Tune in at 3:00 PM ET on Saturday for third round coverage of the RBC Canadian Open. Ryan Kelly will be liveblogging for your enjoyment.
Hello and welcome to ScoreMobile's ongoing coverage of the PGA Tour. Today we present third round coverage of the RBC Canadian Open from Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Ancaster, Ontario, Canada.
After Greg Owen and William McGirt tied the course record with opening rounds of 7-under 63, Scott Piercy did them one better, setting a new course record by firing an 8-under 62.
He backed that up with a 3-under 67 on Friday, while McGirt fired a 4-under 66 to give the pair a share of the 36-hole lead at 11-under.
Piercy and McGirt have both made moves to extend their advantage -- they are both -3 through 8 holes -- while Robert Garrigus (-13) and Josh Teater (-12) have kept pace with where they started the day.
Chris Kirk has been on fire today, making the turn in 6-under and adding another birdie at the 10th to sit -7 on his round and -12 overall.
The weather earlier today was calling for heavy rains and yesterday the call was made to play the third round of split tees and in threesomes. The weather never came though.
Par 4 9th - McGirt had 19'8" for birdie and while he read the right-to-left break correctly, he didn't give it nearly enough pace and it came up short. Garrigus -- who hit a wonderful approach to 8-feet -- cashes-in and we now have a three-way tie at the top.
Par 4 9th - Piercy -- who missed the green to the left -- played a deft pitch and saved par from just inside 4-feet. McGirt then cleans up his par effort from just over 3-feet.
How dialed in has Chris Kirk been with his irons today? Other than a 31-foot bomb at the 6th, his longest made birdie was 10-feet, 5-inches.
Par 4 10th - Garrigus takes less than driver and positions himself perfectly in the fairway. Piercy using a hybird didn't quite seem to release the club and blocked it out to the right. He looks to have found the lateral hazard. McGirt then takes a 5-wood and stripes it down the right side of the fairway.
Par 4 14th - Kirk's tee shot missed the fairway to the left, but no matter he hits a wonderful approach that settles just about pin-high and leaves him a little less than 15-feet for birdie.
Par 4 14th - Kirk's birdie attempt is just slightly off line and not quite hit hard enough, but he taps-in for a routine par.
Par 4 10th - Piercy's tee ball was in the hazard and after taking his drop, there is some debate about whether he will get relief from a tire rut his ball settled in.
Par 4 10th - Piercy did not get relief from the rut and he plays a safe approach with his third that lands on the right side of the green with the hole cut towards the left. Garrigus then had 119-yards and he hit a good but not great approach that checks up underneath the hole. McGirt then -- from 104-yards -- hits an absolute gem that stops 4-feet or so below the hole.
Par 4 15th - Kirk misses the fairway on the right side and leaves himself with a tricky second. He has only 95-yards, but controlling his distance and spin will be key as the pin is cut on the front-right. Left side of the fairway would be the preferred angle.
Par 4 10th - Piercy had just over 33-feet for par and he gave it a little too much juice, rolling it a good 4-feet past. Garrigus then failed to hit his birdie putt hard enough and settles for a disappointing par. McGirt takes advantage of his nice approach and converts the 5-foot birdie putt to take the lead outright at -15.
Par 4 15th - Kirk hits a nice approach, playing cautious to not go right at the flag, landing it just left of it. He'll have less than 10-feet for birdie.
Par 4 10th - Piercy was able to salvage a bogey, just narrowly sneaking his putt in on the low side.
Par 4 15th - Kirk gave his putt a good roll, but it just trickled by on the left. He remains at -12.
Par 4 11th - While they took different clubs off the tee, Garrigus, McGirt and Piercy all find the middle of the fairway at the long par 4 with a big dogleg to the left.
If you were disappointed that "Get in the hole" guy made his way to last week's Open Championship, how do you feel about "Get in the hole, eh."
Par 4 11th - Despite the solid tee shots, the three approach shots are average at best. Garrigus and Piercy both watched theirs spin back off the front, while McGirt carried his past the flag and will leave a downhill putt.
Par 3 16th - Kirk missed the green on the left which left only a little sliver of green to work with, but he hit a wonderful pitch that settled less than 3-feet away.
Par 4 11th - Piercy elected to putt from just off the green and while he missed the birdie attempt, he had a routine par. McGirt was next to play and he never gave the left-to-right downhill putt enough juice, but he, too, cleaned up his par. Garrigus, also putting from off the surface, and he rams it right in the middle. He joins McGirt at -15.
Chris Kirk did clean up his short par putt at the 16th.
Par 4 12th - At the short par 4, Garrigus and Piercy both club-down with irons and find the fairway. McGirt tried to hit a mini-draw up the right side, but didn't get enough turn and ends up in the primary rough.
Par 4 12th - Piercy had a good angle to the pin cut back-left, but he doesn't carry it far enough and it lands in the middle of the green. There is a ridge to navigate between his ball and the hole. Garrigus then from a slightly worse angle, carries it just past hole-high, but does get it on the top shelf. McGirt hacks it out of the rough, but doesn't quite get it to the second level and it rolls back quite a bit.
Par 4 12th - Both McGirt and Piercy had a little less than 40-feet for birdie. Piercy went first and rolled his a couple feet past. McGirt nearly took full advantage of the extra information he gained from his playing partner, but the ball just tailed off to the right at the end. Garrigus had a good look at birdie from just inside 13-feet, and he judged it beautifully to take the lead outright at -16.
Scott Stallings is -6 on his round and is now in solo 5th at -11.
Including his win last week, he looks to be on pace for his 7th straight round in the 60s.
In 46 2012 rounds prior to that, he had 4.
Par 3 13th - Long of the hole cut middle-back is no good, and so Garrigus' tee shot is a bit cautious and lands on the front-right portion of the green.
Par 5 17th - Kirk found the right side of the green, just past pin-high, but 52-feet from the hole cut on the left. He hits a solid lag that leaves him about 4-feet or so for birdie.
Par 3 13th - Both McGirt and Piercy miss the green and find the primary rough. They'll need to judge the spin well to keep it below the hole and give them good looks to save par.
Par 5 17th - Kirk started his birdie putt way to the right and it never had a chance to break in. A pretty disappointing 3-putt par for him there.
Par 3 13th - McGirt - from the sand - kept his second below the hole and while he still has 20-feet, it's at least uphill. Piercy's second shot came out of the rough hot and it rolled just under 12-feet past the hole, but he'll have a lightning quick putt back down the hill. Garrigus gave his birdie putt a nice effort, but it just missed on the high side and leaves him 2-feet for par.
Some tough flags at Hamilton G&CC today. Still lots of red numbers though. #RBCCOby RBCCanadianOpen via twitter edited by Ryan Kelly 7/28/2012 7:08:52 PM
Matt Hill is making the first hole look easy. Just birdied it for the third straight day to move back to -2. #RBCCO #CANTOURby cantour via twitter 7/28/2012 7:10:04 PM
Brian Davis of England is 6-under on his round through 16. He's 9-under overall. #RBCCOby LarryatTheSpec via twitter 7/28/2012 7:16:42 PM
get in the hole eh #canadianopenby PHILinthe_blank via twitter 7/28/2012 7:44:58 PM
