Justin Lower fought through three rough holes by making six birdies Friday to remain in contention midway through the Canadian Open.
The former Northwest High School and Malone University player followed an opening-round 67 with a 70, placing him two shots off the lead at 7 under par.
Lower, 34, is chasing his first PGA Tour win. He shared the lead after one round at Oakdale Golf and Country Club in Toronto. His second round was a roller coaster.
He played the back nine first and then took on the front nine.
Lower was in great shape after launching a 310-yard drive on the par 4 13th, leading to a 5-foot birdie putt. He then sank a 21-foot putt for birdie 2 on No. 14.
Then came a double bogey 6 on No. 15, where he played three shots from the rough, which has been treacherous for the entire 155-man field.
Lower’s 11-foot birdie putt on No. 16 and a 40-foot birdie putt on No. 1 got him back to 7 under before he found a sand trap and made bogey on No. 3.
His last five holes were an adventure. Another drive into the rough led to another bogey, on No. 5.
At that point, at 5 under, Lower was four shots behind leader Carl Yuan of China, who was in the clubhouse with a 5-under 67 that put him at 9 under for the tournament. Yuan’s lead stood up as most of the field finished up.
Lower rallied with his longest drive of the day, 317 yards, on the par 5 No. 7, which he finished with a 5-foot birdie putt.
Then he sank a 16-foot birdie putt on the par-4 No. 8.
Lower remained ahead of defending champion Rory McIlroy, but by just one shot after McIlroy shot a 5-under 67. McElroy was paired with Justin Rose, who is also at 6 under through two rounds.
Lower is two shots behind Yuan and one behind a group at 8 under that includes former Kent State player Corey Conners, who grew up in Canada. Tyrrell Hatton, who shot 8-under 64, is also at 8 under for the tournament, along with Aaron Rai and CJ Pan.
That leaves Lower in a tie for sixth place on a bunched-up leader board. The field was reduced to the 65 players whose two-round score is 1 under or better.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: PGA Tour’s Canadian Open leaders include Justin Lower, Rory McIlory