TORONTO — Days after being bumped by the PGA Tour’s partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Wealth Fund, Rory McIlroy has put himself in position to fight for his third straight Canadian Open title.
McIlroy, the strongest voice against Saudi-funded LIV Golf who said on Wednesday it feels like a “sacrificial lamb,” shot a 6-under 66 Saturday in leafy Oakdale, leaving him two sessions behind leader CT Pan.
The main champion from Northern Ireland won four times in 2019 in Hamilton, then – after the event was canceled two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic – won last year in Toronto’s St. George’s amid a flurry of LIV golf controversy. He was asked if that meant more again with Tuesday’s news.
“Look, I’d like to win the Canadian Open for the third time. I haven’t won a championship three times in a row,” McIlroy said. “I felt like last year’s win wasn’t just for me, it was for a few other things. But this win, this year, if I can cross the line, it’s only for me.”
Pan, from Taiwan, birdied the final two holes for a 66 to reach 14-under 202. The 31-year-old former University of Washington player won the 2019 RBC Heritage title for his only PGA Tour title.
“It’s always great to see my name at the top of the leaderboard,” Ban said. “Not just the leaderboards, just to compete. That’s all I want to do before the tournament starts. Birdie birdie is over. That puts me in a good place. But I still have a lot of work to do.”
Ranked third, McIlroy is bidding for his world No. 32 win a week before the US Open at Los Angeles Country Club.
“For whatever reason I seem to play better when there is less noise in the golf world,” said McIlroy. “It’s really nice to get in the ropes and just focus on my job at the end of the day, which is trying to get the ball around the golf course.”
McIlroy Birdied made 11th, 12th and 13th, then holed the last five.
“The putter got a little cold for those last five holes,” McIlroy said. “But overall it’s great to put myself in tomorrow. There’s a lot of people out there around the lead, so it’s going to be an interesting day.”
England’s Tommy Fleetwood (64) and Justin Rose (66) – McIlroy’s teammates in the European Ryder Cup – were also beaten two behind at 12-under, along with Mark Hubbard (66), Harry Higgs (67) and Andrew Novak (67).
The best Canadian was Nick Taylor, hitting a record-breaking par-layout 63 on the historic 27-hole facility to reach an 11-under par. He is attempting to become the first Canadian winner since Pat Fletcher in 1954.
Aaron Ray was also 11 under the age of 69. Canadian Corey Conners had another stroke after 70.
The Chinese second-round leader Carl Yuan scored 74 points in the tie, ranking sixteenth in seventh place.
Former amateur Ludwig Aberg, a Swede who starred at Texas Tech, finished 33 in fourth place after being 71 in his pro debut.