Wilmer, Alabama’s Robby Shelton managed a 3-under 68 on a windy afternoon at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf and Country Club to maintain his lead at the GolfBC Championship, the third event of the 2017 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season.

The former University of Alabama standout holed out for eagle at the fifth hole and notched three birdies and two bogeys to lead by one over Folsom, California’s Kevin Lucas and Costa Mesa, California’s Jake Knapp through 36 holes at Gallagher’s Canyon.

“I’m striking the ball really well. That’s not a problem right now,” said Shelton. The 22- year old didn’t hole as many long putts as he did in an opening 8-under 63 Thursday, but was still pleased with how he played. “I didn’t putt as well today, but when you hit fairways and hit greens, you have a lot of opportunities. It feels like I putted bad, but I really didn’t.”

The 2015 U.S. Walker Cup team member took the lead with a closing birdie at the 18th hole, getting up-and-down from short of the green to take the solo overnight lead.

“I really wanted the lead going into tomorrow,” said Shelton. “I hit driver off the tee and that was a little aggressive, but I think it’s the play on that hole. The shot wasn’t that tough and luckily I did it and finally got a putt to fall, which was really nice.”

Lucas matched the day’s best round with a 7-under 64, while Knapp carded his second straight 66 to reach 10-under through two rounds. Australia’s Oliver Goss and Dunedin, Florida’s Lee McCoy were a shot further behind at 9-under.

“This third week, I’ve kind of found my game. These guys are good, there’s no doubt about that. You know the (winning) number’s gonna be low, so you have to be comfortable going low,” said Lucas. “There’s going to be a certain number every week, and it’s going to take some low rounds and your bad rounds still have to be under par.”

Shelton finished third at the 2015 Barbasol Championship on the PGA TOUR, the highest finish by an amateur on the PGA TOUR since Phil Mickelson won the 1991 Northern Telecom Open.

He earned exempt status for the 2017 season by winning the USA East #1 QSchool. He opened his 2017 season with finishes of T20-T14 and ranks 21st on the Order of Merit.

Check out the second round highlights below.

Birdies, bushes, and (B)obby Shelton. All that and more in our second-round highlights from the @gbccchampionship pic.twitter.com/EZojjaDgUy

— Mackenzie Tour (@PGATOURCanada) June 17, 2017

For the full leaderboard click here.

Canada’s Anna Kim carded an opening round 4-under par 68 to sit T8 at the Symetra Tour’s Decatur Forsyth Classic at Hickory Point Golf Course in Decatur, Ill.

The Toronto, Ont., product recorded four birdies and no bogeys Friday to sit three shots back of Linsey Weaver (Scottsdale, Ariz.) who posted an opening round 7-under-par 65. Kim’s 68 was her lowest score of 2017 season.

A graduate of the Team Canada Development Squad, Kim is playing in her third Symetra Tour tournament of the season. Her best result came last week at the Four Winds Invitational at Blackthorn Golf Club where she finished T69.

For the full leaderboard click here.

The biggest surprise at this U.S. Open was not who was leading, but who was leaving.

Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy and Jason Day – the top three players in the world, all of them professing expansive Erin Hills to be perfect for their games – spent Friday cleaning out their lockers after missing the cut.

Left behind was the biggest 36-hole logjam in 43 years at the U.S. Open.

Paul Casey chopped his way to a triple bogey, only to respond with five straight birdies that carried him to a 1-under 71 and make him the first to post at 7-under 137. He set the target early under warm sunshine, and even as the wind tapered in the afternoon, no one could catch him.

Brooks Koepka had the lead until he turned a birdie chance into a bogey on the par-5 first hole after making the turn. He didn’t make a birdie the rest of the way and had to settle for a 70. They were joined by Brian Harman and Tommy Fleetwood of England, who each had a 70.

Right behind was a trio of players that included Rickie Fowler, who went 28 holes before making his first bogey and then went three holes without making a par. Fowler shot a 73 and was still very much in the hunt at a second straight major.

The four-way tie was the most after two rounds in a U.S. Open since Winged Foot in 1974, back when the names were more familiar for a major – Raymond Floyd, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Hale Irwin, who went on to win his first major.

The last six majors have been won by first-timers, and that cycle has a good chance to continue. The top 18 players on the leaderboard going into the weekend have combined for zero majors. Only a half-dozen of them have even experienced Sunday contention in golf’s biggest events.

“Tomorrow will be a very cool experience,” Fleetwood said. “It’s still Saturday – 36 holes is a very long time in a U.S. Open. Anything can happen.”

Just about everything already has at Erin Hills.

A commercial blimp crashed to the ground and caught fire just outside the course Thursday, about the time the county health department was analyzing samples that confirmed evidence of the E. coli bacteria in water at a hydration station near the 12th hole. The USGA is providing complimentary bottled water the rest of the week. There have been no reports yet of anyone getting sick.

And then Friday, a 94-year-old man at the tournament for the first time stopped breathing while in a grandstand on the sixth hole and died of what Washington County officials said appeared to be natural causes.

Next up is a weekend without most of the biggest names in golf. The cut for the top 60 and ties was at 1-over 145, tying a U.S. Open record set in 1990 at Medinah.

Johnson was hitting it so well that he appeared to be safe even when he was on the cut line. But then he three-putted from long range on the 13th and the 14th, and lost all hope when he missed the green on the 17th while going after the flag. He shot 73 and missed the cut by three.

“I couldn’t have shot any higher,” Johnson said. “I couldn’t possibly shoot any higher than I did. I just struggled on the greens. It’s simple.”

Day never had a chance, following his career-worst 79 in a U.S. Open with a 75. McIlroy came to life when it was far too late. He made four birdies over the last six holes to salvage a 71, but he still missed the cut for the second straight year.

Joining them with a weekend off – British Open champion Henrik Stenson, Alex Noren, Jon Rahm, Justin Rose and Adam Scott. That left only four of the top 12 in the world to play the weekend at Erin Hills.

Fowler has the best chance, even though he lost so much ground over the final two hours. He went from pouring putts into the centre of the cup to burning the edges, and his 39 on the back nine cost him the lead, though not his chances of breaking through for that first major.

“We’re in a good spot,” Fowler said. “Looking forward to the next two days.”

Casey discovered how little it takes to make a big number in the U.S. Open – and at this U.S. Open, how a recovery is never too far away.

Casey laid up in the rough, took two chops to get out of more rough behind the 14th green, and staggered away with a triple-bogey 8 that might have ruined his day at Erin Hills. Moments later, he began a run of five straight birdies that put him right where he wanted to be going into the weekend.

“Not every day you enjoy a round of golf with an 8 on the card, but I’m a pretty happy man,” Casey said. “Yeah, it was a bit of a roller coaster. I guess it’s rare you get through a U.S. Open or any major without some kind of a hiccup.”

Canada’s Adam Hadwin is T24 at 2-under-par after a second round 74.

For the full leaderboard click here.

Team Canada Amateur Squad member Maddie Szeryk won two matches Friday to advance to the finals of the Women’s Western Golf Association Championship at River Forest Country Club in Elmhurst, Ill.

The London, Ont., product def. Sophia Schubert (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) 1-up in her semi-final match,

The match was back and forth early and was all-square after nine. Szeryk took the lead on No. 13 and held it until a bogey on No. 17 put the match all-square heading to the 18th hole.

On No. 18 Szeryk made a birdie to take the match 1-up.

A junior at Texas A&M, Szeryk defeated the Philippines Francesca Olivarez-Ilas in her morning quarterfinal match.

After eight holes Szeryk was 1-down and yet to win a hole. She got to all-square with a birdie on No. 9 and closed with birdies on 15 and 16 to take the match 3 and 2.

The 20-year-old is coming off a stellar third season with Texas A&M. She set a school record with a 71.24 stroke average and poured in an Aggies record 128 birdies, earning her a First-Team All-American nod.

She will play Dylan Kim (Sacshe, Tex.) the 36-hole final tomorrow.

To reach the quarterfinals Szeryk defeated her Amateur Squad teammate, Naomi Ko (Victoria, B.C.) 2 and 1.

The Team Canada Amateur Squad won the Maschmeyer Cup this week in Elmhurst for the best team performance.

For full scores click here.

Brooke Henderson bogeyed the final two holes for a 4-under 67, leaving the 19-year-old Canadian with a two-stroke lead Friday in the Meijer LPGA Classic.

Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., had seven birdies – four in a row on Nos. 9-12 – and three bogeys to reach 12-under 130 and break the 36-hole record at Blythefield. She had a one-stroke lead Thursday after an opening 63.

Her approach on the par-4 17th rolled down a hill and she two-putted.

“Could have been really close to being a great shot,” Henderson said. “I practiced that shot in the practice rounds and it jumped forward on the first bounce there and I don’t think I got that today. So, unfortunately, it’s a tough hole and I just came away with bogey, which is not really what I was looking for.”

On the par-4 18th, she missed the green, left her chip well short and missed the long par putt.

“I kind of let emotions get into things and I was chasing birdie to try and get it back,” Henderson said. “Unfortunately, two bogeys to finish. Hopefully, that just gives me a little bit more motivation going into tomorrow.”

“I’m really excited to be in this position. I haven’t been in it in a little while.” @BrookeHenderson is your leader at #MeijerLPGA pic.twitter.com/MUq1VdMtrx

— LPGA (@LPGA) June 17, 2017

Maude-Aimee Leblanc (65) of Sherbrooke, Que., is 5 under while Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (72) is 3 under. Calgary’s Jennifer Ha shot an opening round 64 but faltered to an 80 on Friday to miss the cut. Augusta James of Bath, Ont., also missed the cut.

Fellow major champion Lexi Thompson, coming off a playoff loss to Ariya Jutanugarn on Sunday in Canada, followed her opening 64 with a 68 to join 2016 runner-up Carlota Ciganda (64) and Mi Jung Hur (66) at 10 under.

Thompson closed with a birdie on 18.

“I kind of peeked with about five holes to go and I think it said minus 14 was leading, and then I just saw on the last minus 12 was,” Thompson said. “But I try not to look at leaderboards, just try to focus on my own game, that’s all I can control.”

Ciganda lost a playoff to Sei Young Kim last year at Blythefield.

“I’ve been playing good,” the Spanish player said. “I’m just excited. It was a good week for me here last year so I have great memories. Yeah, I like the course. I like the greens. I think the crowds are always good, so I’m very excited.”

Henderson won twice last year, taking the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship for her first major, and successfully defending her title in the Cambia Portland Classic. She has a 36-hole lead for the first time since late last September in China in the Reignwood LPGA Classic.

“It’s great to see my name up there,” she said. “It’s been a little bit of a rough season so far, you know, not getting the results that I’ve been looking for. But this week seems to be a turnaround week and, hopefully, I can just finish strong the next two days.”

.@BrookeHenderson showing us how its done at the @MeijerLPGA!

Watch highlights: pic.twitter.com/fzMf3dZ5oa

— LPGA (@LPGA) June 17, 2017

Moriya Jutanugarn was 9 under after a 66.

“It was great,” Moriya Jutanugarn said. “I’ve been playing solid. I rolled the ball good on the green. Everything seems to be good.”

Shanshan Feng (70) topped the group at 8 under. The Chinese player is trying to complete a Michigan sweep after winning the LPGA Volvik Championship three weeks ago in Ann Arbor.

Ariya Jutanugarn, Moriya Jutanugarn’s younger sister, was tied for 30th at 4 under in her first event as the No. 1 player in the world. Lydia Ko, at No. 2 after an 85-week run at the top, was 6 under after a 71. Michelle Wie also was 6 under after her second 68.

Kim had her second 70 to make the cut on the number.

For the full leaderboard click here

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Registering your kids in athletic activities can be a costly endeavour. But for the hours of engagement offered, golf may provide more value than you think.

The value of junior golf can’t be measured strictly monetarily — just ask two-time Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur champion Kevin Carrigan.

As a child, Carrigan would spend hours at Cedar Hill Golf Course in Saanich, B.C., on Vancouver Island before becoming a junior member at the prestigious Royal Colwood Golf Club in Victoria.

“In the summertime, mom and dad would drop us off on their way to work and they would have to peel us out of there when the golf course was closing and they wanted to go to bed,” chuckles Carrigan, a financial planner with Investors Group. “It’s such a social sport, especially when there’s a group of juniors growing up together.

“The bigger group you have the more you learn, it seems. There are very few places, at 12 years old, where you’re able to go with three other 12-year-olds with no group signing off on it, no chaperons, no anything.”

All the hours Carrigan devoted to practising paid off, earning him a university education at Midland College and then the University of Texas-Arlington, four top 10s in the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship and two trips to the PGA Tour’s RBC Canadian Open as the Mid-Am winner. He feels compelled to now return the favour through his roles as Junior Chair at Royal Colwood and as co-chair with the British Columbia Golf’s Zone 5 Juniors.

“I received so many life values out of being at the golf course, starting with conducting yourself in a public environment, knowing that everyone is always watching you, and then learning an ability to adapt and relate to others who I had nothing in common with,” he reflects. “You’re 12 and they pair you with an 85-year-old for five hours. They’re not your grandparents, so they don’t have to love you. You have to get to know them and it’s been invaluable for my development as a person, beyond the golf course.”

All at a minimal cost, he might add. Sure, memberships have increased since the days when the 30-year-old used to tour around Cedar Hill and Royal Colwood in his youth, but the access and engagement children receive still compares well to other sports.

“This is something that I’m passionate about, the value of golf when we look at the cost of other sports,” says Jason Giesbrecht, director of golf at Royal Colwood. “I have three kids myself who have gone through soccer and lacrosse and other sports and when you look at the opportunity kids have at a facility like Royal Colwood, where we have 167 acres of open greenspace for kids to run around in and access to practice facilities, it’s invaluable.”

For less than $700 a year, juniors related to adult members can have the facility at their fingertips. That includes organized programming, lessons, tournaments and the ability to play anytime after 2 p.m. Consider a standard round lasts four hours and that can easily amount to 20 hours per week in the summer if that’s how eager the junior is, learning both athletic and life skills while parents are at work.

“For our junior members, in the summer months, this is their home away from home,” Giesbrecht adds of Royal Colwood, which held a Kids Day in March to introduce children from the Island to the sport. “We’ve had great stories of the success of juniors playing competitive golf, but the successes we don’t necessarily hear about are the kids who got to meet a bunch of great people, grow socially and are active.”

The certified PGA of Canada professional also emphasizes the physical activity and fitness golf offers, with no threat of concussions or broken bones either. That added safety in the activity makes his private club’s $57-per-month fee well worth it in his mind.

That cost is higher than most public facilities, which is where a high percentage of juniors are first introduced to the game right across the country.

The City of Edmonton, for example, sells full access junior memberships with unlimited play for $125 at Rundle Golf Course, an 18-hole par-3 track in the city’s east end. Or for $425 you can receive unlimited play at all three city-run venues — Victoria, Riverside and Rundle. There are no time restrictions at Rundle and rounds can be played at Victoria or Riverside anytime from Monday to Friday and after 3 p.m. on weekends and holidays, which still provides plenty of flexibility for other family activities.

Smaller commitments with the city begin at $75 for 90 holes at Rundle specifically, or $200 for 180 holes at any of the three facilities.

In comparison, to register kids for soccer in south Edmonton, parents can pay anywhere from $110 to $275 from the ages of under four to under 18 for one or two games a week, which would total no more than three hours of activity time.

South Jasper Place minor baseball, also in Edmonton, costs $110 for children four to five years of age and increases to $300 for midget-aged players at the house-league level, which usually entails just a few hours per week. It pales in comparison to the minimum four hours per round on the golf course. Meanwhile, rep baseball fees at South Jasper Place jump drastically from $650 to $1,050 for mosquito-AAA to midget-AAA levels, respectively, as travel and tournament costs kick in.

The junior program at Royal Colwood GC consistently delivers great instruction. It prides itself on being inclusive and engaging, no matter the age groups or weather forecast.

“There are so many things that kids can learn from the game of golf; that’s why we say it’s such a fantastic game for them to take up. There is a lot that they learn from it, especially because it’s them individually,” explains Adam Werbicki, an associate pro who directs one of 32 recognized National Golf Development Centres in the country at The Derrick Golf and Winter Club in southwest Edmonton.

“No one else is hitting the shot for them and the successes they achieve comes from them. It challenges structurally and they persevere at their own rate. Kids are like little sponges, so if they’re engaged in it, they’re having fun. It’s amazing how much they can learn and how fast they can learn it,” adds Werbicki, who is in his 11th season at The Derrick, while also highlighting the life skills such as
respect and patience that golf teaches.

On the other side of the country, a junior membership at Green Gables Golf Club in Cavendish, P.E.I., (which allows for playing privileges at the course along with sister spots, Andersons Creek and Forest Hills, nearby) is tabbed at $395 for the season and jumps to $525 for post-secondary students with a valid identification.

In contrast, it’s a bit pricier than soccer registration for the Sherwood-Parkdale Rangers in P.E.I., which begins at $105 for under five and jumps to $135 for under 17s, but that doesn’t account for actual time on field.

In Canada’s largest urban centre, Toronto, a season-long junior membership for $300 unlocks access to each of the city’s five public facilities. It’s targeted at kids between ages 10 and 18 and is tax included. Tee off times after 11 a.m. from Monday to Thursday and after noon from Friday to Sunday when accompanied by a paying adult are the only two restrictions that apply.

“It’s also a game where parents can play alongside their children for a lifetime,” states Giesbrecht, who has had the likes of Carrigan, National Amateur player Naomi Ko (who competed in three LPGA events last year) and Nolan Thoroughgood, a 15-year-old who became the youngest ever to win a B.C. Men’s Amateur Championship in 2016, work through the Royal Colwood junior program. “There are not many sports where you can say that and that is something that is valuable to golf as well.”

“Literally it’s the least expensive babysitting you could have,” laughs Carrigan, who vividly recalls his early days at Cedar Hill, which also produced touring professionals Jim Rutledge and Rick Gibson.

When he wasn’t playing with his parents, he admits hanging around other senior players and that soaking up some of their experience, as players and gentlemen, contributed immensely to his development.

“The golf course is all about telling stories,” Carrigan says. “It’s helped me mould myself into the type of person I wanted to become.”

And that’s exactly what Golf Canada hopes to instill with the Long-Term Player Development plan that comprehensively aligns junior programming coast to coast.

“We’re still in the early stages of being able to measure how effective some of Golf Canada’s junior initiatives are having on participation,” details Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s chief sport officer and interim CEO, referring to the Golf in Schools program developed in 2009 that exposes the sport to hundreds of thousands of youngsters at more than 3,100 institutions across the country.

“We want kids to go home and say, ‘Mom and dad, I played golf today. I really loved it, can we go try it?’ To have that start to translate into more kids participating in clinics and camps at facilities; having families become members and getting up the chain to kids participating in competitive programs is important.

“Other sports, like basketball or volleyball, all get introduced at schools and when parents start making decisions of where they register say Jimmy or Sally, it’s usually a sport where they’ve had some exposure. So we felt it was important to get golf into schools.”

The popular belief that golf can become more costly, depending on equipment selections, isn’t inaccurate. But it doesn’t approach where elite hockey has ventured. Some skaters, from 16 to 20 years of age, are now paying upwards of $3,000 to play Junior A, or even Junior B, in hopes of attracting college scholarships.

“There’s a perception that (golf) is expensive but if you’re looking for participation there are opportunities to get reasonably priced value, be it junior memberships or summer camps,” insists Thompson. “It’s very competitive with other sports.

“It’s a great social activity and they learn some great skills like honesty, calling the rules on yourself and the integrity of the game.”

How much that’s worth is for parents to decide.

This article was originally published in the Family Issue edition of Golf Canada Magazine. Click here to view the full magazine

The USGA wants to get away from references of the U.S. Open being the toughest test in golf, preferring instead the “ultimate test.”

The question is whether Erin Hills delivered either in the opening round.

Rickie Fowler never came seriously close to a bogey on his way to a 7-under 65, which matched the U.S. Open record to par for the opening round. Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf each shot 7-under 63 in the first round at Baltusrol in the 1980 U.S. Open. They were three shots clear of anyone else.

Fowler only had a one-shot lead over Paul Casey, who started eagle-birdie, and Xander Schauffele, a rookie on the PGA Tour who is playing his first major championship.

And it doesn’t stop there.

Seventeen players shot in the 60s at Erin Hills, which at 7,845 yards was the longest course in major championship history. The 44 players who broke par in the opening round set a U.S. Open record that had stood since there were 39 subpar rounds at Medinah in 1990.

The longest course in U.S. Open history.

Most sub-par scores in the first round of a U.S. Open.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ pic.twitter.com/mPekmy2PYV

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 16, 2017

At times, it felt like a regular PGA Tour event.

Attribute that to the Wisconsin weather. The rain leading into the start of the U.S. Open only softened the greens, and they already were slightly softer than usual because of the wind that could lead to unplayable conditions. The wind wasn’t nearly as strong as thought.

It was the perfect recipe for low scoring, provided the ball was kept in the short grass.

Rory McIlroy found that out the hard way. He didn’t hit a fairway after the 10th hole and shot a 78, his highest score in the U.S. Open. Jason Day had two triple bogeys, the first one when it took him three chips to stay on the green at the fourth hole, and shot a 79.

Dustin Johnson had to gouge it out of the rough on at least eight occasions, including the par-5 14th hole when he tried to play conservatively and laid up into rough. That led to a double bogey, which hurt him as badly as making only one birdie. The defending champion shot a 75.

“The golf course has got plenty of moisture in it,” Justin Rose said after his 72. “It’s the kind of golf course that if you’re on point and playing well and you’re in the fairways, you really feel like you can be aggressive and attack and make some birdies. But as soon as you get out of position on this golf course, you’re really struggling and suffering for par.”

"I never really tried to make a birdie."

Says Tommy Fleetwood who made five birdies in Round 1 of the U.S. Open. pic.twitter.com/GZzkamC50y

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 16, 2017

The U.S. Open is known for putting a premium on par, even as the USGA tries to convince golf fans that it’s not preoccupied with par. It has learned to accept that in pristine scoring conditions – mainly, soft conditions – low scores don’t distract from the tournament.

It was super soft at Congressional in 2011 when McIlroy set the 54-hole record (199) and 72-hole record (268) in an eight-shot victory. Rain for the opening two rounds at Pinehurst No. 2 contributed to Martin Kaymer opening with 65-65 (a U.S. Open record) on his way to an eight-shot victory in 2014.

What raises immediate questions about Erin Hills is the number of players under par, even with so many top stars struggling. Of the top 10 players in the world, only Fowler (No. 9) and Sergio Garcia (No. 7), who shot a 70, broke par.

More amateurs (5) are under par at Erin Hills than top-10 players in the world (1).

— Sean Martin (@PGATOURSMartin) June 15, 2017

No one from the top 17 players on the leaderboard after one round has won a major.

Everyone expects the U.S. Open to get harder as the week goes on because it usually does. But more storms were in the forecast for Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon, so there’s not much chance of Erin Hills getting firm, fast and scary.

The last thing the USGA wants is to trick up the golf course, because the U.S. Open has had too many bumps (conditions at Chambers Bay, the rules mess at Oakmont) to risk anything but a smooth week.

And the biggest test of all could be the USGA proving that it’s not trying to protect par.

“I know people get caught up with this even par thing,” USGA executive director Mike Davis said this week. “I can tell you nobody at this table got caught up. We don’t even talk about it. What we do talk about is making sure we can adjust the course. If there’s soft conditions, maybe we tuck a hole location a little bit more, versus if we get real firm conditions and it gets windy, we’re sitting there talking among ourselves saying, ‘How do we tone this thing down?’

“It really isn’t about the score,” he said. “It’s about just setting the golf course up properly.”

What it’s really about is a stern test. The ultimate test. And three rounds remain to judge that.

For the full leaderboard click here.

Wilmer, Alabama’s Robby Shelton shot an 8-under 63 on Thursday at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf and Country Club to take the first-round lead at the GolfBC Championship, the third event of the 2017 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season.

The former University of Alabama standout notched nine birdies and a bogey to lead by one over Dearborn, Michigan’s Evan Bowser after day one at Gallagher’s Canyon.

“I’ve been playing well in my practice rounds. I kind of figured something out with my putting,” said Shelton. “I missed a few on the front nine, but I saved a few on the back nine, so I’m playing well.”

Shelton was one of the top amateur players in the United States while playing at the University of Alabama from 2013-2016 and is making his third start of his first season on the Mackenzie Tour. The 21-year old said he’s enjoyed getting his feet wet as a pro in Canada so far this season.

“This Tour’s deep. There’s a lot of good players,” said Shelton. “You have to play well. A lot of these guys out here could make it on the PGA TOUR right now. It’s a process and a stepping stone, and a lot of guys have to get through it.”

With three rounds to go, Shelton said he knows he’ll need more low rounds to keep the rest of the field at bay.

“When you get off to a start like this, for sure your expectations are high, but you still have to play really well, or these guys are going to catch you,” said Shelton.

A shot behind Bowser were Southlake, Texas’ Matt Gilchrest, Dallas, Texas’ Kramer Hickok, Springfield, Illinois’ Kyle Peterman and Muncie, Indiana’s Chase Wright.

Bowser is making his third career start on the Mackenzie Tour. He earned exempt status for the first four events of the season at the USA West #2 Q-School in March.

Bowser played collegiate golf at Oakland University and qualified three times for the U.S. Amateur Championship.

“When I turned pro in January, I thought about how golf’s always been fun for me. I never looked at it like a job or thought about the money, and I still don’t do that. I just try to hit the next shot the best I can, and that’s all I can do,” said Bowser

Gilchrest opened with a 6-under-par 65.

“The key was the front nine. I made two 30-footers for eagle that got me going pretty good. I had some bad breaks and was in some tough spots on the back nine and made some good pars to get it in at 6-under,” said Gilchrest.

As an amateur, Shelton was consistently among the top players in college golf. He played at the University of Alabama from 2013 to 2016, where he won seven times, helped the Crimson Tide to the 2014 National Championship and was named a 1st team All-American in each of his three seasons.

Shelton finished third at the 2015 Barbasol Championship on the PGA TOUR, the highest finish by an amateur on the PGA TOUR since Phil Mickelson won the 1991 Northern Telecom Open.

Shelton earned exempt status for the 2017 season by winning the USA East #1 Q-School. He opened his 2017 season with finishes of T20-T14 and ranks 21st on the Order of Merit.

Shelton’s 2015 Walker Cup teammates Lee McCoy, Hunter Stewart and Jordan Niebrugge are also Mackenzie Tour members this season.

Watch the first round highlights below.

Get caught up on day one at the @gbcchampionship with Thursday's highlights ? pic.twitter.com/Alwqnly9WC

— Mackenzie Tour (@PGATOURCanada) June 16, 2017

For the full leaderboard click here.

Erin Hills made its debut as a U.S. Open course Thursday with a most gracious welcome for Rickie Fowler, who matched the record to par in the opening round with a 7-under 65 on the longest course in major championship history.

Fowler had a one-shot lead over Paul Casey and Xander Schauffele. And they plenty of company.

The low scoring suggested the 11-year-old course was a cream puff, hardly the USGA’s idea of the ultimate test in golf.

Just don’t mention that to some of the best players in the world.

Jason Day had two triple bogeys and posted a 79, his worst score ever in the U.S. Open. Rory McIlroy joked earlier in the week that anyone who couldn’t hit such wide fairways “might as well pack your bags and go home.” He spent all day in the knee-high fescue and shot 78, his worst U.S. Open score.

Defending champion Dustin Johnson probably didn’t feel so badly by the end of a most peculiar day. He only shot 75, with just one birdie.

“You won’t get a better day for scoring,” Johnson said wistfully during the long walk to sign his card.

No one took advantage like Fowler.

Fowler, who shared the 36-hole lead at the Masters in April, never came seriously close to bogey because he was never in trouble. He kept it in the short grass, the secret to Erin Hills that wouldn’t appear to be that difficult with some of the widest fairways for this major.

“You don’t get many rounds at the U.S. Open that are stress-free,” Fowler said.

Fowler’s seven birdies were from no more than 12 feet, including three in a row around the turn. His 7-under par tied the record to par for the first round of a U.S. Open held by Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf, who each shot 7-under 63 at Baltusrol in 1980.

“It is always cool to be part of some sort of history in golf,” Fowler said. “But I’d rather be remembered for something that’s done on Sunday.”

1️⃣2️⃣ of 1️⃣4️⃣ fairways hit.

Rickie Fowler credits a shorter driver for his accuracy off the tee in Round 1.pic.twitter.com/TuxloZeiYP

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 15, 2017

Day and McIlroy, just to name a few, might not make it that far.

Of the top 10 players in the world, only Masters champion Sergio Garcia (70) and Fowler broke par. For players like Jordan Spieth (73) and Johnson, it was a matter of not making enough putts. For most others, it was being careless off the tee and facing the rigorous test of recovering.

Casey started eagle-birdie and finished with two birdies over the final four holes for his 66.

“I was just trying to have half as good a round as Rickie had,” said Casey, who played in the afternoon. “The scoring was so good this morning. I was happy it stayed benign for us, and I capitalized on it.

The opening round was without Phil Mickelson for the first time since 1993. He was in California for his daughter’s high school graduation, hopeful for enough of a weather delay to jet across the country to Wisconsin. But as the sun rose over Erin Hills, and the forecast was for no rain, Mickelson withdrew.

More startling than the low scores was smoke rising from about a half-mile away when a commercial blimp, not affiliated with the tournament, crashed into a field and burst into flames. The pilot, the only one aboard the blimp operated by Florida-based AirSign, was being treated for injuries.

“I was teeing off and I looked up and saw it on fire, and I felt sick to my stomach,” Jamie Lovemark said.

On the golf course, there was only a barrage of birdies.

Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood and Brian Harman were at 67, with Patrick Reed and Adam Hadwin in the group at 68. Hadwin tied a U.S. Open record when he made six straight birdies, from the 18th hole through the fifth hole. He was 100 feet away for birdie on No. 6 and burned the edge of the cup on that one, except that it ran by some 7 feet and he three-putted for bogey.

“You don’t often see that in a U.S. Open,” Hadwin said. “But there’s way too many holes out here where one bad shot could be a double bogey quickly. So I did a really good job of staying present, staying focused on the next shot.”

Adam Hadwin's last six holes

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He has tied the U.S. Open record for most consecutive birdies. pic.twitter.com/L81MGWlJDH

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 15, 2017

The course was set up at 7,845 yards, the longest of any major. Length wasn’t the issue. It was sporadic storms earlier in the week that has softened the greens. One example of that was Fowler hitting 3-wood into the green on the 632-yard 18th hole, with a breeze at his back. His ball landed on the green and only rolled out about 10 feet. On typical U.S. Open greens, that would have run all the way off the back of the green.

Still to be determined is what kind of test Erin Hills can present the rest of the week, especially with more rain on the way Friday and Saturday afternoon.

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