Matt Kuchar birdied his last three holes of the day to get to 12 under and into a tie for the 36-hole lead alongside Scott Brown in Round 2 of the RBC Canadian Open.
Kuchar, who already has two wins and two runner-ups this season, made eight birdies overall with just one bogey for a 7-under 63 at Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Ontario, Canada.
Brown also carded a 63 Friday afternoon thanks to a hot streak of five consecutive birdies on his back nine. A 36-year-old journeyman, Brown hasn’t won a PGA Tour event since his debut victory at the 2013 Puerto Rico Open. He’s missed 10 cuts in 20 starts this season but also has four top-10 finishes, including a T-5 at the team-format Zurich Classic.
Both Kuchar and Brown hold a one-shot lead over Brandt Snedeker, who shot to the top of the leaderboard after carding a 10-under 60. Snedeker shot 29 on his back nine with four birdies and an eagle at the par-5 fourth hole. He finished the round by sticking his approach to five feet for a closing birdie at the par-4 ninth hole.
He’s currently in a tie for second along with Canadian Nick Taylor, who birdied three of his last four holes for a 5-under 65. The 31-year-old University of Washington grad also has one Tour win, the 2015 Sanderson Farms Championship, with a handful of top-10 finishes since.
Webb Simpson is solo fifth and just two shots off the lead at 10 under.
Kuchar entered the week off a missed cut at the Memorial, his first missed cut of the season, in just his third start since a T-12 finish at the Masters. He’s since finished solo second at the RBC Heritage and was T-8 in the PGA Championship at Bethpage Black.
He’s clearly found Hamilton to his liking after missing the Canadian Open cut a year ago at Glen Abbey, and he’s in position to hunt for his third win of the season this weekend in the Great White North.
