Montreal (AFP) – Chilean Cristobal Del Solar flirted with the lowest round in US PGA Tour history before settling for a share of the lead after Thursday’s opening round of the Canadian Open. Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen and Del Solar each fired nine-under par 61 to seize the 18-hole lead at rain-softened TPC Toronto Osprey Valley.
Olesen, a back-nine starter, eagled the par-five 18th and birdied three of his last four holes — from just inside 14 feet at seven and eight — after only making the field as a Monday qualifier. “I played great, but my putting was exceptional,” the Dane said. “Don’t think I missed any putts really out there. I definitely holed some long ones as well. It was nice to see everything go in.”
Related news
Tour rookie Del Solar was 10-under through 16 holes but a bogey-par finish denied him a shot at the PGA record of 58. “I was actually having fun,” Del Solar said. “One of the first few rounds of the year I’ve just let go and go out there and play golf. I wasn’t really thinking much about the score, which that kind of led to a great score. I hit the ball great, putted it probably the best I have putted in a while. I did everything that should be done.”
Del Solar, ranked 316th in the world, had picked up the nickname “Mr.57” after firing a 57 in February 2024 at Astra Championship in Colombia on the developmental Korn Ferry Tour — the lowest-ever round in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event. The lowest score in a PGA Tour event is the 58 fired by American Jim Furyk in the final round of the 2016 Travelers Championship. For a moment on the final holes, Del Solar had a chance to match or lower that mark.
Del Solar had missed the cut in eight of his prior 13 US PGA starts this season, but took full advantage of soft conditions with birdie runs from the fifth through seventh and again at the ninth through 12th holes. The South American birdied from just beyond six feet at the par-three 14th and sank a 15-footer at the 16th to reach 10-under. At 17, Del Solar blasted out of a bunker to 10 feet but missed the putt and took his only bogey. Needing an eagle at the par-five 18th to break 60, he dropped his third shot 15 feet from the hole but missed the birdie putt.
American Cameron Champ was third on 62 with countryman Jake Knapp on 63 and Ireland’s Shane Lowry, Americans Trey Mullinax and Ricky Castillo, and Dane Rasmus Hojgaard on 64. Defending champion Robert MacIntyre of Scotland fired a bogey-free 65.
Second-ranked Rory McIlroy, who won the Masters in April to complete a career Grand Slam, closed with back-to-back bogeys for a 71 in his first start since the PGA Championship as he prepares for next week’s US Open at Oakmont. “I actually felt like I played OK,” McIlroy said. “It was my first outing with a new driver and I felt like that went pretty well. I hit some drives I liked and that I liked to see, so that was encouraging. Overall, I’m actually pretty happy with how I played. Obviously need to go a little bit lower tomorrow and over the weekend to have a chance. I’m still trying to work on some things, but I’m OK with where everything is.”
Luke Clanton, a 21-year-old American paired alongside McIlroy and Swede Ludvig Aberg, fired a 70 in his pro debut. “It’s cool to be thrown in the fire right away,” Clanton said. “It was awesome.”
© 2024 AFP
