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Kevin Nagel Sports Editor knagel@burlingtonpost.com Sports The heavyweights kept themselves in contention but it was a couple of lesser known players that stole the spotlight on the opening day of the RBC Canadian Open. American Luke List shot a six-under 66 Thursday to take the early lead. Ranked ninth on the PGA Tour with an average driving distance of 305.6 yards, List opened with a birdie on the 10th hole, added three more birdies on the valley holes and made another on 18 on his way to a bogey-free 66. Canadian amateur Jared du Toit sat one shot back with a 67. du Toit provided the shot of the day when he holed out from 155 yards from a fairway bunker on the 17th hole for eagle. He then birdied the 18th. du Toit also had a great start to his round with birdies on four of his first six holes before taking a double bogey on the par-3 seventh, a hole that caused problems for many golfers. Kelly Kraft and Chesson Hadley also shot 67s on Thursday. Brandt Snedeker, the 2013 champion, is near the top of the leaderboard with a 68. U.S. Open champ Dustin Johnson got within a shot of the lead before taking a double bogey on No. 14. He was at four-under with two holes to play. The world's top-ranked golfer, and defending champion, Jason Day shot a three-under 69. Matt Kuchar and Canadian amateur Garrett Rank are also three back of the lead after shooting 69. Four-time major champion Ernie Els finished the day with a 70. Also coming in at two-under were former Canadian Open champs Jim Furyk and Chez Reavie. 33 | Friday, July 22, 2016 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" List tops leaderboard, Buzz eliminate nemesis to advance heavyweights in contention to conference final By Herb Garbutt Burlington Post staff Eddie Renaud had grown tired of watching his lacrosse season end the same way each year -- watching the Akwesasne Indians celebrating a playoff victory. So when the Buzz ran into their rivals again this year, Renaud was determined to write a different script in his final junior season. "They've been a huge pain," said Renaud, the team's all-time leading scorer with 417 points in a Buzz uniform. "I've been waiting five years to beat them." Beginning in 2011, the year before Renaud joined the team, the two teams have met in the playoffs four of five years. Akwesasne won each of those series, and after taking the opening game in this year's best-of-five series, had a 13-4 post-season record against the Buzz during that span. Oakville battled back to win 11-7 and earn a split in Akwesasne, sending the series back home for the final three games. While that may have seemed like an advantage, Renaud and Oakville's veteran players knew better. In 2014, the Buzz swept the two road games in Akwesasne and returned home needing just a single win to advance. But the Indians continued to torment the Buzz, winning all three games in Oakville. So even after leading the Buzz to a 13-6 win with a four-goal, eight point night last Friday, Renaud wasn't taking anything for granted. "Especially the older guys who had lived through it, we knew they were going to give us everything they had," he said. "We knew we were going to have to fight for everything." The veteran was right. Saturday, Akwesasne erased a pair of two-goal deficits and tied the game with 2:44 remaining to force overtime. With the stage set for Akwesasne to take the heartbreak to a new level, the Buzz refused to let it happen again. Nate Braniff scored with 56 seconds to play in the extra period, giving the Buzz an 8-7 victory and sending them to the Ontario Jr. B Lacrosse East Conference final for the second year in a row. Despite not experiencing the past heartbreaks, the significance of the win was not lost on Braniff. "The guys have talked about what an arch-rival they are. We definitely didn't' want to play Game 5. It would have been dangerous to give them another chance," said the rookie, who also contributed a pair of assists in the deciding game. "To score that goal and break that slump against Akwesasne felt really great. It was pretty special." There was a time Renaud worried about replacing departing veterans each season and sustaining the team's success. Now it's almost expected that rookies will make big contributions. "Every year you wonder how young guys will fit in," Renaud said. "You come to realize after a few games that these guys can play and you don't have to worry See Buzz on p.34 Matt Kuchar (above) chips onto the 16th green during Thursday's opening round of the RBC Canadian Open. Kuchar overcame a double bogey after putting his tee shot into the water on the par-3 seventh to shoot a three-under 69. Defending champion Jason Day (left), the world's No. 1-ranked player, bounced backed from a couple of early bogeys with an eagle and also finished with a 69. They are both three shots back of the leader, Luke List. | photo by Graham Paine -- Oakville Beaver Yacht club holding sendoff for Olympic sailor Parkhill Sunday The Oakville Yacht Squadron will be holding a sendoff for Lee Parkhill Sunday. The 27-year-old was named to the Canadian Olympic sailing team last month and will compete in the laser sailing event in Rio. Parkhill began sailing at the age of eight and began racing competitively when he was 13. Last summer, in front of a hometown crowd, Parkhill earned a bronze medal at the Pan Am Games in Toronto. He followed that up with a fifth-place finish at the Rio Olympic test event. Earlier this year at a World Cup event, Parkhill rallied with second-place finishes in the final two races to finish fourth overall. Parkhill also has three top-20 finishes at the Laser World Championships. The event will be held at the Oakville Yacht Squadron, 97 Forsythe St., in Oakville from 3-7 p.m. There will be prizes, games, raffles and food and bar service.