Golf Canada – HAMILTON, Ont. — American Keegan Bradley carded a scorching 63 to grab sole possession of the lead at 7-under par following a sunny and warm opening-round of the 2019 RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf & Country Club.

Bradley tallied five consecutive birdies from holes 7 through 11 to catapult up the leaderboard. Additional birdies on holes 13 and 17, to go along with a bogey-free round put him in the lead, besting by one stroke a group of five golfers tied for second place that includes Canadian Nick Taylor.

“That was probably my best streak of the year if not maybe ever,” said Bradley, a four-time PGA TOUR winner, including the 2011 PGA Championship. “I felt so comfortable and dialed in. Sometimes you can get a little anxious when you’re playing really well, but I felt very calm the whole day.”

This is Bradley’s fourth appearance at the RBC Canadian Open. His best finish came in 2018 where he tied for fourth.

“This is a really great course, I’ve never played it,” said Bradley. “Every time I come to play in Canada, I always love the courses we play. This one is really great. Today, I was in complete control of my ball. And then when you couple that with feeling good on the greens, that’s when a 63 or a good, nice round happens.”

Abbotsford, B.C., native Taylor also got hot during his first round. Four straight birdies on holes No. 1 through 4 (after a 10th hole start) moved the Canadian into a tie for second at 6-under par 64.

“I really haven’t had a lot of success at the RBC Canadian Open,” said Taylor. “I think I probably put a little too much pressure on myself. This year has been consistent. It’s small things I have been working on. Last week, just a slight bit different routine to line up and be more consistent with my alignment. Obviously, it was great today.”

Taylor, Shane Lowry, Sungjae Im, Erik van Rooyen and Roberto Castro sit one-back of Bradley at 6-under. 

Taylor has never finished better than T53 at the RBC Canadian Open, but the 2014 Sanderson Farms champion currently leads the 26 Canadians in the field. He is paired with fellow Canucks David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., and Mike Weir of Bright’s Grove, Ont., for the first two rounds.

“Usually we don’t get those crowds that early,” said Taylor. “The Canadian fans that are here are so great. It’s been fun.”

Adam Hadwin, also of Abbotsford, B.C., finds himself T6 at 5-under. Hadwin’s bogey-free opening round of 66 is the lowest of his career at the RBC Canadian Open.

“It’s a really great start to the week, really solid golf,” said Hadwin. “Only missed a couple of greens. I’m coming away feeling pretty confident that I may have left a couple out there.”

Mackenzie Hughes of nearby Dundas, Ont., is also in the hunt. The hometown favourite was inches from getting an ace on No. 16 and was at 6-under walking up to the 18th tee box. His tee shot found the bunker and Hughes hit the bunker’s lip trying to reach the green in two. He went on to make a double-bogey six to finish T15 at 4-under. 

“It was really fun, but I kind of spoiled it there at the end,” said Hughes. “I was 6-under through 17 and it was pretty stress-free for the most part. All-in-all it’s a great day score-wise, just not the way I wanted to finish. I have to get over it now, there’s three rounds of golf to be played.”

Hughes sits tied with fellow Canadians Hearn and Toronto’s Drew Nesbitt, who also carded 66s.

Second-round tee times begin at 7:00 a.m. Friday. 

CANADIANS AT THE 2019 RBC CANADIAN OPEN 

T84 James Allenby – Langley, B.C. – 70 E

T143 Michael Anderson (a) – Mississauga, Ont. – 74 +4

T153 Michael Blair – Ancaster, Ont. – 76 +6

T123 Étienne Brault (a) – Mercier, Que. – 72 +2

T143 Marc-Étienne Bussières – Gatineau, Que. – 74 +4

T153 Albin Choi – Toronto – 76 +6

T59 Austin Connelly – Church Point, N.S. – 69 -1

T84 Corey Conners – Listowel, Ont. – 70 E

T123 Chris Crisologo (a) – Richmond, B.C. – 72 +2

T143 JC Deacon – Toronto – 74 +4

T105 Thomas DeMarco – LaSalle, Que. – 71 +1

T84 Michael Gligic – Burlington, Ont. – 70 E

T7 Adam Hadwin – Abbotsford, B.C. – 65 -5

T15 David Hearn – Brantford, Ont. – 66 -4

T15 Mackenzie Hughes – Dundas, Ont. – 66 -4

T25 Richard Jung – Toronto – 67 -3

T84 Richard T. Lee – Toronto – 70 E

T15 Drew Nesbitt – Toronto – 66 -4

T151 Joey Savoie (a) – La Prairie, Que. – 75 +5

T105 Ben Silverman – Thornhill, Ont. – 71 +1

T42 Roger Sloan – Merritt, B.C. – 68 -2

T59 Adam Svensson – Surrey, B.C. – 69 -1

T2 Nick Taylor – Abbotsford, B.C. – 64 -6

156 Josh Whalen (a) – Napanee, Ont. – 79 +9

T84 Mike Weir – Brights Grove, Ont. – 70 E

T42 Ryan Yip – Calgary – 68, -2

PAIRINGS FOR ROUND 2

Pairings and start times for the second round of the 110th playing of Canada’s National Open Championship on Friday, June 7 are now available online here.

INTERVIEW VIDEO, AUDIO AND TRANSCRIPTS FOR THURSDAY, JUNE 6

Interview, audio and transcripts for the following players from Thursday, June 6 are available here and video is available here. Please note the videos are unedited, uncut and broadcast-quality. 

– Rory McIlroy

– Adam Hadwin

– Mackenzie Hughes

– Shane Lowry

– Matt Kuchar

– Graeme McDowell

– Nick Taylor

– Webb Simpson

2019 MEDIA GUIDE AND PLAYER PERFORMANCE BOOK:

Media can also download the 2019 RBC Canadian Open Media Guide for complete stats, records and historical information. Media can also download the 2019 RBC Canadian Open Player Performance Book which details individual player statistics from 1904-2018.

BROADCAST COVERAGE:

The following are broadcast times for the 2019 RBC Canadian Open:

Friday, June 7

–       7:00am – 8:30am:  Twitter

–       7:00am – 3:00pm:  GOLFTV

–       3:00pm – 6:00pm:  Golf Channel/TSN/RDS

Saturday, June 8

–       8:30am – 9:45am:  Twitter

–       8:30am – 3:00pm:  GOLFTV

–       1:00pm – 2:45pm:  Golf Channel

–       3:00pm – 6:00pm:  CBS/TSN/CTV2/RDS

Sunday, June 9

–       8:30am – 9:45am:  Twitter

–       8:30am – 3:00pm:  GOLFTV

–       1:00pm – 2:45pm:  Golf Channel

–       3:00pm – 6:00pm:  CBS/TSN/CTV2/RDS

TICKETS:

Grounds tickets for the 2019 RBC Canadian Open, as well as a limited number of premium ticket packages are still available. A full list of ticket packages and pricing is available online at http://www.rbccanadianopen.com/.  

ABOUT THE RBC CANADIAN OPEN

Part of the FedExCup, stars of the PGA TOUR will compete for $7.6 million (US) at the RBC Canadian Open, June 3-9 at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Hamilton, Ont. Conducted by Golf Canada for more than a century, the RBC Canadian Open provides an opportunity for Canada’s top talents to compete against the world’s best golfers while also leaving a significant impact in the event’s host community. The RBC Canadian Open is proud to support the Golf Canada Foundation as the event’s official charity partner. Established in 1904, Canada’s national open golf championship 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, Audi, Acushnet, Steam Whistle, Levelwear, Golf Town, Coca-Cola, the City of Hamilton and the Government of Canada. For tickets or tournament information, please visit http://www.rbccanadianopen.com or call 1-800-571-6736. Follow the RBC Canadian Open on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

For all further inquiries, please contact:

Dan Pino
Communications Director
Golf Canada
(c) 416-434-5525
(e) dpino@golfcanada.ca