MONTREAL -- Michael Putnam and Tim Petrovic mastered the afternoon winds to shoot six-under-par 64s and take a share of the first-round lead at the US$5. Demar Dotson Jersey .7 million RBC Canadian Open on Thursday. But the surprise of the day was big-hitting amateur Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., who shot five-under 65 for a share of third place with Kyle Stanley. Putnam and Petrovic played bogey-free golf at the 7,153-yard par-70 Blue Course at Royal Montreal on a near perfect day for scoring, with sunny weather and soft greens from heavy rains the previous day. A gust wind came in for the those with afternoon starts, but it didnt stop Putnam or Petrovic from shooting the low scores of the day, which set the course record for an opening round. "It was tough ball-striking, but somehow I was able to keep it in the fairway and take advantage of the soft greens to hit a couple of shots close and make a couple of five-to-ten-foot putts," said Putnam, who has been playing his best golf of the season of late with top-35 finishes in his last three outings. The 47-year-old Petrovic didnt know he would play until he got a call on Tuesday saying he was in as the seventh alternate. The former PGA Tour regular, playing only his eighth Tour event this season, didnt even have his name on the program. There was no rust in his game, however. "I didnt set my expectations high because I got in late, so this was kind of my practice round," said Petrovic. "I walked the back nine (Wednesday). "It wasnt that I played conservative. I was just trying to hit fairways and greens, trying to see the golf course and see if I could make a few putts. I drove the ball pretty good overall." There were 11 players tied at 4-under 66, including Nick Watney and Charl Schwartzel, and another 16 at 3-under 67, including David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., and two-time Canadian Open champion Jim Furyk. Another dozen were at 2-under 68 and there were 23 at 1-under 69, including top-ranked Canadian Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., and defending champion Brandt Snedeker. Another sunny day is forecast for the second round on Friday, with a possibility of wet weather on the weekend. The 23-year-old Pendrith, Canadas top amateur, had a dream day in his first round of his first Canadian Open. He recently graduated from Kent State University and hopes to play in the world amateur championships this summer before likely turning pro in the fall. Although its early, hes one stroke off the lead of a tournament no Canadian has won since Pat Fletcher in 1954. "I never expected that," said Pendrith. "I was playing good golf coming in here, so I just played golf. "Five-under is pretty nice. Everybody has some nerves. If you didnt have nerves on the first tee something would be wrong with you. But after I played the first hole, I felt calm and felt I should be here." He played in the last threesome to tee off in the afternoon, when the worst of the wind was up, but used his long drives to cut through the tree-lined fairways and get close to the greens. He had seven birdies, including one on a putt that trickled in on the 18th, and two bogeys. "The front nine suits my game a lot," he said. "I can shoot driver nearly every hole. "I had four birdies on the front nine, all with wedges." Pendrith is 18th in world amateur rankings, tops among Canadians. He and fellow national team members Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., who shot even-par 70, and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., who was at 4-over 74, were given entries into the Open. Stanleys 5-under was the best among the early tee times. "I love this golf course," the Gig Harbor, Wash., native said. "Its similar to the one I grew up with in Washington, so I felt pretty comfortable. "I hit the ball well on my first nine today. I was able to make a few of the long range putts that got the round going for me." The soft greens made for ideal scoring conditions, but Stanley said the course is still a challenge. "That front nine is pretty difficult," he said. "Theres a couple of mid-irons into the par-3s and a 500-yard par-4 (the fourth), so its a kind of sneaky-demanding course." Stanley is best known for posting his only PGA Tour win a week after a memorable collapse. In 2012, he blew a six-shot lead in the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open and lost in a playoff to Snedeker, then bounced back with a victory at the Phoenix Open. This season has been trying for the 26-year-old. He sits 164th in FedEx Cup standings with only one top-25 finish, which was in October. He said it was premature to think about turning the season around after one good round. "Theres a ton of golf left," he said. "Its nice to get a round like this because it shows Im working on the right things." Hearn had a great round going until he bogeyed the 14th and 15th on his back nine. He recovered with a birdie at the 16th. "Any day you come off the course and shoot 3-under and feel you left a few out there, you feel its a good day," said Hearn. "Im not overly disappointed with the way I played. "I hit the ball great from tee to green. If I can continue to do that for the rest of the week I know Im going to play well." It was a rough opening round for some. Both Stephen Ames of Calgary and one of the tournament favourites, Dustin Johnson, shot 4-over 74. John Daly had 6-over 76, Scott McCarron turned in a 78 and Erik Compton shot 79. Warren Sapp Jersey . Terrance Broadway threw for 227 yards and Hunter Stover kicked three field goals as the Ragin Cajuns won an unprecedented fourth straight New Orleans Bowl with a 16-3 triumph over Nevada. Robert Ayers Jersey . They signed their first kicker. Ottawa inked Nick Setta, a 32-year-old native of Lockport, Illinois, to a contract. http://www.shoptheofficialbuccaneers.com/Elite-Gerald-Mccoy-Buccaneers-Jersey/ . -- Howie Kendrick had a two-run single in his first game batting leadoff this season, Chris Iannetta hit a pair of RBI singles and the Los Angeles Angels beat Cleveland 6-4 Tuesday night, sending the Indians to their fifth straight defeat.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca! Hi Kerry, In Wednesday nights game between Toronto and Calgary, referee Paul Devorski got one to the head by an errant clearing attempt. He had to leave the game for repairs and luckily he came back. My question is this - it looked like he was skating up the ice in front of the defencemen, so he did not see the puck coming. In the numerous replays that TSN showed I could not tell if he was the back or front referee, but shouldnt he have been trailing the play or skating behind the Leafs defence? That way things like this cant happen! Whats an officials mindset during the game in terms of how he positions himself? Thanks,Scott Martin Scott: Devo, what were you thinking when you blasted out of the corner with your back turned away from the play and with Cody Fransons best option being to pound the puck up the wall and down the ice on the PK? I wasnt sure if you thought you were back at training camp doing a timed goal line to goal line sprint test or decided to join the Leafs end zone breakout play since they were a man short. Im really sorry about your injury, but I think youll probably agree that for the most part it was avoidable and somewhat self-inflicted. On the up-side you demonstrated excellent foot speed - youve still got it pal! Scott, Kerry Fraser Referee Positioning 101 is based on the premise that you want to gain a position on the ice that provides the best and safest sightline (unobstructed view) to render a decision. "Safest" is out of traffic areas and most often when trailing the play. At the very least a Ref wants to keep players in front of him whenever possible. Players are coached to attack the puck; first player hard on the puck with a secondary teammate providing support. Wherever the puck is located on the ice a battle for possession will quickly result. While players attack the puck, I have always taught the opposite is true for an Official; Refs must retreat from the puck. To facilitate this objective the Official needs to read the play in advance (anticipate) and move or vacate an area that players will soon occupy or battle for the puck in. One other cardinal rule I practiced was to never turn my back on the puck carrier or shooter. If I was forced to retreat or pushed up the wall I always squared to the puck and faced the shooter. When this situation presented itself I retreated as quickly as possible to create space (distance) and time to defend if the puck came at me. Once an Official turns his back to the play he has NO chance of seeing the puck or defending by blocking with an elbow pad or by simply moving aside. As a result of the battle behind the Leafs goal by Paul Ranger and Joe Colborne of the Flames, the puck was forced toward the corner where Referee Devorski stood. The read by the Ref at this point should have been that uncontested puck possession would be gained by defenceman Cody Franson given a lack of potential pursuit by any Flame players in the area. With the puck travelling toward the corner, which ultimately comes to rest near or against the sidewall at tthe goal line, the Ref would correctly determine the lane along the wall and deep into the corner was not available to him. Ali Marpet Jersey. Had Devorski taken this route he would have converged on the puck about the same time Cody Franson did. Devos decision here was the correct one. The first best angle of retreat from the puck by Referee Devorski would have been by skating parallel to Cody Franson in the opposite direction and reposition himself along the goal line half way between the corner and the net. (I termed this location "half-piston" when I designed the positioning philosophy implemented by the C.H.A. in the mid-1980s) From this safe location acquired by the Ref, Cody Franson could gain puck possession and make his play. Additionally from the half-piston location there was no potential for the Ref to obstruct pursuit by the nearest Flame player. The second worst angle of retreat was ultimately taken by the referee up the wall past the hash marks toward the blue line. By taking this route the Ref clearly placed himself in a shooting or passing lane (anticipation?). Once Devo committed to this exit strategy he should have been skating backwards as fast as possible (distance/time) facing Cody Franson with his hands up near his face to deflect or defend against a potential errant puck. An Official should always face the puck squarely and be ready to defend just like a Ninja! I was once asked to wear a new protective flak vest designed by a manufacturer in Strathroy, Ontario. He assured me I could take a puck right in the chest and the vest would disperse the force of impact leaving nothing more than a small bruise. This was before I was forced to wear a helmet and while I wasnt concerned about protecting my head I was more than willing to strap on the vest for added body armor. I was up for the challenge in Boston one night. With the Bruins on the power-play I was the lead Referee on the play in the two-man system and skating backwards just over the attacking blue line in advance of the rush. Bs defenceman, Sean ODonnell pounded a slapper into the zone on a hard-around from the cross-ice red line. It was probably about a 90 mile-an-hour shot, four feet off the ice and travelling straight at me. I foolishly decided this would be a good test for the flak vest so I squared up to the puck and puffed out my chest ready to take the best ODonnell offered on this one. My laser-like focus on the puck revealed the vulcanized missile starting to rise at an alarming rate and travelling faster than I originally anticipated. I bailed and hit the deck face-first at the very last second and felt the wind from the puck on my Paul Mitchell Freeze & Shine; a narrow miss! Bruins play-by-play man Jack Edwards without taking a breath and in his very best Howard Cosell impersonation commented, "And Down Goes Fraser" to which color analyst Gord Kluzak immediately chimed in, "And Not A Hair Out of Place!" While it was a close call, by squarely facing the shooter and puck I was able to defend myself. For the next week or so, when the War Room buzzes down to Referee Paul Devorski hell be taking the call in his other ear. Happy Halloween everyone. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '