“Where Champions Are Crowned”

Although it’s the marketing tagline for Duncan Meadows Golf Course on Vancouver Island, site of the recent men’s Canadian Amateur Championship, it could be adopted by any of the scores of courses across Canada that play host each year to provincial and national championships.

Ming Hui, owner of Duncan Meadows, says the course hosted its first event, the B.C. Mid-Amateur Championship, in 1999. Since then, the course and its members have welcomed a veritable spectrum of tournaments: provincial junior and amateur championships, Future Links events, the Canadian University/College Championship, the Canadian Women’s Tour, and even an American Junior Golf Association tournament where, says Hui, a young Paula Creamer set the women’s competitive course record before heading off to LPGA Tour stardom.

“The overall experience is fabulous,” Hui says. “Although the members have to give up their course for a few days, it’s a positive experience for everyone. It’s good for our course because it gives us exposure and visibility and it’s good for the game overall.”

At any given time, Golf Canada is in contact with hundreds of courses in order to secure sites over the next three to five years for the 30 or so tournaments they conduct each year, says Adam Helmer, Golf Canada’s director of rules, competitions and amateur status.

“Lots of advance notice and excellent communication is key,” he says. “Once a course hosts an event, they realize it is a positive and lasting experience for all concerned. Some courses want to showcase major changes, celebrate a significant anniversary or get more recognition. Others may target a specific championship because they have strong players in that category and it never hurts to have local knowledge.”

Phil Berube, executive director and CEO of Alberta Golf, agrees. “We are very fortunate in that many clubs in Alberta see this as an opportunity to showcase their facility and demonstrate good will for the golf community.” He says the key is a “partnership” between the golf association, the members and staff of the host club, and the players themselves.

Finding the appropriate number and type of facility is a formidable task for Golf Canada and the provincial associations. Although smaller provinces conduct a relative handful of competitions, Ontario runs more than 50 qualifying events and two dozen championships.

“It’s a very compact season and it’s difficult to schedule them all in during Ontario’s short summer,” says Rob Watson, Golf Ontario’s coordinator of next generation and competitions.

Some provincial associations offer nominal remuneration to host clubs and that has made the experience more palatable for some courses, but there’s much more to the equation. While British Columbia, for example, does so, the association “works with host clubs to help them understand the local economic impact of hosting an event as well as revenue opportunities for food and beverage as well as local sponsorship,” according to Kris Jonasson, CEO of British Columbia Golf.

Golf Canada, says Helmer, is working toward a new hosting model that would leave behind a “lasting legacy” commemorating their contribution to the game. That legacy could include donating Golf In Schools kits to local schools or some other support for growing the game locally.

One of the most memorable events during my 30 years at my club was when I volunteered last year for a Future Links tournament that had a Special Olympics component. We have hosted a men’s Ontario Amateur and some other events over the years and, with our centennial coming in 2019, our club is pursuing another significant championship. An unspoken motivation could be that we’ve got a very good golf course that we’re sick of being referred to as a “hidden gem.”

No matter what your motivation, reach out to your provincial association or Golf Canada to see what’s involved in hosting an event.

If for nothing else, do it for golf.

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Keegan Bradley held off Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff to win the rain-plagued BMW Championship on Monday for his first PGA Tour victory in six years.

Though Rose was runner-up at the FedEx Cup playoff event at Aronimink, he didn’t come up short in the world ranking. Rose hit No. 1 in the world and became the 22nd player to reach the top spot since the ranking began in 1986.–

Bradley, who shot a final round 6-under 64 to finish at 20-under par, thrust his arms toward the grey sky and drizzle in celebration and waved his family onto the 18th hole. He tossed into the air his young son, Logan, who hadn’t even been born in 2012, the last time Bradley won on the tour.

“A lot has happened to me over these six years,” Bradley said. “I kind of fell of the radar there for a little while. It’s tough to go from being on Ryder Cup teams, being on Presidents Cup teams to being outside the top 100 in the world.”

Bradley finished with his fourth career victory and first since the 2012 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. He gets a trip to Maui to start next year for the winners-only Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Rose could have won in regulation but lipped out on the last hole to force the playoff.

He fell short again in the playoff, missing a 5-foot par putt that would have kept him alive. The 38-year-old Rose had grown to love the suburban Philadelphia golf courses. He won the 2010 AT&T National at Aronimink and the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion.

He didn’t get a trophy on this trip. But a No. 1 ranking will do. Rose, who overtook Dustin Johnson, joins Nick Faldo, Lee Westwood and Luke Donald as the only Englishmen to reach No. 1.

“I’m delighted to be world No. 1,” Rose said. “Boyhood dreams, you know what I mean?”

Rose trails Bryson DeChambeau, who won the first two playoff events, in the FedEx Cup standings.

It was amazing play even finished Monday after rain soaked the course overnight and pushed up tee times. But it rained only lightly and the players had few complaints about the condition of the course, even if the walking paths became a muddy, soggy mess for the gallery.

Canadian Adam Hadwin finished T19 at 12 under par. The Abbotsford, B.C., native is projected to finish 36th, outside the required top-30 to advance to the TOUR Championship from Sept. 20-23 at East Lake Golf Course in Atlanta, Ga.

As usual, it crowded around Tiger Woods.

Woods caused some more noise – he’s been doing that a lot in recent months before the largest galleries at every course – and got within one shot of the lead when he made birdie on No. 9 to go out in 31.

But he missed the green on the 10th and made bogey. He found a bunker on the par-3 14th for another bogey. And this was the kind of day when more than one mistake was going to be costly. Woods wound up with a 65.

Such was the scoring at Aronimink that Woods had a 72-hole score of 263 for the sixth time of his career. The other five times he won; this one got him a tie for sixth.

“I thought I needed to shoot something around 62 today to have a chance,” Woods said. “And I don’t think that would have been good enough.”

Woods took away any suspense of getting back to the Tour Championship for the first time since 2013. That was about the time he was just starting to cope with back pain. He had his fourth back surgery last April, and at this time last year he had just been cleared to chip and putt.

“To say that I made it back to the Tour Championship after what I’ve been through is a pretty good accomplishment,” Woods said.

Jordan Spieth will not be joining him. Spieth started at 27th in the FedEx Cup standings and took a step backward, finishing with a 73 to tie for 55th. He fell out of the top 30 and will miss the Tour Championship for the first time.

That means he will have played only 24 tournaments this year, which includes the Ryder Cup. Because he didn’t add to his schedule a tournament he had not played in the last four years, he is in violation of the PGA Tour’s scheduling policy.

Still to be determined is the penalty. Spieth is the first player to violate the policy, which began last year.

“I obviously accept whatever fine it is and move on and try and add one every year, but it’s kind of tough,” Spieth said.

Later Monday, U.S. captain Jim Furyk will announce one more selection for the Ryder Cup.

Annika Sorenstam has learned a thing or two about what it takes to be the best.

So when the World Golf Hall of Fame member says Canada’s Brooke Henderson is well on her way to becoming one of the top players on the LPGA Tour, it makes sense to pay attention.

Henderson’s emotional win at the CP Women’s Open last month in Regina could be just the beginning, the 72-time winner on the LPGA Tour said in an interview ahead of the final major of the season – the Evian Championship, starting Thursday in Evian-les-Bains, France.

“What Brooke did was an amazing display of golf,” Sorenstam said of Henderson’s triumph, which ended a 45-year drought for Canadians at their national championship.

“If this continues, she will soon be one of the best in the world.”

Sorenstam, who in 2014 was named the best Swedish female athlete in history, won three times in Sweden during her career.

She’s also a two-time winner of the Evian Championship, where Henderson will try to put an exclamation mark on a memorable year.

Sorenstam said she likes Henderson’s game, which mixes an aggressive approach off the tee with a nice short game.

The combination, she said, is going to be beneficial for the native of Smiths Falls, Ont., for years to come.

“She has gotten off to a quick start in her young career,” Sorenstam said of Henderson, who turned 21 on Monday. “I am sure there will be many more wins to follow.”

Henderson has unfinished business at the Evian. She finished tied for ninth and tied for 25th in 2016 and 2015, respectively. Last year’s tournament was shortened to 54 holes due to weather, and she finished tied for 58th.

“It’s a beautiful golf course – usually challenging with the weather – but I think it suits my game well, particularly with how I’m striking the ball right now,” said Henderson.

“Hopefully all the pieces come together for the week and I can play well again.”

With more than US$1.2 million earned this season, Henderson sits second on the LPGA Tour money list with seven tournaments left. She’s also third on the year

that points list after the CME Group Tour Championship, the final event of the year, she’ll win a $1-million bonus prize.

Henderson’s CP Women’s Open victory was her second of the year. She also captured the Lotte Championship in Hawaii in April.

“I think it’s finally starting to sink in that I won our national championship, and it’s just such an amazing feeling and a dream come true to know that my name will always be on that trophy,” said Henderson.

With her win in Regina, Henderson figures to be a strong candidate for the Lou Marsh Trophy, given to Canada’s athlete of the year.

The award has been claimed by a golfer only three times: Marlene Streit (1956), Sandra Post (1979), and Mike Weir (2003).

“It’s something that would be an incredible achievement and honour to be in the conversation for,” said Henderson. “Hopefully my game and my achievements on the course can put me in that position some day.”

Henderson now has seven victories since turning professional. The most by a Canadian – male or female – is eight, a record held jointly by George Knudson, Post, and Weir, all of whom accomplished the feat much later in their careers.

Henderson celebrated her birthday at home with her family and said the week off was “definitely needed” after her win and then playing in the Cambia Portland Classic the week after, where she tied for 21st.

“It was nice having a tournament to just roll straight into to try and act as normal as possible, but to just be able to relax for a few days and reflect on everything has been great,” she said.

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Justin Rose has to wait until Monday to have a shot at getting to No. 1 in the world. And he still might not have to hit another shot at the BMW Championship.

A steady rain washed out play Sunday soggy Aronimink, and the PGA Tour will wait until Monday to decide whether it can try to complete 72 holes of the third FedEx Cup playoff event.

If the forecast makes it unlikely to finish, the tour could cut the tournament short to 54 holes.

Rose had a one-shot lead over Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele. A victory gets him to No. 1 in the world ranking. Keegan Bradley was projected to finish 30th in the FedEx Cup, which would knock out Jordan Spieth from the Tour Championship.

MONTREAL — It wasn’t easy, but after a one-hole playoff with Corey Pereira, Blake Olson captured his first career Mackenzie Tour victory after firing a Sunday 67, his second-best number of the week.

With the win, Olson moves all the way up from spot No. 42 on the Order of Merit to eighth, giving him an opportunity to move into The Five next week at the Freedom 55 Financial Championship.

“I said earlier in the week when asked about my goals that I was trying to get into the top-10,” said the Pensacola, FL native. “This win does that, but by no means am I secure, so I need to go have a good week next week and see where things stack up.”

Olson, entering the day two-strokes behind Pereira, made his move during the first half of the round, making birdie on hole Nos. 3 and 5 before three in a row from Nos. 8-10 put himself in a tie at the top of the leaderboard.

It wasn’t until Pereira made bogey on No. 14, just his third blemish of the week, that Olson possessed a solo lead.

“I had been in a pretty good spot last year with nine holes to play and didn’t finish it off, so this time I didn’t look at many boards,” said Olson. “I would see my name at the top but wouldn’t look at any scores, I just knew I was doing the right things and stuck to what I was doing.”

With Pereira making birdie on 17 and Olson already having signed for a share of the lead, the 27-year-old watched on as Pereira, who won earlier this season at the ATB Financial Classic, got up-and-down for par on the 72^nd hole to send the two players back to the 18^th tee.

With both players safely in the fairway, Pereira hit first, knocking his shot onto the back-left fringe, about 35-feet away from the pin. While Olson put his approach in the greenside bunker, he left himself with lots of green to work with, playing his third to eight feet.

Olson calmly knocked in his putt, and with Pereira unable to get his down in two, claimed his first win on a PGA TOUR sanctioned tour.

“It’s unbelievably hard (to win). This Tour is filled with so many good players, so many Web guys can’t even get into events up here,” said Olson, who made two cuts on the Web.com Tour in 2016. “I was lucky enough to come up here and play a full season, but the caliber is so high, everyone is getting better and, with Q-school around the corner, no matter what, if you compete on this Tour you’re playing good golf.”

Meanwhile, Michael Gligic locked up the Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Week award for the second consecutive event, and third time of the year.

At next week’s Freedom 55 Financial Championship, the Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Year will be named. Last year, Jared du Toit won the award as the top ranked Canadian on the money list, claiming the $25,000 prize.

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Justin Rose could sense the sky getting a little darker, the wind a little cooler and more brisk. Every shot means so much this time of the year, and the last two holes Saturday at the BMW Championship might mean even more.

Rose saved par from an awkward stance with his golf ball in the thick grass on the slope of a bunker. Xander Schauffele left a long putt from the tightly mown collar on the 18th green 8 feet sho–rt, and his par putt from there caught the high side of the cup and spun away.

When the third round ended, Rose had a 6-under 64 – six birdies on the front, all pars on the back – for a one-shot lead over Schauffele and Rory McIlroy going into the final round at Aronimink, a course so soft from rain than the average score from 69 players over three rounds was 67.5

At stake is chance for Rose to reach No. 1 in the world for the first time with his third title in the Philadelphia area, including his U.S. Open at Merion five years ago.

Jordan Spieth was projected to fall just outside the top 30 in the FedEx Cup, which would mean missing the Tour Championship and getting some form of penalty from the PGA Tour because of his schedule. He would have one more day to change that.

The question lingering amid the clouds: Would there be another round?

Rose tried not to think about it.

“It was definitely in the back of your mind,” he said. “You could start to feel the weather coming in and getting darker. Kind of had the feel there’s some big weather coming. I said to my caddie, ‘How about tomorrow?’ Just got to get through today.”

Starting times were moved up to 7 a.m. Sunday with hopes that the heavy rain stays away, and that the final round can get in. The forecast has a small window Monday morning if needed. If the rain is relentless, there’s a chance of a 54-hole tournament, which has happened only once in the 11 years of the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Rose was at 17-under 193, and 13 players were within five shots of the lead. That included Tiger Woods, who missed only two greens in regulation, kept a clean card, shot 66 and let a good round get away. That’s how much of a pushover Aronimink has been this week. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., jumped into a tie for 26th after a 7-under 63 to put him at 9 under.

McIlroy also had a 63 with a double bogey, though he bounced back from that on the very next hole with a 3-wood that barely moved forward when it hit the green, caught the slope of a ridge and left a short eagle putt he converted.

“I’ll be ready to play. I’ll be ready to go. I hope we play,” McIlroy said. “I feel like my game is in good shape and I’d love to get another crack at it out there and have a chance to take the lead. Maybe that chance won’t happen until Monday if it goes to that and the good thing is we don’t have a tournament next week.”

Rose made four straight birdies early on the front nine to quickly erase a two-shot deficit to Schauffele, and he finished the front nine birdie-birdie for a 29.

Schauffele, hopeful that a victory will give U.S. captain Jim Furyk reason to pick him for the Ryder Cup, stayed with Rose the whole way until his lone bogey on the 18th for a 67.

“Still have a good chance tomorrow,” Schauffele said.

Spieth salvaged his round late again for a 66. He has never missed the Tour Championship, and he likely would face some form of penalty for not having added a new tournament to his schedule without competing in at least 25 events. He needs to be at East Lake to reach 25.

Keegan Bradley made two tough pars for a 66 and narrowly edged past Spieth for the 30th spot. For someone like Bradley, getting to the Tour Championship would get him into all four majors next year.

Scoring was the lowest it has been all week at 67.17. Only six players from the 69-man field were over par, and there was a 62 for the third straight round. Tommy Fleetwood has two of them, Friday and Saturday. After opening with a 71, Fleetwood goes into the final round just two shots behind.

So does Rickie Fowler, despite a bogey on the final hole for a 65. Fowler played in the final group at Aronimink in 2011 when it held the AT&T National, though he faded to a tie for 13th. He is trying to win for the first this year.

For Woods, it was another lost opportunity, even though he remains in the mix. He opened with two straight birdies and the crowd was on his side, loud as ever. He followed with 11 straight pars, even though he had chances from 15 feet and closer.

“I hit the ball well enough to shoot a low score and I got off to a quick start,” Woods said. “I was looking up on the board and everyone seemed like they were 3 under through eight, 5 under through 9. I was only 2-under par. I wasn’t doing much.”

It was the 17th time Woods had a 54-hole score of 198 or lower. The previous 16 times he was either leading or tied for second. At Aronimink, he was tied for 11th.

MAYNOOTH, Ireland – Denmark, bolstered by the stellar play of 17-year-old identical twins Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard, held off a surging field to win its first World Amateur Team Championship at 39-under-par 541 by one stroke over the USA.

The Danes claimed the Eisenhower Trophy in their 25th appearance as Nicolai Hojgaard, the 2018 European Amateur champion, posted a 7-under-par 66 and his brother Rasmus fired a 6-under-67 for a team total of 13-under-par 133 on the par-73 O’Meara Course. Teammate John Axelsen posted a non-counting 4-under 69. Previously, in 2010, Denmark had claimed the silver medal.

“It means a lot,” said six-time Danish captain Torben Nyehuus. “Everybody is watching. It’s just amazing. I was with the team in 2010 when we came in second, so this is just amazing. It’s pretty nice to go one better.”

Nicolai notched five birdies in his final nine holes and Rasmus logged three as they took the lead from a tightly-packed leaderboard. Four teams, Denmark, USA, Spain and New Zealand, were tied at 34-under as the last groups made the turn.

“I feel wonderful,” said Nicolai. “This is a dream come true for all of us. I had a tough start to this tournament, so I was just trying to play some good rounds to help the team. I did that the last two rounds so this is perfect. This is the biggest team event we could have won and to do it with Rasmus is perfect. But, also with John, John is a great friend and we are all having fun. This is just wonderful.”

The USA used a strong finish by University of Texas freshman and 2018 U.S. Amateur semifinalist Cole Hammer (7-under 66) and University of Southern California senior Justin Suh (4-under 69) to pass Spain for the silver medal at 38-under-par 542.

“It says a lot,” said Hammer, the 2018 U.S. Amateur Four-Ball champion. “It speaks a lot to the way our team jelled and how much fun we had together. When you are having fun playing golf, good things happen. To medal in my first international competition, especially on a stage as big as this, is really special.”

Spain took the bronze medal at 36-under 544. New Zealand, which held the lead through 36 and 54 holes, was fourth at 545, followed by Norway, Italy and Thailand tied for fifth at 548; England in eighth at 549, Canada in ninth at 550 and host Ireland and Germany tied for 10th at 553.

Although there is no official recognition, Spain’s Alejandro “Alex” Del Rey was the low individual scorer at 23-under 267. He and England’s Matthew Jordan shot the low scores in the fourth round at 8-under 65.

The Canadian squad carded a final-round of 10 under par to climb into sole possession of 9th place overall. The trio finished at 30 under par, with Joey Savoie of La Prairie, Que., leading the way at 13 under. Fellow Quebec native Hugo Bernard finished at 11 under par while Garrett Rank of Elmira, Ont., closed out at 7 under par.

9th of 72 in the ⁦@IGFgolf⁩ #WATC2018 ⁦@CartonHouseGolf⁩ this year. Not what we wanted but super proud of the effort! ⁦@Hbernard63⁩ ⁦@savoiejoey⁩ #Grank ⁦@wavephysio⁩ represent ⁦@TheGolfCanada⁩ and themselves with class! Congrats men! ??? pic.twitter.com/Ap2V8Y8oj1

— Derek Ingram (@dingramgolf) September 8, 2018

Last week, the Canadian women’s team rallied back from T39 to finish in 7th place.

In 29 appearances at the World Amateur Team Championship, Canada has captured the Eisenhower Trophy on one occasion (1986) and earned runner-up honours five times. In 25 appearances at the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship, Canada has earned runner-up honours four times.

The 32nd World Amateur Team Championship for the Eisenhower Trophy and the 29th Women’s World Amateur Team Championship for the Espirito Santo Trophy are set for Hong Kong in 2020.

Click here for full scoring.

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk had an easy time deciding on three of his four picks for the Ryder Cup.

Xander Schauffele is making the last one a little more difficult.

Schauffele nearly holed a wedge on his second hole, rolled in a 40-foot birdie putt in the middle of his round Friday and wound up with a 6-under 64 in the BMW Championship for the lowest 36-hole score of his career and a two-shot lead over Justin Rose.

“I’m sort of in a position where I feel like a win is the only way I’d even be in consideration,” Schauffele said.

He also made it more difficult on Woods, who again goes into a weekend have to catch up to the leaders.

One day after he opened with a 62 – his lowest score since his last victory more than five years ago – Woods went eight holes before his first birdie and didn’t make many after that. He finished with two straight bogeys for a 70 that left him five shots behind in a tie for 12th.

“Very simple. I didn’t make any putts,” Woods said. “I hit a lot of beautiful putts that were on the top of the edge, and then obviously hit a couple bad ones on the last hole, but looked like all the putts were going to in. But they didn’t go in today.”

Schauffele was at 13-under 127 and will be paired in the third round Saturday with a familiar figure in Philadelphia. Rose, who played bogey-free for a 64, won the AT&T National at Aronimink in 2010, and he captured his only major at nearby Merion in the 2013 U.S. Open.

“Cheese steaks, I guess,” Rose said. “I played well. The crowd latched onto it, for sure. I get good support around here. It’s nice when they’re reminding you all the time that it’s your town, as well. It’s nice to have the added bit of enthusiasm from the crowd.”

Aronimink was even softer than the opening round from a burst of rain overnight. Starting times were moved up four hours because of a forecast for more rain. The trick Friday, when the average score was 67.33, was to avoid wedges that spun too much to back pin positions.

Hideki Matsuyama, who started the FedEx Cup playoffs at No. 76, had a 64 and was in a group three shots behind that included Keegan Bradley, Alex Noren and Rickie Fowler. Matsuyama suddenly is in position to be among the 30 players who advance to East Lake in Atlanta in two weeks for the Tour Championship.

The same is true for Bradley and for Noren, the Swede who makes his Ryder Cup debut at the end of the month. Noren holed out for eagle on the par-5 ninth for a 66, while Bradley keeps flirting with contention in these playoff events.

Rory McIlroy (67), FedEx Cup champion Justin Thomas (67) and Jason Day (64) were at 9-under 131.

Schauffele also needs a good week to get to East Lake, though he would like to extend his season an additional week in France at the Ryder Cup.

A runner-up at the British Open, the 24-year-old from San Diego finished 12th in the Ryder Cup standings. Furyk used three of his picks Tuesday night on Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and Woods – Nos. 9, 10, 11 in the standings – and has one more pick after the BMW Championship.

Tony Finau is regarded the leading candidate, and he did nothing to hurt his chances. Finau made seven birdies in his round of 64 and goes into the final 36 holes at Aronimink just five shots behind.

“The possibilities are cool, the potential of what could happen,” Finau said. “But nothing good comes from thinking too far ahead. I got a couple rounds in front of me, 36 holes to try and win this tournament. And winning takes care of everything.”

Woods once used that phrase – “winning takes care of everything” – when he returned to No. 1 in the world after his injuries in 2013. Winning remains elusive, a cold putter didn’t do too much damage after starting with a 62.

He missed a 4-foot par putt on the par-3 fifth hole and didn’t convert any of the birdie putts from the 20-foot range. What he made on Thursday, he missed on Friday.

“I hit it just as good and putt it just as good,” Woods said. “Nothing went in. That’s the way it goes.”

Schauffele said he was on a mission, and the Ryder Cup was merely a byproduct. He was the PGA Tour rookie of the year last season after winning the Tour Championship for his second PGA Tour title. Now, results are harder to find.

His mission?

“Just prove to myself that I can win again and just be clutch,” he said. “I always thought I was rather a clutch player coming down the stretch and this year has said otherwise. I’m trying to prove it to myself again.”

MAYNOOTH, Ireland – New Zealand lengthened its lead to three strokes after 54 holes at 30-under-par 404 powered by a 7-under 65 from Denzel Ieremia and a 3-under 69 from Daniel Hillier and positioned itself to claim its first medal since winning gold in 1992.

“That would be really cool,” said Ieremia of emulating the 1992 team of Michael Campbell, Phillip Tataurangi and Stephan Scahill. “I played college golf and I have always said that winning a team event is way more thrilling than winning an individual one. To have an opportunity to try to convert tomorrow is pretty cool.”

Spain and the USA also posted 10-under team scores to join Thailand in a share of second place at 27-under-par 407.

The Spanish posted a 6-under 66 from Angel Hidalgo and a 4-under 68 from Alejandro Del Rey while the Americans logged a 66 from Collin Morikawa and a 68 from Justin Suh.

Italy and first-round leader Denmark are tied for fifth at 408 and Norway, buoyed by the day’s best score of 133 and a 65 from U.S. Amateur champion Viktor Hovland, was tied for seventh with Germany at 412. Austria is ninth at 413 and Canada finishes the top 10 at 414.

“For us, it was another challenge the boys did well with it,” said New Zealand captain Bryce Hamer. “They worked really hard. They just love playing golf. They will look at tomorrow as another challenge. These guys will work extremely hard to do everything to do themselves and their country proud.”

The Canadian trio of Joey Savoie (La Prairie, Que.), Hugo Bernard (Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que.) and Garrett Rank (Elmira, Ont.) carded a 2-under 142 on Friday to sit at 10 under par, 10 strokes off the pace.

Savoie leads all Canadians at 8 under for the tournament, eight strokes back of leaders Takumi Kanaya (Japan) and Ieremia (New Zealand).

Bernard will lead off Canada’s final-round efforts, teeing it up at 12:15 p.m. local time.

Click here for full scoring.

BATHURST, N.B. – American Brady Exber closed out a strong performance with a final-round 73 (+1) on Friday to claim the 2018 Canadian Men’s Senior Championship at Gowan Brae Golf and Country Club.

Exber held a share of the lead in the opening round and never looked back, extending his advantage to capture a 7-stroke victory and hoist the John Rankin Memorial Trophy. The 62-year-old Las Vegas native finished the 72-hole event at 10 under par (278) ahead of Canadian runner-up Peter Detemple.

“It was just amazing when I made that last putt,” said Exber, who becomes the ninth American to win the Canadian Men’s Senior. “Everybody started clapping, and I looked around, I couldn’t believe how many people were watching.”

“I was really nervous starting today, because I had a big lead, and I was thinking ‘OK try to not screw this up’ instead of playing the golf course. You can’t win on the first tee you gotta play all the holes.”

The Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame member held a third-round lead of nine strokes, thanks in part to a tournament course record 66 (-6) in the third round. With the victory, Exber adds another trophy to a well-decorated shelf over a stellar amateur golf career throughout the years. Among his many accolades, Exber is nine-time recipient of the Southern Nevada Golf Association Player of the Year Award.

 

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Champ! Las Vegas native Brady Exber captures the 2018 Canadian Men’s Senior by 7 strokes ???? #CDNSr – – – – #golf #golfcanada #golflife #golfstagram #golfer #golfr

A post shared by Golf Canada (@thegolfcanada) on Sep 7, 2018 at 12:38pm PDT

Having played many different Nevada courses over his career, Exber shared high praise for the conditions at Gowan Brae.

“It’s a really fun course, the two nines are very different. If you drive it in the fairway here, you can make some birdies. The hospitality here is fantastic.”

Exber earns an exemption into the 2019 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship at the Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, N.C., from Aug. 24-29, 2019.

He’s also committed to returning to Canada to defend his title at next year’s Canadian Men’s Senior Championship, which will take place Sept. 10-13 at Cedar Brae Golf Club in Scarborough, Ont.

“Absolutely I’m going to defend my title, I’m looking forward to it. I really do look forward to coming to Canada—it’s one of three tournaments in the world for senior amateur golf.”

Detemple, a Vancouver native currently residing in Lexington Park, Md., couldn’t quite match Exber after the two shared the 18-hole lead. Instead, he was battling 2017 champion Gene Elliott of West Des Moines, Ia., who finished in solo third at 1 under for the tournament, two back of Detemple.

Doug Roxburgh, an honored member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame, hung on to capture the Super Senior Division (ages 65+) by two strokes. The Vancouver native finished tied for 11th at 11 over par (299). Quebec’s Michel Roy was in position to win but finished bogey, double-bogey to open the door for Roxburgh.

“It was one my goals and it’s really nice to have accomplished it,” said Roxburgh. “I turned things around and played pretty steady on the back. It was a good day of golf and Michel is just a tremendous player.”

On Wednesday, Team British Columbia captured the inter-provincial team championship with a score of 9 over par. Team Alberta and Team Quebec finished one stroke back with a share of second.

Additional information, including complete scoring info for the 2018 Canadian Men’s Senior Championship can be found here.