Shanshan Feng had her best round in the U.S. Women’s Open, and the first-round lead.

Afternoon rain and lightning forced officials to suspend play for more than two hours Thursday in the biggest event in women’s golf, and play was stopped because of darkness with 39 players still on the course. They will return early Friday to complete the round at Trump National Golf Course.

The weather was the only hitch for the players and the USGA, which took a lot of criticism for failing to move the $5 million event to another course after comments by President Donald Trump about women.

Despite fears of protests, Day 1 was uneventful.

There were no demonstrators. The golf was excellent and Feng was outstanding, shooting a 6-under 66 in a tournament in which she has rarely played well in her 10 seasons as a professional in the United States. It marked the first time the 27-year-old from China broke 70 in 42 Open rounds.

Amy Yang of South Korea, who has had two seconds, a third and a fourth in this event in the last five years, was a shot behind.

"I felt so comfortable out there" @shanshanfengCHN after carding a 6-under 66 at the #USWomensOpen pic.twitter.com/FpDh2D240D

— LPGA (@LPGA) July 13, 2017

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., is the top Canadian with a 2-under 70. Amateur Maddie Szeryk of London, Ont., is even while Hamilton’s Alena Sharp opened with a 4-over 76.

Lydia Ko of New Zealand played in the same threesome with Feng and was tied for third at 68 with top-ranked So Yeon Ryu of South Korea.

Carlota Ciganda also was 4 under with a hole left. She would have to eagle the par-5 18th to get a share of the lead.

Former Open winner Cristie Kerr, who played with back spasms, and Megan Khang were the best U.S. finishers at 69.

Feng, who has never finished better than fourth in the Open (2012), started her round on the 10th hole and played the back side in 5 under, rolling in five birdies. She added another at No. 1 and then parred her last eight holes.

“I started the round very great,” said Feng, who lipped out on two birdie putts on her final nine. “I mean I had three birdies in the first four holes and then after that I mean I just felt so comfortable about everything.”

Feng had to push it to get to Trump National. She played in a tournament in China that was run by her sponsor last week and her flight to Beijing was delayed. She did not arrive in New Jersey until around noon Monday, and did more sleeping than playing over the next three days.

Everything worked out Thursday.

“I just had a great day so hopefully the next three days that I can perform well also and let’s see what happens,” said Feng, who has a win and three other top-10 finishes this season.

Feng was the hottest player on the tour at the end of last year, winning her last two starts and finishing eighth or better in her final seven events. She won the major LPGA Championship in 2012 for the first of her seven LPGA Tour titles.

Yang had six birdies and a bogey in her round. She took advantage of the back nine, playing it in 4 under.

The 27-year-old who now calls Orlando, Florida, home, refused to say this would be the year she won the Open.

“I’ll keep trying,” she said. “I’m playing good, you know, played good lately and I’m hitting the ball solid and making some putts, you know. I’m going to do same things, you know, next three days and see what happened.”

Ko, who had the lead going into the final round last year, was tied with Feng at 6 under after 13 holes. She bogeyed her 14th and then the last.

Ryu, the only two-time winner on the tour this year, had four birdies. Kerr had five birdies and two bogeys.

Goodnight from the #USWomensOpen pic.twitter.com/MPOFbXKHMm

— LPGA (@LPGA) July 14, 2017

In Gee Chun, who won this event two years ago, was in a group at 70, one shot ahead of No. 3 Lexi Thompson and former No. 1 Stacy Lewis.

Amateur Rachel Heck, the 15-year-old from Memphis, Tennessee, who is the youngster player in the field, also was at 3 under with five holes to play.

Defending champion Brittany Lang had a 72 in a round where the players who teed off in the morning had the better conditions.

Michelle Wie had a 73. She was bothered by neck issues in the afternoon that required treatment on the course after the delay.

Second-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn shot 79, and seventh-ranked, two-time Open champion Inbee Park had a 77.

Click here for the full leaderboad.

Development Squad’s Chloe Currie carded a 4-over-par 76 in round three of the Investors Group Ontario Women’s Amateur to sit T5 at 9 over par through three rounds at Galt Country Club in Cambridge, Ont.

The Mississauga, Ont., had had one birdie, three bogeys,  and a double-bogey to shoot 76 for the second consecutive day and sit five shots back of Ridgeway, Ont., native Madeline Marck-Sherk and Kesley Sear from Unionville, Ont., who share the lead at 4 over par.

Marck-Sherk carded a 7-over-par 78 in round three, and Sear posted a 2-over-par 73, the lowest score of the day, in wet and tough conditions that led to play being suspended early on for a few hours.

Currie, 17, is in her second year on the Team Canada Development Squad. She was T5 at the 2017 Future Links driven by Acura Ontario Championship earlier this year.

Mitchell, Ont., native Courtney Tolton is T3 at 8 over par alongside Victoria Zheng from Markham, Ont.

Rounding out the top-five is another Mississauga resident Michelle Ruiz who is tied for fifth with Currie at 9 over par.

Currie’s Development Squad teammate Monet Chun is T22 at 18 over par – carding an 11 over par 83 in round three.

Click here for the full leaderboard.

Charles Howell III and Ollie Schniederjans each shot 8-under 63 on Thursday to share the first-round lead in the John Deere Classic.

Playing alongside local favourite Zach Johnson, Howell birdied seven his first nine holes and added a birdie on No. 7 in his morning round at rain-softened TPC Deere Run. The two-time PGA Tour winner lost a playoff to Kyle Stanley two weeks ago in the Quicken Loans National.

“This morning without traffic, they were rolling like carpet,” Howell said. “This morning was absolutely the best scoring we’ll see all week, which would also lead me to believe that tomorrow morning you’re going to see some low scores as well. Here, it’s about minimizing bogeys as much as you can and take advantage of the holes that you need to.”

Schniederjans birdied five of his last eight holes in his lowest round of the PGA Tour. The 24-year-old former Georgia Tech star earned a PGA Tour card last year through the Web.com Tour.

“I haven’t had a great start really all year on the first round,” Schniederjans said. “I have had some decent first rounds and good Fridays, but this is the first really goof round I’ve had on Thursday. It’s nice to get off to a good start and hopefully keep it going.”

Johnson was two strokes back at 65 along with Rory Sabbatini, Patrick Rodgers and Chad Campbell. Johnson, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, won the 2012 tournament.

“With this Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday rain we had, it’s one of those you feel like you got to keep the pedal down,” Johnson said. “The course is still nice. I was surprised we didn’t play it up today. I technically only had 1 1/2 mud balls probably, so that was pretty good considering.”

He holed a 24-foot birdie putt on his second-to-last hole to get within two strokes.

“I’m very comfortable with this golf course, essentially any condition,” Johnson said. “All that being said, you still have to execute. (Thursday) was one of those good days.”

Howell and Schniederjans are coming off injuries.

.@Ollie_GT has all the shots. #QuickHits

Proof: pic.twitter.com/kNCKanTqtE

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 13, 2017

“I had nine weeks off prior to the Quicken Loans with a rib injury, and it was my first injury – knock on wood – I’ve had in my career,” said Howell, making his 11th at Deere Run. “I went to Quicken Loans quite honestly not prepared to play well. I had only been hitting balls for four or five days prior to that event. Expectations were extremely low and I played well.”

Schniederjans has been fighting a pulled muscle in his back since Colonial in late May.

“It kind of lingered and I tried to play through it, and then ended up taking like 15 days off without hitting a ball and still is sort of there,” Schniederjans. “Kind of have to have maintenance. … It’s been fine the last three weeks, but my game has been getting better as the days have gone on, too.”

David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., is the top Canadian after shooting an even 71. Ottawa’s Brad Fritsch is 1 over while Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., shot a 5-over 76.

Bubba Wastson, the two-time Masters making his first Quad Cities start in seven years, opened with a 69. Fifty-year-old Steve Stricker, the winner from 2009-11 at Deere Run, had a 73.

Defending champion Ryan Moore had a 74 in his return from a strained tendon in his left shoulder that sidelined him for five weeks.

The British Open is holding one spot for the leading player among the top five who is not already exempt next week at Royal Birkdale.

Click here for the full leaderboard.

Fulton, Mississippi’s Chad Ramey shot a 6-under 66 at Whitewater Golf Club before first round play was suspended due to inclement weather at the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel, the fifth event of the 2017 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season.

The 24-year old carded seven birdies and one bogey to reach 6-under, one ahead of Rancho Cucamonga’s Rico Coey, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida’s Tyler McCumber and Atherton, California’s Jonathan Garrick.

“My putter got hot. I made about three putts in a row that were pretty good,” said Ramey, who finished his day by hitting a bunker shot to within two feet at the ninth hole – his last of the day – to save par and post the lead at 66.

Rain fell for most of the morning, making scoring a challenge before play was halted at 1:34 p.m. due to unplayable conditions. Round one play was called for the day at 5 p.m. and will resume with players in position at 8 a.m. on Friday morning.

“The main thing is staying dry, and staying patient,” said Ramey on his approach in dealing with the rain. “Overall, 6-under in those conditions? I’d take it every day.”

Hoey, who finished tied for sixth last week at the Players Cup, managed six birdies and one bogey to share second with McCumber, the son of 10-time PGA TOUR winner Mark McCumber, and Garrick, who still had two holes remaining in his first round.

“I feel really happy. I knew that the rain was going to come, so I took the opportunities early in the round and made some putts. I’m glad I shot 5-under,” said Hoey.

This may not be Southern California weather, but that's no problem for @RicoHoey.

He cards a 5-under 67 in the rain to lead early on. pic.twitter.com/9eHZzqJdUh

— Mackenzie Tour (@PGATOURCanada) July 13, 2017

The four-time NCAA All-American recently graduated from USC and was consistently ranked among the top 20 players in the World Amateur Golf Ranking during his Senior season.

Ramey is in his first season on the Mackenzie Tour, having earned exempt status for the first eight events of the year at the USA East #2 Q-School this spring.

In four starts so far, he’s made two cuts and ranks 90^th on the Order of Merit.

The 24-year old played college golf at Mississippi State and came to the Mackenzie Tour partly in thanks to encouragement from 2013 Players Cup winner Carlos Sainz, Jr., a fellow Mississippi State alum.

“I talked to [Carlos Sainz, Jr.] a good bit. He played on the Mackenzie Tour last year too, and plans on playing again this year. He said it’s a great Tour and he’s loved it, and kind of persuaded me into doing it,” said Ramey after earning his card at Q-School.

Click here for the full leaderboard.

For many Canadians, golf is a family affair. For the Bishop brothers, it’s become a family business.

The parallels between playing the game and becoming an entrepreneur are not lost on the Nova Scotia-based Bishops, the brains behind startup Dormie Workshop, whose custom-designed, handmade leather headcovers have been taking the golf world by storm since their debut in 2014.

Like golf, running a small business can be demanding, time-consuming and downright maddening – but also deeply rewarding, so long as you put in the work, stick together, try to have fun and know when to seize the moment.

“The one thing that our family has always done is that whatever we’ve done, we’ve done together,” says Todd Bishop, 46, who runs Dormie Workshop out of a 1,500-square-foot facility in Halifax with his brothers Jeff, 36, and Alex, 34.

“Jeff was really the one that had the passion to say, ‘Oh, man, I really like these leather headcovers … that’s how it all came about, because he saw an opportunity.”

Serious golfers know a thing or two about the old-school bag-candy revolution of recent years, be it the knitted pom-pom argyles or rugby stripes of Rocket Tour Golf or Jan Craig, or the boutique leather creations of U.S. upstarts like Headgear, Stitch Golf or Cru.

If you’ve been to Cabot Links, the 36-hole coastal links sensation on the west coast of Cape Breton Island, you’ve probably seen Dormie Workshop’s handiwork. The white leather putter cover with the simple Cabot logo and tartan liner is the flagship of the fleet.

Cabot has come to represent the singular Canadian golf experience, precisely the sort of brand identity to which Dormie Workshop aspired, Bishop says. The fact the company was based in Nova Scotia made the partnership a match made in heaven.

“We got this gigantic map of Canada, and got the top 100 courses, and mapped it all out, and we just drew circles,” Bishop recalls. “We had a couple of triple circles around ones that we knew we had to become partners with, and Cabot was Number 1.”

So what’s behind all the headcover hoopla?

First and foremost, consider camouflage: a premium driver can run $600 and a 3-wood $275, while high-end collectible putters can easily run into the thousands of dollars. Advertising the contents of a golf bag with a manufacturer’s headcovers can be an open invitation to thieves.

Then there’s the fact that until recently, those spandex-and-vinyl sock covers could be all but impossible to pull over a massive 460 cubic-centimetre driver head. The vintage boxing-glove style favoured by leatherheads is the hot thing now – perfect timing for the Bishop boys.

What’s more, golf is in the throes of a full-blown customizing craze.

Drivers have swappable weights and shafts. PGA Tour players stamp their wedges with personal symbols or inspirational sayings. Fans of marquee putter designer Scotty Cameron spend thousands to trick out their flat sticks with special finishes, colour accents and aftermarket grips. Ball manufacturers are boosting sales with custom logos, stamps and play numbers.

“Our Dad used to get our last names put on pretty much anything and everything, so it was always in us anyway to kind of just mark your gear,” says Bishop. “It’s an opportunity to reflect who you are and kind of express yourself … something to keep you happy when you’re on the golf course.”

That’s not always easy, something Bishop knows from experience: he and Jeff are both PGA professionals who tried their hand at playing the game for a living before their entrepreneurial spirits took over. Today, they coach elite juniors out of Grandview Golf and Country Club in Dartmouth, N.S., when they’re not hunched over sewing machines or elbows-deep in swatches of rawhide.

For nerve-racked golfers, a soft swath of leather can be like a fidget spinner on the fairway.

“When I’m walking, I’ve always got my hands just resting on those covers,” Bishop says. “That leather feel, that’s basically the oldest technical fabric known to man, and it has been around forever and it never will go away. And there’s a reason: it just feels amazing.”

Dormie sets itself apart from an increasingly crowded marketplace, says Bishop, thanks to exceptional craftsmanship, unmatched customer service and a sky’s-the-limit approach to customization that owes a lot to youngest brother Alex’s talents as a graphic designer.

Prices for Dormie Workshop’s current offerings vary from about $70 for a basic putter cover to $150 for a driver model that features more elaborate designs and multiple colours and leathers.

Custom orders can go up from there, like the guy from California who paid more than US$1,000 for a set of four covers that featured family emblems, sayings and an array of custom artwork.

“I would be surprised if his clubs are equal in value,” Bishop chuckles.

In their first year of operation, Dormie Workshop moved about 1,500 units. The following year they set up shop at the four-day PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, ground zero for a golf-themed equipment startup. They matched the previous year’s sales in just those four days.

This year, Bishop says they’re on pace to sell upwards of 14,000 units. Impressive, yes, he notes. But taxing nonetheless.

“There’s been times where I’ve been looking at Jeff at 4:30 in the morning as we’re sitting on sewing machines, going, ‘This is a 911 order. And we have no other way to get this to where it needs to go, other than by you buying a ticket tomorrow morning and flying this sucker out there.’

“And that’s what happened.”

Which, of course, is ultimately what makes Dormie Workshop a true golf business, and its founders well-suited to use the spirit of the game to navigate even the most daunting challenges: focus on the process, take it one step at a time, and let the outcome take care of itself.

“There’s all kinds of different ways this thing could go,” Bishop says, a trill of excitement in his voice.

“It’s kind of fun.”

Click here to visit the Golf Canada estore and purchase one of the three Team Canada Dormie workshop headcovers for sale.

FERNIE, B.C. – Logan Carver retained his lead in the boys division while Claire Lovan leaped to the top of the girls division at the Future Links, driven by Acura Western Championship at Fernie Golf Club on Wednesday.

Carver shot a one-over-par 71 and maintained his lead by one stroke heading into the final round. Early on it looked as if the Calgary, Alta., native was going to extend his lead after he made the turn 3 under par with three birdies on his card, but the 18-year-old faltered on the back nine with a double bogey on the 12th hole and two bogeys in his final three holes.

Ty Steinbring of Barrhead Alta., played his way into second place at the end of round two. The 17-year-old carded five birdies and a single bogey en route to a 4-under-par 66 to bring him to 3 under on the tournament.

Sitting two strokes back of Carver is the Pincher Creek, Alta., product Ethan Choi who shot a bogey-free 68. Through two rounds, the only blemish on his scorecard is a double bogey on the eighth hole from round one.

Zander Park of Calgary, Alta., recorded the low round of the day. The 18-year-old shot a 65 – the same score Carver carded in round one – propelled five birdies and an eagle. He sits at T12, seven strokes back of the leader.

In the girls division, Claire Lovan from Surrey, B.C., shot a 3-under-par 69 to move her one stroke ahead of Tuesday’s leader Angela Zhang. Lovan enjoyed a rollercoaster-like round that included one eagle, five birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey and moved her to even par on the tournament.

“After I made the turn onto the back nine I was even par, which rarely happens for me,” she said, after her round. “Then I was able to really start making birdies after I made the turn and the eagle on hole 15 was huge for me.”

Zhang got off to a slow start and carded three bogeys in her first six holes, but the 15-year-old from Vancouver, B.C., managed to head to the back nine at 2 over par and recorded an important eagle on the final hole to keep her at 1 over for the tournament.

Rounding out the top three is Sydney Scraba from Calgary, Atla., who carded six birdies and seven bogeys to move her to three over on the tournament, three strokes back of Lovan.

The top six finishers in the Boys Division will earn exemptions into the 2017 Canadian Junior Boys Championship on July 31-Aug. 3 at Cataraqui Golf and Country Club in Kingston, Ont. The top six in the Girls Division will earn exemptions into the 2017 Canadian Junior Girls Championship on Aug. 1-4 at Camelot Golf & Country Club in Cumberland, Ont.

Full results can be found here.

Mississauga, Ont., native Chloe Currie carded a 4-over-par 76 in the second round of the Investors Group Ontario Women’s Amateur to sit T4 through 36 holes at Galt Country Club in Cambridge, Ont.

The 17-year-old had had a triple bogey on hole No. 3 but rebounded well with three birdies and four bogeys in the rest of her round to finish at 5 over par, seven shots back of leader Madeline Marck-Sherk (Ridgeway, Ont.).

Marck-Sherk carded a 1-under-par 71 in round two – the only under par round of the day – to move into first place at 2 under par.

Currie, 17, is in her second year on the Team Canada Development Squad. She was T5 at the 2017 Future Links driven by Acura Ontario Championship earlier this year.

Mitchell, Ont., native Courtney Tolton is in solo second at 2 over par after carding a 1-over-par 73 for the second consecutive round.

First round leader Kelsey Sear, from Unionville, Ont., is third at 3 over par after a second round 78 (+6).

Rounding out the top-five is another Mississauga resident Michelle Ruiz who is tied for fourth with Currie at 5 over par (75-74).

Currie’s Development Squad teammate Monet Chun is T9 at 8 over par (71-80).

Click here for the full leaderboard.

Over the past several years, the USGA and The R&A have been working with golf’s handicapping authorities to develop a single World Handicap System (WHS) for the sport.

More than 15 million golfers in over 80 countries presently have a handicap, a numerical index long used as a reference to gauge a golfer’s potential skill level. Handicaps are currently delivered through six different systems around the world. The aim of the proposed handicap system is to adopt a universal set of principles and procedures that will apply all over the world.

As an important step towards the development of a World Handicap System, The R&A and USGA have created a survey to gather insights from golfers, club managers, course owners, PGA of Canada professionals and various other handicap administrators at the club, provincial and national level.

The purpose of this survey (which is open until the end of July) is to learn more about what golfers and those individuals involved in golf administration think about the potential World Handicap System and its core principles.

Golf’s governing bodies will use the feedback from this international study towards the formation a globally aligned system for handicapping.

Click here to participate in the study.

Amateur Squad’s Jaclyn Lee def. Kennedy Swann (Austin, Tex.) 4 and 3 to advance to the round of 16 at the North and South Women’s Amateur Championship at Pinehurst No. 2 in Pinehurst, N.C.

The Calgary product never trailed in the match jumping out to an early lead on the second hole and leading 1-up through nine. Lee went on to win holes No. 11, 12, 14, and 15 to knock off Swann.

A four-year veteran of Team Canada, Lee is the No. 2 seed in the 32-player match play draw after finishing T2 in the two rounds of stroke play qualifying.

The Ohio State Buckeye will face Australia’s Julienne Soo in the second round later today. Soo def. Elle Nachmenn  in 19 holes in the round of 32.

Round of 32 action @PinehurstResort North & South for @JaclynLee57 this morning #warm up #107′ pic.twitter.com/NH10q5DCeY

— Tristan Mullally (@tmullallygolf) July 12, 2017

Click here for match-play bracket.

21-year-old Dustin Barr will play in the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel. He is one of the two final exemptions announced today for the fifth Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada event of the season that starts on Thursday at Whitewater Golf Club.

For Barr, the opportunity means a new swing at life and golf after being diagnosed with Sarcoma Cancer in 2013.

“I’ve gone through hell and back to be here. Four surgeries, 15 rounds of chemotherapy. I am still struggling and battling to this day. My dreams of becoming a professional golfer have helped me get through this. When you’re told you have cancer, you really put your life in perspective. You start to embrace the things that are important in your life and golf is one of the most important things in my life,” said Barr.

Swinging a club since he was two years old, Barr attributes much of his success in golf and surviving cancer to his father, Jim Barr, who will be by his side during the tournament as his caddy. “My challenge is keeping my nerves calm. My Dad as my caddy will help me do that. I couldn’t imagine anyone else to walk with me,” continues Barr.

Barr recently completely his first year at Thomas University in Thomasville, Ga., receiving a scholarship as a member of its golf team.

“After my surgery I wasn’t able to play golf for six months, so every surgery really set me back and I had to put my life on hold. I’ve been trying to get my game back. My dreams of becoming a professional golfer are still here and I will get the opportunity to live them this week and it means so much to me. I have worked really hard to get to where I am today and to be here,” said Barr.

Barr anticipates more surgeries within the year but remains positive. Over the years, his battle with cancer has been support by the Northern Cancer Fund and the Staal Family Foundation. He joins Thunder Bay locals, Evan DeGrazia, Chris Gardner, Walter Keating Jr., and Brett Shewchuck in the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel.

For more information on the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel click here.