Kuchar, Brown top crowded leaderboard after Round 2 at Canadian Open

Matt Kuchar and Scott Brown both carded 7-under rounds of 63 on Friday to share the Canadian Open lead after Round 2.

Kuchar, the 2013 runner-up in Canada, turned in an eight-birdie performance while finishing his round with three straight red numbers to get to 12-under par. It was the third time this season he's recorded 128 strokes or better after 36 holes, and the rest of the PGA Tour has done that just six times.

Brown posted a bogey-free round on Friday, carding an eagle and five consecutive birdies to share the one-shot edge.

Brandt Snedeker fired the low round of the day. His 10-under 60 vaulted him up 56 spots on the leaderboard and into a share of third at 11-under. His performance marks the second time the former Canadian Open champion has shot 60 or lower since the start of 2018.

Snedeker shares third with Nick Taylor, who birdied three of his final four holes to lead the six Canadians who made the cut, with Adam Hadwin (9-under), Mackenzie Hughes (8-under), and Ben Silverman (8-under) joining Taylor inside the top 10.

The last Canadian to win the country's national open was Pat Fletcher in 1954.

Rory McIlroy is the leader among the top-10 ranked players in the field after Day 2. He posted a 66 in Round 2 for a share of 13th at 7-under par.

Justin Thomas (5-under), Brooks Koepka (4-under), and Dustin Johnson (4-under) sat outside the top 70 after Round 1, but they all managed to advance to the weekend with strong second rounds.