BLAINE, Minn. – Scott Piercy went on a late birdie binge en route to a 9-under 62 and the first-round lead at the inaugural 3M Open on Thursday.

Adam Hadwin and Hideki Matsuyama are each two shots back after a 7-under 64 at the TPC Twin Cities.

Hadwin, an Abbotsford, B.C., native, posted a string of four consecutive birdies on the front to move into contention. Three fellow Canadians are three strokes back at 4 under par: Nick Taylor (Abbotsford, B.C.), Mac Hughes (Dundas, Ont.), Roger Sloan (Merritt, B.C.).

Seeking his fifth career tour win and first since the 2018 Zurich Classic, Piercy birdied one of his first seven holes and eight of his final 11, including a nearly 30-foot putt on No. 16 to get to 8 under.

Brian Harman, Sungjae Im, Patton Kizzire and Sam Saunders are among a group three back after shooting 6-under 65.

Bryson DeChambeau is among nine players who shot 5-under 66 and are four shots back.

Brooks Koepka, the world’s top-ranked player, is among more than a dozen players that shot a 4-under 67. Nate Lashley, who won last week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, finished 2 under.

View this post on Instagram

@ahadwingolf is 2 off the pace through 18 at the @3mopen ?? 3 more Canadians are inside the top 20 ?

A post shared by Golf Canada (@thegolfcanada) on Jul 4, 2019 at 5:58pm PDT

The 3M Open is the first regular tour event in Minnesota since 1969; however, the U.S. Open and PGA Championship have each twice been contested at Hazeltine National Golf Club. The 2016 Ryder Cup was also played there and is to return in 2028.

The tournament replaces a PGA Tour Champions event held in the Land of 10,000 Lakes for 26 years.

A 36-minute weather delay occurred shortly after Piercy teed off, and showers fell briefly a couple of times during the rest of his round. The winds also picked up at times in the afternoon.

Playing in the calm morning, Matsuyama and Hadwin found better success on the soft greens.

Matsuyama entered the day ranked 93rd on tour, averaging 28.95 putts per round. He had 26 Thursday, including making 13 of 14 from inside 10 feet and four of five from 10 to 15 feet. He did not three-putt a hole.

Starting on No. 10, Matsuyama, a five-time tour champion who last won at the 2017 Bridgestone Invitational, had four straight birdies around the turn to get to 6 under before back-to-back birdies on Nos. 5 and 6, the first an 18-foot putt. His lone bogey was his final hole.

Playing two groups behind Matsuyama, Hadwin, 40th in putts per round, was 3 under through nine holes, and birdied four straight holes among his final nine. He made all 15 putts from inside 10 feet and made two of three from between 20 and 25 feet.

“Hideki and I are kind of taking out the Fourth of July celebration for Americans so far,” joked Hadwin, a Canadian whose wife is from the United States. “I’ve got a green card, so it’s home for me.”

Phil Mickelson had seven penalty strokes, including two on the par-5 18th, and finished 3 over.

Minnesota native Tim Herron aced the 208-yard eighth hole.

It wasn’t long ago that Rebecca Lee-Bentham walked away from chasing the dream of playing competitive professional golf at the game’s highest level.

Somewhere along the line the former Canadian National Amateur Team standout and LPGA Tour player lost her passion for competitive golf. She wasn’t the first golfer this has happened to and she certainly won’t be the last. But, as golf has a way of doing, pulled her back.

And today, the 27-year-old from Markham, Ont., can officially say she’s back on track to the long and winding road of competitive professional golf after winning the DCM PGA Women’s Championship of Canada in thrilling fashion Thursday at the Ladies’ Golf Club of Toronto.

Lee-Bentham posted a final round 9-under-par 63—both a new course record at Ladies’ Golf Club of Toronto and personal best—to come from behind and claim the title by four-shots over last year’s winner Jessica Porvasnik.

“I really leaned on my past experiences today,” Lee-Bentham admitted after her round. “All day I was thinking about all the little moments in my golf journey out and tried to use them as a guide throughout today’s round.”

Starting the day two shots off the lead—held by 15-year-old Emily Chu, Elizabeth Tong, Selena Costabile, Liv Cheng and Tiana Cruz—Lee-Bentham made 11 birdies and two bogeys on the day, setting a new course record (that was set just hours earlier with Porvasnik’s 64.)

“To be honest, I got a lot of good bounces out there today,” Lee-Bentham said. “A lot of times when you get a bad bounce or two your mood gets down, but when you get a good bounce, your spirit stays up and allows you to keep playing good golf.”

With the win, she joins the likes of Brooke Henderson, Lorie Kane, Alena Sharp, Cathy Sherk, Gail Graham and Nancy Harvey as a winner of this historic event.

“There are so many great names on this trophy and it’s so nice to add my name to it,” she said.

Lee-Bentham also earns an exemption into this year’s CP Canadian Women’s Open at Magna Golf Club later this summer.

Porvasnik finished alone in second at -6, while Zhu rounded out the top three at -5. Ladies’ Golf Club of Toronto member Costabile was at -4 in fourth with Valerie Tanguay and Cheng rounding out the top five at -3.

The Ladies’ Golf Club of Toronto hosted the inaugural DCM PGA Women’s Championship in 1987, which was won by PGA of Canada Hall of Fame member Cathy Sherk. The club also hosted the event in 1999 (won by Lorie Kane), in 2007 (won by Salimah Mussani).

The PGA of Canada’s Women’s PGA Cup spot were handed out Thursday.

Taking place Oct. 22-26 at the Omni Barton Creek Resort  & Spa in Austin, Texas, PGA members from across the world come together in a team competition for this landmark event.

The five members representing the PGA of Canada at the event are determined by their performance at the DCM PGA Women’s Championship in 2018 and 2019. Furthermore, the low club professional at the championship in ’18 and ’19 receives an automatic spot on the team.

The team consists of:

• Emma De Groot, Hamilton Golf and Country Club;
• Meghan Allum, Magna Golf Club;
• Casey Ward, Credit Valley Golf and Country Club;
• Rebecca Lee-Bentham, RLB Golf;
• Christine Wong, Langara College

The next PGA national championship takes place this August at Carleton Golf and Yacht Club for the PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada.

There is no longer a penalty for hitting the flagstick that is in the hole when you’ve played your stroke from off the putting green or if you’ve played your stroke from on the green.

Visit golfcanada.ca/rules to learn more.

The term penalty area has been introduced and will replace areas previously known as water hazards.

Visit golfcanada.ca/rules to learn more.

AURORA, Ont. – When she was just 10 years old, Brooke Henderson’s dad Dave took her to an LPGA event where she briefly met her idol Morgan Pressel. Pressel spoke to Henderson about her golf game, took a picture and autographed her shirt.

Weeks later, they met again at the CP Women’s– Open at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club. Pressel remembered Brooke Henderson’s name, a moment the young Canadian still treasures.

Now 21-years old, ranked No. 8 in the world, and with the most wins in Canadian pro golf history, Henderson sees it as her responsibility to create memories for her young fans like Pressel did for her.

“When I first met her, she spent that little bit of extra time with me, signed my shirt, took a picture with me, it was just a really incredible moment that I’ll remember forever,” said Henderson on Tuesday. “I think now I’m just trying to pay that forward to every little kid that I meet.”

Henderson will easily be the most popular player at the CP Women’s Open at Magna Golf Club in Aurora, Ont., this August, and will have plenty of opportunities to interact with her fans, most of whom are children.

“It’s really special to see those young kids, when they want my autograph or they want a picture with me it’s sort of surreal but it’s really inspiring for me,” said a beaming Henderson. “I do think that the LPGA is very approachable. We love little kids and we love spending time with them.

“I think that’s kind of what separates our tour from a lot of other major sports.”

The CP Women’s Open has not been in the Greater Toronto Area since 2001, when Annika Sorenstam won at Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham, Ont. Because of Henderson’s popularity among Canadian fans and its proximity to Canada’s largest city, it’s expected that it will be one of the best attended events on the LPGA Tour’s calendar this year.

Defending champ @BrookeHenderson leads a star-studded field of early commitments to the 2019 #CPWO ??⛳️#CloserToTheGame

➡️ https://t.co/w2G0RCHkrH pic.twitter.com/uMii5HFTVU

— CP Women's Open (@cpwomensopen) July 2, 2019

Charlottetown’s Lorie Kane, who will be playing in her 29th CP Women’s Open, thinks the timing couldn’t be better for the popularity of the sport in Canada.

“It’s time that we came back to the GTA. It’s time for women’s golf to be elevated one more level in this country,” said Kane, raising her hands for emphasis. “We all know in this room that (Henderson) is changing the way people see women’s golf in our country.

“We’ve been trending in the right direction but why do we keep saying that? We’re in a really awesome place.”

Golf Canada, the LPGA, and Canadian Pacific railways – the event’s title sponsor – announced on Tuesday that the field at the US$2.25 million tournament will include 15 of the top 20 golfers on the LPGA’s money list, and 90 of the top 100.

Henderson, the first Canadian to win the national title in 45 years, is one of seven past CP Women’s Open champions confirmed for 2019. Sung Hyun Park (2017), Ariya Jutanugarn (2016), So Yeon Ryu (2014), Katherine Kirk (2008), Cristie Kerr (2006) and three-time winner Lydia Ko (2015, 2013, 2012) are the other past winners in the field.

Henderson welcomes the stiff competition.

“I love it. Being able to beat the best in the world is one of the best things about this sport,” said Henderson. “To tee it up and know that you are playing the best and that you have to play really, really, well and hit shots that you’ve never hit before and shoot low scores, make a ton of birdies, that’s really exciting.”

SANDWICH, England – A third Canadian has earned a spot in the British Open.

Canadian-American dual citizen Austin Connelly of Lake Doucette, N.S., shot 8-under 136 over two rounds on Tuesday at Prince’s Golf Club to earn the third and final spot in the golf major at the qualifier.

The 22-year-old, who grew up in Texas, finished one stroke behind Curtis Knipes and Callum Shinkwin.

Connelly, who has conditional status on the European Tour, will join Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., July 18-21 at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland.

Connelly, who is scheduled to represent Canada at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru later this summer, is in the British Open for the second time in three years. He finished tied for 14th at the tournament in 2017 after falling out of contention on the final day.

When taking “lateral relief” from a red penalty area, under a one-stroke penalty, estimate the point on the edge of the penalty area where your ball last crossed as it went in.

Click here to learn more about the modernized Rules of golf.

There is no longer a penalty for moving loose impediments when your ball lies in a bunker.

Click here to learn more about the modernized Rules of golf.

When you decide your ball in a bunker is unplayable, under the 2019 Rules you have an extra option that lets you drop “back-on-the-line” outside the bunker for total penalty of two strokes.

Click here to learn more about the Rules of golf.

CROMWELL, Conn. – Chez Reavie is a PGA Tour winner again after 11 years and 250 events.

Reavie won the Travelers Championship on Sunday, closing with a 1-under 69 for a four-stroke victory over Keegan Bradley and Zack Sucher.

The 37-year-old Reavie, whose first title came as a rookie at the 2008 Canadian Open, finished at 17-under 263 at TPC River Highlands a week after tying for third in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

“It means everything,” he said. “I went through some injuries, had some long years there in the middle. But it was great, because it gave good perseverance and good perspective of what life is and what golf is.”

The former Arizona State player took a six-stroke lead over Bradley and Sucher into the round after a shooting a 63 on Saturday. He had an understated celebration, pulling his ball out of the hole at 18 and saluting the crowd with it clenched in his fist.

It was the same calm he showed throughout the day, even as, Bradley, a New England native from nearby Vermont, chipped away to the cheers of the large galleries.

Bradley made back-to-back birdies on 10 and 11 to get within three shots, just missed a 13-foot birdie putt on the 12th, then made a 9-footer on 13 to get within two strokes. His 22 foot-birdie attempt at 14 stopped just at the hole.

He got within a stroke on the par-4 15th when he made a 7 1/2-foot birdie putt after Reavie missed an 11-footer.

“The crowd was just so behind me and so loud and so, it felt like a Ryder Cup to me,” Bradley said. “Man, I’ve dreamt of this ever since I’ve come here at 10 years old. It lived up to the hype – it was awesome.”

But Reavie put the tournament away on the par-4 17th, making a 14-foot birdie putt, while Bradley three-putted for a double bogey. Bradley and Sucher each shot 67, with Sucher playing the back nine in 5-under 30.

Sucher, coming of an injury that kept him away from golf for 13 months after the 2017 Travelers, had his best ever finish in a PGA Tour event.

“The back nine was unbelievable,” Sucher said. “I mean the whole thing was unbelievable with the huge crowds, it was quite an experience.”

He came into his fourth of six medical extension start needing to earn 347 FexEx Cup points to retain his Tour card. He came in with 25 points and picked up 245 with the second-place tie.

“It’s amazing, it’s life-changing to be honest,” Sucher said. “It changes the rest of our year, it changes our plans and we have a lot of work to do to figure what else we have to do now.”

Vaughn Taylor, who started nine strokes back, made a run of five birdies to finish his final-round of 65, shooting a 29 on the back nine. His 15-foot birdie putt on 18 put him at 12 under.

“I’ve never birdied the last five holes of a tournament that’s for sure,” Taylor said

Paul Casey, who blew a four-stroke lead during last year’s final round, started the day 10 strokes behind Reavie, his former college teammate. But he hit his tee shot on the par-4 15th inside 7 feet and made eagle, then finished with a birdie to go 11 under.

The Englishman said he was hoping to match the 28 Reavie put up on the back nine Saturday to put some pressure on him. But he couldn’t do it and spent the rest of the day rooting for his friend.

Reavie, who took home just under $1.3 million, has finished in the top 20 in five of his last six starts.

Defending champion Bubba Watson, who was hoping for a fourth title in Connecticut, shot a 71 to finish at 1 under, but said he wasn’t disappointed with his week.

“I know sometimes I look like I’m angry out there,” he said. “But most of the time, I’m pretty happy.”

Brooks Koepka made quick work of his final round, also shooting a 71 to finish the tournament at an even par. He and Russell Knox needed just under three hours to play their 18 holes in the first group of the day. Koepka says he has a couple of appearances in the next two days and then will get some much-needed rest.

“I’m not going to practice and take some time away from the game and just try to realize what’s going on,” he said. “”I don’t think I’m still over Bethpage, and with these majors they are so tightly bunched, it’s difficult. I didn’t really have a chance to soak that one in and then we are playing again, it’s just a continuation that keeps rolling on.“