RBC Canadian Open 2014 scores: Jim Furyk, Graham DeLaet match course record at Royal Montreal

Jim Furyk, who may be the most consistent American golfer over the past two-plus seasons, fired the round of the RBC Canadian Open so far to jump 15 spots into a share of the lead. Furyk’s second-round 63 on Friday featured no bogeys and seven birdies, including four red numbers in a row on the back nine. Tim Petrovic, who shot a 64 on Thursday, is even with Furyk at 10-under through his first 36 holes. Unlike Furyk, who was one of the bigger names to commit thanks to his sponsorship with RBC, Petrovic started the week as the eighth alternate and just snuck in as the last man in the field.

At age 44, Fuyrk was expected to be well on the other side by now. And while he hasn’t won in three years, he remains one of the best players in the world, regularly contending and finishing in the top 10 at majors and locking up yet another Ryder Cup spot this fall in Scotland. The highlight of his 2013 season was joining the 59 club with that historic round at Conway Farms, but he was still unable to finish with a win on Sunday. In this season alone, he has two runner-ups and six top-10s. The last title on Tour came when he won it all in Atlanta in 2010, taking home the FedExCup and a $10 million prize. That he hasn’t won since then, given all his chances, is shocking, but this event is as good an opportunity as any before we hit what will be a loaded two-month stretch for Furyk (WGC, PGA, FedExCup, Ryder Cup).

The second round was vintage Furyk, stripes off the tee and darts into the greens. He’s hit 33 of 36 greens in regulation so far, an astounding number to lead the field at better than 91 percent. On Friday, Furyk went out early in perfect scoring conditions, starting on the 10th tee and hitting that four consecutive birdie streak to quickly get on top ahead of Petrovic.

Now he’ll play in the final pairing of the day on Saturday afternoon, the clear favorite with 36 more holes to play.

The great Canadian hope at this point is Graham DeLaet, who matched Fuyrk’s round with a 63 of his own to rocket 41 spots up the leaderboard. Both rounds matched the course record, and both came during the still and perfect morning at Royal Montreal. The Canadian burden is pretty well known at this event. No native has won their national championship in 60 years. There are 19 Canadians in the field this week, and DeLaet is their top-ranked player. He’s not been playing his best golf this season, but it was about this time last year that he got hot and become a top-30 player in the world to seal up a spot on the Presidents Cup team. After a missed cut last week at the British Open, we didn’t really know what to expect from one of the best tee-to-green players on the Tour. But Friday’s run to the top of the leaderboard will at least give the home crowd something to cheer on and monitor all weekend as DeLaet tries to become the first Canadian since 1954 to win the Canadian Open.

Joining Furyk and DeLaet inside the top 10 are Matt Kuchar and Graeme McDowell, who also played in those a.m. conditions and posted 65s to get in contention at the midpoint. It’s a nice leaderboard for an event that’s sandwiched into a less-than-ideal spot on the PGA Tour schedule. Here’s where everyone stands after 36 at Royal Montreal: