ANCASTER, Ontario — Scott Piercy kept his cool in the rainy first round of the Canadian Open. ANCASTER, Ontario — Scott Piercy kept his cool in the rainy first round of the Canadian Open. ADVERTISING Instead of beating up himself,
ANCASTER, Ontario — Scott Piercy kept his cool in the rainy first round of the Canadian Open.
Instead of beating up himself, the quick-tempered American roughed up defenseless Hamilton Golf and Country Club, shooting an 8-under 62 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead.
“I get really mad generally,” Piercy said. “That’s something that I have to very much control. And it’s a lot easier to control when you’re playing well. … It’s something that I constantly have to work on. I’m kind of a perfectionist in an imperfect game. … It’s just a constant battle within me that I always have to kind of keep it nice and chilled. Golf is the only time I get really upset.”
Piercy eagled the par-5 fourth and 17th holes and had five birdies and one bogey in the rainy conditions to match the competitive course record set by Warren Sye in the third round of the 1991 Ontario Amateur. The 33-year-old Las Vegas player is coming off a third-place finish two weeks ago in the John Deere Classic.
“Hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens today,” Piercy said. “I was rolling the ball well, and obviously you got to make some putts, too. Hit it solid out there. I think I only missed a couple greens, and ball-striking around here with the rough being so penal is a must to shoot well.”
He birdied three of his final five holes, punctuated with a 10-foot putt on No. 9.
“The greens were receptive,” Piercy said. “I wouldn’t say overly soft or hard.”
Greg Owen and William McGirt shot 63, and Robert Garrigus had a 64. Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters winner, was at 65 along with 2004 Canadian Open champion Vijay Singh, Troy Matteson, Bo Van Pelt, Jhonattan Vegas, Stuart Appleby and Gavin Coles.
Ernie Els, the British Open winner Sunday at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, opened with a 72.
Langer fires 64 at Senior British
TURNBERRY, Scotland — Bernhard Langer shot a 6-under 64 to take a one-stroke lead over Mark McNulty after the first round of the Senior British Open.
Langer, the German star who won the 2010 tournament at Carnoustie, had six birdies on Turnberry’s Alisa Course. Tom Lehman, Michael Allen, David Frost, Jay Don Blake, Dick Mast and Chien Soon Lu shot 66.
Tom Watson opened with a 69. He lost a playoff to Stewart Cink in the 2009 British Open at Turnberry, and won the 1977 British Open and 2003 Senior British Open at the course. The 62-year-old American, a five-time British Open winner and three-time Senior British Open champion, made the cut last week in the British Open.
England’s Roger Chapman had a 72. The won Senior PGA and U.S. Senior Open winner is trying to tie Jack Nicklaus’ record of three senior major victories in a season. Nicklaus accomplished the feat in 1991, winning The Tradition, Senior PGA and U.S. Senior Open.
Greg Norman, Fred Couples and Mark Calcavecchia also shot 72.
Lewis rides birdie spree to Evian Masters lead
EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France — Stacy Lewis made seven consecutive birdies and tied the Evian Masters record with a 9-under 63 to open a two-stroke lead after the first round.
The American, a two-time winner this year on the LPGA Tour, matched three-time champion Helen Alfredsson’s tournament record set in 2008. Lewis birdied Nos. 5-11 and 17 and 18.
South Korea’s Hee Young Park opened with a 65, compatriot Ilhee Lee had a 66, and Japan’s Mika Miyazato and Colombia’s Mariajo Uribe followed at 67.
Japan’s Ai Miyazato, the 2009 and 2011 winner, had a 71. Slumping Michelle Wie shot 73, and top-ranked Yani Tseng had a 76.
Oleson up by three at Lyoness Open
ATZENBRUGG, Austria — Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen shot a 4-under 68 to take a three-stroke lead during the suspended second round of the Lyoness Open.
Olesen had a 12-under 132 total at Diamond Country Club. France’s Thomas Levet was second after a 70.
The round was suspended because of heavy rain and lightning.
