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HAMILTON, Ontario – There are not many people in golf, let alone on the PGA TOUR, who could rely on past experience when they get close to shooting a 59, golf’s magic number. But Brandt Snedeker is one of those people. Snedeker, who won the RBC Canadian Open in 2013, shot a 10-under-par 60 on Friday at Hamilton Golf and Country Club and was flirting with 59, again, late in his round. The former FedExCup champion shot a 59 to open last year’s Wyndham Championship. He’d go on to win that week, his first TOUR win in two years. “When I did it at Wyndham I wasn’t feeling very good about my game at all; today I was feeling good,â€� said Snedeker of the differences between the two days. “I knew I could get something going early, make a putt early, I was rolling it really good on the putting green so I felt like I was there. “You get one those days every once in a while, and so I did the best I could taking advantage of it. I tried to make sure I made every putt today.â€� Snedeker made 136 feet of putts on Friday, his best of the season after making 112 feet of putts at the second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge. Snedeker and Carl Pettersson, who won in 2010 at St. George’s Golf and Country Club, are the only golfers to shoot 60 at the event. Greg Norman also had a round of 10-under, a 62, at Glen Abbey Golf Club in in 1986. Snedeker tied the best 36-hole score at the Canadian Open with 129 after he opened with a 1-under 69.   “I made a small adjustment in my setup this week and it kind of clicked and felt great on the range. I think I missed one fairway with my driver, and you do that around here you’re going to set yourself up for success,â€� he said. “I just kept feeding on it, feeding on it, didn’t really think about (the score) too much until… 17 is the first time kind of popped in my head. Like, ‘oh, if I finish birdie-birdie I can shoot 59 again.’â€� As the afternoon wave was just getting started Friday, Snedeker was leading by two shots. Snedeker was grouped with Brooks Koepka and Justin Thomas – another past FedExCup champion – and combined the trio shot 19-under on Friday. “It was fun to watch. It was exciting for sure. He made it look really easy,â€� said Koepka of Snedeker’s round. “I felt like I didn’t play very well playing with him,â€� echoed Thomas, with a laugh. “I mean, man that guy can putt. It was unbelievable.â€� Snedeker said the golf course sets up well for him since it’s not a layout for bombers. “You’ve got to put the ball in the fairway and give yourself plenty of opportunities. Sounds boring, but that’s the way this golf course is meant to be played,â€� he said. “That’s why I love it. I love old-school golf courses.â€� Although Snedeker has had two top-10 finishes this year, including at THE PLAYERS Championship, he classified his season to this point as “mediocre,â€� admitting he’s had trouble stringing four good rounds together. He said he usually plays well at events he’s won before – indeed, he’s won twice at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, the Farmers Insurance Open, and the Wyndham Championship – and even though he’s playing the Canadian Open this week at a different course than when he won in 2013, he’s still feeling good heading into the weekend. “I hold this tournament up a little bit more just because of what it means to me being a past champion,â€� said Snedeker. “I’ve only won RBC (Canadian Open) once, so would be find of a fitting way to top this one off.â€�

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Erik van Rooyen … It’s doubtful that the missed cut in his last start at the Made in Denmark dented the South African’s confidence. He finished T8 at the PGA Championship the preview week and ranked T9 in greens hit, ninth in proximity, eighth in strokes gained: tee-to-green and third in putting: birdies-or-better at Bethpage. That secured his exemption (via the top 10) into the RBC Canadian Open, which will be his fourth PGA TOUR start of the season and fifth of his career. He’s 19th on the European Tour’s Race to Dubai standings with a pair of runner-up finishes among five top 15s in the last three months. And now he’s fresh off qualifying for his first U.S. Open at the sectional in Columbus, Ohio. Danny Willett … Given that he won the Masters only three years ago, that he lands here is all you need to know about how far he’s separated from the main stage. The 31-year-old battled injuries in the interim but he was buoyed by a smattering of consistent results in the second half of 2018. The rise was punctuated with a victory at the DP World Tour Championship in November. As a renewed member of the PGA TOUR, he’s had only one top 25 since, but the waters are a-gurglin’. En route to a T41 at the PGA Championship, he ranked T3 in greens in regulation. Last week at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide, he finished T11 in GIR. Hot irons will play at Hamilton this week, so his next objective is to put four rounds together. Nick Watney … While the Zurich Classic of New Orleans presents as a twist to break up the routine of the season, it shouldn’t be overlooked as an opportunity to regain form. He and partner Charley Hoffman placed T9 for what was Watney’s first top-15 finish of the season. It also lifted him back inside the top 125 of the FedExCup standings and sparked a 3-for-4 run in individual competition entering the RBC Canadian Open. Even better, he’s reclaimed confidence with his staple as a powerful ball-striker. En route to a T8 at cozy Colonial, he ranked T4 in greens hit, seventh in proximity and led the field in strokes gained: tee-to-green. Last week at the bigger ballpark of Muirfield Village, he finished T11 in GIR and paced the field in proximity. The 38-year-old now sits a much more comfortable 98th in the FedExCup. Tyler Duncan … The PGA TOUR sophomore made news at the AT&T Byron Nelson where he struck his wife, Maria, in the head on the first bounce of his drive on the 13th hole of Trinity Forest in the second round. (She’s OK.) Despite that shot, he performed wonderfully and in line with his profile as a ball-striker, but it was improved putting that made the difference between another forgettable result and the career-best-tying T5 that he logged. And that was on large greens. Hamilton’s smaller targets project to accentuate his strength even more. Cameron Tringale … He’s had a helluva career and he’s still only 31 years of age. Most wouldn’t trade a record of 156-for-256 as a professional with eight figures in earnings, but the Georgia Tech product remains winless in PGA TOUR-sanctioned competition. It’s also been three seasons since he qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs and he’s currently 138th in points, but the RBC Canadian Open could springboard him back. In fact, it’d be a continuation of form first captured in earnest at the Valero Texas Open where he finished T17 while ranking T3 in greens in regulation and T5 in proximity. After a T5 with Roberto Castro at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, Tringale posted a T23 at the AT&T Byron Nelson and slotted T4 in GIR and second in conversion percentage inside 10 feet (66-for-70). As he’s conjuring old form, it’s relevant to cite that he finished T19 at Hamilton in 2012, finishing T5 in GIR and 12th in strokes gained: tee-to-green. He also co-led the field in fairways hit. NOTE: Sleeper is a relative term, so Rob uses unofficial criteria to determine who qualifies. Each of the following usually is determined to be ineligible for this weekly staple: Winners of the tournament on the current host course; winners in the same season; recent major champions; top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking; recent participants of team competitions.

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