Aaron Rai one of four players tied for the lead on five under, with Matt Fitzpatrick a shot back on a congested leaderboard; Rory McIlroy four off the pace as he chases third consecutive Canadian Open victory - watch throughout the week on Sky Sports Golf
Thursday 8 June 2023 23:54, UK
England’s Aaron Rai holds a share of the lead after the opening round of the RBC Canadian Open, where US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick also started strongly.
Rai recovered from being three over after five holes to card a brilliant five-under 67 at the Oakdale Golf and Country Club, seeing him part of a four-way tie at the top of a congested leaderboard.
The world No 130 had seen an early birdie at the second cancelled out by a double-bogey at the next and back-to-back bogeys from the fourth, only to bounce back with three birdies in a four-hole stretch from the seventh.
Rai followed a two-putt birdie at the par-five 12th by picking up a shot at the next and coming close to a hole-in-one at the par-three 14th, with further birdies at the 16th and 18th helping him share top spot with Chesson Hadley, Justin Lower and Canada's Corey Conners.
"I played really nicely overall," Rai said. "Holes three to six would be the hardest holes on the course and they're all kind of back-to-back, which makes it difficult. But very pleased with how we finished off the round after that, how we played."
Hadley held the outright advantage until a bogey at the par-three ninth, his final hole, while Conners made a bogey-free start to the week and Lower eagled the par-five last to complete the quartet at the top.
Fitzpatrick showed positive signs ahead of next week's US Open title defence by rolling in five birdies on the opening day, with a bogey on his penultimate hole - the 352-yard eighth - leaving him in a share of fifth.
England's Justin Rose is two off the pace and Tommy Fleetwood is part of the group three behind, while Rory McIlroy opened his bid for a third consecutive RBC Canadian Open victory with an opening-round 71.
McIlroy mixed five birdies with four bogeys during an eventful start, with the Northern Irishman - who played alongside Rose - glad to be back focusing on golf after an eventful week in the sport.
"Rosie [Justin Rose] and I said, 'All right, no chatting until lunch so that we can actually concentrate on what we're doing out there,'" McIlroy said. "We started to get in a conversation walking down the first (hole) and we're like, 'No, let's stop this. Let's just focus on our golf and we'll say what we want to say when we get inside.'
"So, it was nice to play a round of golf and focus on something else for those five hours we were out there."
Watch the RBC Canadian Open throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Early coverage of the second round begins on Friday from midday via the red button, ahead of full coverage from 8pm on Sky Sports Golf.
