Shanshan Feng won in Malaysia and Japan during an impressive stretch toward the end of the 2016 season.

On American soil, however, it had been a while since her last victory.

That dry spell ended when Feng shot a 4-under 68 on Sunday to win the LPGA Volvik Championship by one stroke over Minjee Lee and Sung Hyun Park. It was her first victory of the season and seventh of her career – and her first in the U.S. since the CME Group Titleholders in 2013.

“Very happy that I can actually prove to the fans in the U.S. that I can actually win here,” she said.

She led by one shot after a bogey-free third round Saturday, then kept the competition at bay on the 6,734-yard course at Travis Pointe Country Club.

Feng, a bronze medallist for China at the 2016 Olympics, led by four strokes with four holes to play, but she made a bogey on No. 16 and Lee birdied 17. Needing a bogey on the 18th to win, Feng easily tapped in for one and finished at 19-under 269.

Lee (65) made six birdies on the front nine, and Park (66) made four on the back.

"I had a really fun day out there. I started off really hot." @minjeegolf finishes T2 after a great final round at the @VolvikLPGA pic.twitter.com/7NcKozUBL0

— LPGA (@LPGA) May 28, 2017

Playing a couple groups ahead of Feng, Lee knew she needed a strong finish to catch the leader, and after her birdie on No. 17, she tried to reach the green on the par-5 18th in two. Lee missed well to the left and ended up near the scoring tent before scrambling to make par.

“I was like, ‘Oh, I’m four shots behind with like two holes to go.’ So just tried to play and make as many birdies as I could on the last two holes,” Lee said. “I made one.”

But Feng still had room for error as she was finishing her round – not that she necessarily realized it. Feng says she tries to ignore the leaderboard when she plays.

“I had no idea about the others other than my playing partners, so I was maybe assuming somebody in front of me maybe would have a super-low round and maybe would catch me,” Feng said. “So I had no idea. I was just focusing on my own game and own plan.”

Feng’s second shot on 18 left her behind a bunker near the green, and her shot from there still came up short of the putting surface. When she did reach the green, she still had two putts for the win from a pretty short distance.

“I asked my caddie. I handed him the ball, I was like, ‘Is it OK?’ My caddie said, ‘Oh, it’s fine.’ Then I was like, ‘Oh, maybe I’ve got two putt to win,”’ she said. “And I looked at the leaderboard and I was winning by two, so I didn’t have pressure.”

Lizette Salas (69) and Jeong Eun Lee (67) finished tied for fourth, two strokes behind.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., shot a final round of 4-under 68 to finish in a tie for 21st at 11 under.

Lydia Ko skipped this event but remains No. 1 in the Rolex Rankings. So Yeon Ryu and Ariya Jutanugarn each could have displaced her this week, but Ryu (72) finished tied for 56th at 3 under, and Jutanugarn (71) – the defending champion at this event – was 11 under and tied for 21st. Ryu had finished in the top 10 in 11 consecutive events, dating to last season.

Feng finished last year strong after her Olympic medal, winning twice to cap a streak of six straight tour finishes in the top four.

“I got the bronze medal in Rio and that really gave me a lot more confidence,” she said. “After that I just reminded myself every time, ‘Hey, just smile all the time, it doesn’t matter if you hit a bad shot. I mean it’s going to happen because we’re human beings and we should allow ourselves to do that, and that’s what I’ve been doing well.”

"I think overall I've been a consistent player but I want to win more." @shanshanfengCHN watch press conference at #VolvikLPGA: pic.twitter.com/sfRHYufVDY

— LPGA (@LPGA) May 28, 2017

Feng’s most recent LPGA win before Sunday was at last year’s TOTO Japan Classic , and the ending was similar. She took a three-shot lead to the final hole, then made a double bogey that was enough for a one-stroke victory.

She came into the final round Sunday with a one-stroke lead over Salas and was ahead by two after the front nine. Birdies on Nos. 13 and 14 put Feng ahead by four.

For the full leaderboard click here

Kevin Kisner birdied the first three holes on the back nine to take the lead and held on to win at Colonial despite a Sunday charge by defending champion Jordan Spieth.

Kisner shot a 4-under 66 to finish at 10-under 270, including a clutch par save on the 18th hole after a wayward tee shot and an approach that was off the back side of the green and well below the hole. He finished a stroke ahead of Spieth, Sean O’Hair and Jon Rahm.

Spieth shot a bogey-free 65, and was standing on a chair to see over the crowd at the 18th green when Kisner putted up the mound to 5 feet of the cup and then made the winning putt. That came right after Rahm’s 10-foot birdie chance skirted just to the left of the hole.

.@K_Kisner with a clutch par on 18!

He's your new clubhouse leader. #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/WDZxagMUoj

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 28, 2017

The 33-year-old Kisner got his second PGA Tour victory in 148 starts since his debut in 2011, and a check for just more than $1.2 million. He was a runner-up twice this year, and six times over past three seasons.

Kisner had a three-stroke lead at the turn on the final day of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March before finishing a stroke behind Marc Leishman. Kisner made a nearly 95-foot chip-in for eagle to get him and fellow Aiken, South Carolina, resident Scott Brown into playoff at the Zurich Classic’s new team format before losing on the fourth playoff hole to duo of Australia’s Cameron Smith and Jonas Blixt of Sweden.

After a 14-foot birdie at the 420-yard 15th hole at Hogan’s Alley, Kisner had a two-stroke lead. That at the same hole where Spieth, playing two groups ahead of him, punctuated an 11-foot birdie putt with a fist pump.

Picture perfect from @jordanspieth.

One back. #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/BgEKBY4r7E

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 28, 2017

But about the same time Kisner made a bogey at the par-3 16th, Spieth was hitting his drive way right at the 18th hole and went on to save par after a chip to 5 feet. Kisner hit a similar drive, and also saved par.

Spieth, who had missed consecutive cuts at The Players Championship and the AT&T Byron Nelson, was trying to become the only player other than Ben Hogan to win consecutive Colonials. Hogan won five times, including the first two in 1946 and 1947, along with consecutive wins again in 1952 and 1953.

O’Hair and Rahm, who the last two years won the Ben Hogan Award as the nation’s top college player, both shot 66.

Adam Hadwin (70) of Abbotsford, B.C., was the low Canadian at 4 over. Graham DeLaet (71) of Weyburn, Sask., was 5 over, Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor (71) was 6 over and David Hearn (73) of Brantford, Ont., was 10 over.

There were several near misses for Spieth, who started the day five strokes behind 54-hole leader Webb Simpson.

Spieth had birdies on the first two holes before a nearly 20-footer lipped out at the 453-yard No. 3 hole. He also just missed a 12-footer at No. 9, and a 25-footer at the 446-yard 12th hole rolled over the left edge of the cup.

Simpson, the 2012 U.S. Open winner, was the 54-hole leader by two strokes, but started the final round with an unusual bogey at the par-5 first hole. His only birdie came at No. 9, and he bogeyed the 18th when he drove into the left rough after Kisner had already posted his final putt. Simpson had a 71 to finish fifth at 8 under.

Congratulations to @K_Kisner!

He is your new @DeanDelucaInv champion! pic.twitter.com/upOt2GnVqq

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 28, 2017

Steve Stricker, the 2009 Colonial winner who turned 50 this year, shot a 63 to move from a tie for 32nd to a tie for seventh for 6 under. He had eight birdies his first 14 holes Sunday, on track to challenge the Colonial course record of 61 and maybe even a 59, before a bogey and three closing pars.

For the full leaderboard click here.

Whether she realized it or not, Shanshan Feng finished the third round of the LPGA Volvik Championship in first place.

Feng, who insists she tries to ignore leaderboards at this stage of a tournament, shot a 6-under 66 on Saturday to take a one-stroke lead over Lizette Salas. Feng’s bogey-free round left her at 15 under for the tournament as she pursues her seventh career victory.

“I have a habit that I don’t look at the leaderboards until Sunday night, so I actually don’t really know where I’m at and I don’t really know what the others are doing,” the Chinese star said. “But I’m feeling good about my condition right now and what I’ve done the first three days, so looking forward to the final day.”

Feng birdied the last two holes Saturday on the 6,734-yard course at Travis Pointe Country Club. She took over sole possession of the lead when Salas bogeyed No. 18 moments later.

“Finishing like that really just gets under my skin,” said Salas, who birdied Nos. 13, 14 and 15. “I think that is going to be an extra push for tomorrow, too. I had a two-shot lead and now I’m one back.”

Salas (67) was one shot ahead of Suzann Pettersen (69). Second-round leader Sung Hyun Park (72) was tied for fourth with Jeong Eun Lee (68) at 12 under.

Stacy Lewis (68), Jennifer Song (70) and Minjee Lee (71) were 11 under, and six players were another stroke back, including defending champion Ariya Jutanugarn (68).

Jutanugarn has been playing catch-up since shooting a first-round 72, but if she can keep moving up the leaderboard, she has a chance to take over the No. 1 spot in the Rolex Rankings. Top-ranked Lydia Ko is skipping this event.

One scenario that would put Jutanugarn at No. 1 is if she finishes in the top three and So Yeon Ryu is out of the top four. Ryu (70) is well behind at 3 under and appears unlikely to extend her streak of 11 straight top-10 showings.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., shot a 72 and is 7 under.

The most recent victory for Feng was at last year’s TOTO Japan Classic. That was her second straight win and capped a run of six straight tour finishes in the top four – and seven in a row counting her bronze medal at the Olympics.

Feng has finished in the top 10 three times this season, including the past two events. Ignoring the leaderboard seems to work out fine for her.

“I actually tell my team, I tell them, people around me,” she said. “I say: ‘Don’t tell me where I’m at. If I want to know something, I’ll ask you, but don’t tell me.”’

It looked as if Salas might be the one entering the final round with the lead when her string of birdies in the middle of the back nine put her at 15 under. She missed only one fairway all day, on No. 13, and she even birdied that hole.

“Just was in the zone and things just came together and I was having fun and I think that’s the most important thing,” she said. “I’m visualizing a lot better and I’m executing.”

Pettersen made the turn at 13 under before playing the back nine in even par. She’s been consistently good all week, shooting two 67s before Saturday’s 69.

“You can see there’s a lot of low scores around this place,” Pettersen said. “If it plays like it does the last couple days, you’ve got to attack pins.”

Brittany Lincicome was 5 under with little chance of winning, but she played one of the more unusual rounds Saturday. She was the first player to tee off and did not have a playing partner, so she breezed to a 68 in under 2 1/2 hours.

For the full leaderboard click here.

Webb Simpson shot a 3-under 67 on Saturday to break out of a crowd and take the third-round lead at the Colonial.

At 9-under 201, Simpson was two strokes ahead of Danny Lee and Paul Casey after both of them made long birdie putts at the 18th hole. Stewart Cink and Kevin Kisner were three strokes off the lead.

Part of a four-way tie for the 36-hole lead, Simpson went ahead alone to stay after consecutive birdies to start his back nine. He made a 6-foot birdie putt at the 387-yard 10th and a 12-footer at the 630-yard 11th before finishing with seven consecutive pars.

It is only the second time in 12 years at Colonial for the 54-hole leader to have more than a one-stroke advantage.

Defending champion Jordan Spieth shot a 68 with a caddie switch after making the turn, and was at 4 under.

Spieth’s regular caddie, Michael Greller, left the course after 11 holes because of heat exhaustion on a steamy day with temperatures in the 90s and the heat index higher than that. Damon Goddard, the personal trainer for the player and the caddie, carried the bag the rest of the round – a stretch when Spieth had a bogey and two birdies.

Graham DeLaet (71) of Weyburn, Sask., and Adam Hadwin (72) of Abbotsford, B.C., were the low Canadians at 4 over. Nick Taylor (73) of Abbotsford was 5 over and David Hearn (75) of Brantford, Ont., is 7 over.

Lee and Kisner also were tied for the second-round lead, along with Scott Piercy, whose shot 72 to fall five strokes back.

After three birdies and three bogeys his first eight holes Saturday, Lee had a steady stream of pars until finishing with a 16-foot birdie for a round of 69.

Casey, who shot 68, was alone in second for only a couple of minutes. He made a nearly 25-foot birdie putt that had just enough speed to fall into the cup at No. 18, while Lee was playing in the group behind him. Casey was 1 over for the day without a birdie until starting his back nine with three birdies in a four-hole stretch that included a bogey.

Piercy was still within a stroke of the lead at 8 under after a par-saving 13-foot putt at the 12th hole after driving into the rough and hitting his approach in a greenside bunker there.

Piercy then promptly hit his tee shot at the par-3 13th into the pond on way to a double-bogey. He followed with another bogey at 15 when he drove into the rough and then hit into a greenside bunker, and did the same at No. 18.

Simpson, the 2012 U.S. Open winner playing in the final group, started the round with birdies at the first two holes. He gave one of those back with a bogey at the par-3, 192-yard No. 8 after missing the green with his tee shot.

Since losing a playoff to Hideki Matsuyama at Phoenix, Simpson had missed four of nine cuts before this week. The four-time PGA Tour winner’s best finish in that stretch was a tie for 11th at the RBC Heritage.

For the full leaderboard, click here.

Another Team Canada golfer is heading to Texas A&M University. Langton, Ont., native Peyton Callens—a rookie on the Development Squad—has made a verbal commitment to join the Aggies in the fall of 2018.

London, Ont., resident Maddie Szeryk, a member of the Team Canada National Squad, just wrapped up her third year at Texas A&M where she established a new school record with a season stroke average of 71.24 and was named a First-Team All-American.

Callens, 17, considered offers from Kent State, and Arizona State – the home of another Team Canada National Squad member, Kimberley B. C.’s Jared Du Toit.

As a member of Team Ontario in 2016, Callens was a force to be reckoned with on the junior championship circuit. He won the Ontario Junior Boys Championship, the Future Links driven by Acura Prairie Championship, and the Golf Ontario Junior Boys Spring classic.

He also finished 2nd at the Ontario Juvenile Championship and recorded a T3 finish at the 2016 Canadian Junior Boys Championship.

A member of Delhi Golf and Country Club, in Delhi, Ont., Callens currently attends Holy Trinity High School in Simcoe, Ont.

BROCKVILLE, ON – Jeevan Sihota shot a 1-over-par 72 and Monet Chun shot a 1-under-par 70 to lead their respective divisions after round 2 of the Future Links, driven by Acura Ontario Championship at Brockville Country Club in Brockville, Ont., on Saturday.

Sihota looked like he was going to run away with the tournament as he went bogey-free through the front nine and made the turn at 3-under. However, the 13-year-old faced his first rough patch of the tournament on the back half of the course when he failed to record a single birdie and marked down four bogeys on his scorecard.

“Once again, a good start,” the Victoria, B.C., native said, after his round. “I didn’t close very well today, obviously, but I’m in there so that’s good. I had the same game plan as yesterday and I’ll have the same one tomorrow so we’ll see how that goes.”

If Sihota manages to close out a win tomorrow, he will be crowned the champion of both of the first two Future Links, driven by Acura Championships in 2017.

“At the Pacific Championship I stayed calm and the birdies fell, so I just have to do the same thing tomorrow,” he said.

Nipping at his heals is Christopher Vandette from Beaconsville, Que. For the second consecutive day, Vandette scored an even-par 71 to sit alone in second place.

Eric Byun, from Richmond Hill, Ont., and Taylor Beckstead, a product of Alliston, Ont., are within striking distance of Sihota, sitting just three strokes back.

Logan Boucher, who is also from Beaconsville, Que., was one of two golfers to shoot a 69 — the low score of the day – vaulting him to T5. Robbie Latter, from Mississauga, Ont., was the other junior to score a 2-under-par 69, and he sits at T17 (6-over on the tournament).

Chun, a member of Team Canada’s Development Squad, took solo lead of the Girls Division after her 1-under-par 70, the only girl to record an under-par score so far in the tournament. The Richmond Hill, Ont., native had a flawless opening nine with no bogeys and scored birdies on holes four and six. After making consecutive bogies on 10 and 11, she managed to finish the back nine with two more birdies and a bogey.

Ellie Szeryk, from London, Ont., started the day tied with Céleste Dao at the top of the leaderboard, but four bogeys on the front nine paired with another three in her last four holes resulted in a 5-over-par 76, dropping her into a tie for second with Mathilde Denicourt (74, 74). The pair sit four strokes back of Chun.

Dao struggled to get going on Saturday and opened her round 4 over par through as many holes. Despite making two birdies after the turn, she scored two bogeys and a double-bogey to end her round with a 6-over-par 77, five shots back of the lead.

Chloe Currie, Team Canada’s other Development Squad Member, shot 3-over on the front nine while only registering a single par. After the turn she managed to stay even and her 3-over-par 74 moved her into 6th place on the tournament.

The final round of the 2017 Future Links, driven by Acura Ontario Championship will start at 7:00am tomorrow. Click here for complete scoring information.

Sung Hyun Park leads the LPGA Volvik Championship after 36 holes. Park shot a 65 to enter the weekend at 12 under.

Minjee Lee cost herself a top-10 finish last week when she failed to sign her scorecard. She is in a tie for second after a second round 66, with Suzann Pettersen (67).

It was quite a gaffe, obviously, but it didn’t change the fact that the 20-year-old from Australia was playing pretty well.

“Obviously, it was my fault,” Lee said. “I played good last week and I know my game’s there.”

“I feel pretty comfortable out there,” said Lee, a three-time winner on the LPGA Tour. “I mean, I was having fun out there and kept it pretty light with my caddie. Yeah, just played golf really.”

“I holed a couple long putts & my shots into the green were good as well. Just solid all around today” @minjeegolf leader (-10) @VolvikLPGA pic.twitter.com/1oETM0womE

— LPGA (@LPGA) May 26, 2017

Lee, who turns 21 on Saturday, was disqualified from the Kingsmill Championship because of the mistake with her scorecard. She seems to have put that behind her, and she wrapped up her round Friday with a birdie on No. 9.

On that final hole, playing partner Charley Hull’s approach shot struck Lee’s ball, which was already on the green, so the players had to deal with that unusual situation.

“They said move it three inches so that’s what we did,” Lee said.

Lexi Thompson, who had her own huge penalty at this year’s ANA Inspiration, was in Lee’s group. She shot 68 and moved to 4 under.

Park birdied six holes on the back nine, and the rookie from South Korea appears to be playing with confidence. She was the top earning player in the Korean LPGA last year and also had four top-10 finishes in seven LPGA Tour events. She has three top-10 LPGA Tour showings this season.

“I think I’ve definitely felt the pressure and that’s probably one of the biggest reasons why I haven’t performed up to my standards this year,” Park said through a translator. “But I think this week I’m able to let things go a little bit more and play my game.”

Sung Hyun Park finishes with a birdie to take a two shot lead at 12-under ??#VolvikLPGA pic.twitter.com/VCLYDgy9Y0

— LPGA (@LPGA) May 26, 2017

Aside from Park, Lizette Salas was the only player to shoot a 65 on Friday on the 6,734-yard course at Travis Pointe Country Club. She was at 9 under after missing the cut last week.

“I kind of started off from scratch after Kingsmill after I missed the cut, so I just started from ground zero and worked my way here,” Salas said. “Just really having fun. I love Michigan golf and I finished second in Grand Rapids a couple years ago, so I don’t know, just kind of got my groove back, I guess.”

First-round leaders Stacy Lewis and Wei-Ling Hsu shot 72s and trailed Park by five strokes. Defending champion Ariya Jutanugarn (66) rebounded from a tough first round but still trails the leader by six.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko is not playing in this event, and the other top players in the Rolex Rankings haven’t been at their best. Third-ranked Jutanugarn made some progress Friday, but second-ranked So Yeon Ryu (71) barely made the cut at 1 under. Her streak of 11 straight top-10 finishes is in jeopardy.

“When you play bad, you can find, ‘OK, I have to fix these.’ Or, ‘I have to do this one better,”’ Ryu said. “But I couldn’t really feel it this week. I don’t even know. I cannot hit it well, I cannot really putt it well. So hopefully it’s going to drop for this weekend.”

Paula Creamer (75), Yani Tseng (72), Michelle Wie (71) and Morgan Pressel (75) missed the cut.

The top ranked Canadian is Smiths Falls Ontario’s Brooke Henderson. She is a tie for tenth after a second round 66.

Henderson went out in a bogey free, 4-under par 32 on the front nine, and recorded three more birdies and just one bogey on the back nine, to finish at 6-under for the day (66).

The full leaderboard can be seen here.

Jordan Spieth normally doesn’t concern himself with the cut line in the middle of a round.

Unless the Dallas native is in danger of staying home on consecutive weekends in what amount to his hometown events.

Spieth recovered from a bad start by going 5 under over his final 13 holes at the Colonial on Friday, and his 2-under 68 put the defending champion at 2-under 138, four shots behind second-round leaders Webb Simpson, Kevin Kisner, Danny Lee and Scott Piercy.

“When your back’s against the wall and you feel the nerves kick up because you’ve got to do something, and you’re not going to be able to play both weekends in town,” said Spieth , coming off missed cuts in The Players Championship and AT&T Byron Nelson. “That would have been really, really tough for me to swallow if I missed the cut. And it was in my head.”

Lee birdied the last hole for a 64, the low round of the tournament on a hot and windy day. Kisner also had a birdie on his final hole, the ninth, for a second straight 67. Simpson, the 2012 U.S. Open champion, and Piercy each shot 66 to join the group at 6-under 134.

The side door is open for @dannygolf72.

Four-way tie at the top. #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/42kpddNka6

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 26, 2017

Spieth said the key to the recovery was a short bogey putt at 14, his fifth hole, that dropped him to 3 over after he opened with a par 70. The 23-year-old broke from his recent routine by seeking caddy Michael Greller’s input on the 4-footer.

“He said, ‘Hit this one with confidence and walk it in,”’ Spieth said about his third bogey in the first five holes. “I stepped and walked it in. I think it was kind of shocking because it was a bogey putt to go 3 over. No one really walks those in. But it was exactly what I needed.”

Spieth immediately followed with a 35-foot birdie putt at No. 15, then had four birdies in the first five holes of Colonial’s front nine. That included two birdies on the “Horrible Horseshoe” of holes 3-5.

The 2015 Masters and U.S. Open champion had no bogeys over the final 13 holes after seven bogeys and a double bogey among his first 23, which offset six birdies in his opening round.

“I played one through five in 4 under. I don’t think I’ve ever done 2 under on those holes,” Spieth said. “I felt really good about the way that we played those last 14 holes, about as solid as the entire year.”

Masters champion Sergio Garcia (66) and fellow Spaniard Jon Rahm (69), who played in the same group, were at 5 under along with England’s Paul Casey (66) and Sean O’Hair (68).

The Spaniards are both in position to strike heading into the weekend. pic.twitter.com/DYfzAfBz2s

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 26, 2017

Phil Mickelson didn’t have a birdie while shooting a 75 that left him at 2 over, three shots clear of the cut in his first Colonial since the two-time champ missed the cut in 2010.

Simpson made a 7-footer at the par-3 16th, then put his approach at 17 just inside 3 feet for a birdie that tied Casey. Third at Colonial last year, Simpson had missed the cut at Colonial his only two other times in 2009-10.

A four-time PGA Tour winner with his most recent victory in 2014, Simpson skipped last week’s Nelson and hasn’t played both Dallas-Fort Worth events since 2010.

“I didn’t play well at Byron my first couple of years, so I just decided to stay out of Texas,” Simpson joked.

Kisner made a 14-foot birdie on his final hole, the ninth, to join Simpson. Moments later, Lee rolled one in from 27 feet at the 18th. Piercy had a shot at the outright lead at the ninth, missing from 24 feet.

A silky roll from @k_kisner ties the lead. #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/2oNs7IMgSN

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) May 26, 2017

Casey’s best Colonial finish was fifth in his debut in 2009, the same year of his only PGA Tour win in Houston. The 14-time international winner had three birdies and a bogey over his first four holes before settling in with two birdies over the final 14 while generally staying out of trouble.

The highlight for Casey was a 25-foot par save at the par-4 fifth, his 14th hole.

“It’s been tricky with the wind,” Casey said. “I’ve handled it so far, so I would actually like it to stay tricky if it can. And I handle the heat well. So I am saying probably the more difficult it is, the better it is for me.”

Garcia had six birdies, while Rahm didn’t get his first until 17 while finishing with two straight.

Si Woo Kim, playing for the first time since winning The Players Championship two weeks ago, had an 8 on the par-4 ninth after his pitch from greenside bunker went dead right off his club and rolled into the water.

Kim had to go across the pond for his drop and hit another ball in the water, then tossed his club in as well after finally reaching the green on the next shot. He made a 15-footer for quadruple bogey, and finished with a 73 to miss the cut at 5 over.

There are three Canadians T45, Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor, both natives of Abbotsford B.C and Brantford Ontario’s David Hearn.

For the full leaderboard click here.

Jeevan Sihota tops the Boys Division at the Future Links, driven by Acura Ontario Championship after the opening round on Thursday, while Ellie Szeryk and Celeste Dao share the lead in the Girls Division at Brockville Country Club, in Brockville, Ont.

Sihota, a 13-year-old from Victoria, B.C., continued his stellar play after winning the Pacific Championship earlier in May. He recorded a bogey on his opening hole, but recovered and birdied three of the next four holes enroute to a 2-under-par 69.

“I got off to a pretty good start and played steady through,” he said, after his low-score of the day. “I hit a lot of greens, thought I could have holed a few more putts but overall it was good.”

Sitting two shots back of Sihota is a three-way tie for second place. Christopher Vandette (Beaconsfield, Que.), Abe Holmes (Barrie, Ont), and Eric Byun (Richmond Hill, Ont.) all shot an even-par 71.

In the Girls Division, Szeryk and Dao both shot a 1-over-par 72 in their opening rounds to put them at the top of the leaderboard up by two strokes.

Szeryk, from London, Ont., got off to a fast start with three birdies in her first seven holes, but slowed down after she made the turn to the back nine and recorded bogeys on holes 10, 12 and 16.
Dao played a steadier round. The 16-year-old headed to the final two holes 2 over par for the round. She made a clutch birdie on the par 3 before finishing with a par on 18 to move her into a tie with Szeryk.

“I hit pretty good wedges and made some 10 to 12 footers, so that helps,” said Szeryk, after her round on Thursday. “I was just trying to figure out how the course would play with the wet conditions and see how long the ball would travel in the rough and everything.

“I’m just going to try to shoot even or under par tomorrow. There’s a lot of really good players here, so I’m just going to have to chill out and see how it goes.”

Defending champion Isabella Portokalis got off to a rough start on the rain-filled day. Three bogeys in her first six holes resulted in her 4-over-par 75, good enough for T7.

Team Canada Development Squad members Monet Chun and Chloe Currie both cracked the top 10. Chun, from Richmond Hill, Ont., sits just two strokes back of Szeryk and Dao in a four-way tie for third. Currie got off to a slow start and was 3-over after the first two holes. Two more bogeys on the front nine saw her drop down the leaderboard, but, after she managed to play the back nine just one-over, the Mississauga, Ont., native managed to hang on to 10th place after her 6-over-par 77.

The top six finishers in the boy’s 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. A tie for the sixth position will be decided by a playoff following the conclusion of play on Sunday. The top six in the girl’s division (including ties) will earn exemptions into the 2017 Canadian Junior Girls Championship on Aug. 1-4 at Camelot Golf & Country Club in Cumberland, Ont.

Having played numerous sports during his childhood years, Stuart Macdonald would eventually find his true passion in the game of golf.

“Growing up, I started out playing baseball, soccer, tennis, badminton, squash and basically all the racquet sports,” recalled the Vancouver native.

However, ever since his mother, Susan, introduced him to golf, he has not looked back.

“My mom was the one who got me started in golf as she was a member at the Point Grey Golf & Country Club. Golf was the last sport that I picked up; but it was the one that I stuck with,” pointed out Macdonald, a second-year member of Team Canada’s National Amateur Squad.

“I would’ve been around 12 years old when I stopped playing other sports and fully dedicated myself to golf. I just really enjoyed it and wanted to go to the golf course everyday to get better.”

Macdonald still remembers a defining victory as a teenager that opened his eyes to his potential in the sport.

“When I was 15 or 16, I won the Vancouver Open and having my name on that trophy along with names like Nick Taylor and Eugene Wong and Adam Svensson was really cool,” he recalled.

“That victory gave me the motivation to keep on playing; and it made me really strive to reach the same level as those guys.”

Macdonald says the quest for excellence on the golf course has required plenty of discipline along the way.

“You definitely had to sacrifice a part of your social life. When I was growing up – from the sixth grade until the twelfth grade – I would always turn down parties or hanging out with friends in order to work on my golf game.”

Another sacrifice made by Macdonald involved moving away from family and friends; and relocating to Florida in order to train in favourable climate conditions year round.

As he explains, the decision to relocate to Florida worked out for the best.

“I went to a school in Florida my last two years of high school and my coach there happened to know the coach at Purdue at the time; and I was able to get a walk on spot on the team. And eventually after about half a year, I earned a spot in the lineup,” he pointed out.

Macdonald—who graduated in December of 2016—recorded seven top ten finishes during his collegiate career, including a fourth place tie at the Boilermaker Invitational in his sophomore year.

Another notable highlight came in his junior year when he was named Big Ten Golfer of the Week after recording a 10th place finish at the Puerto Rico Classic.

Macdonald’s success as a Boilermaker would earn him spot on the Canadian National Amateur Squad in 2015.  Currently in his third year as part of the national team, Macdonald says he’s extremely grateful to be part of the program.

“Everyone from the coaches to the physiotherapist, sports psychologist and nutritionist that they have on staff does an unbelievable job. Being on the team has opened so many doors for me and has allowed me to play in a lot of tournaments that I wouldn’t have otherwise been able to play in,” he said.

“Those experiences have definitely been important for me to get to where I am today,” added Macdonald, who describes his game as “not long or flashy, but consistent in all aspects.”

According to national team head coach, Derek Ingram, the Vancouver golfer has made great strides.

“Stu has progressed really well.  His habits now are first class and he’s getting better and better.  He’s super coachable and a smart kid and a great teammate,” said Ingram.

Macdonald’s recent success is proving that he is a talented young golfer on the rise.

In March, the 22-year-old finished in a tie for ninth spot at the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada Qualifying School, and in the process, secured status for the upcoming season.

And just last month, his consistent all around game allowed him to capture the Peruvian International Amateur Championship.

“I would say that I haven’t had a lot of success at the amateur level. I’ve played well but I haven’t had many big wins and to win this event gives me a lot of confidence and obviously my family and friends were really happy for me,” said Macdonald about his recent triumph in Peru, where he won both the individual and team event.

Ingram commends Macdonald on his breakthrough victory in Peru; and predicts a bright future ahead for the young Vancouver golfer.

“Huge win for Stu; it’s his biggest so far. It’s great for his confidence and he’s starting to realize how good he is,” said Ingram.

“If he continues to play his game, he will have many more chances to win.”

Looking ahead, the ambitious 22-year-old has his sights set on competing and winning at the highest level.

“In five years, I see myself on the PGA TOUR. I know life of a pro golfer doesn’t always go as expected; but my goal in five years is to be one of the top Canadians out there and just living the dream,” he said. “I really believe I can play at that level.”

For now, the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada rookie is focused on his upcoming pro debut on June 1^st.

And it’s only fitting that will take place where it all began more than a decade ago – at the Point Grey Golf & Country Club in Vancouver where he was first introduced to the sport by his mother.

“I’m really excited and looking forward to playing at my home course and getting my pro career started there,” said Macdonald.

“It’s where I first learned to play and where I grew my passion for the game – so it’s really sort of fitting to make my pro debut there in front of family and friends.”