DUBLIN, Ohio – A storm system that rolled through Muirfield Village late Saturday only further muddled the outlook at the Memorial.

Emiliano Grillo had the lead, came back from a 2 1/2-hour delay and promptly made double bogey. Matt Kuchar was rolling along after recovering from a freak bounce early in his round only to chop his way to bogey on the final hole.

Kuchar, who shared the 54-hole lead with Gary Woodland and William McGirt, sized up the final round when someone asked what it would take to win.

“You’re guess is as good as mine,” he said.

Kuchar rallied from a rough start and wound up with a 2-under 70 to join Woodland (69) and McGirt (64) at 14-under 202. The starting times were moved up for Sunday with players going off both tees in an effort to beat more bad weather in the forecast, which is easier to predict than the winner.

Twenty players were separated by four shots. Eight of them have never won on the PGA Tour. Three of them can avoid U.S. Open qualifying if they were to win.

And all of them would like nothing more than to relish a winner’s handshake with tournament host Jack Nicklaus.

That includes the No. 1 player in the world.

Jason Day, a Muirfield Village member who has never finished in the top 25 at the Memorial, ran off two quick birdies to get within one of the lead, only to watch a chip roll back past him into the fairway on the 18th hole for a double bogey and a 68. He was three shots behind.

Rory McIlroy was making headway until he dropped a shot at the last for a 70 that put him five back.

The other member of the modern Big Three never recovered from his mistakes. Jordan Spieth, after two quick birdies, went through a stretch of poor swings and missed putts, dropped four shots in a six-hole stretch. He had a 74 and was 10 behind.

So many others were still in the game, although Grillo appeared the least happy. He was at 15 under and on the 17th tee when he says an official told him to wait because the horn was getting ready to sound. It did a minute later, and Grillo said he would have rather hit.

When he returned, his tee shot went deep in the rough, he hacked out to the fairway, just missed the green to the left and took double bogey.

“I had to go home with 10 shots instead of eight, or maybe seven, the way I was playing,” he said. “But it is what it is, and tomorrow will be another day.”

He was at 13-under 203, along with Abbotsford, B.C., native Adam Hadwin (67), Jon Curran (68) and Dustin Johnson, who returned from the delay to tap in a short birdie putt for a 68.

David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., shot 72 to tie for 51st.

Woodland and McGirt are among dozens of players who face 36 holes of U.S. Open qualifying Monday, but they can take care of that with a victory, which would put both well inside the top 60 when the cutoff falls a week later. A victory for Scott Brown, three shots back after a 69, likely would do the same.

“I’m feeling pretty confident about where my game is,” said Woodland, who has made only one bogey in 54 holes at Muirfield Village. “I’ve been playing well for a while, and it’s starting to come together.”

McGirt cares only about winning. He has gone 164 starts on the PGA Tour, and he figures it’s about time. He played like it Saturday, going 5 under through his opening five holes with an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole. McGirt dropped a shot on the tough par-3 16th, answered with a birdie and signed for a 64.

“This game owes you nothing,” McGirt said. “I feel like I’ve put myself in position a few times, and it’s one of those things where you kind of have to screw it up a couple of times before you learn. I feel like every time I’ve been in this position I’ve learned something. So hopefully, tomorrow, if I can make it work out, it would be good.”

Kuchar won the Memorial three years ago. Johnson is a powerful presence at any tournament.

And then there’s Day.

He was determined to show he can play the Memorial better than he has, though little mistakes have held him back. Just short of the 18th, he had a pitch mark behind his ball on a delicate shot, caught it fat and watched it roll off the false front (the pin was in front), past his feet and back to the fairway.

“At the start of the day, if they said you’re going to shoot a 68, I would have taken it,” he said. “I think I played pretty good. I hit a lot better than I did yesterday, and there’s a lot of positives going into tomorrow.”

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Karine Icher matched the Bay Course record with a 9-under 62 on Saturday to take the second-round lead in the ShopRite LPGA Classic.

The 31-year-old French player, winless on the tour, had nine birdies in a 13-hole stretch in the round that started on No. 10 at Stockton Seaview. She tied the record on the Donald Ross-designed course set by Laura Davies in 2005 and matched by Jimin Kang that year and Jennifer Johnson in 2014.

“I don’t realize,” Icher said after her lowest round on the LPGA Tour. “I just like try to play easy and not look at the scoreboard, because it doesn’t serve me. I know that. So, try to play shot after shot, and then it’s becomes like a game to make as many birdies as possible.”

Icher began the run on Nos. 14 and 15, added two more on 17 and 18, ran off four straight on 3-6, reached 12 under on the eighth and closed with a par. She had only 23 putts.

“I made a lot of second shots close to the hole, so made some birdie easier to do,” Icher said. “The greens are difficult to read, and to get the right speed with the right slope. So, the closer you are, the easiest it is. It was a good round. I putted well. I had good wedges. So, quite happy.”

She chipped in on the par-4 sixth.

“I had to do like a rescue hybrid,” Icher said. “That one was lucky because it was quite hard. Dead straight in the hole.”

Japan’s Haru Nomura, a two-time winner this year, and South Korea’s Na Yeon Choi were a stroke back at 11 under. Nomura had a 66, and Choi birdied five of the last eight in a 64.

“I just remind myself like, ‘Hey, you can go aggressive a little bit more. You can shoot lower,’ So, I kind of motivate myself,” Choi said. “And just back nine, my shot was great and I got a lot of birdie chances, too. Seven under, I still feel like I left a couple out there.”

Nomura eagled the par-5 third and rebounded from a bogey on 14 to birdie three of the last four.

“Everything good,” Nomura said. “Driver, woods, irons, putting not bad.”

Defending champion Anna Nordqvist, tied for the first-round lead after a 64, had a 68 to drop to fourth at 10 under. The Swede bogeyed the first two holes, eagled the third and had five birdies and two bogeys the rest of the way.

“I feel I played pretty good,” Nordqvist said. “It was really tough wind this afternoon. A little hard to judge the direction. And then 17, 18 played dead into the wind. Made those holes a little tougher. But I shot 3-under today and I’m two shots out of it, and I feel like I’m in a good spot.”

Colombia’s Mariajo Uribe had a birdie-eagle finish for a 65 to reach 8 under. She holed out from 35 yards on the par-5 18th.

“It landed like 5 yards short and it just went in on the second bounce, an eagle,” Uribe said. “It’s a pretty nice way to finish.”

Samantha Richdale of Kelowna, B.C., leads the Canadian contingent at T15 after matching her first round 68. Sherbrooke, Que., resident Maude-Aimee Leblanc shot 72. Fourth-ranked Brooke Henderson was 3 under after a 70. The 18-year-old Canadian is coming off a third-place tie last week in Ann Arbor, Michigan, her ninth top-10 finish of the year.

Québec native Anne-Catherine Tanguay also recorded a 70, while Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., will not be moving onto the final round.

Stacy Lewis, the tournament winner in 2012 and 2014, followed her opening 66 with a 74 to drop to 2 under. Down to sixth in the world, the 31-year-old Lewis is winless in 49 starts since taking the North Texas LPGA Shootout in June 2014 for her 11th LPGA Tour victory. She tied for second three weeks ago in Alabama, her 10th runner-up finish during the drought and her 23rd overall.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko and streaking Ariya Jutanugarn skipped the tournament to get ready for the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the second major championship of the year, next week at Sahalee near Seattle. Jutanugarn has won three straight events, the last a five-stroke victory last week in Ann Arbor.

DES MOINES, Iowa – Billy Andrade broke the course record with a 9-under 63 on Saturday for a share of the second-round lead with Joe Durant and Todd Hamilton in the PGA Tour Champions’ Principal Charity Classic.

Durant had a 65, and Hamilton shot a 67 to match Andrade at 10-under 134 at the Wakonda Club.

Andrade broke the course record of 64 set by Bart Bryant in 2013 and matched by Bill Glasson in 2014. Andrade also tied the tournament record of 62 set by Kirk Triplett in 2012 at Glen Oaks.

Miguel Angel Jimenez (67) and Tom Lehman (68) were two strokes back, and Senior PGA winner Rocco Mediate (67) was 8 under along with Scott McCarron (68) and first-round leader John Inman (71).

John Daly, the senior newcomer who helped draw a record opening-round crowd on Friday, shot his second straight 74 to drop to 4 over.

St. Catharines, Ont., native Rod Spittle shot a 3-under 69 and is tied for 37th.

BEAUCEVILLE, Que. – Clear skies and good weather brought ideal playing conditions to the second round of the CN Future Links Quebec Championship. First round co-leader Monet Chun took sole possession of the Junior Girls’ top spot, while Callum Davison moved up from second place to lead the Junior Boys into the final round.

Chun, a product of Richmond Hill, Ont., tallied four birdies across her first 11 holes to card a 2-under 70 on the day. The 15-year-old reached 2-under in the competition to extend her advantage by four strokes.

Noemie Paré of Victoriaville, Que., matched Chun’s 2-under day. The 18-year-old’s 4-under back nine comprised of two birdies and an eagle on the par-4 13th catapulted her into second place.

First round co-leader Alyssa DiMarcantonio of Maple, Ont., shot 76 and sits third, while Meghan McLean of Port Williams, N.S., holds fourth-place after carding a 71. Completing the Top-5 is Céleste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-L’Île-Perrot, Que., who is 6-over after equaling DiMarcantonio’s round of 76.

A new leader took hold of the Junior Boys division as Davison shot a 67 to secure a 5-under-par, one-stroke lead. The Duncan, B.C., product notched back-to-back birdies on holes 4 and 5, then another pair on 11 and 12, before adding an eagle on the par-5 16th. Mascouche, Que., resident Marc-Antoine Hotte matched Davison’s eagle on the same hole and sits second after a round of 68.

One week removed from his victory at the CN Future Links Ontario Championship at Midland Golf & Country Club in Midland, Ont., Brandon Lacasse equaled Davison’s 4-under 67 to take sole possession of third place. The native of Châteauguay, Que., drained four birdies in a bogey-free round.

First round leader Sam Meek carded a 71 to stand alone at fourth, while William Duquette (Laval, Que.), Minwoo Park (Toronto) and Ty Celone (Long Sault, Ont.) hold shares of fifth at 1-under. Québec City native Charles-Éric Bélanger, a member of Team Canada’s Development Squad, is T16.

Exemptions into the 2016 Canadian Junior Boys Championship will be awarded to the top six finalists in the Junior Boys division. The event will be contested at Clovelly Golf Club in St. John’s N.L., from August 1-4. In the case of ties, exemptions will be decided via a hole-by-hole playoff. All those in the Top-6, including ties, in the Junior Girls division will gain entry into the Canadian Junior Girls Championship at The Links at Penn Hills in Shubenacadie, N.S., August 2-5.

The final day of competition will see the first round of Junior Boys tee-off at 7 a.m. before the Junior Girls take to the course at 11:20 a.m. The second round of Junior Boys will begin play at 1 p.m. Additional information, including pairings and up-to-date scoring is available here.

PARKSVILLE, B.C. – The University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbirds claimed team and individual honours on both the men’s and women’s sides at the 2016 Canadian University/College Championship at Morningstar Golf Club. All four titles have never been captured by the same school in the competition’s 14-year history.

UBC Coach Chris MacDonald who was named the Golf Coaches Association of Canada’s Coach of the Year for both the men’s and women’s teams, reflected positively on his team and the state of Canadian collegiate golf. “This means a lot. It’s an exciting time and we’re going in a better direction. It’s just nice to see consistent golf and to see how much this tournament has grown – not just from our team, but the entire field.”

For the second time since this tournament’s inception in 2003, UBC earned both team titles – a feat that has not been matched by another school. UBC came just shy of sweeping the four honours in 2009, only missing out on the women’s individual title. Kat Kennedy of Okotoks, Alta., ensured this year’s team would not suffer the same fate, carding a 1-over 73 en route to a four-stroke victory.

“Before we went out today, as a team, we talked about staying in our own bubble and taking it one shot at a time,” said the 21-year-old. “I think I went out there with that mindset and it helped me today. I’ve put in a lot of time and practice after some injuries this year. This was a big win for me and to see my hard work pay off is a big push for next year and for the rest of my golf career.”

The significance of the victory was not lost on the third-year science student. “Golf Canada has been a big part of my life. I have played a lot of junior golf with Golf Canada. This is a big title to have and I’m not used to it yet. It’s great to be a national champion.”

Alexandra Pelletier of the Université Laval Rouge et Or claimed runner-up honours. The Montréal native tallied two birdies and finished the competition at 16-over-par. UBC’s Barbara Neto-Bradley, of Porto, Portugal, claimed third-place with a four-day total of 22-over 310.

The UBC women claimed a 19-stroke victory over the defending champions, the Université de Montréal Carabins, and the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, who tied for second at a combined 79-over-par.

Kennedy beamed when asked about wearing the blue and gold of the UBC Thunderbirds. “It is a big honour. We have a great team. I feel like everyone is very supportive. We help push each other to be more competitive. Everywhere I go, I wear the T-bird with pride. I couldn’t be more proud of both the women’s and men’s teams.”

For the second straight year, UBC’s men’s team claimed a wire-to-wire victory. It was the fifth team title for the men’s side and their third in the past four years. The fivesome finished 2-over on the day to complete the tournament at 18-under 1134 – 45-strokes clear of the competition. The University of Victoria Vikes were 1-under on the day and placed second, while the Queen’s University Gaels finished third.

The men’s Thunderbirds were again led by Scott Secord, who registered a wire-to-wire win of his own. The Calgarian finished with rounds of 67-67-73-70 to reach 11-under 277 in the competition. All five members of the quintet finished in the Top-10 with Andrew Harrison of Camrose, Alta., taking 9^th, Victoria’s Nate Ollis finishing T7, Evan Holmes of Calgary claiming 6^th and fellow Albertan Jack Wood of Banff placing 4^th.

Secord spoke of the tight-knit group when asked about his tenure as a Thunderbird. “It’s meant a lot. I’m glad I could finish (my career with UBC) like this and as a team, as well. I’ve known Jack since he was a little tyke. We’ve had a different kind of relationship – like brothers. But that’s what it’s like with everyone. We’re such good friends with each other.”

Despite gusty conditions at times, Secord tallied four birdies on the day, including two back-to-back in a bogey-free back nine. “I was kind of steady throughout the front,” commented the champion. “It was pretty windy and it was shifting. The trees were playing tricks on us and we weren’t really certain which way it was going.”

The 23-year-old withstood the impressive play of Lawren Rowe of the University of Victoria Vikes. The Sophomore who hails from Victoria notched four birdies on the day to finish 2-under – four shots shy of the champion. Taking third was the University of the Fraser Valley’s Connor McLellan of Chilliwack, B.C., who carded the day’s low round – a four-birdie 4-under 68 showing – to finish 5-under in the competition.

Additional information regarding the championship can be found here.

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Anna Nordqvist and Stacy Lewis know their way around the Donald Ross-designed Bay Course at Stockton Seaview.

Nordqvist opened her ShopRite LPGA Classic title defense with a 7-under 64 on Friday for a share of the lead with Ai Miyazato and Paula Reto. Lewis, the tournament winner in 2012 and 2014, had a 66.

Nordqvist bogeyed Nos. 11 and 12, the second and third holes of her round, then birdied nine of the last 12 holes. The Swede twice made four straight birdies – on Nos. 16-1 and 6-9.

“I think it was just a little rust,” said Nordqvist, playing alongside Lewis and Lizette Salas the first two rounds. “It was early in the morning. I’m not a morning person. But 11 and 12, they weren’t really bad shots, but they just ended up in places you really couldn’t want to be. I just kept my head high and started giving myself better chances.”

Miyazato and Reto were paired together in the afternoon.

“First time playing with her in a tournament, actually, but she’s a really nice girl and she hits it really long,” Miyazato said. “It was a good atmosphere. Just a good chemistry, I guess.”

Japan’s Haru Nomura, a two-time winner this year, was a stroke back along with Casey Grice and Catriona Matthew.

Lewis and Sherbrooke, Que., native Maude-Aimee Leblanc each shot five birdies in bogey-free rounds to join Beatriz Recari, Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Christel Boeljon, Katherine Kirk, Stephanie Meadow and Amelia Lewis at 66.

“A little bit frustrating because I left some out there, but I think that’s the best first round I’ve had all year,” Lewis said. “So, first round’s kind of been my thing and to get off to a good start is a really good thing. … Maybe a round like this will break the trend a little bit.”

Down to sixth in the world, the 31-year-old Lewis is winless in 49 starts since taking the North Texas LPGA Shootout in June 2014 for her 11th LPGA Tour victory. She tied for second three weeks ago in Alabama, her 10th runner-up finish during the drought and her 23rd overall.

“It’s a shootout,” said Lewis, a 10-stroke winner in 2014. “Especially as soft as the greens are and the course this year, there’s a bunch of low scores.”

Salas had a 67 in the strong group.

“We had a bunch of holes where we all made birdies,” Lewis said. “Anna, I think, is the only one that got off to a slow start, but then she just made everything the last 12 holes or so. She made nine birdies in 12 holes or something. It’s cool and fun to watch. Especially on these greens, it’s nice to see other people making putts because then you feel like you can make some, too.”

Miyazato had an eagle, six birdies and a bogey. The Japanese player won the last of her nine LPGA Tour titles in 2012. She won at the Bay Course in 2010.

“I can’t believe it has already been six years last time I won this tournament.” Miyazato said. “But still, I love this golf course, and the local people are so supportive of this tournament.”

Reto birdied four of her final five holes. The Spanish player is winless on the tour.

“I’m really excited,” Reto said. “I played good today, steady, especially with irons and putting, but not so much off the tee. So, I got away with a couple of the shots. I told myself, ‘One shot at a time, don’t focus and doubt yourself.’ Everything paid off and I’m really happy.”

The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the second major championship of the year, is next week at tree-lined Sahalee near Seattle. Straight driving also is important on the Bay Course.

“I think it’s a ball-striker’s course,” Nordqvist said. “Greens tend to get a little bumpy. It’s poa, so you just have to give yourself a lot of chances. Iron play has been one of my strengths and today I hit them close, and that’s how you’re going to make birdies out here.”

After the early bobble, Nordqvist put on an iron clinic.

“I didn’t get off to the best start, but then on 16, I hit it to about a foot and a half,” the five-time tour winner said. “Both 17 and 18, I had birdie putts from, I think, 6 feet. Hit a good one wedge shot to another foot on 1, so that was a good stretch. From there on, I seemed to hit really good shots. Made a good 3-footer on 6 and a little longer putts on 7 and 8 I didn’t expect, and then a good 3-footer on the last.”

Fourth-ranked Brooke Henderson (Smiths Falls, Ont.) opened with a 69. The 18-year-old Canadian is coming off a third-place tie in Michigan, her ninth top-10 finish of the year. She won last year in Portland, Oregon. Henderson’s score was matched by Hamilton, Ont., resident Alena Sharp.

Samantha Richdale of Kelowna, B.C., shot 68, and Québec native Anne-Catherine Tanguay shot 71.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko and streaking Ariya Jutanugarn are skipping the tournament to get ready for the KPMG Women’s PGA. Jutanugarn has won three straight events, the last a five-stroke victory Sunday in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the LPGA Volvik Championship.

DUBLIN, Ohio – Two matches at home against Phil Mickelson made Brendan Steele feel inadequate. Two rounds at the Memorial gave him a share of the lead.

Steele put in a little more work and it paid off over two days in soft conditions at Muirfield Village. He had a 5-under 67 on Friday and was tied for the lead with past Memorial champion Matt Kuchar (66) going into a wide-open weekend.

Steele, whose only PGA Tour victory was in his rookie season five years ago, took the last two weeks off to attend a wedding, go fishing with his father and venture over to San Diego to play a few games with Mickelson at The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe.

“He just drummed around for a couple days, so I knew that I needed to really work hard on my game when I got here,” Steele said.

The mathematical definition of getting drummed turned out to be 2 and 1 on the first day, 5 and 4 on the second day.

“But the second day, he shot 10 under, I just felt like my game was very inferior to his,” Steele said.

He made a quick fix with swing coach Rick Smith, had time for a few more tweaks, and he took that straight to the course for solid play over the last two days. And while there was nothing at stake, he has Mickelson by five shots at the moment.

Mickelson gets credit for a tip.

“I think it’s hard in an off week to find out where your game is at unless you play against some good competition,” Mickelson said. “It identified the area that he needed to work on. He called up Rick, he came out and worked on it, and now here’s the result. That was kind of the benefit.”

As for the description of Mickelson “drumming” Steele?

“I use a little more flamboyant term, but that’s fine. You can use that,” he said.

Steele and Kuchar were at 12-under 132, the same score that led a year ago.

The scoring was so good, however, that the cut was at 2-under 142, the lowest since Jack Nicklaus started this tournament in 1976.

Jordan Spieth for a brief moment looked as though he might be on the wrong side of it when he opened with two bogeys in four holes. He made six birdies over his last 12 holes for a 68 to at least stay in range, six shots behind at the halfway point.

“The more you think about the cut line, the easier it is to hang around the cut line,” Spieth said. “I looked up at the board when I was at even and I thought, ‘You know, I’m 12 back. That’s a lot. How can we do our best just to do a little dent in it and maybe make some magic happen after that?'”

Rory McIlroy was mildly disappointed with his 66, but only because he played the last seven holes in even par.

“I thought it had the potential to be something quite special after 11 holes,” McIlroy said. “I don’t think you can ever be too disappointed with a 66, but at the same time, it had the potential to be a little bit better.”

Jason Day was thrilled with a 71 because he lost his swing and figured it should have been something in the upper 70s.

All of them are still in the chase, and they have plenty of company.

Emiliano Grillo of Argentina, who won his first PGA Tour event as a member at the Frys.com Open, feasted on the fast greens for a 66 and was one shot behind with Gary Woodland, who has quietly gone about rounds of 68-65. That included a shot into 3 feet for eagle on the par-5 15th.

Dustin Johnson, who opened with a 64, never caught the morning leaders. He had a pair of bogeys on the back nine that slowed him, and he took a double bogey on the par-4 sixth hole. It led to a 71, though he was only three shots behind.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., shot a 6-under 66 to climb into a three-way tie for 9th. Brantford, Ont., native David Hearn is tied for 32nd.

Kuchar also got a tip from Mickelson – a tip of the cap, anyway – when he got up-and-down with a flop shot on his final hole at No. 9 for a share of the lead. Dating to his 68 in the final round of The Players Championship, Kuchar has shot in the 60s in 10 of his last 11 rounds.

“I feel like I’ve put it all together,” Kuchar said. “The tough thing and the great thing about golf is there’s so many facets of the game, so many pieces, that need to come together for you to play well. It seems like some weeks the putter is hot but the driver’s not. If you get them all clicking, it’s great. And it feels like everything’s coming along on good form now.”

BEAUCEVILLE, Que. – Sun broke through the morning’s cloudy skies at Club de golf Beauceville for the first round of the 2016 CN Future Links Quebec Championship. Sam Meek snuck through a close group of competitors to top the Junior Boys division by one stroke, while Monet Chun and Alyssa DiMarcantonio shot matching 72s to share the Junior Girls lead.

Meek, a Peterborough, Ont., native, maintained an even-par round through 15 holes before sinking birdies on holes 16 and 18 to finish at 2-under. The 17-year-old tallied five birdies en route to the day’s low round.

Callum Davison from Duncan, B.C., and Marc-Antoine Hotte of Mascouche, Que., sit T2 after matching rounds of 1-under. Davison sunk two eagles on holes 11 and 16, while Hotte led all players in the field with seven birdies.

Charles-Éric Bélanger – a member of Team Canada’s Development Squad – began the day with back-to-back birdies on the first two holes. The Québec City native finished in a six-way tie for 4th at even par.

Two players share the Junior Girls division’s top spot, with Monet Chun of Richmond Hill, Ont., notching three birdies on the back nine to finish at even-par. Alyssa DiMarcantonio of Maple, Ont., holds a share of first after collecting four birdies and an eagle on the par-5 16^th hole.

Ellice Hong of Thornhill, Ont., Céleste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-L’Île-Perrot, Que., and Québec City native Sarah-Ève Rhéaume sit two strokes behind the co-leaders. Dao and Hong both tallied four birdies on the day, with Hong sinking three on the back nine.

Exemptions into the 2016 Canadian Junior Boys Championship will be awarded to the top six finalists in the Junior Boys division. The event will be contested at Clovelly Golf Club in St. John’s N.L., from August 1-4. In the case of ties, exemptions will be decided via a hole-by-hole playoff. All those in the Top-6, including ties, in the Junior Girls division will gain entry into the Canadian Junior Girls Championship at The Links at Penn Hills in Shubenacadie, N.S., August 2-5.

The second day of competition will see the Junior Girls division tee-off at 7 a.m. before the Junior Boys take to the course at 8:40 a.m. Additional information, including pairings and up-to-date scoring is available here.

NEEPAWA, Man. – The CN Future Links circuit is heading to Neepawa Golf & Country Club for the 2016 CN Future Links Prairie Championship. The fourth-of-six events in the series will welcome a field of 57 local and national junior golfers from June 10-12 as they compete in the 54-hole stroke play event.

The CN Future Links Championships are conducted in partnership with CN in an effort to support and develop junior golfers across Canada. Competitors will participate in a practice round on June 9 to prepare for the course’s challenging landscape situated around the Whitemud River.

“Golf Canada is excited to see the field compete at Neepawa Golf & Country Club,” said Dan Hyatt, the event’s Tournament Director. “This scenic track winds around the river to offer fantastic views for spectators and players alike. Neepawa will present an excellent chance for these players to strengthen their games.”

Three competitors from last year’s Top-10 will return in a bid to capture the Junior Boys title, led by Keaton Gudz from Victoria, B.C., who finished tied for fourth at the 2015 competition held at Cooke Municipal Golf Course in Prince Albert, Sask. The 17-year-old will be joined by Carson Harcourt of Kipling, Sask., and William Comeau from Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que., who are looking to build upon their respective seventh and T10 finishes.

Shirin Anjarwalla of Nanaimo, B.C., represents one of three returning players in the Junior Girls division. The 16-year-old, who finished third last year, will see a familiar face in the field in Winnipeg product Rebecca Kuik, who claimed 13th.

After recording a 14^th-place result at her home club last year, Kayla Sawchuck of Prince Albert, Sask., completes the contingent of returnees looking to make good on lessons learned throughout the past year.

Two CN Future Links Championships remain to be played this season:

• July 4-6 – CN Future Links Western – Medicine Hat, Alta. – Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club
• July 12-14 – CN Future Links Atlantic – Fairview, P.E.I. – Countryview Golf Club

The top six scorers in the Junior Boys division will gain entry into the 2016 Canadian Junior Boys Championship, held August 1-4 at Clovelly Golf Club in St. John’s, N.L. A hole-by-hole playoff will determine exemptions in the case of ties. All players in the Top-6 of the Junior Girls division, including ties, will earn exemptions into this year’s Canadian Junior Girls Championship, hosted by The Links at Penn Hills in Shubenacadie, N.S., from August 2-5.

Additional information on the 2016 CN Future Links Prairie Championship, including a full list of competitors and tee-times, is available here.

Nanaimo, B.C. – June 2nd, 2016 – Victoria’s Kevin Carrigan led wire-to-wire in securing the BC Men’s Mid-Amateur championship today, with Greg Bismeyer of Mission taking home the Mid-Master title.

On the women’s side, Shelly Stouffer of Nanoose Bay captured both the Ladies Mid-Amateur & Mid-Master honours after overtaking round 1 & 2 leader Alison Murdoch of Victoria.

Carrigan Goes Wire-To-Wire Winning Mid-Am At Nanaimo Golf Club

In the end, Kevin Carrigan won by six shots, but it was more of a struggle than you might think. Carrigan, who had a nine-shot lead to start Thursday’s final round of the B.C. Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship, saw his huge cushion slipping away after a disastrous beginning to his back nine.

“It didn’t feel like I was going to win by six after I had made three consecutive bogeys and splashed one into the water,” the 29-year-old Victoria native said. “I was thinking that the wheels had fallen off and I didn’t know where they had gone.”

After bogeys on the 10th, 11th and 12th holes, Carrigan then doubled the par 3 13th at Nanaimo Golf Club. Fortunately, he was able to birdie the par 5 14th hole to steady things and he parred the final four holes to post a five-over 77 that left him at four-under for the 54-hole tournament.

Carrigan finished six shots ahead of Victoria’s Scot Kral and Greg Bismeyer of Mission. “I definitely learned some stuff today,” said Carrigan, a 29-year-old member of Royal Colwood Golf Club in Victoria.

“It’s the first time I have won a tournament when I haven’t played three solid rounds of golf. I guess the fact there wasn’t anybody close after two rounds, I maybe got complacent or something like that.

I came out of the gate and bogeyed three of the first four holes and I’m thinking ‘oh my gosh, here we go.’ It’s one of those games. I always tell the juniors I work with no matter how bad it gets, it can always get worse, so just bear down and try to finish your round. I was fortunately able to do that not playing my best golf.”

The B.C. Mid-Amateur, which is open to competitors 25 and older, was held at the same time as the Mid-Master Championship, which is for players 40 and over. Bismeyer, a 54-year-old retired Vancouver police officer, took the Mid-Master title after closing the tournament with a solid round of one-under 71.

“It was a bit of roller-coaster round,” Bismeyer said. “It was some bad shots, some good shots and I strung three birdies together on 14, 15 and 16. Then the nerves get going on 17 and 18. It was fun.”

Bismeyer finished one shot ahead of Victoria’s Craig Doell and Nanaimo’s Sandy Harper in the Mid-Master category. Bismeyer and Kral will join Carrigan on the three-man team that will represent B.C. at the Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship, which goes Aug. 23-26 in Bromont, Que.

Carrigan has now won two B.C. Mid-Amateur titles. He is also a two-time winner of the Canadian Mid-Amateur championship. Carrigan and Doell captured the two-ball championship that was also contested during the event. They finished with a score of 21-under par. That was eight shots better than the teams of Harper and Shelly Stouffer and John Gallacher and Gudmund Lindbjerg.

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Nanaimo Twice As Nice For Nanoose Bay’s Shelly Stouffer

Shelly Stouffer battled more than just her closest pursuers in Thursday’s final round of the B.C. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship. She also battled the butterflies, which were in full flight as she walked the final few holes at Nanaimo Golf Club.

Stouffer, a Nanoose Bay resident, overcame her nerves and held off Alison Murdoch of Victoria and Christina Proteau of Port Alberni to win the Mid-Amateur title by two shots. “I am pretty happy,” Stouffer said. “I was able to hang in and win coming down the stretch. I was nervous, man.”

Thursday’s final round was something of a roller-coaster ride for Stouffer, who shot a final round of four-over 76 to finish the 54-hole event at 16-over par. That was two shots better than the 66-year-old Murdoch, who closed with an 80. Murdoch, a Victoria Golf Club member, had begun the day with a two-shot lead on Stouffer.

“I was just trying to hit every shot the best I could and it was a much better ball-striking day certainly than the first day, but I just put myself in some awkward spots that I couldn’t get out of,” Murdoch said.

Stouffer also claimed the Mid-Master title for players 40 and over. So she won two provincial championships in one day. Not a bad day at the office. “I’ve never won the Mid-Am before so it’s exciting. In a major tournament like this I have never beat Christina before, so it’s a good feeling.”

Last summer, when the Mid-Amateur and Mid-Master events were contested separately, Stouffer won her first Mid-Master title and finished runner-up to Proteau at the Mid-Amateur. Proteau, the pre-tournament favourite, simply could not buy a putt on Thursday, or most of the tournament for that matter.

She finished alone in third place, three shots behind Stouffer. “I hit a lot of good shots at one point and then I didn’t really pull the trigger the last couple of holes,” Proteau said. “It just happens, I guess.”

Click HERE for complete scoring.