Ryan Fox, Andrew Novak, Nick Hardy, Erik Van Rooyen, Trace Crowe (-4)
Returning to the site of his first Canadian Open victory, McIlroy took the the golf course Thursday with a bit of a blind spot in his preparation. Having not seen the newly remodeled back nine, he did well to turn in even par before turning on the jets on the way home with four birdies. While he posted a bogey-free effort, McIlroy still has plenty of room for improvement — he hit only six fairways and made par on both par 5s — which should terrify the rest of the field.
“I think when all of us are able to focus purely on the golf again that would be welcomed by everyone,” McIlroy said. “But, yeah, I’ve played a lot of golf this year. I was on a four-week stretch sort of through Augusta, and then I had two weeks Quail Hollow and PGA, and now I’m on another four-week stretch. So, yeah, I’ve played a lot, but it’s been good. I’ve started to play my way into form, and I’ve played well the last few weeks, and hopefully I can just keep that going.”
How are the Canadians doing?
It’s been north of 100 years since Canadians have won the Canadian Open in consecutive years. While Nick Taylor broke a 69-year drought a season ago, the century streak may have a good chance of standing — at least after 18 holes. The defending champion struggled to a 2-over 72 while his playing partner, Taylor Pendrith, was able to sneak into red figures with a 1-under 69. Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes both matched Pendrith in the afternoon, but the biggest surprise of the Canadian contingent has to be 54-year-old Mike Weir being among the leading pack after shooting a 2-under 68.
“I have belief in myself, and I feel like I still have the tools to compete when … things are on,” Weir said. “Like I said, the last few years I just have not been putting very well. I’m hoping this change really helps and spurs me on to some good golf here going forward. I just love the game. I love to practice. I love to compete. You ask Bernhard [Langer] at 67 while he’s still doing it, you know, you love the competition, and when you have that belief in yourself and you feel like you can still do it, why not?”
2024 RBC Canadian Open updated odds and picks
- Rory McIlroy: 5/2
- Sam Burns: 7/2
- Robert MacIntyre: 12-1
- Tommy Fleetwood: 12-1
- David Skinns: 12-1
- Erik Van Rooyen: 22-1
- Aaron Rai: 22-1
Cameron Young is a name I have circled at 50-1 after an opening 69. He made a mess of a couple holes, turning a surefire birdie into a bogey on the par-4 5th and failing to take advantage of the par 5 on the back nine. Young still hit the ball great overall and should have a real chance to start running downhill tomorrow morning and right back into contention.
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