ordan Spieth a encore une fois réussi un deuxième neuf rempli garni d’oiselets et il s’est donné une avance de trois coups au sommet du tournoi The Northern Trust, samedi.

Spieth s’est emparé seul de la tête grâce à trois oiselets consécutifs, à partir du 14e trou du parcours du Club de golf Glen Oaks. Il a inscrit un 64 (moins-6) à sa carte, dont un 31 sur le neuf de retour, pour égaler la ronde la plus basse depuis le début du tournoi. Spieth n’a jamais perdu un tournoi du circuit de la PGA lorsqu’il mène par deux coups ou plus après trois rondes.

La veille, l’Américain de 24 ans avait réussi pas moins de cinq oiselets de suite sur le dernier neuf, se hissant à égalité au premier échelon avec Dustin Johnson. Spieth montre un pointage cumulatif de moins-12 après 54 trous.

Johnson a réussi un oiselet sur un coup roulé d’une distance de quatre pieds au 18e trou et il a remis une carte de 67. Il fera partie du dernier groupe en compagnie de son jeune compatriote.

Spieth tentera de signer une quatrième victoire cette saison et il a notamment remporté l’Omnium britannique, il y a un mois.

Paul Casey (66), Patrick Reed (66), Jon Rahm (67) et Matt Kuchar (68) se retrouvent à égalité en troisième position, à moins-7.

Mackenzie Hughes est le seul Canadien à prendre part aux rondes du week-end. Il a joué 73, samedi, et il a glissé de 27 rangs jusqu’en 52e place, à plus-2. Il est à égalité avec quatre autres golfeurs.

Cliquez ici pour le classement complet.

OTTAWA – Brooke Henderson said that it would take a miracle for her to get into contention at the CP Women’s Open after barely making the cut. She got that miracle on Saturday.

Henderson fired a course record 8-under 63 at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club to rocket up the leaderboard into a temporary tie for second at 7-under par before several players passed her. Still, finishing the day tied for sixth, three shots behind co-leaders Mo Martin and Nicole Broch Larsen, was a big improvement after needing a birdie on her final hole Friday to even play in the third round.

“Having the cut out of the way kind of gave me a little bit of a scare yesterday, being so close and almost not even playing the weekend,” said Henderson. “So I knew I had to get going.”

She added with a laugh: “Today is moving day, so I moved, that’s for sure.”

Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., was the only other Canadian left in the field after Friday night’s cuts. She shot a 1-over 72 to finish the day at 1-under par tied for 45th.

“It does a lot for my confidence no matter how the weekend goes,” said Marchand, who was a sponsor exemption that usually plays on the Symetra Tour. “Maybe today a few mistakes here and there. But overall I’m happy I’m playing the weekend. To know that I can play out here gives me confidence when I go back to Symetra.”

Henderson, who is from nearby Smiths Falls, Ont., and an honorary member at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club, doesn’t normally keep score when she’s playing the course for fun. The history books are telling though: the previous course record was a 64 set by Yani Tseng in 2008 before the course was redesigned in 2013. The men’s record was a 65 set by golfing legend Jack Nicklaus in 1960 as an amateur at the America’s Cup.

It looked like Henderson was going to earn her only bogey of the day on the 381-yard, par 4 No. 16.

Her approach shot shanked a little, falling on the green 70 feet from the hole. A long putt settled about 20 feet away from the pin, making par seem unlikely. But Henderson steadied herself and drained the shot, her knees buckling slightly from relief as the hundreds of fans trailing her from hole to hole burst into applause.

“I was really disappointed with that second shot. I kind of mentally got in my way there, and then that two-putt, when I went up to it, I was hoping for a two-putt and I was able to get it,” said Henderson. “Just kind of fell in the side door there, and then it led to two more birdies on 17 and 18.

Marchand was also frustrated on No. 16, bogeying before recovering on the next hole with a birdie.

“I three-putted on 16, and that was just frustration because I was mad that I missed my birdie putt again. Then I go and three-putt from ten feet. Just little things like that, I think those are the frustration parts a few times. But then I’m glad I bounced back with a birdie and little things.

The crowds following Henderson around the course have been the talk of the tournament. Although the 19-year-old Henderson admitted on Friday that she felt a lot of pressure as the star of the show, she was more relaxed and happy on Saturday and enjoying the support of the fans.

“Coming up 18 I kind of just took a peek around and I didn’t see any green grass outside of the ropes,” said Henderson. “Everybody was everywhere. So it’s such an incredible feeling. Being so close to home makes this week so much more special.”

.@BrookeHenderson puts on a show today as she shoots a course record of 63 during her 3rd round! Watch highlights:#CPWO pic.twitter.com/DQUeY9vGIe

— LPGA (@LPGA) August 26, 2017

Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum held a press conference on Saturday at Ottawa Hunt & Golf Club during the third round of the 2017 CP Women’s Open.

REGINA, SK ─ Todd Fanning a rendu vendredi une carte de 69, moins 2, pour remporter le Championnat canadien mid-amateur masculin au Wascana Country Club.

Âgé de 49 ans, ce Manitobain de Winnipeg était à égalité à 274 avec Steven Diack (Coquitlam, C.-B.) et Garrett Rank (Elmira, ON) après 72 trous, et une prolongation de quatre trous s’est avérée nécessaire pour le consacrer champion.

Fanning, qui revendique maintenant trois titres nationaux, a aussi fini en tête de la division mid-maître réservée aux 40 ans et plus.

« Quelle semaine! s’est exclamé le champion. J’ai remporté deux titres juniors dans les années 1980 et voici que je décroche un troisième titre national. À 49 ans, c’est la concrétisation d’un rêve. »

Fanning a été sacré champion junior du Canada deux années de suite, en 1985 et 1986. Il a aussi remporté le titre mid-amateur du Manitoba en 2017.

Le Manitobain a dû batailler ferme pour conquérir le titre puisqu’au départ de la troisième ronde, il accusait un retard de cinq coups sur Diack. Vendredi, Diack s’est contenté d’un score de 74, plus 3, tandis que Rank, triple champion mid-amateur du Canada, a signé la meilleure carte de la journée, 66, moins 5.

Fanning a dû réussir un oiselet au 18e trou pour provoquer la prolongation à trois.

Au 1er trou supplémentaire, Diack et Fanning ont inscrit un oiselet, ce qui a éliminé Rank qui a joué la normale. Les deux survivants ont eu la chance de gagner le tournoi sur les trois trous suivants, mais c’est finalement le golfeur de 45 ans qui a eu raison de son cadet – Diack a 25 ans – en calant un roulé de 8 pieds pour la normale au 76e trou.

Rank, 29 ans, a raté sa chance de devenir le premier golfeur de l’histoire à remporter quatre années de suite le titre mid-amateur canadien. Tout s’annonçait comme un duel entre Diack et Fanning jusqu’à ce que Rank reprenne vie sur le neuf de retour en réussissant cinq oiselets.

Le champion a obtenu un laissez-passer pour l’Omnium canadien RBC 2018 qui aura lieu au Glen Abbey Golf Club d’Oakville, en Ontario.

OTTAWA – Brooke Henderson’s sister and caddy Britt asked the gallery to be quiet, no pictures even, as the Canadian golf superstar settled over the ball. She was 25 feet away from an eagle putt that would guarantee she made the cut at the CP Women’s Open. A birdie might work too, with the cutline wavering around 1-over par.

“Nobody was doing anything. They all wanted me to have the best opportunity to make it,” said Brooke Henderson, who grew up in Smiths Falls, Ont., just over 60 kilometres from the Ottawa Hunt andGolf Club.

She struck the ball and the crowd started to cheer, with calls of “come on!” as the ball followed the contours of the green on No. 9. But then it tailed a little and came up less than a foot short. Henderson strode over, looked at her grouping partners to ask if she could finish, then sank the putt to finish the second round at 1 over.

“I was just trying to give myself an easy tap-in to make birdie,” said Henderson. “I didn’t want anymore pressure on myself. I just wanted to nestle it up close. It looked really good. As soon as I hit it I was like that’s going to go in, but a little bit short.”

After Henderson, Cristie Kerr and So Yeon Ryu signed their scorecards, the cutline moved up to 2-over par, guaranteeing the Canadian would play in the third round of Canada’s national women’s golfchampionship.

The 19-year-old phenom admitted after the dramatic final hole on Friday that the pressure of playing in front of what amounts to her hometown crowd was getting to her.

“I feel like I’ve handled it pretty well so far,” said Henderson. “I think now that the cut is kind of over with, I can focus on my game and try to shoot maybe 4- or 5-under these next two and see if I can be in the top 10 or just climb that leaderboard a little bit more.”

Playing in front of the large red-and-white clad crowds didn’t just affect Henderson. She and Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., were the only players from the field of 14 Canadians to make the cut.

Marchand, who was playing two groupings back of Henderson, often had dozens of fans waiting for her at every hole after Henderson moved on. Although Henderson got the lion’s share of the attention, Marchand actually finished the second round as the low Canadian, tied for 23rd at 2-under par, six shots back of leader In Gee Chun.

“I like playing for the Canadians and playing at home,” said Marchand, who earned a sponsor exemption for the tournament. “Having my family and people turn out. It’s nice when people cheer for you.

“On the Symetra Tour we don’t often have anybody. Maybe your host family, maybe your mom comes. It feels like it really boosts your mood and gives you confidence. Because no matter how well you do, they’re probably going to cheer for you because you’re Canadian.”

Quebec City’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay and Augusta James of Bath, Ont., as well as amateurs Maddie Szeryk of London, Ont., and Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee tied at 7 over.

Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., was 8 over, Hamilton’s Alena Sharp was 9 over, amateur Grace St-Germain of Ottawa was 10 over and Calgary’s Jennifer Ha was 12.

Hannah Hellyer of Sterling, Ont., was 14 over, Samantha Richdale of Kelowna, B.C., was 15 over and amateur Naomi Ko from Victoria was 16 over. Charlottetown’s Lorie Kane finished the day at 19 over.

Although she does feel like she’s under a microscope, Henderson wants the crowds following her to get even bigger.

“I look around and the whole green is covered, the fairways are covered. Not just covered, they’re like eight people deep, which is truly amazing,” said Henderson. “I just hope they continue to grow over the next two days.”

OTTAWA – Brittany Lincicome and Mo Martin will spend their Friday night splitting a pizza and probably talking about what it will take to catch In Gee Chun.

The two Americans were both 6-under par and leading after two rounds at the CP Women’s Open before Chun passed them on the leaderboard for a two-stroke lead by the end of the day. Lincicome and Martin had plans for a pizza party with their caddies and some other golfers about the same time Chun was finishing her 4-under round to sit at 8 under on the tournament.

Lincicome relies on her caddy, Missy Pederson, to make pizza from scratch at most tournaments. She even has an unusual go-to toppings combo.

“Sausage and pepperoni, and then this Mascarpone, which is like a sweet cream which is super weird,” said Lincicome in the early afternoon. “Everyone’s like, ‘oh, my gosh, what is that?’ But it’s delicious.

“My caddy found it at the British Open a few years ago, and now it’s a whole thing.”

Martin had four birdies on the back nine, including one on No. 18, to take over first from first-round leader Marina Alex, who teed off in the afternoon. Alex had a 1-under round to join Lincicome and Martin in second.

“Super-solid finish,” said Martin after her round. “It’s nice that things are coming together. I think I’ve been playing better than I’ve been scoring this summer, so nice to see those things connect.”

Lincicome tied it two groups later when she drained her own birdie on the par-5 523-yard final hole. Martin’s biggest concern after resting all afternoon was getting too lethargic from the pizza.

“It should be a fun night. Just need to stay active,” said Martin. “Try not to sleep in too much tomorrow morning, and I’ve got the same game plan and I’ll be ready to go. Just conserve energy for the weekend.”

Chun said that she doesn’t need to relax because she enjoys playing in Canada so much. Instead, she’ll stick to her usual practice routine.

“I will do the same,” said Chun. “I really enjoy playing on the course, I really like playing in Canada. So I’m just enjoying everything.”

Alex is going to spend her Saturday morning focusing her ball striking at the windy Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club.

“Just get a few better drives on the fairway and just a couple more closer iron shots and give myself better percentage putts,” said Alex. “I’m putting well, but I just want to give myself as many great chances as I can going through this weekend.”

Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., and Brooke Henderson of nearby Smiths Falls, Ont., were the only two Canadians from a field of 14 to make the cut.

Henderson had to birdie on her final hole of the day to slip under the cutline and finish at 1 under. The teenage phenom was followed from hole to hole by hundreds of fans, most wearing red and white, a tradition at professional golf tournaments in Canada. She acknowledged that there was extra pressure playing just an hour away from her hometown.

“I feel like I’ve handled it pretty well so far,” said Henderson. “I think now that the cut is kind of over with, I can focus on my game and try to shoot maybe 4- or 5-under these next two and see if I can be in the top 10 or just climb that leaderboard a little bit more.”

Marchand, who was playing two groups behind Henderson, was tied for 23rd at 2 under.

Quebec City’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay and Augusta James of Bath, Ont., as well as amateurs Maddie Szeryk of London, Ont., and Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee tied at 7 over.

Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., was 8 over, Hamilton’s Alena Sharp was 9 over, amateur Grace St-Germain of Ottawa was 10 over and Calgary’s Jennifer Ha was 12 over.

Hannah Hellyer of Sterling, Ont., was 14 over, Samantha Richdale of Kelowna, B.C., was 15 over and amateur Naomi Ko from Victoria was 16 over. Charlottetown’s Lorie Kane finished the day at 19 over.

Two swings cost Dustin Johnson the lead. It wasn’t long before Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler caught up to him in The Northern Trust, setting up a weekend of star power in the opening FedEx Cup playoff event.

Johnson, finally looking like the No. 1 player who looked unstoppable in the spring, appeared on the verge of building a big lead at Glen Oaks Club until consecutive tee shots wound up on the wrong holes and forced him to scramble just to escape with bogey.

Fowler made up a five-shot deficit in six holes playing alongside Johnson, making a 15-foot birdie on the last hole for a 66 to join Johnson and Jhonattan Vegas (65) atop the leaderboard. And then Spieth put together a stretch Friday afternoon reminiscent of his British Open victory, minus a shot from the driving range, in a 65.

Spieth began the back nine with five straight birdies, matching his longest birdie streak on the PGA Tour. It ended with a bogey on the par-3 15th when his tee shot rolled back into the water, but then he answered with a 40-foot birdie putt up the slope on the 16th.

.@JordanSpieth knew he needed to make a move today.

Challenge accepted. pic.twitter.com/3TECj1Klkw

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 25, 2017

Even without his best year with his best club, Spieth has won three times and captured the third leg of the Grand Slam. But his putter doesn’t leave him for long.

“Putter has been streaky for me this summer, which is better than just kind of not-so-great, which it was before that,” he said. “So I’ve been able to mentally use one or two good putts to make me feel like I’m putting awesome.

“I got on the good side of the streak on the back nine today.”

Spieth made pars from the bunkers on the last two holes to join the others at 6-under 134.

He wasn’t alone in running off a string of birdies. Matt Kuchar looked as though he might miss the cut until his caddie encourage him to try to get back to even par. Kuchar ran off four straight birdies and kept right on rolling, ending his round of 64 with eight birdies on the last 10 holes.

Kuchar and two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson (68) were one shot out of the lead.

Matt Kuchar's last 10 holes:

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Par
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Par
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?#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/b5sHlcIfXR

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 25, 2017

Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., was the lone Canadian to make the cut and is five strokes back after a 69. Adam Hadwin (72) and Nick Taylor (76), both of Abbotsford, B.C., missed the cut while Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., withdrew with a back injury.

Watson is at No. 113 in the FedEx Cup, and only the top 100 after The Northern Trust advance to the next playoff event at the TPC Boston. Watson says he won’t play the rest of the year once he is eliminating. A big finish this week could delay that another month, a nice problem to have.

Jon Rahm, who played with Johnson and Fowler, had a 68 and was two shots behind along with Justin Rose (68) and Russell Henley (72).

With a second-round 66, @RickieFowler joins the leaders at -6.

Roll the highlights. ? pic.twitter.com/tmwYi4AEux

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 25, 2017

Seventy players made the cut at 2 over par. That included Geoff Ogilvy, who went bunker-to-bunker-to-bunker on his final hole and had to make a 4-foot putt for double bogey. If he had missed, then it would have let 11 players back into the tournament. Among those missing the cut were Hideki Matsuyama, the No. 1 seed going into the playoffs, who three-putted the last hole and missed by one.

The cut ended the season of 13 players, a group that included Presidents Cup captain Steve Stricker and former PGA champion Jimmy Walker.

Johnson looked so sharp early on that he didn’t have a birdie putt longer than 12 feet over his first six holes, though he converted just two of them. He reached 8 under when he hammered a driver and a fairway metal to the back of the green on the 629-yard third hole, two-putting for birdie.

This miss puts Matsuyama in jeopardy of missing the weekend. pic.twitter.com/3HAzEuyWRL

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 25, 2017

But his tee shot on No. 4 was inches away from the third fairway, and his next shot struck a tree. He had to get up-and-down from 50 feet right to save bogey. The next tee shot was so far left it was in the rough on the fourth hole. He clipped branches, hit a poor chip and had to two-putt from 80 feet for his bogey.

“But other than that, I felt like it was a really solid day,” Johnson said. “I’m really pleased with the way the golf game is right now and I’m looking forward to this weekend.”

Fowler, meanwhile stuffed it on No. 4 and rolled in an 8-footer on the par-3 sixth over water, and just like that they were tied.

“Pretty stress-free,” Fowler said. “I’ve been driving it well this week, which is key around here. You don’t want to play out of the rough.”

When you see Saturday’s tee times …@RickieFowler and @JordanSpieth are tomorrow’s penultimate pairing. pic.twitter.com/OQQ8ocaVLX

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 25, 2017

Phil Mickelson limited his mistakes and made four birdies in a round of 68, which left him six shots behind but gave him two more rounds at Glen Oaks to post the kind of scores that would make him a viable pick for the Presidents Cup. Rory McIlroy chipped in for birdie on the tough par-3 second and shot 68. He was seven shots behind.

The focus was at the top with so many popular players contending _ Spieth, Fowler, Johnson at the top.

“That’s what tends to happen in the playoffs,” Spieth said. “As less guys make the next tournaments, you start to get players that are playing very well, and to no surprise, those guys are toward the top. … Should be an exciting weekend.”

Click here to view the full leaderboard.

REGINA, Sask. – Todd Fanning shot a 2-under-par 69 on his way to winning the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship at The Wascana Country Club on Friday.

The 49-year-old from Winnipeg, Man., captured gold-medal honours in both the Mid-Amateur and Mid-Master division to capture his third career national amateur competition.

“What an amazing week,” he said, on the first green and final playoff hole. “I won a couple Canadian Juniors back in the mid 80s and to win another provincial and then follow that up with a national title is a dream come true for me at 49,” said Fanning, who captured consecutive Canadian Junior Boys Championships in 1985-86.

#CDNMIDAM https://t.co/AQUyY1CP6m

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) August 25, 2017

Fanning, who also won the 2017 Manitoba Mid-Amateur, won after a four-hole playoff against three-time champion Garrett Rank (Elmira, Ont.) and 54-hole leader Steven Diack (Coquitlam, B.C.), who entered the final round leading Fanning by five strokes and Rank by eight.

After the group made the turn, Rank and Fanning aggressively closed the gap.

“That was amazing,” said Fanning. “When I saw Rank drive it on the 10th green I knew he was going to come guns a blazing. After that, he and Diack were trading birdies and I was kind of just getting dragged along, but luckily I got a big break when I birdied 18 to force the playoff.”

“The last hour and a half I sunk every putt I looked at and that’s how you have to win.”

When you win the #CDNMidAm to punch your ticket to the 2018 @RBCCanadianOpen… ?? pic.twitter.com/MyH1X1vXB2

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) August 25, 2017

Prior to the playoff, the final group approached the final tee with Rank and Diack tied at 10 under par and Fanning sitting one stroke back. The co-leaders both missed the green with their second shots and Fanning found the fringe to set up an eagle opportunity.

Diack came within inches of holing out a chip for birdie which would have won the tournament in regulation, and moments later Fanning thought he had the win as his eagle putt skimmed the lip of the hole – Fanning had his arms in the air and was walking the putt in when he realized it missed.

“I hit the best putt I had all day, it was kind of breaking right and just skimmed the edge and stayed out,” he said. “Hands were up I was walking it in. I gave it the curse but after that I settled down and in the playoff hit some good shots.”

Diack was the most consistent golfer in the field through three rounds, but during the final round he shot a 3-over-par 74, his only round over par during the championship.

“It was pretty crazy,” said Diack. “Those guys came on strong. They both played such good rounds of golf today and under pressure they hit such good shots. I could feel them coming and I was kind of going the opposite way.”

“Obviously I would have loved to take it today, but it was such a good experience to go down the stretch with those guys and get in a playoff. It was lots of fun.“

Both Diack and Fanning registered birdies during the first playoff hole while Rank settled for par and was knocked out of the tournament. The two remaining golfers both had opportunities to win the championship over the next three holes, but it was the 49-year-old who bested the 25-year-old with an eight-foot putt for par.

Rank had the most impressive round of the day after he shot a 5-under-par 66. The 29-year-old won the championship in each of the last three years and made a stellar effort to become the first person to ever win four times in a row.

For much of the day, it looked like a two-horse race between Fanning and Diack, but Rank aggressively chipped away at the lead on the back nine where he made five birdies.

In addition to the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur title, Fanning receives an exemption into the 2018 RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont.

On Wednesday, Team Ontario defended their inter-provincial title after they defeated the hometown favourite Team Saskatchewan in a playoff that secured the R. Bruce Forbes Trophy for the third straight year.

OTTAWA – Alena Sharp knelt down beside her bag and wrote the initials DC-J on each of her golf balls. She tucked the marker back into her bag and grabbed a pair of yellow ribbons with the same three letters monogrammed on them and scanned the crowd to hand them to her mom.

Sharp, who had an identical ribbon pinned to her hat, then lined up her shot from the No. 1 tee to start her first round at the CP Women’s Open on Thursday. She was one of several golfers honouring Canadian golf hall of famer Dawn Coe-Jones at the LPGA Tour event.

Coe-Jones left an indelible mark on women’s golf in Canada, winning three LPGA Tour events and the 1992 Match Play Championship, with 44 top-10 finishes over a 24-year career. She lost her battle with sarcoma, a form of bone cancer, on Nov. 12 at the age of 59.

“It’s just so sad that someone that young and that healthy can have that kind of bad luck,” said Sharp, a native of Hamilton, after completing a 7-over 78 in the first round of the tournament. “She’s not with us anymore, which is so sad.”

Sharp began marking her balls with Coe-Jones’s initials toward the end of last season and resumed the practice this week at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club to tie in with Golf Canada’s ribbon campaign honouring the pioneer of the sport.

“I’m really happy to see everybody wearing the ribbons this week and honouring her,” said Sharp. “It’s a great tribute.”

Coe-Jones competed in the Canadian Women’s Open 24 times and had seven top-10 finishes. She was the low Canadian (or tied) on 13 occasions and her $326,554 in earnings are the most by a Canadian playing in the Women’s Open. She retired from the LPGA at the 2008 national championship.

“It does mean a lot, not only to me, but I know her husband and son, are taking this in this week,” said Charlottetown’s Lorie Kane, who was a close friend of Coe-Jones. “It’s just nice for them to know their mom is loved.”

Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., and Augusta James of Bath, Ont., were the low Canadians on Thursday at 2-over 73.

“(Coe-Jones) along with all the others were just really inspirational, especially being from Canada and not having that many people to look up to,” said Marchand, who also had a yellow ribbon affixed to her hat. “The few that have paved the way, it’s pretty awesome. It’s been great to be able to remember her this week and kind of keep her in everyone’s hearts.”

Calgary’s Jennifer Ha and superstar Brooke Henderson of nearby Smiths Falls, Ont., finished their rounds at 3-over par.

Honoring Dawn Coe-Jones this week at the CP Women's Open. Thank you for paving the way for… https://t.co/E1RBTABDe5

— Jennifer Ha (@JenniferHa0201) August 24, 2017

Henderson was followed from hole to hole by droves of fans, but despite the vocal support she struggled with her putting. Henderson went to the practice green after her morning round.

“I think if I can just get a good night’s rest tonight, maybe practice a little bit, tune in things a little bit more, and then go out tomorrow and hopefully just make a few more putts,” said Henderson. “That’s all it is, and hopefully make a few more birdies.”

Amateur Jaclyn Lee of Calgary was 4 over, Quebec City’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay was 5 over, Samantha Richdale of Kelowna, B.C., was 6 over, Hannah Hellyer of Sterling, Ont., was 7 over and amateur Maddie Szeryk of London, Ont., was 8 over.

Kane tied with amateur Grace St. Germain of Ottawa at 9 over, while Victoria amateur Naomi Ko finished at 12 over.

OTTAWA – Playing professional golf isn’t that much different from having a standard 9-5 job. There’s a similar litany of problems. In the first round of the CP Women’s Open, it was a traffic jam.

Marina Alex had four birdies on the back nine and finished 5-under 66 to take the clubhouse lead at the Women’s Open on Thursday and held on to a one-stroke lead by the end of the round in part thanks to high winds. Those gusts forced golfers to take more time on their drives and approach shots which slowed down the pace of play at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club.

“It was kind of hard to get momentum, I think, for any of us because we would sit on the tee box and wait sometimes three and four minutes,” said Alex, who said the pace of play was slow from her second hole on. “It’s just hard to get a good group, and if you have a good group, it really kind of gets disrupted, so it’s tough.

“You have pretty challenging conditions right now. Every shot was kind of just difficult as we approached it, and it’s hard to get into a flow when you’re stopping and starting and stopping and starting.”

Putts dropping on day 1 was the key for @Marina_Deee to hold the current lead at the #CPWO! Watch her post-round interview pic.twitter.com/M5vZD3ePWV

— LPGA (@LPGA) August 24, 2017

Weather has played a big role in the Women’s Open. Tuesday’s practice rounds were called off after a rainstorm drenched the course. Winds during the storm blew down some trees in the area and delayed or detoured flights at nearby Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport.

Despite the rain, greens were very fast on Thursday. Alex said that it was easy getting optimal shots in the morning until the wind picked up and started messing with drives.

“I thought that (the greens) were almost just as fast as what we played at the U.S. Open,” said Alex. “They are rolling unbelievably well. Really quick. The nice thing is they’re still a bit soft, so the shots are holding into the greens, so it kind of makes for a good combo.

“You can hit shots in there pretty tight, and then you have really nice pace to hold them.”

Holly Clyburn, who started on the back nine, eagled on her final hole in the afternoon to enter into a tie with In Gee Chun, who fired a bogey-free 4-under 67 to sit second in the morning group.

Clyburn hoped her strong finish on No. 9 would give her momentum into the second round of play.

“I’ve just been waiting for something to drop like that all day, actually. I played solid all day, and that was just a nice present on the last, really,” said Clyburn. “Just missed a few birdie putts out there, and hit a nice 5-wood in there and holed that putt.”

Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., and Augusta James of Bath, Ont., were the low Canadians on Thursday at 2-over 73.

Calgary’s Jennifer Ha and superstar Brooke Henderson of nearby Smiths Falls, Ont., finished their rounds at 3-over par. Henderson had the opposite day of Alex, with her drives on target but her putts failing to drop.

“I hit the ball for the majority extremely well and just the putter kind of let me down at times,” said Henderson, who had a large crowd following her from hole to hole. “But you know, the crowds were amazing. There was a lot of great things happening out there, and like I said, my ball-striking was awesome. It was like right on, and just hopefully tomorrow I can make a couple more of those 10-footers, 15-footers, and then we’ll see what happens.”

She then went to the practice green to “teach (her putter) a lesson.”

Amateur Jaclyn Lee of Calgary was 4 over, Quebec City’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay was 5 over, Samantha Richdale of Kelowna, B.C., was 6 over, Hamilton’s Alena Sharp and Hannah Hellyer of Sterling, Ont., tied at 7 over. Amateur Maddie Szeryk of London, Ont., was 8 over.

Charlottetown’s Lorie Kane tied with amateur Grace St. Germain of Ottawa at 9 over, while Victoria amateur Naomi Ko finished at 12 over.