NORTH YORK, Ontario — A soggy morning became a delightful afternoon on Friday as players took advantage of soft conditions at the 2023 RBC Canadian Open.
Twenty players were 4-under par or better during the second round at Oakdale Golf and Country Club, producing a bunched leaderboard that should make for a tight finish come Sunday just outside Toronto. Rory McIlroy (T-12, 6 under) is in the mix for a historic three-peat, while Corey Conners (T-2, 8 under) is aiming to become the first Canadian to win the RBC since 1954.
A national open debut to remember, would be first-time winners in the mix and another made cut for a rising star highlight what you missed from the second round of the 2023 RBC Canadian Open.
Yuan leads the way
After 36 holes, its Carl Yuan at the top of the leaderboard. The 26-year-old from China with the unique swing shot a 4-under 68 in the first round and followed it up with a 5-under 67 on Friday to take a one-shot lead at 9 under over Aaron Rai (69) , Tyrrell Hatton (64), Corey Conners (69) and CT Pan (66).
“Definitely played some great golf out there,” said Yuan after his round. “I had the exact same mindset as yesterday. Just go out, play freely, let the result take care of itself.”
Yuan, a graduate of the University of Washington in Seattle, felt right at home in the cold and rain, and it showed on the course. He’ll need to reciprocate that comfort over the weekend if he’s to turn around his lackluster season.
Over 16 starts so far, Yuan has just one top-25 finish and 11 missed cuts. Of the five times he earned a weekend tee time, Yuan’s best finish was a T-21 at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
High risk, high reward
Wil Bateman made a bold decision on the putting green five minutes before his second round: he changed putters from a blade to a mallet.
“Honestly, I felt like I hit it great yesterday and just, I didn’t make anything at all. Last night I was like, ‘You know what, I’m just going to put the blade in the bag and go warm-up with it this morning and see what happens,'” explained Bateman. “I made like the first six putts from like 20 feet or so, and I was like, ‘Okay, this is in the bag today.'”
And it’s going to stay in the bag after Bateman signed for a 6-under 66 that moved him inside the top 20. As Bateman said, “When they bring out the cameras and the little fuzzy little mic, you know you’re doing something right.”
The only thing crazier than making a last-minute putter change is the fact that he has never used that putter in competition before. The 29-year-old Canadian is making just his second start on Tour this week, and first in his national open.
Another first-time winner?
There have been eight first-time winners on the PGA Tour this year, and a handful of players are looking to join that group this weekend.
In fact, there are seven players within three shots of the lead who have never won on the PGA Tour, including the leader: Yuan, Aaron Rai, Andrew Novak, Harry Higgs, Justin Lower, Mark Hubbard and SH Kim.
One event, two trophies
The RBC Canadian Open features a purse of $9 million, with $1.62 million going to the winner, as well as the trophy, of course. But did you know a second trophy is awarded at the Canadian Open?
Since 1935, the lowest Canadian at the RBC Canadian Open has been awarded the Rivermead Cup (except for 1978 and 1995, when no Canadian made the cut). Corey Conners took the cup home last year with his sixth-place finish, and recent winners include Mike Weir (2003, 2004, 2008), Stephen Ames (2005, 2007, 2009), Adam Hadwin (2010, 2011, 2016, 2019) , Graham DeLaet (2012, 2014) and Mackenzie Hughes (2017, 2018).
Rising star makes another cut
Sam Bennett’s professional career is off to one hell of a start. The Texas A&M product, who won the US Amateur last year and finished as the low amateur earlier this spring at the 2023 Masters, made his pro debut at least week’s Memorial Tournament, where he made the cut and finished 63rd on a sponsor exemption.
Playing on another exemption this week, the 23-year-old shot rounds of 70-72 this to make his second consecutive cut on Tour. Bennett finished fifth in the final PGA Tour University ranking, making him exempt from the Korn Ferry Tour for the rest of the season.
Story originally appeared on GolfWeek