FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Patrick Reed picked up two victories in one day. He won The Barclays to assure himself a clear shot at the $10 million bonus in the FedEx Cup, and he easily secured a spot on his second straight U.S. Ryder Cup team.

Rickie Fowler, with a surprising meltdown, walked away empty from Bethpage Black.

Reed overcame an early two-shot deficit and built a big enough lead on the back nine that some nervous shots and sloppy play didn’t keep him from winning for the first time since the 2015 opener at Kapalua. A bogey on the final hole gave him a 1-under 70 and a one-shot victory over Sean O’Hair and Emiliano Grillo.

“It’s just been great to finally be able to close one off,” Reed said.

Fowler still hasn’t won in four tries as a 54-hole leader on the PGA Tour, and this one might sting. He was still in contention, two shots behind with four holes to play, and at least figured to have one of the eight automatic spots on the Ryder Cup team locked up. Fowler needed to finish third to move past Zach Johnson into the eighth spot in the U.S. standings, and he was two shots clear of O’Hair and Grillo.

His tee shot into deep rough left of the 15th fairway led to bogey. From more rough on the 16th, he went into a bunker and took two shots to reach the green, making a double bogey. After a 20-foot birdie putt kept alive his hopes, he promptly found more rough on the 18th hole and finished with a bogey for a 74.

Fowler tied for seventh and moved up one spot to No. 11 in the standings.

“I wasn’t trying to get a decent finish,” Fowler said. “I was trying to win.”

Fowler still has a reasonable chance to be at Hazeltine on Sept. 30 for the Ryder Cup because Davis Love III doesn’t make his three captain’s picks until after the next two FedEx Cup playoff events. The fourth pick will be after the Tour Championship, so that’s another month to audition.

Reed, who finished at 9-under 275, wasn’t the only player who felt like a big winner.

O’Hair was among five players who moved into the top 100 in the FedEx Cup, advancing to the next playoff event at the TPC Boston that starts Friday. And he made a big move, closing with a 66 to tie for second. That moved him all the way up to No. 15, assuring two more playoff events and giving O’Hair a good shot at staying in the top 30 who qualify for the finale at the Tour Championship.

Grillo birdied the final hole for a 69 and moved to No. 6.

Defending champion Jason Day struggled all week with his accuracy and had to settle for a 69, tying for fourth with Gary Woodland (69) and Adam Scott (71).

Reed had gone 55 tournaments worldwide since starting 2015 with a victory at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. A bogey on the par-3 third hole put him two shots behind Fowler, but not for long. Reed made three birdies on the next four holes to tie for the lead, and he seized control early on the back nine.

Fowler missed the 11th fairway and ended his streak of 55 consecutive holes without a bogey, losing the lead in the process. Reed holed a 12-foot birdie putt on the next hole for a two-shot lead, and Fowler never got any closer.

Sung Kang matched the course record with a 64 to move from No. 122 to No. 88. John Huh, Tyrone Van Aswegan and Derek Fathauer also moved into the top 100, while Shane Lowry, Peter Malnati, Robert Streb, Lucas Glover and Jonas Blixt fell out and ended their season.

The top 70 after next week advance to the third playoff event, with the top 30 going to East Lake for the Tour Championship.

With his victory, which moves Reed to No. 9 in the world ranking, Reed goes to No. 1 in the FedEx Cup. He will be assured of being in the top five who only have to win the Tour Championship to capture the $10 million prize.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Stanford All-American and match play wizard Mariah Stackhouse (Riverdale, Ga.) carded a 4-under, 68 on the Arnold Palmer Course Saturday to move into a five-way tie for the lead at 8-under, 208 after three days of Stage I of LPGA Qualifying Tournament. Madchen Ly (Fresno, Calif.), Savannah Viluabi (Downey, Calif.), Sarah Schmelzel (Phoenix, Ariz.) and Daniela Darquea (Quito, Ecuador) are also 8-under with one round left.

Ly, Vilaubi and Darquea have each posted three under-par rounds. Only six other players in the field have been under-par all three rounds (Olafia Kristinsdottir, Chorphaka Jaengkit, Chirapat Jao-Javanil, Maia Schechter, Lauren Kim and Lindsay Weaver).

The 54-hole cut was made at 6-over, 222 and 135 players will tee it up on Sunday on the Dinah Shore Course, which is host to the ANA Inspiration on the LPGA. The low 90 and ties after final-round play on Sunday will advance to Stage II of LPGA Qualifying Tournament, the week of October 17-23 in Venice, Florida.

Stackhouse, 22, made six birdies on the day.

“I hit my irons the best I’ve hit them this week,” said Stackhouse. “I was able to capitalize on good iron shots. Today was definitely the best day if you looked at the quality of golf. It was textbook golf, nice and simple.”

Stackhouse, who has a laser focus this week, is not resting on her success into Sunday.

““My goal tomorrow is to continue to work on my irons,” said Stackhouse. “I needed to get rid of the pull. I want to give the Dinah Shore course a better run. I need to keep getting better, better in competition. This week is just another week and another opportunity to learn what I need to work on.”

Stackhouse will head to the Sioux Falls GreatLIFE Challenge, a Symetra Tour event, on Monday afternoon.

Vilaubi, 22, has won four times as a professional this year including the Texas Women’s Open.

“I couldn’t be happier to have strung together three solid days of golf during a potentially career-determining tournament,” said Vilaubi, who graduated from UC-Riverside in 2015. “I’m thrilled to be going into tomorrow with such good momentum. The game plan is to have as much fun as possible in the final-round.”

Madchen Ly (Fresno, Calif.) posted a bogey-free 3-under, 69 on the Gary Player Course on Saturday at Stage I of LPGA Qualifying Tournament to move into a 5-way tie for the 54-hole lead with one round to play.

“This is one of the best scoring weeks I’ve had,” said Ly, who is a rookie on the Symetra Tour. “This is my first time shooting three straight rounds under-par. The first few months on Tour were tough, knowing where to stay and all that, but I kept telling myself that it is all about the process and journey.”

Ly, 23, was a three-time All-Mountain West Conference selection at Fresno State. She has a ton of familiarity at Mission Hills because the last three years of her career, the conference championships were played on the Dinah Shore Course, where she finished sixth as a senior in 2015.

“When I come to the desert, I feel very familiar,” said Ly. “I have a comfort and am staying right on the golf course with my parents.”

Ly has made just one cut in nine starts on the Symetra Tour. She earned Tour status by advancing all the way to Final Stage in 2015.

Ly has made 15 birdies through three rounds.

Five Canadians made the cut into the final day of competition, lead by Toronto’s Anna Kim who stayed even to claim a share of seventh at 6-under. Taylor Kim is T39 at even-par, one-stroke ahead of fellow Surrey, B.C., resident Aram Choi and Anna Young of Saskatoon. Maya Parsons of Whitby, Ont., completes the Canadian contingent at 6-over through 54-holes.

SNOQUALMIE, Wash. – Gene Sauers took the Boeing Classic lead Saturday, two weeks after his breakthrough victory in the U.S. Senior Open.

The 54-year-old Sauers two-putted for birdie on the par-5 18th for a 5-under 67 and a two-stroke lead over Joe Durant. The three-time PGA Tour winner had a 12-under 132 total at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge.

“I just concentrated on hitting the ball solid, trying to keep it in the fairways and give myself opportunities just like I try to do every week,” Sauers said. “I had opportunities to make the putts and I made a few today, missed a few. I made a couple of stupid bogeys.”

Sauers birdied four of the last five holes, making three in a row in Nos. 14-16.

“Just solid playing,” Sauers said. “That’s what I’m going to try to do tomorrow.”

He’s playing through tendinitis in his left wrist.

“Coming in this week I was not too confident,” Sauers said “I played one time at home because of my wrist and trying to heal it. I didn’t know what to expect coming into this week. But I just won the U.S. Open prior to that, so that kind of builds confidence.”

The U.S. Senior Open victory capped a comeback for Sauers, 10 years removed from nearly dying. He was incorrectly diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, spent seven weeks in the hospital and was given a 25 percent chance of survival. Eventually, he was diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a disorder of the skin and mucous membranes that causes the skin on the extremities to burn from the inside out.

Durant birdied the last for a 65.

“It’s pretty generous off the tee, but you’ve got to hit good iron shots and I typically am a pretty good iron player,” Durant said. “You’ve got to manage your game a little bit around here. You’ve got to pick your spots because they can put some pins in some corners and greens get firm, you can go through some of the greens pretty easily. Or if you put them in the green-side bunkers, you’re begging for mercy.”

He won the 3M Championship three weeks ago in Minnesota.

Tom Byrum and Calgary’s Stephen Ames were 9 under. Byrum had a 68, and Ames shot 69.

Fellow Canadian Rod Spittle of St. Catharines, Ont., sits T58 after a second-round 74.

Kirk Triplett, tied for the first-round lead with Sauers after a 65, had a 71 to drop into a tie for fifth at 8 under.

Bernhard Langer also was 8 under after a 67. The 58-year-old German star won the 2010 tournament and finished second behind Billy Andrade last year. Langer has three victories this year, two of them majors.

Grant Waite (65), Woody Austin (67) and Fran Quinn (67) were 8 under, too.

John Daly was tied for 29th at 2 under after his second 71. He has three top-20 finishes in 10 PGA Tour Champions starts since turning 50, with the best a tie for 11th last month in the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open in New York. Last week, he tied for 51st in the Czech Masters.

Andrade was tied for 38th at 1 under, following his opening 74 with a 69.

Local favorite Fred Couples is sidelined by back problems.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Sarah Schmelzel (Phoenix, Ariz.) posted another 5-under, 67 on the Gary Player Course on Friday to grab the 36-hole lead at Stage I of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament at 10-under, 134. She is three shots clear of Savannah Vilaubi (Downey, Calif.) and Daniela Darquea (Quito, Ecuador).

The low 90 and ties, currently at 2-over, 146, advance to Stage II after final-round play on Sunday. 

Schmelzel, 22, also carded a 67 on day one on the Arnold Palmer Course. Through two days, she has 11 birdies, an eagle and three bogeys, which all came on day one. 

“I was hitting it close early, but wasn’t making the putts so I stayed patient,” said Schmelzel. “Then I made birdie on three and six and made an eagle on seven. I really believe in the preparation I put in for this week and I knew this was possible.”

Schmelzel’s eagle putt on hole seven came from almost 50-feet. She wasn’t expecting to be on the green in two, but ripped a 3-wood to put herself in position to roll in a long putt. 

In her first LPGA Qualifying Tournament, Schmelzel said that not shying away from the pressure has been key. 

“I’m embracing the pressure and the stress that everyone talks about,” said Schmelzel. “I’m so grateful to be out here playing and I’m just trying to stay patient.”

Schmelzel was a Golfweek Honorable Mention All-American as a senior at South Carolina. She posted three top 10 finishes in her final year and closed her career with a scoring average of 74.25, fourth all-time at South Carolina. 

“Every year brought a new challenge, I went through injuries and I went through highs of winning regionals and lows,” said Schmelzel. “Now that I’ve turned pro, I can see how dealing with adversity in college has helped me. I was forced to mature so quickly in order to be successful.”

The adversity in college came right away when she dealt with being on the other side of the country from family and then during her junior year she missed the first half with an overuse shoulder injury. 

Schmelzel won the 2011 Arizona State High School Championship at Xavier Prep, the same school that LPGA player Cheyenne Woods attended. Xavier Prep has also produced professional golfers Kimberly Kim and Katerina Bruner along with former LPGA player Amanda Blumenherst. 

Schmelzel was a competitive gymnast growing up and to the surprise of her parents; she decided to quit in seventh grade to focus on golf. With her dad, Dennis, on the bag this week, she is in position to move a stage closer to her dream. 

“The LPGA is a big goal of mine, but I know there is a lot of golf left,” said Schmelzel. “I’d loved to win a major championship some day.”

Canada’s Anna Kim of Toronto sits as the highest Canadian on the leaderboard through 36 holes at Stage I of LPGA Qualifying School at 6-under par. The recent St. John’s University graduate and BIG EAST Golfer of the Year carded rounds of 70-68 to land in a tie for fourth heading into Saturday. Fellow Canadian Taylor Kim of Surrey, B.C., struggled on Friday with a 75 (+3) to slip outside the Top-10 into a tie for 20th.

Saskatoon’s Anna Young sits T46 at even-par, while Aram Choi of Surrey, B.C., holds a share of 62nd place at 1-over.

PONOKA, Alta. – Beaming sunshine and a mild breeze provided a picturesque backdrop for the final round of the 2016 Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur and Senior Championship. Judith Kyrinis carded a 4-under 68 to claim a trio of titles at Wolf Creek Golf Resort.

“It’s something I’ve always dreamed of for a very long time, so I’m pretty proud,” said the 52-year-old.

The native of Thornhill, Ont., opened the day with the 36-hole lead in the 25-and-over Mid-Amateur, 40-and-over Mid-Master and 50-and-over Senior divisions. A 5-under 31 performance across a bogey-free front nine that included three birdies and an eagle on the par-5 6^th hole secured her a five-stroke victory. Steady play down the stretch held off the advances of 2014 Senior champion Hélène Chartrand.

“I just tried to stay in the process that I’ve been working on all year,” reflected Kyrinis. “Playing the golf course has been a big part and my key is the fairways and the greens…and par is always your friend. I rolled in a lot of really nice putts today – that can never hurt.”

In 2015, Kyrinis finished runner-up in the three divisions to Etobicoke, Ont., native Terril Samuel. Two years ago, she claimed third in the Senior division. After holding the lead following two days of competition, she was determined to close-out the victory and learn from her near-misses.

Her attention now shifts to building upon today’s experience in hopes of finding future success. When asked about her takeaways from the victory, she flatly responded, “that you can get the job done when you’re under pressure.”

“To shoot a final-round 68 is pretty cool – you feel really good. It’s great for that memory bank and going forward, I just hope I keep drawing on that again…coming up, I’ve got the U.S. Mid-Am and U.S. Senior.”

With the victory, Kyrinis has earned entry into the 2016 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship to be played at Wellesley Country Club in Wellesley, Mass., from September 17-22.

Hélène Chartrand from Pincourt, Que., finished the day with three birdies in an even-par round to claim runner-up honours in all three divisions. Port Alberni, B.C., native Christina Proteau was 7-over 223 in her attempt to capture a sixth Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur title. Terrill Samuel earned third in the Mid-Master and Senior divisions.

Kyrinis’ trio of national titles adds to a victory in the inter-provincial team championship which was played concurrently over the competition’s first 36 holes. Alongside teammates Ivy Steinberg from Stouffville and Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member Mary Ann Hayward of St. Thomas, Team Ontario claimed a three-stroke victory over Team Quebec.

Holly Horwood of Vancouver completed a wire-to-wire victory to win the 36-hole, 60-and-over Super Senior division with a 9-over 153 showing. Heath, Texas product Anna Schultz trailed the champion by two strokes to claim second, while Dartmouth, N.S., native Ruth Maxwell finished third.

The 2017 Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur and Senior Championship will be contested at Humber Valley Resort in Little Rapids, N.L., from August 22 to 24.

Additional information from the competition is available here.

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Patrick Reed’s place in the Ryder Cup is looking better with each round at The Barclays, and so are his prospects of winning.

Even with a careless finish Friday at Bethpage Black, Reed rode a fast start to a 3-under 68 and a two-shot lead over Emiliano Grillo and Rickie Fowler going into the weekend of the opening FedEx Cup playoff event.

The Barclays is the final tournament for Americans to earn one of the eight automatic spots on the Ryder Cup team. Reed, who has gone 55 tournaments worldwide since his last victory, came into the week at No. 8.

At the moment, that’s no longer a concern.

“Really, I’m going into this week trying to win a golf tournament,” Reed said. “If I take care of me and do what I need to do this week, then Ryder Cup will take care of itself. So I’m not going into this week looking at it as, ‘Oh, I need to do this for the Ryder Cup.’ I’m going in this to think, ‘All right, I need to go win a golf tournament.”’

Reed was at 8-under 134.

Fowler mostly likely needs third place alone to have any chance of qualifying for the Ryder Cup, and he has done his part. He played bogey-free in the sweltering heat, though still missing plenty of birdie chances. Par is never bad on the Black Course, however, and Fowler shot a 69.

He has dropped only one shot all week, missing a 4-foot par putt Thursday that spun out of the back of the cup.

“Any time you can go bogey-free out here at this place, it’s good golf,” Fowler said. “Feel very good about my ball-striking and tee-to-green right now. See if we can get some more putts to go in.”

Grillo also had a 69, opening with a double bogey and finishing with a bogey.

Ryan Moore (68) was three shots behind, while defending champion Jason Day (70) and Jordan Spieth (67) were four back.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., is in a tie for fifth after shooting a 68 to sit at 4 under for the tournament. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., (70) and Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask. (72) just made the cut and are 3 over.

Day tied for the lead early in the round when he ran off four straight birdies on the easier front nine. But his tee shots got wild, he finished some swings with only one hand on the club, and he dropped four shots around the turn.

“I’m really looking forward to the weekend,” Day said. “I feel like I’m really close.”

Spieth missed the cut at The Barclays a year ago, and he started off Friday in that direction when his approach to the tough 10th buried in the lip of a deep bunker. Spieth had to play away from the green and made double bogey.

And then he decided to start over. His caddie, Michael Greller, told him to forget the hole ever happened and try to get those two shots back before making the turn. He eventually did, and then a lot more.

Spieth played shot 31 on the front nine, including a 6-iron that hopped out of the rough to 3 feet on the par-5 fourth hole for an eagle, and shot a 67 to get back into the mix. He still has a lot of ground to make up on Patrick Reed. Still, this round could have gotten away from him early.

“Resetting a goal there is really key for me to get my mind away from what happened and look forward,” Spieth said. “I know it’s such a tough golf course. It’s rare when we play tournaments on courses this challenging. Normally they’re majors. But 4 under makes up a lot of ground.”

It moved Spieth up to a tie for fifth, which beats having the weekend off.

Spieth is among the few who only have to think about the end of the FedEx Cup. He is No. 5 in the standings, and he already has clinched a spot on the Ryder Cup team.

The top 100 in the FedEx Cup advance to the next playoff event outside Boston next week, and 13 players outside the top 100 were eliminated when they didn’t advance to the weekend. As for the Ryder Cup, three players who missed the cut can no longer qualify _ Bill Haas, Kevin Na and Daniel Summerhays.

Bethpage, host of the U.S. Open twice, showed how it can punish bad shots. Kevin Chappell one shot behind until he went bogey-double bogey-bogey to finish his round, posting a 72. Reed could have avoided his own sloppy finish. He three-putted from 30 feet on No. 16, bounced back with a 5-iron to 2 feet for birdie on the 17th, and then opted for driver on the closing hole.

He was thinking 3-iron off the tee to play short of the bunkers. His caddie suggested driver for a shorter shot into the green, particularly because Reed had hit driver beautifully over the previous hour. This one went enough left to find a bunker, however, leading to another bogey.

BROMONT, Que. – Garrett Rank conquered strong winds at Golf Château-Bromont to claim his third consecutive Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur title with a 19-under 269 final score to earn entry into the 2017 RBC Canadian Open.

The product of Elmira, Ont., surged up the leaderboard, beginning with a 7-under 65 showing on moving day. That momentum carried into the final round of competition with Rank carding three birdies on the front nine to quickly separate himself from third-round co-leader Jordan Irwin.

“I got off to another nice start,” said Rank. “I hit a close shot on 6 and missed a three-footer for eagle which would have been a dream. I got a little sloppy through 8 and 9, but started to play really well again on the back nine – great last two days.”

The 28-year-old NHL referee bogeyed the 8th hole, but rebounded with four birdies across the back nine en route to a 5-under 67. The win is Rank’s third Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur victory in as many years, and it has earned him an exemption into the 2017 RBC Canadian Open hosted by Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont., from July 24 to 30.

“It’s always special winning a national championship and to win it three times in a row is a huge honour,” said the Team Canada National Amateur Squad alumnus. “My goal for this week was to come here and win and get back into the [RBC] Canadian Open and I accomplished that. No matter the score, no matter what happened this week, I’m really pleased with how it went. I’m happy to be a national champion again and get the privilege of playing in the Open.”

Rank finished with a T77 result at the 2016 edition of the RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey.

Ryan Sevigny of Stittsville, Ont., who began the day in a tie for 15th, shot 8-under 64 to match Golf Château-Bromont’s course record and catapult into a share of second. The 27-year-old carded seven birdies across his first 16 holes before an eagle on the par-5 17th moved Sevigny into the runner-up position alongside 54-hole leader Jordan Irwin.

Irwin of Banff, Alta., made consecutive bogeys on his first two holes, but birdied Nos. 6 and 9 to move within two strokes of Rank heading into the turn. Despite an additional birdie on the final stretch, the 2016 Alberta Men’s Mid-Amateur champion finished at 13-under 275.

Rob Couture made a push for the Mid-Amateur title after matching the course record during the third round of competition. The 41-year-old was 2-over through his first 15 holes, but a trio of birdies to end the day earned the Dallas native the 40-and-over Mid-Master title at 8-under 280.

Three-time Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur champion Dave Bunker of Woodbridge, Ont., looked to reclaim his 2015 Mid-Master title after leading the division through 54-holes, but was disqualified for signing the wrong score card.

Matthew Sim (Oakville), Ryan Kings (Kitchener) and Charles Fitzsimmons (London) combined to finish 15-under 273 in the inter-provincial team competition – contested over the first 36-holes – to claim a second consecutive victory for Ontario.

Additional information from the tournament can be found here.

After four years as a member of Team Canada’s National Team, and a full collegiate career at the University of Florida, Eric Banks has decided to turn professional.

Banks, who turns 24 in November, will begin his journey as a professional golfer at the Mackenzie Tour – PGA Tour Canada’s Cape Breton Open at Bell Bay Golf Course from Sept. 1-4, not too far home. A native of Truro, N.S., Banks felt that the timing to turn professional was right.

“I’ve been an amateur for a while and I picked up a couple of good results along the way and I just think the timing is right,” Banks told the Truro Daily News.

During his time as a Florida Gator, Banks tallied five Top-10 finishes to go alongside winning the David Toms Award—given to the collegiate golfer who most overcomes adversity. He recovered from successful open-heart surgery in 2012 that repaired a hole in his heart.

“I’m very excited for Eric to embark on his professional career,” said Derek Ingram, Team Canada Men’s Head Coach. “He is a very good young player with excellent habits that knows how to handle adversity. I look forward to watching him progress and assisting in any way I can.”

The two-time Nova Scotia Junior champion will also be attending qualifying school for the Web.Com Tour in search of playing status for the 2017 season. The first stage of qualifying runs from Sept. 27-30 at various locations in the United States.

“No matter where I go I’m just going to try and do the things that I’ve been working on with Team Canada coaches and my other coaches and just try and put some numbers on the board.”

PONOKA, Alta. – Gusty morning conditions at Wolf Creek Golf Resort set the stage for Team Ontario’s victory at the 2016 Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur and Senior Championship. Led by a 2-over 74 performance from Judith Kyrinis, Team Ontario claimed its third straight victory in the inter-provincial competition.

“We’re very proud of representing Ontario and Golf Ontario,” said the 52-year-old. “It’s always such a fun competition. It’s always great to have some bragging rights amongst the provinces.”

The team of Kyrinis (Thornhill), Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member Mary Ann Hayward (St. Thomas) and Ivy Steinberg (Stouffville) finished with a combined total of 12-over 300. They are the same trio which began Ontario’s string of consecutive victories in 2014, while only Hayward represented her home province on all three occasions.

“It’s great,” said Kyrinis, when asked to reflect on the team. “We’re very supportive of each other. Mary Ann and I, we battle it out back home in Ontario all the time, but we’re good friends. Competition is just a part of what we do. Ivy – we’ve done a lot together this year. We share the same swing coach, so we practice a lot together. It’s been great having them both as teammates.”

Team Ontario claimed a three-stroke victory over the squad representing the province of Quebec. The contingent from British Columbia claimed third at 18-over 306.

At 2-over 146, Kyrinis leads the 40-and-over Mid-Master and 50-and-over Senior divisions and is tied atop the 25-and-over Mid-Amateur leaderboard alongside Margo Dickinson of Hartland, N.B. Kyrinis has seen success at this competition, having finished third in the Senior Championship in 2014 and runner-up across the three divisions in 2015.

“You certainly hope to draw on it,” she said of her past experience in this competition and in her career. “Just the feeling like you can get the job done and just believe in yourself.”

Kyrinis stressed the need for focus and composure when looking ahead to the final day of the national championship.

“It’s one shot at a time,” she noted. “I really do say that a lot in my head as I go out there. And I just try to stay patient. I think I did that well yesterday and today. I had a little rough patch today in the middle of the round. I just stayed patient and a couple of birdies came my way.”

First-round leader Hélène Chartrand from Pincourt, Que., is 3-over and sits third in the Mid-Amateur competition and second in the Mid-Master and Senior divisions. The 2014 Senior winner is four-strokes clear of defending champion Terrill Samuel of Etobicoke, Ont., who claimed the three division titles last year.

Holly Horwood of Vancouver completed a wire-to-wire victory to win the 36-hole, 60-and-over Super Senior division with a 9-over 153 showing. Heath, Texas product Anna Schultz trailed the champion by two strokes to claim runner-up honours, while Dartmouth, N.S., native Ruth Maxwell finished third.

A total of 83 players finished 178-or-better to advance to the third and final round of the 2016 Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur and Senior Championship. The number of players advancing to the final round includes 12 players who are not eligible for the Senior division, but registered scores equal to the final qualifier in the 50-and-over category. The finale of the national championship will commence at 8 a.m.

Additional information from the competition can be found here.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – August Kim of Saint Augustine, Fla., took lessons at LPGA International, home of Final Stage of LPGA Qualifying Tournament, when she was a teenager and now she is hoping to advance that far and one day play on the LPGA Tour. She took a step in the right direction on Thursday at Stage I of LPGA Qualifying Tournament with a 6-under, 66 on the Arnold Palmer Course at Mission Hills to share the first-round lead with Kristina Merkle, who also posted a 66 on the Arnold Palmer Course.

Kim, who won the Big Ten Championship this year at Purdue, made six birdies on the day, but didn’t really heat up until the back nine.

“I hit the ball really well, it was a steady day,” said 21-year-old Kim, who is one of 93 amateurs in the field. “It was the kind of first day that you want at a tournament like this.”

The rising senior at Purdue holed out for eagle on the 13th hole from 140 years with a 9-iron.

“That really gave me a jolt of energy,” said Kim. “After that, I made two birdies and then also closed with a birdie.”

Kim says that she plans to play all three stages of LPGA Qualifying Tournament with the hope of earning some status to pursue her professional career once she graduates in May of 2017.

“My intention is to finish my eligibility and I’m adament about that,” said Kim. “Purdue has given so much to me and I want to give everything I have back to the school. That is the plan right now and the biggest goal at Q-School is to get some status.”

Kim is a biochemistry major at Purdue and although she doesn’t plan on going to medical school, her career choice if golf wasn’t in the equation would be to practice medicine.

Kim learned the game of golf from her father, Christopher, who is on the bag this week in Rancho Mirage.

“He was a big golfer and he taught me the game so it is great to have him caddy for me this week,” said Kim. “I have a comfort level with him on the bag and I hope to keep things rolling during the weekend.”

Kim took lessons at LPGA International with Craig Shankland from the time she was 13 through 16.

In mid-July Kim took medalist honors at Pinehurst No. 2 in the stroke play portion of the North & South Women’s Amateur.

Kristina Merkle (Honolulu, Hawaii) has struggled in her first full season on the Symetra Tour. She has made eight starts and has missed the cut in each. Merkle erased some of the demons a tough year brings by firing a 66 in round one of LPGA Qualifying Tournament.

“It went really well today,” said Merkle, who played the Palmer Course. “I haven’t had a round like this in a long time so it is nice to get this under my belt.”

Merkle’s swing has undergone some changes over the last month under the watch of her dad, Lou, who is her longtime coach and a new instructor Mike Doctor out of New York.

“The changes are still new, but everything is kind of clicking right now,” said Merkle. “I’m definitely starting to get my confidence back.”

Merkle graduated from Tulsa in May of 2014 and played in a pair of Symetra Tour events in 2015. It is her dad’s message that really has her believing,

“He always tells me that there are girls that go three or four years without winning tournaments and then all of a sudden, something clicks,” said Merkle. “Golf is a funny sport. It throws you lots of curve balls and sometimes you swing and miss. My dad has really helped me continue to believe.”

Merkle was the Conference USA Golfer of the Year in 2012.

She hopes to one day play on the LPGA and then open a school in Hawaii to help young kids with academics and athletics.

“Ever since 8th grade, my parents and I have talked about a foundation,” said Merkle. “I never looked at academics as a priority until college and I want to have a school where kids can go for help in both academics and athletics. The game of golf has allowed me to travel the world and I really want to give back one day.”

Former Team Canada member Taylor Kim of Surrey, B.C., put together a six-birdie day to move into a share of third at 5-under. Toronto’s Anna Kim shot 70 on the day to sit T20, while Maya Parsons of Whitby, Ont., and Surrey resident Aram Choi follow one stroke behind in a tie for 36th. Team Canada National Team member Josée Doyon of St-Georges-de-Beauce, Que., carded a first-round 75.