OAKVILLE, Ont. -- John Merrick shot one of the best rounds in Canadian Open history. But it still wasnt enough. Merrick shot a 10-under 62 to take the early clubhouse lead in the second round of the RBC Canadian Open on Friday, but Hunter Mahan caught him with an 8-under 64 performance for an overall score of 13-under par. "I saw kind of going into 9, I saw he was at 11, and it was weird because I think he was at 7 or 8 or something, and then he was at 11. Sixty-two is a pretty good round," said Mahan. "But I didnt really think I had to catch him. Theres so much golf to be played here. "I think I just wanted to go out there and not try to shoot for a score but just try to play golf." Merricks morning round tied a course record at the par-72, 7,253-yard Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont., to take the early clubhouse lead at 11 under. Greg Norman set the mark at the 1986 Canadian Open. "I actually kind of had a bad warm up this morning. It was strange," said Merrick. "I wasnt hitting it that great and I didnt feel that good. Maybe that makes you focus a little bit more, try to figure out whats going on. And I was able to kind of work a couple things out and got off to a good start and eagled the second hole, which kind of calmed me down. "Whenever you try to force things in golf you never get what you want to do." Bubba Watson sat third at the $5.6-million purse PGA Tour stop after a 5-under 67 in the threesome ahead of Mahan. "As long as I can keep my patience and I can just have fun out there, and hopefully this weather just doesnt bother me too bad, and then well have fun this weekend," said Watson. Mahan was pleased with Fridays performance and saw it as a stepping stone after he tied for ninth at 3-over par in last weeks British Open. "Yeah, I kind of built off last week," said Mahan of Fridays round. "I got some good things Im doing with my swing and everything, and feel good about that. Im just going out there and really trying to trust my game. Just allow things to happen and not get in the way of myself and be as present as I can and keep my head up and keep moving forward. And just kind of letting my abilities and everything that Im doing in my game, let it try to come out." Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., was the top Canadian after shooting a 5-under 67 in the second round, putting him at 4 under for the tournament. "Yeah, it was a great day. It was one of those rounds that could have been really anything. I could have been 10 under pretty easily, I think," said Weir. "But played great, and it was exciting to do that for the fans." He jumped over several of his fellow countrymen, including first-round top Canadian Brad Fritsch, from Ottawa, who shot 1-over par on the second day of the tournament to fall to 2 under overall. Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., caught up to Fritsch on the leaderboard after shooting 1-under 71 for the second day in a row. "Its a great opportunity to get experience out here on the PGA Tour," said Sloan. "Obviously this is where I want to be, this is where I want my career to be. So Im just committed to being focused out there on the golf course." David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., was the other Canadian to make the cut after a 1-over 73 afternoon. Fritsch was impressed with Merricks score. "I dont think they played all the holes today -- 62," said Fritsch. "He probably played 16 holes." Merrick couldnt believe the round hed had himself -- he had to double-check his final score with his caddy. "It didnt feel like 62 at all," said Merrick. "(I) made that putt on the last hole and told my caddie, I was like, was that 10 under? He was like, I think so. "I was just trying to keep making birdies and not quite think about what I was doing." Merrick was pleased to be playing so well at a national open. "Its a very prestigious event," said Merrick. "Yeah, its a great honour to be here and playing the tournament, and its definitely one that you look at to play well at, definitely." First-round leader Brendan Steele struggled in the afternoon, shooting a 3-over 75 to drop into a group tied for 26th. Two-time Canadian Open champion Jim Furyk was in a group tied for 16th at 5-under par, while Scott Piercy, last years title holder, was tied for 56th at 2 under. A cut line of 1-under par eliminated several Canadians, including Graham Delaet (73) of Weyburn, Sask., amateur Corey Conners (74) of Listowel, Ont., Eugene Wong (71) of North Vancouver, B.C., Calgarys Stephen Ames (73), Peter Laws (74) of Milton, Ont., amateur Adam Svensson (72) of Surrey, B.C., Bryn Parry (75) of North Vancouver, B.C., and Brian Hadley (75) of Sarnia, Ont. Also cut were amateur Eric Banks (84) of Truro, N.S., Mackenzie Hughes (75) of Dundas, Ont., Riley Wheeldon (75) of Comox, B.C., amateur Kevin Carrigan (73) from Victoria, Torontos Albin Choi (73) and Adam Hadwin (71) of Abbotsford, B.C. There will be a second cut after Saturdays third round because more than 78 players made Fridays cut.Adidas NMD R1 Sverige . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. Adidas Superstar Herr Rea . Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business crowd that included Lesnar. The U.S. wrestler and retired mixed martial artist says he was visiting his brothers farm in Saskatchewan and decided he wanted to hear what the premier had to say. http://www.nmdsverige.com/falcon-adidas-skor.html . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. "I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. NMD Dam Rea . The deal is pending a physical, assistant general manager Bobby Evans said. Traded from Seattle to Baltimore on Aug. 30, Morse also can play first base and right field to give manager Bruce Bochy some flexibility in writing his lineup. Adidas NMD Sverige . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2.ARLINGTON, Texas -- Top-ranked Alabama has never lost an opener under Nick Saban. And the Crimson Tides last two national championships, including a season ago, started at the home of the NFLs Dallas Cowboys.Maybe Crimson Tide fans should go ahead and make plans for Tampa in January for the next College Football Playoff title game. Many of them probably already have even before the start of Sabans 10th season.Alabama opens Saturday night at AT&T Stadium against 20th-ranked Southern California, which is facing an SEC team for the first time in 10 years.It is the seventh of Sabans openers to be played in a neutral site against team from another Power Five conference -- the Tide have won all of those first six at least double figures. That includes beating Michigan in 2012 and Wisconsin last September in the stadium where they also won the CFP semifinal in the Cotton Bowl last New Years Eve.Well, Id rather play here in Tuscaloosa, Saban said this week on campus. The issue is getting people to play you in Tuscaloosa that are quality opponents, and then when you do home-and-home. That means next year wed have to play in California. So next year we wouldnt make any money, this year we would. This is a business decision but its also a program decision in the tremendous amount of exposure, when you play a quality opponent like USC.The Tide have won four national titles under Saban. The first was in 2008, when the Trojans won their last Pac-12 title.USC has seven wins in its history against No. 1 teams, but the last was in 1984.What an unbelievable opportunity. You look at the sacrifices this team made, the things its gone through to get here, and you cant help being excited about it, said Clay Helton, who goes into his first game of his first season as the Trojans permanent coach. Thats why you come to SC. If you dont like the challenge, you dont take the job.Some other things to know when Alabama and USC go head-to-head for the first time since 1985:NEW QBS: USCs Max Browne has won the job to replace Cody Kessler but has attempted only 19 passes in nine gaames.dddddddddddd. Alabamas starter is a mystery, either junior Cooper Bateman or redshirt freshman Blake Barnett. If Saban has picked a guy, he isnt saying -- just like the past two years when Blake Sims and then Jake Coker claimed the jobs through game performances.KIFFINS OLD TEAM: Tide offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin is plenty familiar with the Trojans, having coached 19 members of the USC team. Hes a former USC head coach and assistant. It wont be about me, just like it wasnt about me when we were at Tennessee, Kiffin said early in preseason camp. Its not about coach when we go to LSU. Its about our players playing really well. All we can do is put our players in the best position to win.NEW BUT FAMILIAR: New Trojans head coach Clay Helton has been on their staff since 2010. There is also a new offensive coordinator (Tee Martin) and new defensive coordinator (Clancy Pendergast), and like Helton, neither are strangers at USC. Martin has been on staff there since 2012, and Pendergast was previously the Trojans defensive coordinator in 2013, before returning to the NFL the past two seasons.PROLIFIC RECEIVERS: If the quarterbacks are unproven, their top targets are pretty obvious. USCs Browne has JuJu Smith-Schuster, who flirted with 1,500 receiving yards and has impressed Saban all the way around. A bigtime guy, the coach said. Kind of a Dez Bryant-type of receiver, and hes certainly going to be a challenge for us to guard. Alabama counters with Calvin Ridley, who emerged as one of the SECs best as a freshman. Ridley is also taking over returning punts.OPENING STREAKS: The Crimson Tides streak of season-opening wins is even longer than Sabans tenure. They have won their last 14 openers overall, which is three fewer than USCs streak of 17 consecutive seasons with a win in the first game.---AP Sports Writers John Zenor and Greg Beacham contributed to this report.---AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '
