The Canadian Press
John Chidley-Hill
OAKVILLE, Ont.–Sitting in the clubhouse at Glen Abbey Golf Course during a nearly two-hour suspension of play, Ollie Schniederjans, Kevin Chappell, and Matt Every all killed time in different ways.
But when the thunderstorm finally passed, they put together identical seven-under 65s.
Schniederjans, Chappell, and Every entered into a five-way tie with Brandon Hagy and Hudson Swafford, the clubhouse leaders from the morning group, atop a crowded leaderboard yesterday after the first round of the RBC Canadian Open.
“I honestly struggled going back out there afterwards,” admitted Chappell, who was thrust to the top by a pair of eagles.
“Just kind of caught myself in a little bit of a daze, maybe lacking energy,” he noted.
“I tried to eat as much as I could and tried to just kind of pick myself up a little bit,” Chappell added.
“That’s the hardest part about those delays.”
Every, who is paired with Chappell and Danny Lee, for the first and second rounds, was happy to let his mind wander.
“I don’t know, [the break] wasn’t a big deal to me. I probably didn’t stay focused,” laughed Every, who had seven birdies and no bogeys.
“Just had a coffee and kept my body warm,” he noted. “That’s about it.”
Schniederjans also eagled twice and finished his round just a few minutes before play was suspended due to darkness.
He was philosophical about the thunderstorm disrupting play, saying it just comes with the territory.
“You’re going to get one every now and again. Definitely changes the vibe for the day,” said Schniederjans, who three-putted on his first hole back after the delay.
“Mentally, it’s tough to go two-putt a 70-footer after a delay over a giant hill,” he conceded.
“I was kind of forgiving on that, and got it back with an eagle on 18.”
Although a downpour that lasted most of the morning didn’t delay the early group, it still affected how the Jack Nicklaus-designed course played.
The normally firm fairways and greens softened, letting players stick their drives and play a straight-forward game.
“Today was the most gettable I’ve seen it,” said Swafford. “You didn’t have to worry about run-outs off the tee.
“Balls weren’t running through the greens like they normally do.”
Starting just four days after the British Open at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England, it’s a depleted field at the Canadian Open this year.
No. 2 Dustin Johnson (67) and No. 13 Adam Hadwin (75) of Abbotsford, B.C. are the highest-ranked players on the FedExCup standings at the tournament.
Although a lot of players skipped the Canadian Open after the difficult major tournament, Bubba Watson insisted it wasn’t that big of an adjustment.
“We’re athletes, so it’s pretty simple. Just golf,” reasoned Watson, who shot a 66 to sit in an 11-way tie for sixth.
Mackenzie Hughes, of nearby Dundas, Ont., was the low Canadian, firing a five-under 67 in the morning to enter into a tie for 17th.
