Team Canada member and chemical engineer Brittany Marchand tees up a STEM lesson on the science behind the putt.

DUBLIN, Ohio – Canadian Mackenzie Hughes will be returning to the U.S. Open following another strong outing on the PGA Tour.

Hughes, of Dundas, Ont., finished in a tie for sixth on Sunday at the Memorial to earn a spot in the major tournament.

He’ll join fellow Canadians Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., at Winged Foot when the U.S. Open tees off in the fall.

Hughes, who also qualified for the U.S. Open in 2013 and ’18, had three birdies – including one on No. 12 with 67-foot putt – and three bogeys for a 72 in the final round of the Memorial to finish 3 under.

From downtown Dundas, Ontario ?? pic.twitter.com/5ukMDWwzBE

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) July 19, 2020

Hughes and runner-up Ryan Palmer earned U.S. Open spots as the leading two players from the top 10 who were not already eligible.

Henrik Norlander could have taken the final spot with a par on the 18th, but made bogey to tie Hughes at 3 under. The spot went to Hughes because he had the better world ranking.

Jon Rahm struggled to a 3-over 75 but held on to win the tournament by three strokes over Palmer at 9 under.

Rahm, who held an eight shot lead at the turn before a difficult back nine, joins Seve Ballesteros as the only Spaniards to reach No. 1 in the world golf rankings following the victory – leapfrogging Rory McIlroy, who held the top ranking since Feb. 9.

Meanwhile, Conners (72) came in a tie for 22nd at 3 over and Hadwin (81) fell down to 54th at 9 over.

Hughes will go from No. 97 to a career-best No. 75 in the world golf rankings following the Memorial.

He shot a 60 in the first round of the Travelers Championship less than a month ago and finished the tournament third, while also grabbing second place at the Honda Classic in March before the COVID-19 pandemic halted golf.

The 29-year-old Hughes has three top-10 finishes in 11 events in 2020 after only three top-10 finishes in 54 tournaments between 2018 and ’19.

Only five players broke par Sunday, the fewest for a final round since the Memorial began in 1976. The average score of 75.932 was the highest for the final round since it was 75.972 in 1978.

The 120th U.S. Open, originally scheduled for June 18–21, was postponed to September 17-20 because of the pandemic.

DUBLIN, Ohio – Jon Rahm showed Saturday in the Memorial why he’s one of the most explosive players in golf.

With his clubs.

A back nine that capped off what he considers one of the best rounds of his careers gave Rahm a 4-under 68, turned a four-shot deficit into a four-shot lead and put the 25-year-old Spaniard on the verge of reaching No. 1 in the world.

“Today could be one of the best rounds of golf I’ve played in my life,” Rahm said, a tribute to a Muirfield Village getting so close to the edge it drew comparisons with a major. “And it’s hard to believe how passively it came, compared to how I played usually.”

His passion is so great it can hurt as much as it helps. On this day, facing this test, Rahm kept his cool. He watched Tony Finau reach the par-5 11 in two for a sure birdie that would leave the Spaniard four shots behind.

There was no panic. Rahm said he told his caddie on the 13th tee, “If we can finish the last six holes under par, it’s a great finish. And whatever we have to do to make a comeback, we’ll make a comeback.”

Birdie. Birdie. Birdie. Birdie.

With help from Finau and his two double bogeys, and Ryan Palmer with bogeys on two of his last three holes, that turned into a four-shot lead for Rahm.

A victory allows him to join Seve Ballesteros as the only Spaniards to reach No. 1, provided that Rory McIlroy doesn’t finish as a runner-up. McIlroy shot 72 – not a bad effort on a day wher the average score was 73.7 – and was 10 shots back.

“I’ve got to get out there tomorrow, play solid again and get the job done and think about the No. 1 afterwards,” he said.

Rahm was at 12-under 204 as he goes for his fourth PGA Tour victory, and 10th worldwide. Finau and Palmer, each with a 73, were three behind. Former Masters champion Danny Willett (70), next in line at six shots back.

Finau was was bogey-free on the front nine, poured in a 50-foot birdie putt and then easily reached the green on the par-5 11th for a two-putt birdie to reach 12 under.

One swing changed everything.

Finau’s tee shot on the par-3 12th in a swirling wind sailed 15 yards over the green, leaving a downhill chip from thick rough to a green that was yellow and ran toward the water. He left it short, chipped through the green and made double bogey. Finau took another double bogey on the 17th hole with an awkward lie in the rough.

“It was good, and then it wasn’t good,” Finau said. “Man, this golf course can get you in a heartbeat. You just try and put your best foot forward every hole, every shot and try and play as well as you can. The greens are firm. There’s enough wind up there to think about. They’re fast. A little disappointed in my finish, but look, I’m in a good position going into tomorrow.

“And it’s going to be tough tomorrow.”

Muirfield Village is rebuilding all the greens starting Monday, and tournament officials are not afraid to let the course go to the very edge for the strongest field of the year.

It wasn’t easy to get shots close. It wasn’t easy to hole putts. It wasn’t easy to do anything.

It was the highest average score for the third round at the Memorial since 2012, the last year Tiger Woods won. There won’t be a repeat of that. Woods said he felt better and he played better, posting a 71. He still was 14 shots behind.

That’s what made Rahm’s round so special. The ball kept rolling on the greens, and the Spaniard realized it was happening to everybody. He dropped only one shot, on the par-3 eighth.

And his finish was simply sublime.

Rahm played in the group in front of Finau and saw him reach the 11th green in two, a sure birdie. His only concern was hitting the green at No. 12, trying to pick up a birdie or two and if had to rally on Sunday, so be it.

He hammered his tee shot 360 yards over the bunker that set up a wedge to 12 feet for birdie on the 13th. He wisely laid up on the 14th, with the tees moved forward to play at 322 yards, and hit wedge to 5 feet for birdie.

Right of the green on the par-5 15th in two, with the green running fast and away from him, he hit a flop-and-run to 3 feet for a third straight birdie. And then he capped it off with a 25-foot birdie putt on the 16th.

Just like that, he had the lead. He’s in control.

Rahm has had a mathematical chance to reach No. 1 ever since golf resumed six weeks ago. He missed the cut at Colonial and finished out of the top 25 in the other three events he played.

Now it’s right there in front of him – along with a Muirfield Village course that won’t be getting any easier.

“Whatever happens tomorrow happens, but it’ll be a great test for me to learn for the future, for major championships,” Rahm said. “Because this is going to be the closest thing we get to a major championship without being one.”

Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., leads all Canadians at 3 under par in a tie for 9th. Adam Hadwin (Abbotsford, B.C.) is at even par while Corey Conners (Listowel, Ont.) is 3 over.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Less than six months removed from his first Korn Ferry Tour victory at the Panama Championship, Davis Riley became the first player this season to win twice on Tour with a two-stroke win at the TPC San Antonio Championship at the Oaks. Riley posted a final-round 5-under 67 on Saturday and finished at 16-under for the week to top Paul Barjon and Canadian Taylor Pendrith.

With the win, the former University of Alabama star moves to the top spot on the season-long Korn Ferry Tour points standings and is one win away from the three-win “Battlefield Promotion” to the PGA TOUR. The feat has only been accomplished 11 times in the Tour’s history, most recently by Wesley Bryan in 2016.

“I got off to a good start there birdieing the first hole and kind of slowed down there in the middle,” said Riley, who made the turn at 1-under 35. “But I tried to remember what I did yesterday where I played really well on the back nine. I think I birdied three of the last four today and I’m really proud of the way I handled myself. I give a lot of props to Panama week, being able to pull from those memories.”

Riley’s finishing stretch was cinematic. He holed out from the bunker on 15 before throwing a dart with his approach to 18 inches at the par-3 16^th. He burned the edge for birdie at the 17^th before entering the 18^th with a one-shot lead. Playing in the last group of the day and knowing he just needed par to win, Riley again stuck his approach shot inside two feet and tapped in for a closing birdie.

“I tried to control my breathing,” said Riley of his experience approaching the 18^th green, which is guarded by a creek. “Because it’s a 95-yard wedge shot. I’ve hit that shot a thousand times within 10 feet.”

Riley edged two players who have been extremely familiar with the top of the leaderboard over the past two weeks in Barjon and Pendrith. Barjon went T3-T2 over the last two weeks at TPC San Antonio (first on the Canyons Course, followed by the Oaks Course), while Pendrith has gone T3-2^nd-T2 over his last three starts. Pendrith, a Team Canada Young Pro Squad member, was the college roommate of PGA TOUR player Corey Conners, the defending champion of the Valero Texas Open.

Ironically, the last tournament Riley played, the TPC Colorado Championship at Heron Lakes, he was passed in the standings by his roommate, Will Zalatoris. Zalatoris won in Colorado to claim the top spot in the standings, and this week finished T5 before waiting at the 18^thgreen to see Riley finish.

“I was there on 18 to congratulate him in Colorado,” said Riley. “I know what he felt and it’s a really good feeling to win…You’re happy for him but at the same time it kind of fired me up. I was ready to go this week. Now we have three trophies in there, hopefully we can just keep building that up…We just push each other every day and play a lot of golf together. It’s good to have someone just as good or maybe better than you to play with, it’s a lot of fun.”

Zalatoris, for his part, rose to T5 despite a first-round 77 that left him T141 after the first round. Zalatoris has now posted five consecutive top-10s, one shy of the Tour’s record. The roommates, who live in Dallas, now hold the top two spots in the standings.

DUBLIN, Ohio – Tony Finau figured he was on the right track when he shot 59 at Victory Ranch last week in Utah.

That kind of score isn’t happening at Muirfield Village, where the greens are getting faster by the hour. No matter. Finau took enough confidence from playing with his kids at home during a week off, and it translated into 14 birdies over two days and a share of the 36-hole lead at the Memorial.

Finau recovered from two bogeys three holes into his second round Friday by making birdie on the rest of his par 5s and finishing with a wedge to 2 feet for a 3-under 69.

That put him at 9-under 135 with Ryan Palmer (68), who had made only one bogey over two rounds. The way Muirfield Village is playing, both are impressive.

Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., leads the way for the Canadian contingent after a 6-under 66 vaulted him into a tie for 8th at 4 under par. Adam Hadwin (Abbotsford, B.C.) sits T47 while Corey Conners (Listowel, Ont.) is T64.

Among the early starters, they had a one-shot lead over Jon Rahm (67), who has another chance to reach No. 1 in the world this week for the first time in his career. U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland had a 70 and was two behind.

For Tiger Woods, it was a matter of hoping he gets two more rounds. Woods said his back felt stiff while warming up, and missing a pair of 3-footers didn’t make him feel any better. He managed two birdies and a 7-foot par save on his final three holes for a 76 that forced him to wait until the afternoon to see if he would make the cut.

Woods, a five-time winner at Muirfield Village, has never missed the cut in 17 previous times at the Memorial.

“Not very good,” Woods said. “I three-putted two holes early, and whatever kind of momentum I was going to create, I stifled that early and fought it the rest of the day.”

Finau elected to stay home last week instead of playing Muirfield Village twice in a row. He won’t compare Victory Ranch with Muirfield Village, though it inspired him. At one point, he was 14-under par through 16 holes until making a bogey on the 17th hole and settling for his second sub-60 round away from the PGA Tour.

“I don’t know how many times I’ve been 14 under through 16 holes on a good golf course,” Finau said. “But it told me I was in good form and just told me how good I am at scoring. So I think I definitely carried some of that right into this week, and that confidence I think is pretty cool.”

The way Muirfield Village began to look Friday, the weekend at the Memorial will be more about hanging on than going low. The course is replacing all the greens after this week, so officials are letting them go. It doesn’t matter if they’re so fast the grass dies because they’re being ripped up, anyway.

That began to show even on a calm, still morning.

Brooks Koepka appeared to hit a solid bunker shot from right of the 16th green until it rolled out a few feet past the hole, and then a few more feet until it was off the green and resting against the collar of rough. That wasn’t his biggest problem. Koepka dumped a shot in the water on his final hole at No. 9 and made double bogey for a 75.

That put him at 3-over 147, same as Woods, and he had to wait to see if he made the cut.

Rory McIlroy shot 72, which goes in the book as a round of even par. It was anything but that. He hit into the creek and muffed a chip for a double bogey on the par-5 11th. He smoked a fairway metal to 8 feet for eagle on the par-5 fifth. He hit wedge to 10 feet for a pair of birdies. He chunked a wedge into a bunker and made bogey.

He was at 2-under 142.

“I don’t know what it was,” he said. “It was a few birdies and an eagle thrown in there and a few mistakes. There’s some good in there, some mediocre and there was some pretty poor shots. But I battled back well.”

Palmer played the Workday Charity Open last week at Muirfield Village and missed the cut. Instead of staying in Ohio, he went home to Texas to work with swing coach Randy Smith, and he found a fix to whatever was holding him back.

“One little, small flaw in my back swing,” Palmer said.

He also did some work on the greens with Steve Stricker, and Palmer feels good enough about his chances on the weekend.

Stricker didn’t do too badly, either. The 53-year-old Ryder Cup captain had a 67 and was at 4-under 140, along with Jim Furyk, who turned 50 two months ago and shot 68.

TORONTO – The Canadian Society of Club Managers (CSCM) is pleased to announce and congratulate the recipients of CSCM’s 2020 Awards Program. The awards ceremony will take place on Monday, October 5, 2020, at CSCM’s first-ever virtual national conference.

The award recipients are:

President’s Award
Cameron Gray, CCM, St. Charles Country Club, Winnipeg, MB

Club Manager of the Year
Jim Hope, CCM, CCE, Derrick Golf & Winter Club, Edmonton, AB

Club of the Year (Medium)
Cedar Brae Golf Club, Toronto, ON (Martin Piché, CCM, General Manager/COO)

Club of the Year (Large)
Terminal City Club, Vancouver, BC (Peter Jackman, General Manager)

In addition, the following members will be honoured for recently receiving their Certified Club Manager (CCM) designation:

• Dan Campbell, CCM, St. Andrew’s East Golf & Country Club, Stouffville, ON
• Rob Cheevers, CCM, Buffalo Canoe Club, Ridgeway, ON
• Jennifer Cox, CCM, The Glencoe Golf & Country Club, Calgary, AB
• Molly Jagroop, CCM, Oakdale Golf & Country Club Ltd., Toronto, ON
• Steven Pert, CCM, Kanawaki Golf Club, Kahnawake, QC
• Martin Piché, CCM, Cedar Brae Golf Club, Toronto, ON
• Shendal Yalchin, CCM, The Hamilton Club, Hamilton, ON

The following member will be honoured for recently receiving their Certified Chief Executive (CCE) designation:

• Paul Morrell, CCM, CCE, Ontario Racquet Club, Mississauga, ON

Moreover, the following member will be recognized for recently achieving Honour Society status:

• Mary Elizabeth Sullivan, CCM, Granite Club, Toronto, ON

The annual awards program honours members who have made a significant contribution to the Society and the profession of club management in Canada, supporting CSCM’s mission to offer quality education and networking opportunities. Annually, members are invited to nominate peers in the industry. All nomination submissions are carefully reviewed by the Awards Committee and recipients are selected based on specific criteria.

Michael Hearse, CCM, Member of the CSCM National Board of Directors and Chair of the Awards Committee remarked, “We thank all those who participated this year. I am delighted to congratulate the award recipients, each of whom are wonderful representatives of the club management industry and the professionalism of the Society.”

Suzanne Godbehere, Chief Executive Officer of CSCM, said, “While our awards ceremony will be held virtually this year – make no mistake – it will be just as triumphant. We will be working to incorporate video highlights and live award presentations to the online event. The format will allow members from across the country to participate.”

For further details regarding the CSCM Awards Program & Application Process, please visit: CSCM Awards Program

Information about CSCM’s first-ever virtual national conference can be found here: Flatout

About The Canadian Society of Club Managers

Established in 1957, CSCM is the national professional society representing the club management profession in Canada. Of our approximately 600 members, over 70% are from golf clubs, and the remainder from a variety of city, recreation, fitness, curling and other types of clubs.

The Society’s members hold position titles that include General Manager, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer as well as Assistant Manager, Clubhouse Manager, Controller and Food and Beverage Manager.

Although it’s been a strange PGA Tour season with rescheduled events after a three-month break due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Roger Sloan has been grateful for the opportunities it’s presented.

Sloan, from Merritt, B.C., finished last season ranked 93rd in the FedExCup standings but stumbled out of the gate before the suspension of play in March. That layoff gave him more time to work with coach Jeff Barton and help his family settle in to their new home in Houston.

“Before the pandemic hit I’d been struggling quite a bit with my golf game and it was nice to get a three-month break to reset and re-evaluate what I’d been doing,” said Sloan. “It was almost like a second off-season.”

Sloan, his wife Casey, and their two children moved in the scheduled winter off-season. Although they usually travel together when the PGA Tour is in full swing, the three-month layoff gave them a rare chance at some quality time together.

“To really get that sustained three months off where you really didn’t have to worry about a golf tournament or preparing for anything, definitely that first half was so nice just to be at home and really get connected to your family,” said Sloan. “I think it was definitely a benefit for all families that compete on the PGA Tour.”

Although Sloan had an encouraging tie for 13th at the Safeway Open in September, he missed 10 cuts – including six straight from November to February – before the cancellation of the Players’ Championship signalled the beginning of the pandemic break.

However, Sloan’s started to find consistency in his game again. He missed the cut at the RBC Heritage, then finished 66th at the Travelers Championship, before another missed cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.

Most encouragingly, he tied for 27th at last week’s Workday Charity Open, the best performance of the six Canadians at the event, before taking the week off for the Memorial. That performance elevated him to 173rd in the FedExCup standings.

“I’ve always played very well on Jack Nicklaus golf courses,” said Sloan. “I was actually kind of disappointed because I played a lot better than my result. I left a lot of sloppy mistakes out there with the shorter clubs.

“It was encouraging to really see my game improve. … It really gives you hope that things are trending in the right direction.”

Sloan will be back in the field for next week’s 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine, Minn., then the Barracuda Championship, and will wrap up the season at the Wyndham Championship if he doesn’t earn his way on to the PGA Championship.

Because of the abbreviated season and the cancellation of the third-tier tours like Canada’s Mackenzie Tour, PGA Tour Series China, and PGA Latinoamerica, the PGA Tour has extended everyone’s tour status to next season. That takes some pressure off Sloan, as he’ll be able to play at the highest level in 2021 once again.

“While I get the opportunity to play on the PGA Tour next year if I don’t keep my card through this season it would be in a different category but I would still get a decent amount of starts. That is a huge luxury that we have,” said Sloan.

“It frees you up a little bit to go back to the basics and focus on what makes you a really good golfer. For me that’s really making it simple and focusing one shot at a time.”

Team Canada alumna and chemical engineer Brittany Marchand gives another STEM lesson on the effects of temperature on the golf ball

It is with sadness and respect that Golf Canada extends sincere condolences to the family, friends, and colleagues of Mr. Ignat “Iggy” Kaneff of Mississauga, Ont. who passed away on July 12, 2020 at the age of 93.

A proud community supporter and champion philanthropist, Mr. Kaneff immigrated to Canada from Bulgaria in 1951. He built a successful legacy as chairman of the Kaneff Group of Companies which included Kaneff Golf – six premium public golf properties across southern Ontario including Lionhead Golf & Conference Centre, Royal Ontario Golf Club, Royal Niagara Golf Club, Carlisle Golf & Country Club, Century Pines Golf Club and Streetsville Glen Golf Club.

Among his countless honours, accolades and professional designations, the real estate magnate was a deserving recipient of the Order of Ontario, a member of the Order of Canada and a respected community leader who was a driving force behind the growth of Peel Region and the development of Mississauga as a world-class city for business, culture and recreation. He helped build schools, hospitals and community centres and established the Ignat Kaneff Charitable Foundation in 1986 to support education, health, the arts, and social services of local communities.

CANADA – DECEMBER 18: Medal of devotion: Developer Ignat Kaneff shows off the commemorative medal received from the federal government for his community service. (Photo by Andrew Stawicki/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

“Iggy Kaneff and the Kaneff family have been passionate builders, operators and supporters of the game of golf,” said Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum. “As a young professional in the golf industry in the early 90’s, I had the great fortune of getting to know and playing golf with Iggy at his signature golf courses during a very exciting time of growth for the game he loved.  He was kind, entertaining and had an aura of energy that surrounded everything he was involved with.

The Kaneff Golf collection of signature courses have contributed greatly to the golf experience across southern Ontario and those facilities have hosted countless charity tournaments and fundraisers that have supported so many important and worthwhile causes. What is most inspiring about Iggy’s legacy is that he was a philanthropic champion celebrated for his generosity and tireless efforts in giving back to his community. He will be sorely missed.”

The 118th playing of the B.C. Amateur Championship later this month is going to be missing a very familiar face. After playing in the event for 53 straight years – and winning it 13 times – Doug Roxburgh will not be there.

The date for this year’s B.C. Amateur, which is being played at the Okanagan Golf Club’s Bear course in Kelowna, was recently moved from mid-July to July 28-30. That created a problem for Roxburgh, whose son James is getting married on Aug. 1.

“It absolutely was a tough decision,” Roxburgh said. If the date hadn’t been changed, it would have worked out. James is still going ahead with his wedding, on a much much smaller basis, on Aug. 1.”

Roxburgh also said all the COVID-19 protocols for the tournament, which he completely understands and supports, played a minor role in his decision. Roxburgh’s wife, Lorna, always caddies for him at the B.C. Amateur and she would not have been able to do so at this summer’s event.

“I just think it was the right time to make this decision,” he said. “I would have loved to keep it going, but these are very strange and difficult times right now and I certainly understand all the policies and things that B.C. Golf has had to put in place. It is great that they are going to be able to pull off an event.”

image credit: Bryan Outram/BC Golf

Doug’s Wife Lorna Has Been His Caddy At Many B.C. Amateur And Men’s Senior Championships

Roxburgh played in his first B.C. Amateur as a 15-year-old in 1967 at Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club. He hasn’t missed one since. His first win came in 1969 at Richmond Country Club where he beat John Morgan 4&3 in the 36-hole match play final. A couple of weeks later, Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon.

Roxburgh has only missed three cuts in his 53 B.C. Amateur appearances. Over the years, the tournament became a big part of his summer. “I always looked forward to the B.C. Am,” he said. “I always tried to get my game ready so I could have a good performance and try and make the cut and what not. I still had that in my mindset this year until they changed the date. I was looking forward to it and would have played, but it’s just not in the cards this year.”

Roxburgh said he particularly enjoyed seeing so many parts of British Columbia while travelling to and from the event. “When I first started way back it was basically Vancouver two years, Victoria one year, Vancouver two years, Victoria one year,” he said. “And we were always at a private club back then. But they started to move it around the province and it was great. We have travelled all around the province, to the Kootenays, up to Golden, to Fort St. John, all over the place. It has been a lot of fun that way for sure. It has given myself and my family the opportunity to see the province.”

The 68-year-old Roxburgh, a longtime member of Marine Drive Golf Club in Vancouver, said his game is in fairly good shape. “It comes and goes,” he said. “I have had some good games. I have been able to shoot my age twice in the last month which to be honest was my only goal this year.”

Kris Jonasson, chief executive officer of British Columbia Golf, said he fully understands Roxburgh’s decision not to play this year’s B.C. Amateur. “What a wonderful way to end a streak with your son’s wedding,” Jonasson said. “It’s not ending because he is not competitive. It’s ending because he made a commitment to his family a long time ago and that commitment remains the most important thing in his world.”

Roxburgh, whose resumé also includes four Canadian Amateur championships and a Canadian Seniors title, has a lifetime exemption into the B.C. Amateur. The hope is he begins another streak in 2021.

There is a good chance he will play in the B.C. Senior Men’s Championship in mid-September at Sunshine Coast Golf & Country Club, where he would be the three-time defending champion.