Furyk, DeLaet tie course record at Royal Montreal; children take notice

At 7:50 a.m. ET, the crowd to watch one of the premier groupings in rounds one and two at at the RBC Canadian Open at Royal Montreal Golf Club was quite large - and young.

Matt Kuchar, Jim Furyk, and Graham DeLaet climbed the leaderboard at the Canadian Open on Friday, capitalizing on weather that went from windy to calm, and there was a theme among the patrons who watched them  - many were children.

Furyk was the first to arrive at the tee, standing behind the ropes with his caddie, Mike "Fluff" Cowan, watching the group ahead of him tee off. He stood with his yardage book, analyzing each golfer's outcome.

Furyk owns one of the most unconventional swings on tour, but it's consistent and precise - and was particularly so on Friday. Furyk started the day with a par and four straight birdies to get to 7-under; he and DeLaet, the Canadian, went on to fire matching 63s and tie a Royal Montreal course record.

Kuchar was a little late to the party, jogging up to the tee with only two minutes to spare. Kuchar was off first with a drive straight down the fairway, and carded only one bogey on the day, his 65 good for a score of 6-under after two rounds.

The group was loose all day, with all three making jokes walking down the fairway. With Mike Weir in the pairing behind them, cheers blended between both rounds.

DeLaet credits Weir - who shot a second straight 70 Friday to sit at even par - with his interest in the sport.

"I always looked up to Mike Weir, and he was an inspiration to me, and when he won the Masters that was what really inspired me to chase it," said DeLaet, who still remembers where he was the day he decided to chase his golf dream.

"I was in Pocatello, Idaho."

DeLaet noticed the throng of kids following his every shot - and seemed pleased with the turnout.

"I think the more kids that are playing this game, especially in [Canada], the better. They can come out and this can change them from being a hockey player and [they can] just enjoy the game of golf," DeLaet said.

Television ratings have dropped over the last three majors, but interest in golf seems alive and well among the next generation. At least, it looked that way Friday in Montreal. Children in bright shirts and flat-brimmed hats pursued DeLaet, who finds himself in the running at 8-under through 36 holes. 

On the 13th hole, Furyk looked into the crowd lining the tee box and tossed a golf ball to a little girl standing with her father. He pointed at her and winked. She carried the ball in her hand for the rest of the day. 

Furyk gets it, and he continues to grow the game by giving one fan a special moment she'll remember for the rest of her life.

Furyk owns a share of the second-round lead at 10-under with Tim Petrovic. Furyk, DeLaet and Kuchar combined for 22 birdies on the day.

"I hit the ball very well, a lot of fairways, a lot of greens, a lot of opportunities today I think I converted. I capitalized on a few more of those," Furyk said after his round. 

"The golf course is playing really soft, the greens are very receptive. They have it set up right now so we can attack and fire at the pins. Scores are going to be good."

All three mentioned how much they liked playing with each other and how comfortable they were in the grouping.

"Graham and Matt are very laid back people, they're fun to play golf with," Furyk said. "We chatted out there, we talked a lot. It's a lot of fun and I think you can feed off that a bit."

Kuchar enjoyed himself, too.

"It was a fun group to be a part of this morning, conditions still were somewhat challenging," he said. "I certainly feel like when I have a better time, I play better golf. I'm pleased with my first two rounds."

DeLaet didn't know he tied the course record until he walked into the clubhouse. 

"That's pretty amazing," he said. "It's cool, I mean this is the Canadian Open and to share a course record here is pretty special. To have two guys in one group do it is pretty amazing.

"It was definitely fun to see some putts roll in, I mean all of us were kind of making putts all day. There was a lot of momentum in our group and we kind of just ran with it."

Furyk is halfway to his third Canadian Open title. Only Tommy Armour, Sam Snead, and Lee Trevino have won it three times, while Leo Diegel is the tournament's only four-time champion. But Furyk won't let his mind wander yet.

"It's even farther away than I really want to think about."