SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Dustin Johnson at least gets one more round to try to redeem himself in the U.S. Open.

So does the USGA.

The best players in the world were no match for a Shinnecock Hills course that even the USGA conceded got out of hand Saturday. Putts were rolling some 50 feet by the hole and over the green. No one from the final 22 groups could match par. Phil Mickelson intentionally broke a rule on the 13th when he trotted to his ball rolling by the cup and swatted it with his putter as the ball was still moving.

“It was a very tough test, but probably too tough this afternoon,” said Mike Davis, the USGA’s chief executive. “We must slow the courses down tonight, and we will.”

It was too late for one of the wildest Saturday shake-ups at the U.S. Open.

Daniel Berger and Tony Finau, who started the third round 11 shots out of the lead, each shot 4-under 66 before Johnson hit his first shot. Johnson faced greens that made him feel as though he were putting on glass, and it was like that to the very end.

Johnson, who started with a four-shot lead, barely nudged his 17-foot birdie attempt on the 18th hole and watched it roll _ and roll — 8 feet by the cup. He missed the par putt coming back and signed for a 77 to fall into a four-way tie for the lead.

“I didn’t feel like I played badly at all,” Johnson said. “Seven over usually is a terrible score, but with the greens the way they got this afternoon, I mean they were very, very difficult. I had seven or eight putts that easily could have gone in the hole that didn’t. And that’s the difference between shooting 7 over and even par.”

At least he still has a chance, and he had plenty more company at the top than at the start of the day.

Johnson joined Berger, Finau and defending champion Brooks Koepka (72) at 3-over 213, the highest 54-hole score to lead the U.S. Open since the fabled “Massacre at Winged Foot” in 1974.

It was the first time since Oakmont in 2007 that no one was under par going into the final day. With wind that was stronger than expected, and a few pin positions that turned the U.S. Open into carnival golf, it was easy to see why.

Davis told Golf Channel he would have liked a mulligan, the same word he used nearly a month ago when discussing the 2004 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills when the seventh green wouldn’t hold shots and had to be lightly sprayed with water between groups.

That didn’t go over well with Ian Poulter after a 76.

“Is that an apology?” he tweeted . “You don’t get mulligan’s in business at this level. how can this team keep doing this without consequences.”

Mickelson brought plenty of attention to the 13th hole, where anything that ran by the cup was headed off the green. Worst yet might have been No. 15, where Piercy had a 30-foot birdie putt that finished rolling 75 feet away off the green. Koepka hit an approach to near the hole, and it moved a few inches to the right, and then a few more feet, and soon it was in a bunker.

“You were seeing shots that were well played and not rewarded,” Davis said.

Berger and Finau, who made the cut with one shot to spare, will play in the final group.

“I barely made the cut. Going into today, I needed something special to happen to even have an outside chance,” Finau said as Johnson and Scott Piercy were making their way down the first fairway in the final group. “Whether I do or not at the end of today, I’m really happy with where I’m at.”

Right behind them will be the last two U.S. Open champions. Koepka made only two birdies in his hard-earned round of 72, leaving him poised to become the first player since Curtis Strange in 1989 to win back-to-back in the U.S. Open.

Only three players broke par, all before the final groups teed off.

“If they’d have shot 4 under this afternoon, it would probably have been the best round of golf anybody’s ever seen,” Koepka said.

Two other major champions — Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson —were right behind, and both had a share of the lead at one point. Both had three straight bogeys. Rose wound up with a 73 and was one shot behind at 214. Stenson had a 74 and was another shot back.

The return to Shinnecock Hills was supposed to make the U.S. Open feel like a traditional test that felt more like survival.

“Be care what you wish for,” Rose said. “We’ve all been asking for a real U.S. Open again. So I guess we got one for sure this week.”

And typical of an old-styled U.S. Open, there were plenty of complaints.

“I’m going to find Mike Davis,” Pat Perez said after signing for a 77. “It’s the U.S. Open. It’s supposed to be hard. When is enough enough? It’s not about hard. There’s no other tournament where you see the guys putt off the greens.”

Not all the statements were verbal.

Mickelson celebrated his 48th birthday by matching his worst score in his 27th U.S. Open with an 81, and he provided the snapshot of a day that was entertaining for reasons the USGA didn’t imagine.

He went from behind the 13th green all the way off the front. His next shot was 18 feet above the hole. His bogey putt slid by, and after a few putts, Mickelson trotted after it and then stuck out his putter and hit the ball back toward the cup to keep it from running off the green. That’s a two-shot penalty, giving him a 10.

“It’s just a moment of madness,” said Andrew “Beef” Johnston, who played with Mickelson and couldn’t stifle a laugh.

Mickelson apologized if anyone was offended by his act, even after saying he knew the rules for hitting a ball in motion and was happy to take a two-shot penalty instead of playing a crude version of tennis with his ball going back-and-forth, back-and-forth across the green.

“Look, I don’t mean disrespect by anybody,” Mickelson said. “I know it’s a two-shot penalty. At that time I just didn’t feel like going back and forth and hitting the same shot over. I took the two-shot penalty and moved on. It’s my understanding of the rules. I’ve had multiple times where I’ve wanted to do that, I just finally did it.”

Johnson didn’t have anything that wild – not like the 82 he had at Pebble Beach when he entered the final round with a three-shot lead in the 2010 U.S. Open. This was more of a slow bleed that began with a shot off a sandy path and three putts on the par-3 second hole for his first double bogey of the championship. His lead was gone with a three-putt bogey on the par-3 seventh. He was back in the lead when everyone around him couldn’t hang on.

The scoring average was 75.33, the highest for a third round in the U.S. Open since Pebble Beach in 2000.

Kiradech Aphibarnrat had the only other round under par. He made the cut on the number, was the seventh player to tee off and shot 2-under 68. He goes into the final round just three shots out of the lead.

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan — Alena Sharp was the top Canadian at 11 under after a round three 66 at the Meijer LPGA Classic at Blythfield Country Club. The Hamilton, Ont., native will head into the final round tied for thirteenth.

Fellow Canadian Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., (68) was at 9 under, two shots ahead of Calgary amateur Jaclyn Lee (72) while Quebec City’s Anne-Catharine Tanguay (69) was 5 under.

? for #TeamCanada Olympians @AlenaSharp and @BrookeHenderson, who ↗️ out of a tie for 32nd to sit T13 and T20, respectively, at the @MeijerLPGA. Also making the cut to the final round are @JaclynLee57 (-7) & @ACTanguay (-5) ????

Leaderboard: https://t.co/ia3EZDSmjW pic.twitter.com/WYzZJy91uD

— CP Women’s Open (@cpwomensopen) June 16, 2018

Anna Nordqvist and Lee-Anne Pace each shot 8-under 64 on Saturday to share the third-round lead in the Meijer LPGA Classic.

Nordqvist and Pace each birdied four of the first five holes and two of the last three _ each making 20-footers on the par-4 18th _ in their bogey-free rounds at Blythefield. They were at 18-under 198.

Nordqvist, from Sweden, has eight LPGA Tour victories, winning the Founders Cup and The Evian Championship last year. Pace, from South Africa, won the 2014 Blue Bay LPGA in China for her lone tour title.

Second-round leader So Yeon Ryu was third at 16 under after a 69. Angela Stanford (66) and Caroline Masson (68) were another stroke back.

Blainville, Que. — Sydney Scraba came from behind after carding a 1 under to overtake the lead in the girls division while Wesley Hoydalo and Bradley Moser co-lead the junior boys after the second round of the Future Links, driven by Acura Prairie Championship at Portage Golf Club on Saturday.

Scraba is the only junior golfer at the tournament to score under par for the first two rounds. Despite struggling to get off the ground on the front-nine, the Calgary, Alta., product recovered with three birdies and an eagle across her last nine holes to take the lead at 6-over-par 150.

Only one stroke separates Scraba from Vancouver’s Michelle Liu. The 11-year-old shot a 1 over to head into the final day in solo-second at 7-over-par-151.

It was a tough day for yesterday’s leader Jillian Friyia. The London, Ont., native had trouble recovering from a bogey-filler front-nine but finished the round with a birdie on 18 to end round two sharing a piece of third with Bobbi Uhl of Erickson, Man., at 11-over-par 155.

In the boys division, yesterday’s leader Wesley Hoydalo shot a 2 over to share the lead with Bradley Moser of Saskatoon, Sask.

“I shot 72 hit the ball great. Hopefully tomorrow, I will putt a bit better,” said eighteen-year-old Hoydalo. “My strategy is to hit it down the middle and basically make no mistakes.”

▶️ #FutureLinks, driven by @AcuraCanada Prairie Championship Junior Boys leader Wesley Hoydalo tees off during round ✌????‍♂️

Leaderboard: https://t.co/urO71bJUiZ pic.twitter.com/WVCRd1vXg8

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) June 16, 2018

Moser and Hoydalo co-lead going into round one with a two stroke advantage over Brady Bandura. The Selkirk, Man., product sits in third at 4-over-par 144.

The top six finishers in the junior boys’ division will earn exemptions into the 2018 Canadian Junior Boys Championship on July 30-Aug. 2 at Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club in Medicine Hat, Alta. The top six finishers in the junior girls’ division will earn exemptions into the 2018 Canadian Junior Girls Championship on July 31-Aug. 3 at Beach Grove Golf Club in Tsawwassen, B.C.

Up-to-date results can be found here.

FORSYTH, Ill. — When the sun finally set and the 144-player field at the 34th annual Forsyth Classic was reprieved of the Illinois heat, Karolina Vlckova (Kladno, Czech Republic) and Stacy Bregman (Johannesburg, South Africa) are tied atop the leaderboard at 7-under par.

A rookie this season, Vlckova has made the cut in all seven of her starts, with a season and career-best finish of tied for fifth in the Symetra Classic. The consistency she has demonstrated finally peaked its head today, as Vlckova signed a bogey-free scorecard.

“My game has been pretty good, I just never really put it together,” said Vlckova, who recorded seven birdies on the afternoon, including three straight from Nos. 2-4 to open her round. “I was hoping it would happen soon because I know how I play and what I can do. I’m happy that it finally showed.”

The other co-leader is Bregman, a Ladies European Tour (LET) veteran who turned professional in 2006. However, this year is her first competing on the Symetra Tour full-time.

When Bregman made the turn to No. 1 to play her second nine, she was a comfortable 2-under par. Then on the front, she was two lip outs away from firing a 29. Before play began today, Bregman made a gutsy move that ultimately paid off.

“I went to my spare putter that I always travel with. I haven’t actually putted with it properly in a tournament and it seemed to work,” said Bregman, who dialed up eight birdies in the first round, surrendering only one bogey. “I was hitting it close all day and put myself in a good position. I’m sure anyone would love to be a co-leader and just looking forward to the next two days ahead.”

Augusta James will head into the second round of the Forsyth Classic sharing a piece of fifth. The 25-year-old long-standing Team Canada member started the round of strong with consecutive birdies on her first two holes. She would fire four more birdies, carding a 5 under to sit only two strokes behind the co-leaders.

Meanwhile, just one shot behind Vlckova and Bregman in a tie for third at 6-under par is Jenny Haglund (Karlstad, Sweden), the current No. 1 in the Volvik Race for the Card, and Anneliese Newell (Tampa, Florida).

Haglund was part of the 2:22 p.m. CT pairing that featured Vlckova and Carleigh Silvers (Martinsville, Indiana). Even though she went back and forth with the co-leader, Haglund said there was one aspect of her game that held her back from an even lower number.

“My driver wasn’t really working that well, but I made it work somehow,” said Haglund, who could be found on the range immediately after walking off No. 18 green tonight. “The course is pretty generous off the tee so that’s why my drives didn’t really matter that they were a little off. You can really attack.”

Finally, Duke University alumna Leona Maguire (Cavan, Ireland) made her Symetra Tour debut today with a 3-under par 69 opening round at Hickory Point Golf Course. She was paired in the first group off No. 10 tee this morning with former Duke teammate Sandy Choi (Seoul, Republic of Korea) and a former ACC foe in University of North Carolina graduate Catherine O’Donnell (Ponte Vedra, Florida).

“It’s always nice to have that first round under my belt,” said Maguire, who found her way to four birdies and one bogey. “I wasn’t really nervous at all, felt pretty comfortable. It was nice being first off and that grouping was pretty familiar as well, so it didn’t really feel like all that new of an environment. Anytime you can break 70 is always a good round.”

After day one in Forsyth, a total of 62 players sit at 2-under par or better.

KELOWNA, B.C. — Playing in his second season on the Mackenzie Tour- PGA Tour Canada, Team Canada’s Jared du Toit fired a second-round 5-under 66 to grab the outright lead at the GolfBC Championship. Five players remain two back heading into the weekend.

In his back nine, du Toit made three consecutive birdies on Nos. 4-6, followed by a bogey on the seventh hole. He ended his round on a high-note, with an up-and-down birdie from the bunker on the par-5 ninth hole.

“Definitely happy to birdie the last there,” said du Toit. “It’s finally coming together. You hear it all the time, but if I just stick to it, I like my chances. I’m not surprised at all that I’m up there [on the leaderboard]. Hopefully in two more days, I can tell you the same.”

The Calgary native set the tournament record last year at this event with a 10-under 61 in the third round. Du Toit rose to prominence in 2016, when he played in the RBC Canadian Open as a 21-year-old amateur. He played in the final group with Brandt Snedeker and went on to finish in a tie-for-ninth. He was the low amateur and low Canadian at the PGA TOUR event.

#TeamCanada ? @jareddutoit has many reasons to smile as he moves up 5 spots to lead the @PGATOURCanada @gbcchampionship after 2 rounds ???

Fellow ?? Young Pro Squad member @TaylorPendrith isn’t too far behind, tied for 7th

? the leaderboard: https://t.co/LXwNuFP94o pic.twitter.com/x9e3J3dQF2

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) June 16, 2018

Du Toit fellow Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Taylor Pendrith had a worldwind day. The Richmond Hill, Ont., talent carded a 8-under-63 to tie for the low round of the day with Jeremy Paul from Heidelberg, Germany. Pendrith climbed up 86 spots to sit tied for seventh after two rounds.

7 birdies, a double bogey and 2 eagles… it was a wild day for @TaylorPendrith who shoots 63 and is just 1 off the lead #Tourjectory pic.twitter.com/kHrMb7j6Kl

— Mackenzie Tour (@PGATOURCanada) June 15, 2018

After picking up the 18-hole co-lead Thursday at the GolfBC Championship, Mark Anguiano and Zach Wright are two back of du Toit with three others, at 9-under 133. They both followed up their 9-under 62s in the opening round with second-round, even-par 71s.

Wright carded three birdies and three bogeys in his up-and-down round. Reflecting on his day, the 24-year-old was most disappointed with his putting.

“I couldn’t get anything going,” said Wright. “On the front nine, I didn’t make that many putts. I couldn’t get my putter going at all. I kept grinding, and nothing kept going in, so I just fell apart at the end and made bogeys.”

Wright held the 36-hole lead by two shots last week at the Bayview Place DCBank Open but went on to tie for sixth after a third-round 73. The Louisiana State University alum entered this week No. 3 on the Order of Merit.

Anguiano of Bellflower, Calif., carded four birdies and four bogeys during his second-round play. His back nine included three consecutive bogeys, on Nos. 10-12, before closing with a birdie on the 17^th hole. Playing in the afternoon wave, the 25-year-old faced heavier rain and wind compared to the players who teed off in the morning, but the California State University-Fullerton alum chose to focus on the positives.

“It was pretty up and down today,” said Anguiano. “I had a stretch in the beginning of the back nine that really stung, but I was really happy with the way I bounced back mentally. Even though I made only one birdie coming in, I gave myself a lot of looks. I’m still happy with where I am.”

Among the 21 Canadians in the field, six players advanced to the weekend. In addition to du Toit and Pendrith, David Rose (West Vancouver, B.C.), Team Canada Young Pro Squad’s Stuart Macdonald (Vancouver, B.C.), James Seymour (Aurora, Ont.) and Ryan Williams (Vancouver, B.C.) made the cut to head into round three.

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. –  Dustin Johnson handled the worst of the weather and wound up as the sole survivor to par at the U.S. Open, taking a four-shot lead into the weekend at Shinnecock Hills with plenty of reminders of how it can all go wrong.

Some of them from Johnson’s own experiences.

Most came from the final hours Friday in pristine weather from those trying to catch him.

Johnson endured the wind and two hours of rain that made Shinnecock play even longer by dropping only one shot, never putting himself in position to make a big number and holing a 45-foot birdie putt on the par-3 seventh that carried him to a 3-under 67.

“You’ve got to play really good golf if you want to shoot a good score, and I like where par is a good score on every hole, no matter what club you’ve got in your hand, what hole it is,” Johnson said.

No matter the weather, Shinnecock can punish anyone in a New York minute.

Ian Poulter was one shot out of the lead and in the middle of the fairway with two holes to go when one bad shot led to a few more that were even worse _ a bunker shot over the green, a chunk into the hay, a chop short of the green and a triple bogey on No. 8. He made bogey on his last hole for a 72.

“There’s a disaster on every single hole,” Poulter said.

That left Charley Hoffman the only other player under par until he missed the 18th fairway and had to make a 5-footer to escape with bogey and a 69.

Johnson was at 4-under 136 as he goes after his second U.S. Open in three years.

Tiger Woods won’t be around to see how it turns out, and he had plenty of company.

Woods closed with back-to-back birdies to salvage a 72. He still missed the cut in a major for the fifth time in his last eight tries, this time by two shots. Rory McIlroy missed the cut for the third straight year in the U.S. Open, unable to recover from his opening 80.

Jordan Spieth joined them in the most unlikely fashion. He took three shots to get up the slope and onto the 10th green, making double bogey. He was three shots over the cut line with six holes to play when he ran off four straight birdies to get inside the number _ only to three-putt for bogey on the 17th, stub a chip from the collar of a bunker on the 18th and miss the par putt for a 71. He had not missed the cut in a major since the 2014 PGA Championship.

Scott Piercy, a runner-up to Johnson at Oakmont two years ago, had a 71 and will play in the final group with him Saturday. Piercy’s day was not without regrets, especially when he three-putted from 4 feet for bogey on the par-5 16th. He was at even-par 140, along with Hoffman (69).

Plenty of others were poised take advantage if Johnson slipped, or if more pure weather arrived to allow them to make a move.

Defending champion Brooks Koepka made six birdies over his last 11 holes for a 66, matching Tommy Fleetwood for the low round of the tournament. They were at 141, along with Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose, each with a 70, and Poulter.

Rose also was under par until closing with successive bogeys. With 36 holes to play, he wasn’t overly concerned about tracking down the No. 1 player in the world.

“You just saw what happened to Ian Poulter five minutes ago. That could happen to DJ,” Rose said. “I’m not saying it’s going to, but it could. That’s the nature of the U.S. Open. So hang around is often the best form of attack.”

Johnson knows that all too well.

He had a three-shot lead at Pebble Beach in the 2010 U.S. Open and lost it all on the second hole with a triple bogey, and then compounded mistakes by trying to drive the green on the next two holes. He shot 82. He has endured more than his share of bad luck, bad breaks and bad shots in the majors.

His outlook at Shinnecock Hills has been built on patience and being practical. One example was Thursday, when his ball was hitting up in thick grass, and he put back a club that might have reached the green and used wedge to get it back in play. He made bogey, but he took double bogey or worse out of the equation.

“I never want to make doubles,” Johnson said. “Around here, it seems like when I do get out of position, I’m just trying to do everything I can to get it back into position, not try to push it, and just give myself a decent look … something on the green where I can have a look at par.

“I want to make things as easy as possible, even though they don’t get any easier.”

Johnson is coming off a six-shot victory at the St. Jude Classic, and no U.S. Open champion has ever won the week before on the PGA Tour.

But this is far from over. Johnson knows that as well as anyone. So does Rose, who overcame an eight-shot deficit against Johnson in the final round in Shanghai last fall at the HSBC Champions, or even Stenson, who played with Johnson in that final round.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Team Canada Women Amateur Squad’s own Jaclyn Lee moves to sit T19 after carding a 3-under second round at the Meijer LPGA Classic for Simply Give. Though the Calgary, Alta., talent ran into some trouble on the front-nine with bogeys on hole 6 and 9, Lee made a comeback with an eagle on 11 and three birdies, two of which were consecutive.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp climbed 31 spots to sit alongside defending champion Canadian Brooke Henderson at 4-under 68. Anne-Catherine Tanguay of Quebec City (-2), Brittany Marchand of (+1) and Maude-Aimee Leblanc (+2) also hope to make the cut during Saturday’s third round.

So Yeon Ryu birdied all five par-5 holes in a 5-under 67 to take the second-round lead Friday in the Meijer LPGA Classic.

The sixth-ranked South Korean star played her final nine holes _ the front nine at Blythefield Country Club _ in 5-under 31 to top the leaderboard at 13-under 131. She rallied after making three bogeys in a five-hole stretch on her first nine.

“I really like with my putting stroke right now,” Ryu said. “No matter I made it or not, I feel like my stroke is really great and my rhythm’s really great. I really want to keep this tempo and rhythm. And I just need to keep working on some tee shots.”

Sandra Gal and Sakura Yokomine each shot 64 to reach 12 under. Caroline Masson (66) was 11 under, and Lee-Anne Pace (67), Anna Nordqvist (68) and Su Oh (68) followed at 10 under.

Ryu is winless this season after taking the major ANA Inspiration and Walmart NW Arkansas Championship last year. She has five LPGA Tour victories, the first in the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open.

“I would say more motivated to playing well,” Ryu said. “When you’re on the golf course you feel a little bit of everything, like anxious, happiness, sadness, angry, just everything. But the thing is, you know, is not bad to feel everything. Also, is just totally normal to feel anxious at the golf course as well. But hopefully I can just manage all my emotions on the golf course.”

Gal and Yokomine each had eight birdies in bogey-free rounds.

“It’s just validation of a lot of hard work and the hours I’ve put into the last few months,” the German player said. “It’s nice to see when you’re making the birdies, you see your name at the top. It’s fun, you’re in contention for the weekend. It’s great.”

Kelly Shon, tied with Ryu for the first-round lead after a 64, was four shots back at 9 under after a 71. Michelle Wie and Lydia Ko were 8 under, each shooting 67.

“You have to hit in the fairways here,” Wie said. “The rough can be a little penalizing.”

Lexi Thompson, the 2015 winner, had a 70 to get to 6 under.

Ariya Jutanugarn, making her first start since winning the U.S. Women’s Open, had a 70 to join sister Moria Jutanugarn (69) and defending champion Brooke Henderson (70) at 5 under.

“Unfortunately, I’m not playing great golf right now,” Henderson said. “I definitely have a great game plan for this course. It worked really well last year and I just kind of have to get back to it. Just making some dumb mental mistakes.”

Annie Park, the ShopRite LPGA Classic winner last week in New Jersey for her first tour title, missed the cut with rounds of 76 and 69.

The forecast high Saturday was 92, going up to 96 on Sunday.

“I don’t mind the hot weather. I actually hate cold weather,” Ryu said. “We play with a lot of hot weather. Also, it’s not going to be hotter than Thailand or Singapore, so I’m cool with it.”

TOYOTA CITY, Japan — Canada finished the 2018 Toyota Junior World Cup with a tie for third in the girls division on Friday thanks to Team Canada Women’s Development Squad members Celeste Dao, Monet Chun and Ellie Szeryk.

Rookie Celeste Dao led Canada at the event, which took place from June 12-15 at Chukyo Golf Club Ishino Course in Tokyo, Japan. The seventeen-year-old, who won the event’s Bear Mountain Qualifier in April, finished in fifth, four strokes behind the champions Lee Sujeong and Yuka Yasuda, with a total score of 1 under par (70-74-68-71).

Alongside her win at the qualifier, the Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Que., is reminding everyone of her young, bright talent. In addition to her playoff victory at the Mexican Junior Girls Championship, Dao earned a spot in the U.S. Women’s Open after being crowned champion at the U.S Women’s Open Qualifying – Cape Cod National just one month ago.

Korea’s Lee Sujeong and Yuka Yasuda of Japan tied for the Girls Division individual trophy at 10-under. The other two Japanese participants – Yuna Nishimura (-9) and Ayaka Furue (-6) – finished third and fourth – respectively.

Team Japan won the Girls Team Division at the championship – finishing 10 strokes clear of second place Korea (-12) – at 22-under. No other team finished below par. Canada and Sweden tied for third at plus-2 – one stroke ahead of two-time defending champion United States (+3).

“We were very calm today,” Japanese captain Gentaro Hashida said. “We played well all four days and expected to do so. We have a very strong team and are proud to win the championship. The icing on the cake was all three players birdied their final hole.”

Colombia finished in sixth place at 9-over while New Zealand checked in seventh (+17). South Africa (+27) and Italy (+33) closed out the girls’ field.

Dao’s fellow teammates — Monet Chun of Richmond Hill, Ont.,  and Ellie Szeryk of London, Ont. — also paved the way for Canada’s share of third at 11-over and 13-over, respectively.

Denmark (-23) shot a 10-under 203 to come from seven strokes back and win the Boys Division. It is Denmark’s first title in the 26-year history of the event. Third-round leader Spain finished as the runner-up at minus-21 and Thailand (-19) came in third.

“We’ve been really looking forward to this week and knew we had a strong team coming in,” Denmark coach Martin Raal Kold said. “We had a bit of a rough day yesterday but the boys came back today and performed as well as we’d hoped. It was just enough to pull it off.”

Host Japan (-11) claimed the fourth spot while South Africa (-8) and Argentina (-1) also finished in the red.

Canada’s most-recent finish at the event was in 2016 with an 11th place result in the boys division.

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man. — Wesley Hoydalo and Jillian Friyia shot an even-par and 4-over, respectively, to lead their divisions after round one of the Future Links, driven by Acura Prairie Championship at Portage Golf Club on Friday.

Hoydalo posted an even-par 70 to lead in the junior boys division. After back-to-back bogeys on the front-nine, the Selkirk, Man., native stayed afloat thanks to birdies on holes 6, 14 and 16.

5 players are in striking distance of the lead. Bradley Moser of Saskatoon, Sask., is the closest, only one stroke behind the lead at 1-over-par 71. Four players — Steven Duchscher (Saskatoon, Sask.), Gerry Mei (North York, Ont.), Sylvain Ruest (Winnipeg, Man.) and Jakob Chicoyne (Calgary, Alta.) — share a piece of third at 2-over-par 72. With only two shots separating them from first, the competition will be close going into round two.

In the girls division, Jillian Friyia is in the lead at 4-over-par 76. The London, Ont., product had a rough time with three consecutive bogeys on the back-nine but finished strong on the last hole after hitting her third birdie.

Bobbi Uhl of Erickson, Man., is the closest to the lead at 5-over-par 77. Vancouver’s Michelle Liu rounds out the top-three at 6-over-par 78.

The top six finishers in the junior boys’ division will earn exemptions into the 2018 Canadian Junior Boys Championship on July 30-Aug. 2 at Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club in Medicine Hat, Alta. The top six finishers in the junior girls’ division will earn exemptions into the 2018 Canadian Junior Girls Championship on July 31-Aug. 3 at Beach Grove Golf Club in Tsawwassen, B.C.

Round one results can be found here.

The final RBC Canadian Open Regional Qualifier of 2018 will take place Monday, June 18th, at Le Blainvillier in Blainville, Que. 80 golfers will be looking to finish in the top 15% of the field and secure a spot in the  RBC Canadian Open Final Qualifier, which takes place Monday, July 23 at Heron Point Golf Links in Ancaster, Ont.

The low qualifier receives a direct exemption into the RBC Canadian Open if 100 players or more compete at a regional qualifier. If less than 100 people register for a regional qualifier  – as is the case for Monday’s event – the top 15% of the field and ties beyond the low qualifier, advance to Final Qualifier.

33 players have already advanced to the final qualifying event through the Regional Qualification process. At the first Regional Qualifier at Ledgeview Golf Club in Abbotsford, B.C., Matt Matheson secured medallist honours to earn a spot in the final Qualifying event.

At the Ontario Regional Qualifier at Blue Springs Golf Club in Acton, Ont., Nyasha Mauchaza posted a 6-under 66 to claim medallist honours to punch his ticket to his first RBC Canadian Open as more than 100 golfers competed at the event.

The qualifying competitions are open to members in good standing with the PGA of Canada or other PGA affiliates, amateur golfers with a current Handicap Factor not exceeding 2.0, who are members of Golf Canada or in good standing with their respective associations, as well as other golf professionals.

During the 2017 Quebec regional qualifier, Mack Duke of Camden, Maine earned medallist honours to advance to the final qualifying event, alongside fourteen additional golfers.

Notables
Griffin Jones
The seventeen-year-old amateur finished one stroke behind the winner at this event last year, the highest of all returning players. Jones recently won the Investors Group Men’s Amateur Qualifier at The Marshes Golf Club.

Thomas Baik of Buenos Aires, Argentina
The 24-year-old made his 2018 PGA TOUR Latinoamerica debut at the Molino Cañuelas Championship, where he won in a sudden death playoff. In 2017, Baik claimed medalist honors at the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica Qualifying Tournament played at Club Las Praderas de Lujan in Argentina.

Étienne Papineau
Graduate of the Team Canada Amateur Squad who finished T4 at this event last year. The second year West Virginia University golfer is fresh off a win at the Men’s Provincial Match Play Championship that took place from June 5-7. Papineau was the 2015 Amateur Golfer of the Year in Quebec and was twice named the Junior Golfer of the Year.

Derek Gillespie
The 39-year-old Big Break Prince Edward Island winner is currently playing on the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica. He has six career top-10s on the tour, including T9 finishes in 2017 at the Aberto do Brazil tournament and BMW Jamaica Classic. Gillespie advanced to the final qualifier from the 2016 Ontario Qualifier.

Charles-Éric Bélanger
Eighteen-year-old Team Canada Men’s Development Squad alumus who won the 2015 Canadian Junior Boys Championship. Most recently finished T2 at Men’s Provincial Match Play Championship at Royal Bromont Golf Club.

QUICK FACTS
The Regional Qualification process gives players from across Canada and the world a chance to qualify for the RBC Canadian Open, the third-oldest national open golf championship in the world, after the British Open and the U.S. Open.

The low qualifier receives a direct exemption into the RBC Canadian Open if 100 players or more compete at a regional qualifier. If less than 100 people register for a regional qualifier, the top 15% of the field and ties beyond the low qualifier, advance to final Monday qualifying.

In 2013, Jesse Smith became the first Six Nations golfer to participate in the RBC Canadian Open after advancing through the final Qualifier and the Quebec Regional Qualifier. He will look to advance to the final qualifier for the second consecutive year.

ABOUT THE COURSE
Designed by architect Graham Cooke.

Opened on May 18, 1991.

Designated as the Training Center of the Junior Elite of Quebec (CEP) in 2014.

For more information on the tournament, click here.