OAKVILLE, Ont. – David Hearn looked back from the 16th hole and knew fellow Canadian Graham DeLaet had withdrawn because his name wasn’t on the board anymore.

There’s no looking back now. While DeLaet is out with a thumb injury, Hearn celebrated “Red and White Day” at the RBC Canadian Open by shooting an 8-under 64 Friday to move to within three shots of leader Chad Campbell.

By getting to 11-under through two rounds, Hearn is in contention at the midway point and has a chance to be the first Canadian to win this tournament since Pat Fletcher in 1954.

“Today was a pretty awesome day,” Hearn said, decked out in red and white like many of the fans at Glen Abbey Golf Club. “I couldn’t be happier with where my game’s at and I’m excited about the weekend. If I keep doing what I’m doing, I feel good about my game.”

The Brantford, Ont., native is tied for third place with only Campbell (14-under) and Brian Harman (12-under) ahead of him.

Even with 36 holes left to play, Hearn expects to be nervous Saturday with the home fans watching his every swing closely and a 51-year drought on their minds.

“It’s definitely going to be a lot of attention,” Hearn said. “Everyone wants the Canadians to do well here like I do. I want to see a Canadian do well and win this tournament soon.”

Hearn is in by far the best spot of the six Canadians left in the field. Two amateurs also moved up the leaderboard in the second round.

Austin Connelly, who represented Canada at the Pan Am Games, shot a 7-under 65 to get to 6-under for the tournament. The 18-year-old noticed a drastic improvement from his first round.

“The main difference was I was hitting better quality iron shots,” said Connelly, a Dallas native whose father is from Nova Scotia. “I gave myself a lot more looks, and then whenever I did make a mistake, my short game saved me. I had a couple of really nice pitches and bunker shots.”

Blair Hamilton, a 21-year-old amateur from nearby Burlington, Ont., is right behind Connelly at 5-under after shooting a 4-under Friday.

DeLaet didn’t feel like he had a chance to make the cut with a left thumb injury hampering his game. The Weyburn, Sask., native doesn’t think the injury is too serious but was bummed it forced him out of the RBC Canadian Open.

“It hurts,” DeLaet said. “It’s an important tournament to me.”

With Mike Weir out for personal reasons, the Canadian star power took another major hit with DeLaet’s withdrawal. The pressure’s now on Hearn to carry the flag.

Hearn is trying to focus on the fundamentals of hitting fairways and greens and not think too much about history and what’s at stake.

“I’m not going to be able to win the golf tournament until Sunday afternoon, so I’ve got a lot of golf to go,” Hearn said. “It’s really hard. I haven’t been in this situation in the RBC Canadian Open before. …

“I feel like my game is in a good spot right now, and I have a chance to do something fun this weekend.”

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Chad Campbell didn’t feel like he was approaching history during the second round of the Canadian Open.

Rolling off birdie after birdie, Campbell missed the course record at Glen Abbey Golf Club by one stroke in shooting a 9-under-par 63. The bogey-free masterpiece gave him the tournament lead at 14-under.

“Never really felt like it was going to be a crazy round, which nine birdies, I’m definitely happy with it,” Campbell said. “Just solid play.”

Campbell’s understated assessment of his round had a lot to do with how it unfolded. The 41-year-old American didn’t sink any remarkably memorable shots but was consistent and didn’t make many mistakes.

“It’s kind of weird because it happened with the par-5s, knocking them on (the green) in two and two-putting,” Campbell said. “I made a couple long putts, which always helps.”

With some groups still left on the course, Campbell held a two-shot lead over Brian Harman and a three-shot lead over Johnson Wagner and Canadian David Hearn.

Like Campbell, Hearn didn’t have to do anything spectacular but still surged up the leaderboard with an 8-under 64.

“I felt really good about my game,” the Brantford, Ont., native said. “I hit a lot more greens, and my putter definitely got hot. Making those two birdies at the finish felt really, really good.”

After coming a putt away from winning the Greenbrier Classic earlier this month, Hearn is back to feeling good about his game after Friday’s performance.

“If I continue to keep playing the way I am, I know I have a chance,” he said. “I can’t control what Chad or any of the other players are going to do. But if I keep doing what I’m doing and stay focused on that, I like my chances.”

Campbell’s second round notwithstanding, the RBC Canadian Open looks wide-open going into the weekend. Harman came a three-putt and a “silly bogey” away from being right with Campbell, and 10th-ranked Jason Day is lurking at 10-under.

Day is coming off tying for fourth at the British Open, which didn’t wrap up until Monday. Fighting physical and mental fatigue, the affable Aussie recorded an eagle on the 18th hole on the way to contention.

Frustrated by a couple of bogeys, Day doesn’t anticipate fatigue getting to derail his RBC Canadian Open.

“I’m driving it great,” Day said. “I’d like to tune-up the iron shots, but overall I’m hitting it good. ”Biggest thing for me is still trying to get as much rest as possible, especially coming off last week so that I can stay mentally sharp.“

Canadian Graham DeLaet was feeling mentally sharp but physically couldn’t keep golfing. The left thumb injury he suffered on Thursday didn’t get better, so DeLaet withdrew after four holes Friday.

“When it all came down to it, I felt if I could compete and still hit the ball well, I probably would have kept going,” DeLaet said. “But I didn’t have any kind of golf game out there today, and then it was hurting.”

Among Canadians still in the field, amateur Austin Connelly was one stroke away from matching Hearn’s mark, shooting a 7-under 65. Connelly, who represented Canada in the Pan Am Games, is at 6-under through two rounds.

Fellow amateur Blair Hamilton is 5-under, and Adam Svensson is 4-under.

Ricky Barnes hit a hole-in-one on No. 4, winning a new BMW i8 in the process.

“It was a perfect 8-iron,” said Barnes, who’s 6-under. “I think the yardage was 165 into a little breeze, and it just landed right in the hole and never came out.”

BELMONT, Mich. – Lexi Thompson birdied six of the first eight holes and wanted more.

“I wanted to make more birdies on the back nine, but it is what it is,” she said.

Thompson did add one more birdie Friday for a season-best 7-under 64 and a share of the Meijer LPGA Classic lead with Alison Lee and Lizette Salas.

“I hit it in the rough on a few holes on the back nine where I needed to hit it in the fairway to be able to make birdies,” Thompson said. “But I’m very happy with my round, don’t get me wrong.”

The 20-year-old Thompson matched Lee and Salas at 9-under 133 at Blythefield Country Club.

Lee, the 20-year-old former UCLA player in her first season on the tour, had a 66, and playing partner Salas, a former University of Southern California star, shot a 69.

Kris Tamulis closed with a bogey on the par-4 ninth to drop into a tie for fourth at 8 under with Gerina Piller, Jaye Marie Green, Wei-Ling Hsu and Q Baek. Tamulis shot 68, Piller 65, Baek 68, and Green and Hsu 69.

Top-ranked Inbee Park, a playoff loser last year in the inaugural event, was tied for 18th at 4 under after a 68. She has a tour-high three victories this season.

Thompson, winless since taking the then-Kraft Nabisco last year for her first major title, took advantage of early windless scoring conditions. Thompson birdied Nos. 1-2, 4-6, 8 and 15.

“The greens were rolling really well out there early in the morning, so it was nice,” Thompson said. “Playing in the morning without the wind and the greens are a little bit softer in the morning so it’s easier to just control the way your irons are going to bounce out into the green. It was a lot easier to control than (Thursday) afternoon.”

Lee, who is still working on her degree at UCLA, said she was inspired by Salas shooting 64 in the first round.

“We kind of pushed each other through the day,” Lee said. “I was fired up today going into the round and wanted to shoot a low number. It’s great to be in contention. I mean, this is my rookie year and I’m still learning.”

Salas said playing in the afternoon in the second round was a sharp contrast to the first round.

“The wind definitely kicked in this afternoon and you have to be really precise to your targets,” she said.

She said she hasn’t been on top of the leaderboard in a while, and she is excited.

“We have 36 more to go and I’m going to try to be patient and stay calm and just be committed to every shot,” she said.

Park said being five shots off the lead was fine, but it is more important to have good results this week to give her confidence going into the Women’s British Open next week.

“The most important thing is just work on my game so it’s ready to go next week,” she said. “You know, make sure that your ball striking, your swing feels good, make sure you’re feeling good on the greens. This is the last chance to try it on. I’m trying to get my game to the level I want. It’s not quite there, but trying to get there.”

ALBANY, N.Y. – Breanna Elliott (Yarrawonga, Australia) played a practice round two weeks ago at the U.S. Women’s Open with the likes of Michelle Wie, Stacy Lewis and Karrie Webb. The appearance at the Open rejuvenated her as she carded a 6-under 65 to share the lead with Volvik Race for the Card No. 9 Augusta James (Bath, Ontario) at the Fuccillo Kia Championship at Capital Hills after day one.

It was a scoreable day as 41 players finished under-par and 62 are at even-par or lower.

Elliott made seven birdies including one on her first hole, the par-5 tenth. She also posted four birdies on a six hole stretch to open her back nine.

“I think off the tee I was really strong, I hit the lines I picked out in my practice rounds and I was quite long today,” said Elliott, who hit 10 of 13 fairways and birdied three of four par-5 holes. “For a good number of the holes, I only had a 9-iron in and that made things so much more comfortable.”

Elliott, who had her best finish of the year last week at the Toyota Danielle Downey Classic (T24), said she felt no stress on the course on Friday.

“The weather was brilliant and I didn’t feel any stress, I felt happy on the golf course,” said Elliott, who ranks 78th on the Volvik Race for the Card money list. “The putter was really working, I got the pace of the greens early on and had good rhythm.”

Elliott qualified and played in the U.S. Women’s Open two weeks ago and said that she felt refreshed and excited for golf again after competing against the best in the world.

“I played the U.S Women’s Open and that really motivated me and I had some really awesome practice partners,” said Elliott. “When you play in a massive championship like that, you can’t help but enjoy golf. I had my coach there, I had my mom and dad and it just felt like a special week and it is showing in my golf now that I am in a good place.”

So, what was it like playing with Wie and Lewis and Webb and recent World Golf Hall of Fame inductee Laura Davies?

“If you were going to choose practice partners before the tournament, those would be the names,” said 23-year-old Elliott. “I got really lucky and they were all nice girls.”

Just before the Open, Elliott did something else. She died her hair green.

“I was feeling restless and I wanted to do something different,” said Elliott. “I played with it at the Open and it stood out, there aren’t many girls out there or here with green hair.”

James, who was born on the first round of The Masters in 1993, made seven birdies in her first 15 holes of the day. Her lone hiccup was on the par-4 17th hole.

“I was hitting the ball really well today and hitting it very close and that made things a lot easier,” said James, who won the Chico’s Patty Berg Memorial earlier this year. “This round sets me up for the weekend well.”

James, who played with fellow Canadian National team member Brooke Henderson, had a nice gallery of family and friends all afternoon.

“I think Canadian women out here this year have been proving themselves with some Canadian wins and a lot of top 10’s,” said James. “Golf in Canada is progressing very well and it is nice to have that camaraderie out here.”

The 22-year-old grew up playing with Henderson and used to room with her on the road. When asked if Brooke has a bright future ahead of her, James did not hesitate.

“Brooke is playing very well and I think it is clear that she has a bright future.”

After James was done with the media, Brooke addressed James and the state of Canadian women’s golf.

“Gus (Augusta) is a great girl and a great player so we had fun out there today,” said Henderson. “Golf in Canada is growing and getting a lot stronger. As you can see, every week on the Symetra Tour there is a player from Canada near or at the top. On the LPGA, we haven’t really dominated yet, but I think it is coming.”

PORT HOPE – The Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) Investors Group Junior Boys’ Championship wrapped up on July 24 from the Dalewood Golf Club in Port Hope. The four-round event was dominated from start to finish by Waterloo’s Trevor Ranton who hoisted the trophy at the end of the day with a final round two-under (69).

Ranton, 18 from the Whistle Bear Golf Club, gained his momentum during the first round when he shot six-under (65). He opened up a four-stroke lead that he used to see out the win during the remaining rounds.

On the final day, Ranton, a member of the Golf Canada Development Squad, started strong with a birdie on the second hole. He would give it back but was even through the turn. On the back nine, Ranton, sealed it with an eagle on the 14^th, to secure the win. He finished the tournament five-under (65-72-73-69-279).

After the win, Ranton spoke about how his opening round set the tempo for the rest of the tournament. “It really allowed me to play freely, knowing that I had that cushion. When my game wasn’t going as well during the second and third day, I was still in a positive mindset because I knew that I had done that the first day and knew I could do it again.”

Ranton is no stranger to winning big events. Just last year he was crowned the GAO Junior Boys’ Match Play Champion and earlier this year he walked away with the CN Future Links Pacific title. Ranton spoke about where this win ranks for him. “It’s awesome to win this, it has been my goal since I started playing in these events. It is really nice to get it in my final junior year. I’ve been lucky enough to have a couple victories in the last year and a bit and this one is right up their at the top, with it being one of the most prestigious events in Ontario.”

Earning the silver medal was Shelburne’s Kyle Johnston, from the Shelburne Golf & Country Club. Johnston, 18, came into the final round at two-over and went on to post a two-under (69) to earn sole possession of second. He ended the tournament at even par (69-72-74-69-284).

The bronze medal was won by Peterborough’s Sam Meek, from the Kawartha Golf & Country Club. Meek, 16, was consistent throughout the tournament and finished three-over (69-73-72-73-287).

Ranton, Johnston and Meek also earned the right to represent Ontario in the inter-provincial team competition at the Canadian Junior Boys’ Championship Aug. 3-6 at the Summerlea Golf & Country Club in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec. The top 34 finishers, excluding players already exempt, also received a quota spot for the Canadian Championship.

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SUNNINGDALE, England – Torrential rain wiped out most play Friday at the Senior British Open with more than half the field still to start their second round.

Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie is one of eight players who is 5-under at the top of the leaderboard but five of them have yet to play a hole in the second round.

Two strokes behind overnight, Montgomerie birdied three of his first five holes to lead outright on 6 under. With increasing rain, he bogeyed No. 10, birdied the 11th and bogeyed the 12th to return to 5 under overall, and 2-under 45 for the 12 holes he played.

Among the leaders, China’s Lianwei Zhang and Bart Bryant of the United States had started their second rounds when play was suspended for the day at 3 p.m.

Zhang was 1 over for the round after 11. Bryant parred the two holes he played.

Waiting to start their second rounds when play resumes at 8 a.m. Saturday are defending champion Bernhard Langer, Americans Michael Allen, Marco Dawson, Lee Janzen, Jeff Sluman and Bryant, plus Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Ian Woosnam made a move up the leaderboard with an eagle at the first and birdies at Nos. 4 and 9 to be out in 31. The Welshman was 5 under overall at the turn, but in the worst of the weather he dropped strokes at the 10th and 12th and was 3 under when play stopped. Woosnam is tied for 12th, including Duffy Waldorf, who had four birdies and just two dropped shots in the 17 holes he played Friday.

“The plan will be to finish round two and start round three tomorrow, when the forecast isn’t too bad,” said David Williams, chairman of the European Senior Tour. “We’ll finish that off on Sunday morning … and finish (the tournament) when we’re meant to.”

CRANS MONTANA, Switzerland – Danny Willett shot an 8-under 62 Friday to open up a one-shot lead in the European Masters before thunderstorms stopped the completion of the second round.

Willett, who tied for sixth at the British Open on Monday, had an overall 13-under 127.

South Korean duo Y.E. Yang and Seukhyun Baek both shot 63 and were tied for second.

Defending champion David Lipsky was tied for fifth at 8 under after a 66. Fellow American Patrick Reed was tied for 25th at 4 under after a 69.

Some 36 players were unable to complete the round.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Robert Allenby has withdrawn from the RBC Canadian Open after splitting with his caddie in the middle of the first round, with a fan carrying his bag the rest of the way.

Allenby shot a 9-over 81 Thursday at Glen Abbey Golf Club and finished his round with the fan on his bag because, according to Canadian golf outlet Score Golf, Allenby and caddie Mick Middlemo had a blow-up over club selection.

Score Golf reported that Allenby and Middlemo got into a heated exchange at the 13th hole, the Australian’s fourth of the day, and at the 18th the caddie walked off the course.

Earlier this year, Allenby was involved in a strange off-course incident in Hawaii. In January, after missing the cut at the Sony Open, Allenby said he was robbed and beaten and needed help from a homeless woman.

“You think … that happens in the movie, not real life,” Allenby told The Associated Press at the time. “I’m just happy to be alive.”

Allenby posted a photo on his Facebook account showing a facial injury that he said came from being thrown in the trunk of a car.

“I don’t know what they hit me with between the eyeballs, whether a fist or a baseball bat,” he said then. “Whatever it was, it hurts.'”

Allenby returned to play later in January, saying he had “no memory” of what happened for over two hours that night in Hawaii.

The 44-year-old has missed the cut nine times and now withdrawn twice since that incident.

Golfers and caddies splitting midround is extremely rare, but not unprecedented.

Jessica Korda fired her caddie after nine holes during the third round of the 2013 U.S. Open, and caddie Michael Lawson walked off the course at the 2014 Barracuda Championship, leaving Brian Stuard to depend on the kindness of strangers.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Graham DeLaet’s tough. He’s a golfer.

The Weyburn, Sask., native injured his left thumb during the first round of the RBC Canadian Open but still finished his round and expects to keep playing Friday. Frustrated by the injury, DeLaet was glad to shoot even-par 72 Thursday to sit eight strokes off the lead.

“I was able to kind of grind away there at the end with a couple good birdies on 16 and 18,” said DeLaet, who was injured on the 12th hole and double-bogeyed No. 17. “We (tee) off tomorrow morning. As long as I feel healthy, if I can shoot 4- or 5-under, (I can) kind of just slowly kind of creep back in this tournament.”

DeLaet said he wasn’t able to move his hand back on drives and felt pain when he released on shots. That caused the ball to flare right, something he had to compensate for.

As for what’s next DeLaet guessed doctors would tell him to ice his hand and possibly give him some anti-inflammatory medication.

“This tournament means a lot to me,” he said. “Hopefully we can get it figured out.”

DeLaet is one of 16 Canadians in the field this week at Glen Abbey Golf Club. David Hearn and Adam Svensson were tied as the low Canadian at 3-under 69.

“Took advantage of the par-5s really nicely,” Hearn said. “I’m obviously not too happy I made bogey on the last there, but I’m still within reach of the leaders. I certainly didn’t play my way out of it.”

The same could be said for Svensson and Nick Taylor and Roger Sloan, who shot 2-under.

Taylor, who his first PGA Tour event in November at the Sanderson Farms Championship, noticed a little more fan support than in past events. But he considers the high expectations for Canadians in the Canadian Open a self-created thing.

“I think we pressure ourselves,” Taylor said. “We just really want to play well just for this tournament for the fans, being the one tournament a year in Canada. But it’s nothing but support that all the fans have given us. It’s more ourselves.”

A Canadian hasn’t won the event since Pat Fletcher in 1954.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Vaughn Taylor felt fortunate to survive a boating accident last year. Emiliano Grillo felt fortunate to get into Canada in time to play the Canadian Open.

On Thursday, they made the most of morning tee times to claim spots at the top of the leaderboard. Grillo shot an 8-under 64 to take the RBC Canadian Open lead, while Taylor shot a 7-under 65 to tie Brian Harman for second after the first round.

Taylor is almost a year removed from his fishing boat capsizing on Lake Thurmond between South Carolina and Georgia. The 49-year-old who birdied eight holes at Glen Abbey Golf Club in the first round gained some perspective on his sport and life from the August 2014 accident.

“It still does,” Taylor said. “I kind of remind myself of it to say, ‘Hey, let’s not take this day for granted and make the most of it.”’

Taylor panicked in the water before swimming to safety. Grillo didn’t panic earlier this week when it looked like he wouldn’t be able to cross the border from the United States.

Grillo qualified for the RBC Canadian Open by finishing in the top 10 at the Barbasol Championship in Alabama, which he only did by picking up back-to-back birdies. After driving to Atlanta and flying to Buffalo, the 22-year-old Argentine didn’t have time to wait for the necessary work visa to get into Canada.

After he waited, border officials told Grillo just to pay for the visa and go. He followed up that “lucky” break with a bogey-free round to grab the lead.

“I played better on the back nine, which is harder, and the greens were drying out,” Grillo said. “I kept hitting some solid shots until the end of the round, and I made some good putts on the back nine.”

David Hearn and Adam Svensson tied for the best start by a Canadian player at 3-under 69. While a left thumb injury hampered Graham DeLaet during his even-par round, Hearn and Svensson are very much in contention.

“I played a solid round of golf, and that’s what I needed to do,” Hearn said. “If I can hit a few more greens tomorrow, I like my chances.”

Hitting the green might not be a problem, but getting the ball to stop could turn into one. Golfers reported Glen Abbey playing firm and fast, and with wind those are conditions conducive for shooting well under par.

But it wasn’t impossible, especially for those who finished before the sun dried out the course. Harman may be in the best spot moving forward with a Friday morning tee time because he went 7-under Thursday afternoon.

“I drove it well, I putted well,” Harman said. “Just had the one three-putt bogey, but other than that it was pretty clean.”

While Harman was near the top of the leaderboard, Robert Allenby was near the bottom with a 9-over 81. According to SCOREGolf, Allenby got into an argument with Mick Middlemo and fired him mid-round.

A fan carried Allenby’s bag the rest of the way.

Jason Day of Australian shot a 4-under par round and sits just four back.

Spectators were out in full force for the second Canadian Open at Glen Abbey in the past three years. Bubba Watson, whose wife Angie is from Pickering, Ont., got 20-30 tickets for family and friends and felt some extra love from the crowd because of his connection.

“I’ve gained a lot of friends because of my family up here,” said Watson, who shot 4-under. “At least I’ve got people watching me.”

RBC CANADIAN OPEN FRIDAY IS RED AND WHITE DAY
Friday, July 24 at the 2015 RBC Canadian Open is Red and White Day. Everyone coming to Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont., for the championship’s second round is encouraged to wear red and white to demonstrate their Canadian pride and to support the 16 Canadian players in the field for Canada’s National Open Championship.