The China Mail - Canadians Taylor, Hadwin lead Phoenix Open

The duo -- who both live in Arizona -- were warmly embraced by fans at the typically raucous event, with spectators in the stadium-style stands at the 16th serenading Hadwin with "O Canada."

Neither was disturbed by the frost delay that pushed back the start of the round by an hour and 45 minutes, or by the blustery winds that greeted golfers once they got underway.

"I feel like a lot of guys that grew up in the cold, we get asked (if we’re used to these conditions) a lot," Taylor said. "We did it a lot, but we probably prefer the heat now because we've moved south.

"I've played enough in it where I kind of know what to expect."

Taylor, who practices regularly at TPC Scottsdale, made a bright start with an eagle at the third hole, but a double-bogey six at the par-four sixth and a bogey at the ninth saw him one-over at the turn.

Things warmed up nicely from there as he nabbed four birdies in a row from the 10th through the 13th, then added two more birdies at the 16th and 17th.

Taylor, whose two US PGA Tour titles include the 2020 Pebble Beach Pro-Am, said his second nine was all the tougher in the unusual winds.

"All those holes are playing a lot longer than typical," he said. "I've seen a lot of wind conditions, but this was one of the toughest stretches I've played out here."

Hadwin teed off on the 10th shortly after Taylor and after a bogey at the 11th, he birdied the 12th and 15th before stringing together three birdies around the turn at 17, 18 and one.

He added one more birdie at the fifth, but couldn't find another.

"I'm really disappointed I didn't get to six-under because I saw Nick up there, and I wanted to hold it over him tonight," said Hadwin, who claimed his only US tour title at the Valspar Championship in 2017.

World number six Xander Schauffele was in the clubhouse on four-under as he chases a first win at the tournament where he finished tied for second and tied for third the past two years.

Jim Herman and Australian Jason Day were both four-under on the course when darkness fell, Herman through 10 holes and Day through 13.

- Embrace the challenge -

World number one Rory McIlroy, coming off a victory two weeks ago in Dubai, struggled off the tee on the way to a two-over par 73.

The Northern Ireland star is making just his second start in Phoenix, which this season is one of the US tour's new designated events and he used his one opt-out for the Tournament of Champions.

McIlroy, who played in front of quieter, Covid-reduced crowds in Phoenix in 2021, said it's not the rowdy spectators that are his trouble in the desert but just a lack of affinity for the course.

"I wouldn't say that this is a golf course that sets up terribly well for me," he said. "I struggle off the tee here. I feel like all the fairway bunkers are right in my landing zones.

"But it's a challenge, and again, I'm trying to embrace that challenge."

Both world number two Scottie Scheffler and third-ranked Jon Rahm have a chance to overtake McIlroy atop the rankings this week.

Rahm was three-under through 13 holes and Scheffler was one-under through 11 when darkness halted play.

A.Kwok--ThChM