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Mississauga, Ont.’s Matthew Anderson knows the course at TPC Toronto Osprey Valley well. He’s used that to his advantage through two days of play at the RBC Canadian Open.Nick Iwanyshyn/The Canadian Press
Matthew Anderson’s grandmother gave him a plastic golf club when he was two years old. He would slap it around their home in Mississauga, Ont., until he was sent outside. There, he hit plastic balls over the fence in the backyard. At 4, his dad took him to play on a regulation course for the first time.
He is 26 now and is just three shots off the lead after 36 holes at the RBC Canadian Open. He shot a 69 on Friday and sits at 133, which is seven under par. He easily made the cut in the 72-hole tournament at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in Caledon, Ont.
Anderson is not a member yet of the PGA Tour; instead he is a regular on its Korn Ferry circuit. The only PGA Tour event he has ever competed in is the Canadian Open – now four times.
Previously he missed the cut twice and in 2025 tied for 47th, which got him US$26,401.
This year’s winner at the RBC Canadian Open takes home US$1.764-million.
The leader after two rounds is Ben James, an American who just earned his PGA Tour card and is playing in his first tournament as a professional. He is at 10-under-par ahead of a group of five at nine-under that includes last year’s runner-up Sam Burns.
Brooks Koepka, 2025 winner Ryan Fox, Tommy Fleetwood, Brice Garnett, Bud Cauley and Jimmy Stanger are all at eight-under. A half-dozen others, Anderson and fellow Canadian Taylor Pendrith included, sit at seven-under.
The final two rounds will be contested on Saturday and Sunday over Osprey Valley’s par-70, 7,389-yard North Course.
The top 70 players and anyone tied with them advanced to the final two rounds. This is how hard it is: the cutoff point at the event was two-under. Among those to miss it were Canadians Eric Zhao, Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes and Mike Weir, and Justin Rose of England.
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Anderson was tied for 13th after Friday’s play.Nick Iwanyshyn/The Canadian Press
Zhao, an 18-year-old from Toronto and a freshman member of Princeton University’s golf team, finished at one-over. He was in line to make the cut but had double-bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes.
In challenging, breezy conditions, the first hole-in-one at the event was achieved by American David Lipsky on the 144-yard, par three 14th hole. Lipsky, who was even after 36 holes, would have likely made the cut had he not recorded one triple bogey.
James, a standout golfer in his last year at the University of Virginia, secured the No. 1 position in the 2026 PGA Tour University Rankings and with it earned an immediate PGA membership. The 23-year-old has yet to earn a single dollar at golf but a large payday is coming.
“I wasn’t really thinking about results at all this week,” said James, who had five birdies and an eagle during a round of 63. “I was just worried about getting comfortable, making friends and having fun, and seeing where my game stacks up.”
He still has no expectations.
“Being so young, I’m just excited,” he went on. “I’m going to play the best I can like I did the last two days.”
Anderson was the Ontario men’s amateur champion in 2019 and is a member of Team Canada. He is yet to win an event on the Korn Ferry Tour, but he had a throng of followers in the second round.
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Anderson has enjoyed a lot of fan support at the tournament in Caledon, Ont.Nick Iwanyshyn/The Canadian Press
At one point they sang O Canada to him; at another moment he donned a Blue Jays jersey.
Despite minimal experience on the PGA Tour he doesn’t lack for confidence.
“I definitely knew I had the game to contend in this tournament,” he said. “I play this course a ton and I practice here a lot. So I’m comfortable out here, and I knew that my game coming in was trending and I could kind of play well at any point.
“Obviously it’s nice to be in this position, but it’s not a surprise by any sort.”
Editor’s note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Matthew Anderson had not won on the PGA Tour Americas. He has won an event on that circuit.
