Round 1, RBC Canadian Open

text size

Jul. 23, 2009
By PGATOUR.COM staff

Latest updates on the first round (all posted times are ET):

THE RAIN HAS STOPPED (2:20 p.m.): The rain has stopped at the RBC Canadian Open, which has been delayed since early this morning because of inclement weather. However, because Glen Abbey took on so much water -- three holes are badly flodded -- it will take some time to get the course ready. As a result, the resumption of play has been pushed back to 4:10 p.m.

UPDATE ON PLAY (12:15 p.m.): The latest update from the RBC Canadian Open is that play is estimated to resume at 3:10 p.m. local time. We will continue to update you throughout the day with more news as it becomes available. Meanwhile, here are some early-round highlights in today's edition of Morning Movers . Also, John Daly, who was 1 under through two holes when play was stopped this morning, offered this view of conditions at Glen Abbey.

WEATHER UPDATE (10:28 a.m.): There's still no word on when play will resume at the RBC Canadian Open, but the forecast calls for more rain this afternoon. In addition to Thursday's downpour, the course was drenched earlier in the week and was still damp from that prior to the start of the first round.

PLAY SUSPENDED (8:58 a.m.): Play has stopped early in the first round because of inclement weather at Glen Abbey. When play resumes, John Merrick will try to extend his lead after making birdies on two of his first six holes to sit on top. The forecast calls for heavy rain throughout the day with a risk of thunderstorms.

Groups We're Watching

Tee time	Players
7:20 a.m. ET No. 1		Luke Donald, Vaughn Taylor, Patrick Sheehan After finishing T5 in the Open Championship last weekend, Donald will be setting his sights on a tournament win this weekend.
7:30 a.m. ET No. 10		Mike Weir, Sean O'Hair, Scott Verplank Weir will be back home in Canada and looking to recover from missing the cut at the Open Championship last weekend. He has two top-10 finishes since the beginning of June.
12:55 p.m. ET No. 1		Bo Van Pelt, Anthony Kim, David Gossett Van Pelt enters the weekend coming off his first career TOUR victory in Milwaukee. Kim finished third at the AT&T National but missed the cut at the Open Championship.

EXPERT PREVIEW: PGA TOUR on-site correspondent Larry Rinker previews Thursday's first round:

Thursday's forecast

Scattered Showers
Temp: 72 high/61 low
Heavy rain expected, possibly over one inch. Winds from the southeast at 10 to 20 mph.

Mike Weir tees off at 7:30 a.m. on No. 10 and leads a contingent of Canadians trying to win their National Championship for the first time since Pat Fletcher in 1954. Weir, who hosted the Monday Celebrity Pro-Am that benefited his foundation, will be inducted to the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame later this year.

Also trying to end the 54-year drought are Nick Taylor and Matt Hill, who are paired together and tee off number 10 at 9:00. They are the No. 1 and 2 ranked players, respectfully, in the R&A World Amateur Rankings. Nick Taylor was low amateur in the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage and recently lost in the finals of the U.S. Public Links to Brad Benjamin. Matt Hill won seven of his last eight collegiate events including the NCAA Championship, which earned him the ACC player of the year award.

Bo Van Pelt, coming off his first PGA TOUR victory of his career last week at the U.S. Bank Championship, spent Monday and Tuesday in Chicago working on his short game with legendary Phil Rodgers. Before there was Seve Ballesteros and Paul Azinger, there was Phil Rodgers who won on the PGA TOUR and worked with Jack Nicklaus on his short game among others.

The one stat you need to know

Weir is making his 19th appearance in the national championship, back at Jack Nicklaus-designed Glen Abbey for the second straight year and 25th time overall.

The Film Room

	Opening Shot Beau Estes and Brian Katrek discuss the victories of Stewart Cink and Bo Van Pelt and look ahead to the RBC Canadian Open. Watch it
	Heading north Anthony Kim takes time to discuss his recent play on Wednesday before the RBC Canadian Open. Watch it
	Homecoming Mike Weir talks about returning home to Canada and what it would take to win this weekend. Watch it