SYLVANIA, Ohio — Canadian Brooke Henderson narrowly missed her seventh LPGA Tour victory Sunday, finishing third at the Marathon Classic.

The 20-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., had a one-shot lead heading into the final round and cruised through the first 14 holes of the day before running into trouble with bogeyes on Nos. 15 and 16.

Thidapa Suwannapura of Thailand beat American Brittany Lincicome in a playoff to win the tournament after both finished 72 holes tied at 14-under 270.

Henderson had four birdies, including three on the first six holes, finishing the round 2-under 69 for a 13 under total.

Henderson has six LPGA Tour wins, two shy of Sandra Post’s record for most by a Canadian woman.

Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., finished in a tie for 32nd place at 6 under. Hamilton’s Alena Sharp was 3 under for a share of 49th.

Wasn’t the finish she expected but @BrookeHenderson did amazing this weekend, finishing in third @MarathonLPGA and climbing to fourth in the Race to CME Globe!
Leave your supportive comments for her ⬇️❤️pic.twitter.com/octO3CRvxs

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) July 16, 2018

SILVIS, Ill. – David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., entered the day tied for second but a rougher round saw him settling for a round of 1-under 70 at the 2018 John Deere Classic after three rounds.

Hearn will be looking for the rebound on Sunday as he heads into the final round in a tie for seventh at 14 under.

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., is 10 under, while Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., stands at 8 under. Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., is 6 under, while Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., rounds out the Canadian contingent at 4 under.

Michael Kim took a five-shot lead Saturday at the John Deere Classic in a third round delayed twice for a total of roughly four hours because of bad weather and concerns over lightning.

Kim, who has just one top-10 finish in 84 career PGA Tour starts, shot a 7-under 64 _ closing with four straight birdies _ for a three-day total of 22-under 191.

Bronson Burgoon (66) is 17 under and Australian Matt Jones (66) is 16 under.

Harold Varner III (66) is alone in fourth place at 15 under. Andres Romero of Argentina is 14 under after shooting 64, as is Sam Ryder (67).

Tyler Duncan had the day’s best round with a 63.

THUNDER BAY, Ont. — Riley Wheeldon is the top Canadian at the Staal Foundation Open after three rounds, vying for his second Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Week award after finishing his round with five consecutive birdies, and six in his final seven holes, to shoot 30 on the back side. The Richmond, B.C., native heads into the final round T6 after his Sunday 67.

Fellow Canadian Jake Duvall continued his solid golf into the weekend. With just a single blemish on his card, the Victoria, B.C. native shot 69 and heads into Sunday T8, the first time he’s held a top-10 position heading into a Sunday in his Mackenzie Tour career.

Jared Du Toit of Calgary, Alta., and Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont., also head into the final round in the top-20 at 11 under.

For the second consecutive day, Blake Olson is at the top of the leaderboard at the Staal Foundation Open due to a Saturday 69 at Whitewater Golf Club. Olson’s 17-under total gives him a one-shot lead heading into the final round.

Despite giving a shot back on three out of four par-3s, Olson made six birdies on the day to shoot his third round in the 60s in a row.

“I wasn’t in any panic mode because it was playing tough this afternoon,” said Olson. “If you look at anybody in the last five groups, it was a grind, it wasn’t anywhere as easy as the morning. I know some guys shot some good early-day scores, but they’ll be playing more in the heat tomorrow, so we’ll see.”

The Pensacola, FL product has played each event on the Mackenzie Tour schedule this season and is currently the 32^nd ranked player on The Five leaderboard, with his best finish coming as a T10 at the Freedom 55 Financial Open in June.

Since he missed the cut at the Bayview Place DCBank Open presented by Times Colonist, Olson has played 15 consecutive rounds at even-par or better on Tour.

The 27-year-old noted four important points he will think about as he draws into a final pairing for the first time in a PGA TOUR sanctioned event.

“Playing solid, staying present, realizing it’s just golf and having fun,” said Olson. “My name was on the top yesterday, it’s on top today, I’m just going to look to have some fun tomorrow and see if we can keep it there.”

Meanwhile, drawing into the final pairing with Olson is Australian Brett Coletta after rounds of 66-64-69. Coletta has two top-25 finishes this year.

SYLVANIA, Ohio – Canada’s Brooke Henderson is heading into the final round of the LPGA Tour’s Marathon Classic with sole possession of the lead.

The 20-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., shot a 2-under 69 Saturday for an 11 under total through 54 holes and a one-stroke advantage over Americans Angela Stanford and Brittany Lincicome.

Henderson, who entered the third round tied for the lead with Sweden’s Caroline Hedwall at 9 under, fired five birdies to help even out an up-and-down round that also featured three bogeys.

Henderson, who birdied the 17th to take sole possession of the lead, admitted she was disappointed with her play on Saturday.

“I made some birdies but I made some bogeys. I didn’t hit it how I normally hit it, so I kind of grinded it out as best I could, and that’s good,” she said. “That’s a good sign when you can still shoot under par and not hit it very well. Just going into tomorrow trying to get back to the way I normally strike it, and hopefully make a lot of birdies.”

Making time for the fans ?✍? pic.twitter.com/QCFortqzOT

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) July 15, 2018

Stanford tied the best score of the day at 65 while Lincicome shot 67. Hedwall dipped into a tie for 21st place with a 74.

Seeking her first win since 2012, Stanford has shot back-to-back 65s after an opening-round 73. She credited a hot putter for her surge.

“I think that’s kind of what’s kept me in it,” Stanford said. “I’m seeing the lines pretty well. I didn’t have the speed the first day. I didn’t have it at all. I kind of figured it out the last two days.”

Lincicome had a 4-under 67, including birdies on two of the final three holes. In 10 previous Marathon Classics, her best finish was a tie for seventh in 2008.

“This golf course is sneaky tight,” said the big-hitting Lincicome, who is also seeking her second victory of the season. “I don’t get to hit very many drivers, but even the 3-woods and the hybrids off the tee, you have to keep it in play, and there are a few holes out there that I just pray I get through with a par, and we try to birdie the others.”

Brittany Marchand (70) of Orangeville, Ont., was six shots back of Henderson in a tie for 30th place. Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (71) was 11 shots off the pace.

Henderson has six LPGA Tour victories, including the Lotte Championship earlier this season. She is two victories away from tying Sandra Post’s record eight by a Canadian woman.

This is the fifth time in Henderson’s career she has held the 54-hole lead. She went on to win on three of the four prior occasions.

“It’s going to take a really good score,” Henderson said of Sunday’s challenge. “Lot of people shot minus-6, minus-5 today. So I would imagine something close to that tomorrow would do the job.”

A win, worth US$240,000, would vault Henderson into second on the LPGA money list this year.

Henderson is looking to become just the third player to win multiple events on the LPGA Tour this year.

Highlights from @BrookeHenderson’s third round that gave her a 1-stroke lead heading into Sunday @MarathonLPGA ?? pic.twitter.com/flrcDu2aX5

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) July 15, 2018

SILVIS, Ill. – David Hearn shot a 7-under 64 in the morning and held a brief lead until Kim took over in the afternoon, but finished the day sitting T2 at the John Deere Classic in the Quad Cities on Friday.

If Hearn can win this tournament, he’ll gain entry into the British Open next week.

Michael Kim took a four-shot , which was suspended twice because of weather concerns.

Kim, who is winless in 84 career PGA Tour starts, was 16 under through 35 holes, with the second round to be completed Saturday morning.

Kim birdied eight of his first 14 holes without a bogey to race past first-round leader Steve Wheatcroft, who shot 68. Wheatcroft was 12 under along with Canadian David Hearn (64) and Johnson Wagner (66).

The 39-year-old from Brantford, Ont., had four birdies on the back nine to vault up the leaderboard.

Canadians Nick Taylor (71), Mackenzie Hughes (65), Corey Conners (72) and Ben Silverman (67) will also continue to play this weekend.

SYLVANIA, Ohio – Canadian Brooke Henderson has struggled in her past two appearances at the Marathon Classic.

The 20-year old from Smiths Falls, Ont., finds herself tied for the lead after two rounds of the tournament following a bogey-free 5-under par 66 on Friday to move into a tie with Caroline Hedwall. Both are at 9-under 133 through 36 holes.

“It’s just fun to be in contention again and to see your name at the top of the leaderboard, it’s exciting, and hopefully good things will happen,” Henderson said.

Henderson, who won earlier this season in Hawaii and has six career victories, missed the cut last year at Highland Meadows and finished tied for 38th in 2016.

She shot a 3-under 31 on the front nine and then birdied the final two holes, both par 5s, to move into a tie with Hedwall.

“To finish birdie-birdie was really important, and it’s fun to see your name at the top,” Henderson said. “I’m excited to be in the final group.”

Hedwall, who played in the morning on Friday, is looking for her first LPGA Tour victory. This is the first time since the 2015 Handa Australian Open that she has held the lead after 36 holes.

“I’ve been in this situation, and I mean, it was a long time ago, though,” said Hedwall, who shot a 4-under 67 on Friday. “I’m just looking forward to the weekend. This is obviously what you practice and work hard for, to be in contention.”

The 29-year-old Swede has matched a career high for the lowest 36-hole score of her career, which was in Australia. Like Henderson, she also birdied the last two holes to move to the top of the leaderboard.

Thidapa Suwannapura was one shot back and defending champion I.K. Kim was three strokes behind.

Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., is 4-under after a second-round 68 while Hamilton’s Alena Sharp is even. Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., missed the cut at 1-over.

Sei Young Kim, who shot an LPGA Tour-record 31-under to win last week’s event in Wisconsin, was eight shots back after a 1-over 72 on Friday.

Daniela Darquea had a hole-in-one on No. 6 from 169 yards out. She joins Nasa Hataoka as the only players on the tour this season to record multiple aces.

Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada— Victoria, B.C. native Jake Duvall played his best golf of the season during the first two days in Thunder Bay, shooting 68 and 67 to head into the weekend T9, and is the low Canadian to Friday after the second round of the Staal Foundation Open.

“I think with the wind down, the soft condition and playing the ball up in the fairways, if you’re hitting fairways it’s pretty gettable and the greens are pretty receptive. It’s a good golf course; there are some long, long holes and that plays as an advantage for me, because I’m a long hitter.” said Duvall.

The only player in the field at Whitewater Golf Club without a blemish on his card through two days, Blake Olson has played as close to flawless golf as you’ll see and has jumped ahead to a two-stroke lead.

Olson, coming into the event with momentum from three rounds in the 60s last week at the Windsor Championship, backed up a first round 66 with a six birdie, one eagle 64 for a 14-under total.

“It’s been getting close,” says Olson. “I’ve been talking to people and saying, ‘I’ve been playing well, but just haven’t been getting the results.’ I’ve been lucky enough to have two good rounds this week, but there’s still a lot of golf to play.”

After making birdie on his first hole, the Pensacola, FL native jolted himself up the leaderboard quickly on the par-5 third hole, striping a five-iron to six feet, which he would clean up for eagle moments later.

Adding two more birdies on the front to his three on the back, the 27-year-old happily signed for a 31-33 card, tying his low on the Mackenzie Tour this year.

“I’m a big fan of the golf course,” said Olson. “It’s just so different from both the first two weeks and the last two. The first two were tree lines and shorter, while the last two have been wide open with not many trees at all.

“This week is a mixture of both, but it’s a longer course, so you have to hit a lot of mid-irons,” Olson added. “Seeing low numbers like I shot today, I don’t think that will be the norm, I think it will be a grind on the weekend.”

Olson, who played seven events on the Web.com Tour in 2016, saw his best finish at a PGA TOUR sanctioned event earlier this season at the Freedom 55 Financial Open where he came T10.  He is currently ranked 32 on the season long chase for The Five and the Web.com Tour status that comes with it.

Nearest to Olson are Australian Brett Coletta and American Zach Zaback, who shot 65 and 64 respectively on Friday to move into a tie for second.

As part of the Induction Celebration taking part on RBC Hall of Fame Day at the RBC Canadian Open, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum is auctioning off a variety of exciting items with proceeds benefiting golf heritage.

One of the items up for grabs is a priceless Royal Montreal Golf Club Experience. The winner of this package will get a round of 18 holes for 3 people at Royal Montreal Golf Club, the oldest golf club in North America with a long and storied history that includes hosting 10 RBC Canadian Open tournaments.  This private club was granted the “Royal” status by Queen Victoria in 1884 and was one of the founding members of the Royal Canadian Golf Association in 1895.

Thanks to CGHF Honoured Member Lorie Kane, bidders also have a shot at winning a PEI Golf Experience, which includes two rounds of golf for 4 people at Mill River Resort and overnight accommodation at Mill River.  Also included is a round of golf at The Links at Crow Bush Cove and Dundarave Golf Course for 4 people (including golf cart).

Other items include:

• an official Team Canada Olympic golf bag signed by David Hearn and Graham DeLaet,
• a Brooke Henderson package with a Brooke Henderson signed CP Women’s Open tournament used flag along with a signed CP Women’s Open hat.
• an RBC golf bag autographed by PGA Tour players Graham Delaet, Ian Poulter, David Hearn, Charley Hoffman, Brandt Snedeker, Danny Lee, Camilo Villegas and Graeme McDowell.
• two weekly tickets for the 2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.
• The opportunity golf with 2-time US Amateur Champion Gary Cowan at his home course of Westmount Golf and Country Club

To view all the items up for auction, please click here. Items are continuing to be added so be sure to check back often!

The auction will run until July 24^th at 6 p.m. EST.

SYLVANIA, Ohio – Brooke sits in the top ten after Thursday’s round at the Marathon Classic. She recorded a 4-under 67 and sits T9 firing five birdies and a bogey.

For only the second time in her seven-year career, Thidapa Suwannapura took the overnight lead at an LPGA Tour event.

Suwannapura shot a 6-under-par 65 on Thursday at the Marathon Classic and led seven players by one shot. The Thai player grabbed the outright lead with a birdie on the par-5 18th at Highland Meadows – her 10th birdie of the day.

“I’m really happy about the way I played today,” she said. “I didn’t really look at the leaderboard, and did not even expect anything. I have a chance, so let’s see how it goes.”

Suwannapura, who has three top-10 finishes in 120 career LPGA Tour starts, last had the overnight lead after the first round of the 2013 Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic, where she faded in the second round and finished in a tie for 65th.

The 25-year-old Suwannapura’s best career finish was seventh at the 2014 Kingsmill Invitational. That was also her last top 10. This season, her best performance was a tie for 18th three weeks ago in Arkansas.

Seven players, including defending champion I.K. Kim and former No. 1 Yani Tseng, were a stroke behind at 66.

Kim, who started her round on the back nine, said conditions were calmer once she made the turn. She birdied five of the final six holes, including the par-4 ninth.

“Not much wind out there. So I took that advantage on the front nine,” she said. “I had a good roll, all three birdies in a row. And birdieing the last two par-5’s was really fun.”

Tseng was the only player in the top eight to have a bogey-free round. She missed an eagle putt on the final hole that would have drawn her even with Suwannapura.

“I stayed patient all day. Just need to get that putting going a little bit,” Tseng said. “So today I dropped a few, I missed a few, and this is how golf is. I feel like this is the way I should play.”

Brittany Marchand (70), Alena Sharp (71) and Maude-Aimée Leblanc (72) all sit T43, T58 and T75, respectively.

SILVIS, Ill. – Nick Taylor took an early lead on Thursday at the opening round of the John Deere Classic. He recorded a 7-under 64 and sits just one stroke back of the lead. Taylor, from Abbotsford, B.C., had eight birdies and a bogey.

Johnson Wagner, Andres Romero and Joel Dahmen all also shot opening-round 64s

Steve Wheatcroft shot a career-best 9-under 62 to take a one-shot lead.

Wheatcroft birdied seven of the last nine holes to finish a shot ahead of Michael Kim.

Francesco Molinari, who won the Quicken Loans National two weeks ago, was among a group of players three strokes back.

Zach Johnson shot 69 and three-time John Deere winner Steve Stricker finished at 1-under 70.

Defending champion Bryson DeChambeau, the highest-ranked player in the field, withdrew because of a right shoulder injury.

DeChambeau, who won the Memorial Tournament earlier this season, first tweaked his shoulder on a shot out of the rough on the second hole. He pulled out after an awkward tee shot on No. 16.

“Look, I’m 24. I’m not that old. But I’ve used my body quite a bit. I’ve hit a lot of golf balls,” DeChambeau said. “I’ve just got to take care of my body a little better.”

Wheatcroft hasn’t had a top-10 finish this season, and he’s 209th in the FedEx Cup standings. But Wheatcroft caught fire on the back nine, finishing with six straight birdies – including a 13-foot putt on the par-4 18th – for just his third round in the 60s this season.

Wheatcroft’s previous best scores on the PGA Tour were 64s at the 2012 Greenbrier Classic and the 2016 Canadian Open.

“I tried to keep the round going. I asked if we could just go to the first tee and start round two,” Wheatcroft said. “No, I don’t know if I’ve ever done that to finish a round. It was great. Yeah, I would just try to keep doing what I’m doing.”

Although he hasn’t done it on the PGA Tour, the 40-year-old Wheatcroft has a history of going low. He shot an 11-under 60 and set what was then the 72-hole Web.com Tour scoring record in his runaway 2011 victory at the Melwood Prince George’s County Open.

Kim, who like Wheatcroft is buried deep in the standings at 161st, notched six birdies on the back nine. The 24-year-old former Cal star is also seeking his first career win.

“Been struggling with the putter a little bit, but (I) got a good mental note from the morning warmup (Thursday) and rolled it great,” said Kim, who holed three putts of at least 20 feet, including a 41-footer on No. 18.

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., matched each other with 5-under 66s, while Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., (72) and Ben Silverman, from Thornhill, Ont., (72) are both 1-over.

Johnson completed his 38th straight round of par or better at TPC Deere Run. But he knows he’ll need to do better than 2 under on Friday at a course known for low scores.

“I mean, I can’t take this course for granted. That’s the one thing I don’t ever want to do. Just because I’ve had success here or I’ve had low rounds here, doesn’t mean it’s just going to happen,” Johnson said.–