HAMILTON, Ontario—Ryan Fox closed with a 14-foot birdie putt late Friday afternoon for a 6–under 64 and a share of the second-round lead with Robert MacIntyre in the RBC Canadian Open.
Finishing on the front nine at Hamilton Golf and Country Club, Fox birdied the par-5 fourth and par-4 fifth, then rebounded from a bogey on the par-3 sixth with the birdie on the par-4 ninth. The 37-year-old New Zealander is winless in 47 career PGA Tour starts.
“I drove it great, I hit may irons really well and had a few more putts drop today,” said Fox, the the son of former New Zealand rugby star Grant Fox. “It could have been really silly, but I still had a lot of good putts.”
MacIntyre had a 66 in the morning for his second straight bogey-free round. The 27-year-old Scottish left-hander is winless in 44 career PGA Tour starts.
“When I missed the green I’ve had a good short game,“ MacIntyre said. ”To be honest, I think I’ve missed it in the right spots. I miss it fat side of the green, not short-sided and we can kind of run it. If not, we fly it over it.”
The leaders were at 10–under 130 on the traditional layout.
“Golf course kind of suits my eye,” Fox said. “Similar grass to what we play at home. Similar kind of old style, tree-lined golf course, which is what I grew up on.”
Joel Dahmen was third, two strokes back after a 65.
“I believe I should be here. It’s where I’m supposed to be, so I’m excited to hit golf shots under the gun on the weekend,” Dahmen said. “I haven’t done that in a long time, so I’m excited for that.”
Canadian Mackenzie Hughes had two eagles—and two closing bogeys—in a 64 to join first-round leader David Skinns and Andrew Novak at 7 under.
“I’ve had a few minutes to process the round and kind of the whole day, and while the finish was disappointing, I look at the whole body of work,” Hughes said. “If you told me I was going to shoot 64, I would have taken it. It gets me into contention for the weekend and that’s all I can ask for.”
Defending champion Nick Taylor missed the cut with rounds of 72 and 71. Last year at Oakdale in Toronto, he made an 80-foot eagle putt in a playoff to become the first Canadian to win the event since 1954.
Two-time Canadian Open champion Rory McIlroy, was 2 under, following a 66 on Thursday with a 72 playing alongside Taylor. McIlroy won in 2019 the last time the tournament was in Hamilton and again in 2022 at St. George’s in Toronto.
Skinns followed his opening 62 with a 71.
“I just couldn’t get a putt to go in, that’s really the story,” Skinns said. “It wasn’t that much different. It looks a lot different on the scorecard, but it wasn’t that much different.”
Novak shot 67.
