Soaked Glen Abbey a setup for scoring

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/07/2009 (6224 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OAKVILLE, Ont. — There have been four holes-in-one, two extended delays and a whole lot of rain during a couple of crazy days at the RBC Canadian Open.

Imagine what else might happen if they actually get to play a good stretch of golf over the weekend.

That remains in doubt with ominous weather forecasts and more than half the field still not having hit a shot in the second round. The writing was clearly on the wall for the nine players who withdrew after the horn abruptly ended play just before another downpour Friday night.

Tournament officials are trying to remain optimistic.

"Our goal is to play 72 holes by the end of the day on Sunday," said Steve Carman, the PGA Tour’s tournament director. "All our planning and calculations are based on that goal."

Jerry Kelly will have a one-shot lead over Martin Laird, Tim Herron, Camilo Villegas and Nathan Green when play was to resume early this morning. He was 11-under with three holes to play in his second round.

Overnight leader Kevin Na didn’t hit a single shot Friday and was two strokes back, along with Bob Estes.

The 42-year-old Kelly hasn’t traditionally played well at Glen Abbey, but he’s in the midst of a solid season that already includes a victory in New Orleans. He took advantage of soft conditions that left the course prime for scoring. "You can get after it," Kelly said.

Calgary’s Stephen Ames also made a move up the leaderboard and was four shots back of Kelly with three holes to play in his second round. He was in the best position of the Canadians in the field after finishing up a first-round 68 Friday morning and going 3-under through 15 holes in the afternoon.

When the horn sounded to stop play, he was visibly frustrated.

"It’s difficult," Ames said. "I’m a momentum player, and stop-go, stop-go is tough mentally. But I’ve been doing it. Three holes to go, I’ll see what I can do."

While the players scrambled to leave the property Friday night, course workers flooded onto the fairways and began trying to drain as much water as possible.

Roughly 60 millimetres of rain have fallen since Thursday morning. The course won’t be able to handle much more.

"If we get any rain during the day tomorrow, we’re at what they call field capacity," Carman said. "The sponge is full of water."

The leaderboard is difficult to handicap because so little golf has been played.

Villegas is the top-ranked player in the field at No. 13 in the world and was the hottest player on the course Friday morning, chipping in for eagle at the 18th hole to finish off a first-round 63.

"What a great way to finish the round," he said.

The Colombian might end up being the man to beat at the US$5.1-million event, which features a field with just six of the top 30 players in the world. That group includes popular Canadian lefty Mike Weir, who opened with a 1-under 71 on Thursday and didn’t get on the course Friday.

The players chasing Kelly come from around the globe.

Green is an Australian who once played the Canadian Tour and has contended at this event in the past. He wasn’t surprised to be scoring well here again.

"You always play well in places you love to be," he said.

Herron is an American with four career PGA Tour victories, and Laird is a Scotsman currently playing his sophomore season on tour.

Glen Abbey is a course that suits his eye and could be a place where he gets the first PGA Tour win of his career. The Jack Nicklaus-designed course favours players with his ball flight.

Laird was one of the few guys smiling at the end of a long day.

"I like this golf course," he said. "I pretty much hit all of my drives left to right — I’m a fader of the golf ball and it’s a Nicklaus course. Visually, off the tee it just sets up absolutely perfect for me. I feel like I can just let my swing go and hit cuts the whole way. That’s nice."

Weather was also an issue during the tournament last July. Even though more than 200 millimetres of rain fell during the week, the event was able to finish as scheduled on Sunday night.

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That might not be in the cards this time around.

"It’s been an uphill battle," said Carman. "You know, we’re making progress and we just need a break."

— The Canadian Press