• Canadian Open, Round One

Els makes difficult conditions look easy

Ernie Els started well in Canada © Getty Images

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Ernie Els enjoyed a solid start at the Canadian Open in difficult conditions to put himself in a good position heading into the second week.

Just a week after struggling in the wet and wind of Royal St George's at the Open Championship, Els proved himself to be up to the challenge in similarly testing conditions at Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club.

The three-time major winner shot a two-under par round of 68 that contained three birdies and just a solitary bogey to leave the South African just one shot behind the clubhouse lead.

That went to American Kris Blanks, who had a topsy-turvy day. After making birdie at his first (the tenth) to get off to the perfect start he bogeyed both his ninth and tenth holes of the day to see him slip above par. But he birdied both the fourth and fifth before holing out from the greenside bunker for an eagle at the par-five seventh - enabling to card a solid first round of 67.

Brett Quigley joined Els at two-under, as did Kevin Kisner and eight others, while Rickie Fowler, Lee Janzen, Ben Crane, Anthony Kim and Lucas Glover were among a collection of well-known names and major winners to open with one-under rounds of 69.

Luke Donald also kept himself in contention after the opening round by shooting an even-par 70. Indeed, the round could have been far better for the Englishman had he not picked up double-bogeys on 11 and 13, but a string of three consecutive birdies between 5 and 7 has Donald sitting within striking distance, just two-shots behind Blanks.

Not everyone enjoyed their round, however, with Englishman Paul Casey struggling to a six-over par round of 76. Others to struggle in the early conditions included European Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal and Camilo Villegas (both 74).

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