Blast from the past: Sean O'Hair, the last man in RBC Canadian Open field, shocks himself with 63 among things to know
HAMILTON, Ontario – Sean O’Hair said he played in a fog on Thursday, and it worked.
The last man to get into the field at the 2024 RBC Canadian Open had to drive five hours to catch a flight and played Hamilton Golf & Country Club without seeing the renovations made to the course since the last time he was here. But he went out and made five birdies and an eagle to post 7-under 63 on Thursday and trail first-round leader David Skinns by one stroke.
“I told myself not to expect too much this week,” said O’Hair, who matched his career low, his third 63 in 1,322 career stroke-play rounds. “I’m as surprised as anybody.”
O’Hair described himself as the type of person that likes to be prepared. But that’s easier said than done starting the week as the sixth alternate for the RBC Canadian Open. The 42-year-old former champion of this event didn’t learn that he had a spot in the national championship until Tuesday morning when last week’s winner of the Charles Schwab Challenge, Davis Riley, withdrew. Then O’Hair’s flight was canceled and he had to drive five hours from Lubbock, Texas, to Dallas and didn’t make it north of the border until Wednesday night.
“I don’t know, maybe I play my best golf this way,” O’Hair said.
The veteran pro is making his 15th career start at this event. He finished third at Hamilton Golf Club in 2006 in his RBC Canadian Open debut, 13 years before a course renovation, and has fond memories playing in Canada, having secured his last of four career victories at the 2011 RBC Canadian Open when the championship was played in Vancouver.
“That feels like a lifetime ago,” he said.
O’Hair has had limited status as a past champion on the PGA Tour the last few seasons, splitting time between the PGA Tour and Korn Ferry Tour. This marks just his fourth start in the big leagues this season, and he said it’s been difficult bouncing back and forth.
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“When you're playing two tours you got to play twice as well. Because you're playing half the amount of events than anybody. I'm not going to turn down PGA Tour events to play just the Korn Ferry Tour,” he said. “So I got to play well when I play and then that's about it.”
O’Hair was more than four strokes on the plus side of the ledger with the short stick on Thursday. He made a 27-foot uphill eagle putt at 17 and led the field in Strokes Gained: putting. O’Hair conceded he was exhausted from his travel woes, but he was glad to be here. As one interviewer said to him, “I’d tell you to get some rest but I’m not sure that’s the recipe for your success.”
Skinns leads
David Skinns went out in the third-to-last group on Thursday and torched Hamilton Golf & Country Club to the tune of eight birdies and a career-low 62 to take a one-stroke lead after the opening round.
The 42-year-old Englishman, who earned his first 18-hole lead/co-lead on the PGA Tour, missed the cut last week but said he felt a round like this was coming.
“Absolutely. I've been playing well the last few weeks. Colonial was not so good, but I didn't feel like I was doing a ton wrong,” said Skinns, who birdied six holes in a seven-hole stretch. “It's been there the last few weeks."
Skinns is no stranger to playing north of the border. He played 29 events over three seasons on PGA Tour Canada (2013, 2015 and 2016).
“I had a couple of great years up here. It's one of my favorite countries to come visit. I've seen it from West Coast to East Coast and kind of loved every part of it," he said. "Definitely a joy to come back.”
Skinns, who won on the Korn Ferry Tour last season to regain his status in the big leagues, has been in contention at the Cognizant Classic (T-4) and Texas Children’s Houston Open (T-7) but is still seeking his maiden Tour title. Asked what a win would mean to him, he said, “I think everyone knows the answer to that. I've been working at it for 20-something years. I've got to play tomorrow first, though.”
What's in a name?
Sam Burns carded two eagles on the par 5s and matched O’Hair with 63. His stats were impressive too: he ranked third in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, second in SG: Tee-to-Green and fifth in SG: Putting.
Burns, the 27th-ranked player in the world, entered the week with his game in a lull having missed the cut at the first two majors this season and without recording a top-10 finish in his last seven starts. But he and wife Caroline also welcomed the birth of his first child, a son named Bear. Asked for the inspiration for the name, he said, “Somehow I saw something, kind of came up with it, and I got the permission granted from Caroline, so she was on board and he just kind of looks like a little bear, so it worked out.”
Palmer's quick fix
After Ryan Palmer shot 78 last Friday at Colonial Country Club, he knew he needed a quick fix for his swing. He had missed two straight cuts and entered the week ranked 190th in the FedEx Cup. On Sunday, he played with some friends back home and decided to try something a little different.
“When I stepped to the ball, I scooted away from it a little bit, and it kind of got my body a little more loose and not so tense, I guess you could say. Weakened my left hand just a hair, and just let it go,” he explained. “It just dawned on me for some reason. I scooted back a little bit, and I was like, oh, something feels more natural here. It feels normal. So put it to work. I had a great preparation, some of my best, leading up to today, and it showed.”
It sure did. Palmer birdied three of his first five holes and carded a bogey-free 5-under 65 at Hamilton Golf Club. It was his low round of the year in a stroke-play event and his lowest score on Tour since the final round of the 2023 World Wide Technology Championship in November.
It didn’t hurt that Palmer’s putter heated up. He made a 24-foot birdie putt at the fifth and a 19-foot birdie at No. 12.
“I've been putting better than I've putted in recent years, and I finally put my iron play to work,” he said. “It's been a struggle these last few months when I've played. Ball striking has been probably some of the worst it's been in recent years.”
But thanks to a small change in his setup he was on point in the first round. He ranked sixth in proximity to the hole (28’8”), gained over three strokes to the field on the greens and got up and down all five times he missed the green in regulation.
“It's a great feeling to put a good round together,” he said.
Canadian Pride
There are 28 Canadians competing in the Canadian Open. That’s the most in tournament history when co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour. Low Canadian in the first round? That would be David Hearn, who shot 3-under 67 but it was 54-year-old Mike Weir who was busy turning back the clock. Making his 31st appearance in his national championship, the past Masters champion shot a 2-under 68 on Thursday.
“I have belief in myself and I feel like I still have the tools to compete when things are on,” Weir said. “The things I've been working on with David Leadbetter are kicking into gear.”
It wasn’t a banner day for the defending champion Nick Taylor. He received plenty of support from the Canadian faithful but didn’t give them many reasons to cheer. He posted a 2-over 72, but noted that he proved last year after an opening-round 75 that it’s not how you start but how you finish.
“I guess three shots lower than last year, so, I’ve got that going for me,” Taylor said with a smile.
Taylor lost more than four strokes to the field on the greens.
Corey Conners and Taylor Pendrith both shot 1-under 69. Adam Hadwin has work to do to make the weekend after 72.
Hadwin's tackler speaks out
A year ago, just seconds after Nick Taylor made a 72-foot bomb on the fourth playoff hole to win Canada's national tournament, his fellow countryman and winner on the PGA Tour Adam Hadwin ran on the green, along with several other Canadian players, to celebrate with him and shower him with champagne. But Hadwin was promptly tackled by a security guard, who was just doing his job, and didn’t recognize him.
After a year in the shadows, the man notorious for that body blow finally spoke with Canadian TV network TSN this week, although he did so anonymously.