SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. – The return to a classic U.S. Open course brought back the kind of scoring that gave this major its reputation.

Dustin Johnson played some of his best golf Thursday and yet the world’s No. 1 player barely beat par in the treacherous wind at Shinnecock Hills. Johnson holed a bunker shot for birdie, kept his mistakes to a minimum and joined Ian Poulter, Scott Piercy and Russell Henley at 1-under 69 for a share of the lead.

“You had to focus on every single shot you hit – putts, everything,” Johnson said. “It was just difficult all day.”

No need to tell that to Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and a long list of golf’s bests who had their hopes crushed in gusts that approached 25 mph that made fairways look more narrow and the shin-high rough difficult to avoid.

In his return to the U.S. Open after a two-year absence, Woods opened a major with a triple bogey for the first time in 15 years. He added back-to-back double bogeys on the back nine and staggered to a 78.

Spieth waited until the second hole to make a triple bogey, blasted out of a bunker and over the 11th green, and then took three shots to get on the putting surface. McIlroy found trouble just about everywhere and shot 80, his highest first-round score in a major.

“It was pretty evident nobody was making any birdies in the morning – lots and lots of bogeys and ‘others,”’ Woods said. “My game plan was not to make any ‘others,’ and I made three of them. So didn’t do very well there.”

It was quite a contrast from last year at Erin Hills in Wisconsin, which set a record for the first round by yielding 44 rounds under par.

Piercy, the last man in the 156-man field as an alternate from qualifying, was so disgusted with his game in his final practice round that he walked off the course. He dropped only two shots, both on par 3s, and was the first to post a 69. Poulter also played in the morning, while Johnson and Henley played in the afternoon as the wind reached its full strength.

Henley was the only player to reach 3 under at any point, and he promptly gave that back with a double bogey on No. 10.

Jason Dufner opened with a 70, and even those at 1-over 71 felt as though they put in a hard day’s work, a group that included Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson.

“It’s a different kind of enjoyment, right?” Rose said. “I enjoy the battle. I enjoy the fight. I enjoy the grind, really. When you get a bit cut up and bruised, it can change pretty quick.”

Johnson is coming off a six-shot victory last week in the St. Jude Classic, and while no one has ever won the U.S. Open coming off a PGA Tour victory the week before, he played as though nothing had changed. He holed medium-length putts for birdies, a few nervy, short putts for par and picked up a bonus when his shot from a front bunker on the par-4 eighth rattled and rolled into the cup.

Not even Johnson was immune from mistakes, however, dropping shots on the 12th and 14th holes.

It didn’t take long to figure out what kind of test this was going to be, with the 15 flags atop the grandstand next to the 18th green already flapping as the first group teed off, and they were crackling by the afternoon.

Phil Mickelson, needing the U.S. Open to complete the Grand Slam, played in the feature grouping with Spieth and McIlroy. They finished a combined 25-over par, with Mickelson taking honours at 77. It was his highest opening round in his 27 U.S. Opens. Mickelson refused a request to speak to the media about his round.

So did McIlroy, who had a pair of double bogeys in his third round of 80 or more in a major.

Woods quickly joined them.

From the middle of the first fairway, he went long over the green. He chipped once and it came back to his feet. He tried it again with the same result, and then rapped his putter up the hill by the hole and missed the putt. He held it together until a four-putt on No. 13, the last three of those putts from 6 feet.

“Shoot something in the 60s tomorrow, and I’ll be just fine,” Woods said. “I just think today was the toughest day we’ll have all week. But then again, I think they’re going to let these greens firm out a little bit. They’ll start to pick up a little bit of speed, and it will be a good U.S. Open again.”

That already appears to be the case.

The U.S. Open has gone to new courses two of the last three years, and Jack Nicklaus is among those who feared it had lost its identity. Even with wider fairways, Shinnecock Hills resembled a U.S. Open course from past years, and it played like one.

Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., was the top Canadian golfer Thursday with a round of 76. Canadians Adam Hadwin of Moose Jaw, Sask., and Garrett Rank, an NHL referee, tied for 148th place after rounds of 83.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Amateur, and Team Canada member, Jaclyn Lee, from Calgary Alta., is T10 after firing a 4-under 68 on Thursday in the Meijer LPGA Classic.

Maude-Aimée Leblanc from Sherbrooke (70) was one stroke less than Alena Sharp from Hamilton, Ont. Anne-Catherine Tanguay of Quebec City and Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont.,  all recorded 73.

After the first round, defending champion Brooke Henderson is T25 at 3-under par.

Kelly Shon played her last six holes in 6 under for an 8-under 64 and a share of the lead with So Yeon Ryu.

Shon had a 7-under 29 on her final nine, the front nine at Blythefield Country Club. The former Princeton star played the five par-5 holes in 5 under with an eagle on No. 8.

“Honestly, going into the round, I was thinking maybe the front nine was kind of going to be the tougher nine,” Shon said. “So I just was pacing myself, trying to stay in the moment and hit every shot the best as I could. I don’t know, the back side, my putter started getting hot.”

Born in South Korea, the 26-year-old American is winless in four seasons on the LPGA Tour. She began the final-nine run with a birdie on the par-5 first, birdied the par-3 fourth, par-5 fifth and par-7 seventh, eagled No. 8 and closed with a birdie on the par-4 ninth.

“I haven’t liked this golf course, but to be honest, it’s playing a little bit different than it has in the past,” Shon said. “A couple of the tee boxes have changed and the course itself. The weather’s just perfect, which is also something we’re not used to all the time so far this year.”

The sixth-ranked Ryu birdied four of the par 5s in a bogey-free round.

“It’s more about the putting instead of score,” Ryu said. “Obviously, when you’re putting really well you have a chance for a really low round, but I just really wanted to have like confidence on the putting green. Like I don’t think I have enough confidence on the putting green, that’s why I always struggle. So from now on, hopefully, I can get fully confident when I’m putting.”

She winless this season after taking the major ANA Inspiration and Walmart NW Arkansas Championship last year. She also won the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open.

“Like to be honest, if I talk about this season, I’m not really fully satisfied with it,” Ryu said. “Hopefully, this week I’m going to start playing really well and hopefully I can win this tournament.”

Anna Nordqvist, Su Oh and Celine Herbin shot 66.

“I’ve had a really rough start to the year,” Nordqvist said. “Haven’t really felt like myself, but just trying to make a few changes the last couple weeks and get on a better bit of a roll. I know good golf is ahead of me, but it’s definitely been frustrating.”

Sophia Popov, Caroline Masson and Lee-Anne Pace shot 67, and Lexi Thompson, the 2015 winner, had a 68.

“The weather couldn’t have been any better for us out here,” Thompson said. “The course is in great shape. The last few days it’s actually been pretty windy out here, but today there was like nothing.”

Ariya Jutanugarn, making her first start since winning the U.S. Women’s Open, matched defending champion Brooke Henderson, Michelle Wie and Lydia Ko at 69. Annie Park, the ShopRite LPGA Classic winner last week in New Jersey, had a 76.

Golf Canada is proud to celebrate the 70 adoptions that occurred during Adopt a School Week thanks to the efforts of golf enthusiasts and industry partners across the country.

In total, the figure translates to an additional 8,400 elementary, intermediate and high school students being introduced to the sport through the Future Links, driven by Acura Golf in Schools program.

The coast-to-coast campaign was elevated by support from Canadian industry partners—the Provincial Associations, PGA of Canada and the National Golf Course Owners Association (NGCOA).

A matching program for the first 30 adoptions was made possible by the Canadian Seniors Golf Association (CSGA), who continue to be a leader in supporting Adopt a School Week. In the campaign’s three years of running, the CSGA has helped to adopt over 78 schools in Canadian communities from coast-to-coast.

Golf Town, the official retailer of Future Links, driven by Acura, will continue to collect funds until June 30 as part of a fundraising initiative at retail locations across the country.

Since the program’s inception in 2009, adoptions have accounted for close to 50% of over 3,500 registered schools delivering the curriculum. For Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s chief sport officer, that number presents a great opportunity to build community relationships.

“With Golf in Schools adoptions, our hope is to help establish a connection between facilities and schools in respective communities across Canada,” said Thompson. “Establishing that link can enhance the school’s delivery of the program, while also contributing towards future membership numbers at the corresponding facility.”

Click here to learn more about Golf in Schools.

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — The U.S. Open wants to be the ultimate test in golf, and sometimes that leads to a series of trick questions.

One of them was 14 years ago at Shinnecock Hills.

A year after Jim Furyk tied the U.S. Open scoring record at Olympia Fields, the 2004 U.S. Open was so bone dry and lightning fast that only three players broke par on the weekend, none on Sunday. Fans having to move to the side because of a golf ball rolling toward them is not unusual, except when the player hit the shot with his putter from the green. Tee shots that landed on the seventh green rolled off the putting surface and into a bunker.

One year after Rory McIlroy broke the U.S. Open scoring record at Congressional, no one broke par at Olympic Club in 2012 when Webb Simpson won.

Moments like this lead to criticism that the USGA overreacts. Justin Rose sees it another way.

“When everything is in balance, it’s kind of boring,” he said. “And I think in life, the closer you get to the edges, that’s where the excitement is. So I would say the USGA is not reactionary. It’s counterbalancing. So if you go too far one way, you’ve got to come back the other way. You don’t want to fall off the edge.”

That’s the question going into the 118th U.S. Open that starts Thursday.

Might the USGA lean toward going easy on players because of what happened the last time at Shinnecock Hills? Or will it make it tougher on them because of the record scoring last year at Erin Hills? Brooks Koepka tied the record to par at 16 under, and six other players finished at 10 under or lower.

“We’re confident this should be a marvelous test,” said Mike Davis, the chief executive of the USGA who has been in charge of setting up the courses for the U.S. Open since 2006 at Winged Foot, when the winning score was 5 over.

Davis believes Shinnecock Hills is right where the USGA wants it, even with a light, steady rain on the final day of practice.

Wednesday is never the measure of how a golf course presents itself.

McIlroy is among those who likes what he sees. It’s not a U.S. Open if players are not complaining, but it’s been a quiet three days ahead of competition. The biggest question is whether the fairways are narrow enough.

They are tighter than last year at Erin Hills, for sure, and an average of 15 yards wider than in 2004.

“Honestly, I think they’ve got it right,” McIlroy said. “It presents guys with options off the tee. You have to make a decision basically on every tee box what you’re going to do. I’m obviously not that old, but when I watched U.S. Opens on TV and saw these long, narrow corridors of fairways and thick rough, that’s what I was used to at a U.S. Open. … If you look at the venues that are coming up, they’re very traditional venues like Oakmont, Winged Foot, Pebble Beach.

“Maybe you’ll see more of what we perceive as a traditional U.S. Open setup.”

Rain was expected to yield to plenty of sun over the next four days, with the strongest wind on Thursday. Davis said he already has called several audibles on the original plan of where to put the pins on the greens, an example of the USGA not wanting the course to get on the wild side.

Davis also said the winning score is not an issue at a major where par tends to be at a premium.

“Never since I’ve been at the USGA — and it’s been almost 30 years — I’ve never heard anybody at the USGA say we’re shooting for even par,” Davis said. “But we talk incessantly, ‘How do we get the course to be really a great test of golf?’ As we say, get all 14 clubs dirty to make sure that these players are tested to the nth degree.”

And what makes a good championship inside the ropes?

The quality of the winner? Different players have won the last 15 U.S. Opens, the longest stretch of the four majors. The margin? The last playoff was 10 years ago when Tiger Woods won at Torrey Pines. Three of the last four U.S. Opens have been decided by three shots or more.

“You need some great players in the mix,” Rose said. “You need some great story lines.”

This U.S. Open is not lacking for either. Five players have a chance to replace Dustin Johnson at No. 1 in the world this week. Woods is hitting the ball well enough to win any week if he ever gets all parts of his game working together. To win a record-tying fourth U.S. Open would cap off an unlikely comeback following four back surgeries. Phil Mickelson, in the USGA record book with his six runner-up finishes, needs only this trophy to complete the career Grand Slam.

“And then just a good test of golf where people think, ‘Wow, they’ve really stepped up and played great golf under pressure,”’ Rose added. “I think that’s what people would like to see in this tournament is that guys are tested to the ends of the ability, to whether they can cope or not. And I think that’s part of the charm … not charm, but part of the allure of this tournament.”

The ultimate test starts Thursday. Results won’t be available until the end of the week.

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — It was a dream, one that hardly even seemed possible, back in the days when Garrett Rank was a member of Golf Canada’s National Men’s Team from 2012-14.

One of his teammates was Mackenzie Hughes and now, four years later, the band will be back together again, this time on one of golf’s biggest stages.

Rank and Hughes have taken different paths to get to this U.S. Open at the demanding, undulating and windswept Shinnecock Hills, but they will be together Thursday morning, along with Australian Aaron Baddeley, at 7:18 a.m. off the 10th tee.

Rank, from Elmira, ON, has been one of the popular stories in the early days of the tournament. Coming off his second full season as a referee in the NHL, he has been a media darling. He was the first player in the media centre on Monday and has done a steady stream of interviews since.

The 30-year-old deserves all the attention he has been getting, from winning a battle with testicular cancer in 2011 to putting together an impressive amateur career to establishing himself as a referee in the best hockey league in the world.

He had a hat trick at the Canadian Mid-Amateur championship, winning it three times in a row and finished runnerup in the 2012 U.S. Mid-Am. Winning the Canadian Mid-Am got him a ticket to three RBC Canadian Opens, making the cut in 2016. (Last year, he played the par-3 seventh hole, made to look like a hockey rink, in a referee’s sweater).

This season, despite being limited to less than a dozen rounds of golf during the winter as he worked 73 regular-season games in the NHL, he qualified for the U.S. Open with a pair of 71s at the Ansley Golf Club’s Settindown Course in Atlanta.

Hughes turned pro in 2013 and won the RSM Classic in 2016.

After playing 14 holes with Hughes, from Dundas, ON, and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, BC, on Tuesday, Rank put in a good session on the range with coach Dave Smallwood and was then interviewed live on The Golf Channel.

The whirlwind will ease Thursday morning when he can step onto the tee where there will be a familiar face.

“That was great for me. I couldn’t have got a better group, I don’t think,” Rank said. “I attended Mackenzie’s wedding. We’re great friends. We played on the Canadian national team for three years together, so very comfortable. It will be kind of nice for me, as I’m sure I’ll be really anxious and nervous and just to have that familiar face beside me in battle is huge.

“And then it’s cool, like Aaron Baddeley growing up was a huge name and still is a big name in golf. Secretly, it’s cool. Like I saw all the guys on the range today and I’m just there kind of like a little fan boy, so it’s cool to see those guys and be able to play with them, as well.”

Canada’s Garrett Rank is a popular man this week at the #USOpen ??⛳️? @golfchannel

A post shared by Golf Canada (@thegolfcanada) on Jun 12, 2018 at 6:20pm PDT

Stephen Walkom, the NHL’s director of officiating, said the same qualities that make Rank an up-and coming referee serve him well on the golf course.

“I think he’s going to be really happy when the tournament starts,” Walkom said. “Once the tournament starts, it’s like a hockey game starting. He’s going to feel at peace, I’m sure. In golf, you have to be mentally tough and I think there are similarities with hockey, recovering quickly from a bad shot or a missed call. Garrett’s got a real passion for hockey and for the game of golf.

“On behalf of all the guys (on the officiating staff), we’re all extremely proud of Garrett and all that he’s accomplished qualifying for the U.S. Open. All the guys are going to enjoy it and wish him the best of luck. It’s great for Garrett. He’s going to have the chance to do something he dreamed about as a kid.”

With the spotlight turned on him, Rank has been taking the opportunity to spread the word Canada isn’t just about hockey.

“Yeah, growing up in Canada, you’re kind of born with a pair of skates on your feet, so hockey is probably our number one sport. But golf is getting there,” he said. “I’ve had a great opportunity with Golf Canada for three years on their Canadian Men’s National Team and have represented them in many international competitions. Obviously, I owe a huge debt to them. I wouldn’t be here without the guidance and support their staff has given me.”

Rank said his goal is to make the cut at Shinnecock. He said he had some issues with the wind, which shifted from the east to southwest on Tuesday, and that’s what kept him on the range.

Rank’s coach, David Smallwood, said what Rank has done getting here is remarkable for a guy who has a full-time job.

“You know what? For somebody who spends 72 nights dropping a puck, this is a part-time gig for him. He gets a few opportunities (to play) when he refs some Florida games and some mini-camps with me in Florida. We’d like it to be a couple more, but he’s busy with all the travel and stuff.

“It’s not the best situation to be able to come out here and compete with the best players in the world, but he’s a helluva an athlete, a helluva player and a helluva guy. When you have talent, you have talent. Is he as sharp mentally? Does he not question stuff because he’s a little rusty or not? He’s had three or four tournaments in the spring. He’s had some playing time. He just hasn’t had the range time.

“It’s a whirlwind,” Smallwood said as Rank headed off to talk to The Golf Channel. “We were planning on being out of here by now just relaxing at the house. It hasn’t worked out that way, so we’re going to do some chipping, some putting, some media. It’s a busy week.

“It’s a bucket list thing and we’re just all so excited about his opportunity this week.”

Adam Hadwin’s work on his all-around game has resulted in a steady PGA Tour season, but he hopes it pays bigger dividends at a U.S. Open course known to reward versatile golfers.

The native of Abbotsford, B.C., will tee off at his fourth career U.S. Open when the major tournament kicks off Thursday at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club, a storied and notoriously tricky course.

“I like tradition and tournaments where par means something,” Hadwin told The Canadian Press in a recent interview. “My game suits that pretty well, which should go hand-in-hand with the U.S. Open.

“I’m really of the mindset that it doesn’t matter what the golf course is, I can adapt my game to fit anything.”

Hadwin, Canada’s highest-ranked male golfer, has enjoyed a successful if unspectacular season. He has three top-10 finishes and hasn’t missed a cut so far.

He arrived at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club on Sunday, a day earlier than usual for a tournament week, to check out the course for the first time.

Shinnecock, established in the 1891, is hosting its fifth U.S. Open. The course on Long Island in New York has implemented larger greens and wider fairways since 2004, the last time it played host.

Jeff Hall, managing director of rules and Open Championships for the United States Golf Association, said the last three U.S. Open champions at Shinnecock _ Raymond Floyd (1986), Corey Pavin (1995) and Retief Goosen (2004) _ knew how to play the game in a variety of ways.

“If it required knocking the ball down they’d do it. Move it left? move it right? they could do it. It really is a complete examination,” he said. “I don’t think it punishes a long player or favours a long player, you just need to be able to play a lot of shots.”

That could favour Hadwin, who took last week off to work on basics like set-up, alignment, ball position and posture.

The 30-year-old feels his well-rounded game is taking shape just in time for the second major tournament of the season.

“I feel like I’m hitting it well. I’m hitting the ball both ways and I’m seeing different shots,” he said. “It gives me a lot of confidence moving forward that I’m continually doing the right things and I’ve just got to keep at it.”

NO RANK AMATEUR

Garrett Rank, a full-time NHL referee who played only four rounds of golf during the hockey season, was co-medallist at his qualifying site in Georgia and will play his first U.S. Open this week.

Rank, of Elmira, Ont., worked 73 games during the regular season and three playoff games in his second NHL season.

But his golf resume is just as impressive.

He is a three-time Canadian Mid-Amateur Champion and represented Canada at the Pan-Am Games in 2015.

He said U.S. Open-style golf fits his game because he enjoys shooting around par, hitting long irons into greens, and playing steady.

“If it was a tournament where I had to shoot super low, I would probably be a little more uncomfortable,” he said.

Rank was diagnosed with testicular cancer in his early 20s, but since has received a clean bill of health.

“2018 has been pretty cool,” he said. “Playing with the best players in hockey on the ice, and now obviously I’ll play with the best golfers in the world at the U.S. Open. It’s a pretty cool life I’m living right now and I’m very thankful for that.”

HOPEFUL HUGHES

It’s been a year of learning Mackenzie Hughes, but the native of Dundas, Ont., he said he’s hopeful his performance at the U.S. Open qualifier will be a springboard for success.

Hughes shot 10-under par over a 36-hole qualifier in Tennessee to finish tied for second. This will be his second U.S. Open after also qualifying in 2013.

The 27-year-old and his wife, Jenna, welcomed their first child last fall and Hughes has been trying to balance fatherhood with the demanding schedule of professional golf.

He’s made only five cuts in 14 events this year, but is encouraged by his result in the qualifier and is eager to tee it up at another major.

“I’m excited to play, and I know I’m good enough to play well in it,” he said. “It’s one of those things where now that I’m in I’m going to try to treat it like any other event, prepare, and play well.”

WAITING GAME

Toronto’s Mark Hoffman and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., will await their fate this week as both finished as first alternate at their qualifiers.

Conners, who notched his best ever PGA Tour finish at the Fort Worth Invitational in May, lost in a three-man playoff for two spots at Springfield Country Club in Ohio.

He qualified for the 2017 U.S. Open at the same site, but went on to miss the cut.

Hoffman lost in a two-man playoff for one spot at Canoe Brook Country Club in New York. He’s returning from an ankle injury after tearing two ligaments in March, and says the 36-hole qualifier was the first time he’s walked that much in months.

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada—Wes Heffernan claimed the Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Week Award after a sixth-place finish in Victoria. The Calgary, Alberta, native did so in dramatic fashion, jarring his shot from the fairway on the 15th for eagle and chipping in for birdie on the 18th to shoot 68.

“Golf has allowed me to travel the world and play something I have a huge passion for.” Heffernan said. “When I mentioned I was struggling a bit, sometimes you forget how much it means to you and how much fun it can be if you just let it happen. The past few years I’ve tried to have as much fun as possible, and you see the scores when you do that. When you have fun, you play a lot better.”

After his third round, Sam Fidone mentioned he would likely be feeling some nerves on his stroll up to the first tee Sunday.

Fidone appeared to make that stroll with all the confidence in the world, striping his first tee shot down the Uplands Golf Club fairway to begin his march toward a bogey-free 65 and commanding five-stroke victory.
Going into the day, the Lufkin, Texas, native had built a two-stroke lead over Blake Sattler due to three consecutive scores in the mid-60s. As the afternoon moved on, the nail drew closer to the coffin as Fidone’s lead slowly increased.

On the 11th green, the 25-year-old fist-pumped the entire 10 yards from where he stroked his putt to the hole, and as he picked up his ball from the bottom of the cup he essentially put down any hopes other players had of winning the tournament.

“The putt on 11 was kind of my ‘let’s go get them, you have the control and the dominance over everyone right now’ moment,” said Fidone. “I just continued to game plan the rest of the day, but that putt was really the catalyst to bring me in and make me feel really solid.”

The moment came after a near flawless front-nine that included three birdies and no bogeys. The rest of the back nine was much of the same, consistent golf that allowed him an easy tap-in on the last hole to solidify himself as a Mackenzie Tour winner.

“I definitely feel like I’m on the right trajectory,” said Fidone. “I feel like my game is trending, and my attitude towards my game is trending, in the right direction. I’m making more mature decisions every time I step up to the tee, and I think that’s the biggest part about winning at every level.”

Fidone spent the spring tightening up his game on the Adams Tour, winning the Options for Independence Houma Classic in April, with rounds of 70-67-69-65. Fidone’s only other start this year on the Adams Tour resulted in a second-place finish after losing in a playoff at the Business First Bank Classic, firing scores of 69-63-66-69.

While Fidone cashed his check for $36,000, the Children’s Health Foundation of Vancouver Island also won in a big way. With the help of volunteers, sponsors and donations made by the Victoria community, at the closing ceremony the tournament announced it had raised $180,000 for the foundation.

Next on tap for the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada is the third and final stop of the B.C. Golf Swing, a three-tournament stretch through Vancouver, Victoria and Kelowna. A field of 156 golfers will tee it up at Gallagher’s Canyon on June 14-17 to see who can join Fidone, and last week’s winner, Jordan Niebrugge, in the 2018 winner’s circle.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Team Canada member, Augusta James, finished T13 6-under 210 on Sunday at the Four Winds Invitational. She recorded rounds of 68-69-73. She struggled on the back nine of her final round, bogeying hole 12 and double bogeying hole 13. She finished strong with a birdie on hole 16 to finish 1-over 73.

A five-stroke deficit and 55-minute weather delay did not phase Maia Schechter (Chapel Hill, N.C.) today, who fired a 6-under par 66 in the final round to come away the victor.

After missing the cut in five of the first six tournaments this year, Schechter put it all together at Blackthorn Golf Club with an 11-under par overall showing. The win is her first on the Symetra Tour.

“It has been a lot of hard work and it definitely hasn’t sunk in yet,” said Schechter, who signed a bogey-free card this afternoon. “It was really just sticking to the gameplan that I had created at the beginning of the week. I feel like the game has been getting really good and felt really solid early in the week. Just been hitting good shots and making some good putts.”

The University of North Carolina alumna continues the trend of 2018 Symetra Tour champions all hailing from outside the final pairing. Climbing back into the hunt before eventually taking the cake was never in doubt for Schechter, who said her pre-tournament preparation got her ready for a result like this.

“I checked my fundamentals at the beginning of this week,” Schechter said. “My grip was getting a little weak and my stance was getting a little closed, so working on those two things I think was really helpful. It gave me a process and focused goal of getting a good setup on every shot.”

Meanwhile, off the course, Schechter and Leslie Cloots (Antwerp, Belgium) have teamed up to form “Birdiecast,” a new podcast about life on Tour. She pointed to the show as a factor in helping keep her mind at ease throughout the week.

“It has definitely been really helpful, that in-between shot time is something to focus on that’s outside of golf, but still relates to the golf world,” said Schechter. “We’ve been having a lot of fun doing that and is something to do during the week when they get a little long and you’re trying to kill some time.”

The win and $22,500 winner’s check launches Schechter to No. 7 in the Volvik Race for the Card, with $23,355 earned in seven starts. She entered the Four Winds Invitational at No. 132.

As for the 36-hole leaders, Louise Stahle (Lund, Sweden) went even par today and finished tied for second at 10-under, while Samantha Wagner (Windermere, Florida) shot 1-over par to end tied for fourth at 9-under.

MUNDELEIN, Ill. – Before heading to Ivanhoe Club, Chase Wright lost in a playoff to qualify for the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills. The disappointment didn’t linger, as the 28-year-old Wright found himself in another playoff Sunday afternoon, this time at the Rust-Oleum Championship. Wright, who was tied with Alex Prugh at 17-under 271 at the end of regulation, birdied the second playoff hole to earn his maiden Web.com Tour victory in his 83rd start.

“This is so much sweeter,” said Wright, who moved to No. 5 on the money list. “This week was way more important than going out there for one week. I want to be out there for 30 weeks.”

Prugh finished 17-under first after three birdies on the final five holes. The 33-year-old from Spokane, Washington missed a 15-foot putt for birdie on the 72nd hole to post 18-under. Wright, who was in the group right behind Prugh, made par on the final three holes to end regulation at 17-under as well.

“I just wanted to not beat myself,” said Wright, who two-putted the par-3 17th from 80 feet away to remain in a tie with Prugh. “As long as I hung in there and did my thing, I would be fine.”

Wright did just that on second extra hole, hitting a 7-iron from 170 yards to 5 feet from the cup. After Prugh missed his birdie bid, the Muncie, Indiana native all but secured his PGA TOUR card by knocking in his birdie try.

“I kind of calmly knew it was going to happen all day,” said Wright, who started the day two strokes off the lead. “Even in some hard moments when I hit some bad shots, I got it up-and-down and went about my business.”

Wright admitted he felt the pressure coming down the stretch. Each time he sensed the magnitude of the situation, the six-year pro remembered his friend, the late Dennis ‘Zink’ Zinkon, who played on the Web.com Tour in the early 1990s and assisted the Tour’s operations team in all facets. Zinkon passed away in 2016 with a pulmonary embolism, at the age of 55, but still lives on in the memory of everyone involved with the Web.com Tour, including Wright who regularly sought out ‘Zink’ for advice when he was struggling.

“I was actually thinking about him coming in,” said Wright, about his late friend. “He was definitely there with me today. He used to tell me, putting is pretty easy. Aim it, roll it, and repeat one and two if necessary.”

Wright’s journey to the Web.com Tour’s winner’s circle can be traced back to last summer when he competed on Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada. After spending three years on Tour, Wright lost his card and went to Canada to try and earn it back. In 12 events, he posted six top-25s and won the ATB Financial Classic in Calgary. Wright ended the season No. 8 on the Order of Merit and regained his status on the Web.com Tour with a T42 at Final Stage of the Qualifying Tournament.

“Just getting back was one of my goals,” said Wright, about his return to the Web.com Tour in 2018. “It’s just great being around everyone again. I know the courses, and this means a lot. I’ve been in this spot a few times and faltered. To come through is awesome.”

After four years of competing on the Web.com Tour, Wright is now likely headed to the PGA TOUR later this year. Like those that have graduated before him, he believes his time on Tour has prepared him for success at the next level.

“Just to make the cut out here, you’ve played pretty well,” said Wright, who became the 11th first-time winner on Tour this season. “I think it’s the second-best (level of) competition in the world, and most people out here will tell you that.”

Ryan Yip from Calgary, Alta. finished T18 while fellow Canadian, Mike Weir, finished T56.