ANCASTER, Ontario — The normally quick-tempered Scott Piercy kept his cool and shot an 8-under 62 Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Canadian Open. Piercy took advantage of perfect scoring conditions at a rain-softened Hamilton Golf and Country Club, eagling the par-5 fourth and 17th holes and had five birdies and one bogey. Greg Owen and William McGirt were a stroke back, and Robert Garrigus had a 64. “I get really mad generally,” Piercy said. “That's something that I have to very much control. And it's a lot easier to control when you're playing well. ... It's something that I constantly have to work on. I'm kind of a perfectionist in an imperfect game. ... It's just a constant battle within me that I always have to kind of keep it nice and chilled. Golf is the only time I get really upset.” Piercy's 62 matched the competitive course record set by Warren Sye in the third round of the 1991 Ontario Amateur. The 33-year-old Las Vegas player is coming off a third-place finish two weeks ago in the John Deere Classic. He birdied three of his final five holes, punctuated with a 10-foot putt on No. 9. Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters winner, was at 65 along with 2004 Canadian Open champion Vijay Singh, Troy Matteson, Bo Van Pelt, Jhonattan Vegas, Stuart Appleby and Gavin Coles. Ernie Els, the British Open winner Sunday at Royal Lytham & St. Annes, opened with a 72. The course was a soggy mess by the end of the rainy day. Players were allowed to lift, clean and place their golf balls on the fairways, and 94 finished at par or better. Jim Furyk, the winner in 2006 at Hamilton and 2007 at Angus Glen, shot a 70. Adam Hadwin topped the 23 Canadians in the field, shooting a 66. Slumping Canadian star Mike Weir was tied for 112th after a 72. He's trying to make his first PGA Tour cut of the year. Olesen leads by three In Austria, Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark shot a 4-under 68 to take a three-stroke clubhouse lead over Thomas Levet of France after a shortened second day of the Austrian Open Thursday. Most afternoon starters were still on their front nine when play was suspended for the day because of lightning. They will finish their round early Friday. Olesen carded five birdies to end his second round at an overall 12-under 132. Levet had four birdies and two bogeys for a 70 and was 135 overall. Pablo Larrazabal, who opened with a 64 on Wednesday, bogeyed both the par-3 fifth and ninth holes. The Spaniard was 2 over for the round when play was stopped. Defending champion Kenneth Ferrie of England carded a 73 to go 143 overall, 11 strokes behind Olesen. Lewis sets course record In France, American Stacy Lewis shot a course record 63 in the opening round of the Evian Masters in France Thursday, her scorching form matching the 30-degree heat. Runner-up behind Japan's Ai Miyazato last year, Lewis had a flawless nine-birdie round to lead by two shots from South Korea's Park Hee Young. Another South Korean, Lee Ilhee, was in third place on 66. Swede Helen Alfredsson shot 63 on her way to victory in 2008, but Lewis' score counts as a new record as the course has been lengthened in preparation for the tournament becoming the fifth women's major next year. Feng Shanshan, the first Chines player to win a major — the LPGA Championship in June — dropped a shot at the long 18th but stayed well in touch on four-under-par 68. She was tied for sixth. Japan's Ai Miyazato, the defending champion, opened with a 71, — Agencies
