OAKVILLE, Ont. – As Graham DeLaet‘s shot cleared the water hazard and bounced into the rough 25 feet left of the hole at No. 7, the banging began. All around the tee box fans were pounding on hockey boards setup for a special Canadian-themed hole. Around the hole, fans whistled and clapped.
No. 7 at Glen Abbey Golf Course became something of an oasis for DeLaet and Mackenzie Hughes on Saturday as the two remaining Canadians in the field struggled through the third round of the RBC Canadian Open.
No detail has been omitted from the 156-yard par 3 No. 7. Event volunteers wore the black and white stripped jerseys of hockey referees, goalie masks stood in for the tee markers and, of course, there were the hockey boards surrounding the tee itself.
“It’s very Canadian. It’s fun,” said DeLaet. “The noise that they make, I think it’s something that can hopefully evolve into kind of the feature hole out here, whatever it may be. It’s cool.”
DeLaet, from Weyburn, Sask., dropped 27 spots down the leaderboard after shooting a 1-over 73 to finish in a tie for 41st at 7 under. Hughes laboured even more, dropping 41 spots into 55th after a 2-over 74 day put his total score at 6 under. Both had started the day within four shots of second-round leader Martin Flores.
“It’s a hard game and probably looked that way if you watched me play,” said Hughes. “I found the rough off the tee a few times, more than I was the first couple days, and putter wasn’t really co-operating. So it’s frustrating.
“I wanted to do well and felt like I was primed for a good day but didn’t happen. So on to the next.”
It’s not like conditions at Glen Abbey were poor, either. Robert Garrigus shot a 10-under 62 to match the course record and briefly hold the lead, while Charley Hoffman was atop the leaderboard at 17 under after shooting a 7-under 65. Second place Kevin Chappell was a shot back after his 6-under 66.
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“It was obviously pretty scorable,” said DeLaet. “You see the numbers that the guys are putting up and that’s kind of what makes it more frustrating when you’re sitting over par.
“It was disappointing for sure, but I still had a pretty good time. There was a lot of support out there from the Canadian fans and hopefully tomorrow I can give them something to cheer about.”
Hughes was also optimistic heading into the final round of play, saying he was going to use the afternoon to try and iron out the kinks in his game.
“Doesn’t feel like it’s far off. Just golf,” said Hughes. “I just felt like it was good swings going in bad places. The putter was a little cold and the putter’s been quite good to me this year. Actually, the first few days, it hasn’t been that good.
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Hughes added with a laugh: “So try and get that sorted out and maybe a course record tomorrow.”