OTTAWA – Grace St-Germain knows exactly what the participants of the World Junior Girls Championship are about to go through.

St-Germain, part of Golf Canada’s national team program since 2014 and now starting her first season at the University of Arkansas (after a two-year stint at Daytona State College, where she was part of the NJCAA Women’s National Golf Championship-winning squad in May) made her debut at the World Junior Girls Championship in 2014 at Angus Glen Golf Club.

She paired with Brooke Henderson and Naomi Ko and the squad finished third.

It was her first time representing Canada on a golf stage, and says it was a moment she would never forget.

“It was so fun to meet all the girls from around the world, and being able to finish third alongside Brooke and Naomi is something I’ll keep in my heart forever,” says St-Germain, who is playing at Arkansas with a fellow World Junior Girls Championship competitor from Mexico.

St-Germain says being able to play in the World Junior Girls Championship solidified her desire to represent Canada while playing golf. As a Canadian, she’ll always fly the Canadian flag on the course. But to legitimately wear her country’s colours was a unique and exciting opportunity that she is eager to repeat.

The 20-year-old has been with Golf Canada’s national team program for four years. She had to unfortunately miss the CP Women’s Open in Regina, Sask. due to commitments at Arkansas, but did enjoy a successful summer season – capped off with a win at the Quebec Women’s Amateur in June.

She says the opportunities Golf Canada has put in front of her have been “unreal.”

“The first year I went to Australia, which was one of my ‘bucket list’ countries to visit. This summer we went to England and Ireland. Without Golf Canada I wouldn’t be who I am, for sure,” she says. “The opportunities I’ve got have been unparalleled.”

St-Germain is also a member at Camelot Golf and Country Club, the host layout for this year’s World Junior Girls Championship. She says the key to success for the participants this year will be to have a solid game plan and try to stick with it. She says there are a “bunch” of holes at Camelot that can cause headaches, and she says driving it straight will be key.

“I’m excited for the girls to come play this golf course because I know they’re going to love it,” she explains. “It’s beautiful and challenging and has great conditioning. I’m excited to hear what they think about it, and for them to be in my hometown.”

As St-Germain begins the next stage of her career in Arkansas (with 6:15 a.m. workouts, she says with a laugh and a typical college-student groan) she’s reflective in thinking back to what her time at the World Junior Girls Championship meant to her and her career.

She’s hopeful the girls who participate have as much fun as they can and just enjoy the moment.

“When I look back on the 2014 tournament I don’t often think about a specific shot or holes, but I remember the friendships I made and the people I still talk to this day,” she says. “The girls you see (at the World Junior Girls) are the girls you’re probably going to be playing with for a long time coming, so just make as many friends as you can and enjoy the week and the opportunity to represent your country.”

Learn more about the World Junior Girls Championship by visiting the championship website.

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – With the glare of a scorching sun in his eyes, Tiger Woods couldn’t believe what he saw.

He finally missed a green on his 14th hole.

“Is that long?” he said to his caddie. “I thought it was perfect.”

Everything else felt that way Thursday in the BMW Championship, where Woods had his lowest score in an opening round in nearly 20 years and his best score on the PGA Tour since his last victory more than five years ago. With a bogey on his penultimate hole, he had an 8-under 62 at Aronimink.

And all that got him was a share of the lead with Rory McIlroy.

“Just the way it goes,” Woods said with a smile, caring more about a complete round of golf and a strong performance with his old putter than whether he was leading after one round in the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Aronimink was never easier, not with temperatures in the upper 90s and feeling even hotter. Not on a course with generous fairways and greens so soft that Woods hit a 3-iron from 242 yards that landed 8 feet in front of the hole and stopped 5 feet away next to the pin.

Woods hit nothing longer than a 9-iron into the par 4s. McIlroy relied heavily on his wedge game to make a strong bid at 59, only to make consecutive bogeys late in his round and having to settle for a 62.

Through all the sweat, through all the birdies, they managed to give Philadelphia fans a reason to cheer for golf in the hours before the Super Bowl champion Eagles opened the NFL season Thursday night against Atlanta.

“It was one of those days where it was out there,” McIlroy said.

And it was a Thursday, finally, that included Woods in the mix. He had failed to break par in the opening round at 10 of his last 11 tournaments.

“Got off to a better start than I have most of the season. And as of right now,” he said, pausing to smile, “I’m one back. Just the way it goes.”

He had just signed his card and saw that McIlroy was at 9 under, and by the time he stepped out from the hot sun and suggested another ice bath might be in order, McIlroy had dropped two shots before finishing with a two-putt birdie.

It was the lowest score for Woods since he shot 61 in the second round of the 2013 Bridgestone Invitational, which he won by seven shots for his 79th title on the PGA Tour and 90th worldwide. It remains his last victory.

And it was his best opening round since a 61 in the 1999 Byron Nelson Classic on a similar kind of day. Woods shot 29 on the front nine that day at Cottonwood Valley and it wasn’t even the best score in his group (Paul Goydos shot 28). Woods wound up with a one-shot lead that day and tied for seventh.

Woods returned to the same putter he has used to win 13 of his 14 majors – his third different putter in as many weeks – and saw some familiar results. He opened with a 20-foot birdie putt at No. 10, shot 29 on the back nine, and then rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 1 to reach 7 under through 10 holes.

He didn’t make many more, but he had chances.

His only bogey came at the par-3 eighth, by far the most difficult pin on the course. Woods was between clubs, went with a soft 4-iron and yanked it into the rough. He pitched to 18 feet, a good shot up a ridge and onto a green that sloped away from him. The putt caught the lip.

Woods and McIlroy still had to hit the shots and make the putts.

The wide fairways and temperatures in the 90s allowed the golf ball to seemingly fly forever and made for such low scoring that 48 players in the 69-man field broke par. Rickie Fowler opened with a 65 in his first tournament since the PGA Championship, and at times it felt like he was getting lapped playing alongside Woods.

Jordan Spieth couldn’t keep it in play off the tee and didn’t get under par until his 15th hole. He birdied three of the last four for a 67.

Peter Uihlein, who only advanced to the third FedEx Cup playoff event with birdies on his last three holes on the TPC Boston last week, had a 64 to join a group that included FedEx Cup champion Justin Thomas.

McIlroy was on the second green when he looked over at Woods, who had just hit wedge to 4 inches for birdie on the seventh hole and was waiting for the green to clear on the par-3 eighth. The crowd was much thinner for McIlroy, but those fans saw quite a show. He holed an 8-foot birdie putt on No. 2, part of a run six straight birdies.

When he was 9 under with four holes left – the last one a par 5 – he started thinking about breaking 60.

Instead, he missed the fairway on his next two tee shots, took bogey from about the same spot Woods was on No. 8, and those hopes were gone.

“You don’t get many opportunities to break 60 and today was one of them,” he said. “And I didn’t capitalize. I’m not going to say it stings too bad because I’d much rather shoot 62 today and win the golf tournament Sunday than shoot 59 today and maybe not win.”

Bathurst, N.B. – Brady Exber edged closer to winning his first Canadian Men’s Senior title on Thursday, firing his third-straight round in the red at Gowan Brae Golf and Country Club to take a 9-shot lead heading into tomorrow’s final round.

Exber carded a 6-under-66 to tie the tournament course record at Gowan Brae, which was originally set in 2005. His bogey-free round  was highlighted by an eagle and four birdies.

“I’m very happy, it was an unreal round,” smiled Exber. “I got off to a good start, birdied one, chip in for eagle on two, so that was a good start. I just kind of felt really good today off the tee, with the driver and three-wood. I think I only missed one fairway.”

The Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame member’s only miss hit was on hole 18. He hit a 7 iron off the fairway and the ball bounced off the cart path, about 30 feet in the air, and landed on the green about 8 feet back of the hole.

“I just tried to hit a little easy 7 iron and I caught it thin and you know it just hit the cart path,” said the 62-year-old. “You know what, I have to say, with as good as I played today, sometimes it’s just your day. Today was just my day.”

Exber sits 11 under for the tournament (205) and heads into the final round with a 9-stroke lead over Peter Detemple of Lexington Park, MD., and 2017 Canadian Senior Champion, Gene Elliott of West Des Moines, Ia. Elliott and Detemple sit 2 under for the tournament (214) both with a share of second.

Canadian Golf Hall of Famer, Doug Roxburgh, maintained his lead in the Super Senior division despite carding a 79 on Thursday.

“I didn’t really play very well on the back nine, missed some short putts, and totally lost focus. I’ve got to re-group for tomorrow,” the Vancouver native sighed. “I gave back nine shots in the last 14 holes.”

Sitting one stroke back of Roxburgh is Michel Roy from Québec City, who sits 9-over-225 for the tournament.

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 of Team British Columbia with a share of second.

The 2018 Canadian Men’s SeniorChampion will earn an exemption into the 2019 U.S. Men’s Senior Amateur Championship at the Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, N.C., on Aug. 24-29, 2019.

The Canadian Senior Men’s Championship continues Friday with the final round beginning at 8 a.m. ADT.

OTTAWA, Ont. — A well-accomplished field of competitors will take to Camelot Golf and Country Club from Sept. 11–14, for the fifth annual World Junior Girls Championship. In total, 57 athletes will represent 18 countries—including two teams from host nation Canada.

“With our partners, we are proud to offer a world-class event for girls of this age group, where there are fewer opportunities for international competitions,” said tournament director Dan Hyatt. “These girls are some of the best juniors in the world and we are thrilled to host them in a tournament where they can continue their growth and development.”

This year’s field is highlighted by 10 competitors ranked inside the World Golf Amateur Rankings (WAGR) top 100. The tournament’s top-ranked player, Atthaya Thitikul (No. 11), will represent Thailand in their first World Junior Girls appearance. Thitikul has won five separate titles in 2018, including Women’s Amateur Asia-Pacific Championship and The Queen Sirikit Cup.

Italy is the only country in the tournament to have all three team members ranked in WAGR’s top 100. Alessia Nobilio (No. 22) leads the team, aiming for another individual medal after capturing silver in 2017. The 16-year-old, who has seven top-five finishes this year, will be joined by 2016 bronze medallist Caterina Don (No. 69) and newcomer Emilie Paltrinieri (No. 78). The trio looks to give Italy their first team medal at the tournament.

The 2018 instalment of the event will see numerous players return as 19 members of the field have played in at least one World Junior Girls Championship, including both the 2017 silver medallist Nobilio (Italy) and bronze medallist Blanca Fernandez Garcia-Poggio (Spain), who look to become the first repeat medallists in tournament history.

138th ranked Fernandez Garcia-Poggio will lead the Spanish team as they aim to become the first team to defend their World Junior Girls team title after winning last year in the tournament’s first ever team playoff. Marina Escobar Domingo (No. 143) and Marta Garcia Llorca (No. 109) join the World Junior Girls veteran in the quest for gold.

Sweden will look to add a fourth team medal to their trophy case after earning one silver (2014) and two bronzes (2015 and 2017). As the only Swedish player returning to the championship, Maja Stark (No. 63) will be joined by rookies Ester Fägersten (No. 120) and Ingrid Lindblad (No. 180).

Last year, the United States fell short of defending their 2016 bronze medal, finishing one stroke behind Sweden. The American team will feature three new fresh faces—Brooke Seay (No. 101), Zoe Campos (No. 125) and Michaela Morard (No. 164)—as they look to recapture their first gold since they won the inaugural World Junior Girls team title in 2014.

With all of the returning teams and players, the World Junior Girls Championship is also pleased to welcome Scotland and Columbia, who will join Thailand as the three countries make their tournament debut in 2017. Columbia will send Isabella Gomez, Laura Alexandra Castillo Ordonez and Sofia Torres Villareal. The Scotland team will feature Hannah Darling, Louise Duncan and Carmen Griffiths.

The strong international field will join the six players chosen to represent Canada. Céleste Dao (Notre-Dame Ile Perrot, Que.), Ellie Szeryk (London, Ont.) and Tiffany Kong (Vancouver, B.C.) will form Canada One, while Emily Zhu (Richmond Hill, Ont.), Sarah Beqaj (Toronto, Ont.) and Lauren Kim (Surrey, B.C.) will make up Canada Two. Team Canada will be looking for their first medal since capturing bronze at the first ever World Junior Girls in 2014.

#TeamCanada‘s Céleste Dao and past participants share their experience in playing in the World Junior Girls Championship in Canada #WJGC

Learn more ➡️ https://t.co/LrZtdx34tL pic.twitter.com/tEyfVyeFov

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) September 4, 2018

In 2017, the Spanish team fired a collective 4-under par (140) to erase an eight-stroke deficit, forcing a playoff with the Korean squad. Spain eventually came on top to win their first World Junior Girls Championship medal.

The World Junior Girls Championship is conducted by Golf Canada in partnership with Golf Ontario, and supported by the R&A and International Golf Federation. Recognized as an ‘A’ ranked event by the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR), the World Junior Girls Championship will run for its fifth time.

Nestled in Ottawa’s east end, Camelot is no stranger to running Golf Canada championships. The venerable club has hosted the 2012 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, a Canadian Women’s Tour event, the 2017 Canadian Junior Girls Championship, as well as final qualifying for the 2017 CP Women’s Open.
Opening ceremonies for the championship take place on Sept. 10, followed by the first round on Tuesday, September 11. The tournament’s closing ceremonies will immediately follow the conclusion of play on Friday, Sept. 14.

Admission to the competition is free. Additional information regarding the fifth annual World Junior Girls Championship can be found on the competition’s website.

Bathurst, N.B. – The second round of the 2018 Canadian Men’s Senior Championship concluded Wednesday at Gowan Brae Golf and Country Club with Team British Columbia emerging as provincial team champions.

The trio of Doug Roxburgh (Vancouver), John Gallacher (Burnaby, B.C.) and Al Jensen (Nanaimo, B.C.) posted a combined second-round score of 2-over-146 to capture the Phil Farley Trophy with a total of 297 (+9).

It was a close finish between Team British Columbia and Team Alberta, which was comprised of John Festival (Calgary), Brian Coston (Calgary) and Ken Griffith (Red Deer, Alta.). The Alberta trio, who are defending champions,finished a single-shot back of Team British Columbia, sharing runner-up honours with Team Quebec, comprised of Shawn Farrell (St-Anne-de-Bellevue, Que.), François Bissonnette (Mirabel, Que.) and Michel Roy (Québec, Que.). Team Alberta and Team Quebec finished with a total of 10-over-298.

Team British Columbia member and Canadian Golf Hall of Famer, Doug Roxburgh, walks away from the second round with his team winning the inter-provincial competition and holding the lead in the Super Senior Division.

“It’s great,” when asked how it feels to be leading the Super Senior Division, “I just want to go out and play golf while representing B.C. and see how our team did, and now we have the individual side of it, and so we just keep plugging away.”

The Vancouver native leads the Super Senior by 5 stokes after carding a 1-under-71 on Wednesday to sit 1-over for the tournament.

“I played fairly steady and missed a couple of short ones, but other than that you have to be pretty happy with it, I’ll take a 71,” Roxbugh laughed.

The 2014 Canadian Men’s Senior champion holds a five-shot lead on Lars Melander from Oakville, Ont. and Lance Lundy from Pemberton, B.C., who share second with a total score of 150 (+6).

Brady Exber took the solo lead Wednesday in the Senior Division after recording a tournament low round of 4-under-68.

The Las Vegas native teed off on hole 10 and fired two birdies against two bogeys on his front nine making the turn at even for the day. He continued to record four more birdies on the back nine to take a three-shot lead.

“It’s always good to make six birdies,” Exber smiled. “I had two mistakes, I bogeyed 17 and just missed the green a little bit and flubbed a chip. I three putted 18, that was very disappointing.”

Exber enters the third round Thursday without having made a bogey on the front nine.

“I played the front nine well, the front nine is a little easier than the back nine. But I haven’t made a bogey on the front yet, knock on wood,” added the 62-year-old.

Peter Detemple from Lexington Park, MD., initially from Vancouver, moved one spot back into second after sharing the lead with Exber after Tuesday’s round. Detemple carded another 71 to sit 2-under for the tournament.

Not far behind is 2017 Canadian Senior champion Gene Elliott who fired a 3-under 69 to sit alone in third, just one stroke behind Detemple.

A total of 74 players finished 156-or-better to advance past the 36-hole cut. The third round will begin Thursday at 8 a.m. ADT.

BATHURST, N.B. – Peter Detemple and Brady Exber were the only players in the red at the end of the first round of the 2018 Canadian Men’s Senior Championship at Gowan Brae Golf & Country Club.

It was a sunny blue bird day with a little wind which was proving to throw off some players, but not Detemple.

“It was a beautiful day, perfect enough breeze for the mosquitoes to keep away. You know, the wind is your friend in golf, you use it. It wasn’t overly windy, it was a normal wind,” said the Vancouver native.

Detemple opened with two birdies on his front nine but struggled with his putter on hole 10 as he made the turn.

“I missed a 12-inch putt on 10, I tapped it in and missed it. I was standing there like ‘what the heck’ that don’t happen,” Detemple laughed.

He didn’t let that stop him. The Lexington Park, MD., resident continued to card two more birdies against two bogeys to finish 1 under.

“I played conservative, I kept it in play today, that was my goal. You don’t want to shoot yourself out,” said the 56-year-old.

Unlike Detemple, Exber had a rough start to the tournament when he arrived in Bathurst, but his clubs did not. Exber was one of many players whose clubs didn’t make it for the practice round, but thankfully arrived just on time for the beginning of the championship.

“I’m really happy, I didn’t have my own clubs until today, so I just didn’t want to get off to a bad start,” said the Las Vegas native. “I wanted to get in the feel of the golf course because I didn’t really know how far the ball was going with my own equipment. It took me a few holes to kind of get going, but I did get off to a good start.”

The 62-year-old had a similar opening round to Detemple recording two birdies. Exber made the turn–also recording a bogey on hole 10 and a birdie on hole 11–and recorded an eagle on hole 14 after a chip-in just off the green.

Two players trail the duo after carding even-par 72s. Ken Griffith of Red Deer, Alta. and Allen Barber of Yorktown, Va., both share third heading into Wednesday’s second round.

Canadian Golf Hall of Fame Honoured Member and 2014 Champion, Doug Roxbough, leads the Super Senior (65 years +) Division by two strokes over Lars Melander from Oakville, Ont. and Mike Hosford from Dieppe, N.B. Roxbough recorded a 2-over-74 in Tuesday’s round.

Defending champions, Team Alberta, has a share of the lead with neighbouring province, Team Saskatchewan, at 4 over. Three strokes back, with a share of third, are Team British Columbia (+7) and Team Ontario (+7).

The 2018 Canadian Men’s SeniorChampion will earn an exemption into the 2019 U.S. Men’s Senior Amateur Championship at the Old Chatham Golf Club in Durham, N.C., on Aug. 24-29, 2019.

Additional information, including full scores from the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship can be here.

COUNTY KILDARE/DUBLIN, Ireland – France has been selected as the site of the 2022 World Amateur Team Championships (WATC), the International Golf Federation (IGF) announced at its Biennial Meeting.

This will mark the third time the championships have been played in France. Previously, both the 1994 championships were played at Le Golf National (and La Boulie for the Eisenhower Trophy) and the inaugural Espirito Santo Trophy competition was played at St. Germain G.C. in 1964.

Le Golf National, site of the 2018 Ryder Cup Match, and Golf de Saint-Nom-La-Bretèche near Paris, will be the courses used for the championships.

The 30th women’s championship for the Espirito Santo Trophy and the 33rd men’s championship for the Eisenhower Trophy will be hosted by the French Golf Federation.

“Bringing the World Amateur Team Championships to France in 2022 is a direct reflection of its ability and commitment to host global golf events and a fantastic precursor to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” said IGF Executive Director Antony Scanlon. “We are quite sure the players will have a great experience in France.”

“Hosting major sporting events is in the DNA of France,” said Jean-Lou Charon, President of the French Golf Federation. “After the Ryder Cup in 2018, and before the Olympics Games in 2024, France will be very proud to host the WATC in 2022. The hosting of the WATC, one of the world’s most famous and legendary competitions, will be both a fantastic lever and a unifying event for all those involved in the development of the game of golf.

“The French Golf Federation’s commitment is total. Paris, Versailles, Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche Golf Club, Le Golf National, and the fervor of the general public as well as that of the 800,000 French golfers who are all eager to share their enthusiasm with the national golfing delegations from all over the globe.”

Both championships feature the world’s leading amateurs and are played over 72 holes of stroke play. Each country is represented by a team of two or three players.

The men’s competition of the 2018 World Amateur Team Championships, hosted by the Golfing Union of Ireland and the Irish Ladies Golf Union, will be played 5-8 September at Carton House (O’Meara and Montgomerie Courses) in County Kildare/Dublin, Ireland with 72 teams competing.

The 2018 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship concluded on 1 September with the United States of America claiming its 14th Espirito Santo Trophy, by 10 strokes over Japan. A record total of 57 teams competed in the championship. Canada finished 7th after battling back from a tie for 39th.

The 2020 Championships will be played in Hong Kong, China.

The World Amateur Team Championships are a biennial international amateur golf competition conducted by the International Golf Federation, which comprises 151 national governing bodies of golf in 146 countries, and 22 international professional tours and organizations conducting major championships.

The IGF is recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the international federation for golf. In addition to the World Amateur Team Championships, the IGF also organizes the golf competitions at the Olympic Games and the Youth Olympic Games.

NORTON, Mass. – Bryson DeChambeau plays golf differently from everyone else and is getting the results everyone wants.

It doesn’t take a scientist to figure that out.

For the second straight week in the richest part of the PGA Tour season, DeChambeau took down one of the strongest fields of the year by playing his best golf on the weekend to win the Dell Technologies Championship, becoming only the second player to capture the opening two playoff events in the FedEx Cup.

He closed with a 4-under 67 on Monday, making three straight birdies to close out the front nine and keeping his distance the rest of the way for a two-shot victory over Justin Rose on the TPC Boston.

“I wouldn’t have written it any better, to be honest with you,” DeChambeau said. “I’ve been playing some great golf this whole year. And I knew it was a matter of time before something cool showed up.”

Vijay Singh won the opening two FedEx Cup events in 2008, when the points system was different and points were not reset before the final playoff event. That allowed Singh to effectively wrap up the $10 million prize early.

DeChambeau, with his third victory this year, was assured of being the No. 1 seed when he gets to the Tour Championship, no matter what happens next week at the third playoff event outside Philadelphia.

And he would appear to be a shoo-in to be one of U.S. captain Jim Furyk’s three Ryder Cup picks to be announced Tuesday. The idea is to find the hottest player to fill out the team, and no one has been close to DeChambeau over the last two weeks.

The 24-year-old Californian is known as the “Mad Scientist” for his approach to the game, from his single-length clubs (34 inches, roughly the length of a 7-iron), to his work on biomechanics to the calculations that go into every shot.

Nine calculations, to be exact.

DeChambeau doesn’t want to give away all his secrets, but they range from yardage and wind to air pressure and adrenaline.

“He’s facing the biggest and best fields,” Rose said. “There’s a lot of conjecture about how he goes about it. But when he delivers as he is now, it just proves it.”

How much better can he get?

“You can always get better,” DeChambeau said. “How much? I would say it depends on what I can do in the restrictions of my biomechanics. So it’s all about error tolerances and being … less sensitive to error. So that when you do feel like you mess up, it’s not going to be that big of a mess-up. I hope that makes sense.

“But I can say there is another level.”

DeChambeau, who started the year at No. 99 in the world, moved to No. 7, one spot past Rory McIlroy. He finished at 16-under 268 and made $1,620,000 for the second straight week.

Canadian Adam Hadwin started his final round strong before settling with a 1-under 70 to finish 8-under in a tie for 21st.

The Abbotsford, B.C., native birdied three of his first four holes Sunday and reeled off 11 straight pars before back-to-back bogeys on No. 16 and No. 17 dropped him back two strokes.

Starting the final round one shot behind Abraham Ancer, and among 10 players within four shots of the lead, DeChambeau had a two-putt birdie from 50 feet on No. 7, took the lead with a 12-foot birdie putt on the 220-yard eighth hole, and then hit his approach to 6 feet to a back right pin at No. 9 for his third straight birdie.

Cameron Smith of Australia tried to make a run at him with a pair of late birdies, but DeChambeau answered with a birdie on No. 15 to keep his lead at two shots. Needing an eagle to catch him on the par-5 18th, Smith came up short and into the hazard and made bogey.

Rose birdied three of his last four holes for a 68 and wound up alone in second.

Ancer couldn’t keep pace, dropping three shots in the tough four-hole stretch early on the back nine. The 27-year-old Mexican hit into hazard on the 18th and finished with a bogey for a 73. The small consolation for Ancer was moving from No. 92 to No. 56, which at least made him among the top 70 who advance to the BMW Championship at Aronimink.

A few others also were happy to have another week left in a long season.

Peter Uihlein, the former U.S. Amateur champion in his first full season on the PGA Tour, birdied his last three holes for a 68. He played with Keith Mitchell, another PGA Tour rookie, who birdied his last two holes for a 69. Both moved into the top 70.

Matt Kuchar failed to advance beyond the second playoff event for the first time in 10 years, meaning he won’t get another chance to state his case as a potential Ryder Cup pick. Furyk makes his fourth selection after the BMW Championship.

The likely choices Tuesday would seem to be DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods – they finished Nos. 9, 10 and 11 when qualifying ended for eight automatic berths after the PGA Championship. Woods closed with a 71 and tied for 24th. Mickelson, who has played on every Ryder Cup team since 1995, boosted his case by winning a World Golf Championships event in Mexico in March, and he made nine birdies Monday in a closing round of 63.

“So fortunate also that it’s the day before the Ryder Cup picks, although I don’t feel that should be a bearing,” Mickelson said. “I think you have to look at the big picture through the course of the year statistically. … But it certainly doesn’t hurt.”

It’s been a summer of learning for Céleste Dao, and she hasn’t even been in school.

Dao, of Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Québec (about 40 minutes from Montréal) has played golf this year in Japan, Mexico, and Ireland – to name a few, she’ll be heading to Argentina later this year, too – but she’s most looking forward to heading back to Canada.

Dao will be playing her third World Junior Girls Championship this fall at Camelot Golf and Country Club  – 20 minutes from downtown Ottawa – and she says it’s the most fun experience she’s had. Although golf is such an individualistic game, she relishes the chance to represent her country and play as a group.

“I love team events,” she says. “It’s good to have different kinds of tournaments so we can see different pressure and different parts of our game. I’m really looking forward to that.”

Dao was also given an exemption into the CP Women’s Open in Regina, Sask. where she said her goal was to make the cut (she finished T140 at 8 over par).

#TeamCanada's Céleste Dao and past participants share their experience in playing in the World Junior Girls Championship in Canada #WJGC

Learn more ➡️ https://t.co/LrZtdx34tL pic.twitter.com/tEyfVyeFov

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) September 4, 2018

Her win at the Mexican Junior Girls Championship in May – she won in a playoff after being six shots back of the lead going into the final round – gave her the momentum she needed to qualify for the U.S. Women’s Open later that month. She says her experience from the major (she shot 83-80 to miss the cut, but did get in a practice round with both Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp) is going to be helpful as she tees it up in Canada’s national championship.

“I can manage my stress and now I know what it looks like. Before, I never knew. Now I have a little clue. I think I’m going to be better,” she says.

This is Dao’s first year on Team Canada after a tremendous 2017 campaign that saw her notch six victories across a wide spectrum of events including the Québec Women’s Amateur and the Québec Junior Girls.

She started to play golf when she was three years old, after her father showed her. She started hitting balls in her garage off a mat, and then got more serious a few years later – starting to play tournaments at age eight.

We’re pleased to announce the six athletes selected to represent Canada in the 5th annual World Junior Girls Championship @camelotgolfclub from Sept. 11-14 #WJGC – CANADA ONE Celeste Dao Ellie Szeryk Tiffany Kong – CANADA TWO Emily Zhu Sarah Beqaj Lauren Kim

A post shared by Golf Canada (@thegolfcanada) on Aug 30, 2018 at 7:49am PDT

She says she loves the whole experience of being a part of Team Canada, but especially the travel.

The week before the CP Women’s Open Dao was in Northern Ireland playing the Girls’ British Open Amateur Championship (she was eliminated in the second round of match play), and she’ll represent Canada at the Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires in October.

Her favourite country, she says, has been Japan. But she says she started to enjoy Ireland the more she got to explore. “It’ll be a tie,” she says with a laugh.

But there’s no place like home.

Dao is eager to don the red-and-white at an event, the World Junior Girls Championship, she’s thoroughly enjoyed the last three years.

“I really enjoy that tournament. We play against so many international teams and we always have fun with the girls,” she explains. “I think we’re going to do great.”

Click here for more information on the World Junior Girls Championship.

CALGARY – Scott McCarron did it the hard way, but he successfully defended his Shaw Charity Classic title.

Although McCarron started the final round at Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club on Sunday in fourth place, he had five birdies in his first 11 holes before thrilling fans with a hole in one on 14 to vault to the top of the leaderboard with a 7-under 63.

“It was just a perfect 9-iron for me (from 148 yards),” said McCarron, whose ace bounced once before going in. “As soon as I hit it, I knew it was going to be good, but I didn’t know how good. Someone told me that it hit once, one-hopped and went right in the hole. That was a huge momentum change right there.”

The 53-year-old golfer from Moorseville, N.C., finished with a birdie on the par 5, 18th hole to end the 54-hole tournament at 15-under 195 to take home the winner’s share of $352,500 U.S. It was the first time this season that a player was able to successfully defend his title, and the first time in six attempts that McCarron was able to accomplish the feat in his PGA Tour Champions career.

It was also McCarron’s fourth come-from-behind victory in his PGA Tour Champions career and second this season after rallying to win the American Family Insurance Championship in June.

“I feel very comfortable just a little behind or in the lead,” he said. “I’ve put myself in that position a lot and I’ve come through a lot. I’ve also failed a lot too. The more times I fail, the more times I learn.

“There’s so many tournaments where I feel like I gave it away, but you’ve got to go all 54 holes out here and to do that you’ve got to play some pretty good golf. You’ve got to control your emotions if you can. I was able to do that pretty well today.”

Second-round leader Joe Durant shot a disappointing round of 67 on Sunday to finish in a three-way tie for second spot with Kirk Triplett and Scott Parel.

“I didn’t feel great hitting it and I kept putting so much pressure on my putting, but eventually I got sloppy,” said Durant, who missed a short putt for par on the 17th hole.

“I didn’t take my time and missed it, lipped it out and made bogey – just a total mental meltdown. When you do stuff like that, you don’t deserve to win a golf tournament.”

Triplett and Durant could have pulled into a tie with McCarron on the final hole, but neither were able to sink lengthy putts.

“I hope Scott remembers Joe and I at Christmastime this year,” said Triplett, who started his round with birdies on his first four holes before cooling off and carding a round of 5-under 65.

“He earned it. He birdied the last hole, but we could have made him work harder.”

Parel had Sunday’s best round of 8-under 62. He just missed an eagle putt on 18 that would have tied the course record of 61 (held by Miguel Angel Jimenez and Fred Couples) and put him in a playoff with McCarron.

“To have a chance, I figure I needed to make that putt,” said Parel, who reeled off six birdies on his back 9. “I hit the ball great today. I’ve been in a good place for the last few weeks and made a few putts on the back nine.”

Jimenez, who finished one shot behind McCarron last year, shot 67 to end up alone in fifth place. Jimenez still sits atop the Charles Schwab Cup money list, while McCarron jumped from fifth spot to second.

“We have so many good players all in the top 10 that if they get hot here in the next few weeks, there’s going to be a lot of guys with a chance coming down to the Schwab Cup finals,” McCarron said.

In his final PGA Tour Champions event, Rod Spittle, of Niagara Falls, Ont., finished as the top Canadian in a six-way tie for 17th spot at 6 under after a round of 1-under 69.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” Spittle said. “I never thought that I could get my golf game back to this level. To come and compete with everybody for the last little while has just been an awful lot of fun.”

Vancouver’s Stephen Ames carded a round of 69 while Calgary’s Steve Blake had a 71 to finish well back of the leaders at 2 over and 8 over, respectively.