American pair Scott Piercy and William McGirt hold a share of the lead at the midway point of the Canadian Open, but Australians Gavin Coles and Stuart Appleby are within striking distance. McGirt shot a four-under 66 to sit 11-under overall, while Piercy went three under for his second round at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club on Friday. The day&aposs honours, however, belonged to South Africa&aposs Tim Clark, who equalled the course record in Ontario, with an eight-under 62 to be tied for fifth – after Piercy set the record in the opening round. Six birdies and an eagle on the par-four second hole saw Clark to within three strokes of the leaders after an indifferent opening round of even par. Level with Clark on eight-under overall is Fijian Vijay Singh and American Josh Teater, behind outright third Robert Garrigus (10 under) and fourth-placed Bo Van Pelt (nine under). Americans Bud Cauley and Troy Matteson, along with Colombian Camilo Villegas, round out the top 10 on seven under, four shots off the pace. Cauley had a day to remember, shooting a seven-under 63, dropping just the solitary shot on 17 after starting on the 10th hole, before storming home with three birdies and an eagle on his back nine. Coles and Appleby are among a group of six tied for 11th on six under, alongside Americans Patrick Sheehan, Kevin Kisner and Tommy Gainey, and Scotsman Russell Knox. Nathan Green – the only other Australian to make the halfway cut – is in a share of 39th place at three-under. Meanwhile, Australia&aposs Wade Ormsby is tied for ninth behind Denmark&aposs Thorbjorn Olesen at the Lyoness Open. Olesen carded a four-under 68 on Friday to move to 16 under overall at the Diamond Country Club in Atzenbrugg, Austria. The 22-year-old is three strokes ahead of Sweden&aposs Rikard Karlberg, who hit four birdies in his final six holes to score a six-under 66. France&aposs Benjamin Hebert managed the best round of the day, draining nine birdies in his eight-under 64. Hebert rose 17 spots on the leaderboard in to a tie for third at 12 under with compatriot Thomas Levet, Austria&aposs Bernd Wiesberger and Richard Bland of England. Next best are Oliver Wilson of England and Ireland&aposs Shane Lowry, tied for seventh at 10 under. A group of four players Ormsby, Gregory Bourdy of France, Scotland&aposs Chris Doak and Argentina&aposs Emiliano Grillo are a further shot back. Of the other Australians, David McKenzie shares 17th at seven under, while Brett Rumford is tied for 28th at minus four. And Australia&aposs Karrie Webb is still in contention at the Evian Masters. Webb is tied for 14th at five under, some seven shots behind world number three Stacy Lewis, while fellow Australians Lindsey Wright and Katherine Hull are a further two strokes back. Click for LIVE SCORES
Author: Omnisport