AKRON, Ohio – Tiger Woods finds out over the next two weeks if his season is over or just getting started.

The first stop is Firestone, where Woods is an eight-time winner and the defending champion. After that, he heads to Valhalla Golf Club for the PGA Championship, where he won in 2000 on his way to an unprecedented sweep of the majors.

At stake is a chance to extend a season already cut short by back surgery.

“I would like to win these two events and not have to worry about anything,” Woods said Wednesday. “That’s the plan. That’s the mindset. That’s the focus. We’ll see how it falls after these few weeks. I’m so far out of it right now that I need to play well to … get myself into the playoffs and ultimately – hopefully – play all four weeks.”

It’s hard to believe that just one year ago, Woods won this World Golf Championship by seven shots for his fifth victory of the year.

Not much has gone his way since then, mainly because of back pain that eventually led to surgery on March 31 and kept him out for three months. The Bridgestone Invitational will be only his third tournament since his return from surgery a month ago at Congressional, where he missed the cut.

And during his time at home, his position in two key standings plunged.

Woods is No. 215 in the FedEx Cup – only the top 125 qualifying for the playoffs.

He is No. 70 in the Ryder Cup standings, so far away from being among the nine automatic qualifiers after next week that even if he were to win at Firestone, he wouldn’t even crack the top 20 in the standings.

At least he is playing courses that bring happy memories.

Woods has been so dominant at Firestone that he averages $10,138 for every hole he has played in competition dating to 1997. His victory last year was the third time he had won at Firestone by at least seven shots.

But that’s because he was playing well.

Firestone also is the course where he finished 30 shots out of the lead in 2010, a week before he hooked up with Sean Foley, his third swing coach as a pro.

“There’s no secret formula,” he said. “It’s just go out and play well. This golf course is right in front of you. There’s no hidden secrets out here. You’ve just got to go out there and play well.”

Different from previous injuries is that Woods said he returned to competition not much longer after he was fit enough to play. After various knee injuries, he worked himself into shape by playing a lot of golf at home. This time, he only got in a couple of rounds.

Missing the cut at Congressional was satisfying because he knew he was pain-free. Finishing in 69th place at the British Open – his worst position at a major when making the cut – was more of a disappointment. Woods said he is progressing, though it starts with eliminating mistakes.

“My good shots are still really good,” he said. “My bad shots need to be in positions where I know I should miss the golf ball, instead of places where I have been missing it.”

The field is the toughest of the year for the World Golf Championships, missing only Dustin Johnson (No. 16) from the top 50.

Rory McIlroy is playing for the first time since his wire-to-wire win at the British Open two weeks ago. Woods is playing the opening two rounds with Martin Kaymer, who went wire-to-wire at Pinehurst No. 2 to win the U.S. Open.

McIlroy and Henrik Stenson each have a mathematical chance to replace Adam Scott at No. 1 in the world.

Some of the pairings for the opening two rounds are a reminder that the Ryder Cup is not too far away. Justin Rose is playing with Rickie Fowler, who has finished second in the past two majors. McIlroy is playing with Matt Kuchar. Jordan Spieth is paired with Victor Dubuisson of France, both expected to be Ryder Cup rookies.

Woods and Kaymer would be another Ryder Cup attraction – assuming Woods is on the team. U.S. captain Tom Watson has said he wants Woods on the team, provided he is healthy and playing well. At the moment, Woods is healthy.

“I think what it’s going to boil down to, would be my guess, is how healthy Tiger is and how he feels like his game is,” said Jim Furyk, who has secured his spot on the team for the ninth straight time. “But it’s hard to imagine not having a healthy Tiger Woods on the team. He’s arguably the best player ever. If he’s healthy and he’s been playing, it’s hard to imagine he wouldn’t be on the team. But that’s not my call.”

That decision is for Watson.

And Woods can make it a lot easier depending on how he plays the next two weeks.

AKRON, Ohio – The Claret Jug is not out of sight. Rory McIlroy is just trying to get it out of his mind.

McIlroy had plenty of fun with golf’s oldest trophy after his wire-to-wire win in the British Open. He celebrated with friends in England, took the jug out for a night on the town in Belfast with his buddies, and brought it with him when he returned home to Florida. And yes, it’s with him at Firestone this week at the Bridgestone Invitational.

“I’ve sort of been taking pictures of it beside the TV and on top of the toilet and wherever it’s been,” he said. “It’s definitely nice to have it in my possession.”

And now it’s back to work.

McIlroy had two trigger words that helped him at Royal Liverpool – “process” and “spot.” They helped him focus on his long game and his putting.

He brought out a new word Tuesday at Firestone – forward.

“I think every time you have success, you need to reassess your goals because it’s only halfway, two-thirds through the season,” he said. “And a lot of the goals that I set myself for the start of the year I’ve achieved already. So that’s when you have to reassess and say, `OK, you’ve boxed that off. It’s great. Celebrate it for a couple of days.’ But then you’ve got to move on.”

“You’ve got to keep moving forward and keep thinking about what you want to achieve from now until the end of the year,” he said. “And then at the end of the year, you can really reflect on everything you’ve done and enjoy it.”

There are plenty of goals right in front of him.

McIlroy has never won a World Golf Championship, and the Bridgestone Invitational offers a great chance. Firestone is a big golf course, typically south, one that requires plenty of power, and McIlroy has that. It was at Firestone two years ago when McIlroy closed with a 68, which he cited as a key to winning the PGA Championship the following week at Kiawah Island.

And then there’s next week at Valhalla. As much as McIlroy is looking ahead to Augusta National next April and a chance to win the career Grand Slam, he wouldn’t mind getting his fourth major at the PGA Championship.

Also at stake is a chance for the 25-year-old from Northern Ireland to return to No. 1 in the world. He would have to win the Bridgestone Invitational, and Adam Scott would have to finish outside the top five.

McIlroy sounded as if he was all business.

He had a few media opportunities after winning The Open, and then headed to London for some fitness testing. After a corporate outing for one of his sponsors, he flew over to Florida and spent the rest of the time practicing for a big stretch ahead of him.

“Just decided I wanted to move on and move forward,” he said.

He has a history of moving forward. Two years ago, McIlroy followed his PGA Championship win at Kiawah Island by winning back-to-back tournaments in the FedEx Cup playoffs to wrap up his first PGA Tour money title, and then he won in Dubai at the end of the year to capture the European Tour money title.

“I didn’t want to rest on that,” he said. “I’d already had a pretty good year, but I wanted to just keep going.”

MONTREAL – When Jim Furyk’s charge to a third RBC Canadian Open title stalled in the final round, Tim Clark decided to go for it.

The 38-year-old South African, whose wife Candice is Canadian, fired five birdies on the back nine to overtake Furyk on the 15th hole and hold on to win the US$5.7 million tournament at Royal Montreal on Sunday.

Recovering from a first-hole bogey that put him four shots off the lead, Clark shot a five-under-par 65 to finish at 17-under-par 263 and claim his second career PGA Tour victory and the $1,026-million winner’s prize.

“It looked like Jim wasn’t going to make any mistakes,” said Clark, who had moved into contention with a 64 on Saturday. “He was pretty solid, so I knew I had to make birdies.

“At that point, there was nothing to lose. Suddenly I got hot and I went with it.”

It was another frustrating defeat for Furyk, who has now lost seven tournaments in a row in which he led after 54 holes. He went into the final round with a three-stroke cushion but never found traction. He shot 69 to come second at 16-under 264.

“I kind of controlled my own destiny,” said Furyk. “I’ve got to shoot three or four (under par) and it would have been impossible to catch me, or darn near it.

“I left the door open with even par on the front nine and Tim took advantage and shot 30 on the back.”

Furyk has not won since a victory at the 2010 Players Championship that gave him the FedEx Cup title and PGA player of the year honours. He fell short in a bid to join elite company in Tommy Armour, Sam Snead and Lee Trevino by becoming the fourth player to win the Canadian Open three times after his victories in 2006 and 2007.

Instead, it went to the stocky Clark, the long putter user who needed a win after battling elbow trouble in recent years.

The win moved him from 85th to 27th in FedEX Cup standings and gave him entry into next week’s World Golf Championship event in Akron, Ohio and into the PGA championship. He also gets fully exempt status on the PGA Tour through the 2015-16 season.

While Graham DeLaet’s bid to became the first Canadian to win his national open in 60 years fell short, the trophy went to a player with connections, and a history, in Canada.

Clark’s wife Candice is from Toronto and has family in Montreal. He won his first professional tournament at the New Brunswick Open on the Canadian Tour in 1998 and followed a week later with a win at the CPGA Championship.

“The irony of it is Canada could be the location of my first win and my last one,” he said. “To come back here, it’s full circle.

“That was 16 years ago when I was just cutting my teeth as a professional golfer and I was fortunate enough to be given some starts up here, so I have fond memories.

“It’s certainly one I’ve wanted to win for a long time. Any national championship to me is special. particularly to the people from that country. It’s an honour for me to be the open champion.”

DeLaet was in contention after he and Furyk tied the course record with 63s in the second round on Friday, but he went 70-68 in the last two rounds to finished at 10-under 270. He took the low Canadian honour by one stroke over Brad Fritsch of Ottawa, who closed with a 64 to end up at 9-under, tied for ninth with Kevin Kisner and Graeme McDowell.

“I fell a little short, but it was fun,” said DeLaet, Canada’s top-ranked player. “So many people were cheering for me.

“Now I know how Tiger and Phil and those guys feel all the time because it was pretty neat. Coming down 18 was a special moment.

Justin Hicks shot 64 to leap into third place alone at 13-under 267 in his best performance of the season.

Matt Kuchar (65), Michael Putnam (66) and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (66) finished tied for fourth at 11-under 269.

Golf Canada and the PGA Tour moved up the starting times by two hours and had the players go out in threesomes from both the first and 10th tees to try to fit in the final round between forecast rainstorms.

It almost worked to perfection. Most of the field had finished their rounds when a cloudburst halted play for 26 minutes with the final group – including Furyk, Clark and Kyle Stanley – had only four holes left to play.

Clark and Furyk were tied at 15-under when the rain came. When play resumed, Clark birdied to take the lead. Both players birdied the 17th to set up a dramatic final hole.

Clark left a 44-foot putt about six feet short, but Furyk missed left on a 12-footer and Clark sealed the win by holing a six-foot putt.

“Once he missed his putt, I didn’t want to have to go into a playoff, knowing he can take it over the water (off the 18th tee) and I have to play over to the right,’ said Clark. ”So it was huge for me to get it finished right there.

“I got hot with the putter on the back nine. To stand over that putt and still feel confident was really nice.”

DeLaet, from Weyburn, Sask., tied for seventh with Dicky Pride, who matched the course record with a bogey-free 63. He won the Rivermead Cup as low Canadian.

Pride had the course record at 64 the last time the event was held at Royal Montreal in 2001 only to see Scott Verplank and David Morland go one shot better the next day.

“I had to get my course record back,” said Pride, who birdied the 17th and 18th for the record. “So to tie them and go back and get it, I’m pretty happy about that.

“And I was thinking about it on 18 too, which is an idiotic thing to do, but I made the putt anyway.”

Fritsch had a 10-foot putt on the 18th in a bid for a share of the record, but missed by perhaps a centimetre.

But the 36-year-old in the Ottawa Senators golf shirt used his 64 to finish the event at 9-under. His bogey free round included three birdies and an eagle on the back nine. Fritsch just made the cut on Friday with a birdie on the 18th.

“We made the most of the weekend,” said Fritsch. “We felt like we were playing with house money this weekend just because we felt lucky to even be playing.”

“I played great today. On the back nine, I made a bunch of putts and made some good shots coming down the stretch.

Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., capped a strong first Canadian Open experience with a 69 to finish as the low amateur at 3-under.

David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C. both shot 71s and finished at 2-under. Mike Weir of Bright’s Grove, Ont. had 71 to finish at 2-over par.

Clark tied the tournament low total score of 263 with Johnny Palmer (1952) and Scott Piercy (2012).

MONTREAL – There doesn’t appear to be any stopping Jim Furyk from claiming a third RBC Canadian Open title.

The 44-year-old Furyk steamrolled his way to a bogey-free 65 in the third round at Royal Montreal on Saturday to go to 15-under-par 195 and take a three-shot lead over South African Tim Clark, while crowd favourite Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., saw his hopes sag with a three-putt on the 18th to fall seven strokes off the lead.

A forecast of thunderstorms may complicate the final round on Sunday, but Furyk is in solid position for his first PGA Tour win since the Tour Championship in 2010.

He said a key to closing out the US$5.7 million tournament will be “not really worrying about what position I’m in. Not looking at the leaderboard too much. Going out there and trying to attack the golf course the same way I have the first three days.

“I noticed there aren’t many leaderboards on the course, that might be a good thing.”

He will play the final round in a threesome with Clark, whose only Tour win was the 2010 Players Championship, and Kyle Stanley, whose lone win was at the 2012 Phoenix Open.

Clark had the low round of the day at 64 to move to 12-under. Stanley has been near the lead all week and shot 68 to take third place at 10-under par.

Furyk is a 16-time winner on Tour and will have the edge in experience. But he cautioned that the soft greens and fairways at Royal Montreal have made for low scoring and that anyone close is a threat.

“The guys that are out there who have played well for three days are all capable,” said Furyk. “Timmy Clark’s got a lot of experience. Kyle’s won before.

“The guys out there have all played well. They’ve played good rounds. You saw Graham and I shoot 7-under (on Saturday). There is a good round out there, so guys can go out there and shoot a low one and definitely put heat on the last group.”

Jamie Lovemark, whose best finish so far this season was a tie for 28th in January, shot 67 to take fourth place at 9-under.

But the galleries were watching DeLaet, Canada’s top player who is trying to become the first Canadian to win his national open since Pat Fletcher in 1954.

But after raising hopes as he and Furyk tied the course record playing together with Matt Kuchar in the second round, he managed only an even-par 70 to stay at 8 under in a tie with Joe Durant (67), Scott Brown (69) and Tim Petrovic (72).

The 32-year-old DeLaet missed a par putt on the second, but kept himself afloat until he sank a long putt for eagle on the par-5 12th. He followed with a birdie on the 14th to get to 10 under, but then put his tee shot on the 15th into a hazard for bogey.

The crowd gave him a rousing ovation as the bearded DeLaet walked up the 18th fairway, but he got too aggressive on a 9-foot birdie putt and then missed a short one for par.

“I kept plugging away,” said DeLaet. “I knew I wasn’t that far off and if I could just finish a couple under par maybe I’d have a shot (on Sunday.)

“Disappointing to three-putt the last. I really wanted to make that birdie and got over-aggressive. But it was a fun day. The crowds were amazing out there. Hopefully, I can do something special.”

If DeLaet was dejected or angry at himself, it didn’t show when he met the media off the 18th green. And he wasn’t about to concede defeat despite the gap with the leaders.

“Jim is obviously in control of his game right now, but if someone posts something you never know what could happen,” he said. “I’m just going to give it my best. I’ve got 35 million people pulling for me, so that’s pretty cool.”

Furyk won the world’s third-oldest national championship in 2006 at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club and followed with a win in 2007 at Angus Glen in Markham, Ont.

A third win would put him in a tie for second all-time with Tommy Armour (1927, 1930 and 1934), San Snead (1938, 1940 and 1941) and Lee Trevino (1971, 1977 and 1979). Leo Diegel won four titles in the 1920s.

Coming off a final round 65 to finish fourth at the British Open last Sunday, Furyk has had only one bogey, on the fourth hole of the first round, at Royal Montreal.

The third round was more complicated, but he cited up-and-down saves for par on the first, sixth, 11th and 16th for keeping his hot play alive.

“The first couple of days I struck the ball really well and never had myself in too much trouble,” he said. “Today I found a way to score and get the ball in the hole.”

In his career, Furyk has won 10 of 25 times when leading after three rounds.

Clark got off to a phenomenal start, with a birdie on the first and an eagle on the second, and then ran off three birdies on the final six holes. The 38-year-old’s experience likely makes him the most dangerous challenger.

“It’s always great to get off to a good start,” said Clark. “Saturdays are normally the toughest day to score on, so you dream of a start like that.”

Clark is coming off a strong showing at the John Deere Classic, where he tied for fifth, helping to turn around a middling season that included a problem with his left elbow that needed a cortisone injection.

“Right now I feel good and I am able to swing how I want to,” he said. “Three months ago I started to hit the good again, but I just wasn’t scoring. Finally, the last few tournaments, I’ve started to score.”

With thunderstorms in the forecast, start times were moved up two hours to 8 a.m. ET, with the players in threesomes rather than the usual pairs for the final round. The third round was played in breezy, overcast weather, with only a brief, light rain in the afternoon.

Amateur Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., rebounded from a 75 on Friday with a 68 to go to 2 under. He was 4 under through 17 holes, but the big hitter put his tee shot in a hazard and hit a weak chip shot for double bogey on the 18th.

He was happy with his week so far however, which included an opening-round 65.

“Just getting out here and experiencing what the PGA guys experience every week is pretty awesome,” the 23-year-old said. “My goal for the week was just to come out here and have some good rounds.

“Just like any other tournament, if I play good I’ll make the cut. I had a good day and a bad day, but I made the cut, which was awesome. It’s great to play two more rounds on the weekend.”

Brad Fritsch of Ottawa shot a bogey-free 67 to move to 3 under for the tournament, while Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., was at 3 under after a 68. David Hearn of Brampton, Ont., was also at 3 under after a 70.

Mike Weir of Bright’s Grove, Ont., was 1 over on the day and for the tournament.

“No bogeys out here with the wind blowing a bit – I played nicely,” said Fritsch, whose sand shot on the 18th helped save par. “Burned the edge a lot today, but I also had some good up and downs.

“It was nice to get up and down on the last, just to make sure it was bogey-free.”

MONTREAL – It was almost as if Jim Furyk, Graham DeLaet and Matt Kuchar were a team when they went on a birdie spree in the second round of the US$5.7 million RBC Canadian Open on Friday.

The threesome were all smiles after they combined for 22 birdies (and only three bogeys), while Furyk and DeLaet tied the course record with 63s in near-perfect scoring conditions at Royal Montreal’s usually daunting Blue course.

Furyk, who birdied four straight holes early in his round, emerged with a share of the tournament lead at 10-under 130 with veteran Tim Petrovic, who shot 66.

Weyburn, Sask., native DeLaet in was in a tie for third at 8-under 132 with Kyle Stanley, who had 67.

“They’re fun to play golf with,” Furyk said of DeLaet and Kuchar. “We chatted a lot out there.

“And then to have everyone play well, you’re seeing birdie putts going in, it’s a lot of fun. And I think you can feed off that a little bit. Those guys are making birdies, you feel like putts are going in, it’s a good vibe.”

In a way they are a team. They are among the 10 PGA Tour players sponsored by RBC that includes Graeme McDowell, who had five birdies of his own for a 65 to sit at 7-under 133 along with Justin Hicks (67), Scott Brown (66) and Andrew Svoboda (66).

Kuchar’s 65 put him in a group at 6-under 134 that included first-round co-leader Michael Putnam, who shot 70.

Forty-four-year-old Furyk had extra motivation. He won the event back-to-back in 2006 and 2007. One more win would put him in a tie for the second-most Canadian Open titles with Tommy Armour, Sam Snead and Lee Trevino. Leo Diegel won four in the 1920s.

“Winning any event is special,” said Furyk, who has 14 career victories. “I’ve had a lot of success (in Canada) and really a lot of support here.

“But we’re only at the halfway point.”

Furyk came into the tournament off a sizzling 65 at Royal Liverpool on Sunday that got him fourth place in the British Open. He hopped on a charter after that round to get to the RBC Canadian Open in time to readjust to the Eastern time zone and get reacquainted with the course, which he played while on the U.S. team that defeated the Internationals at the 2007 Presidents Cup.

With the fairways and greens softened by heavy rain on Wednesday, Royal Montreal was ready to be taken.

“The golf course is soft and receptive, and they have it set up where we can attack and fire at pins, so scores are going to be good,” he said. “It would be a totally different scenario if these greens were firm.”

DeLaet isn’t short of motivation either. Canada’s top-ranked player at No. 31 in FedEx Cup standings is seeking his first PGA Tour win and would like nothing more than to become the first home grown player to win the Canadian Open since Pat Fletcher in 1954.

He started the second round at 1-under, then posted five birdies on the first eight holes and nine on the day to go with a pair of bogeys.

“I felt I was in control of my game all day, with a couple of little hiccups,” the 32-year-old said. “I mean, all three of us played great.

“I never saw so many putts rolling in. It was a lot of fun. We were feeding off each other. When you see putts rolling in from everywhere like it was in our group, you just feel like putting’s easy or something and you just start holing them.”

Tying the course record was a particular thrill for the Canadian. It was set in the second round the last time the Canadian Open was played at Royal Montreal in 2001 by David Morland IV and Scott Verplank, the tournament winner.

“To share a course record here is pretty special and to have two guys in one group do it is pretty amazing,” said DeLaet.

Petrovic has been a surprise. The 47-year-old was on a family vacation when he got the call on Tuesday that he was in the RBC Canadian Open as the seventh alternate when another player withdrew. He arrived the next day and barely had time to look at the course.

Then he opened with a six-under 64 and followed with a 66 to take a share of the lead.

I have been hitting the ball really well for about the last three weeks,“ said Petrovic, who missed the cut at his last five tournaments. ”I’ve seen signs of some good rounds coming.

“Am I surprised? Maybe a little.”

It was a rough day for amateur Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hills, Ont., who stole the show in Thursday’s opening round with a 65. The 23-year-old Team Canada member gave back all his strokes by shooting five over par.

“It was a disappointing round,” said Pendrith, who had a double bogey, four bogeys and only one birdie. “To play well yesterday and come out and not play my best, I didn’t hit many greens – only six – and didn’t give myself too many chances for birdies.

“My short game was pretty good – I had a few nice saves – so I can’t be too disappointed about that. The ball striking was off today.”

MONTREAL – Canadian amateur golfers came close to making a splash at the RBC Canadian Open on Friday.

Ultimately, of the five Canadian amateurs competing in the second round, only 23-year-old Taylor Pendrith made the cut.

Despite shooting a 5-over 75 in the second round to erase the stellar 5-under 65 he shot on Thursday, Pendrith squeaked into the next round at even par, 10 strokes behind leaders Jim Furyk and Tim Petrovic.

“It was a disappointing round today,” said Pendrith, who finished one stroke off the lead after the first round of play. “To play well yesterday and come out and not play my best (today) … I didn’t hit many greens and didn’t give myself too many chances for birdies. That’s the main thing. My ball striking was off today.”

Meanwhile, amateur Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., narrowly missed the opportunity to golf throughout the weekend.

The 20-year-old had a birdie on 16, and another on 18, to finish at 1-over 171 after two days, missing the cut by one stroke.

“I’m a little rattled right now,” said Svensson. “I’m pretty disappointed. I know I can make the cut easily if I play well. My putting wasn’t there this week. It happens. My game can beat a lot of pros, and I can definitely make the cut at the Canadian Open.

“It’s always good experience. But I don’t need experience anymore, I just need to go out there and play my game.”

Corey Conners and Kevin Carrigan finished 5-over after 36 holes, while Chris Hemmerich, after a tough first round on Thursday, finished 8-over 148 overall.

Pendrith, at No. 18 in the World Amateur Golf rankings, is Canada’s top male amateur. A recent graduate from Kent State University in Ohio, Pendrith is a hard-hitting golfer who could make the move from amateur to professional as early as this fall.

Since 1984, only six amateur Canadian golfers had made the cut at the Canadian Open: Chris Baryla in 2003; Richard Scott and Victor Ciesielski in 2006; Nick Taylor in 2008; and Albin Choi in 2012.

“It’s a great experience,” said Pendrith of his first tournament playing versus the pros. “I’m having a great time out here. To get a round of 65 in my first PGA Tour is pretty awesome. The whole atmosphere was amazing. I’m hoping to be back here in a couple of years.”

Making the cut alongside Pendrith were five other Canadians – David Hearn (3-under 137), Adam Hadwin (1-under 139), Brad Fritsch (even par), veteran Mike Weir (even par), and Graham DeLaet (8-under 132).

On the heels of an impressive first-round performance in which he sunk five birdies, Hearn finished the day at even-par thanks, in part, to an eight-foot putt for birdie on the eighth hole.

“If you look at the card, that’s kind of the way I played,” said Hearn, who finished 32nd in last week’s British Open. “I made some good saves when I needed to, and I just never really got the ball quite as close as I did yesterday. But I hit the ball great from tee to green. If I can continue to do that for the rest of the week, I know I’m going to play well.”

Hadwin sunk three birdies on Friday to finish at 1-under 69 on the day, while Fritsch’s birdie on 18 gave him a 2-under 68, good for even par after two rounds.

Weir, the 2003 Masters champion, came close to bettering his score from the green on several occasions. The crowd favourite two-putted for par on the par-4 fourth hole, and again on the par-5 sixth hole, narrowly missed the cup with his first putt both times.

“They call it a game of inches, right?” said Weir, who is playing in his 24th Canadian Open. “There were a lot of things that, if they fall the other way, it could have been a good score. It just didn’t happen today. A lot of really good putts with nice speed on the correct side of the hole looked like they were going to go in, but for whatever reason they just didn’t.

“I had great crowd support out there and I was hoping to just make a few birdies and get some momentum going and get some roars going, but it just didn’t happen today.”

Four-time PGA Tour-winner Stephen Ames of Calgary finished at the bottom of the pack, shooting 10-over 150 for the tournament’s fourth-worst result.

Going into the weekend, Canadian hopes now rest on Graham DeLaet, who moved into third at 8-under after two rounds. DeLaet, ranked 38th in the world, tied the Royal Montreal course record on Friday after sinking nine birdies for 7-under 63. He also became the first Canadian since Weir in 2004 to finish in the top-3 after 36 holes.

Canadians Robbie Greenwell (2-over 142), Eugene Wong (2-over 142), Dave Levesque (3-over 173), Benjamin Silverman (4-over 144), Michael Gligic (4-over 144), Beon Yeong Lee (5-over 145), Bill Walsh (7-over 147) and Kevin Stinson (13-over 153) did not make the cut.

MONTREAL – Michael Putnam and Tim Petrovic mastered the afternoon winds to shoot six-under-par 64s and take a share of the first-round lead at the US$5.7 million RBC Canadian Open on Thursday.

But the surprise of the day was big-hitting amateur Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., who shot five-under 65 for a share of third place with Kyle Stanley.

Putnam and Petrovic played bogey-free golf at the 7,153-yard par-70 Blue Course at Royal Montreal on a near perfect day for scoring, with sunny weather and soft greens from heavy rains the previous day.

A gust wind came in for the those with afternoon starts, but it didn’t stop Putnam or Petrovic from shooting the low scores of the day, which set the course record for an opening round.

“It was tough ball-striking, but somehow I was able to keep it in the fairway and take advantage of the soft greens to hit a couple of shots close and make a couple of five-to-ten-foot putts,” said Putnam, who has been playing his best golf of the season of late with top-35 finishes in his last three outings.

The 47-year-old Petrovic didn’t know he would play until he got a call on Tuesday saying he was in as the seventh alternate. The former PGA Tour regular, playing only his eighth Tour event this season, didn’t even have his name on the program.

There was no rust in his game, however.

“I didn’t set my expectations high because I got in late, so this was kind of my practice round,” said Petrovic. “I walked the back nine (Wednesday).

“It wasn’t that I played conservative. I was just trying to hit fairways and greens, trying to see the golf course and see if I could make a few putts. I drove the ball pretty good overall.”

There were 11 players tied at 4-under 66, including Nick Watney and Charl Schwartzel, and another 16 at 3-under 67, including David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., and two-time Canadian Open champion Jim Furyk.

Another dozen were at 2-under 68 and there were 23 at 1-under 69, including top-ranked Canadian Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., and defending champion Brandt Snedeker.

Another sunny day is forecast for the second round on Friday, with a possibility of wet weather on the weekend.

The 23-year-old Pendrith, Canada’s top amateur, had a dream day in his first round of his first Canadian Open. He recently graduated from Kent State University and hopes to play in the world amateur championships this summer before likely turning pro in the fall.

Although it’s early, he’s one stroke off the lead of a tournament no Canadian has won since Pat Fletcher in 1954.

“I never expected that,” said Pendrith. “I was playing good golf coming in here, so I just played golf.

“Five-under is pretty nice. Everybody has some nerves. If you didn’t have nerves on the first tee something would be wrong with you. But after I played the first hole, I felt calm and felt I should be here.”

He played in the last threesome to tee off in the afternoon, when the worst of the wind was up, but used his long drives to cut through the tree-lined fairways and get close to the greens. He had seven birdies, including one on a putt that trickled in on the 18th, and two bogeys.

“The front nine suits my game a lot,” he said. “I can shoot driver nearly every hole.

“I had four birdies on the front nine, all with wedges.”

Pendrith is 18th in world amateur rankings, tops among Canadians. He and fellow national team members Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., who shot even-par 70, and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., who was at 4-over 74, were given entries into the Open.

Stanley’s 5-under was the best among the early tee times.

“I love this golf course,” the Gig Harbor, Wash., native said. “It’s similar to the one I grew up with in Washington, so I felt pretty comfortable.

“I hit the ball well on my first nine today. I was able to make a few of the long range putts that got the round going for me.”

The soft greens made for ideal scoring conditions, but Stanley said the course is still a challenge.

“That front nine is pretty difficult,” he said. “There’s a couple of mid-irons into the par-3s and a 500-yard par-4 (the fourth), so it’s a kind of sneaky-demanding course.”

Stanley is best known for posting his only PGA Tour win a week after a memorable collapse.

In 2012, he blew a six-shot lead in the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open and lost in a playoff to Snedeker, then bounced back with a victory at the Phoenix Open.

This season has been trying for the 26-year-old. He sits 164th in FedEx Cup standings with only one top-25 finish, which was in October.

He said it was premature to think about turning the season around after one good round.

“There’s a ton of golf left,” he said. “It’s nice to get a round like this because it shows I’m working on the right things.”

Hearn had a great round going until he bogeyed the 14th and 15th on his back nine. He recovered with a birdie at the 16th.

“Any day you come off the course and shoot 3-under and feel you left a few out there, you feel it’s a good day,” said Hearn. “I’m not overly disappointed with the way I played.

“I hit the ball great from tee to green. If I can continue to do that for the rest of the week I know I’m going to play well.”

It was a rough opening round for some. Both Stephen Ames of Calgary and one of the tournament favourites, Dustin Johnson, shot 4-over 74. John Daly had 6-over 76, Scott McCarron turned in a 78 and Erik Compton shot 79.