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 – Robert Allenby has withdrawn from the RBC Canadian Open after splitting with his caddie in the middle of the first round, with a fan carrying his bag the rest of the way.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

TULSA, Okla. – Team Canada’s Naomi Ko won two matches Thursday in the U.S. Girls’ Junior to advance to the quarterfinals at Tulsa Country Club.

The 17-year-old Ko, from Victoria, B.C, beat stroke-play medalist Megan Khang of Rockland, Massachusetts, 1 up in the round of 32, and topped Alyaa Abdulghany of Newport Beach, California, 2 and 1 in the afternoon round of 16.

Ko will face South Korea’s Eun Jeong Seong on Friday morning. Seong routed Thailand’s Chakansim Khamborn 6 and 5 in the round of 16.

In the other upper-bracket quarterfinal, Jayna Choi of Collierville, Tennessee, will play Annika Cedo of the Philippines. Choi advanced with a 2-up victory over Karah Sanford of Escondido, California, and Cedo beat Gina Kim of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 4 and 3.

Long-hitting Angel Yin of Arcadia, California, powered into the quarterfinals. She beat Mexico’s Maria Balcazar 4 and 3 in the morning, and eliminated South Korea’s Yujeong Son 5 and 3 in the afternoon.

Yin will play Andrea Lee of Hermosa Beach, California, a 7-and-6 winner over Marni Murez of Manhattan Beach, California.

In the other quarterfinal, Mexico’s Evelyn Arguelles will face Mika Liu of Los Angeles. Arguelles beat Kathleen Scavo of Benicia, California, 1 up, and Liu topped Aneka Seumanutafa of Frederick, Maryland, 2 and 1.

BELMONT, Mich. – Lizette Salas built on her strong finish two weeks ago in the U.S. Women’s Open in the first round of the Meijer LPGA Classic.

The 26-year-old former Southern California player shot a bogey-free 7-under 64 on Thursday at Blythefield Country Club for a share of the first-round lead with Katherine Kirk and Dori Carter.

In the Women’s Open in Pennsylvania, Salas finished with a 68 at difficult Lancaster to tie for 14th – her best finish since tying for 11th on Phoenix in March.

“My finish at the (U.S. Women’s Open) kind of gave me that extra boost of confidence to really go low and that’s what I did today,” Salas said.

Salas eagled the 478-yard, par-5 11th, hitting a 3-wood approach to 10 feet.

“I hit every green and didn’t three-putt, few mistakes, well, basically zero mistakes today,” Salas said. “Hopefully, I didn’t just jinx myself. I’m just going to stay positive and just keep confident this whole week.”

She played the back nine in 5-under 30, closing with a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th.

“The rough is pretty gnarly, but I kept the ball in the fairway,” Salas said. “The eagle on 11 got me going and really helped me target the pins. I stayed aggressive with my putting and it is really coming along.”

She won the 2014 Kingsmill Championship for her lone tour title.

Jaye Marie Green and rookie Wei-Ling Hsu were a shot back in the second-year tournament.

Michigan-born Kris Tamulis was at 66 along with Q Baek, Ilhee Lee and Jane Rah.

Top-ranked Inbee Park, who lost to Miram Lee in a playoff last year, had three front-nine bogeys in a 70. Chella Choi, the Marathon Classic winner Sunday in Sylvania, Ohio, opened with a 71.

Salas, Kirk, Carter and Green played in the morning in little wind and perfect scoring conditions. Hsu had the best round in the afternoon after the wind kicked up. Park and Choi also played in the afternoon.

Kirk, a two-time tour winner, had her best round of the year. The Australian had two bogeys, but made seven birdies and also had an eagle on 11 after reaching the green in two.

“We had perfect conditions this morning, hardly any wind and then greens were very receptive early on,” she said. “I’m really happy. I haven’t posted a round like that in a while so it feels good to finally get the rust off and shoot a low one.”

Carter, winless on the tour, tied her career best with the 64. She had three straight birdies in a front-nine 5-under 31 and said on-going work with Gail Peterson is paying off.

“We’ve put a lot of work in, even here this week, and today the putts finally fell,” Carter said. “You know, I’m comfortable. I’m getting more experience and I like being here. I want to continue to stay on the top of the leaderboard. The more I can get this experience, the better.”

Miram Lee withdrew after the pro-am Wednesday, citing a left wrist injury that she said will also keep her out of the Women’s British Open next week.

SUNNINGDALE, England – Two albatross twos were recorded on the same hole on a memorable opening day at the Senior British Open, where defending champion Bernhard Langer finished in an eight-way tie for the lead at 5-under-par 65 on Thursday.

Langer tops the leaderboard alongside Americans Michael Allen, Bart Bryant, Marco Dawson, Jeff Sluman and Lee Janzen, Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez, and China’s Lianwei Zhang, playing in only his third senior tournament after turning 50 in May.

The albatrosses at the opening hole, a first time in senior tour history, were by England’s Barry Lane and American Steve Jones.

Lane holed his 4-iron second from 218 yards on the 492-yard par-5 and, a couple of hours later, Jones did the same with a 6-iron from 179 yards.

Langer birdied the first, dropped a shot at the sixth, but birdied eight and nine to be out in 33, before picking up further birdies at 11, 14 and 16 to be back in 32.

“I didn’t feel totally comfortable with my swing, but my putting was very good and I didn’t make any major mistakes,” said Langer, the winner a year ago by a massive 13 strokes at Royal Porthcawl in south Wales.

Bryant, out in the fourth group at 7:30 a.m., was the first man to post 65, picking up six birdies and dropping just one shot.

“The course was probably in the most scorable condition it will be all week,” Bryant said. “We had no wind through the first 13 or 14 holes, and the greens were soft.”

Sluman was next in with a 65. He started with an eagle and two birdies to go 4 under after three, but had two bogeys before getting to 5 under with three more birdies.

Jimenez, who played with Langer, birdied only once, on the ninth, before the turn, then came back in 31 with birdies at 10, 11, 14 and 16.

Dawson birdied three of the first four holes, then at 12, 13, and 14 to go 6 under. He dropped a shot at the 16th.

Allen got his round going with a first-up eagle, while Janzen, despite sharing the lead, was disappointed with his putting.

“I missed more than half from four to 10 feet,” he said.

Lianwei also eagled the first, and was out in 29. He dropped two strokes at the 12th when he found trouble off the tee, then birdied the 14th, and parred home to be back in 36.

Welshman Mark Mouland led the home charge on 66 alongside American Brian Henninger and Argentine Cesar Monasterio, while Colin Montgomerie was in a group of eight on 67 with playing partner Tom Watson.

Fred Couples, the 2012 champ, was in another large group on 68, while Jeff Maggert, twice a major winner on the U.S. senior tour this year, managed only a 1-one 71.

CRANS MONTANA, Switzerland – Gregory Havret made a hole in one on the 195-yard, par-3 13th as he shot a 7-under 63 to lead the European Masters by a stroke after the first round on Thursday.

Lasse Jensen of Denmark, yet to win on the European Tour, was a shot behind after a flawless 64, while Danny Willett of England, who finished tied for sixth in the British Open last week, was the pick of the dozen players tied for third on 5 under.

Patrick Reed, playing in his first European Tour event, was tied in a large group on 3-under 67. Fellow American and defending champion David Lipsky was 4 under.

Lee Westwood opened with a 68, and Sergio Garcia carded 69.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – The stars of the PGA TOUR will take to Glen Abbey Golf Club for the 106^th playing of the RBC Canadian Open starting Thursday, July 23. The 2015 edition of Canada’s National Open Championship marks the 27^th time that the competition will be held at the historic club in Oakville, Ont.

Sixteen Canadians will take on Glen Abbey in an effort to end the 61-year gap between Canadians claiming the national title. Brantford, Ont., native David Hearn is excited for the opportunity to end the drought.

“Winning the RBC Canadian Open would mean a lot, without a doubt,” said Hearn. “Winning any PGA TOUR tournament would mean a lot. It just doesn’t happen that often. To be able to do it in Canada in front of everybody here would be the highlight of my career.”

Pat Fletcher was the last Canadian winner, having claimed victory in 1954 at Point Grey Golf & Country Club in Vancouver. The significance of an RBC Canadian Open champion from the host nation is not lost on Graham DeLaet.

“It would mean everything for me,” said the Weyburn, Sask., native. “This is a major for us. I couldn’t imagine what it would do. I know how much support and how much kids look up to us. Obviously (winning) would take it kind of to a new level, but we all want to win this. Not just for ourselves, but for everybody else who just wants to end (the drought).”

The Canadians in the field are not the only players hoping to emerge victorious at Canada’s only PGA TOUR stop. Bubba Watson, the No. 3-ranked player in the world, has a unique connection to Canada as the Florida native’s wife Angie hails from Toronto.

“Any tournament is a big win, but winning a national Open and an Open that is part of my family now – me being part of Canada, I guess you could say,” said the eight-time tour winner. “I’ve got two flags at the house, so it’s a big deal. It would be a great honour, but a big deal for the family, as well.”

The return to Glen Abbey also holds significance for Hunter Mahan. The Dallas native has fond memories from the 2013 RBC Canadian Open, where he held the 36-hole lead with a two-stroke advantage. Despite leading, he withdrew and tended to his wife who had gone into labour.

“It’s unfortunate that it had to happen at the time it did,” Mahan explained. “I was still playing so good, and this is a place that I do want to win at and be the RBC Canadian Open champion. It’s something I want to be, but it is what it is. It’s a great moment in my life. I still have great memories here, and hopefully will continue that play into this week.”

The field of 156 players will tee-off Thursday, each looking to earn their share of the US$5.8 million total purse. First and second round tee-times are available here.

GREENING THE 2015 RBC CANADIAN OPEN
This year’s RBC Canadian Open is set to be the greenest yet. RBC, Golf Canada and other partners and suppliers have come together to ensure that environmental best practices are again being implemented.

“We are committed to reducing the environmental impacts of the RBC Canadian Open every year,” said Brent McLaughlin, tournament director for the RBC Canadian Open. “Glen Abbey is a great foundation for our environmental initiatives, we have a solid track record of environmental programming here and the golf course has been certified as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary since 2004.”

Earlier this year, the 2014 RBC Canadian Open was recognized for its environmental initiatives and named as a winner of the Sustainability Challenge. For 2015, there are new initiatives that will help to divert more waste from landfill. Additional information regarding the key environmental initiatives at the 2015 RBC Canadian Open can be found here.