TORONTO – After a successful Writing & Awards Day at Toronto Golf Club, the Golf Journalists Association of Canada (GJAC) donated $1,000 to Ronald McDonald House Charities Canada (RMHCC) July 26 at Glen Abbey Golf Club during the RBC Canadian Open.

Grant Fraser, President of GJAC, along with Cathy Loblaw, President and CEO of RMHCC, were in attendance, along with three families who have enjoyed the support of the Ronald McDonald House.

Ronald McDonald himself was there as well.

“On behalf of the members of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada (GJAC), I am pleased to make this donation to Ronald McDonald House Charities Canada (RMHCC),” said GJAC president Grant Fraser. “On Monday of RBC Canadian Open week we held our annual GJAC Awards Day and used this opportunity to raise funds for this wonderful charity which supports children and their families during difficult times. Our members are pleased to have made this connection to RMHCC and know this donation will be put to great use.”

RMHCC, founded in 1982, has been the official charity partner of the RBC Canadian Open for the last three years.

“Golf holds a special place for all of us at Ronald McDonald House. Each of our 14 houses across the country hosts their own golf tournament to raise funds for families who are staying with us while their child is being treated at a nearby hospital. And, the RBC Canadian Open is really the pinnacle of that golf expression,” said Cathy Loblaw, the Executive Director of RMHCC. “What the golf journalists have done today to really feel that support in a personal and meaningful way. Every donation makes such a powerful difference for us.”

The 2016 GJAC Writing Awards & Golf Day will be hosted the Mississaugua Golf and Country Club.

Although David Hearn didn’t capture the RBC Canadian Open Sunday night, 24 hours later, he was still a winner.

The fourth annual David Hearn Charity Golf Classic raised $114,000 for the Alzhemier Society of Canada.

And, you could say the launch of the David Hearn Foundation – which was officially announced Wednesday of Canadian Open week – was a resounding success.

Hearn, whose great-grandmother and grandmother both suffered from the disease, said that given the personal, direct impact Alzheimer’s has had on his life, he felt a need to formally get involved with the cause, and help those who are affected by it.

“When I started playing PGA Tour golf I never envisioned I’d be at this point. But, it’s really nice to get here now,” Hearn said Monday from Beverly Golf and Country Club in Hamilton, Ont.

The foundation will fundraise for projects that will help build on and expand programs and services for those with Alzheimer’s across the country. The direct focus of the foundation is to support the Alzheimer’s Society nationwide work in improving care for Canadians with the disease.

“We’re grateful for David’s work in supporting dementia in the community and thrilled he has chosen the Alzheimer Society as his charity partner. The foundation is an incredible opportunity to further enhance the lives and well-being of all Canadians affected by Alzheimer’s disease,” said Mimi Lowi-Young, the CEO of the Alzheimer Society of Canada, in a press release.

The release further stated the foundation “will aim to increase awareness, enhance the quality of life for those affected by the disease, raise funds to research best practices and implement them in communities across the country.”

Hearn said he saw the positive impact the Mike Weir Foundation and the Graham & Ruby DeLaet Foundation has had on Canadians, and knew he wanted to get involved as well.

“Starting the foundation was the next step in my charitable endeavors,” explained Hearn.

Hearn’s charity tournament directly supports the Alzheimer Society of Brant, Haldimand-Norfolk and Hamilton-Halton. Hearn was thrilled to see the outpouring of support.

Before the day began, he assumed the attendees would raise more money than they ever had before.

He was right. The $114,000 mark eclipsed the previous mark earned at the 2014 edition of the event.

“It’s exciting to see these tournaments grow,” said the 36-year-old, who still lives in Brantford for half the year.

As a long-time member of the PGA Tour, Hearn has made over $6 million (USD) in his career, including nearly $1.8 million this season alone. Hearn said giving back is what the PGA Tour stands for, and he’s happy to do his part.

“If you talk to anyone who is related to the Tour, our number-one goal is to raise money for charity,” he explained. “We play for a lot of money and the golf tournaments are exciting to watch, but each and every tournament, the benefactors are charities.

“So much of what the PGA Tour is about is about giving back and being charitable. It’s in the fabric of what we do. To have a foundation and be able to do that is really exciting,” he continued.

Despite falling just short at Glen Abbey – “I gave myself a chance right until the very end,” he explained – Hearn said his experience during the Canadian Open week was something he would remember for the rest of his life.

Hearn will now enjoy two weeks off – including a full week without swinging a golf club, he said – before playing the PGA Championship.

GAINESVILLE, Va. – Tiger Woods is running out of opportunities to salvage a lost season.

This week’s Quicken Loans National could be his second-to-last start before the new PGA Tour season begins in the fall. He’s on track to miss the FedEx Cup playoffs, and he needs a victory just to be eligible for next week’s Bridgestone Invitational, on a course where he’s won eight times.

Barring a dramatic turnaround, Woods’ season will conclude at the PGA Championship in two weeks.

Woods acknowledged Tuesday that his last two years have been forgettable. Last year, he missed three months after back surgery, and this year he took two months off to fix a balky short game. He says he doesn’t feel a huge sense of urgency because he hasn’t played much competitive golf.

GAINESVILLE, Va. – Billy Hurley III took a few questions about his struggles on the golf course and his ties to northern Virginia before a PGA Tour official said Hurley had an announcement.

Fighting off tears, Hurley delivered the stunning news that his father, retired police officer Willard Hurley Jr., has been missing since July 19.

“Last Sunday, nine days ago, my dad took some clothes, he took some cash, he got in his truck and drove away and no one has heard from him since,” Hurley said Tuesday during a pre-tournament media availability at the Quicken Loans National. “No one really knows why. It’s complete speculation as to why he left.”

Willard Hurley, 61, lives in Leesburg, Virginia, where the younger Hurley grew up. The family home is about 25 miles north of Robert Trent Jones Golf Club, the site of this weeks’ tournament.

Lt. Jeffrey Dube, a Leesburg police spokesman, confirmed that Hurley’s mother filed a missing-persons report on Monday, and police are investigating.

“Right now, we have no reason to believe that there’s any suspicious circumstances surrounding his disappearance,” Dube said. “Everything points to that he left his residence on his own volition.”

Dube said the elder Hurley used a credit card to buy gas near Winchester, Virginia, on the day he left.

“Since then, we kind of ran into a brick wall,” he said.

Hurley said his father worked as a police officer in the area for a quarter-century and has been married to his mother for more than 30 years. He has no history of mental health problems, Hurley said.

Hurley said he decided to go public with his family crisis in hopes that someone who knows his father’s whereabouts will come forward. He decided to play this week because his father might watch on TV or check his score and decide to come home.

“Maybe, you know, a bartender who served him dinner sees this story on `Golf Central’ or whatever, and we can get a hit on his location or something,” Hurley said.

Hurley, a 33-year-old Naval Academy graduate, earned his PGA Tour card after serving as a Naval officer for five years.

He said he only found out on Monday that his father had disappeared.

“I’m just hopeful,” Hurley said. “This was a hard decision for my family to make to even make this public.”

RICHMOND HILL, Ont. –  BMW Canada handed over the keys to a new BMW i8 at the 2015 RBC Canadian Open in Oakville, Ont.  Ricky Barnes earned the new vehicle after hitting a hole-in-one during tournament play at Glen Abbey Golf Club.

“What a day out there,” said Barnes. “I haven’t had a hole-in-one in a long time and to win the i8 is unreal. The place was full of energy.”

Barnes’ ace on the 165 yard 4th hole during championship play was his first hole-in-one on the PGA TOUR.

“What a thrill,” said Kevin Marcotte, Drector of Marketing at BMW Group Canada. “For Ricky and the golf fans who witnessed the perfect shot. I know Ricky will have many more joyous moments behind the wheel of the i8.”

Revered as the world’s most-progressive sports car, the BMW i8 is an icon of innovation. It combines the efficiency of an all-electric motor and the power of a TwinPower Turbo engine to deliver a truly exhilarating driving experience.

Barnes, 34, now residing in Phoenix, AZ is a California native and former All-American at the University of Arizona. Barnes turned pro in 2003 and has enjoyed great success on the PGA Tour, including a standout performance at the 2009 US Open at Bethpage Black where he finished tied for second.

“It’s a partnership we’re very proud of,” said Marcotte. “To showcase our brand alongside the best players in the world is very fitting.”

Terry Marcotte, Ricky Barnes (Golf Canada/ Bernard Brault)

OAKVILLE, Ont. – David Hearn couldn’t beat 61 years of pressure, and he couldn’t beat Jason Day at the RBC Canadian Open.

Trying to be the first Canadian to win the event since Pat Fletcher in 1954, Hearn shot an even-par round and couldn’t keep up with the Aussie on Sunday. Day birdied the final three holes to win the RBC Canadian Open at 17 under, as Hearn finished two shots back in third place.

“It was one focused mind-set the whole day today to do something really special and win the tournament,” Hearn said. “It hasn’t been done in a long time, and I felt like I had the ability to do it today.

“I gave it my all. I didn’t quite have my best game.”

Hearn missed a handful of birdie putts so close that had the masses of fans lining Glen Abbey Golf Club letting out exasperated groans. Had he made even one of them, it would have changed his entire outlook on the 18th hole and given him a good chance.

The Brantford, Ont., native blamed not picking up enough birdies for falling short. During a weekend in which his tee shots were errant, Hearn’s putting got him to the final round but couldn’t get him over the hump.

“There was so many putts that he hit that should’ve fell in,” said playing partner Bubba Watson, who finished second at 16 under. “I don’t know how they stayed out.”

Day, who shot 4-under 68 Sunday, won the tournament with clutch birdie putts on his final three holes. Making his final putt from 21 feet on the 18th hole forced Hearn and Watson to need eagles just to tie for a playoff.

Day yelled so loud before the ball went in that he thought he threw his throat out. After tying for fourth at the British Open, the Aussie was beaming after his fourth PGA Tour victory.

“This must feel like what Tiger did for so many times, and it feels good,” Day said. “I’m going to try to do as much as I can and keep it the same and try and win.”

Part of his joy was the reception he received from Canadian fans, despite not being the home-country favourite.

“I’ve never felt so much at home, and I’m not even from Canada,” Day said. “I’m looking forward to coming back and defending the title here next year because I know that when I get here next year it’s going to be the same. It’s great to feel like a Canadian for a week.”

As Hearn left his post-tournament news conference, he quipped that next year will be the 62nd for questions about Fletcher, whose place in Canadian Open history is as the symbol of the nation’s homegrown drought.

Like Mike Weir in 2004, Hearn led going into the final round, and like Weir he didn’t get it done. Raving about the ovations he received all over the course, Hearn also conceded that the pressure was heavy on his shoulders.

“This one was pretty intense,” Hearn said. “I think every Canadian wants to see it so bad and we want to do it so bad that it does make it hard.”

Hearn birdied his first two holes before faltering with bogeys on holes 3 and 7. Missing putts by mere centimetres on 8 and 9 didn’t help.

After another bogey on 12, Hearn got a stroke back with a birdie on 13 but couldn’t make up any more.

Meanwhile, Day found some of his best golf of the week on the back nine. Watson birdied five of his final six holes to make a charge but couldn’t eagle 18.

Hearn finished third because of those shots by Day and his own mistakes. Maybe he wasn’t aggressive enough, he wondered, but he insisted he’ll remember “only good things” from this Canadian Open.

“I’m real proud of the way I played, and I’m really proud to be Canadian today,” Hearn said. “It was a pretty special day with all of the fans and the support that I had from beginning to finish.”

Hearn was not only gunning for history but his first PGA Tour victory. The 36-year-old lost in a playoff at the Greenbrier Classic in early July.

But he knew this was a special opportunity to go for it in Canada with so many fans watching on the course and at home.

“I never experienced anything like that before,” Hearn said. “I may never experience anything like that again. I hope I am, actually, in that situation again and I get that feeling again soon.”

Hearn believes a Canadian will win the Canadian Open at some point soon. Fourth-place finisher Jim Furyk agrees.

“It’s a matter of time,” said Furyk, who finished at 14 under. “There are so many good Canadian players. I feel bad Mike Weir never won this golf tournament. But Graham DeLaet, David, there are a bunch of fine young players, so I’m sure it’s going to happen.”

OAKVILLE, Ont. – David Hearn is 18 holes from history.

Hearn leads the RBC Canadian Open by two strokes through three rounds and is in position to be the first Canadian to win the tournament since Pat Fletcher in 1954.

“This is something you dream of,” Hearn said. “I feel like I’m ready to step up to the challenge.”

Hearn, from Brantford, Ont., had five birdies and just one bogey Saturday to jump into the lead at 15 under.

World No. 3 golfer Bubba Watson and No. 10 Jason Day are tied for second, two shots back. Watson had birdies on three par-5s on the back nine Saturday, including No. 18.

“I’m right where I want to be,” Watson said. “I just wish the leader was a little closer to us.”

Day rebounded from a bogey on the 10th hole and double-bogey to birdie six of his final seven. In a tournament sponsored by RBC, Day has a connection, but he understands what the crowd wants in the final round.

“Obviously it’d be great to see a Canadian win, but I’m going to do my best to try and spoil that,” Day said. “We’re all out here to try and win a golf tournament.”

Americans Michael Putnam and Brooks Koepka are three back at 12 under, and world No. 7 Jim Furyk and Camilo Villegas are four back of Hearn at 11 under.

Hearn and Watson will play in the final group Sunday at Glen Abbey Golf Club. Despite having the lead, Hearn sees himself as the underdog.

“Hopefully I can make some birdies and David can beat Goliath,” he said.

Watson called himself “half-Canadian” because his wife, Angie, is from Pickering, Ont. He doesn’t see himself as a spoiler.

“Truthfully, let’s be honest: We don’t think about where somebody’s from,” Watson said. “All we think about is there’s a guy in front of us. I’ve got a couple family members (here). They’re going to pull for me, too.”

Hearn is the first Canadian to have a 54-hole lead at the RBC Canadian Open since Mike Weir in 2004. Weir led by three shots but lost in a playoff to Vijay Singh.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Long before David Hearn moved to the top of the RBC Canadian Open leaderboard, Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Adam Svensson took advantage of pristine early morning conditions during his third round.

With the first tee time Saturday morning because an odd number of players made the cut, Svensson played 18 holes by himself. The Surrey, B.C., native shot a 5-under 67 to make a major move up the leaderboard at 7 under for the tournament.

“It was a little bit weird the first couple of holes,” Svensson said. “But I kind of got used to it. Just had a good rhythm all day and got off to a pretty good start. So I was pretty happy.”

Svensson, who’s tied for 26th going into the final round, had never golfed solo before in a tournament setting and called it a fun day. He had to be an early riser, though, teeing off at 7 a.m.

“I’m pretty much sleeping,” Svensson said. “But it was fun. It was fast, too, which I like.”

Svensson completed the round in 2 hours 59 minutes, at least 90 minutes shorter than a conventional PGA Tour event round. He was off the course more than three hours before the final groups teed off.

At 7 under, Svensson will have a playing partner for the final round of the RBC Canadian Open: American Brian Harman, who was second after two rounds before struggling.

Beyond Hearn’s heroics, it was a strong day Canadian Adam Hadwin, who shot 5 under to get to 8 under and a tie for 20th.

“The biggest thing has been my short game, my putting all week,” said Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C. “I haven’t struck it extremely well or at least up to my standards just yet. But I’ve got it around the golf course, got it up-and-down when I needed to.”

Recent PGA Tour winner Nick Taylor, also from Abbotsford, moved to 3 under.

Amateurs Blair Hamilton and Austin Connelly shot 76 and 77 respectively. They made the cut but were designated “made didn’t finish” and won’t play Sunday. They will however share the Gary Coward Award as co-recipients of the Gary Cowan Award.

TULSA, Okla. – Team Canada’s Naomi Ko won two matches Thursday in the U.S. Girls’ Junior to advance to the quarterfinals at Tulsa Country Club.

The 17-year-old Ko, from Victoria, B.C, beat stroke-play medalist Megan Khang of Rockland, Massachusetts, 1 up in the round of 32, and topped Alyaa Abdulghany of Newport Beach, California, 2 and 1 in the afternoon round of 16.

Ko will face South Korea’s Eun Jeong Seong on Friday morning. Seong routed Thailand’s Chakansim Khamborn 6 and 5 in the round of 16.

In the other upper-bracket quarterfinal, Jayna Choi of Collierville, Tennessee, will play Annika Cedo of the Philippines. Choi advanced with a 2-up victory over Karah Sanford of Escondido, California, and Cedo beat Gina Kim of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 4 and 3.

Long-hitting Angel Yin of Arcadia, California, powered into the quarterfinals. She beat Mexico’s Maria Balcazar 4 and 3 in the morning, and eliminated South Korea’s Yujeong Son 5 and 3 in the afternoon.

Yin will play Andrea Lee of Hermosa Beach, California, a 7-and-6 winner over Marni Murez of Manhattan Beach, California.

In the other quarterfinal, Mexico’s Evelyn Arguelles will face Mika Liu of Los Angeles. Arguelles beat Kathleen Scavo of Benicia, California, 1 up, and Liu topped Aneka Seumanutafa of Frederick, Maryland, 2 and 1.

Inside the ropes of the 1990 PGA TOUR, no one performed better than Wayne Levi.

Sure Greg Norman put a few more dollars in his bank account. The Australian finished first on the money list with $1.17-million to Levi’s $1.02-million. Sure Nick Faldo won both the Masters and British Open in 1990.

But nobody won four times like Levi did in his season to remember. That’s why when the time arrived for his peers to vote they named Levi the the tour’s player of the year.

“It’s just been an incredible year,” said Levi after he was presented with the award. “I’d never thought I’d have this kind of a year. I never thought I’d win as many tournaments as I have, have the success I’ve had.”

The golfer from Little Falls, N.Y., then 38, put an exclamation point on his season when he won the 1990 Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club in mid-September with a 10-under total for a one-stroke victory over Ian Baker-Finch and Jim Woodward.

Levi jumped out to the 36-hole lead with back-to-back rounds of 68. The second round was more impressive because of the nasty winds and thunderstorms that interrupted play, and Levi joked afterwards that he didn’t want too late of a tee time on Sunday afternoon because he wanted to watch his beloved New York Giants play against the rival Dallas Cowboys.

About the same time the Giants, who would win the Super Bowl a few months later, put the finishing touches on the Cowboys in Dallas for a 28-7 win, Levi holed his title-clinching putt on the 18^th green.

“To win four in a year, that’s the sort of thing you think of Jack Nicklaus or Tom Watson doing back in the 1970s,” said Baker-Finch, who would go on to win the British Open 10 months later.

Despite his outstanding start at Glen Abbey, Levi checked in with a third-round 72 to trail 54-hole leader Buddy Gardner by three shots. But Gardner faded early on the final day with a double-bogey at No. 6. Meanwhile, Levi notched birdies at Nos. 8, 12 and 13 to take the lead for good.

He added a birdie at the par-5 16^th, but bogey No. 17 to make the closing hole tense for his two-putt par.

“I always wondered what it would be like to be a national champion, what it would be like to be a celebrity as the No. 1 golfer in Canada or Poland or Romania. I’ll put this on my resume,” the colourful Levi said afterwards.

The knock on him was Levi simply didn’t practice enough. Rather than practice when he returned to his upstate New York home in between events, he enjoyed spending time with his wife Judy, daughters Michelle, Lauren and Chris as well as son Brian.

What spare time he had left after his family was divided between his hobby as a stock market speculator and his Giants.

“Some guys hunt and fish. I follow the stock market,” said Levi, who visited the Toronto Stock Exchange floor when he returned to the area the following spring to promote the 1991 Canadian Open.

There were no signs that Levi was about to enjoy a breakout year in 1990. He had not contended in any majors throughout his career and hadn’t won since the Atlanta Classic in June 1985.

Prior to his first win in 1990 in May, Levi had missed the cut in 6 of his previous 11 events. So he visited his long-time friend and instructor Rick Christie in Tampa Bay. He changed putters and made an adjustment to his setup.

Poof, Levi piled up wins at Atlanta, the Western Open in Chicago, Hartford and at Glen Abbey in four months.

“It was something I didn’t expect, but I also wasn’t surprised,” Levi said.

The win at Glen Abbey was his final career victory on the PGA Tour. But his impressive play put him on the U.S. Ryder Cup team a year later and on the 1991 U.S. World Cup team with Joey Sindelar.

He did win twice on the Champions Tour in 2003 and 2004. But again, joked that he never planned to play with the 50-and-over set until the stock market tailspin in the late 1990s and he lost “millions.”

“I never wanted to play out here,” Levi said about the Champions Tour. “But I’ve got a family to take care of, so here I am.”

He certainly took care of things at Glen Abbey 25 years ago.