QUEBEC CITY – Defending champion Esteban Toledo shot a 6-under 66 on Saturday for a share of the second-round lead with Brad Faxon in the Champions Tour’s Quebec Championship.

The 51-year-old Toledo, the only Mexican winner in the history of the 50-and-over tour, matched Faxon at 10-under 134 at La Tempete in the first PGA Tour-sanctioned event in the area since 1956. Toledo won the then-Montreal Championship last year at La Vallee du Richelieu for his second Champions Tour victory.

“I went out there on the golf course today and enjoyed myself,” Toledo said. “That’s pretty much what I did. … I hit it great. Hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens, I putted well and it seems like when I putt well, I get a lot of confidence.”

Faxon, also a two-time senior winner, had a 67.

“It was a good solid round of golf today,” said Faxon, an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour. “I laughed at myself because I started thinking about how my rounds are usually miss the fairway, miss the green, chip it up, make a par, and this was on the fairway, on the green, make a putt and it was a nice round.

“Then when I started thinking about that, I hit a bad shot on 16 and made a bogey and then three-putted 17. But the birdie on 18 was a great birdie to make finishing in the dark, in the cold.”

Loren Roberts was third at 8 under after a 69. Jay Haas, Scott Simpson, Wes Short Jr. and Duffy Waldorf were 7 under. Simpson and Short shot 68, Haas had a 69, and Waldorf a 71.

Two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen, making his Champions Tour debut, was tied for seventh at 6 under after a 67. He turned 50 last week.

First-round leader Chip Beck followed his opening 65 with a 75 to drop into a tie for 23rd at 4 under.

Horschel, qui a réalisé un coup roulé de 32 pieds, a remis une carte de 63, soit sept coups sous la normale, et détient présentement trois coups d’avance sur Ryan Palmer, qui pointe au second échelon à -10.

Le meneur a notamment effectué des oiselets aux 14e et au 15e trous, avant de remettre ça au 18e.

Martin Kaymer et Bubba Watson, de leur côté, se partagent le troisième rang à -8, un coup devant Rickie Fowler et deux devant Sergio Garcia.

Jim Furyk, Jordan Spieth et le Canadien Graham DeLaet se situent quant à eux à égalité en septième position, devant Chesson Hadley, Morgan Hoffmann, J.B. Holmes, Rory McIlroy et Adam Scott.

BEON EOIN, NS – Syracuse, New York’s Daniel McCarthy shot a 6-under 66 on Friday at The Lakes Golf Club to take the 36-hole lead at the Cape Breton Celtic Classic presented by PC Financial.

McCarthy, a 29-year old returning to PGA Tour Canada this season for the first time since 2010, went bogey-free on a six-birdie day and led by one over Moscow, Idaho’s Chris Williams through two rounds in Cape Breton.

“It’s nice to see some putts finally going in. I’ve been hitting it pretty well this year, but I’ve struggled a little bit with the putter,” said McCarthy, who sits 44^th on the Order of Merit with four top-25s on the season. “I’ve driven it really well and kept it in play. I’ve hit a lot of nice iron shots and rolled in a few putts too, and it’s been two good finishes to the rounds for sure.”

With time ticking down in the 2014 season, McCarthy said he’s still got his mind on the rewards of finishing in the top-20, top-10 and top-5 on the Order of Merit at season’s end.

“Well, I’m 44^th coming into the week. You’re still trying to get top-10 or top-5, so I know what I need to do,” said McCarthy. “I’m not changing anything, I’m just trying to hit good shots. Whether the putts go in is whether you’re going to win. Maybe it’s freeing me up a little bit knowing that I have top 60 locked up, so I might as well just go out and give it everything I’ve got.”

One shot behind McCarthy was Williams, who carded his second straight 67 to post 10-under, one stroke further ahead of Order of Merit No. 4 Matt Harmon, Big Break Greenbrier champion Mark Silvers and Forces & Families Open champion Greg Machtaler, who shot a 10-under 62 to reach 9-under par.

After posting top five finishes in each of his last two starts, Michael Gligic kept the strong play going on Friday, chipping in for birdie on his final hole of the day for a 6-under 66 and 8-under total, good for a tie for sixth heading into the weekend.

“I played so well last week, you could be negative because I didn’t win, but I just stayed positive,” said Gligic, who lost in a four-hole playoff to Nate McCoy at The Wildfire Invitational presented by PC Financial. “I’ve been playing too well to get down on myself and wanted to keep it going into this week. So far I’ve been playing half decent, so hopefully I can keep it going this weekend and give myself a chance.”

DAVIDSON, N.C. – Derek Fathauer shot his second straight 6-under 66 on Friday to take the second-round lead in the Chiquita Classic, the second of four events in the Web.com Tour Finals.

Fathauer, 12th on the Web.com Tour’s regular-season money list to secure a 2014-15 PGA Tour card, rebounded from a bogey with seven birdies in an eight-hole stretch from No. 17 to No. 6 at River Run.

“I just kind of shook it off and went on a little run from there,” Fathauer said. “I’m just trying to go out there and play every hole the way I drew it up in the practice round. I know there are birdies out there.”

The top 25 players on the Web.com money list are competing against each other for PGA Tour priority, with regular-season earnings counting in their totals and the final leader getting a spot in The Players Championship. The other players – Nos. 26-75 from the Web.com Tour money list and Nos. 126-200 in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings – are fighting for another 25 cards based on their earnings in the four tournaments.

Greg Chalmers, Brett Stegmaier and Scott Pinckney were tied for second at 10 under. Chalmers shot 65, Stegmaier 66, and Pinckney 68. Chalmers, from Australia, was 132nd in the FedEx Cup.

“I push a little harder on the weekend trying to make things happen,” Chalmers said. “I need to control that tomorrow.”

Pinckney was 39th on the Web.com money list, and Stegmaier 41st.

“My ball-striking has been great,” Pinckney said. “I’ve been giving myself opportunities and capitalizing by making a couple of good putts.”

Canada’s Adam Hadwin, the first-round leader after a course-record 63, had a 72 to drop into a tie for fifth at 9 under.

QUEBEC CITY – Chip Beck eagled his final hole for a 7-under 65 and a one-stroke lead Friday after the first round of the Champions Tour’s Quebec Championship.

The 57-year-old Beck, winless on the 50-and-over tour, hit his 3-wood approach from 256 yards to a foot to set up the eagle on the par-5 ninth hole.

“It’s time, isn’t it? I’m ready,” Beck said about winning on the tour. “I’m 58 next week and you know what, I’m just going to play. I’m going to give it all I’ve got and enjoy whatever happens.”

On the par-5 18th, Beck hit a 3-wood second shot to 10 feet and two-putted for birdie.

“Thank goodness the course dried out today and the extra roll allowed me to reach both of those par 5s in two,” Beck said. “I managed to hit two of the best 3-wood shots of my life.”

The four-time PGA Tour winner also had six birdies and a bogey at La Tempete in the first PGA Tour-sanctioned event in the area since the 1956 Labatt Open at Royal Quebec.

“It’s a fun golf course with all the par 5s,” Beck said. “The course is playing great, the greens were really good and it’s amazing the transformation overnight with the smoothness of the greens and the dryness of the golf course, so the wind really helped us.”

Duffy Waldorf and Craig Thomas were tied for second. Thomas, a club professional at Metropolis in White Plains, New York, went through two stages of qualifying to get into the field.

“I’m extremely, extremely fortunate at the club that I work at,” Thomas said. “The members are very, very supportive and excited about both myself and my assistant, Colin Amaral, in our playing ability and our opportunities and the fact that we go out and represent the club. It couldn’t be a better situation for somebody like me. Without them I definitely couldn’t do it.”

Waldorf birdied four of the five par 5s.

“It was a good solid round,” Waldorf said. “I drove the ball really well, which helped. You kind of feel like you have to play the par 5s well out here and the four that I birdied I birdied fairly easily.”

Brad Faxon, Loren Roberts and P.H. Horgan III followed at 67. Esteban Toledo, the winner last year in the then-Montreal Championship at La Vallee du Richelieu, opened with a 68.

Two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen had a 71 in his first Champions Tour round. He turned 50 last week.

CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colo. – Sergio Garcia hit great shots that led to eagle, birdie and par Friday. They carried him to a 6-under 64, giving him a one-shot lead going into the weekend at the BMW Championship on ever-changing Cherry Hills.

Garcia holed out from a greenside bunker for birdie on the second hole. He holed a lob wedge for eagle on the short, par-4 seventh hole. And after hitting into the water going for the green on the par-5 17th hole, he escaped with par by getting up-and-down with a wedge to a foot.

He needed them all.

Ryan Palmer also made eagle with a short wedge on the seventh hole, and he finished birdie-birdie for a 64 to end up a shot behind.

Rory McIlroy made three straight birdies late in his round and left his last putt on the edge of the cup. The late surge gave the world’s No. 1 player another 67 and put him two shots behind. Billy Horschel, a runner-up last week at the TPC Boston, had a 66 and was tied with McIlroy.

Garcia was at 8-under 132.

Barring a charge that would make even Arnold Palmer proud, Phil Mickelson is playing his last PGA Tour event of the season. He twice hit into the water – making a triple bogey on the par-3 12th and a bogey on the 17th – and shot a 76. Mickelson, who needs to finish about fourth to qualify for the Tour Championship, was 14 shots behind and in a tie for 63rd in the 68-man field.

Jason Day withdrew on the ninth hole with a back injury and said he would try to be ready for the Tour Championship.

The only peculiar part of Garcia’s day was his left ear. He was on the sixth green when he felt a series of beeps, followed by a “pop” that made him feel uncomfortable for about the next hour before it finally went away. He’s not sure what it was. He’s not sure there’s a word for it in Spanish.

“It’s happened before, but usually I kind of blow it and it gets back,” Garcia said. “But for some reason, it just didn’t feel quite the same. And it still doesn’t, but it’s definitely better. It shouldn’t be too big of a deal.”

But it clearly didn’t affect his golf.

“Obviously, it helped, because then I made 2 on the next hole,” he said with a laugh.

The turnaround came at the end of his round. He went for the green in two on the 17th and came up well short. With the tough 18th ahead of him, it looked as though he would lose his lead and perhaps even more ground. But he hit wedge to tap-in range for his par, and then made one only six birdies on the closing hole at Cherry Hills.

“It’s only Friday, so we still have two days to go,” he said. “But it definitely helped my frame of mind going into the 18th tee, which today was playing quite hard. So it was nice to be able to get that up-and-down and then play 18 really well.”

Masters champion Bubba Watson had no trouble with the water on the 17th. He has taken on the cross bunkers both days with his driver, leaving him only an 8-iron Thursday and a 9-iron Friday. He made eagle the second time, shot 66 and was in the group at 4-under 136 that included Graham DeLaet of Canada and Hideki Matsuyama, who came into the week at No. 30 in the FedEx Cup.

The top 30 advance to the Tour Championship for a shot at the $10 million bonus.

Palmer has been showing up on leaderboards over the last month – share of the first-round lead at the PGA Championship and an opening 63 last week in Boston. He thought the greens might be softer because of the rain, and he was right. Palmer saw a few approach shots on No. 1 and told his caddie the course would be there for the taking.

He waited until the end to grab it with four birdies in his last five holes.

“It was a great way to finish,” he said. “I was glad I was one of the ones that shot low.”

McIlroy also made a late surge after starting with one birdie, one bogey and 12 pars. He began to turn it around with a 30-foot birdie putt on the 15th, a 35-foot birdie putt on the 16th and a long two-putt birdie at the 17th.

He shot the same score and felt entirely different – finishing with two late bogeys one day, three late birdies the next.

“I feel much better coming off the golf course because I birdied three of the last four holes,” McIlroy said. “I sort of struggled to get anything going today. It was a little cooler, so the ball wasn’t going quite as far, a little bit of wind … even though the course was softer, it still played pretty tough.”

CHERRY HILLS VILLAGE, Colo. – Sergio Garcia hit great shots that led to eagle, birdie and par Friday. They carried him to a 6-under 64, giving him a one-shot lead going into the weekend at the BMW Championship on ever-changing Cherry Hills.

Garcia holed out from a greenside bunker for birdie on the second hole. He holed a lob wedge for eagle on the short, par-4 seventh hole. And after hitting into the water going for the green on the par-5 17th hole, he escaped with par by getting up-and-down with a wedge to a foot.

He needed them all.

Ryan Palmer also made eagle with a short wedge on the seventh hole, and he finished birdie-birdie for a 64 to end up a shot behind.

Rory McIlroy made three straight birdies late in his round and left his last putt on the edge of the cup. The late surge gave the world’s No. 1 player another 67 and put him two shots behind. Billy Horschel, a runner-up last week at the TPC Boston, had a 66 and was tied with McIlroy.

Garcia was at 8-under 132.

Barring a charge that would make even Arnold Palmer proud, Phil Mickelson is playing his last PGA Tour event of the season. He twice hit into the water – making a triple bogey on the par-3 12th and a bogey on the 17th – and shot a 76. Mickelson, who needs to finish about fourth to qualify for the Tour Championship, was 14 shots behind and in a tie for 63rd in the 68-man field.

Jason Day withdrew on the ninth hole with a back injury and said he would try to be ready for the Tour Championship.

The only peculiar part of Garcia’s day was his left ear. He was on the sixth green when he felt a series of beeps, followed by a “pop” that made him feel uncomfortable for about the next hour before it finally went away. He’s not sure what it was. He’s not sure there’s a word for it in Spanish.

“It’s happened before, but usually I kind of blow it and it gets back,” Garcia said. “But for some reason, it just didn’t feel quite the same. And it still doesn’t, but it’s definitely better. It shouldn’t be too big of a deal.”

But it clearly didn’t affect his golf.

“Obviously, it helped, because then I made 2 on the next hole,” he said with a laugh.

The turnaround came at the end of his round. He went for the green in two on the 17th and came up well short. With the tough 18th ahead of him, it looked as though he would lose his lead and perhaps even more ground. But he hit wedge to tap-in range for his par, and then made one only six birdies on the closing hole at Cherry Hills.

“It’s only Friday, so we still have two days to go,” he said. “But it definitely helped my frame of mind going into the 18th tee, which today was playing quite hard. So it was nice to be able to get that up-and-down and then play 18 really well.”

Masters champion Bubba Watson had no trouble with the water on the 17th. He has taken on the cross bunkers both days with his driver, leaving him only an 8-iron Thursday and a 9-iron Friday. He made eagle the second time, shot 66 and was in the group at 4-under 136 that included Graham DeLaet of Canada and Hideki Matsuyama, who came into the week at No. 30 in the FedEx Cup.

The top 30 advance to the Tour Championship for a shot at the $10 million bonus.

Palmer has been showing up on leaderboards over the last month – share of the first-round lead at the PGA Championship and an opening 63 last week in Boston. He thought the greens might be softer because of the rain, and he was right. Palmer saw a few approach shots on No. 1 and told his caddie the course would be there for the taking.

He waited until the end to grab it with four birdies in his last five holes.

“It was a great way to finish,” he said. “I was glad I was one of the ones that shot low.”

McIlroy also made a late surge after starting with one birdie, one bogey and 12 pars. He began to turn it around with a 30-foot birdie putt on the 15th, a 35-foot birdie putt on the 16th and a long two-putt birdie at the 17th.

He shot the same score and felt entirely different – finishing with two late bogeys one day, three late birdies the next.

“I feel much better coming off the golf course because I birdied three of the last four holes,” McIlroy said. “I sort of struggled to get anything going today. It was a little cooler, so the ball wasn’t going quite as far, a little bit of wind … even though the course was softer, it still played pretty tough.”

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland – Richie Ramsay shot a 4-under 66 Friday to lead Ryder Cup rookie Jamie Donaldson by one stroke in the second round of the European Masters.

The 2012 champion from Scotland had a 12-under total of 128 after starting in morning rain on the 6,848-yard (6,262-meter) Severiano Ballesteros course in the Swiss Alps.

Donaldson had seven birdies and a bogey in his afternoon 64, putting the 38-year-old Welshman in good position to follow up his win at the Czech Masters two weeks ago.

American Brooks Koepka shot a second straight 65 and was joined on 10 under by Graeme Storm of England.

Another American, David Lipsky, had a 64 to sit a further shot back.

Victor Dubuisson of France, the other Ryder Cup debutant in the lineup, carded a 67 to head a group of players on 8 under.

Edoardo Molinari of Italy, who shared the overnight lead with Ramsay, only managed a 70 to join Dubuisson and three others, including Scot Marc Warren whose 63 was the lowest score of the day despite a pair of bogeys early in his round.

The third member of Europe’s Ryder Cup team playing here, Thomas Bjorn of Denmark, dropped 10 shots off the lead.

Bjorn, the European Masters champion in 2011 and last year, carded a 72 after his 66 Thursday.

The cut was made at 1 under, leaving 2010 winner Miguel Angel Jimenez out of the weekend action after a second straight 70.

Jimenez can still stick around to watch the Ryder Cup trio, as he is one of Europe’s five vice-captains for the Sept. 26-28 match against the United States at Gleneagles, Scotland.

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland – Richie Ramsay shot a 4-under 66 Friday to lead Ryder Cup rookie Jamie Donaldson by one stroke in the second round of the European Masters.

The 2012 champion from Scotland had a 12-under total of 128 after starting in morning rain on the 6,848-yard (6,262-meter) Severiano Ballesteros course in the Swiss Alps.

Donaldson had seven birdies and a bogey in his afternoon 64, putting the 38-year-old Welshman in good position to follow up his win at the Czech Masters two weeks ago.

American Brooks Koepka shot a second straight 65 and was joined on 10 under by Graeme Storm of England.

Another American, David Lipsky, had a 64 to sit a further shot back.

Victor Dubuisson of France, the other Ryder Cup debutant in the lineup, carded a 67 to head a group of players on 8 under.

Edoardo Molinari of Italy, who shared the overnight lead with Ramsay, only managed a 70 to join Dubuisson and three others, including Scot Marc Warren whose 63 was the lowest score of the day despite a pair of bogeys early in his round.

The third member of Europe’s Ryder Cup team playing here, Thomas Bjorn of Denmark, dropped 10 shots off the lead.

Bjorn, the European Masters champion in 2011 and last year, carded a 72 after his 66 Thursday.

The cut was made at 1 under, leaving 2010 winner Miguel Angel Jimenez out of the weekend action after a second straight 70.

Jimenez can still stick around to watch the Ryder Cup trio, as he is one of Europe’s five vice-captains for the Sept. 26-28 match against the United States at Gleneagles, Scotland.

KARUIZAWA, Japan – Canada continues to hold a two-stroke lead over defending champion Korea after Friday’s third round of stroke play at the Women’s World Amateur at Karuizawa 72 Golf East.

Leading the trio once again was 16-year-old Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., who carded a bogey-free, 6-under 66 for the second straight time on the Oshitate course. The Team Canada National Squad member recorded four birdies on the back nine to help her retain the individual lead for the tournament at 15-under par.

The world’s no. 2 ranked female amateur is dialed in and excited to close out the tournament strong in tomorrow’s final.

“I’m really excited for tomorrow and to be in the position that we’re in at such a beautiful golf course in beautiful Japan,” said Henderson. “I’m just really excited and enjoying the moment.”

The second-lowest Canadian score for the day was posted by 22-year-old Orangeville, Ont. native Brittany Marchand. In her first World Amateur appearance, Marchand has delivered consistent results across the board to sit at 6-under par (71-70-69) individually.

“I started out strong, I made a few good putts outside of 20 feet and I was really confident with my putter,” said 5^th year N.C. State student. “I was a little shaky on the back with a couple of birdies and a couple of bogeys but overall I think it was a good day.”

Augusta James of Bath, Ont. carded 16 pars en route to an even-par 72, which was discounted as the team’s highest score for the day. James, 21, is playing in her second World Amateur for Canada (2012) and knows what to expect come tomorrow.

“There are some things that I can draw on from two years ago but we’ve got a fresh golf course and it’s a different position that we’re in,” said the reigning Canadian Women’s Amateur champion. “Just trying to embrace that it’s a new day tomorrow and trying to improve on the last three days to help the team.”

Team captain, Liz Hoffman, plans to help the girls remain focused on closing out the tournament after holding the lead for three straight days.

“We talk about taking each day as a new day. We are focusing on each and every shot, one shot at a time, and we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves. We haven’t got ahead of ourselves and we’re certainly not going to tomorrow. We’re ready for the challenge.”

The Canadian trio is set to tee-off tomorrow on the Iriyama course starting at 11:05 a.m. (JST). They will be paired with Korea (-21) and Japan (-17) in their quest to capture the first ever Espirito Santo trophy for Canada.

Click here for team scoring.

Click here for individual scoring.

Augusta James, Liz Hoffman, Brooke Henderson, Brittany Marchand (USGA/ Steve Gibbons)