Matteo Manassero made a single bogey at the 17th and closed with a 6-under 64 to take a share of the lead at 14-under at the RBC Canadian Open.
“It was a really good round,” said the Italian. “I played well from tee to green, but I did that yesterday too. It’s hard to say anything wasn’t how I wanted it because I need to look at the bigger picture and I’m going to be standing in a really nice position. I will focus onto that, and today was just really good.”
He holds the 54-hole lead/co-lead for the first time on Tour, his previous best 54-hole position was T7 at the 2014 Open Championship. Manassero seeks his first PGA Tour title in his 50th start, his best finish in 49 prior starts was T8 at the 2014 Valspar Championship. He is a five-time DP World Tour winner, most recently at the 2024 Jonsson Workwear Open.
193 marks his lowest 54-hole total on Tour (previous: 198/2024 Genesis Scottish Open).
At age 16, Matteo Manassero became the youngest player to make the cut at the 2010 Masters. He finished T13 months prior at The Open.
At age 17, he became the youngest-ever winner on the DP World Tour (not once, but twice).
At age 20, he rose to 25th in the world.
Manassero… pic.twitter.com/W8mXcN0qY5
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 7, 2025
“When I first saw it, I thought it was a long course, and then we played it with a different wind. So I thought I’m going to have to play really well to do well this week. But then I guess the greens not being that firm helps my ball flight. That suits kind of my game more than really, really firm greens.
“Yeah, overall the main thing is I’m playing solid, and my tee-to-green game has been good, and that’s the main thing at the end.”
The last Italian player to lead/co-lead after 54-holes on Tour was Francesco Molinari at the 2019 Masters.
Manassero earned his PGA Tour membership for the 2025 season via a top-10 finish in the 2024 DP World Tour Eligibility Ranking. He is a second-year Tour member having previously earned and accepted Special Temporary Membership in the 2013-14 season.
New Zealand’s Ryan Fox also made a single bogey, at the 11th, for his 64 and share of the lead. He seeks a second PGA Tour title in his 71st start at the age of 38 after earning his first victory in a playoff over Mackenzie Hughes and Harry Higgs at the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic.
“To be honest, everything went pretty right. 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,” said Fox. “Maybe one bad drive on 17, made a nice par, but the rest of it felt pretty easy. Hopefully can keep those vibes going for tomorrow.
“I always felt like I was on the outside looking in at Myrtle Beach but then kind of chipped in, and it was a bit of a whirlwind,” he added.
“I just feel a bit more comfortable in my own shoes. I feel like I belong a bit more out here, and just stuff doesn’t seem to matter quite as much after getting that first win. Just there’s a bit more freedom there. I’ll take that into tomorrow, take that confidence knowing that I’ve done it and see what happens.
“Obviously there’s a lot of good players behind me. Yeah, there’s a low score out there, so I feel like it’s going to take a pretty low one out there tomorrow to get the job done. No change in game plan or anything. Just go out and give it a go and see what happens.”
Fox holds the 54-hole lead/co-lead for the first time on Tour (previous best 54-hole position: T2/2024 RBC Canadian Open).
At T3, 13-under 197, Lee Hodges, Matt McCarty and Kevin Yu each seek their second PGA Tour victory (Hodges/2023 3M Open, McCarty/2024 Black Desert Championship, Yu/2024 Sanderson Farms Championship).
American Hodges fired two eagles, at the par-5s 1st and 18th, as well as two birdies for a bogey-free 63. Chinese Taipei’s Yu and American McCarty both made a single bogey to record a 63 and 64 respectively.
Three qualifying spots are available for the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush through the Open Qualifying Series. The leading three finishers, not otherwise exempt, from the RBC Canadian Open will earns spots in the field.
Through 54 holes the leading non-exempt players are Lee Hodges, Kevin Yu, Matt McCarty.
For the third consecutive year (2023, 2024), eight Canadian players made the cut at the RBC Canadian Open, the most in tournament history since 1983: Mackenzie Hughes (T6/-12), Adam Hadwin (T16/-10), Taylor Pendrith (T16/-10), Nick Taylor (T16/-10), Richard Lee (T25/-9), Corey Conners (T29/-8), Ben Silverman (T29/-8), Matthew Anderson (T36/-7).
