Ontario, Sept 05: Japan's Hidemichi Tanaka took advantage of favourable early conditions to shoot a four-under-par 66 for the first-round lead at the Canadian Open on Thursday. Charles Howell III and Brad Faxon are among a group of five players tied for second, just one stroke behind the leader. Kelly Gibson, Glen Day and Tom Byrum also the other three players on three-under 67. One shot behind that group are seven players, including former British Open champion Tom Lehman, who carded 68 over the Hamilton Golf and Country Club course. Several prominent players encountered major problems in the opening round, however, notably Fiji's Vijay Singh, who despite being the highest ranked player in the tournament at number four in the world, shot a five-over 75.


Defending champion John Rollins also recorded a 75. Also struggling was Adam Scott, who won his first PGA Tour title last week in the Deutsche Bank Championship. The Australian stumbled to a four-over 74.


Local favourite Mike Weir, the U.S. Masters champion and world number six, fared much better and finished well in contention after a one-under round of 69.


Bureau Report