Cameron Champ is making the most of his opportunity north of the border.
The three-time PGA Tour winner who’s fallen to No. 420 in the world rankings shot a 4-under-par 66 on Friday to take the halfway lead at the RBC Canadian Open in Caledon, Ontario.
Champ is in the field at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley only because Sahith Theegala withdrew before the event. After opening the tournament with a 62, Champ remained bogey-free through 36 holes to improve to 12-under 128.
He’s two shots ahead of Andrew Putnam, whose 8-under 62 Friday was the low round of the day.
“I definitely didn’t think I was getting in,” Champ said of being the eighth alternate for the tournament. “I know the deadline, some guys will withdraw over the weekend, something like that, but eight, I was like, ‘Yeah, probably not getting in.’
“Luckily I actually brought my passport. I don’t know why I brought it. I was like, ‘You know, I’m just going to bring it in case for whatever reason,’ not even thinking about the tournament. So it all worked out nicely.”
Champ, who lost his PGA Tour card in 2024, revealed that off-the-course issues have made it “a little rough for (him) to even be out here.”
“I just finally kind of accepted that and finally got some help and slowly working towards that, which has been nice,” he said.
Putnam, whose only win on tour came in 2018, had four birdies on each nine Friday while staying bogey-free. He thanked an equipment fix that he recently made.
“I’ve been rocking the same putter grip for a year and a half and was well overdue,” Putnam said. “It was getting kind of slimy and hard to hold onto. So I think (the new one) helps. My hands feel very comfortable on the putter.”
First-round co-leader Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark only managed a 70 Friday and is tied for third with a pair of Canadians hoping to win their national championship.
Nick Taylor, who won in 2023 to end a 69-year Canadian drought at the tournament, carded a 65 to get to 9 under.
“The fans are phenomenal,” Taylor said. “The ovation on the first hole alone, we had the national anthem, it felt like, almost every tee box. It was fun. The Rink Hole (a hockey-themed hole) was buzzing. It was a fun day.”
Richard Lee did him one better with a 64 that included a four-hole birdie run, and the 34-year-old made the cut at this event for the first time in his career. Lee, ranked No. 172 in the world, primarily plays in Asia for now.
“I think it’s a little bit of more comfortable out in Asia, living in Asia as well,” Lee said. “Just had a kid last year as well. It’s going to be kind of tough going back and forth, but hopefully if I go to Q-School this year and make it, we’re going to probably make our way out to the U.S.”
A host of notable names tied for sixth at 8 under included Sam Burns (66 Friday), Jake Knapp (69), Irishman Shane Lowry (68) and New Zealand’s Ryan Fox (66).
Rory McIlroy, meanwhile, will get a head start packing for the U.S. Open. The Northern Irishman made a quadruple-bogey 8 early in his second round en route to an 8-over 78. Already in danger of missing the cut after a first-round 71, McIlroy (9 over) placed 149th out of 153 golfers who finished two rounds.
McIlroy struggled with a new driver, hitting only four of 14 fairways in regulation. He ranked near the bottom of the field in strokes gained putting, as well.
“Of course it concerns me,” McIlroy said. “You don’t want to shoot high scores like the one I did today. Still, I felt like I came here obviously with a new driver thinking that that sort of was going to be good and solve some of the problems off the tee, but it didn’t.
“Obviously going to Oakmont next week, what you need to do more than anything else there is hit fairways. Still sort of searching for the sort of missing piece off the tee.”
Also missing the cut line of 3 under par were Max Homa (2 under), Tom Kim of South Korea (1 under), Justin Rose of England (1 under) and Sungjae Im of South Korea (even par).
–Field Level Media
