Cameron Champ is making the most of his opportunity north of the border.
The three-time PGA Tour winner who’s fallen to No. 420 in the world rankings shot a 4-under-par 66 on Friday to take the halfway lead at the RBC Canadian Open in Caledon, Ontario.
Champ is in the field at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley only because Sahith Theegala withdrew before the event. After opening the tournament with a 62, Champ remained bogey-free through 36 holes to improve to 12-under 128.
He’s two shots ahead of Andrew Putnam, whose 8-under 62 Friday was the low round of the day.
First-round co-leader Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark only managed a 70 Friday and is tied for third with a pair of Canadians hoping to win their national championship.
Nick Taylor, who won in 2023 to end a 69-year Canadian drought at the tournament, carded a 65 to get to 9 under. Richard Lee did him one better with a 64 that included a four-hole birdie run, and the 34-year-old made the cut at this event for the first time in his career.
A host of notable names tied for sixth at 8 under included Sam Burns (66 Friday), Jake Knapp (69), Irishman Shane Lowry (68) and New Zealand’s Ryan Fox (66).
Rory McIlroy, meanwhile, will get a head start packing for the U.S. Open. The Northern Irishman made a quadruple-bogey 8 early in his second round en route to an 8-over 78. Already in danger of missing the cut after a first-round 71, McIlroy (9 over) was in 149th place of 153 active golfers as of 6 p.m. ET.
McIlroy struggled with a new driver, hitting only four of 14 fairways in regulation. He ranked near the bottom of the field in strokes gained putting, as well.
Also below the projected cut line of 3 under par were Max Homa (2 under), Tom Kim of South Korea (1 under), Justin Rose of England (1 under) and Sungjae Im of South Korea (even par).
–Field Level Media
