When the PGA Tour flipped the Memorial and RBC Canadian Open on the schedule, the latter became the final tune-up for the 2025 U.S. Open. While Oakmont looms large on the horizon as one of golf’s most difficult tests, players at TPC Toronto were given an opportunity to pile up birdies in bunches during Thursday’s first round.
The afternoon wave got the better of the weather draw, and it showed on the leaderboard as the 5 under mark that was leading after the morning wave was only good for T9 entering the second round. With rain in the morning, they opted to play the ball up, but once the rain stopped and the course began to dry out, players were getting the benefit of both roll out and the opportunity to lift, clean and place their balls in the fairways.
That led to some extremely low scores as Thorbjørn Olesen and Cristobal Del Solar fired matching 9-under 61s to set the pace after 18 holes. Olesen was a Monday qualifier and noted that his play just to get a Thursday tee time helped give him a confidence boost that carried over into his first round.
“It was a long day. Obviously, it makes it easier when you’re playing well. But yeah, it’s a fight,” Olesen said. “There’s a lot of guys, and you know you have to shoot some low numbers to be able to qualify, so it definitely gave me some confidence for this week.”
Leading the chase group are all players who teed it up in the afternoon, as Cameron Champ (62), Jake Knapp (63), Shane Lowry, Trey Mullinax, Ricky Castillo and Rasmus Højgaard (64) all found plenty of success in the ever-improving conditions at TPC Toronto.
One name absent from the top of the leaderboard after the first round is Rory McIlroy, who struggled to a 1-over 71 in the morning that puts him in a tie for 119th, 10 shots off the lead. While McIlroy got the worse end of the weather draw, it was also the continuation of some lackluster play since winning the Masters and completing the career grand slam. This is his first event since he made the cut on the number and finished 47th at the PGA Championship; McIlroy skipped the Memorial to play in Canada where he’s won before. The time away wasn’t what he needed to get back on track as he appeared to be off his A-game once again.
For as much as the conversation around McIlroy has been about his new driver after his old one failed testing (along with that of Scottie Scheffler) at the PGA Championship, that was not the issue Thursday. McIlroy wasn’t great but gained strokes off the tee while losing strokes to the field everywhere else (approach, around the green and putting). That’s a bad combination, but after the round, McIlroy insisted he wasn’t far off.
“I actually felt like I played OK,” McIlroy said. “There were a couple of shots in there — it was the first outing with the new driver, and I felt like that went pretty well. I hit some drives that I like to see, so that was encouraging. Hit some good iron shots. Missed a couple of greens and didn’t get them up-and-down, especially the last couple holes. Overall, I’m actually pretty happy with how I played. Obviously, we need to go a little bit lower tomorrow and over the weekend to have a chance, but yeah, overall, I’m still trying to work on some things, but I’m OK with where everything is.”
Even though it was the rest of his game that lagged behind Thursday, his focus still seemed to largely be on dialing in his new driver.
“I’ll go hit some balls,” McIlroy said of his afternoon plans. “With the driver, the one I had been playing previously, my miss with it had been a little bit left. And then my miss with this one is a little bit right, so it’s trying to figure out that and manage it a little bit. But it’s a nice feeling to be able to aim up the middle of the fairway and fully release it and know it’s not gonna go left on you.”
At this point, McIlroy’s goals have to shift a bit to go from trying to win another Canadian Open to simply trying to make the weekend and build some positive momentum heading into Oakmont. It’s clear he’s not entirely comfortable or confident with everything he’s doing at the moment, particularly with the driver, and that’s something he will need to sort out before dealing with the vicious rough that course presents if he’s going to contend for another U.S. Open win.
The leaders
T1. Thorbjørn Olesen, Cristobal Del Solar (-9): Del Solar had a 59 firmly in his sights after a birdie on No. 16 got him to 10 under, needing just a par-birdie finish on the final two holes to break 60. However, a bogey on No. 17 dropped him back to 9 under and he couldn’t take advantage of the par-5 18th and ends up tied with Olesen for the first round lead, only able to shoot a 61. He does know how to go low (he once shot a 57 on the Korn Ferry Tour), but with just six made cuts in 15 career PGA Tour starts (and no top 10s), he now finds himself in uncharted territory.
For Olesen, he’ll look to keep the good vibes rolling after finding a way to back up a strong Monday qualifier round with an even better one Thursday. He’s got a pair of top 10s on the PGA Tour this year, so seeing his name on the first page of the leaderboard isn’t a completely foreign feeling, but there’s still a long way to go as he likewise seeks out his first career win on the PGA Tour.
Contenders
3. Cameron Champ (-8)
4. Jake Knapp (-7)
T5. Rasmus Højgaard, Shane Lowry, Trey Mullinax, Ricky Castillo (-6)
T9. Taylor Pendrith, Robert MacIntyre and six others (-5)
T18. Sam Burns, Nick Taylor, Wyndham Clark and 11 others (-4)
Champ only has five PGA Tour starts all season and two made cuts, but he looks like he’ll do more than just make the weekend in Toronto. He hasn’t won a PGA Tour event since 2021, but he found a gear we haven’t seen from him in quite some time Thursday. Knapp hit a rough patch after The Players with four missed cuts in his last seven events, but he too was able to get hot and put himself in contention after the first round.
The group at 6 under is where we start to get away from the surprising names as Lowry seems to find his way onto the first page of the leaderboard most Thursdays in his starts. His challenge now is to find a way to put three more great rounds together to register his first individual win on the PGA Tour since the 2019 Open.
The top Canadian on the leaderboard is Taylor Pendrith at 5 under; he was one of the best in the morning wave and looked to be at his best on home soil. Pendrith is joined at 5 under by defereigningnding champion Robert MacIntyre. Sam Burns and Nick Taylor were also among the best from the morning groups, and they will hope to make up some ground on Friday when the playing field is (hopefully) a bit more level.
2025 RBC Canadian Open updated odds, picks
Odds via BetMGM
- Thorbjørn Olesen (4-1)
- Shane Lowry (8-1)
- Jake Knapp (12-1)
- Cameron Champ (14-1)
- Robert MacIntyre (14-1)
- Taylor Pendrith (16-1)
- Rasmus Højgaard (16-1)
- Cristobal Del Solar (22-1)
- Sam Burns (22-1)
Of the guys at the top of the leaderboard, I believe in Knapp more than the others. At 12-1, there’s some value to be had there. If he can back up his 65 with another round in the 60s, expect his price to shorten considerably. Pendrith’s round in the morning was incredibly impressive — he hit the ball as well as anyone did all day — so at 16-1, I like his value in a home game.