54-hole leader Susan Xiao from Surrey, B.C., didn’t blink in the final round of the 2017 Canadian Junior Girls Championship at Camelot Golf and Country Club carding a 3-under-par 69 to finish with a five-stroke victory.

Xiao started the day with a one stroke lead at 2 under par and was rock solid in Friday’s final round. She started with a birdie on No. 2 – then made eight consecutive pars before three straight birdies on holes 11, 12, and 13 to build a comfortable lead over the field.

“I am so honoured to win, words can’t describe how happy I am right now,” said Xiao. “This is definitely one of the biggest wins I’ve ever had.”

A 30 minute weather delay on the 18th tee didn’t affect Xiao as she sunk a 10-foot putt for par on No. 18.

“We were walking off 17 green and they blew the horn so we had to come back. At first I was a little bit sad thinking it’s the last hole can’t we just finish but it’s better to be safe,” said a smiling Xiao from the 18th green after the closing ceremonies.

Xiao is the third straight British Columbian to win the Canadian Junior Girls Championship, following Team Canada’s Naomi Ko from Victoria in 2016 and Michelle Kim of Surrey in 2015. The 15-year-old also took home the juvenile championship for players 16-and-under.

Mary Parsons, a member of Team Canada’s Development Squad, from Delta, B.C., threatened to take the lead early in the day.

Playing in her last junior tournament she had birdie putts on No.9 and 10 that would have brought her to within a stroke of Xiao who made the turn at 3 under par. But Parsons was unable to make a charge playing the final eight holes even par.

“I could have sunk some more putts out on the course, I was inside five feet and 10 feet,” said Parsons. “But I’m really happy for Susan and everyone who played really well this week at Camelot.”

Parsons’ junior career has come to a close but the 18-year-old is looking ahead to the next chapter as she joins the Indiana University Hoosiers in the fall.

“I have one more tournament before college. I’m going to the U.S. Amateur in San Diego so I’m excited for that,” added Parsons. “Moving forward in my career it’s good to know I have the shots in my bag to succeed and I’m excited for college.”

London, Ont., native Ellie Szeryk was 2 under par through six holes and it looked like she would challenge Xiao for the title, but a bogey on No. 7 and a triple-bogey on No. 8 proved too much to recover from.

“After six holes, I thought all Susan does is hit it in the middle and on the green so I started to press,” said Szeryk. “My mental game is something I have to work on.”

Emily Zhu from Richmond Hill, Ont., finished tied for fourth at 2 over par, alongside Development Squad’s Monet Chun, also from Richmond Hill. Just 13-years-old, Zhu was in second with two holes to play before a bogey-bogey finish set her back.

With her victory Xiao earns an exemption into the 2018 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship at Marine Drive Golf Club in Vancouver.

Click here to view the full leaderboard for the 2017 Canadian Junior Girls Championship.

Pos	Player	Today	Thru	Total	R1	R2	R3	R4	Total
1	Susan Xiao  Surrey, BC	-3	F	-5	70	73	71	69	283
T2	Mary Parsons  Delta, BC	-1	F	E	72	71	74	71	288
T2	Ellie Szeryk  London, ON	+1	F	E	71	71	73	73	288
T4	Monet Chun  Richmond Hill, ON	+1	F	+2	76	70	71	73	290
T4	Emily Zhu  Richmond Hill, ON	+2	F	+2	72	75	69	74	290
6	Alisha Lau  Richmond, BC	E	F	+4	72	74	74	72	292
T7	Tiana Cruz  Richmond Hill, ON	-1	F	+6	77	77	69	71	294
T7	Hannah Lee  Surrey, BC	+2	F	+6	73	73	74	74	294
T7	Momoka Kobori  New Zealand	+3	F	+6	74	71	74	75	294
10	Céleste Dao  Notre-Dame-de-L’Île-Perrot, QC	+3	F	+7	74	74	72	75	295
T11	Vivian Lee  Hong Kong	-1	F	+8	73	79	73	71	296
T11	Melany Chong  Mississauga, ON	E	F	+8	77	76	71	72	296
T13	Victoria Liu  Vancouver, BC	E	F	+10	77	72	77	72	298
T13	Brigitte Thibault  Rosemère, QC	E	F	+10	80	78	68	72	298
T15	Esther Subin Lee  Maple Ridge, BC	+2	F	+12	74	75	77	74	300
T15	Karen Zhang  Richmond, BC	+4	F	+12	73	78	73	76	300
T15	Akari Hayashi  Victoria, BC	+6	F	+12	75	76	71	78	300
18	Jasmine Ly  Windsor, ON	+9	F	+13	72	74	74	81	301
T19	Victoria Zheng  Markham, ON	E	F	+14	77	77	76	72	302
T19	Alyssa DiMarcantonio  Maple, ON	+4	F	+14	75	77	74	76	302
T21	Kate (Dahye) Choi  Surrey, BC	+4	F	+15	74	75	78	76	303
T21	Cassidy Laidlaw  Calgary, AB	+7	F	+15	74	76	74	79	303
23	Mathilde Denicourt  St-Cesaire, QC	+7	F	+16	71	80	74	79	304
24	Chaewon Baek  Langley, BC	+5	F	+17	74	80	74	77	305
25	Emma (Hyeji) Yang  Langley, BC	+3	F	+18	75	80	76	75	306
26	Audrey Paradis  Blainville, QC	+3	F	+21	80	75	79	75	309
T27	Mu Chen (Angel) Lin  Surrey, BC	+5	F	+23	78	76	80	77	311
T27	Phoebe Yue  West Vancouver, BC	+8	F	+23	75	76	80	80	311
T27	Euna Han  Coquitlam, BC	+8	F	+23	73	80	78	80	311
T27	Katy Rutherford  Calgary, AB	+8	F	+23	79	73	79	80	311
T31	Raesa Sheikh  Markham, ON	+7	F	+24	79	81	73	79	312
T31	Élizabeth Labbé  Lévis, QC	+5	F *	+24	82	81	72	77	312
T33	Catherine Zhang  Toronto, ON	+8	F	+25	78	75	80	80	313
T33	Haley Yerxa  Ottawa, ON	+7	F	+25	80	77	77	79	313
T35	Sarah-Eve Rheaume  Québec, QC	+11	F	+27	77	75	80	83	315
T35	Shania Remandaban  Coquitlam, BC	+10	F	+27	81	77	75	82	315
37	Camryn Roadley  Winnipeg, MB	+9	F *	+28	77	78	80	81	316
T38	Kehler Koss  Calgary, AB	+10	F	+29	80	76	79	82	317
T38	Hailey McLaughlin  Markham, ON	+10	F *	+29	77	75	83	82	317
T38	Taylor Stone  Calgary, AB	+4	F *	+29	79	83	79	76	317
T41	Kelly Hellman  Nelson, BC	+9	F *	+30	80	81	76	81	318
T41	Jennifer Gu  West Vancouver, BC	+9	F *	+30	80	81	76	81	318
T41	Kristen Giles  Georgetown, ON	+3	F *	+30	82	82	79	75	318
44	Chloe Currie  Mississauga, ON	+3	F *	+31	83	83	78	75	319
45	Emily Romancew  Pierrefonds, QC	+10	F *	+33	83	79	77	82	321
T46	Delana Basanisi  Mississauga, ON	+9	F *	+35	81	82	79	81	323
T46	Alicia Easthope  St. Albert, AB	+7	F *	+35	82	81	81	79	323
T46	Claire Lovan  Surrey, BC	+4	F *	+35	82	81	84	76	323
T49	Ashley Chow  North York, ON	+12	F *	+36	80	80	80	84	324
T49	Zhiying Zhou  Niagara Falls, ON	+7	F *	+36	76	88	81	79	324
T51	Tillie Claggett  Calgary, AB	+11	F *	+38	85	77	81	83	326
T51	Sukriti Harjai  Niagara Falls, ON	+10	F *	+38	84	76	84	82	326
T51	Laura Jones  Moncton, NB	+10	F *	+38	89	77	78	82	326
T51	Rebecca (Lu Yang) Jiang  Langley, BC	+7	F *	+38	79	81	87	79	326
T55	Angela Zhang  Vancouver, BC	+16	F *	+39	72	84	83	88	327
T55	Dylann Armstrong  North Gower, ON	+9	F *	+39	82	84	80	81	327
T55	Vanessa Chychrun  Aurora, ON	+5	F *	+39	83	79	88	77	327
T58	JiaYin Liu  Kitchener, ON	+12	F *	+40	79	80	85	84	328
T58	Lory Paradis  Blainville, QC	+10	F *	+40	79	83	84	82	328
T58	Stephanie Chelack  Calgary, AB	+9	F *	+40	87	77	83	81	328
T61	Sarah Beqaj  Toronto, ON	+22	F *	+41	74	81	80	94	329
T61	Sharmaine Rapisura  Calgary, AB	+13	F *	+41	82	82	80	85	329
T63	Emily Ward  Niagara Falls, ON	+17	F *	+42	79	79	83	89	330
T63	Emily Xu  Burnaby, BC	+16	F *	+42	83	81	78	88	330
T63	Kiley Rodrigues  Kingston, ON	+11	F *	+42	83	80	84	83	330
T63	Brooke MacKinnon  Chatham, ON	+10	F *	+42	83	81	84	82	330
T67	Shirin Anjarwalla  Nanaimo, BC	+11	F *	+44	83	83	83	83	332
T67	Amy Ehlert  Maple Ridge, BC	+10	F *	+44	82	81	87	82	332
69	Elizabeth Blier  St. Bruno, QC	+15	F *	+45	79	84	83	87	333
70	Cynthia Zhao  Toronto, ON	+17	F *	+46	77	89	79	89	334
71	Sandee Park  West Vancouver, BC	+19	F *	+48	84	77	84	91	336

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – I.K. Kim, the best player in women’s golf right now, emerged from the cold and wet with a 4-under 68 to build a two-shot lead in the Women’s British Open going into the weekend.

A two-time winner on the LPGA Tour over the last two months, Kim dropped only one shot in some of the worst conditions at Kingsbarns Links and reached the halfway point at 11-under 133. She was two shots clear of Lexi Thompson and Georgia Hall of England.

Kim displayed a remarkable fortitude in weather that veered erratically toward the end of the day between bright sunshine and torrential downpours. The 29-year-old from South Korea atoned for her lone bogey with three birdies and an eagle on the 538-yard 11th hole.

“The eagle was very unexpected,” Kim said before conceding her drive landed on a friendly downslope and gained an extra 30 yards or so. “I think this was kind of as bad as the weather could get. I expected rain, but not like this. It’s not easy to play in this kind of weather. But I feel really good about my game. I’ve been hitting the ball very well and I’m starting to make some putts. That’s when I shoot low scores.”

Still, perhaps the most significant move came from Thompson, the No. 2 player in the world.

Two-over par and birdie-free after nine-holes, the big-hitting Floridian played the homeward nine in 30 with six birdies – five in succession. In addition, she found time to add a new phrase to golf’s already voluminous terminology.

“I ball-striked it out there,” she said. That was fair enough, if grammatically flawed. Even on that disappointing front nine, the eight-time LPGA champion struck her shots with an authority few in the women’s game can match.

“I actually hit it the same throughout both nines,” she said. “I just left myself with 30-40 feet on my two bogeys and three-putted them. I hit great shots. Going in, they were going right at the flag, but they both got bounces that went sideways. Then I didn’t make the second putt. But I hit it great the whole day and just got on a roll there on the back.”

Another key to Thompson’s success so far is her caddie, Kevin McAlpine. The former Scottish Amateur champion worked four summers at Kingsbarns and knows the course well.

“Kevin has helped with my decision-making on basically every hole,” said Thompson. “His input going into the greens is especially valuable. He tells me where to land the ball and he’s been spot on every time. He knows the greens like the back of his hand, as well. He’s helped me out a lot out there.”

First-round leader Michelle Wie did not fare so well. The 27-year old American made only one birdie in a 76 that leaves her seven shots off the pace and in a tie for 21st with two rounds remaining. Wie has not won since the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst No. 2.

ACTON, Ont. – A number of Canada’s legends of golf are set compete at this year’s Mr. Lube PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada Aug. 9-11 at Burlington Golf & Country Club.

Victoria’s Jim Rutledge eyes his fifthMr. Lube PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada, but will surely face stiff competition from a myriad of players including past PGA, European, Web.com and Mackenzie-PGA TOUR Canada winners.

Rutledge’s past PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada wins came in 2015 at Credit Valley Golf & Country Club; 2013 at Lookout Point Country Club; 2012 at Emerald Hills Golf Club; and 2010 at Rattlesnake Point Golf Club. The 56-year-old is also a former winner on the Web.com Tour, has six Mackenzie-PGA TOUR Canada titles and is a former PGA Championship of Canada winner.

Notables in the field at Burlington Golf & Country Club include:

• PGA and WEB.com TOUR winner Ian Leggat
• European, WEB.com, Mackenzie-PGA TOUR Canada and PGA Championship of Canada winner Jerry Anderson
• Six-time Mackenzie-PGA TOUR Canada winner Daniel Talbot
• Four-time PGA Club Professional Championship of Canada and PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada winner Gar Hamilton
• Three-time PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada winner Serge Thivierge
• Last year’s PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada winner Claude Grenier
• PGA Club Professional Championship of Canada and PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada winner Ken Tarling
• PGA Club Professional Championship of Canada and PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada winner Graham Gunn
• Two-time PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada winner Philip Jonas
• Past PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada winners Kevin Dugas and Marc Girouard
• PGA Club Professional Championship of Canada winner Ian Doig
• The PGA of Canada’s No. 12-ranked player Scott Allred

Click here for the full field and first round tee times.

At last year’s Mr. Lube PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada Claude Grenier went wire-to-wire for the win at Tangle Creek Golf & Country Club. He finished three shots better than Kevin Dugas, Marc Hurtubise, Jean Laforce and Michael Woodcock.

The PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada was first played in 1938 as a division of the Canadian PGA Championship. In 1973, the championship became an independent event and has remained as such.

Among the Canadian golf legends to win the PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada are Stan Leonard, Moe Norman—who won a record seven straight years from 1979-1985—Bob Panasik, Al Balding—who wowed the golf world by winning at age 76 in 2000—and Rutledge.

Burlington Golf & Country Club features undulating topography and an attractive location on Hamilton Bay. Today’s challenging layout at Burlington Golf and Country Club, still essentially that designed by Stanley Thompson, Canada’s leading contemporary golf course architect, opened in 1924.

RENO, Nev. – John Huh made plenty of putts in the Barracuda Championship, which leads to good results no matter how the score is kept.

Huh took only 24 putts on Thursday at Montreaux Golf and Country Club, the last one from 6 feet for his eighth birdie on his final hole to give him 15 points and a one-point lead over Stuart Appleby and Miguel Angel Carballo.

“Twenty-four putts is always nice. That was the key to make a few birdies,” Huh said. “Hopefully, I can do it the next three days.”

Appleby also had eight birdies against two bogeys, while Carballo made up ground with a pair of eagles, one in which he holed out from 160 yards on No. 17.

This is the only PGA Tour event that uses the modified Stableford format that awards five points for an eagle and three points for a birdie, while deducting one point for a bogey and three points for a double bogey or worse.

Huh, who hasn’t won since Mexico as a rookie in 2012, tied for third the only other time he played the Barracuda Championship in 2014. The timing couldn’t be better. He is not in the PGA Championship next week, meaning he has only the Barracuda Championship and the Wyndham Championship in two weeks to finish in the top 125 in the FedEx Cup and keep his full card for next season. Huh currently is at No. 112.

That’s a goal for eight of the top nine players on the leaderboard. Appleby and Carballo are outside the top 200.

Six players were at 13 points, a group that included Ryan Palmer. He needs to win to get into the PGA Championship next week at Quail Hollow. The PGA is holding a spot for a player who wins at Montreaux that is not already eligible.

Carballo only had three birdies against two bogeys, but those two eagles were worth the equivalent of five birdies (10 points). After holing out from a greenside bunker for birdie on the 16th, he holed out from 160 yards on the next hole. Then after he missed the green at No. 1 from the fairway and made bogey, the Argentine ripped a 3-wood that couldn’t see it was close until he got up near the green and saw it 8 feet from the hole.

“We were hoping for the best and it ended up being right next to the pin,” he said.

Ottawa’s Brad Fritsch is tied for 10th with 11 points while Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., has six points. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., has five points.

Davis Love III, who celebrates the 20-year anniversary of his PGA Championship victory next week, had 11 points. His son, Dru Love, was at minus 4 points and toward the bottom of the pack.

Murray, Kentucky’s Patrick Newcomb shot an 8-under 62 on Thursday at Windermere Golf and Country Club to take the first round lead at the Syncrude Oil Country Championship presented by AECON, the seventh event of the 2017 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season.

The 27-year old, who sits eighth on the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica Order of Merit thanks to a win at the Honduras Open presented by Indura Beach and Golf Resort, started hot with three birdies and an eagle in his first four holes, then managed four more birdies against one bogey to match the Windermere Golf and Country Club course record.

“It was just one of those special days with the putter,” said Newcomb, who added that his hot start early on put him in his comfort zone. “I have a tendency to get off to hot starts. I hit a couple of good shots and get in a rhythm. For me, I got to 5-under, and when I stepped on 14 (his fifth hole of the day) tee, I said ‘let’s keep going.’”

The 8-under 62 gave Newcomb, who shot a third-round 61 during his win in Honduras, a two-stroke advantage after day one over Tacoma, Washington’s Derek Barron, Glendale, California’s Russell Surber and Cameron Park, California’s Corey Pereira and Cordova, Illinois’ Josh Hart.

“I had a lot of approach shots that were pretty much gimmes, and obviously that’s not going to happen every day, so you just have to kind of enjoy it while you have it.,” said Barron.

Barron is making his sixth career Mackenzie Tour start after earning status at the British Columbia Q-School earlier this year. He ranks 57^th on the Order of Merit thanks to finishes of T18 and T12 in the first two events of the year.

A Murray State grad, Newcomb finished T6 at the Players Cup earlier this year and co-held the 54-hole lead at the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel before tumbling to a final round 79. Last week, he played in the Kentucky State Open for a brief stop at home before resuming his season on the Mackenzie Tour, his seventh week of competition in a row.

“It was good to get home and spend a few days there afterwards. I got to see my family and work with my coach, and got to wind down for a day and a half, which was a lot more than I’ve been getting lately, so that was nice,” said Newcomb.

Newcomb is making his second career start on the Mackenzie Tour and is playing out of a category for members of PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, where he ranks eighth on the Order of Merit thanks to a win at the Honduras Open presented by Indura Beach and Golf Resort.

Newcomb played college golf at Murray State, where he collected nine individual victories. He co-held the lead at the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel through 54 holes but fell to a final round 79 and finished T38.

His 8-under 62 matches the Windermere Golf and Country Club course record set by Joe Panzeri and Matt Marshall at the 2012 ATB Financial Classic. The course played as a par-71 in 2012.

Two-time World Long Drive Champion Jamie Sadlowski, who grew up two hours away in St. Paul, Alberta, opened with a 1-under 69.

Click here for the full leaderboard.

After round two wrapped up Thursday morning, Susan Xiao from Surrey, B.C., carded a 1-under-par 71 in the afternoon to take the lead at 2 under par after three rounds of the Canadian Junior Girls Championship at Camelot Golf and Country Club.

Xiao, the leader after round one, had three birdies and no blemishes on her card other than a double-bogey on No. 13.

She leads by one-shot over London, Ont., native Ellie Szeryk who fired 1-over-par 73 on Thursday, recording her first over par round of the tournament to sit at 1 under par through 54 holes.

“My approach shots were good today,” said Xiao. “And my putting, although I lipped out a few birdie putts, overall it was good today.”

Heading into the final round as the leader won’t weigh on Xiao’s mind tonight. She plans on keeping an even keel as she tries to become the third straight British Columbia to win the Canadian Junior Girls Championship.

“I’ll just play my own game. I won’t worry about what other players are doing,” added Xiao. “Because someone from T20 could shoot a good number and win.”

Szeryk, 15, was unhappy with her third round. She started the day scorching hot pouring in four birdies in the first five holes and was 3 under par for the day through 14 holes before finishing with two bogeys and a double-bogey on No. 18.

“I feel like it was an awful ending. A lot of bad bounces and a lot of misreads. It was bad, just bad,” said Szeryk.

Szeryk’s older sister Maddie won this tournament in 2013, and the younger Szeryk has been in contact with Maddie this week as she tries to follow in her footsteps.

“I try to compete with my sister. She’s a big target for me, but I’m just trying to play my game,” said Szeryk. “She’ll be getting the lowdown on how today went for sure.”

13-year-old Emily Zhu climbed into third place at even par thanks to a 3-under-par 69 powered by an eagle on the par-5 fifth. Her round could have been even better if she’d avoided a few mistakes.

“If I didn’t make a three-putt on No. 17 I would have been 5 under,” said Zhu. “And if I didn’t try to go over the tree on No. 18 I wouldn’t have made the double. I could have been 6 or 7 under par.”

Zhu will join Xiao and Szeryk in final grouping tomorrow teeing off at 9:01 a.m.

Development Squad teammates Monet Chun and Mary Parsons are tied for fourth at 1 over par.

Chun, from Richmond Hill, Ont., carded her second consecutive under par round firing a 71 in round three to continue battling back from an opening-round 4-over-par 76.

“I was out there playing one shot at a time and being committed with my shots – it helped me a lot,” said Chun. “Tomorrow I’m going to play like today and not think about scores, and just take it one hole at a time.”

Parsons leads the field in birdies through 54 holes with 18 but has been unable to avoid mistakes. The Delta, B.C., native shot a 2-over-par 74 in round three after starting 4 over par in her first eight holes.

“The way that I fought back today is something to be proud of,” said Parsons. “But hopefully I won’t have to dig myself out of a hole again tomorrow.”

Heading into the final round there are ten players within six shots of the lead including the 2017 Quebec Junior Girls Champion Céleste Dao (Notre-Dame-de-L’Île-Perrot, Que.) and the 2017 B.C. Junior Girls Champion Alisha Lau (Richmond, B.C.), who are both tied for seventh at 4 over par.

Click here to view the full leaderboard for the 2017 Canadian Junior Girls Championship.

NOTE TO MEDIA: Photos are available for download here. (Golf Canada)

2017 CANADIAN JUNIOR GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

1. Susan Xiao, *70-73-71-214 -2
2. Ellie Szeryk, *71-71-73-215 -1
3. Emily Zhu, *72-75-69-216 E
4. Monet Chun, *76-70-71-217 +1
4. Mary Parsons, *72-71-74-217 +1
6. Momoka Kobori, *74-71-74-219 +3
7. Céleste Dao, *74-74-72-220 +4
7. Jasmine Ly, *72-74-74-220 +4
7. Hannah Lee, *73-73-74-220 +4
7. Alisha Lau, *72-74-74-220 +4

2017 CANADIAN JUVENILE GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS

1. Susan Xiao, *70-73-71-214 -2
2. Ellie Szeryk, *71-71-73-215 -1
3. Emily Zhu, *72-75-69-216 E
4. Monet Chun, *76-70-71-217 +1
5. Céleste Dao, *74-74-72-220 +4

AKRON, Ohio – Jordan Spieth is one week away from a shot at the career Grand Slam.

He’s more interested in looking behind him.

Spieth returned to Dallas with the claret jug, and it wasn’t more than a few hours before he already had watched highlights – twice – of his British Open victory at Royal Birkdale. The first time was when he couldn’t get to sleep. Then, caddie Michael Greller woke up and they watched it together.

It was no less amazing, from the bogey he salvaged with a shot from the practice range to the birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie streak that followed.

And it gave Spieth a chance to set the record straight on Wednesday.

He playfully disputed the notion that he was 100 yards right of the fairway on No. 13, as television commentary suggested.

Spieth aimed for the right rough on the 13th hole to take bunkers out of play. He said he knew the ball would move a little right because of rain getting on the face of the driver, and he compounded that by leaving the club open.

Even so, he estimated he missed his target by about 20 yards. And then it hit a spectator in the head and went even more to the right, over some tall dunes and into a spot where he had to take a penalty drop onto the practice range.

“It really wasn’t that bad,” he said. “I mean, it wasn’t a good shot. It was a foul ball to the right. But I need to back myself up here in saying that I’m capable of hitting worse shots than that, OK?”

It worked out fine in the end, although Spieth is starting to realize he might be hearing more about playing from the driving range than any of his clutch shots that followed in his three-shot victory for the third leg of the Grand Slam.

He said Royal Birkdale already has asked to have a replica of the 3-iron he hit from the range, “which means that’s going to be the shot that’s pictured there and remembered there, unfortunately.”

Spieth’s spirits have rarely been this high, even with the amount of attention he will face next week at the PGA Championship, where a victory would make him the youngest player to capture the career Grand Slam.

First up is the Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone, and a chance for him to win a third straight tournament. Spieth won the Travelers Championship by holing a bunker shot in a playoff in his previous event before the British Open.

Firestone is a big golf course for a par 70, and it figures to get even longer with rain in the forecast the opening two rounds, leading tour officials to move the tee times to the morning for Thursday and Friday.

Dustin Johnson is the defending champion.

Rory McIlroy thinks he is the defending champion, too.

McIlroy won at Firestone in 2014 during the middle of his big run – the British Open, Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship over a four-week stretch. He missed the following year because of his ankle injury, and didn’t play last year when the World Golf Championship was moved to late June to make room in a crowded schedule for the Olympics.

“I think this week and next week, it’s probably my favourite two-week stretch of the year,” McIlroy said.

It will be a different one, for sure. McIlroy fired his caddie after the British Open and will have his best friend, Harry Diamond, on the bag the next two weeks. Johnson is simply trying to find the form that made him golf’s dominant player earlier this year when he ran off three straight victories. That fall down the stairs of his rented home on the eve of the Masters did more than wrench his back. It cost him momentum he is trying to regain.

Spieth has no such issues.

With another major in hand and having turned 24 just last week, Spieth is still soaking up his remarkable rally at Royal Birkdale and the messages he received. McIlroy sent him one. So did Phil Mickelson, who at the start of the British Open had jokingly chided Spieth for accidentally heading to the champions’ area of the locker room.

Spieth also received written notes from Jack Nicklaus and former President George W. Bush.

He has played with Bush even before Spieth turned pro.

“I’ve played a bit of golf with him back in Dallas and he always puts something funny in there,” Spieth said. “He said, ‘Call me. I think I need to give you some driving lessons,’ was what he had in there. I’ve played with him, and I know that I definitely don’t need driving lessons from him.”

HAYWARD, Calif. – Stephen Curry pumped his right fist, raised his arms in the air with club in hand and gave a firm shoulder bump to caddie Jonnie West, his golf partner on road trips with the Golden State Warriors.

A birdie at last after he scored three bogeys over his initial five holes Thursday.

There was the animated, confident Steph that NBA fans know so well, the two-time league MVP finally feeling it and making the tough shots on the challenging course at TPC Stonebrae while playing in his highly anticipated professional golf debut. He finished at 4-over 74 with a bogey on the last hole.

“It was an amazing experience, I’ve been looking forward to this since I found out and to finally hit my first shot in tournament play was a really, really nervous moment but it was everything I hoped for,” Curry said. “If you told me I was going to shoot 74 going into the first round I’d take that all day, every day. I’m pretty happy with it.”

Curry drew quite a crowd to the Web.com Tour’s Ellie Mae Classic, where Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice has played a few times in the past.

The star point guard of the champion Warriors high-fived fans – some 300-plus at the picturesque course providing panoramic views overlooking San Francisco Bay – between some holes and chatted with the other two in his threesome, Sam Ryder and defending champion Stephan Jaeger.

Curry, who munched on a breakfast sandwich at the green of his first hole, missed badly on his initial ball of the day, landing his tee shot off a hill that kicked it perfectly into the cup holder of a golfcart. He then took a drop.

Not quite as spot-on as those signature pregame tunnel shots at Oracle Arena or the jaw-dropping, buzzer-beating 3-pointers from way, way back.

“That’s probably a first on the tour. There was a golf cart just left of my target on hole No. 1 and it went right in the cup holder,” Curry said. “Not an ideal way to start with calling a rules official over after your first tee shot. I kind of settled in after that.”

On the 15th fairway, Curry leaned on West, a member of Golden State’s front office and son of Hall of Famer Jerry West. Jonnie West also is a member at this course.

Then Curry finished the par-5 15th by sinking a 5-foot, downhill birdie putt. He made par on No. 16 then survived a tee shot to the bunker and a near stumble climbing out of the sand on the par-4 18th and made about an 8-footer to save par.

That prompted a triumphant club tap to his shoe and Curry then held up the ball sporting a big grin.

“It was awesome,” West said. “He handled the nerves of this being his first time in this type of atmosphere pretty well.”

Curry began his round on the back nine and was 2-over 37 at the turn, where he eagerly accepted a bag of fast food chicken for lunch.

He said that when his name was announced to begin his day “I could barely feel my hands, I had to try to take a deep breath.”

The top 65 and any ties from the 156-player field will make the cut to compete on the weekend. Curry is a sponsor exemption and one of three amateurs in the event.

“I want to play better tomorrow. Now that I kind of got the jitters out hopefully that will happen and hit a couple more good shots and make a couple more putts,” he said.

With so many cameras clicking, cheers and whistles moments after he struck the ball and hundreds of supporters in No. 30 shirts and Warriors gear, this was no doubt a “Strength In Numbers” kind of day.

There would be no balls lost, either. Wherever his shots landed, a big crowd quickly gathered to get an up-close glimpse of one of basketball’s best. One of the biggest bargains in the NBA before, Curry was rewarded last month with a $201 million, five-year contract.

Playing his other sporting passion, Curry got plenty of help along the 7,024-yard, par-70 course. Those with homes along the course gathered in groups on decks to catch a hole.

On this day, it was Jaeger making a key assist down the stretch. Waiting at the tee box on their final hole, he took a basketball belonging to 14-year-old Erik Oswald from Southern California for Curry to sign and delivered it back to the giddy teen dressed in a chef’s hat who had followed his hoops hero all day.

“Unbelievable gallery out here,” Curry said, “hopefully that continues through the week.”

AKRON, Ohio – Rory McIlroy had his best friend on the bag and his best start on American soil in 18 months. For Jordan Spieth, it was more of the same with two long putts and another comment filled with bravado directed at his caddie.

Both of them opened with a 3-under 67 at the Bridgestone Invitational, leaving them two shots behind Thomas Pieters of Belgium.

Pieters, playing only for the sixth time since he challenged briefly at the Masters this year, holed a 30-foot birdie putt on his final hole at Firestone to finish a day of good scoring with a one-shot lead over Russell Knox.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., is three shots back after a 68 while Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., struggled to a 4 over following a 74.

The opening two rounds were moved up to the morning because of a forecast of thunderstorms in the afternoon.

McIlroy split with J.P. Fitzgerald, his caddie of nine years, after the British Open. He decided to use Harry Diamond, who played amateur golf for Ireland and was the best man at McIlroy’s wedding, for the Bridgestone Invitational and the PGA Championship next week.

It didn’t have much bearing on McIlroy’s game, which was fine. McIlroy won at Firestone the last time he played it in 2014.

“We both did the numbers and I sort of consulted him a couple of times. Yeah, it was good,” McIlroy said. “There was a couple of shots that I hit or a couple of clubs that I pulled that I maybe should have just thought a little bit more about. It’s been a while since I’ve paced yardages off and written notes in my book.”

One of them was at No. 9, his last hole, when he went some 50 feet long on his approach and three-putted for bogey. Even so, it was a solid start, and that’s what has held back McIlroy in recent months when he missed three cuts in four tournaments, and then started poorly at the British Open.

Spieth has no such concerns, having won two straight events going into this World Golf Championship with an eye toward next week at the PGA Championship and his shot at becoming the youngest player to complete the Grand Slam.

Winning a major turned this into a great year for Spieth, regardless of what happens at the PGA Championship. He is feeling as good as ever about his game, particularly the way he finished off Royal Birkdale with the amazing escape on the 13th hole and the birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie stretch that followed. The biggest putt was the eagle from 50 feet on the par-5 15th at the Open, now famous for Spieth playfully barking at his caddie, “Go get that!” when it dropped in.

Thursday brought another such moment.

Spieth got back into range of the lead with a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 5 and a 50-foot birdie putt on the next hole that got him to 3 under. But he was in trouble at No. 8, well right of the fairway with trees blocking his view of the green. He couldn’t punch under them because he had too much rough to cover with a punch shot beneath the branches. But he did see about a 3-foot gap way up in the trees. And he was feeling it.

His caddie, Michael Greller, got the yardage and came over to see what Spieth had in mind.

“I said, ‘Michael, just put the bag over there, stand over there and watch this,”’ Spieth said.

Spieth rehearsed his swing with a pitching wedge and pulled it off.

“I split a hole that was 60 yards in front of me and cut it to get onto the green,” Spieth said. “It was really a cool shot. I was shocked I pulled it off.”

Greller smiled, bumped fists with his boss and handed him the putter.

The opening round was no place to lose ground in such good scoring conditions. Dustin Johnson did his part with a 68. He hasn’t won since the Match Play just two weeks before his staircase injury that knocked him out of the Masters. Johnson only wants to give himself a chance to win, and he says all the parts are in working order for that.

Bubba Watson, also showing signs of getting his game turned around, was also in the group at 67 that included Kevin Kisner and Jon Rahm.

The surprise might have been Knox, who has missed his last three cuts and is in danger of falling out of the top 50 in the world for the first time since he won the HSBC Champions in Shanghai in the fall of 2015. The difference was a change in the shafts of his irons, and a change back to the putter he used when he won in Shanghai.

The question is why he would ever take that putter out of play.

“Golfers are sick,” Knox said. “You always blame your equipment rather than yourself. So maybe I just have to take the blame and say I (stunk) and the putter worked.”

ST. ANDREWS, Scotland – Finishing fast after a slow start, Michelle Wie birdied her last three holes Thursday for an 8-under 64 for a one-shot lead in the Women’s British Open.

Wie bogeyed the par-5 second hole at Kingsbarns Links, and that was the last of her mistakes. The 27-year-old American shot 30 on the back nine and wound up one shot ahead of I.K. Kim of South Korea.

Lindy Duncan was another shot behind at 66, with Lexi Thompson among those at 67.

Wie, showing no sign of the neck spasms that forced her to withdraw from last month’s U.S Women’s Open, posted nine birdies during a morning round played in almost perfect weather on the eastern coast of Scotland.

Only later did torrential downpours and the threat of lightning twice disrupt play for a total of 74 minutes.

Laura Davies was one who suffered from the interruptions. Six-under par through 14 holes, the 53-year old from England finished in a mildly disappointing 68, the same score posted by Charley Hull, Britain’s top player.

There were no such problems for Wie. Such was the overall serenity of her progress, the Hawaii native even had time to take in the stunning vistas across what she referred to as the “ocean,” which is actually the Tay Estuary.

Following the early dropped shot – a badly skulled lob wedge finished far over the second green – she reeled off three birdies before the turn. Over the back nine, it only got better with six birdies in the final eight holes.

“It’s so gorgeous here,” said Wie, who has not won since claiming the U.S Women’s Open at Pinehurst in 2014. “When the weather is nice, it almost felt like I was playing back home in Hawaii with the views and everything. I feel like I got extremely lucky with the conditions out there.”

Still, no one else in the 144-player field took as much advantage. The lack of wind and softness underfoot left the 6,697-yard course all but defenceless and allowed Wie to use her high-flying lofted woods to great effect. Six of her nine birdies resulted from approach shots with metals, the 9- and 11-woods that have been in her bag since June proving most effective.

“Callaway has done a great job of accommodating me,” said Wie. “They had to look back into their archives to find me an 11-wood. I’ve never played such high-lofted woods before. The 11-wood goes 180-yards, the same distance as my 5-iron but is a lot easier to hit than a blade. The 9-wood replaces my 4-hybrid and goes 190 to 195 yards.”

As for Thompson, the big-hitting Floridian relied less on the yardage book and more on her caddie. Kevin McAlpine, a former Scottish Amateur champion, worked at Kingsbarns for four summers prior to taking the Thompson bag.

“His local knowledge helps tremendously,” Thompson said.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., opened at 2-under 70.

So Yeon Ryu, the No. 1 player in the world, opened with a 71, along with Hamilton’s Alena Sharp.