Ben James, a 23-year-old American, had an eagle on his first hole and didn't slow down in a bogey-free 7-under round on Friday to put him a shot ahead of the field at 10 under overall at the Canadian Open in Caledon, Ont.
Ben James, a 23-year-old American, had an eagle on his first hole and didn't slow down in a bogey-free 7-under round on Friday to put him a shot ahead of the field at 10 under overall at the Canadian Open in Caledon, Ont.
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results. Ben James of the United States played bogey-free Friday on the Osprey Valley course at TPC Toronto and goes into the weekend having not made a bogey in his last 33 holes.
The 23-year-old American had an eagle on his first hole and didn't slow down in a bogey-free 7-under round on Friday to put him a shot ahead of the field at 10 under overall at the Canadian Open. James officially turned pro on Thursday when he teed off in the PGA Tour event's first round.
"I wasn't really thinking about results at all this week," said James after signing his scorecard at TPC Toronto in Caledon, Ont. "Just worried about getting comfortable, making new friends and having fun, and just seeing where everything kind of falls. Just seeing where my game stacks up.
" China's Haotong Li and Americans Sam Burns and Jackson Suber were in a three-way tie a shot behind James after the morning wave. Sweden's Jesper Svensson and Keith Mitchell of the United States caught up to them in the afternoon for a five-way tie for second. Matthew Anderson of Mississauga, Ont. , and Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont.
, were the low Canadians after two rounds, shooting a 1-under 69 to move to 7 under total and into a tie for 13th. It's only Anderson's third PGA Tour event, having played in the Canadian Open twice before and making the cut last year.
"I play this course a ton. I practice here a lot," Anderson said.
"I played, I don't know how many rounds I've played on the North Course, but I've hit those tee shots and approaches a lot, the greens I know pretty well," said Anderson. "So I'm comfortable out here, and I knew that my game coming in was trending and I could kind of play well at any point. "Sudarshan Yellamaraju of Mississauga, Ont. , was tied for 28th at 5 under.
Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C. , amateur Justin Matthews of Little Britain, Ont. , Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont. , Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C.
, and A.J. Ewart of Coquitlam, B.C. , were part of a large group tied for 46th at 3 under.
"Especially on the last few holes, I just keep telling myself ," said Li, who has missed the cut at his last two events. "'Bad thoughts don't come to me,' 'don't talk to me,' 'leave me alone,' and it's kind of worked so far. "James and fellow American Bud Cauly are the only players to have 7-under rounds so far at this year's Canadian men's championship.
"It all kind of came together today, it was just one of those days," said the 23-year-old James, who just completed his senior season at Virginia University. "The putter was good, hitting fairways, had good numbers, and I was able to capitalize on a pretty tricky scoring day. " New Zealand's Ryan Fox, the reigning Canadian Open champion, had his second consecutive day with a 66. He was in a five-way tie for seventh after two rounds.
"My goal for the week was to be patient, and you've definitely got to be that ," said Fox. "You've just got to accept that you can hit a good shot that doesn't end up where you think it's going to and that that's OK, move on to the next one.
Led by Sudarshan Yellamaraju, new wave of Canadian talent lands at national open "Thankfully, the greens are soft enough and they're not that quick, so you feel like at least if you got it up near the green you gave yourself an opportunity to get up-and-down.
" Matthew Anderson of Mississauga, Ont. , and Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont. , were the low Canadians, sitting in a group tied for 13th at 7 under. Both players are regulars at TPC Toronto and they agreed it had helped them as the course firmed up and the wind gusted up to 30 km/h.
"Definitely on the back nine I thought the long holes were playing downwind," said Pendrith, who birdied the par-4 17th and par-5 18th holes. "I think this is the prevailing wind here and a wind that I've played a lot, so yeah, I felt good with it. " Anderson, who typically plays on the second-tier Korn Ferry Tour, said the conditions at TPC Toronto could be a little unpredictable.
"It's windy out there, so you're going to hit some good shots that aren't going to quite get rewarded or end up where you think they are, and your misses are going to be a little exaggerated," said Anderson. "You have to hit some quality shots out there, tee balls and approaches.
"Led by Sudarshan Yellamaraju, a new wave of Canadian golf talent lands at national openCanada's Matthew Anderson has late surge to the top of RBC Canadian Open leaderboard in opening round
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