MONTREAL: Italian veteran Matteo Manassero was poised to challenge for his first US PGA Tour title after conjuring seven birdies in a six-under par 64 to share the 54-hole lead at the Canadian Open with New Zealand’s Ryan Fox.
Fox also fired seven birdies and a bogey at TPC Toronto Osprey Valley, their 14-under par total of 196 putting the leaders one stroke clear atop a congested leaderboard, with 22 more players within four strokes of the lead.
On a day when as many as 11 players shared the lead at one point, Manassero was the first to reach 14-under with his sixth birdie of the day at the 15th.
He bogeyed 17, where he was in the left rough off the tee and missed a four-footer to save par, but he birdied the par-five 18th.
“It was a really good round,” Manassero said. “I missed the short one on 17, and I did miss a couple more short ones today. I try to think of them just like a shot really, like a driver, like a six-iron, whatever. It’s just a shot.
“It wasn’t that hard for me to stay focused into what I was doing and not ruining (it) at the end.”
Manassero, a five-time winner on the DP World Tour, is seeking his first US tour title. The 32-year-old Italian has revived his career after briefly walking away from the game in the midst of a prolonged slump. He claimed his first DP World Tour victory in more than a decade in March of 2024.
“It’s definitely made me more mature and much better perspective toward golf, which at one point was everything,” he said of the ups and downs of his career. “I have a better perspective toward, for example, a day like tomorrow.”
Fox, 38, is aiming to build off his first US PGA Tour title, captured in a playoff at the Myrtle Beach Classic last month.
He launched his round with three straight birdies and had five on the front nine, bouncing back from a bogey at 11 — where he was in the water — with birdies at 12 and 18.
“To be honest, everything went pretty right,” Fox said. “I drove it great. I think, if you do that round here, you give yourself lots of chances.
“Had a lot of good wedge shots, holed a few putts early. Just played really solid kind of stress-free golf for the most part.”
Americans Lee Hodges and Mat McCarty and Taiwan’s Kevin Yu were tied for third on 13-under 197.
Hodges bookended his seven-under 63 with eagles at the first and 18th, with three birdies in between.
Yu had eight birdies and a bogey in his 63 while McCarty had seven birdies in his 64.
Canadian Mackenzie Hughes and Americans Jake Knapp and Andrew Putnam were tied on 12-under, one stroke clear of a group of seven players on 11-under 199.
Ireland’s Shane Lowry headlined a group of nine players on 200.
Fox said his victory last month had him feeling “more comfortable in my own shoes,” but he with so many within striking distance he said that Sunday promised to be a shoot-out.
“Obviously there’s a lot of good players behind me,” he said. “I feel like it’s going to take a pretty low (score) to get the job done.”

PARIS: Drawing on the painful memory of her defeat three years ago in the French Open final gave Coco Gauff just the motivation she needed to win the clay-court major for the first time.
The 21-year-old American defeated top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday for her second Grand Slam title, two years after winning the US Open.
“I think (the US Open victory) was more emotional but this one was harder,” said Gauff, who managed to handle the elements and the momentum swings better than Sabalenka. “I knew it was going to be about will power and mental (strength).”
The victory put to rest the bad memories of her 2022 French Open final loss to Iga Swiatek when, as an 18-year-old, Gauff felt overwhelmed even before stepping onto Court Philippe-Chatrier.
“It was a tough time, I was doubting myself,” Gauff recalled. “I was crying before the match, and so nervous, literally couldn’t breathe and stuff.”
Gauff said that the lopsided loss rocked her confidence to such an extent that she was left “in a dark place” and feared she was not cut out for winning major titles.
“I thought if I can’t handle this how am I going to handle it again?” she said.
She handled it just fine on Saturday.
The second-ranked Gauff made fewer mistakes and kept her emotions in check to get the better of Sabalenka again at major final, having come from a set down to beat the Belarusian in the 2023 US Open final.
Gauff raised the winners’ trophy aloft, then kissed it several times. She held her hand over her heart when the US national anthem played.
“This one is heavy,” Gauff said. “It feels great to lift it.”
She is the first American woman to win at Roland-Garros since Serena Williams in 2015.
It was the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 final in Paris since 2013, when Williams defeated Maria Sharapova, and just the second in the last 30 years.
After Sabalenka sent a backhand wide on Gauff’s second match point, the 21-year-old American fell onto her back, covering her face with both hands as she started to sob, then got up and held her hand over her mouth. She continued to sob as she patted the clay with her left hand.
Gauff greeted Sabalenka at the net with a warm hug and thanking the umpire, Gauff screamed out with joy and relief, then got to her knees and crouched forward, continuing to cry as she savored the win.
She hugged later film director Spike Lee and celebrated with her entourage in her box before thanking the fans.
“You guys were cheering for me so hard,” she said. “I don’t know what I did to deserve so much love from the French crowd.”
One thing Gauff could not manage — yet — was a victory speech in French.
“I completely tanked on that,” she said, adding that she will try in the future. “I don’t think I could do a whole speech but maybe a good something to say to the French crowd.”
Sabalenka praised Gauff for being a “fighter” and said she deserved the win, but added that the windy conditions made for an error-strewn contest.
“This will hurt so much,” Sabalenka said. “Coco, congrats, in the tough conditions you were a better player than me.”
Both players were sloppy in the first set, conceding 21 break-point chances and making 48 unforced errors between them, with Sabalenka making 32 yet still winning the set. She made 70 altogether in the match, compared to 30 overall for Gauff.
Sabalenka was often frustrated, remonstrating and shouting at herself and frequently turning around to look at her team with an exasperated look on her face. She put her head on her hands a couple of times, and at one point raised her shoulders as if to say “What’s going on?”
Gauff said she paid no attention, knowing full well that Sabalenka could find her best game at any moment.
The first set looked to be heading Gauff’s way when she led 3-0 in the tiebreaker, but Sabalenka steadied herself and clinched it with a forehand volley at the net.
Gauff leveled the match with a smash at the net. But Sabalenka stuck to her high-risk approach in the deciding set.
One superb rally in the third game drew loud cheers.
After an intense exchange of drop shots, Gauff hit a lob that Sabalenka chased down before attempting a shot between her legs — only for Gauff to intercept it at the net.
It was a rare highlight on a day when swirling wind troubled both players with the roof open.
“It was tough to plant your feet, the ball was moving so much,” Gauff said. “It was not a day for great tennis, honestly.”