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Dustin Johnson has share of Canadian Open lead after first-round 66

Dustin Johnson blasts out of a bunker on the ninth hole Thursday during the first round of the Canadian Open.
(Nathan Denette / Canadian Press via AP)
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Dustin Johnson made a 10-foot eagle putt on the par-five 18th hole Thursday for a six-under 66 and a share of the Canadian Open lead with Luke List.

The U.S. Open champion set up the eagle with a 364-yard drive and 150-yard approach. In windy conditions at sun-baked Glen Abbey in Oakville, Johnson also had seven birdies and drove into the water on the par-four 14th en route to a double bogey. Johnson played the three back-nine par-five holes in four under.

List birdied all four par-five holes in a round he closed with seven pars.

Canadian amateur Jared du Toit was a stroke back along with former Arizona State teammate Jon Rahm, Chesson Hadley and Kelly Kraft. Coming off his junior season for the Sun Devils, du Toit holed out with an eight-iron for eagle on the par-four 17th and birdied the 18th.

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Brandt Snedeker, the 2013 winner at Glen Abbey, had a 68 to match Brendon de Jonge, Steve Wheatcroft and Cameron Tringale.

Top-ranked defending champion Jason Day was in the group at 69.

Garrett Rank, the Canadian amateur who works as a professional hockey referee, also opened with a 69. The Ontario player holed an eagle putt from the fringe on 18. He played alongside du Toit.

U.S. falls twice at UL International

The United States lost both of its four-ball matches to England, and Yani Tseng helped Taiwan sweep Australia in the opening session of the UL International Crown at Gurnee, Ill.

Lexi Thompson and Cristie Kerr lost to Holly Clyburn and Jodi Ewart Shadoff, 2 and 1, while Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller fell to Charley Hull and Melissa Reid by the same score. Thompson, Kerr and Lewis were on the American team that finished sixth in 2014 in the inaugural event after being swept the first day.

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Next up is two more days of four-ball matches at the Merit Club. The top two in each pool and the winner of a wild-card playoff between the third-place teams will advance to the singles matches Sunday.

With the course set up for low scores, world No. 6 Ariya Jutanugarn made seven birdies while playing with Porani Chutichai for Thailand, but they only managed a halve against Japan’s Ai Suzuki and Ayaka Watanabe. Jutanugarn’s sister, Moriya, and Pornanong Phatum beat Haru Nomura and Mika Miyazato, 2 and 1.

Top-seeded South Korea, with each of its four players ranked in the top 12, split its two matches against No. 8 China. Amy Yang and In Gee Chun won 2 up over Shanshan Feng and Xi Yu Lin, but Jing Yan and Simin Feng got two points for China with a 1-up victory over Sei Young Kim and So Yeon Ryu.

Tseng and Teresa Lu went off in the first match and cruised to a 3-and-2 victory over Karrie Webb and Su Oh. Tseng and Lu then watched as Candie Kung and Ssu-Chia Cheng posted a 2-up win over Rebecca Artis and Minjee Lee. Taiwan also won its first two matches at Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland in 2014, but didn’t score another point all weekend.

Austin leads after first round of Senior British Open

Woody Austin made four birdies in a six-hole stretch on the back nine and finished with a four-under 68 to take the first-round lead in the Senior British Open at Carnoustie, Scotland.

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The 52-year-old Austin rebounded from bogeys on Nos. 9 and 10 with birdies on Nos. 11, 12, 14 and 16. He has struggled after winning three times in four events this year on the PGA Tour Champions.

Mark O’Meara was a stroke back along with Carlos Franco, Esteban Toledo, Joe Durant, Tom Byrum, Scott McCarron and Peter Fowler. Franco, from Paraguay, qualified Monday.

The wind was 10-15 mph at Carnoustie Golf Links with a mix of sun and clouds and a high in the 60s.

Bernhard Langer, the winner in 2010 at Carnoustie, had a 71.

Defending champion Marco Dawson opened with as 72. He won last year at Sunningdale.

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