Sam Burns, Brooks Koepka headline six-way tie atop RBC Canadian Open

CALEDON, Ontario (AP) — Brooks Koepka finally saw some putts go in, and they fell in bunches late Thursday as he made four birdies over his final five holes for a 6-under 64 to share the lead with five other players after the first round of the RBC Canadian Open.

Koepka, who opened with a 63 in his previous start at THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson, has yet to seriously contend since returning to the PGA TOUR.

Emiliano Grillo, Sahith Theegala, Eric Cole, Sam Burns and Matthew Anderson of Canada also opened with 64s on the Osprey Course at TPC Toronto. All but Cole and Anderson are in the U.S. Open next week. Anderson, meanwhile, has missed his last five cuts on the Korn Ferry Tour.

Cole took a big step toward getting to Shinnecock Hills. He entered the week at No. 63 in the Official World Golf Ranking, with the top 60 after this week earning exemptions into the U.S. Open.

Koepka, whose second U.S. Open title came at Shinnecock Hills in 2018, holed a 20-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole to start his late run. It ended with a 10-foot birdie putt on the 17th and a wedge to 5 feet for birdie on the 18th.

“I don’t think the ball striking was as good as it’s been as of late ... but it was nice to see the putter finally heat up,” Koepka said. “It was just a culmination of kind of freeing the mind.”

It wasn't just crowded at the top. Twelve players shot 65 at TPC Toronto. Among them were Tony Finau, who missed out on U.S. Open qualifying earlier in the week, and Adam Svensson of Canada.

Svensson made news for the wrong reasons during U.S. Open qualifying. He was in a three-man playoff for one spot and alternate positions. Once Max McGreevy made birdie, Svensson picked up his ball marker, unaware there was still a playoff to determine first and second alternate.

He became the second alternate, which is likely to cost him a spot at Shinnecock because seven positions have yet to be filled.

“Nothing but my fault,” Svensson said. “They just 3-for-1. And once he made that, I just picked it up.”

The scoring average was 68.5, and 97 players in the 147-man field broke par.

Burns had a chance at the outright lead when he found the fairway on the par-5 18th hole and had an iron into the green. His 18-foot eagle putt missed, and he joined the group at 64.

Burns was in a playoff last year after closing with a 62, but he ended up missing a short putt against Ryan Fox.

“I think it’s nice to have some good memories maybe before the tournament starts, but when you tee it up, you have to be able to execute and hit the shots that the golf course requires,” Burns said.

Burns said he took positives from that performance, particularly given how far back he started the final round. It carried over to the following week, when he led the U.S. Open before difficult, wet conditions late Sunday affected several of his shots.

Burns also is coming off a close call at the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, continuing a strong stretch of play.

Koepka started the year hoping to play his way into the PGA TOUR's Signature Events. There is one remaining on the schedule, and he has yet to qualify for one.

“I’ve played great this year. Like I said, it’s just the putting that’s held me back, trying to be mechanical,” Koepka said. “But it was nice today to at least turn the brain off and go from there.”