South Africa’s Tyrone Van Aswegen is one shot off the lead in the rain-hit RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club, where Hudson Swafford, Brandon Hagy, Kevin Chappell, Matt Every, and Ollie Schniederjans share the lead.
Van Aswegen is one of almost a dozen players, including Vijah Singh, Bubba Watson and Smylie Kaufman, chasing the leaders after opening with a 66.
The 35-year-old produced a solid round, with two bogeys halting his charge up the leaderboard. He made six birdies and an eagle on the par 5 16th hole to get himself into position, with 14 players still to complete their rounds.
World number one, Dustin Johnson, shook off some poor recent form with a solid -5 on Thursday and provided the day’s biggest talking point at the same time.
Johnson found the parking lot with his drive on the par-4 10th just before the rain delay, and when he returned to his ball, he couldn’t believe that the car blocking his ball hadn’t been moved.
‘They tried to find the person whose car it was, but of course every car in the parking lot moved, except for that one,’ said Johnson, who sits second on the FedExCup Standings, with a smile. ‘I would have had a clear shot right at the green. It is what it is.’
Johnson, who has finished tied for second the last two times he’s played the RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey, made four birdies on his front nine, before a colourful scorecard on the back nine that included three bogeys, two birdies, and an eagle.
He said he feels as good as he did prior to the Masters, where he suffered a freak injury.
‘The golf swing feels back to where it should be,’ he stated. ‘I’m hitting the shots that I want to with irons, and that’s the thing that’s been struggling for me is my iron play. So I feel like I’ve got that back. I feel like I’m swinging really well (both) yesterday (and) today. Hopefully I can keep it going.’
Ernie Els began his week with a one over par 73.
