Charles-Éric Bélanger (Photo courtesy of Roger Lauzon).

VAUDREUIL-DORION, Que. – Four competitors shot 1-under-par 71 to take the opening round lead in the 77^th Canadian Junior Boys Championship being contested at Summerlea Golf & Country Club in Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que.

Two 16-year-olds, Charles-Éric Bélanger  of Québec City, Que., and A.J. Ewart of Coquitlam, B.C., are co-leaders in both the Junior and Juvenile divisions.

The pair are joined at the top of the Junior leaderboard by 18-year-old Kevin Gordon of Whitby, Ont., and 17-year-old Henry Lee of Coquitlam, B.C.

While Summerlea Golf & Country Club was not affected by the heavy rainfall in the area, the competitors were challenged with gusty winds throughout the day.

Despite the challenging conditions, Bélanger maintained focus on the course. “I made good saves. I putted really well and struck the ball well. I tried to hit every fairway and attack every green in hopes of making a lot of birdies.”

Bélanger recorded five birdies on the day, including one on 18, to be one of only three players to birdie the final par four.

Bélanger and Ewart are looking to become the ninth player to win both the Junior and Juvenile titles in the same year since the Juvenile competition was introduced in 1970.

“I’m going to focus on hitting fairways and greens and not think too much about the outcome at the end, but if I did (win) it would be a great accomplishment,” added Bélanger.

A tight leaderboard has four players one-stroke back of the lead in a tie for fifth place. Opening the competition with rounds of even-par were Aaron Black of Grimsby, Ont., Gabriel Gingras of Chelsea, Que., Andrew Harrison of Camrose, Alta., and Brett Pasula of Red Deer, Alta.

Team Canada’s Development Squad was led by Étienne Papineau with a score of 2-over 74. The St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., native is tied for twelfth place and sits three strokes shy of the lead. Squad members Trevor Ranton of Waterloo, Ont., and Tony Gil of Vaughan, Ont., both signed for rounds of 4-over 76.

An inter-provincial team championship is conducted in conjuction with the first 36 holes of play. Team Quebec leads by one stroke over defending champions Team Alberta. The Quebec contingent is comprised of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que., natives Étienne Papineau and Raphaël Lapierre-Messier, as well as, Félix Normand of Beloeil, Que.

The winner of the 2015 Canadian Junior Boys Championship will earn an exemption into the 2015 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship from August 8 – 13, co-hosted by Weston Golf & Country Club and The Lambton Golf & Country Club.

The second-round of the 2015 Canadian Junior Boys Championship will continue tomorrow morning with a split tee start on holes 1 and 10 at 7:30 a.m. EST. Following the second-round, the field will be cut to the low 70 players and ties.

Full results from the 2015 Canadian Junior Boys Championship, are available here.

GAINESVILLE, Va. – Troy Merritt walked to the final tee with a three-shot lead and slapped hands with fans on both sides of the ropes, knowing he had all but wrapped up his first PGA Tour title.

Not bad for a player who had missed five cuts in a row coming into the Quicken Loans National.

Merritt shot a 4-under 67 on Sunday and finished his first career victory in 96 starts with a flourish, rolling in a 34-foot putt for birdie on the 72nd hole. After the putt fell, he raised his hands, looked toward the crowd and shrugged his shoulders, as if to say that it was the perfect way to finish.

The victory came a day after Merritt soared to the lead with a tournament-record 61 at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, and his closing 67 matched the best of the day on another sweltering afternoon.

He finished at 18-under 266.

Rickie Fowler, who started the day one shot off the lead, also made a birdie on the final hole to claim second place at 15 under, and David Lingmerth was third, but both had up-and-down rounds. Fowler shot a 69 that featured seven birdies and five bogeys, and Lingmerth’s 69 included five birdies and three bogeys.

Merritt, who appeared to be walking in place as he set up for each shot, being sure to get his feet in exactly the right position, lost the lead only briefly on the final day and stumbled just once, with a three-putt bogey at the par-4 12th, the most difficult hole on the course. He made five birdies.

For much of the day, the tournament seemed destined to become a duel between Merritt and Bill Haas, who had six birdies in his first 10 holes and got to 17 under, tied with Merritt and three clear of the rest of the field. But Haas struggled to find the fairway on the back nine, making four bogeys and a double bogey in the final seven holes and leaving Merritt in position to win it by just making pars.

He did more than that, also knocking an 8-iron to 3 feet on the par-3 16th.

It helped that all of the expected challengers faltered.

Fowler, one shot back at the start, had three bogeys on the front nine.

Lingmerth, who once shared the lead with Haas and Merritt at 15 under, followed with a bad bogey at the par-5 eighth, the first of three bogeys over the closing 10 holes that kept him from making a move.

Haas wound up with a 70 and shared fourth at 12 under with defending champion Justin Rose and four others.

Merritt, meantime, never looked as though the stage was too much.

He opened with a birdie to take sole possession of the lead, and made two more to turn at 3 under. His bogey at the difficult 12th dropped him into a tie with Haas at 16 under, but Haas then crumbled.

Tiger Woods made a run at contention with birdies on five of his first 10 holes to get to 10 under, but with a huge crowd following and shouting encouragement with every swing, he missed 3-foot putt at No. 11, the first of three bogeys in four holes that killed his chances of making a serious charge.

His bogey on the 12th came despite one of the best shots of the tournament. After hitting his drive well right and into a hazard, he took a drop and then hit a blind 5-wood to the back fringe of the green, about 15 feet from the cup. His bid for par buzzed the right edge of the hole, but did not fall.

Woods finished with a 68 to tie for 18th at 8 under.

Woods rose from No. 195 to No. 185 in the FedEx Cup rankings and has just three weeks left to climb into the top 125 and qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs, but said that that is not his focus.

“I’ve got years ahead of me. That’s how I look at it,” he said.

Kevin Chappell, who shared the overnight lead, shot a 77 to finish in the tie for 18th at 8 under.

TURNBERRY, Scotland – As Inbee Park hunted down Jin-Young Ko in the final stretch of the Women’s British Open, it quickly became clear which South Korean was the rookie and which was the player about to add another chapter in golf’s record book.

The top-ranked Park picked up seven shots in her last 12 holes, pressured her 20-year-old protege so much she finally lost her nerve, and completed a 7-under 65 at Turnberry to capture the trophy she thought she may never win.

Park won by three shots on 12-under 276 for a seventh major title, becoming just the seventh female player to win four different majors – after Louise Suggs, Mickey Wright, Pat Bradley, Juli Inkster, Karrie Webb and Annika Sorenstam.

“I don’t know what else to go for now,” said Park, who has won six of the last 14 majors to cement her status as the best player of her generation.

How about ending the debate about clinching the so-called career Grand Slam?

The LPGA Tour is calling Park’s achievement just that. However, Park hasn’t won the France-based Evian Championship since it was given the status of a fifth major in 2013. She did win the Evian in 2012.

The Evian is staged next month, when Park can complete definitively what some are calling the “Super Slam.”

“I feel like I’ve won all the majors in women’s golf,” Park said, attempting to put a stop to the discussion.

“Every major was very, very special to me. But to wrap it up with the British Open is just much more special … This is definitely the golfer’s most-wanted trophy.”

Ko is just at the start of her golfing journey.

Playing her first major, her first tournament outside Asia and with a temporary, locally born caddie giving her advice on every shot, Ko began the last round tied for the lead and pulled three shots clear of a bunched-up chasing pack containing Park after a 20-foot putt for birdie on No. 10. She had already eagled the par-3 No. 7 with a 25-foot putt and rolled in a birdie of similar length at No. 8.

Her composure was stunning, considering the uncharted territory she was in. Ko had never played links golf before this week.

That was when Park made her move. She rolled in an eagle putt from 20 feet at No. 14 to close to within one shot, Ko missed a par putt on No. 13 soon after for her first bogey of the day, and Park then holed a 4-footer for birdie at No. 16 to take the lead for the first time this tournament.

No. 16 wound up being the deciding hole. Twenty minutes later, Ko’s chances of reclaiming the lead virtually ended on that par 4 when she pushed her approach shot straight into a burn. She took her fur-lined puffy coat from her caddie and looked a beaten woman for the first time this week.

“I was a little over-thinking, and then I was a little bit nervous,” Ko said.

Park’s birdie putt on No. 18 lipped out, but it didn’t matter. She watched on a monitor in the scoring hut as Ko – playing two groups behind – failed to make birdie on No. 17, ensuring there would be no final-hole tension.

“I really thought she was going to play really good until the end,” Park said of her friend. “I just got lucky.”

A turning point came on No. 12 when Park drove right, into thick rough. Park could barely see the ball when she approached it, but had a stroke of luck as it had settled on a drain. She was given a free drop and made par.

“That was a definite bogey there,” Park said.

Park said she needed to produce her best display of putting in two years to overhaul Ko, who is the latest on a conveyor belt of talent coming from the South Korean tour.

Ko was bidding to become the third first-time major winner from South Korea in the last five majors, after Hyo-Joo Kim at the Evian last year and In-Gee Chun at the U.S. Women’s Open last month.

“They are machines,” American player Cristie Kerr said of South Korean golfers. “They practice 10 hours a day.”

The 27-year-old Park is the second-youngest player to win the four traditional majors. Webb was 26 when she completed the haul in 2001.

Park passed $12 million in career earnings with the winner’s check of $450,000.

The 18-year-old Lydia Ko was seeking to become the youngest major winner, beating the record of Morgan Pressel by seven months. She was three shots behind her namesake Ko, only to take two shots out of the greenside bunker at No. 12 and make a double-bogey.

She shot 69 and tied for third on 8 under with So Yeon Ryu (68).

Golf Canada Young Pro Squad member signs for an even-par round of 72 and fellow Canadian Alena Sharp posted a 2-over 74.

BLAINE, Minn. – Comfortably in front, Kenny Perry felt uneasy for most of his 18 holes Sunday.

Afterward, he couldn’t have been much happier.

Perry breezed to his second straight victory in the Champions Tour’s 3M Championship, shooting a 4-under 68 for a four-stroke victory over Bernhard Langer, Scott Dunlap and Kevin Sutherland.

After shooting a 61 on Saturday to take a four-stroke lead, Perry had six birdies and two bogeys in the final round to finish at 18-under 198. He became the first player to successfully defend a title in the tournament’s 23-year history, winning for the eighth time on the 50-and-over tour.

Last year, Perry made a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole to beat Langer by a stroke at TPC Twin Cities.

“I like being the chaser. You’re relaxed, you’re free, you’re going, you’re charging, you’re going after everything,” Perry said. “When you got a four- or five-shot lead, you’re playing safe, you’re playing not to mess up, and that’s a hard way to play golf.”

Langer closed with a 67, and Dunlap and Sutherland each shot 68.

In seven appearances in the event, Langer has won twice (2009 and 2012) and finished second three times.

“The putts didn’t drop. I had a bunch of opportunities and I shot 5-under, but if I putt well it could have been 9 or 10 under,” he said.

Marco Dawson, the Senior British Open winner last week, had a 68 to finish fifth at 13 under. Dealing with a painful back, Minnesota native Tom Lehman, who led after a first-round 64, shot a 69 to finish sixth at 12 under.

The 54-year-old Perry is 46 under for his last seven rounds in the event. In five tournament appearances, he has two wins, a second, third and seventh.

“Kenny Perry is just better on this course,” Langer said. “It’s his length that really suits him here.”

Perry leads the tour in driving distance, averaging just under 300 yards.

“When you can play mid-irons instead of a hybrid or a wood, you’ve got a huge advantage and you can actually stop the ball a little bit,” Perry said.

Perry opened a five-shot lead with a birdie at No. 10. He had a bogey on the par-4 14th, dropping his lead back to four, but responded with a birdie two holes later.

Knowing the tournament was pretty much over with his birdie at 16, Perry still couldn’t relax with water on the par-3 17th – which he double-bogeyed Friday – and the par-5 18th.

“This tournament’s never really over `til it’s over,” he said.

The day didn’t start out well for Perry when his four-shot lead after the second round quickly dropped to two after a first-hole bogey coupled with a birdie by Sutherland.

Each player birdied two of the next four holes, before Perry birdied the par-5 sixth for three-shot cushion. It expanded to four when Sutherland recoded bogey on the par-3 eighth.

“To Kenny’s credit, he played fantastic golf all day, and I slowed down,” Sutherland said. “I didn’t make any birdies until 18,”

Sutherland was a cumulative 13 under on his first five holes during the tournament, 1 under on the others.

“I gave myself a chance, I got off to a really good start, gave myself an opportunity, but, unfortunately, wasn’t able to extend it,” he said.

Canadian Stephen Ames finished T7 with a final round of 4-under 68.

ABERDEEN, Scotland – Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand won the inaugural Paul Lawrie Match Play by holing a 4-foot putt for birdie on No. 18 to beat Sweden’s Robert Karlsson by one hole in the final.

Aphibarnrat beat Marc Warren of Scotland 3 and 2 in the semifinals then went 3 up with four holes to play against Karlsson, only to lose three holes in a row.

Karlsson sent his approach to No. 18 to 10 feet but Aphibarnrat went even closer. After Karlsson dragged his birdie attempt wide, Aphibarnrat made his putt to clinch a third European Tour title and a first prize of 122,000 pounds ($190,000).

The 26-year-old Aphibarnrat’s previous wins came in Malaysia and China, and he said: “The next step was to win in Europe. I’m happy and proud of myself.”

Karlsson beat David Howell on the 20th hole in their semifinal.

SANTO DA SERRA, Madeira Islands – Roope Kakko earned his first European Tour victory Sunday after shooting a flawless 9-under 63 to win the Madeira Islands Open by three strokes.

The 33-year-old Finn made an eagle on the par-4 10th to go with seven birdies for a tournament-record 24-under total of 264. Scott Henry of Scotland was runner-up for the second year in a row after a 66, having lost a playoff to England’s Daniel Brooks last year.

Andrew McArthur of Scotland was another three strokes back in third.

Kakko is only the second Finnish player to win on the European Tour, following Mikko Ilonen.

“I came here to try and win this event and change my career so I’m over the moon to have done it,” Kakko said. “I almost started crying with three holes to go. I was really getting emotional.”

Kakko was the third amateur to win a Challenge Tour tournament when he won the Volvo Finnish Open – his home event – in 2004.

Kakko’s wife Minea Blomqvist is an LPGA Tour golfer.

“There was a lot of pressure but I had some pretty good thoughts in me, so I was able to handle it today,” Kakko said. “Sometimes it doesn’t go the way you plan it, but it all went my way today.”

LEHI, Utah – Patton Kizzire won the Utah Championship on Sunday for first Web.com Tour title, beating South Korea’s Sung Kang with a 3-foot birdie putt on the second hole of a playoff.

Kizzire closed with a 3-under 69 to match Kang at 19-under 269 at Thanksgiving Point. The 29-year-old former Auburn player earned $117,000 to push his tour-leading total to $391,699.

Kang had five back-nine birdies in a 67. He tied for second in the event last year in Sandy.

Kizzire set up his winning putt on the par-4 18th with a wedge shot from 63 yards, after Kang left his 75-yard shot 40 feet short. Kang had birdie chances to win on the final hole of regulation and first playoff hole, but missed 20-foot putts.

Kizzire opened with rounds of 67, 62 and 71 to take a two-stroke lead over Kang into the final round.

Zack Fischer, Garth Mulroy, Tag Ridings, Alex Aragon and Scott Harrington tied for third at 14 under. Harrington shot 66, Mulroy 68, Ridings 69, Aragon 70, and Harrington 71.

Brad Fritsch had a final round 3-under 69 to finish T47. 

CALGARY – Santee, California’s Daniel Miernicki shot a final round 6-under 64 at The Links of GlenEagles on Sunday to win the ATB Financial Classic, his first Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada win.

The three-time All-American at the University of Oregon rolled in a 35-foot birdie putt on the 72^nd hole to finish at 17-under par, then looked on as the final four pairings failed to match his score, giving him the victory by a stroke over Sherwood Park, Alberta’s Danny Sahl and moving him to sixth on the Order of Merit.

“It was moving,” said Miernicki of his winning putt. “It was probably going to go five or six feet by and I was not gonna want to have that putt. When I saw it drop I was just so relived and excited and had all kinds of emotions.”

The second year Mackenzie Tour member, who has split time between Canada and the Web.com Tour this season, began the day four shots off the lead held by Moscow, Idaho’s Chris Williams, but quickly moved to the top of the leaderboard with two birdies and an eagle through his first six holes.

Four more birdies, including his dramatic finisher at the last, offset two bogeys coming in and gave Miernicki a 17-under total. A handful of competitors had opportunities to tie, but when Sahl and France’s Julien Brun were unable to produce eagles at the par-5 finishing hole, Miernicki was in the clear as the champion. Miernicki earned $31,500 for the win.

“At the beginning of the day I thought 18- or 19-under was going to win, but the course was set up tough,” said Miernicki, who admitted the win was a major breakthrough for his young professional career. “It’s been a little bit of a struggle for me. I would have liked to have this success right when I came out of school, but to have it happen now feels amazing. It’s my second year out here, and I’ve played well at times but I really haven’t felt the heat of really coming down the stretch and having a chance to win, so to pull it off feels amazing.”

Now sixth on the Order of Merit, Miernicki said he’ll focus on Mackenzie Tour events for the remainder of the season to try and finish in the top five on the Order of Merit and improve his status on the Web.com Tour for next year.

“[Last year] I had three top-10s but my best finish was fourth and I ended up finishing 36^th on the money list, and you really need top three finishes, let alone a win. Needless to say I’ll be playing the last five events hoping to finish as high as I can,” said Miernicki.

Sahl, a former Mackenzie Tour winner who caddies full-time for Mike Weir on the PGA TOUR, earned $18,900 for his solo second place finish along with Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Week honours. With the blessing of Weir, who is taking a personal leave of absence from the PGA TOUR, Sahl said he’s all in to resume his playing career and will take it as far as he can.

“I came into the week with low expectations, but I definitely believed in my game and my swing and what I was doing out there, and it paid off. It means I can still compete out here. I’m kind of an older guy and this is a young Tour now. I don’t recognize a lot of the faces, but I’m 35 and I’m in my prime right now so I’m ready to move forward with it,” said Sahl, who won the 2011 Syncrude Boreal Open presented by AECON.

Two shots back in a five-way tie for third was Adam Svensson, who has yet to finish outside the top three in three starts this season, along with Mackenzie Hughes, Julien Brun, Chris Williams and Jonathan Khan, who all posted season-best finishes on the Mackenzie Tour.

MILWAUKEE, Wiss. – Annie Park won the PHC Classic on Sunday for her second Symetra Tour victory in three weeks, beating Lee Lopez with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff.

Park closed with a 72, birdieing the final two holes in regulation to match Lopez at 5-under 211 at Brown Deer Park. Lopez had three back-nine bogeys in a 75.

Park, the 20-year-old former Southern California player from Levittown, New York, earned $15,000 to jump from 15th to seventh on the money list with $42,596 in six starts since turning pro. The final top 10 will earn 2016 LPGA Tour cards.

Park won the Toyota Danielle Downey Classic two weeks ago in Rochester, New York.

Lopez also lost in a playoff in the Volvik Championship in March and has runner-up finishes this season. The former UCLA player made $9,925 to go from sixth to second on the money list with $51,774.

Elizabeth Nagel and Thailand’s Nontaya Srisawang tied for third at 1 under. Nagel shot 76, and Srisawang 73.

In the top 25 were Jessica Wallace with a final round of 75 (T11), Augusta James and Maude-Aimee Leblanc tied for 22nd place.

GAINESVILLE, Va. – Troy Merritt couldn’t miss Saturday in the Quicken Loans National. Tiger Woods couldn’t make anything.

Merritt shot a tournament-record 10-under 61 to top the leaderboard even before the leading contenders teed off. It held up, too, as several players made runs at joining him at 14 under, but only Kevin Chappell, another veteran seeking a breakthrough victory, didn’t fade in the searing heat at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club.

Chappell had a 67. Rickie Fowler (68) was a stroke back, and Jason Bohn (67), Whee Kim (67), Charles Howell III (67) and David Lingmerth (68) followed at 12 under.

Woods, who seemed to signal a return to contending golf Friday with a 66 that moved him within three strokes of the lead, was errant off the tee early and had several birdie putts slide by the hole.

While Merritt had 11 birdies and a bogey on the par-5 eighth, Woods didn’t make his first birdie until a 17-foot putt dropped on the par-4 15th. He hit his tee shot on the 187-yard 16th to inches, flashing a huge smile on the tee box, and then made a bogey at the par-4 18th to finish with a 74. He’ll start Sunday nine shots back.

“I was waiting for the one moment, the one shot. I couldn’t find it,” Woods said, adding that after starting with seven consecutive pars, he thought it might come at the par-5 eighth when his tee shot finally found the fairway.

Instead, his 3-wood approach sailed over the green and he made a bogey.

“I was dead back there, compounding the problem,” he said.

Merritt had long since finished and went into the final round as the leader for the second time this season. He had the lead to himself after the second and third rounds of the RBC Heritage, but finished third.

Merritt had missed five consecutive cuts coming into the week.

“The big thing is we put ourselves into contention for tomorrow and that was the goal,” he said. “I wanted to have a good week this week and I’ve been taking weekends off for two months now.”

Chappell wasn’t as spectacular, but started the day tied for third and more than kept pace with the field.

“You know, I’ve done a really good job of functioning this week,” he said. “‘That’s the grass. That’s the sky. That’s the hole. That’s my ball.’ Shoot the lowest score tomorrow and I win the golf tournament.”

Fowler, starting in the group ahead of the last two, has already won The Players Championship and the Scottish Open this year and hopes to give the leaders something to think about as quickly as possible.

“I’m looking forward to being out in front and making some noise, see if we can chase the guys down early and get things going,” he said.

Charles Howell III, playing with Woods, followed his near-ace at 16 by knocking his tee shot just to just inches, giving them both tap-in birdies, but with larger implications for Howell; the 15-year pro is seeking his first victory since the 2007 Nissan Open.

“I made some birdies and they’re out there,” Howell said. “Got to keep the pedal down tomorrow.”

There was no shortage of players making big moves attacking soft greens and with no wind.

Carl Pettersson and Bill Haas shot 64s to move to 11 under, and Vaughn Taylor had a wild day with 10 birdies and three bogeys in another 64 that moved him into a tie for 15th at 9 under.

No one took greater advantage that Merritt, seeking his first victory in 96 career starts.

“I finally made putts,” he said. “It’s really frustrating the first few days hitting the ball really, really well and having good proximity to the hole and not getting much out of it. Today I hit the ball really well and got a lot out of it.”

He started with five consecutive birdies and six in the first seven holes, and had four birdies in a row and five in six holes in another stretch on the back nine. He closed with a par on the par-4 18th.

Starting fast isn’t unusual, Merritt said, but sustaining it has been challenging.

“Making birdie at No. 12 was a huge momentum gain,” he said, speaking of the 490-yard par 4, that hardest hole on the course through three rounds. “Then went on to birdie 13, 14 and 15 making good putts.”

Defending champion Justin Rose shot a 65 and was among four tied at 11 under. With conditions expected to be similar in the final round, “It’s going to take something I would imagine in the realm of 63” to win, Rose said.

Canadian Adam Hadwin sits at 7-under for the tournament, tied for 21st place after a third-round of 69. Nick Taylor signed for 1-over 72.