Gerry Dobson

Australia's Aaron Baddeley.

And the rain, rain, rain, came down, down, down.

Amazingly enough, there was no suspended play on Day Three at the RBC Canadian Open, although anyone caught out on the course around 2:30, and again a couple hours later, was soaked to the gills -- including yours truly.

Most of us had never seen so much rain without a delay. It’s a testament not only to the course workers and its conditioning, but also to the old Stanley Thompson design. He built courses in such a way that they drained themselves. He had to do it that way since there was no such thing as the modern, complex draining systems of today.

The caddies must love it too since it saves them from all of that extra work of trying to keep things dry. I asked one looper coming off the seventh green "how much the bag weighed after the heavy rain?"

"50 pounds," came the flat and somewhat exasperated reply.

More exasperated was Australian Aaron Baddeley, who made the shot of the day to make all amateurs feel better. You'll never see it on the highlights reels however. I was watching the No. 10 tee shots through binoculars from behind the green when Baddeley mushed his drive off the toe and it trickled off the tee deck for whopping 15 yards.

That won't help the driving statistics much.

Then I watched from a distance as he called a nearby PGA rules official over for a ruling.

Before I knew it, the curiosity in me took over. I had to find out what he was asking for. Back to the tee I went. The rules guy told me Baddeley didn't feel right at the top of his swing and tried to bail out. Problem is he still hit the ball, barely. He must have thought he was in my foursome because he was asking for some sort of mulligan.

You or I may be able to pull that off, but certainly not on the PGA Tour. Rule 11 in the rules of golf clearly states that, if you accidentally knock the ball off the tee while addressing it, you may replace it without penalty, but not while in the action of taking a swing.

No penalty, but no do-over either. Tough luck amigo. Either way, he went on to make par and sits at 2-under through three rounds.

But the oddest thing I've seen so far comes from the fringes. St. George's is nestled in a rather upscale Etobicoke neighbourhood. Multi-million dollar homes back onto many of the holes bordering the exterior of the property.

From more than one backyard, which would serve as several lots in my neighbourhood, you can slide your loonie through the fence and the youngster on the other side will gladly hand you a little refresher, usually lemonade.

You immediately wonder if the 12-year-old capitalist will make his first million before his Dad.

Maybe I'll bring a few loonies Sunday -- and an umbrella.