Scott Piercy and William McGirt head into weekend with a share of 2012 RBC Canadian Open lead
07/27/2012
Hamilton, Ont. (Golf Canada)
– Americans Scott Piercy and William McGirt sit tied atop the leaderboard at 11-under par 129 through 36 holes at the 2012 RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf and Country Club.
Piercy, who opened the 103rd playing of Canada’s National Open Championship with a course-record 8-under par 62 on Thursday, carded a second-round score of 3-under 67 that included four birdies and only a single bogey. The 33-year-old native of Las Vegas, Nev. who turned pro in 2001, is a 1-time winner on the PGA TOUR, with a victory at the 2011 Reno-Tahoe Open.
“When I shot 62, my expectation was to hit fairways and greens, and it just happened,” said Piercy. “Today, knowing that it’s generally tough to follow up a course record, I just wanted to hit a bunch of greens, a bunch of fairways, and let it happen again. If I hit a good shot and hit 2 or 3-under, then that’s great.”
McGirt, meanwhile, who is coming off a season-high T5 finish at the PGA TOUR’s True South Classic, carded a round of 4-under 66, in which he posted five birdies and just a single bogey.
“It was a pretty solid round. Only bogey I made was probably the best swing I’ve made all week,” said McGirt, who went on to explain his approach to competing as a co-leader heading into weekend play. “Yeah, I still play the same game. Fairways and greens, and take advantage of the opportunities when you get them. I’m not going to sit there and try to change what I’m doing.”
Five Canadians made the cut which was set at 1-under 139, including David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., who, with a second round 2-under 68, sits T26 at 4-under 136 for the championship, tops amongst the Canadian contingent moving on to weekend play at Hamilton.
Competing in his second career PGA TOUR event, Team Canada National Squad member Albin Choi of Toronto also made the cut with a two-day tally of 3-under 137. Choi, the reigning Ontario Men’s Amateur champion, is currently T39 alonside Kingston, Ont.’s Matt McQuillan, eight shots off the lead.
“It’s great,” said McQuillan. “As you know, you’ve probably seen it’s been a struggle for me this year. But, I’ve been looking forward to this event all year, and it’s really nice to bring a little game to the event. Hopefully, I can continue to do that over the weekend.”
Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask. and Matt Hill of Bright’s Grove, Ont. also made the cut at 2-under and 1-under respectively.
Following the completion of Friday’s second round, a cut was made with the low 70 players and ties (79 players total) advancing to weekend play.
After opening with an impressive round of 4-under 66 on Thursday, Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., who captured low Canadian honours at the 2010 and 2011 RBC Canadian Open, failed to make the cut by a single stroke after struggling to a second round 4-over 74 to finish even-par.
Expected bad weather overnight Friday will see players contest the third round in threesomes, teeing off from both the No. 1 and No. 10 tees between 10:30 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. EDT.
The following are second-round scores for the 23 Canadians in the 2012 RBC Canadian Open field. (6, 966 yards, Par 70)
T26 - Hearn, David, Brantford, Ont. 68 – 68 – 136 (-4)
T39 - Choi, Albin, (a), Toronto, Ont. 69 – 68 – 137 (-3)
T39 - McQuillan, Matt, Kingston, Ont. 70 – 67 – 137 (-3)
T53 - DeLaet, Graham, Weyburn, Sask. 69 – 69 – 138 (-2)
T66 - Hill, Matt, Bright’s Grove, Ont. 70 – 69 – 139 (-1)
CUT - Markle, David, Shelburne, Ont. 69 – 71 – 140 (E)
CUT - Hadwin, Adam, Abbotsford, Ont. 66 – 74 – 140 (E)
CUT - Renfrew, Cory, Victoria, B.C. 70 – 70 – 140 (E)
CUT - Ciesielski, Victor, Cambridge, Ont. 74 – 66 – 140 (E)
CUT - Fritsch, Brad, Manotick, Ont. 68 – 73 – 141 (+1)
CUT - Ames, Stephen, Calgary, Alta. 70 – 71 – 141 (+1)
CUT - Hughes, Mackenzie, (a) Dundas, Ont. 71 – 71 – 142 (+2)
CUT - Gligic, Michael, Burlington, Ont. 72 – 72 – 144 (+4)
CUT - Weir, Mike, Bright’s Grove, Ont. 72 – 72 – 144 (+4)
CUT - Doherty, Greg, Mississauga, Ont. 74 – 70 – 144 (+4)
CUT - Parr, Andrew, London, Ont. 75 – 69 – 144 (+4)
CUT - Couture, Rob, (a) Trenton, Ont. 73 – 72 – 145 (+5)
CUT - Mills, Jon, Oshawa, Ont. 77 – 69 – 146 (+6)
CUT - Wong, Eugene, North Vancouver, B.C. 76 – 71 – 147 (+7)
CUT - Ferguson, Ben, Ancaster, Ont. 78 – 69 – 147 (+7)
CUT - Ross, Christopher, Dundas, Ont. 74 – 73 – 147 (+7)
CUT - Taylor, Nick, Abbotsford, B.C. 75 – 74 – 149 (+9)
CUT - McCann, Brian, Mississauga, Ont. 75 – 75 – 150 (+10)
(a) – denotes amateur
ABOUT THE 2012 RBC CANADIAN OPEN
Part of the FedEx Cup, stars of the PGA TOUR will compete for $5.2 million (US) at the RBC Canadian Open, July 23-29, 2012 at Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Hamilton, Ont. Established in 1904, the tournament is the third-oldest national open golf championship worldwide next to the British Open and the U.S. Open. The RBC Canadian Open is proudly sponsored by RBC, Bell, BMW Group Canada, C.F.F Stainless Steels, Molson Canadian 67, TaylorMade adidas Golf, The Glenlivet, PepsiCo, The Globe and Mail, Reader’s Digest and the City of Hamilton, with funding provided by the Government of Ontario. For tournament information, please visit www.rbccanadianopen.com or call 1-800-571-6736.
RBC GOLF
RBC proudly supports golf around the world through high profile relationships with the PGA TOUR, the PGA of America and Golf Canada. RBC is the Official Banking and Financial Services partner of touring professionals Luke Donald, Jim Furyk, Ernie Els, Matt Kuchar, Mike Weir, Stephen Ames, Fred Couples, Hunter Mahan and Morgan Pressel. As the Official Bank of the PGA of America and title sponsor of both the RBC Heritage and the RBC Canadian Open, RBC also supports emerging Canadian golfers through Golf Canada’s grassroots developmental programming, their Canadian Amateur Golf Championships and high performance national team. Outside of golf, RBC sponsors amateur sport, from grassroots to national sport associations. RBC is one of North America's leading diversified financial services companies and among the largest banks in the world, as measured by market capitalization.
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A proud member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Golf Canada conducts championships, programs and services to help shape the present and future of golf in Canada. High performance athlete development, Golf in Schools presented by Callaway, Golf Fore the Cure presented by Subaru, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum, CN Canadian Women’s Tour and CN Future Links – Canada’s national junior golf program – are only some of the initiatives the association leads for golf in Canada. As the authority for golf in Canada, the association also administers the Rules of Golf, amateur status and handicapping and course rating. In addition, Golf Canada conducts Canada’s most prestigious golf championships. The RBC Canadian Open and CN Canadian Women’s Open attract the best professional golfers in the world, while regional junior and national amateur championships provide world class competitive opportunities for Canada’s top golfers to showcase their talents.
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