Oakville, Ont. (Golf Canada) – Commissionaires, the largest private employer of veterans in Canada, has announced a renewal partnership with Golf Canada to once again host Canadian Armed Forces Day on Saturday July 28, 2018 as part of the RBC Canadian Open.

“We are very pleased to renew our relationship with Golf Canada and the RBC Canadian open” says Benjamin Alexander, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Commissionaires Great Lakes. “Last year’s event was very well received within the Veteran community. With our expanded involvement to host selected members of the Veteran community to play in the Championship Pro-Am, this year promises to be a memorable event for those who serve our country”

All current and former members of Canada’s Armed Forces who register at www.commissionaires-cgl.ca will be entitled to complimentary access into the Military Outpost, a hospitality area hosted by Commissionaires.  Within the Military Outpost, guests of Commissionaires along with their immediate family will receive a complimentary lunch and an invitation to engage with a PGA TOUR Player in an exclusive engagement event.

“We are very proud to renew our partnership with Commissionaires and once again celebrate Canadian Armed Forces Day at the RBC Canadian Open,” said Golf Canada Chief Championship Officer Bill Paul. “We believe in honouring our veterans and are pleased to join Commissionaires in welcoming the brave men and women who served our country to enjoy a meaningful day at Canada’s National Open Championship.”

The 2018 RBC Canadian Open will be contested at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont., from July 23-29, 2018. Ticket, volunteering, sponsorship and corporate hospitality info is available online at www.rbccanadianopen.com.

Meet Argentina’s Ruben Yorio, the man on the bag for Venezuela’s favourite golfing son, two-time RBC Canadian Open defending champ Jhonattan Vegas

It was a change of plans for Ruben Yorio—one that would hit him in the pocketbook, but certainly not the heart. His boss of three years, Jhonattan Vegas, had just missed the cut at the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut, and decided to make a schedule adjustment in light of his mediocre play in 2018—a drought mostly borne of short-game woes that ranked him 166th on Tour around-the-green and 147th in putting heading into the end of June.

“We sat down in the locker-room after he finished and he said he’s going to take the next two weeks off—that he wanted to be ready for the Open at Carnoustie and to defend his title in Canada,” Yorio explains. “He said, ‘I’m not playing well. I need to go home. I’m mentally tired. I’m going to see my coach (Kevin Kirk, who also works with Masters champ Patrick Reed).”

That meant an unexpected vacation for Yorio—a welcome return to his wife Mara and seven-year-old daughter Catalina—except that there are no quick and inexpensive jaunts to see the family for Yorio, who, seated at JFK International Airport in New York on June 23rd, was more than 8,500 kms from his hometown of Ezpeleta, on the southern outskirts of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

“It’s usually a $1,000 round-trip to from Miami,” notes Yorio, who says it without a hint of regret. He is immensely grateful to be a longtime member of the travelling troupe of PGA Tour caddies, a career that has included four victories: the 2009 Masters and 2014 Greenbrier Classic with fellow Argentinian Angel Cabrera, the 2011 Dubai Desert Classic with Alvaro Quiros and last year’s RBC Canadian Open with Venezuelan Vegas.

It’s an unlikely career path for Yorio. His father, a railway station worker, died of a heart attack when Ruben was 14, leaving Yorio’s mother, Emma, to raise he and his younger brother Leo.

“We were from a poor background,” Yorio relates. “My mother was working six days a week at a laundromat—she was our only support. She would leave no later than 7:00 in the morning and not get home until 7:00 or 8:00 at night. She did a fantastic job raising us, and we helped her out where we could.

“I had a good friend in a similar situation and hadn’t seen him in a few days,” Yorio remembers. “Then he showed up one day and had a new bike, new shoes and new clothes. And I said, ‘What are you doing, Fabian?’ And he said, ‘I am caddying at Ranelagh Golf Club.’”

As a 12-year-old, Yorio couldn’t have appreciated the history of the private course seven kilometres to the south—the hallowed ground of World Golf Hall of Famer Roberto De Vincenzo, winner of eight PGA Tour events, including the 1967 Open Championship. De Vincenzo, who lived a couple blocks from the course until his passing last June, had, himself, caddied at Ranelagh, where he’d also honed his game.

“Fabian took me there and I started caddying for the members. I could make $25 US a day, which was a lot of money,” says Yorio, who typically made the long trek on weekends as well as most Wednesdays (Women’s Day) by bus, although, when money was short, he’d take his bike or even walk.

At age 18, Yorio advanced to the professional ranks when he began carrying for a former fellow Ranelagh caddie, Rodolfo Gonzalez. That eventually led to a season on the European Tour with Vincente Fernandez, before a three-year stint on the LPGA Tour. The latter included an extended relationship with a Calgary woman, but when that broke down, Yorio found the true love of his life.

Mara Larrauri, a regular at Ranelagh GC, had returned from Campbell University in North Carolina, where she played on a golf scholarship. Who better than Yorio to shoulder her bag on the Futures (now Symetra) Tour. “Driving to every tournament in an old Mercury—24/7 together and really getting to know each other—was an amazing experience,” recalls Yorio, who married Mara in 2008 and wears out his cell phone staying in touch with his wife and Catalina, while returning to Ezpeleta as often as possible through the golf season.

“I love Mara to death—she’s taught me so much about life, about being kind to people. She made me better—she’s one of the reasons I’m here,” says Yorio of Mara, who now works at her family’s construction business.

Yorio was inspired by her work ethic as well. “When she was picked as Campbell University’s Athlete of the Year, her coach talked about how she was always the first one at practice. One time she didn’t have a car and the range was two miles from her dorm. Her coach saw her walking beside the highway carrying her clubs to practice.”

Yorio, who turns 49 in December, also credits fellow Argentine looper Adrian ‘Coco’ Monteros for his personal and professional development. “I learned a lot from Coco. He’s gone through a lot, but is a super nice, honest, wonderful person. He’s always said, if you do the right thing and keep trying, good things will come to you.”

Those good things have included one Masters crown for Yorio. “Cabrera was good to me, but his son started caddying for him, so they asked me to go part time, but I had a family to support,” he relates.

No hard feelings, especially in light of Tour victories since, including $108,000 US (minus Canadian taxes) for his work at the 2017 RBC Canadian Open—the standard 10% caddie cut for Vegas’ $1,080,000 first-place cheque.

Yorio is, expectedly, excited to be returning to Glen Abbey and the prospect of Vegas attempting to threepeat July 26-29. That 27-pound bag—“I’ve tried but can’t make it lighter than that”— seems a little easier to bear north of the border. “I’ve always had good memories of Canada.”

And he isn’t fretting over Vegas’ recent form. He remembers that his boss missed five straight cuts entering last year’s Open.

And he has life in perspective. Yorio’s 79-year-old mother, Emma, is suffering from Alzheimer’s. “She’s not doing great. She still remembers her phone number from her first house, but forgets stuff that just happened, and doesn’t know things like when to eat or shower. It will be good to see her.”

Yorio was counting the minutes before boarding his plane to Buenos Aires, to playing toy golf with Catalina and some personal time with Mara.

Some missed cuts, he figured, are better than others.

For ticket, volunteering, sponsorship and corporate hospitality information on the 2018 RBC Canadian Open, details are available online at www.rbccanadianopen.com

ONEIDA, Wis. – Canadian Brittany Marchand from Orangeville, Ont., finishes tied for 7th after rounds of 64, 72, 66 and 69. She fired six birdies on Sunday to finish 17-under par at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic.

Brooke Henderson, of Smiths Falls, Ont., jumped up 12 spots thanks to a score of 68, finishing 23rd.

Sei Young Kim watched her 12-foot birdie putt break toward the hole and disappear into the cup, putting her in territory no one had ever been on the LPGA Tour.

She reached 30-under par.

And she wasn’t finished.

Kim added yet another birdie, closed with a 7-under 65 and wound up her historic week Sunday in Wisconsin at 31 under for a nine-shot victory.

“I never thought I’d shoot 31 under,” Kim said. “I really feel incredible.”

She was every bit of that in a week so dominant that she now has two LPGA scoring records all to herself.

Kim’s 31 under broke by four shots to par the record she had shared with Annika Sorenstam. Kim won the 2016 Founders Cup at 27 under, while Sorenstam won the 2001 Standard Register Ping at 27 under, the tournament where the Swede shot 59.

“After the Founders Cup, I got new goals,” she said. “I wish I could break up the (tour) record. It’s really unbelievable.”

Kim also set the 72-hole scoring record at 257, finishing with three straight pars to break the mark by one shot.

The 25-year-old from South Korea opened with a 63, followed with a 65 and shot a 64 on Saturday to reach 24 under, which tied Sorenstam’s 54-hole record in 2003 at the Mizuno Classic in Japan, a 54-hole event.

“In a word, phenomenal,” said defending champion Katherine Kirk, who finished 15 under and tied for 20th. “We knew that you could go low around this golf course, but she’s taken it to a whole other level. It’s pretty exciting to watch, really. She’s going to break our all-time, 72-hole scoring record pretty easily. She’s a great player. She obviously knows how to win. She just kept the foot down.”

The only blemish for Kim all week at Thornberry Creek at Oneida was a double bogey in the second round Friday. She had 31 birdies and one eagle, another record for most sub-par holes in a tournament. Kim hit 67 out of 72 greens in regulation.

For all the birdies, Kim set the LPGA Tour record with a par on the final hole to finish at 257. Hee Young Park won a playoff after she and Angela Stanford each finished at 258 in the Manulife Classic in Canada in 2013 (par 71), while Karen Stupples shot 258 at the Welch’s/Fry’s Championship in Arizona in 2004 (par 70).

“I had the double-bogey on 17. That was the only one I had where I missed the shot. It’s crazy,” Kim said.

She reached 28 under with a tap-in birdie on the par-5 ninth. Kim began the back nine with another birdie when her wedge from about 100 yards stopped a few feet from the hole, setting up her birdie on the 12th.

Kim won by five over Lydia Ko when she shot 27 under in the Founders Cup two years ago. Sorenstam won by two over Se Ri Pak when she shot her 27 under at Moon Valley at a tournament that no longer exists.

No one had a chance Sunday.

Kim began the final round with an eight-shot lead and was close to flawless. Amy Yang, who played with Kim in the final round, made eagle on No. 3 to get within six shots. She couldn’t keep pace, however, and made a double bogey on the par-5 15th by hitting one shot in the water and another in a hazard..

Carlota Ciganda of Spain lost a ball and made double bogey on the 18th hole for a 64 to finish alone in second, nine shots behind. Yang, with a birdie on the final hole for a 68, tied for third at 20 under with Emma Talley and Anna Nordqvist, who each had a 67.

“I was thinking even not playing this tournament, going home and rest, so I’m happy the way I played,” Ciganda said. “Lots of birdies; lots of good shots. Today my putting was very good, so very happy with the way I played.”

Kim won for the first time this year and joined Brooke Henderson as the only players on the LPGA Tour with at least one victory in each of the last four seasons.

Windsor, Ontario, Canada — Placing in a tie for second is Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Week Michael Gligic with rounds of 64, 68, 64 and 66.

The Kitchener, Ontario native took sole possession of the lead after a birdie on the 13th, but bogeys on both of the par 3s on the back nine, including a 3 putt on the 16th, opened the door for Anguiano to be named champion on Sunday at the Windsor Championship.

“I got off to a rough start this year, missing the cut three events in a row, but I kept working hard and the past few weeks I’ve seen some good signs, so just keep going and next week is a course I really like so hopefully I can get myself in contention again.” said Gligic.

With a 65 on Sunday at Ambassador Golf Club, Mark Anguiano picked up his first career Mackenzie Tour victory.

While five birdies in his first seven holes put Anguiano in a good place, it was the birdies he made on 15 and 17 that sealed the deal for the 25-year-old to lift his first trophy on Tour.

“When I bogeyed 14 I knew I had to man up,” said Anguiano. “I birdied 15, made a clutch par on 16 and made another clutch putt on 17. After hitting it on the green on 18 I had a good feeling that I was going to pull it off.”

It came down to the last half-hour of play until it became clear who the winner was going to be. Throughout the day, Anguiano exchanged the lead with both Canadians near the top of the leaderboard; Anguiano’s playing partner, Taylor Pendrith, and Michael Gligic, playing in the group ahead.

“All the guys in front put a lot of pressure on us, but I was very at ease,” said Anguiano. “I didn’t put a lot of pressure on myself throughout the week, even today, I knew Michael and Taylor had a little more pressure being at the top and being Canadian.”

After making birdie on 17, Anguiano walked up the 18th green with a two-stroke lead after Gligic narrowly missed a 10-foot birdie chance.

“I wasn’t sure until I got up to the green where I was really on the leaderboard, I didn’t want to know,” said the Bellflower, California native. “My caddie knew, which was good, but it wasn’t until I got to my ball on the green that I knew, and it’s a great feeling.”

The large Windsor crowd surrounding the 18th green gave Anguiano a king’s welcoming as he approached his ball, 15-feet away from the hole.

“The fans were very respectful of me and the other players that were also contending,” said Anguiano. “I felt good out there all week, there’s some stretches where you won’t hit it great or feel good on the greens, but I stayed very patient during those times and that’s important to be on top.”

This time around, Anguiano followed up his first round 63 with two 66s and a 65 to claim the victory.

One bad swing may have been all that kept Pendrith from his first Mackenzie Tour victory. Beginning the day with an eagle on his third hole, the Richmond Hill, Ontario native shot 33 on the front to make the turn right on Anguiano’s heels. However, on the 14th hole Pendrith snap hooked his shot on the par 3 into the water hazard and made a double-bogey 5. While Pendrith followed the score up with a birdie on 15, he would have to settle for a T4 finish, his strongest of the year.

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. – Mackenzie Hughes completed the course in 68 strokes and finished tied for 13th on Sunday at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier. Canadians Corey Conners (68) and David Hearn (71) finished tied for 30th place while Ben Silverman (71) and Nick Taylor (72) finished T56.

Kevin Na rode a hot putter to halt a winless streak of nearly seven years on the PGA Tour.

Na shot a 6-under-64 for a five-stroke victory.

The 34-year-old Na’s only previous tour win came in Las Vegas in October 2011.

“I wasn’t sure if it was going to come again. I was hoping it would _ sooner than later,” Na said. “I’ve been close so many times, failed so many times.”

He’s had three dozen top-10 finishes since that last win and showed signs earlier this year that reaching the top again was still well within reach. He tied for second at the Genesis Open in January, two shots behind Bubba Watson. In late May he shot 61 in the first round of the Fort Worth Invitational to match the course record and finished fourth.

Starting Sunday’s round one stroke behind co-leaders Harold Varner and Kelly Kraft, Na birdied six of his first 10 holes to open a big lead on the Old White TPC, and he cruised from there. The only blemish on his card was a bogey on the par-4 11th after driving into the rough.

Na finished at 19-under 261 and picked up the $1.31 million winner’s paycheque. He improved 40 spots to No. 18 in the FedEx Cup standings.

Kraft shot 70 and finished second at 14 under. Brandt Snedeker (64) and Jason Kokrak (67) tied for third at 13 under.

Na was one shot behind co-leaders Kraft and Harold Varner to begin the day. His birdie stretch included making putts of 24, 33 and 43 feet.

“My putter got hot,” Na said. “The first day the putter felt awful, and (then) it just clicked. Every time I got over the ball it felt great, and everything felt like it was going in.”

By the time he strolled up to the 18th green, Na was at ease, relaying his love to his wife and young daughter toward a TV camera. He cried during a television interview after the round as he relayed a message in Korean to his overseas fans.

“I didn’t want to leave the Korean fans out,” Na said.

The only drama down the stretch was who would pick up the last of the tournament’s four qualifying spots to the British Open in two weeks. Na had already earned a spot. Varner needed to make a birdie putt on either No. 17 or 18 to get there, but he parred both holes. That gave the final spot to Austin Cook.

Kraft, Kokrak and Snedeker were the other qualifiers. The leading four players not already exempt from the top-12 finishers qualified.

Kraft said his first British Open bid helped take away some of the sting of losing the lead Sunday.

“Obviously, I would have loved to win after leading coming into today, but, you know, sometimes you run into a guy that makes a lot of putts,” Kraft said.

No third-round leader has gone on to win the tournament since its debut in 2010. Varner shot 72 and finished tied for fifth at 12 under along with Cook (66), Joaquin Niemann (64), Sam Saunders (70) and Joel Dahmen (69).

The 19-year-old Niemann already has four top-10 finishes in eight events this season and has secured special temporary membership on tour.

Defending champion Xander Schauffele, who was one shot behind when the round started, bogeyed five of his first six holes. He shot 75 and finished 11 shots back.

ONEIDA, Wis. – After entering round two in third and falling to 22nd, Brittany Marchand climbed up the leaderboard in the third round of the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic.

The Orangeville, Ont., native, who recently hit a hole in one at last weekend’s KPMG Women’s PGA Championship fired a 66 in a strong third round that included four consecutive birdies on the back-nine. Marchand will head into Sunday’s final round in a tie for sixth behind leader Sei Young Kim.

Kim shot an 8-under-par 64 in the third round to tie the 54-hole record of 24 under and take a commanding eight-stroke lead.

Kim, who had a 63 on Thursday and a 65 on Friday, got rolling with an eagle on No. 3 and added six birdies. A birdie on No. 16 tied Annika Sorenstam’s 24 under at the Mizuno Classic in Japan in 2003. After Kim missed a long birdie putt on the par-3 17th, she hit her tee shot on the 390-yard 18th into the left rough. Her approach was well short of the hole, and her birdie putt missed badly. She made a testy putt to save par.

Kim will take aim at Sorenstam’s 72-hole record of 27-under par, set at the Standard Register Ping in 2001 in Phoenix. Kim will need a 4-under 68 on Sunday to break that record.

Amy Yang is a distant second at 16 under after shooting a 5-under 67. Eight players are within two shots of Yang but 10 shots of the record-setting Kim.

Canadian Brooke Henderson is four shots behind Marchand at 10 under.

CLYMER, N.Y. – Canadian Roger Sloan climbed back up 20 spots to sit tied for fourth after the third round of the LECOM Health Challenge at Peek’n Peak Resort.

With an impressive seven consecutive birdies on the back-nine, the Calgary, Alta., product fired an 8 under in the third round. Sloan will head into the final day tied for fourth with American Hank Lebioda, four strokes back of leader Sebastian Muñoz at 14-under-par 202.

After shooting a 3-under 69 on Friday to retain a share of the lead, the Colombia native remarked that he believed this was the week the lessons he’d learned this season would pay off. With another round in the books at Peek’n Peak Resort, it looks as if Muñoz might be right. The 26-year-old carded a 7-under 65 during the third round Saturday to move to 18-under 198 for the tournament, setting a tournament record for lowest 54-hole score and claiming the solo lead heading into Sunday. Nelson Ledesma and Kyle Jones sit one stroke back, tied for second.

The round began slowly for Muñoz, who carded five-consecutive pars and a bogey in his first six holes. The 2016 Country Club de Bogotá Championship winner remained calm and collected, however, not letting the slow start rattle him, despite a leaderboard that was quickly bunching up around him.

“I had a few looks that I could’ve made birdies on,” Muñoz remarked. “I didn’t make them and then made a bogey, so that’s always frustrating. You start to think that maybe it’s not your day, but I wasn’t negative at all. I just hit three great shots on No. 8 and then completely flipped the switch.”

Flipping the switch was indeed what Muñoz did. After hitting a strong drive off the tee, he was left with 289 yards to the pin. Despite initially being hesitant to play aggressive from his spot, Muñoz and his caddie decided to take a chance. The play ended up paying off for the University of North Texas alum, who landed his ball on the first cut of the green, about 15 feet from the hole. He would successfully make the putt, picking up an eagle in the process.

He continued to ride that momentum, picking up birdies on his next four holes. Confident in his play, Muñoz glanced up at a leaderboard for the first time on No. 15. When he noticed that he wasn’t leading, despite what he felt was great play, he realized he needed to keep pressing on the gas through his closing stretch.

“I noticed I wasn’t leading,” he said about looking up at the scores, “even though I was playing good and I was like, ‘wow.’ I think that helped me make birdie on Nos. 16 and 18.”

When Muñoz approached the green on No. 18, he shared the lead with Jones and Ledesma, who had already finished their rounds. As he looked around at the fans packed into the grandstands and bleachers and looked back at the putt he had remaining for birdie, he knew that was about to change.

“I kind of just pictured the line when I was walking the first time I saw it,” he commented when asked about the birdie putt. “I just thought, ‘I want to hit it right now.’ It was one of those that you just kind of instinctively know you’re going to make.”

Muñoz would card the birdie to move to 18-under 198 heading into Sunday, marking the ninth time this season that he has held a round lead/co-lead on Tour. Despite having been in contention early on in four different tournaments heading into this week, the Bogotá native had failed to carry any lead into Sunday. While his results have still been strong (a runner-up performance, a third-place, and six additional top-25s), victory has seemed to evade him each week.

“I feel like this year I’ve learned a lot,” Muñoz reflected. “I feel like I’ve grown as a player from last year, and even from [the beginning of] this year. It just keeps proving that work does pay off. I’m happy with the position I’m in and we’ll see [what happens tomorrow].”

While a victory Sunday in Western New York would secure his return to the PGA TOUR next season, the win would come with additional meaning for Muñoz, who is quickly becoming one of the main faces of professional golf in Colombia.

“Man, I love it,” Muñoz said about being able to represent his home country. “I just think it’s huge for golf in Colombia, trying to make it bigger, trying to make it more popular. I think the things it’s doing for the tournament in Bogotá and the sponsors – for me to be able to help a little is just great.”

WINDSOR, Ont. — The third round of the inaugural Windsor Championship finished as it started; with Mark Anguiano and Taylor Pendrith the two names at the top of the leaderboard at Ambassador Golf Club.

Though, in the words of Mark Anguiano, the routes the two golfers took to get there were completely different.

“We have the complete opposite games, but we have the exact same mentality,” said the Bellflower, California native, who began the day with a one-stroke advantage over the Canadian Pendrith.

While Pendrith is known for his length off the tee, often registering ball speeds of up to 200 MPH, Anguiano’s graceful swing is built on finesse, similar to his aptitude around the greens.

Take for example, the par-5 third. Anguiano found himself nearby the 200-yard plate while Pendrith waited 50-yards ahead with a wedge in hand – both players made birdie on the hole.

Anguiano’s largest lead on Sunday came after birdie on the 11^th hole put him at 18-under for the event, three clear of his nearest competitor.

The back nine, though, was Pendrith’s to dominate. A monstrous drive on 13 set Pendrith up with a 7-iron into the par five. Leaving himself a 30-footer for eagle, the Richmond Hill, ONT native used the claw grip he implemented a few months prior and dropped his first eagle of the tournament to get within a single stroke of Anguiano.

After all was said and done, Pendrith made 5 birdies, an eagle and a bogey to shoot 65 compared to Anguiano’s six birdies and a bogey for 66, drawing the pair even and into the final grouping on Sunday.

“Me and Mark had a good battle today,” said Pendrith. “We were kind of going back and forth, and it was a little bit of a grind. I didn’t hit the driver as well as I did the first two days and was in the rough a bit, but my putter bailed me out and I made some birdies.”

Pendrith is well acclimated to the situation. In 2015, the then 24-year-old drew into three separate playoffs on the Mackenzie Tour. While he was unable to get the job done three years ago, he is looking forward to the chance to once again compete in the final round.

“It’s exciting, any time you have a chance to win on Sunday is a good thing,” said Pendrith. “I’m just going to do my thing and just play golf and see where I stack up at the end.”

Meanwhile Anguiano, who missed the cut by a single stroke in Lethbridge at the Tour’s last stop, has also been in the situation before, coming T6 at the GolfBC Championship last month following a first round 62.

“He’s Canadian, so I feel like I’m going to be the bad guy playing with him, but that’s good, I like that, I think it’s fun,” said Anguiano. “The crowds today were very nice to me, I can’t thank them enough and hopefully it’s like that tomorrow.”

The duo will head to the first tee on Sunday at 12:40 P.M.

Fellow Canadian Michael Gligic is on Pendrith and Anguiano’s heels, just one-stroke behind. Gligic made eight birdies and fired his second 64 of the week to draw into the second last pairing alongside Zach Foushee. Gligic, thanks to a suggestion by Pendrith, switched to the claw grip and has revitalized his game since, shooting 65 or lower in four out of his last seven tournament rounds since.

Note: Play was suspended due to adverse weather conditions at 7:30 P.M. local time with 18 golfers still on the course. Players will complete their rounds at 8:30 A.M. Friday morning.

WINDSOR, Ont.— Without a bogey on either card, Taylor Pendrith and Theo Humphrey each signed for a 9-under, 62 following the first round of the Windsor Championship at Ambassador Golf Club. The pair are positioned at the top of the leaderboard headed into Friday with a one-stroke lead over Carter Jenkins.

Pendrith, the Richmond Hill, Ontario native, was the first to sign for the new Ambassador Golf Club course record after knocking in an 8-foot birdie putt on the 9^th hole, his last of the day, to complete the nine-hole stretch in 29 shots.

“I’ve shot a few 29s, a couple competitive, but that was a pretty good back nine for me,” said the Team Canada Young Pro Squad member after the round. “I missed a relatively short one on one of the par 3s, too, so it could have been better, but I’m definitely not complaining.”

Early on in the round, it wasn’t Pendrith’s aptitude off the tee that got the job done – that would be saved for later – it was a hot putter that bailed the 27-year-old out.

“My putter got hot, and it was hot all day,” said Pendrith, who’s 62 is his lowest career round on the Mackenzie Tour. “I made a lot good putts, putts for par actually, on the front nine, then I just got hot on the back and went with it.”

Known for his length off the tee, Pendrith noted that scoring on the back nine was aided by a confident driver swing that put plenty of wedges in his hands.

Meanwhile, Theo Humphrey, who was recently ranked eighth on the World Amateur Golf Rankings before turning professional last month, played consistent golf all day en-route to his 62.

Humphrey’s first Mackenzie Tour event came at the Tour’s latest stop in Lethbridge. Prior to that, he was busy preparing and playing in a well-known golf tournament – the U.S. Open.

Despite missing the cut at the event, the Vanderbilt alum shot a spectacular second-round 72 at Shinnecock prior to beginning his professional career on the Mackenzie Tour.

Leaping out of the gate with a first hole birdie, Humphrey made eagle on the 3^rd and made two more birdies before making the turn. On the back, Humphrey birdied four of his last five to sign for matching front and back 31s.

“I feel great. You shoot a round like that the first round of a tournament and it makes the rest of the tournament a lot easier because you’re ahead,” said Humphrey. “I got off to a great start this morning and finished strong as well, so obviously overall it was an excellent day for me.”

After missing the cut in Lethbridge by one stroke, Humphrey flew to Florida to put some work in with his coach, Todd Anderson, at TPC Sawgrass. After dissecting his putting stroke, it appears that the team rectified any sort of putting woes.

“I was happy to see I was able to perform in a tournament after,” said Humphrey, who has been with Anderson since he was 15-years-old.

Behind the two leaders is Raleigh, North Carolina’s Carter Jenkins. The 22-year-old carded 8 birdies and trails the leaders by one after his first-round 63.

Canadian Michael Gligic overcame a double bogey on his 5^th hole of the day by making eight birdies and an eagle and is 7-under with one hole remaining in his first round. The Canadian is coming of a T34 finish in Lethbridge which included rounds of 65 and 63 the first two days.

Pendrith’s fellow Team Canada member Jared du Toit made only a single par on his back nine, making three bogeys and five birdies to go along with a trio of circles on his front side. The Canadian heads into Friday four strokes off the pace.

Team Canada Alum and NHL referee Garrett Rank held his own on Thursday at Ambassador Golf Club, making eagle on the 7^th hole to go along with 4 more birdies to put himself at 3-under with two holes remaining in his opening round.