2025 RBC Canadian Open updates, leaderboard: Cameron Champ leads after two rounds
They've played 36 holes at the 2025 RBC Canadian Open.
Several players went low again Friday, setting up for an exciting weekend. Cameron Champ carded a 66 to enter the third round as the solo leader, and Canadians Richard Lee and Nick Taylor stayed hot in their national open. Meanwhile, one of the world's best players missed the cut by a mile .
RBC Canadian Open 2025 leaderboard
Keep tabs on all the action in Ontario with the 2025 RBC Canadian Open leaderboard. The field was 156 when the action started on Thursday.
Cameron Champ leads, Rory McIlroy misses cut
Cameron Champ fired a 4-under 66 to follow his 62 on Thursday to take the solo lead into the weekend after 36 bogey-free holes.
"I feel like my game plan and how I was approaching the holes — playing to the right sides, moving the ball to the hole, again, not trying to hit the perfect straight ball all the time — it's kind of working out," Champ said in his post-round presser Friday. "I'm very proud of myself for that."
Champ was the eighth alternate for the RBC Canadian Open and only learned he'd be playing when Sahith Theegala withdrew on Tuesday. Champ, a three-time winner on the PGA Tour, is seeking his first top-10 in two seasons. He hasn't hoisted a trophy since winning the 3M Open in 2021 and has missed the cut in three of the five PGA Tour events he's played in this year.
Champ is not in the field for next week's U.S. Open at Oakmont , but he will be if he wins Sunday. He'll tee off in the final group on Saturday with Andrew Putnam, who carded a bogey-free 62 in the second round to take over solo second place.
The marquee Canadian group of Nick Taylor (9 under), Taylor Pendrith (7 under) and Mackenzie Hughes (6 under) positioned themselves to be in contention in front of their home crowd this weekend, but another one of their fellow countryman, Richard Lee, played the best out of all of them Friday, with a bogey-free 64.
Meanwhile, one of the world's best players struggled mightily. Rory McIlroy returned to the spotlight this week and just about everything went wrong.
McIlroy shot 71 on Thursday and needed a stellar outing Friday to make the cut. That didn't happen, and instead, Rory turned in an 8-over 78 to end his week early. He ultimately finished in 149th place, nearly dead last, and missed the cut by 12 strokes.
"I didn't hit enough fairways. I felt like I drove the ball better yesterday than I did today. I think, once I made that big number on the front nine, I was always behind the 8 ball a little bit," McIlroy said. "After nine holes, I sort of resigned myself to the fact that I'd be flying home to Florida tonight."
McIlroy switched to a new driver ahead of this tournament and will have a few extra days to practice with it before turning his attention to Oakmont, where next week he'll be seeking his second U.S. Open championship and his sixth major overall.
"You don't want to shoot high scores like the one I did today," he said. "Still, I felt like I came here obviously with a new driver thinking that that sort of was going to be good and solve some of the problems off the tee, but it didn't. Going to Oakmont next week, what you need to do more than anything else there is hit fairways. I'm still sort of searching for the sort of missing piece off the tee. Obviously for me, when I get that part of the game clicking, then everything falls into place for me. Right now that isn't."
Andrew Putnam surges up the leaderboard
Following an up-and-down round on Thursday, Andrew Putnam was dialed in at TPC Toronto on Friday. The 36-year-old American turned in a bogey-free 62 and his game was elite all day, shooting 31 on each nine.
Putnam now finds himself in solo second and will play in the final group with leader Cameron Champ on Saturday.
Rory McIlroy misses the cut at the 2025 RBC Canadian Open
The No. 2 player in the world didn't just miss the cut at the RBC Canadian Open — he missed it badly. Rory McIlroy carded an 8-over 78 on Friday, which included a quadruple bogey at the par-4 5th. He finished the tournament at 9 over, nearly dead last in the field and a whopping 12 shots off the projected cutline as of 5 p.m. Friday.
Canadian fans serenade marquee Canadian group in their home open
O, Canada! The all-Canadian group of Nick Taylor, Taylor Pendrith and Mackenzie Hughes were welcomed to the 14th tee — also known as The Rink Hole — by a large group of rowdy fans singing the nation's anthem.
If you tune into the Stanley Cup Finals tonight, you'll hear a much louder version from the Edmonton Oilers faithful, but this is about as good as it gets on a golf course.
Who is Richard Lee? A surprise Canadian contender is emerging
A total of 24 Canadians were in the field to start the 2025 RBC Canadian Open, and none had more fanfare than 2023 champion Nick Taylor. He's living up to the hype so far, sitting in a tie for third after making six birdies in his first 10 holes Friday.
But while most of the attention might have been on Taylor and his groupmate, Taylor Pendrith (7-under), another Canadian surged up the leaderboard. Richard Lee shot 3-under 67 on Thursday before firing a bogey-free 64 on Friday to vault himself into contention entering the weekend.
He had a pretty hilarious explanation for his second round success, too.
"My wife was telling me, she was watching the scoreboard yesterday, and if you make three [birdies] in a row, there's a little fireball next to your name," Lee said. "I was thinking about that all today, and I was like, 'Oh, I want to see a fireball next to my name again.'"
Cameron Champ takes the lead at the 2025 RBC Canadian Open
Remember Cameron Champ? From nearly last on the entry list to first on the leaderboard, Champ is on his game. Just more than a week ahead of his 30th birthday, the Sacramento native has yet to make a bogey at TPC Toronto. He followed up a blistering 8-under 62 in the first round with a solid 66 on Friday to take the 36-hole lead.
He only learned he was in the field on Tuesday when Sahith Theegala withdrew , and now he's running full steam ahead into the weekend.
"I definitely didn't think I was getting in," Champ said. "Luckily I actually brought my passport. I don't know why I brought it. I was like, 'You know, I'm just going to bring it in case,' for whatever reason, not even thinking about the tournament. So, it all worked out nicely."
Champ hasn't finished top-10 in any event on the PGA Tour over the past two seasons and he's seeking his first win since 2021.
PGA Tour pro makes 12 on a par-4 to start his second round
Nobody had a worse start to Friday than France's Mathieu Pavon. After carding an even-par 70 on Thursday, Pavon entered the second round with the cutline in sight. That was until he made 12 on his first hole of the day — the par-4 10th — going from even to 8-over before he could catch his breath.
Player withdraws from the field with two holes to play
Isaiah Salinda was 2 over for the day and 4 over for the tournament when he withdrew from the RBC Canadian Open on Friday during the second round of play.
This marked the second straight event that the Stanford product left early. He also withdrew in the second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial. Salinda made the cut in nine of his first dozen events of 2025.
How many players make the cut at the RBC Canadian Open?
Here's a look at who is in line to make and miss the cut in the 2025 RBC Canadian Open at TPC Toronto. The cut at the Canadian Open is top 65 and ties and anyone within 10 shots.
How to watch the 2025 RBC Canadian Open
- TV : Golf Channel (watch for free on Fubo)
- Streaming : ESPN+
This article originally appeared on Single Sparkle: 2025 RBC Canadian Open updates, leaderboard: Cameron Champ leads after two rounds
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