Pendrith low Canadian at Canadian Open, 4 shots back of co-leaders Olesen, Del Solar

John Chidley-Hill · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jun 05, 2025 2:33 PM EDT | Last Updated: June 5

Three of Canada's champion golfers are successful 1 of the marquee groups astatine the RBC Canadian Open and they're surviving up to that apical billing.

Pendrith was tied with Americans Alex Smalley and Paul Peterson astatine 5-under 65 to clasp the clubhouse lead. They dropped down into a nine-way necktie for ninth @once the day question was finished. Denmark's Thorbjorn Olesen and Chile's Cristobal Del Solar some flirted with the people grounds astatine TPC Toronto astatine Osprey Valley, firing 9-under 61 rounds to decorativeness the archetypal circular atop the leaderboard.

"It was large retired there. I felt similar the assemblage truly filled successful connected the backmost nine," said Pendrith, lasting wrong show of the 18th green. "Nick was making immoderate birdies, and I was making immoderate birdies. Mac holed a 6-iron connected 5.

"So it was a batch of fun. The assemblage was into it. Nice to spot a batch of radical retired present connected a rainy day. We had a blast retired there, and we each played beauteous well."

WATCH | Pendrith cards opening-round 5-under 65 successful Caledon, Ont.

Taylor, the 2023 victor of the men's nationalist play championship, was a changeable backmost of Pendrith tied with a radical for 18th. Hughes changeable a 2-under 68 to beryllium successful a necktie with Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., Matthew Scobie of Oshawa, Ont., and Vancouver's Brett Webster.

"It was amusive to provender disconnected each other. It's amended than going the different way, obviously," said Taylor. "Everyone played well.

It was a acold outcry from their archetypal appearances astatine the Canadian Open, erstwhile they were each amateurs getting to play successful the nationalist title acknowledgment to sponsor exemptions.

"It's chill to look backmost on. I deliberation 2008 mightiness person been my archetypal Canadian Open, and I teed disconnected astatine 7:30 astatine nighttime due to the fact that we had a agelong rainfall delay, and that was benignant of my unsocial archetypal start," said Taylor. "Fast guardant 17 years, being the featured group, it's cool. It's what we dreamt about."

WATCH | Canada's Hughes delivers hole-out eagle connected 5th hole:

Pendrith agreed with Taylor, adding that his archetypal Canadian Open quality astatine Royal Montreal Golf Club successful 2014 was formative for him.

"Those experiences, I think, assistance me," said Pendrith. "It's 1 of the biggest events for us, and it's 1 that we look guardant to each year.

"It's my 5th oregon sixth Canadian Open now, and it's bully to play successful a radical with those guys and person each the fans supporting us. It's the week that we look guardant to each year."

It's a contented connected the PGA Tour that each the Canadians successful the tract signifier unneurotic connected the Tuesday of tourney week. That camaraderie bled implicit into Thursday's round.

A thunderstorm Wednesday nighttime and continued rainfall into the greeting made the greens brushed and accuracy important. It affected spectators too, arsenic they had to question screen successful the morning.

Fans who tried to travel successful the aboriginal day struggled to find parking arsenic 1 of 2 nationalist tons astatine TPC Toronto astatine Osprey Valley had to beryllium closed due to the fact that the dense rainfall made the crushed excessively brushed to beryllium driven on. The different parking batch rapidly filled up, truthful Golf Canada encouraged spectators to usage thrust stock oregon nationalist drop-off if possible.

Olesen said that the rainy conditions really helped him instrumentality the lead.

"Obviously, they're a small spot softer than what they were yesterday," helium said. "I didn't really spot the beforehand 9 until today. That worked retired good possibly not to cognize immoderate of the holes really.

"Sometimes you conscionable person a consciousness of the greens and you conscionable look astatine it, and you tin benignant of spot the lines easy, and that was 1 of those days for me."