Shore secures lead in weather-delayed third round at Osprey Valley

CALEDON, Ontario – Davis Shore shook off a lengthy rain delay to shoot a 7-under 64 and take the lead after three rounds of PGA TOUR Canada’s Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos CBM Aggregates.

Shore eagled the first hole and added five birdies to climb eight spots and finish at 15-under after 54 holes at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley. He holds a two-shot lead over 36-hole leader Blake Maum, who slipped to a 2-over 73 finish, and Brian Carlson, who matched his season-best with a 66. Three players are tied for fourth at 12-under – Canadian Noah Steele and Americans Tommy Kuhl and Matt Liringis, who all shot 68s.

The start of the third round was delayed by more than six hours because of rain. Play began at 2 p.m. with groups playing in threesomes starting off both tees. All players were able to finish before dark.

“Any time you hold a lead in the final group, everybody’s a little tighter, more nervous,” Shore said. “It’s easier said than done, but you’ve got to go play. You can’t put too much pressure on yourself, just play another round.”

Shore, a native of Knoxville, Tennessee, who played at the University of Alabama, is coming off a successful season on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, where he had three top-10s, was runner-up at the JHSF Aberto do Brasil and finished the season 13th on the Totalplay Cup points list. Shore made his PGA TOUR Canada debut last week at the Commissionaires Ottawa Open and tied for 28th.

“I played in a couple final groups and I think I learned a lot,” Shore said. “I didn’t get the win I needed on that TOUR, but I’ll just draw from past experience. I’ll need another good round like I had today because there are so many good players on this Tour.”

Shore got his round started with an eagle at the 515-yard par-5. He hit a 5-iron onto the green and made the 10-foot putt for eagle.

“No. 1 is a pretty gettable par-5,” Shore said. “I made par there the first two days and hadn’t hit the fairway. That’s the first order of business. To start out with a three is always a good feeling.”

Carlson, who has one PGA TOUR Canada victory to his name at last year’s Prince Edward Island Open, reeled off four-straight birdies on the back nine and shot 31 on the homeward nine. The West Palm Beach, Florida resident is finally finding his form after winter inactivity that saw him play only five rounds of competitive golf over six months. Carlson spent his time working as a caddie to make the money needed to travel and compete on PGA TOUR Canada.

“I’m just happy to be playing well again,” Carlson said. “I had missed four cuts in a row and got into some really dark places a couple of weeks. It feels great to be making birdies again.”

Maum began the day with a three-shot lead, but was unable to gain any traction. He may have saved his round after making a birdie on the par-3 12th hole, immediately after making bogey on the par-5 11th.

“I hit it to about two inches,” Maum said. “It definitely made me feel a little calmer and more in-it after that. Sometimes when you start to struggle and when you’re not looking at the leaderboards, you feel like you’re sliding further than you really are.”

Key Information

There are 36 Canadians competing in this week’s Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos CBM Aggregates. Through 54 holes, nine Canadians are inside the top 25, including three inside the top 10. Here are the top performing Canadians through 54 holes:

Davis Shore is holding the lead for the first time in his 10 career PGA TOUR Canada starts. He had the 36-hole lead on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica at the Roberto de Vincenzo Memorial and went on to tie for fourth.

Conditions didn’t seem to bother Corey Shaun, who shot 6-under 65 and moved up 16 spots into a tie for seventh. Shaun started his round eagle-birdie, was 4-under after four holes, and avoided a bogey all day. The UCLA graduate is seeking his first win since the 2021 Forme Open at TPC River’s Bend.

Shaun has made the cut in four of his first five starts, but his best finish came at the ATB Classic when he tied for ninth. “I haven't been playing bad, but I haven't been playing my best, either. Just scoring a little better. Little things that kind of add up to a better score but doesn't look a ton better to the naked eye,” he said.

The more than 6-hour rain delay forced the players to seek different diversions to occupy their time before the round. Corey Shaun spent the morning browsing on his phone. Noah Steele wiled away the time by looking at memes on Instagram. Davis Shore binged episodes of “The Office,” which is available on Netflix in Canada, but not in the United States. “That’s my summer tradition on this Tour,” Shore said.

Brian Richey’s 63 was the low round of the day. He had six birdies and one bogey on the front nine to shoot 30 and added three more birdies on the back nine. He moved up 50 spots and into a tie for seventh at 11-under.

Starting on the back nine, Ben Carr was able to climb 35 spots up the leaderboard on Saturday into a tie for 22nd, thanks in large part to seven birdies in an eight-hole stretch through holes 4 – 3.

Sam Jean followed his tournament-low 62 with a 72 on Saturday and is tied for 66th at 2-under.

Fortinet Cup leader Davis Lamb shot 71 for the second-straight day and is tied for 58th at 3-under. Lamb is the only two-time winner on PGA TOUR Canada this season.

John Pak, No. 2 on the Fortinet Cup, got into contention with a 66. He moved up 12 spots into a tie for seventh at 10-under 203.

Quotable

“On this TOUR you’ve got to go low. One foot in front of the next. You’re trying to birdie every hole. It’s nice to start with an eagle for sure.” – Davis Shore

“The weather cleared up nicely. It’s still not easy because of the strong north wind, but it was fun.” – Davis Shore

“That north wind is no joke. Every hole felt a lot longer and some of the more scoreable holes felt a little longer. Today was a tough day. I’ve got re-set and go get it tomorrow.” – Blake Maum

“I’m thrilled, really. It’s been a great week to build momentum. I found some more freedom and flow with my irons and wedges on my approaches today and would like to keep that going tomorrow.” – Noah Steele

“I’ve done it before and know what it takes. I’m not a leaderboard watcher, just trust my game. I’m going to go out aggressive, do the same things and stay confident. I just have to play another regular round of golf.” – Brian Carlson

“I don’t think it’s every over on this golf course. You’ve got to play hard until you get to 18 and put the flag in the hole. You can’t mail it in here. You’ve got to stay in it. I’m confident because I’ve done it before, which is nice.” – Noah Steele

Third-Round Weather: Heavy rain throughout the morning, clearing in the afternoon. High of 20. NNW wind from 8-16 km/h with gusting up to 34.