Wheatcroft in hunt at Canadian Open
Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo shot a bogey-free 8-under 64 on Thursday to take the first-round lead in the Canadian Open.
The 22-year-old Grillo birdied three of the four par 5s at Glen Abbey. He earned a spot in the field Sunday with a top-10 finish in Alabama in the Barbasol Championship, just making it in when he birdied the final hole to tie for 10th.
“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.”
He won the Argentine Open last season for his biggest career victory, and lost in a playoff this year in the Puerto Rico Open.
Vaughan Taylor and Brian Harman were a stroke back. Two-time heart transplant recipient Erik Compton was at 66 along with Steve Wheatcroft, Tyrone Van Aswegen and Australian amateur Ryan Ruffels.
Wheatcroft, a former Washington resident, shot 1-under on the front 9 and 5-under on the back. He held the lead at one point before slipping back.
The 49-year-old Taylor is almost a year removed from a boating accident last year on Lake Thurmond between South Carolina and Georgia. He panicked in the water before swimming to safety.
Jason Day, coming off a tie for fourth Monday in the British Open, opened with a 68.
Langer shares lead at Senior British Open: Defending champion Bernhard Langer had a 5-under 65 for a share of the first-round lead in the Senior British Open.
Langer was tied with Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez, Americans Michael Allen, Bart Bryant, Marco Dawson, Jeff Sluman and Lee Janzen, and China’s Lianwei Zhang.
Three share lead at LPGA event: Lizette Salas, Katherine Kirk and Dori Carter shared the first-round lead in the Meijer LPGA Classic at 7-under 64 at Blythefield Country Club. Jaye Marie Green and rookie Wei-Ling Hsu were a shot back in the second-year tournament.
Havret ace helps in European Masters: France’s Gregory Havret made a hole-in-one on the 195-yard 13th and shot a 7-under 63 to take the first-round lead in the European Masters. Denmark’s Lasse Jensen was a stroke back. England’s Danny Willett of England, coming off a tie for sixth Monday in the British Open, topped the group at 65.