SAN FRANCISCO – The shot will be remembered as one of the best under pressure that hardly anyone witnessed. It made Collin Morikawa a major champion Sunday in a thrill-a-minute PGA Championship that not many will forget.

Morikawa hit driver on the 294-yard 16th hole that was perfect in flight and even better when it landed, hopping onto the green and rolling to 7 feet for an eagle that all but clinched victory on a most quiet Sunday afternoon at Harding Park.

In the first major without spectators, the 23-year-old Californian finished with a bang.

“I was hoping for a really good bounce and got it,” he said. “I hit a really good putt, and now we’re here.”

He closed with a 6-under 64, the lowest final round by a PGA champion in 25 years, for a two-shot victory over Paul Casey and Dustin Johnson, two of 10 players who had a chance on the back nine.

Morikawa was among seven players tied for the lead, as wild as any Sunday in a major. He took the lead when he chipped in for birdie from 40 feet short of the 14th green. And then he delivered the knockout with one swing along the shores of Lake Merced,

The COVID-19 pandemic that moved the PGA Championship from May to August was allowed to be played only if spectators were not allowed. But there was one person who won’t forget what he saw.

Casey, with his first good shot at winning a major, birdied the 16th to tie Morikawa for the lead. Standing on the tee at the par-3 17th, he looked back and saw the ball roll toward the cup.

“What a shot,” was all Casey could say. “Nothing you can do but tip you cap to that. Collin had taken on that challenge and pulled it off. That’s what champions do.”

Golf’s latest major champion was still in the vicinity of Harding Park just over a year ago, finishing up his degree at California and his All-American career, part of a new cast of young stars in a sport filled with them.

He only played Harding Park about a dozen times while in college, but never set up with rough like this or with the tees all the way back.

Now he has three PGA Tour victories and is No. 5 in the world, taking his place among the young stars by beating a cast of world-class players on the public course in San Francisco.

For Johnson, it was another major that got away. He had a one-shot lead and didn’t do too much wrong on the day except for not keeping it in the fairway for better chances of birdie. He drove into the hazard on the 16th and chipped in for birdie when it was too late, and a birdie on the 18th gave him a 68 and a tie for second.

It was his fifth runner-up finish in a major – his only title is the 2016 U.S. Open – and his second straight runner-up in the PGA Championship.

Brooks Koepka proved to be all talk. He looked at the crowded leaderboard on Saturday night and didn’t see anyone with his experience of four major championships, even dishing on Johnson because he has “only won one.”

Koepka didn’t make a birdie until the 12th hole. He went from two shots behind to a 74, tying for 29th.

“It’s my first bad round in a major in a while,” said Koepka, who said he spent the back nine mostly trying to cheer on Casey and his bid to win a first major at age 43.

Youth rules these days.

Morikawa finished at 13-under 267, and left so many others wondering how close they came.

Matthew Wolff, who grew up with Morikawa in Southern California and turned pro last summer with him, shot a 65 and joined Jason Day, Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau and PGA Tour rookie Scottie Scheffler at 10-under 270.

Cameron Champ, among eight players who had a share of the lead at some point, lost momentum with a double bogey at the turn. DeChambeau dropped two shots at the turn and never caught up until it was too late.

Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., (72) and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., (73) finished well back at 2 over.

Morikawa, in only his 28th start as a pro and his second major, played bogey-free. His only mistake was at the end, when it was time to hoist the Wanamaker Trophy, the heaviest of the four major trophies. The lid came off and tumbled to the grass as Morikawa’s eyes bulged.

If that was his only mistake, consider it a good day. A major day.

Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., (72) and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., (73) finished at 2 over.

SAN FRANCISCO – Dustin Johnson supplied the birdies, eight of them Saturday at the PGA Championship, the most he has ever made in his 157 rounds of major championship golf for a 5-under 65 and a one-shot lead.

Brooks Koepka supplied the needle.

Koepka recovered from three straight bogeys to salvage a 69 and stay within two shots of a leaderboard more crowded than any of San Francisco’s congested highways. At stake is a chance to become only the seventh player to win the same major three straight times. He surveyed the cast of contenders, and focused on the guy at the top.

“I like my chances,” Koepka said. “When I’ve been in this position before, I’ve capitalized. He’s only won one. I’m playing good. I don’t know, we’ll see.”

As he stepped away from the microphone, Koepka smiled and said to Jason Day, “How about that shade?” They laughed.

Too bad this isn’t a two-man show.

The final round at Harding Park figures to be wide open, just like it was on a Saturday so wild that eight players had at least a share of the lead during the third round.

Johnson lost his yardage book and still found his way through an enormous crowd of contenders. He made a double bogey on the ninth hole and still bounced back with a 31 on the tough, windy back nine.

He needed all eight of those birdies on a day of low scores, long putts and endless possibilities.

One possibility is Koepka hoisting the Wanamaker Trophy for the third straight year, which hasn’t happened since Walter Hagen won four in a row in the 1920s when it was match play. The last player to win any major three straight times was Peter Thomson at the British Open in 1956.

Koepka was two shots behind on a board that features only two major champions among the top six.

Scottie Scheffler, the PGA Tour rookie from Texas, ran off three straight birdies only to miss a 6-foot par putt on the final hole. He still shot a 65 and was one shot behind, in the final group at his first PGA Championship. Cameron Champ, who has the most powerful swing on tour, shot 67 and joined Scheffler one shot behind.

Johnson was at 9-under 201 as he goes for his second major title. For all the chances he has had, this is only the second time he has led going into the final round. The other was down the coast at Pebble Beach, his first chance at winning a major. He had a three-shot lead in the 2010 U.S. Open and shot 82.

Now he is more seasoned with experiences good (21 tour victories) and bad (five close calls in the majors).

“I’m going to have to play good golf if I want to win. It’s simple,” Johnson said. “I’ve got to hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens. If I can do that tomorrow, I’m going to have a good chance coming down the stretch. … I’m just going to have to do what I did today. Just get it done.”

Among the cast of contenders are major champions like Koepka, Jason Day and Justin Rose, and fresh faces like Scheffler, Champ and Collin Morikawa. Also right there was Bryson DeChambeau, thanks to a 95-foot putt for birdie on his last hole. Turns out he can hit long putts, too.

Missing from all this action is Tiger Woods, who didn’t make a birdie until the 16th hole and is out of the mix for the fourth straight major since his emotional Masters victory last year.

A dozen players were separated by three shots.

Li Haotong, the first player from China to lead after any round at a major, was leading through 12 holes until his tee shot didn’t come down from a tree. He made double bogey, dropped two more shots and finished four shots out of the lead.

Canadian Adam Hadwin (Abbotsford, B.C.) is tied for 34th at 1 under par while countryman Mackenzie Hughes (Dundas, Ont.) is T43 at even.

Johnson didn’t have smooth sailing, either, especially when he couldn’t find his yardage book.

He thinks it slipped into the bottom of the golf bag, and he didn’t feel like dumping his 14 clubs all over the ground to find it. Austin Johnson, his brother and caddie, had a spare yardage book.

Johnson shot 65 even with a double bogey on the ninth hole. Mistakes like that might be more costly on Sunday with so many players in the mix. Even those who struggled – Rose, Daniel Berger, Tommy Fleetwood all settled for 70 – are only three shots behind.

Adding to the drama will be the lack of atmosphere, this being the first major without spectators. Paul Casey said he still didn’t feel nerves from the lack of people. Perhaps that helps with younger players in the hunt for the first time. It also could make it difficult for players to know what’s happening around them without any cheers.

Then again, Johnson won the U.S. Open in 2016 at Oakmont without knowing the score as the USGA tried to decide whether he should be penalized for a potential rules violation earlier in the round. He had to play the last seven holes without knowing his score.

It’s just one example of what Johnson has endured in the majors. There was a penalty that knocked him out of a playoff in the 2010 PGA at Whistling Straits for grounding his club in sand without realizing it was a bunker. He had a 12-foot eagle putt to win the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, only to three-putt for par and a silver medal.

But he’s back for another shot, and his game looks to be in order. He has the power, and on this day, he had the putting.

“I definitely have experience in this situation that definitely will help tomorrow,” Johnson said. “I’ve been in the hunt a bunch of times in a major. I’ve got one major. … Still going to have to go out and play really good golf.”

SAN FRANCISCO – Harding Park is renowned for producing champions who are among the best in golf, from Byron Nelson to Tiger Woods, and a long list of Hall of Famers and major champions in between.

Halfway through the PGA Championship, Li Haotong delivered his own footnote in history.

With five birdies through 10 holes, and eight tough pars down the stretch, Li had a 5-under 65 on Friday and became the first Chinese player to lead after any round of any major.

Surprised? So was he.

Li was in China as the pandemic shut down golf. He returned three weeks ago and missed the cut, and then tied for 75th in a 78-man field at a World Golf Championship.

“I didn’t even (think) I could play like this … got no confidence,” Li said. “Probably it helped me clear my mind a little bit.”

His credentials are all over the map. Li is one of six players to shoot 63 in the final round of a major. He also was so disengaged in his Presidents Cup debut that he was benched for two days.

Still young, often inconsistent, forever fearless, Li is capable of just about anything on a big stage in golf.

The 25-year-old full of energy and antics, he was bogey-free and posted an 8-under 132, giving him a two-shot lead over a large group that included – who else? – Brooks Koepka, the two-time defending champion.

Much farther back was Woods, who found more fairways but struggled on the greens, ranking 131st in the key putting statistic against the 156-man field. He flirted with the cut line until a birdie on the 16th kept him safe, and his 72 put him eight shots behind.

Woods wasn’t alone in his struggles. Rory McIlroy ran off four straight birdies around the turn and gave nearly all of the away with a triple bogey on the 12th hole, three-putting from 7 feet once he finally got on the green. He had a 69 and was seven shots behind. Justin Thomas, the world’s No. 1 player, also had to rally to make the cut on the number.

Li got as much attention for the logo on his hat – WeChat, the Chinese social media company and one of his biggest sponsors. Li was in the spotlight at Harding Park one day after President Donald Trump signed executive orders on a vague ban of WeChat and TikTok in 45 days.

Just as unclear was whether Li was aware of the development.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Who knows?”

Koepka was more worried about a tight hip that a nagging left knee, and he had a trainer come out to stretch and twist him three times along the back nine. It loosened him up enough for Koepka to post a 68. It’s the fifth time in his last eight majors that he has gone into the weekend within three shots of the lead.

“I felt like I probably could be 10 (under) right now,” he said. “Hit a lot of good putts, just didn’t go in. … But driving it pretty well. Iron play, I’m pretty pleased with. You know, I like where I’m at.”

Also at 6-under 134 were former PGA champion Jason Day (69), former U.S. Open champion Justin Rose (68), Tommy Fleetwood (64), Daniel Berger (67) and Mike Lorenzo-Vera of France, who closed with a 15-foot bogey putt for a 68.

Adam Hadwin (71) of Abbostford, B.C., was tied for 31st at 1 under. Mackenzie Hughes (68) of Dundas, Ont., was tied for 60th at 1 over. Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Nick Taylor, also from Abbotsford, both missed the cut.

Two dozen players were separated by five shots at the halfway point.

Li is a two-time winner on the European Tour, most recently in 2018 at the Dubai Desert Classic when he rallied down the stretch to beat McIlroy by one shot.

He was sensational in the final round of the 2017 British Open at Royal Birkdale – only five other players have 63 in the final round of a major. But he had a terrible week in his Presidents Cup debut at Royal Melbourne in December. When he first came to America, he made fast friends on the developmental tours with his constant laughter, engaging personality and aggressive play.

“He’s got the arsenal to take it low,” said Adam Scott, his teammate at Royal Melbourne. “But we don’t see that kind of consistency out of him, and that probably matches his personality a little bit. He’s young, though, and that’s the kind of golf he plays. He plays pretty much all guns blazing, and when it comes off, it’s really good.”

And when it doesn’t? He beat Koepka in the Match Play last year and reached the round of 16. But that was his last top 10 in America. And then there was the Presidents Cup.

Li brought his trainer to be his caddie, and the caddie got lost on the course during a practice round, gave up and headed for the clubhouse. Instead of finding him, Li played the rest of the round out of another player’s bag. International captain Ernie Els wound up benching him for two days, playing Li only when he had to. Li lost both matches he played.

“It’s been very tough on me, the Presidents Cup, because I didn’t play until Saturday,” Li said. “So not quite in the Presidents that way, actually. But anyways, good experience.”

Another one awaits.

Li was seen at the practice range and putting green much of the afternoon, although Golf Channel reported he had gone to rental home for lunch and a nap. True, there’s not much to do during health protocols in place for the pandemic. And he’s young enough that energy shouldn’t be a problem.

But it sets up Saturday as a critical day, for Li and for Koepka, for Woods and Dustin Johnson, for everyone chasing a major championship trophy that hasn’t been awarded since the British Open a year ago in July.

WINNIPEG – Canada Life is proud to announce they will support charitable causes at the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada-affiliated Canada Life Series. Canada Life will donate $5 to charity for every birdie made and $20 for every eagle made over the course of this four-event golf series.

“We’re proud to support Canadian golfers through the Canada Life Series. Adding a charitable component to the events made sense and is another way we can help Canadians,” said Jeff Macoun, President and Chief Operating Officer, Canada, Canada Life. “This program will also add another element of competition to the tournaments, which is always fun. We’re eager to see how many birdies and eagles are made.”

The Mackenzie Tour created the Canada Life Series to give Canadian-based players the opportunity to continue pursuing their goals in a season where international events have been suspended. The series features two 54-hole events at Bear Mountain Golf & Tennis Resort Community in Langford, BC and two more at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in Caledon, ON.

In B.C., donations from the Canada Life Birdies for Kids program will go to Canucks Autism Network (CAN). CAN was founded in 2008 by Vancouver Canucks co-owners, Paolo and Clara Aquilini, whose son has autism. CAN provides programs to individuals with autism and their families and works to promote acceptance and inclusion through community engagement and training initiatives in BC and beyond.

In Ontario, donations will go to Start2Finish. Start2Finish’s mission is to break the cycle of child poverty by providing ongoing educational support to at-risk children in Canada during their school years. Since its inception 20 years ago, Start2Finish has equipped over 100,000 children with vital opportunities and skills to help them build a cycle of success.  

“Charity is at the core of everything we do at the PGA TOUR and the charitable impact our events have in Canada is central to what we do week in and week out. This program is going to have a significant impact in these communities and provides a platform for players to give back in a unique way,” said Scott Pritchard, Mackenzie Tour Executive Director. “We are very familiar with Canucks Autism Network and Start2Finish. Both do amazing work, and we were only too happy to associate with these great organizations.”

SAN FRANCISCO – By now, it is becoming all too familiar.

The starter stepped to the microphone and kept to the PGA Championship tradition afforded its champions. One player gets the longest introduction. “Now on the tee, the 1999, 2000, 2006 and 2007 PGA Champion … Tiger Woods.”

And then silence.

It’s the eerie product of golf amid a pandemic, and even after two months of no spectators, the quiet can be jarring.

Also familiar – Brooks Koepka bringing his best to the majors.

Jason Day and Brendon Todd wound up in a share of the lead Thursday after an opening round packed with action, just not cheers. Each posted a 5-under 65 at Harding Park, where fog gave way to the sun and the wind eased just enough to make the public course accessible to reasonable scoring.

The one constant appears to be Koepka.

Just two weeks after he missed a cut and was so frustrated he said he heaved a club 70 yards during practice, he powered his way to six birdies for a 66 that left him in a large group one shot behind.

“It’s only 18 holes right now,” Koepka said. “I feel good. I feel confident. I’m excited for the next three days. I think I can definitely play a lot better. Just need to tidy a few things up, and we’ll be there come Sunday on the back nine.”

Day, trying to emerge from a slump that has kept him from winning since 2018 and contending in majors since 2016, hit an approach to 6 feet for birdie on No. 9, the second-toughest hole on the course at 518 yards for a par 4 at sea level.

Todd’s round was equally impressive. Playing in the afternoon, as the wind strengthened, Todd made seven birdies and finished with a 10-foot par putt.

Koepka is the two-time defending champion, presented the opportunity this week to become only the seventh player in the 160-year history of major championship golf to win the same major three years in a row. It was last done 64 years ago.

He’s still a little annoyed that he missed a similar chance last year down the Pacific coast at Pebble Beach, when he finished runner-up in his bid for a third straight U.S. Open.

Koepka hasn’t won in more than a year. His left knee has been bothering him since last August. No matter. After a slow start, he quickly moved his way up the leaderboard and stayed there with a series of key putts for par – and one 12-footer for bogey – that gave him an ideal start to this major.

He was at 66 with eight other players, a list that included former major winners Justin Rose, Martin Kaymer and Zach Johnson, rising star Xander Schauffele and tour rookie Scottie Scheffler.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., was tied for 21st after a 2-under 68 round. Corey Conners (69) of Listowel, Ont., was tied for 36th, Mackenzie Hughes (73) of Dundas, Ont., was tied for 109th, and Nick Taylor (76) of Abbotsford was tied at 145th.

That’ll work @ahadwingolf!! ? pic.twitter.com/FSEPnHFC6A

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) August 6, 2020

Woods ran off three birdies in a four-hole stretch toward the end of his round that offset a few mistakes. He opened with a 68, a solid start for a 15-time major champion who has played just one tournament in the last six months.

Woods put a new putter into play – this one is a little longer, which he says helps him practice longer without straining his surgically repaired back – and it came in handy. He made a 30-foot birdie early. He was most pleased with a 20-foot par putt on No. 18 as he made the turn. And he was thrilled with the weather.

“I thought anything today in the red was going to be good,” Woods said.

In this case, there was a lot of good to go around. Just under one-third of the field –47 players – broke par. That included Bryson DeChambeau, who broke his driver on the seventh hole after another vicious swing. Oddly enough, it finally gave way when he leaned on it ever so slightly while picking up his tee.

He was able to replace it and challenged the lead – he was 4 under through 10 – until he slid back to a 68.

Instead of the wind and chill and the thick marine layer, it was pleasant enough to make this feel like a casual round of golf.

It sounded like that, too.

Woods is used to tournament golf in the COVID-19 era. Spectators have not been allowed at any tournament since the PGA Tour returned two months ago. It’s not less strange.

“It still funny,” Rory McIlroy said. “You know, `99, 2000, 2006, 2007 PGA champion, Tiger Woods. And then there’s nothing. That’s pretty interesting. That’s definitely different.”

McIlroy, Woods and Justin Thomas, the No. 1 player in the world, each started with a birdie on No. 10 to no applause. They still had the largest following in two months, some 60 people – reporters, photographers, camera crews, a few park rangers. And there were fans along the road beyond the fence on the 12th hole shouting for Woods.

McIlroy overcame three straight bogeys early in his round for an even-par 70. Thomas was going along fine until a pair of double bogeys, one on the seventh hole when his ball never came down from a Monterey Cypress tree. He shot 71.

The start was a good sign for Day, the former No. 1 player in the world, because he has struggled so much since his last win two years ago. His back gives him trouble. Off the course, his mother was battling lung cancer in Australia. And then he finally made a clean break from his longtime coach and lifetime mentor, Collin Swatton.

But he registered three top 10s coming into the PGA Championship, and his confidence is growing.

Ditto for Koepka. He missed the cut at the 3M Open in Minnesota two weeks ago, went home to Florida and during one range session was so frustrated he heaved a few clubs. But a quick video review and some technical work revealed his weight was on the wrong side. He made the adjustment and tied for second last week at a World Golf Championship.

And this is a major. Big Game Brooks is at his best in these.

“He seems to find his comfort zone in these tournaments, in these environments, for whatever reason that is,” McIlroy said. “I think we are all just lucky that he doesn’t find it every other week.”

TORONTO—With the Canada Life Series set to begin next week in Langford, British Columbia, a consortium of PGA TOUR players—past and present—have provided even more incentive for players to play well during the four-tournament Series.

Former PGA TOUR winner Ian Leggatt and 10 other players have each donated (CA) $1,000 that forms a bonus bursary that will be used to reward the player or players who shoot the low 18-hole round at each of the Canada Life Series’ tournaments. Every week, the player with the lowest single-day score will earn $2,750. In the event of more than one player shooting the low round, they will split that week’s money.

In addition to Leggatt, the organizer of this initiative, players who donated are Stephen Ames, Corey Conners, Graham DeLaet, Michael Gligic, Adam Hadwin, David Hearn, Mackenzie Hughes, Roger Sloan, Nick Taylor and Mike Weir, who all played on the Mackenzie Tour or its predecessor, the Canadian Tour, in their careers.

Created in partnership with the Golf Canada Foundation, the player bursary aligns with the Foundation’s support of high-performance golf, helping the next generation of athletes inspire Canadians of all ages and abilities.

“Golf Canada Foundation is excited to support this initiative through the Canada Life Series with the generous backing of Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada alumni,” Said Martin Barnard, CEO of Golf Canada Foundation. “Aspiring professionals working to advance their careers have had their competitive seasons impacted significantly during the pandemic, and we hope this bursary will help players emerge even stronger on the various Tours next year.”

“We’re pretty fortunate that we’ve been able to start playing again,” said Hadwin about the PGA TOUR’s season restart after the COVID-19 interruption to the schedule. “Not only that, but we’re pretty fortunate where we are in life, as well.

“Being on the PGA TOUR is the ultimate goal of all the guys who are playing,” continued Hadwin, a native of Abbotsford, B.C., who turned pro in 2009, played two years on the Mackenzie Tour’s predecessor—the Canadian Tour—before joining the PGA TOUR in 2015. “I think it’s our duty and job to pay it forward a little. A lot of us have come through the Mackenzie Tour. I know what it’s like traveling across (the country). You’re not making a ton of money and hoping to get to the next level. This is nice that we can help out and give those guys a little something extra to play for. It’s not much, but every little bit counts.”

The Canada Life Series at Bear Mountain: Mountain Course on Aug. 10-12 is the first of two back-to-back tournaments at Bear Mountain Golf & Tennis Resort Community. The final two events will be at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in Caledon, each tournament open to Mackenzie Tour players and high-level professional and elite players living in Canada.

In June, the Mackenzie Tour canceled its 2020 season due to COVID-19. The Canada Life Series is a response to that cancellation, giving players competitive, money-making opportunities.

“We couldn’t be more pleased with the generosity of these players who understand what it’s like to be a young pro trying to make his way in professional golf,” said Scott Pritchard, Mackenzie Tour Executive Director. “It truly is a fraternity among Canadian professionals, and to have these 11 players provide this bonus money only enhances what we’re trying to accomplish with the Canada Life Series.”

A friendly east-west rivalry between Canada’s top PGA Tour golfers has been renewed the past two Tuesdays before being set aside for the event itself.

Nick Taylor, Mackenzie Hughes, Adam Hadwin and Corey Conners have practised together the past two weeks as the only Canadians in the field at the St. Jude Invitational and the PGA Championship. Taylor and Hadwin, who grew up playing together at Ledgeview Golf and Country Club in Abbotsford, B.C., have been a team in the practice rounds and Hughes and Conners, who were on Kent State’s golf team, have been a pair.

“We played today and – I like to call us the ‘West Coast Boys’ – we got smoked by the ‘East Coast Boys’ so they definitely had the best chirps today,” said Taylor on Tuesday shortly after leaving the course at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.

“It’s great having close buddies playing in the same tournaments. Playing in the big tournaments together is great, we urge each other on to play well.”

Last week’s St. Jude Invitational was the first time four Canadians played in a World Golf Championship event. Conners was the low Canadian, tying for 30th, followed by Taylor (35), Hughes (44) and Hadwin (72).

Earlier this summer the quartet made Canadian golf history when they all cracked the top 100 of the world rankings. Hadwin is ranked 60th in the world, followed by Conners (65), Hughes (74) and Taylor (100).

“To have four Canadians in the WGC, to have four Canadians again this week, it’s a lot of fun,” said Hughes ahead of Tuesday’s practice round. “It’s a lot of fun to round out a foursome for these big tournament and go play and pair together.

“We’re all routing for each other. If it’s not going to be us that wins, it’d be really exciting if it’s one of our fellow countrymen.”

All four are avid sports fans too and with the NHL resuming its season, the fates of their favourite teams are a hot topic. Hughes, from Dundas, Ont., and Conners, from Listowel, Ont., support the Toronto Maple Leafs while Hadwin is an avid follower of the Vancouver Canucks.

“There wouldn’t be a whole lot of smack talk between us because we don’t really have a lot of smack to talk,” said Hughes with a laugh. “The Canucks haven’t won a Stanley Cup ever and the Leafs haven’t won one in a very long time.

“It’s tough for any of us to have much on each other.”

Taylor is the neutral party in the foursome when it comes to the NHL because he’s always followed the Canucks since he grew up in B.C., but also cheers for the Leafs because his father Jay is a Toronto fan.

“I don’t have a huge allegiance to either team, I just like watching hockey in general,” said Taylor, who noted that spending nights watching TV in their hotels is the norm for pro golfers given the PGA Tour’s strict rules about maintaining a bubble during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The PGA Championship isn’t the only major on schedule that will have four Canadians in the field. Taylor, Conners, and Hadwin will be joined by Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., at this year’s Masters in mid November.

There’s also the possibility of five Canadians being in the field at this year’s U.S. Open. Conners, Hughes, and Hadwin have all qualified to play at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y., in late September.

Taylor is in a decent position to qualify for that major if he makes one of three qualifications. He’d be in if he’s in the top 10 at the PGA Championship, the top 10 at the Wyndham Championship in two weeks, or in the top five players not otherwise exempt from last season’s FedEx Cup standings.

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Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., could also qualify for the U.S. Open if he’s in the top five of the Korn Ferry Tour rankings when they’re updated on Sunday. Pendrith, who also played at Kent State with Hughes and Conners, is third heading into this week’s Portland Open.

“To potentially have five guys at the U.S. Open, with Taylor, we’re set up well,” said Hughes. “I’m looking forward to the end of the year and seeing what we can do and hopefully making some splashes in the professional golf scene and keep that Canadian flag flying high.”

Following years of rigorous product development, the introduction of the new Titleist Tour Speed – a high performance, multilayer golf ball with a proprietary thermoplastic urethane cover – provides golfers with the fastest, best performing golf ball in its category. Proven through extensive testing with amateur players, the breakthrough performance of Tour Speed is further enhanced by the superior quality and consistency of Titleist’s precision manufacturing process.

Available in Canadian golf shops beginning Aug. 7, Tour Speed offers a distinct and compelling performance option in the Titleist golf ball family through its innovative three-piece design, delivering a unique combination of exceptional distance in the long game and precise short game scoring control:

• A new high-speed core formulation combined with Titleist’s fastest ionomer casing layer delivers maximum speed and low long game spin for category-leading distance. Tour Speed is faster and longer than Callaway Chrome Soft, Bridgestone Tour B RX, TaylorMade Tour Response, Srixon Z-STAR and Srixon Q-STAR TOUR.

• Tour Speed’s thermoplastic urethane (TPU) cover is proprietary Titleist golf ball technology specifically formulated by R&D chemists, delivering greenside spin for short game scoring control with soft feel.

• The exceptional distance of Tour Speed is enhanced by a new 346 quadrilateral dipyramid dimple design that provides a penetrating, consistent flight.

“Golfers can trust that when they tee up a Titleist, they are getting superior performance and quality versus the competition,” said Michael Mahoney, Vice President, Titleist Golf Ball Marketing. “Our golf ball scientists and engineers have gone to extraordinary lengths in the development of Tour Speed – testing numerous core formulations and aerodynamic patterns, while formulating and analyzing hundreds of TPU cover blends – to deliver on that promise. We have made every investment necessary in these new technologies, including a significant expansion of our manufacturing facility and process.”

EXTENSIVE AMATEUR TESTING

In addition to Titleist’s robot testing protocol, the performance of Tour Speed has been validated through rounds of comprehensive amateur testing, including:

• A three-month R&D test market conducted in the United States and Canada for the experimental golf ball EXP•01 – a prototype created during the development process for what has now become Tour Speed; and

• A golf ball performance study of amateur golfers led by Fordie Pitts, Titleist’s R&D golf ball consultant on the PGA Tour. The blind test, conducted at the Manchester Lane Test Facility in Massachusetts, evaluated Tour Speed prototypes versus a wide range of current Titleist and competitive golf ball models.

“Every new Titleist golf ball must exceed our stringent machine and player testing targets in order to advance from the R&D phase,” said Scott Cooper, Titleist Golf Ball R&D’s lead implementation engineer for Tour Speed. “All of the data and golfer feedback we’ve collected has been clear: Tour Speed is consistently the fastest, longest and most preferred golf ball among the competitive urethane-covered products in this category.”

AVAILABILITY

The new Titleist Tour Speed is available in Canada beginning Friday, Aug. 7. MAP $49.99.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Justin Thomas wants to make his second stint as No. 1 in the world last longer than the first time around.

“I hope so,” Thomas said Sunday after winning the FedEx St. Jude Invitational to take the No. 1 spot for the first time since June 2018. “I feel like I’m a better player, and I feel like I’m more complete of a golfer now than I was then.”

Thomas dueled defending champion Brooks Koepka down the final holes, sealing the World Golf Championship victory on the par-5 16th. Thomas took the lead for good with his second straight birdie, while Koepka bogeyed the hole.

Koepka pulled within a stroke with a 39-footer for birdie on No. 17. But Koepka put his tee shot into the water along the 18th fairway on his way to double bogey, allowing Thomas to finish up an easy par putt for what wound up a three-stroke victory.

Thomas closed with a 5-under 66 to finish at 13-under 267 and take the $10.5 million winner’s check for his 13th PGA Tour title. At 27, he became the third-youngest player since 1960 to reach 13 PGA Tour wins, trailing only Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus.

“I’ve been fortunate to have a good career so far, but I plan on playing out here for a long time and have a lot of things that I still want to accomplish,” Thomas said. “And every milestone and steppingstone is hopefully something that I can learn from and something that will help me even more in the long run.”

One sign of Thomas’ growth was this was the fifth time he rallied to win, and he matched his biggest comeback after starting the day four strokes back of third-round leader Brendon Todd. Thomas has three wins this season, two since the start of the year.

The last time Thomas was No. 1, he spent four weeks at the top of the ranking. He will supplant Jon Rahm, who became No. 1 after winning at Memorial two weeks ago and tied for 52nd this week.

Koepka will go to TPC Harding Park in San Francisco looking to defend his PGA championship title, and he said he’s feeling good about how he’s playing. He finished with a 69 and tied for second with Phil Mickelson (67), Daniel Berger (65) and Tom Lewis (66).

“I thought I hit a good chip on 16,” Koepka said. “I don’t know what it did. Then another minute I thought it was in for another second. So to make bogey there was disappointing. Obviously drained a big one on 17, and then you’re down one. You’ve got to take an aggressive line on 18, so it is what it is.”

Thomas had Jim “Bones” Mackay on his bag, playing in the same group with Mickelson for the first time since Mickelson split with his longtime caddie. Mackay was a late fill-in for Thomas’ usual caddie, Jimmy Johnson.

“I feel like he knows enough about my game to where he can contribute and be a help, and he was,” Thomas said about Mackay.

Thomas made up the deficit with four birdies on the front nine and just missed another birdie chance on No. 8. His 20-footer on No. 9 tied Todd at 12 under.

Todd, whose putting had carried him through the first three rounds, three-putted for bogey from 23 feet on the par-3 eighth, leaving Thomas alone atop the leaderboard.

Thomas put his second on the par-4 12th into a greenside bunker near the back edge and chopped it out to the rough. He chipped out from an awkward stance to salvage bogey.

That created a five-way tie at 11 under with Koepka, Berger, Lewis and Todd.

Koepka took the lead to himself on the par-4 13th. He hit his approach from 133 yards to 10 feet of the pin, and Koepka sunk the putt for his third birdie of the round to go to 12 under.

After hitting his tee shot 321 yards to the rough 51 yards short of the hole on No. 15, Thomas hit to 6 feet for a birdie, tying Koepka at 12 under with three to play. Thomas found the rough far right of the cart path on the par-5 16th, then hit his third from the left rough 65 yards to 3 feet for his second straight birdie.

Koepka, in the group behind Thomas, tried to answer 42 yards from the hole. His shot landed close to the hole only to keep rolling to the back of the green. Koepka wound up two-putting from 8 feet for bogey.

Finishing on No. 18, Thomas made sure to avoid any danger before Koepka’s final birdie.

“I saw that I had a two-shot lead, hence the reason I hit it right of the universe,” Thomas said of a tee shot that went right of the cart path. “It was not going left, I promise you that.”

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., was the top Canadian, firing a 70 to finish in a tie for 30th at 4 under. Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., (71) was 3 under, Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., (69) was 2 under, while Abbotsford’s Adam Hadwin (69) finished 8 over.

OMAHA, Neb. – Canadian golfer Taylor Pendrith took a huge step toward locking up a spot in the U.S. Open with his fourth consecutive top-three finish on the Korn Ferry Tour on Sunday.

Pendrith, from Richmond Hill, Ont., finished in a five-way tie for second at the Pinnacle Bank Championship, one stroke behind winner Seth Reeves of the United States.

Pendrith shot a personal-best 5-under 66 on Sunday to come in at 10 under for the 72-hole tournament.

The 29-year-old Pendrith is third in the tour standings.

The top five after next week’s event in North Plains, Ore., earn spots in the U.S. Open, Sept. 17-20 in Mamaroneck, N.Y. It would mark Pendrith’s first career major.

The top 25 in the Korn Ferry standings next fall will earn spots on the PGA Tour for the 2021-22 season.

Pendrith birdied Nos. 12, 16 and 17 on Sunday to charge up the leaderboard.

Stuart Macdonald of Vancouver tied for 20th at 6 under.