PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic – A hornet sting early and a bunch of birdies late carried Hudson Swafford to a 5-under 67 on Friday for a two-shot lead going into the weekend of the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship.

Joining him in the final group will be Sean O’Hair, who missed an entire year with a torn oblique and returned just in time for the COVID-19 pandemic to shut down golf.

Swafford played in the morning when it was humid along the Caribbean Sea but without much wind. He started on the back nine and it was largely uneventful, except for that hornet that stung him on the joint of his pinky finger while he reached for his putter after playing one hole.

“It started swelling up, so I was just kind of rubbing ice on it after tee shots for the first five, six holes on the back side,” Swafford said. “I guess it kind of cleared my mind of the golf thing and just let me focus on something else.”

Swafford has a good feel for the greens this week, so his objective was to give himself enough chances. After a pair of birdies on the back nine, and then a few mistakes when the wind arrived, Swafford ran off three birdies at the end of his round and set the target at 12-under 132.

“My caddie got stung yesterday on the forearm on the first hole, and I guess he said it’s kind of a good omen,” Swafford said. “We played well, and we ended up playing well again today.”

Two shots behind were O’Hair (67), former Southern Cal star Justin Suh (67) and Luke List (65).

All have dealt with some form of injuries. Swafford is missed most of last summer with foot surgery. Suh had a wrist injury right when he turned pro that slowed his progress.

And then there was 38-year-old O’Hair, a four-time PGA Tour winner. He tore his oblique at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February 2019, had surgery to repair and remove scar tissues, and he didn’t play another PGA Tour event until Pebble Beach this year. He played the Honda Classic. And then golf shut down.

“I’ve been out pretty much almost a year-and-a-half now,” said O’Hair, who missed the cut in the Safeway Open last week. “So it’s trying to get in a groove again, in the routine again. My body is still not quite there as far as the workload that you do from travelling and hitting balls and walking and practice. It’s kind of hard to practice that at home.

“I’ve tried to play as much as I can at home to get ready for this, and this is going to be my first three weeks in a row for a year-and-a-half, so that’s going to be a big task for me, for sure.”

Suh chipped in for birdie on the 17th, and then made an 18-foot par putt on the 18th when his approach rolled off the side of the green into a collection area.

Mackenzie Hughes of Canada had a 67 and was at 9-under 135 along with Adam Long, who ran off six straight birdies and was 8 under through 12 holes on his round until he made back-to-back bogeys. He had to settle for a 65, still not a bad way to celebrate his 33rd birthday.

The cut was at 3-under 141, and among those missing the weekend was Graham DeLaet. The Canadian opened with a 78 and was 14 shots better Friday. But his 64 left him one shot short of making the cut.

Defending champion Graeme McDowell shot 73 and missed the cut.

The tournament was a Korn Ferry Tour event three years ago. It graduated to an opposite-field event, and then was elevated to a full FedEx Cup event for this year when it was postponed until late September, and then the Ryder Cup this week was postponed until 2021.

That means the winner this week gets an invitation to the Masters next April, and the final two rounds will be broadcast on NBC Sports, which had set aside this time for the Ryder Cup.

MAMARONECK, N.Y. – Mike Davis spent the last decade running the USGA, where he set up golf courses to provide an extreme test for elite players and searched for solutions to increasing distance.

Now he wants to build golf courses, a lifelong passion.

Davis announced Tuesday he will retire as CEO at the end of 2021, ending a 32-year career with the USGA that began with him overseeing ticket sales and transportation. He became the seventh executive director in 2011 and the USGA’s first CEO after an organizational shakeup in 2016.

Davis, whose love of golf course architecture dates to when he was a junior golfer and would doodle holes on a piece of paper, said he will join Tom Fazio II in a new golf architecture firm called Fazio & Davis Golf Design.

“One of the wonderful things these 32 years afforded me was I’ve gone out of my way to see most of the world’s great courses,” Davis said. “I’ve played them, studied them, read about them, taken pictures of them. I’ve read all the architecture books. I get as giddy with some architects as I do being around Jack, Arnold, Byron Nelson and Mickey Wright.”

The announcement comes two days after Bryson DeChambeau crushed the notion that accuracy is tantamount to U.S. Open success. DeChambeau said he would hit driver as often as he could, even if it went into Winged Foot’s notorious rough, and he won by six shots by becoming the only player at par or better all four rounds of a U.S. Open at Winged Foot.

The retirement, however, was in the works for several years. Davis had planned to announce it in September when the 2020 USGA championship season was over, so a successor could be found. Instead, the coronavirus pandemic forced the U.S. Open to be postponed from June until last week, with the U.S. Women’s Open in Houston still to come in December.

Davis said he told his wife when he was appointed executive director in 2011 that he would do the job for 10 years. He told the USGA board more than three years ago that he would work through 2021 so he could try his hand at building courses.

“I knew I would regret it if I didn’t try,” he said.

His one regret was not seeing through the conclusion of the “Distance Insights Project.” A summary in February suggested it was time to stop increases in distance at all levels, highlighting an average gain of 25 yards over the last 30 years for elite players. The feedback process and next step have been delayed by the pandemic.

“I think something is going to happen,” Davis said. “When is it going to be done? How is it going to be done? How will we introduce it? It’s a multiyear process. I’d have to stay many years to see this thing through. I’m just happy that for the first in over 100 years, we’re finally doing something. I pushed at it with the R&A, I pushed it with our own group.

“I will look back saying that is one thing I am very proud of, because I just know it’s in the best interest in the game.”

His last U.S. Open will be at Torrey Pines next summer. Meanwhile, Davis stays on to guide the USGA through the COVID-19 pandemic, setting up what amounts to a satellite office and a new testing centre in Pinehurst, North Carolina, advancing the distance project and working with his successor.

USGA President Stu Francis said a search would begin immediately, with hopes of having the next CEO hired by the U.S. Open next summer.

Davis first took over setting up U.S. Open courses at Winged Foot in 2006, and he introduced the concept of graduated rough that grew longer the farther away from the fairway. That was from his first U.S. Open experience at Baltusrol in 1980, which he attended with his father. Davis recalls thinking it was unfair that someone who missed the fairway by a little was punished more than someone who missed by a lot.

He has been criticized for some setup decisions, most recently at Shinnecock Hills, though that was to be expected. His predecessor, Tom Meeks, predicted in 2009 that Davis would make a mistake at some point. “It doesn’t happen by design. It happens because it’s the U.S. Open,” Meeks said.

There was so much more to the job, especially as CEO. Davis was part of the most significant overhaul of the Rules of Golf that took effect in 2019, and he signed off on a decision to ban the anchored stroke used for long putters a few years earlier. He also was executive director when the USGA signed a 12-year broadcast deal with Fox worth about $1 billion, a deal that NBC took over again earlier this year.

Part of Davis already is looking ahead. He doesn’t want to design golf courses on paper. He wants to build them, and he said he would spend time on the construction crews of architects Bill Coore and Gil Hanse to learn that end of it.

“I can’t wait to get my hands dirty,” Davis said, chuckling like someone who has been wanting to do this for a long time.

TORONTO – The Golf Journalists Association of Canada (GJAC) announced on Monday that Kim Locke is the recipient of the 2020 Dick Grimm Award, the association’s highest honour.

A committee of past GJAC Presidents selected Locke, whose leadership in founding and publishing SCOREGolf have contributed richly to the discourse and coverage of Canadian golf for four decades.
Named in honour of Canadian Golf Hall of Famer Richard “Dick” Grimm, whose legendary service to the Canadian Open and the Canadian golf industry is unparalleled in Canadian golf history, the Dick Grimm Award is presented annually to those who have made a significant lifetime contribution to Canadian golf.

“It’s truly an honour to be this year’s recipient of the Dick Grimm Award,” said Locke. “When I first broke into the golf media business 40 years ago Dick was extremely influential as a mentor and trusted advisor. He was also a dear close friend who epitomized the game’s values the entirety of his long distinguished career. My sincere thanks to the Golf Journalists Association of Canada for bestowing me with an award that embodies what Dick Grimm meant to golf right across Canada.”

Under Locke’s leadership since launching as SCORE, Canada’s Golf Magazine in 1980, SCOREGolf has made countless contributions to Canadian golf media including editorial coverage in print, TV and radio, course rankings and platforms for diverse voices across the Canadian golf industry. In January, SCOREGolf was awarded the PGA of Canada’s George Cumming Distinguished Service Award.

“Over the course of his career Kim’s work has contributed immensely to the Canadian golf community,” said David McPherson, GJAC President. “We’re proud to present him with this award in the name of Dick Grimm, whose tireless efforts to promote the game of golf in Canada had so much in common with what SCOREGolf has achieved over the past 40 years.”

Grimm, who passed away in 2014, was a true giant of the game in Canada, and in the world of golf. He was an energetic supporter of GJAC, and the association’s highest annual award is named after him.

MAMARONECK, N.Y. – What was supposed to be a typical U.S. Open produced a most unconventional champion.

Bryson DeChambeau was not the least bit concerned by the narrow fairways or the ankle-deep rough that shape Winged Foot into historically the toughest of all U.S. Opens. With his extra 40 pounds of muscle and mass, he wanted to pound it into submission with his driver, even if his errant shots were buried in deep grass.

That’s how he plays the game. And for skeptics who said that wouldn’t work in a U.S. Open at Winged Foot, just look at that shiny silver trophy he kissed, and the record score he posted Sunday in a six-shot victory.

This victory was as much about validating his out-of-the-box approach to the royal and ancient game.

“One hundred per cent, no doubt,” DeChambeau said. “For me, it’s about the journey of can I executive every shot more repeatable than everybody else. I was able to do that this week. That’s why I won by six.”

Part of this course’s fame is the “Massacre of Winged Foot” in 1974 when the winning score was 7-over par.

This was a massacre, all right.

DeChambeau rolled in a 7-foot par putt and thrust those powerful arms in the air when he capped off a 3-under 67 on a course that didn’t allow another round under par. Two shots behind Matthew Wolff at the start of a chilly September afternoon, he caught him in four holes, passed him in five and pulled away along the back nine.

From the fairway. From the rough. It didn’t matter.

“I don’t really know what to say because that’s just the complete opposite of what you think a U.S. Open champion does” Rory McIlroy said. “Look, he’s found a way to do it. Whether that’s good or bad for the game, I don’t know, but it’s just not the way I saw this golf course being played or this tournament being played.”

Call him a mad scientist in a tam o’shanter cap. Call him a game-changer in golf.

Any description now starts with U.S. Open champion.

Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., was the top Canadian following a 70 that left him 10 over, good for 23rd spot. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., struggled to an 80, finishing at 19 over.

Wolff, trying to become the first player since Francis Ouimet in 1913 to win the U.S. Open in his debut, closed with a 75. He made a 10-foot eagle putt on the par-5 ninth to stay within one shot. That was his only hole under par. Wolff finished at even-par 280, a score that would have won four of the previous five U.S. Opens at Winged Foot.

It didn’t stand a chance in this one.

“You can’t take Bryson out because obviously he won, but shooting even par for four rounds at Winged Foot is pretty exceptional,” Wolff said.

That describes DeChambeau this week. It was a breathtaking performance, four rounds at par or better, the first player to manage that at Winged Foot.

His victory really began last October, when he closed out his 2019 season in Las Vegas and said with a mischievous grin, “I’m going to come back next year and look like a different person.” He added 40 pounds through intense workout and a diet of 6,000 calories a day.

The COVID-19 pandemic shut down golf for three months, leading to the U.S. Open being postponed from June to September. It also gave DeChambeau more time to execute his plan of swinging faster and harder, stretching the limits.

His work ethnic borders on insanity, and the eve of the final round was no exception. Unhappy with how he played Saturday, hitting only three fairways, DeChambeau had the lights turned on so he could stay on the range well past 8 p.m., pounding driver, searching for the right swing. Temperatures were in the 40s. He was in a short-sleeve shirt.

He didn’t find fairways, but he seemed to miss in the right spots. That was key for a player who hit only six fairways on Sunday, 23 out of 56 for the week.

Skepticism turned into admiration, with a healthy dose of disbelief.

“It’s a game we’ve never really seen before,” said Harris English, who shot 73 and finished fourth.

Louis Oosthuizen birdied the 18th to finish alone in third.

“I don’t think they can set it up for him, to be honest,” Oosthuizen said. “I don’t know what they can do really, because he’s hitting it so far. He’s so strong out of the rough. And he’s probably one of the best putters out there, which a week that he really putts well, you’re going to have a lot of trouble.”

In six U.S. Opens at Winged Foot among 894 competitors, DeChambeau is only the third to finish a tournament under par. His 6-under 274 was the lowest score, and no one saw it coming this week.

Wolff, the 21-year-old Californian who can drive it past DeChambeau with a lower flight and more roll in the fairway, gave him a good run in his quest to become the youngest U.S. Open champion since Bobby Jones in 1923.

The U.S. Open was still up for grabs for a fleeting moment around the turn. DeChambeau and Wolff each got out of position on the eighth hole and made bogey. DeChambeau was at 3 under, one shot ahead of Wolff. Ahead of them, Oosthuizen and Xander Schauffele were lurking at even par.

Still to play was the back nine, where so much has gone wrong at Winged Foot over the years.

Not this time.

DeChambeau and Wolff blasted drives down the fairway on the par-5 ninth. DeChambeau rolled in a 40-foot eagle putt with perfect pace. Wolff, who had pitching wedge for his second shot, matched his eagle with a 10-foot putt.

Just like that it was a two-man race.

And then it was a one-man show.

Wolff’s tee shot on the par-3 10th rolled left into the thick collar of the bunker, a spot so precarious he had to stand in the deep bunker and grip halfway down the steel shaft of his sand wedge. He chipped 10 feet by the hole for a bogey to fall two shots behind.

From the fairway on the 11th, however, Wolff hit wedge that was chunky and went into the right rough, and he had to scramble for par instead of setting up a reasonable birdie chance. DeChambeau from the right rough came up short, but he used putter from off the green for birdie from 15 feet away.

With a three-shot lead, DeChambeau kept blasting away as if he were chasing, not leading, just like he said he would. He saved par from the left rough on the 14th and a perfect pitch from deep grass behind the green. He downed another protein shake walking down the 15th, marching along to a major title that affirms his position in the game as a pioneer.

Imagine the USGA, which has been studying the impact on distance, getting together for a debriefing after this performance. What would they say?

“He’s hitting it forever,” DeChambeau said with a laugh.

The last laugh.

MAMARONECK, N.Y. – Matthew Wolff might be too young to realize he’s supposed to hit fairways to have a chance to win the U.S. Open. Or maybe he’s so good it doesn’t matter.

Wolff hit only two fairways Saturday and still matched the lowest score ever at Winged Foot in a major, a 5-under 65 that gave the 21-year-old Californian a two-shot lead over Bryson DeChambeau going into the final round.

Whether it was the first cut or the nasty rough, Wolff kept giving those hips one last swivel before blasting away and giving himself birdie chances. He made enough of them to seize control, and then let so many others crumble.

Patrick Reed, tied for the lead at the turn, couldn’t find the fairway and paid dearly with a 43 on the back nine. Reed had a three-shot lead after two holes. He walked off the 18th green with a 77 and was eight shots behind.

Collin Morikawa won the PGA Championship last month in his first try at age 23. Wolff is playing his first U.S. Open at age 21. Is he next?

“I’m probably going to be a little antsy. It’s the U.S. Open, and I have a lead,” Wolff said. “I’m going to try to keep my nerves as calm as they can be. I put myself in a really good spot. I did everything that I could do up until this point, and tomorrow I’m going to go out there, I promise you I’m going to try my best.”

He was at 5-under 205. Not since Francis Ouimet in 1913 – also the last time the U.S. Open was played in September – has a player won the U.S. Open in his debut.

DeChambeau could easily have gone the same route as Reed, missing left and right, gouging his way out of the grass. But after opening with two bogeys, he kept scrambling away – 15 straight holes with nothing worse than par. He rallied with two late birdies until missing a short par putt on the 18th for a 70.

He will be in the final group for the first time in a major, another quiet affair with no spectators on the course.

The U.S. Open began with 21 players under par. There were six going into the weekend. Now it’s down to three, with Louis Oosthuizen efficiently putting together a 68 to finish at 1-under 209.

Both Canadians to make the weekend struggled Saturday. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., fired a 74 to fall to 9 over, while Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., sits 10 over following a 75.

Hideki Matsuyama (70), Xander Schauffele (70) and Harris English (72) were at even-par 210. Another shot back was Rory McIlroy, who posed his 68 some three hours before the leaders finished.

“It doesn’t take much around here … and all of a sudden you’re right in the thick of things,” McIlroy said. “No matter where I am at the end of the day, I feel like I’ve got a pretty good shot.”

It all depends on Wolff, an NCAA champion at Oklahoma State who won on the PGA Tour in his third event as a pro last summer in the 3M Open in Minnesota.

From the first cut of rough on the opening hole, he hit it to right level of the contoured green for a 15-foot birdie. From the right rough on No. 4, he wound up with another 15-foot birdie putt. And then he really poured it on.

He drove next to the green on the short par-4 sixth, getting up-and-down from a bunker for birdie. He holed a 12-foot birdie on the par-3 seventh. And when he finally hit his first fairway on No. 8, he missed a 6-foot birdie attempt.

His lone bogey came on the 16th when he was in such a bad lie in the rough he couldn’t reach the green. And he finished with a most fortuitous hop. His iron off the tee hopped into the thick rough and back out to the first cut. He ripped 7-iron to 10 feet for one last birdie.

“If I don’t hit fairways tomorrow, I know I can play well,” Wolff said with a smile. “Even when I was in the rough, I had a bunch of good numbers and a bunch of good lies.”

And he played a lot of good golf, so good that even at his age, he looked to be a daunting figure to catch.

“I don’t think there’s any `chasing’ out here,” Schauffele said, adding that if Wolff had another good round Sunday it would be “impossible to catch him.”

DeChambeau gave himself hope, among five players within five of the lead on a course where anything goes. Think back to the last U.S. Open at Winged Foot in 2006, when Geoff Ogilvy hit a superb pitch to 6 feet for par that he thought was only good for second place until Phil Mickelson and Colin Montgomerie closed with double bogeys.

“I feel like I’m ready to win out here and win a major,” Wolff said. “It is a major. It’s really important and yes, it is really early in my career. But I feel like I have the game to win. Collin won at 23. I’m 21. And I’m not saying that it’s going to happen. But I put myself in a really good spot, and obviously I’m feeling really good with my game.”

– Matthew Wolff might be too young to realize he’s supposed to hit fairways to have a chance to win the U.S. Open. Or maybe he’s so good it doesn’t matter.

Wolff hit only two fairways Saturday and still matched the lowest score ever at Winged Foot in a major, a 5-under 65 that gave the 21-year-old Californian a two-shot lead over Bryson DeChambeau going into the final round.

Whether it was the first cut or the nasty rough, Wolff kept giving those hips one last swivel before blasting away and giving himself birdie chances. He made enough of them to seize control, and then let so many others crumble.

Patrick Reed, tied for the lead at the turn, couldn’t find the fairway and paid dearly with a 43 on the back nine. Reed had a three-shot lead after two holes. He walked off the 18th green with a 77 and was eight shots behind.

Collin Morikawa won the PGA Championship last month in his first try at age 23. Wolff is playing his first U.S. Open at age 21. Is he next?

“I’m probably going to be a little antsy. It’s the U.S. Open, and I have a lead,” Wolff said. “I’m going to try to keep my nerves as calm as they can be. I put myself in a really good spot. I did everything that I could do up until this point, and tomorrow I’m going to go out there, I promise you I’m going to try my best.”

He was at 5-under 205. Not since Francis Ouimet in 1913 – also the last time the U.S. Open was played in September – has a player won the U.S. Open in his debut.

DeChambeau could easily have gone the same route as Reed, missing left and right, gouging his way out of the grass. But after opening with two bogeys, he kept scrambling away – 15 straight holes with nothing worse than par. He rallied with two late birdies until missing a short par putt on the 18th for a 70.

He will be in the final group for the first time in a major, another quiet affair with no spectators on the course.

The U.S. Open began with 21 players under par. There were six going into the weekend. Now it’s down to three, with Louis Oosthuizen efficiently putting together a 68 to finish at 1-under 209.

Hideki Matsuyama (70), Xander Schauffele (70) and Harris English (72) were at even-par 210. Another shot back was Rory McIlroy, who posed his 68 some three hours before the leaders finished.

“It doesn’t take much around here … and all of a sudden you’re right in the thick of things,” McIlroy said. “No matter where I am at the end of the day, I feel like I’ve got a pretty good shot.”

It all depends on Wolff, an NCAA champion at Oklahoma State who won on the PGA Tour in his third event as a pro last summer in the 3M Open in Minnesota.

From the first cut of rough on the opening hole, he hit it to right level of the contoured green for a 15-foot birdie. From the right rough on No. 4, he wound up with another 15-foot birdie putt. And then he really poured it on.

He drove next to the green on the short par-4 sixth, getting up-and-down from a bunker for birdie. He holed a 12-foot birdie on the par-3 seventh. And when he finally hit his first fairway on No. 8, he missed a 6-foot birdie attempt.

His lone bogey came on the 16th when he was in such a bad lie in the rough he couldn’t reach the green. And he finished with a most fortuitous hop. His iron off the tee hopped into the thick rough and back out to the first cut. He ripped 7-iron to 10 feet for one last birdie.

“If I don’t hit fairways tomorrow, I know I can play well,” Wolff said with a smile. “Even when I was in the rough, I had a bunch of good numbers and a bunch of good lies.”

And he played a lot of good golf, so good that even at his age, he looked to be a daunting figure to catch.

“I don’t think there’s any `chasing’ out here,” Schauffele said, adding that if Wolff had another good round Sunday it would be “impossible to catch him.”

DeChambeau gave himself hope, among five players within five of the lead on a course where anything goes. Think back to the last U.S. Open at Winged Foot in 2006, when Geoff Ogilvy hit a superb pitch to 6 feet for par that he thought was only good for second place until Phil Mickelson and Colin Montgomerie closed with double bogeys.

“I feel like I’m ready to win out here and win a major,” Wolff said. “It is a major. It’s really important and yes, it is really early in my career. But I feel like I have the game to win. Collin won at 23. I’m 21. And I’m not saying that it’s going to happen. But I put myself in a really good spot, and obviously I’m feeling really good with my game.”

MAMARONECK, N.Y. – This was the Winged Foot everyone has heard about. This is the U.S. Open everyone expected.

Patrick Reed answered the first big test Friday when the wind arrived out of the north, bringing a little chill and a lot of trouble. He never got flustered by bogeys and made enough birdie putts and key saves for an even-par 70.

It felt just as rewarding as the 66 he shot in the opening round, and it gave him a one-shot lead over muscleman Bryson DeChambeau, who powered and putted his way to a 68.

The opening round featured soft greens, a few accessible pins and 21 rounds under par. Friday was the epitome of a major long known as the toughest test in golf.

Three players broke par. Nine others shot even par. Everyone else was hanging on for dear life. As the final groups tried to beat darkness in this September U.S. Open, only six players remained in red numbers.

“It’s almost like they set it up to ease our way into it, and then showed us what it’s supposed to really be like,” Reed said.

Television showed his five birdies. What took him to the 36-hole lead at 4-under 136 was a collection of pars from bunkers and from thick grass just over the greens. He managed them all with grit, a common trait among U.S. Open champions.

DeChambeau showed plenty of resiliency, too, bouncing back with birdies after all five of his bogeys and finishing the best round of the day with a pitching wedge on the downwind, 557-yard, par-5 ninth to 6 feet for eagle.

Rafa Cabrera-Bello of Spain and Harris English each had a 70 and were at 2-under 138.

They were joined by Justin Thomas, who opened with a 65 – the lowest ever at Winged Foot for a U.S. Open – and lost all those shots to par after 10 holes. Thomas then delivered a 5-wood from 228 yards into the wind on the par-3 third hole and made a slick, 15-foot, double-breaking birdie putt to steady himself. He scratched out a 73 and is right in it.

Jason Kokrak (71) was the only other player under par at 1-under 139.

Taylor Pendrith (74) of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Adam Hadwin (73) of Abbotsford, B.C., were tied for 33rd at 5 over par. Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., missed the cut.

“This isn’t exactly a place where you go out and try to shoot 6 or 7 under to catch up,” Thomas said. “I’m not going to worry about what everyone else is doing because you could shoot 80 just as easily as you could shoot 68. I just need to stay focused, and most importantly, go home and get some rest. Because I’m pretty tired.”

There’s still 36 holes to go, and no indication that Winged Foot is going to get any easier.

“The rough is still really thick. I don’t think they’re planning on cutting it,” Matthew Wolff said after salvaging a 74 that left him four shots behind. “The greens are only going to get firmer, and the scores are only going to get higher.”

Tiger Woods is among those who won’t be around to experience it. He had a pair of double bogeys at the end of the back nine, and two birdies over his last three holes gave him a 77. He missed the cut by four shots, the eighth time in his last 15 majors he won’t be around for the weekend.

“It feels like the way the golf course is changing, is turning, that anybody who makes the cut has the opportunity to win this championship,” Woods said. “I didn’t get myself that opportunity.”

Neither did Phil Mickelson, who had his highest 36-hole score in 29 appearances in the one major he hasn’t won. Ditto for Jordan Spieth, whose 81 was his highest score in a major. PGA champion Collin Morikawa missed an 8-foot birdie putt on the final hole that cost him a chance to keep playing.

Reed turned in a workman-like performance, making birdies when he had the chance, saving par when needed. This is the kind of golf he loves. It’s a grind. And it’s about feel. He was most pleased with his birdie on No. 1 after he made the turn, going with a chip 8-iron from 147 yards into the wind and riding the slope at the back of the green to tap-in range.

“I love when it’s hard, when you have to be creative on all different golf shots,” he said.

There were plenty of great rounds on such a demanding course, many of which fell apart at the end. Louis Oosthuizen was 3 under in the morning when he finished bogey-bogey-double bogey for a 74. Xander Schauffele was 3 under until he bogeyed three of his last five holes.

“The wind can make a par-3 course difficult, so put that on a U.S. Open setup, it’s going to be even more so,” Schauffele said. “It’ll be a fun afternoon to watch on TV.”

Rory McIlroy’s problems started early. He was 5 over through seven holes, including a birdie at the start, and shot 76 to fall seven shots behind. Dustin Johnson was bogey-free through 16 holes until a pair of bad tee shots led to bogey. He had a 70 and was in the group at 3-over 143.

All of them still feel as though the U.S. Open is in sight.

“I’m confident now, after seeing what was out there this afternoon, over par will win this tournament,” Adam Scott said a 74 left him nine shots back. “The greens finally dried out. If there’s any breeze, over par is winning.”

It usually does at Winged Foot.

MAMARONECK, N.Y. – All that hype over how tough the U.S. Open can be at Winged Foot. All that history of so many scores over par.

Thursday brought a surprise: All those red numbers.

Justin Thomas led the way with six birdies and only one bogey from a bad lie in the bunker, finishing with a 25-foot birdie putt that he barely touched for a 5-under 65.

It was the lowest score in a U.S. Open at Winged Foot, which is hosting the Open for the sixth time dating to 1929. And it was worth only a one-shot lead over Patrick Reed, Thomas Pieters of Belgium and Matthew Wolff, the 21-year-old Californian making his U.S. Open debut.

Rory McIlroy, who has been struggling to get off to a decent start in the majors, opened with a 67 and tried to contain his disappointment it wasn’t lower. He had a pair of three-putts that held him back, one on the 329-yard sixth where he hit driver onto the middle of the green and had to settle for par.

McIlroy was among those two shots behind on a scoreboard filled with red numbers, an unusual site for Winged Foot. In the previous five U.S. Opens, a total of 17 players were under par after the first round. On Thursday, there were 21.

No one believes it will stay that way. Still, this was the day to take advantage.

“It’s helpful with three days left, but it’s not even remotely close to being over,” Thomas said of his best start in a U.S Open or any major. “As great of a round and fun as it was, it’s over with now, and I need to get over it.”

Thomas went into the week saying it was a “different kind of fun” to grind over pars, to hit middle irons to difficult pins instead of the low scoring at so many other tournaments.

This was fun, too.

Patrick Reed and Will Zalatoris made a hole-in-one on No. 7, and Zalatoris somehow missed another ace on No. 13. Spanish amateur Eduard Rousand holed out for eagle from the first fairway with his second shot in his U.S. Open debut. Louis Oosthuizen holed out for eagle on second fairway.

“Yeah, 65 is fun no matter where you play, especially at Winged Foot,” Thomas said. “I was in a really good frame of mind, and I was focused. I just was sticking to my routine and playing every shot, as opposed to getting ahead of myself. It’s one of those rounds where … next thing you know, you make the putt on 18, you’re done for the day.”

He played with Tiger Woods and PGA champion Collin Morikawa, who couldn’t get done fast enough.

Woods was in five bunkers through five holes and then appeared to steady himself with three straight birdies around the turn to get under par, but only briefly. He made three bogeys coming in, still had a chance to post a reasonable score and then let it get away.

From short of the steep shelf fronting the 18th green, he flubbed a flop shot, pitched the next one about 8 feet beyond the pin and missed the putt to take double bogey for a73.

“I did not finish off the round like I needed to,” Woods said, an expression he uttered five more times out of the six questions he faced after his round.

Neither did Morikawa, who shot 40 on the back nine for a 76.

Pieters and Wolff dropped only one shot along the way while playing in the afternoon, when the greens became a little more difficult because of all the foot traffic. Even so, low scores – at least by Winged Foot standards – kept coming.

“There’s a couple of guys that went a little lower than maybe expected,” McIlroy said. “But it’s not as if the rest of the field are finding it that easy.”

Raise your hand, Phil Mickelson.

Returning to the scene of a double bogey on the 72nd hole that cost him the 2006 U.S. Open, Mickelson opened with two birdies and still struggled to break 80. He went rough-to-rough on the 18th and shot 79. Dustin Johnson, the No. 1 player in the world, couldn’t make putts and shot 73.

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., were tied for 33rd at 1 over. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., were tied for 57th at 2 over.

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Low clouds added to the soft feel of Winged Foot. The greens were fast but not as firm. Jordan Spieth discovered that on the first hole. He was trying to figure out if his approach would take a hard hop and release or land soft and spin back. He guessed wrong, the ball rolled down the slope to the front of the the green and he three-putted for bogey. He also shot 73.

Thomas judged it correctly with a short iron left of the flag that spun back close to the hole for birdie. His only dropped shot came at the par-3 third because the ball settled on a downward slope of a bunker, leaving him no chance to get it close. There were few complaints the rest of the way.

He also made three birdies around the turn, narrowly missing a fourth in a row from just inside 10 feet at the par-5 12th. Thomas felt at ease, and Winged Foot allowed him to feel that way. At least Thursday.

The previous low score for a U.S. Open was a 66 by Fuzzy Zoeller in the second round in 1984.

“The greens are very soft,” Thomas said. “I thought they’d be a little firmer, but I also understood that they need to err on this side of they can get them how they want this weekend. … It’s still Winged Foot. You’ve still got to hit the shots.”

Golf is both thrilling and maddening, a way to have a singular escape or meet with friends, and a game for a lifetime that can be played by both the health-conscious and those who take it as an opportunity to raise a Steamwhistle and crush a hot dog.

But, when you’re looking for something even more for your next 18 holes, we’ve got you covered with an explainer of some fun games you could play with your group.

Games played on the course can be as simple as a match against a friend or family member all the way to a complicated tracker of accomplishments (or lack thereof) resulting in, perhaps, a couple of loonies passed between hands.

While the new Golf Canada app is perfect for posting scores using regular stroke play, we know that not everyone takes to the course to play nine or 18 holes counting all his or her shots. Playing games in a group is way to spice up your usual round. Even for the most experienced golf group, there may be something new below that you’ve never tried!

Read on to learn more about some of our favourites.

1. Alternate Shot

Otherwise known as ‘foursomes’ this is a completely different kind of golf that North Americans usually only see on TV during the Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup. Trying this out with your friends will a) make you understand why the best players in the world struggle with it and b) maybe make you try to find some new friends, depending on where your partner leaves you to hit from.

Alternate shot is, well, that. One player hits then the next player hits from where she or he ended up. It could also be modified to where each twosome hits a drive, you pick the best one, and you alternate shots from there to the hole.

Must play with four golfers.

2. Six-Six-Six

This is a simple match-play format that allows you to play with everyone else in your group and not just a single partner for the duration of the round.

The 18 holes are divided up into three six-hole matches and you can use any scoring format you choose. Even if you get defeated soundly in one of your matches, you have two others to try to redeem yourself.

Must play with four golfers. If you are riding in carts, the usual format is ‘carts’ (those in the same cart), ‘drivers’ (those who are driving), and ‘opposites’ (a driver and a passenger).  

3. Wolf 

A points-based game, this one takes a little planning and some concentration (perhaps try to find an accountant to play with?) but it’s a dramatic one that makes for some great stories by the time the day is done.

There is a ton of other ways to track points and add bonuses to your Wolf game, but here are the basics:

• The order of play is determined on the first tee. The ‘Wolf’ always tees off last. The order in which golfers tee off, regardless of score, rotates every four holes so each player becomes the Wolf on a continual basis.
• Once each player hits his or her tee shot, the Wolf decides to either take a partner (based on the locations of the tee shots) or go as the ‘Lone Wolf’ and try to beat the other three players on his or her own ball.
  • Variation: You could also be the ‘Blind Wolf’ and declare, before any of the tee shots are hit, that you are going to go at it alone
• Points are collected as follows
  • Wolf and partner win the hole: two points
  • Non-Wolf partners win the hole: three points
  • Lone Wolf wins: four points
  • Lone Wolf defeated by any player: The other three get one point

Must play with four golfers.

4. Bingo, Bango, Bongo

Another fun one that doesn’t need to involve four players, and it’s perfect for golfers who have a higher handicap but still want to get in on the action during a round. It’s another game of points but one that’s wrapped in being ‘first’ to do something.

The first player to hit his or her shot onto the green gets a point (Bingo!), the player whose ball is closest to the pin when all balls are on the green gets a point (Bango!), and the first person to hole out gets a point (Bongo!).

At the end of the round whomever has the most points wins.

Can be played with two, three, or four golfers. 

5. Vegas

Another team game, this one can get out of hand if you’re applying a monetary value to each point – but it’s a unique twist on a usual ‘scoring’ game.

Teams are decided on the first tee and scores are not added, but combined. If Player A makes a 4 and Player B makes a 5 then their score is 45. If Player C makes a 5 and Player D makes a 7, their score is 57 and Team AB wins the hole by 12 points.

The lower score always goes to the front of the combined score.

Must play with four golfers. 

6. Best Ball

A Best Ball match is just that, and can be combined to any number of other team matchups on the course. Teams of two play straight up, but as the name suggests, the ‘best’ score on the hole counts as the team score.

‘Best Ball’ is not to be confused with a ‘Scramble’ (very popular for family or corporate tournaments) where all four members of a team hit a tee shot and they continue on to hole out by choosing the ‘best ball’ out of the bunch every time.

Must play with four golfers.

7. Skins

Golfers apply points (or dollar amounts) to each hole and the lowest score wins the pot.

If any two golfers tie the hole then the point or dollar amount carries over to the following hole. Things can add up quick and make the holes later in the round even more exciting!

Can play with two, three, or four golfers.

8. Stableford

Another opportunity for the higher handicap golfers to earn points against their lower-handicap friends, the Stableford system of scoring is so popular even the PGA Tour uses it for one of their events.

Points are applied to scores and the higher the better, in this instance.

For example: Three points for an eagle, two points for a birdie, one point for a par, no points for a bogey, and minus-1 point for a double-bogey or worse is a good way to start.

Can play with two, three, or four golfers. 

9. Nassau

Playing a Nassau is the most popular of golf games and the one with the most variations, too.

At its simplest, a Nassau is broken out in to three games: low front-nine score, low back-nine score, and low 18-hole score. Dollar amounts or points are applied to each match. Say you were going to play a $5 Nassau, the most you can lose is $15. If you win all three, you win $45 ($15 from the other three players).

A popular move when playing Nassau’s is to ‘press’ (basically double-or-nothing on the original bet), which you could do if you were down a few strokes and wanted to try for a late-round charge.

Fun add-ons, called ‘junk’ can be added to the original Nassau game.

Hit it in the water but still made par? You could add a ‘Fishy’ to your Nassau. Knocked it off a tree but still made par? Congratulations, you made a ‘Barky.’ Chipped in? Well done, you earned a ‘Chippie.’

Golf is a fun enough game as it stands, but over 18 holes and with the same group round after round, there is no shortage of little games you can bring to the course the next time you tee it up.

After careful consideration, the PGA of Canada has made the difficult decision to cancel its final two national events of the season: the PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada presented by Callaway Golf and PGA Head Professional Championship of Canada presented by Callaway Golf and supported by G&G Golf.

The decision was made in consultation with playing members and partners and comes as a result of ongoing domestic and international restrictions on travel, as well as safety concerns caused by the pandemic.

The PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada presented by Callaway Golf is typically held within Canada in the fall, while the PGA Head Professional Championship of Canada presented by Callaway Golf and supported by G&G Golf is historically held south of the border toward the end of November.

“We surveyed our playing members to gauge their interest on a combined national championship within Canada later this season,” said Teejay Alderdice, the association’s president. “Some players expressed their willingness to travel but a significant portion shared their unease in light of the current climate. We feel it is in the best interest of everyone involved to come back bigger and stronger in 2021.”

“We value our relationship with the PGA of Canada and our connection with golf professionals from coast-to-coast,” said Callaway Golf Canada’s General Manager Bruce Carroll. “We will miss the camaraderie and competition this year, but the well-being of players is of utmost importance. Our team looks forward to staging two fantastic championships with the PGA of Canada in 2021.”

In addition to supporting two national championships, Callaway Golf Canada is the founding partner of the PGA of Canada’s #PatronizeYourPGAPro social media campaign, aimed at encouraging golfers to support their local pro shop. The online activation, which ran Aug. 7 to Sept. 15, provides golf professionals with the chance to win a VIP digital experience with PGA Tour player and Callaway ambassador Adam Hadwin.

The cancellations will have no impact on the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC, which were frozen earlier this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

With the health and safety risks around COVID-19, and the inability to deliver a “phenomenal” event, the Niagara 2021 Canada Summer Games have been postponed until 2022.

The Canada Games Council (CGC) and Niagara Host Society announced the decision Wednesday after consultations with the Niagara Region in southern Ontario, and the provincial and federal governments.

“Like everyone else in sports events and the world generally we’ve all been watching how the pandemic unfolds, and following all the updates, trying to do our contingency planning and assess what impact it would have for us,” said Dan Wilcock, the CGC’s president and CEO.

“The Canada Games is a very large event . . . A lot of preparation goes into it. And we’ve been staying in close contact with all our all our various stakeholders trying to assess what a Games looks like in the context of the pandemic.”

Originally scheduled for August of 2021 in the Niagara Region, the Games have been rescheduled to the summer of 2022.

Held every two years, alternating between summer and winter, the Canada Games are the country’s marquee multi-sports event for up-and-coming athletes, with more than 5,000 competitors and 4,000 volunteers expected to participate in the Niagara version.

The Canada Games have eligibility rules such as age limits that are different for each sport. No decisions have been made on whether those eligibility rules will change to reflect the postponement.

Some sports have managed to return in Canada. The NHL reconvened in “bubbles” in Edmonton and Toronto, with the conference finals and Stanley Cup final being held in the Alberta capital. Canada’s three MLS teams are playing in their home cities, with the majority of matches in front of no fans.

The Canadian Elite Basketball League condensed its season into a two-week tournament in St. Catharines, Ont., with no fans. And the Canadian Premier League is playing out its soccer season in Charlottetown.

But none of those events drew the number of athletes the Canada Games does.

Wilcock said the numerous options including bubbles were analyzed, but the health and safety risks were too high.

“The Games brings together athletes and spectators from hundreds of communities across the country,” he said. “So, we’re not just focused on the health of participants and spectators in Niagara at the time of the Games, but also the hundreds of communities that people will return to across the country.”

Athletes are under different COVID-19 restrictions depending on municipal and provincial governments, so an athlete in one province or territory might not have the same access to training facilities as someone in another. Wilcock said being able to provide a fair Games for all competitors was important.

Also, Wilcock said hosting next summer wouldn’t ensure an “extraordinary Games experience.”

“And that’s certainly what the host society has promised to the Niagara region and the country,” he said. “The pandemic would significantly hinder our ability to stage the Games in the way they were envisaged, things like opening ceremonies, mass gatherings, etc. . . . looking questionable.

“So I think by postponing to the summer 2022, we can address both those things, we can better protect the health and safety of participants, but also deliver a phenomenal Games experience for all.”

If there’s a silver lining, Wilcock said, it’s that a later start date means additional time to for full testing of new facilities at Canada Games Park and the Henley Rowing Centre. Canada Games Park, at Brock University in St. Catharines, will include a sport and ability centre, arenas, gyms and an outdoor facility with a track, athletic field and beach volleyball courts.

No dates have been set for the 2022 Games in Niagara.

The Canada Games were first held in 1967 in Quebec City, and since then have seen more than 75,000 athletes compete, including Sidney Crosby, Steve Nash, Hayley Wickenheiser, Catriona Le May Doan, Martin Brodeur, and Lennox Lewis.

Red Deer, Alta., hosted the last Canada Winter Games in 2019, while Winnipeg was the site of the 2017 Canada Summer Games.