Wheatcroft in contention at Open
OAKVILLE, Ontario – Dustin Johnson made a 10-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th hole Thursday for a 6-under 66 and a share of the Canadian Open lead with Luke List.
The U.S. Open champion set up the eagle with a 364-yard drive and 150-yard approach. In windy conditions at sun-baked Glen Abbey, Johnson also had seven birdies and drove into the water on the par-4 14th en route to a double bogey. Johnson played the three back-nine par-5 holes in 4 under.
List birdied all four par 5s in a round he closed with seven pars.
Trinity High School graduate Steve Wheatcroft had a great start as well, including an eagle on the 542-yard par-5 18th hole to finish at minus-4 and in a tie for seventh place.
After a bodey on the par-3 12th hole that dropped him to even, Wheatcroft had birdies on the 13th and 16th holes before hitting his drive on 18 351 yards to set up a 159-yard shot to the green, which he placed three feet from the hole.
Canadian amateur Jared du Toit was a stroke back along with former Arizona State teammate Jon Rahm, Chesson Hadley and Kelly Kraft. Coming off his junior season for the Sun Devils, du Toit holed out with an 8-iron for eagle on the par-4 17th and birdied 18.
Brandt Snedeker, the 2013 winner at Glen Abbey, had a 68 to match Brendon de Jonge, Wheatcroft and Cameron Tringale.
Top-ranked defending champion Jason Day was in the group at 69.
U.S. drops two matches: The United States lost both of its four-ball matches to England, and Yani Tseng helped Taiwan sweep Australia in the opening session of the UL International Crown.
Lexi Thompson and Cristie Kerr lost 2 and 1 to Holly Clyburn and Jodi Ewart Shadoff, and Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller fell to Charley Hull and Melissa Reid by the same score. Thompson, Kerr and Lewis were on the American team that finished sixth in 2014 in the inaugural event after being swept the first day.
Next up is two more days of four-ball matches at the Merit Club. The top two in each pool and the winner of wild-card playoff between the third-place teams will advance to the singles matches Sunday.
Austin finishes strong at Senior British Open: Woody Austin made four birdies in a six-hole stretch on the back nine and finished with a 4-under 68 to take the first-round lead in the Senior British Open.
The 52-year-old Austin rebounded from bogeys on Nos. 9 and 10 with birdies on 11, 12, 14 and 16. He has struggled after winning three times in four events this year on the PGA Tour Champions.
Mark O’Meara was a stroke back along with Carlos Franco, Esteban Toledo, Joe Durant, Tom Byrum, Scott McCarron and Peter Fowler. Franco, from Paraguay, qualified Monday.