ONTARIO: Ryan Fox of New Zealand and Robert MacIntyre of Scotland will enter the weekend tied for the lead at the RBC Canadian Open after strong rounds on Friday at Hamilton Golf & Country Club in Ontario.
MacIntyre shot a 4-under 66 early in the day to be the first to reach 10-under 130 for the tournament. Fox got hot in the afternoon and tied MacIntyre at 10 under by shooting a 6-under 64.
The duo are two shots ahead of Joel Dahmen, whose bogey-free 65 on Friday pushed him into third place at 8 under. Canadian Mackenzie Hughes matched Fox's 64 for the round of the day and moved into a tie at 7 under with Andrew Novak (67) and first-round leader David Skinns of England (71).
Fox started on the back nine and birdied four holes going out. Consecutive birdies at the fourth and fifth got him to 10 under, and after a bogey at the next hole, Fox rolled in a 14-foot birdie, his seventh of the round, on the par-4 ninth to match MacIntyre again.
Rory McIlroy, the highest-ranked player in the field and a two-time Canadian Open champion, struggled to a 2-over 72, and the Northern Irishman dropped to 2 under for the tournament.
The projected cut line was even par as Friday's action finished up. Defending champion Nick Taylor of Canada (3 over) did not reach the weekend. Others projected to miss the cut included Cameron Young (1 over), Canadians Mike Weir (1 over) and Adam Hadwin (2 over) and World No. 12 Sahith Theegala (5 over). - REUTERS