England’s David Skinns shot an 8-under 62 to take a surprising first-round lead in the first round of the RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf and Country Club on Thursday.
Skins, 42, who has yet to win his first PGA Tour title, is tied atop the leaderboard with Sean O’Hare, 41. O’Hare is tied for second at 7 under with fellow American Sam Burns.
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre was fourth at six under, and two-time Canadian Open champion Rory McIlroy tied for sixth at four under.
It was the first time Skins had an 18-hole lead in his career on tour, though he had twice this season led after 54 holes. He finished in the top 10 at both the Cognizant Classic and the Texas Children’s Houston Open, the first top 10 of his PGA career.
“I think once you know that your golf is good enough to compete with your opponent, it’s easier to believe that and take more comfort than if you hadn’t experienced that feeling before,” Skins said. “Yeah, it’s not particularly uncomfortable now.”
Skins began his tournament on the back nine and improved at the turn, scoring six straight birdies in the seven holes between the 17th and the fifth.
He hit the par-4 18th to within three feet of the hole, then made a 35-foot birdie putt on the third and a 47-foot birdie putt on the eighth.
Maybe it’s too early, but Skins was asked what the win meant to him.
“I think everyone knows the answer,” he said. “I’ve been working on this for over 20 years. I have to play [Friday] “first.”
O’Hair’s 27-foot eagle putt on the par-5 17th ensured he tied his career-low score on tour. He was originally the sixth alternate in the tournament and was the last player to join the field on Tuesday after a series of players withdrew.
“I like to be prepared. I just, I didn’t have a choice,” O’Hair said. “I think when you don’t really have a choice and you make a fuss about it, it almost hurts you, so I just was like, ‘Look, I really wasn’t expecting too much today and I wasn’t playing that well,’ so to come out here today and play like this was definitely a shock for me.”
Although Burns has won five championships, his performance so far this season has not been the best.
Fortunately, he also had two eagle putts on Thursday, a 37-footer on the 17th hole and a 10-footer on the par-5 fourth hole.
“I think the greens are still very playable even though we had a lot of rain earlier in the week,” he said. “On the par 5s, when you hit the ball with a long iron or a wood, the ball stops pretty quickly, and that makes a big difference.”
“That made a big difference. So I think that was definitely the difference in my game today. Hitting the two eagles really lifted my spirits and it was just a good game overall.”
Defending champion Nick Taylor of Canada opened with a two-over 72 and is in danger of missing Friday’s 36-hole cut.
Watch the second round of the RBC Canadian Open live on Sky Sports Golf starting at 5pm on Friday
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