HOYLAKE, England – The British Open once again lived up to its fickle, unpredictable weather reputation, and doesn’t half the field at Royal Liverpool know it.

Ideal weather greeted morning groups Thursday, but the wind picked up in the afternoon. On Friday, those same afternoon golfers got the worst of gusty morning conditions.

By midday Friday, the wind died down, creating similar conditions for the same lucky golfers who benefited from good scoring opportunities Thursday morning.

That left George Coetzee, who shot 69 Friday, as the only player among the leaders who drew the unlucky Thursday afternoon-Friday morning double.

Those guys shouldn’t despair: Padraig Harrington experienced battering wind and rain during his first round at Royal Birkdale in 2008 and shot 74. Three days later, he won his second British Open.

U.S. Open champion Martin Kaymer shrugged his shoulders when asked Friday about his unlucky draw over the first two rounds – a 1:38 p.m. start with gusting winds Thursday and even worse conditions Friday when he began play at 8:37 a.m.

“I can’t take care of the weather,” Kaymer said. “I just take it the way it is. That is what The Open is about.”

Darren Clarke, the 2011 champion at Royal St. George’s, was on the lucky side of the draw. He agreed with Kaymer.

“You get good sides, and I’ve been at enough Open Championships where I’ve had the bad side of it as well,” Clarke said. “They all even out.”

Adam Scott, among the few players who were on the leaderboard after playing in the afternoon on Thursday, saw more of the same on Friday. Except worse.

“Today was much tougher out there, just the slight direction change and the gusts,” Scott said. “All of a sudden there were holes where I was hitting 6-iron from in the 140s (yards). That’s when you know it’s pretty windy.”

Justin Rose, who played in Scott’s group, saw the change immediately.

He has just finished his morning round and was doing media interviews when he pointed to a television monitor showing a limp flag at No. 2, and said: “When I was playing the second hole, it was howling.”

Both Scott and Rose play on the U.S.-based PGA Tour, where conditions usually become tougher for the afternoon golfers and the luck of the draw usually isn’t an issue.

The forecast for Saturday? Rain and possible thunderstorms. But at least it should be a near-level playing field for the leaders going off late in the round.

Jason Day, who shot rounds of 74 and who was in Kaymer’s group, says “you take what you can get” when it comes to the weather.

“You can come over and play social rounds and get used to the course this way, but it’s nothing like playing a tournament on links golf,” Day said. “It’s very frustrating, but there’s some luck involved. And obviously it can change in a heartbeat.”

The British Open will use a two-tee start for the first time in the tournament’s 154-year history for Saturday’s third round due to predicted heavy rain and thunderstorms.

Tournament official David Rickman said Friday play is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. (0800 GMT) Saturday off the first and 10th tees. That compressed schedule would allow for up to five hours of delays and enable the round to be completed.

The British Open has always used a one-tee start, but Rickman says the decision to use a second for the 70-plus players in groups of three would allow the tournament to be “in a better place on Sunday.”

The forecast calls for deteriorating weather to begin overnight Friday, with an expected break of up to four hours late Saturday morning.

North Vancouver, British Columbia – After a thrilling five-hole play off, Jordan Lu won the 112th British Columbia Amateur Championship presented by Blue Shore Financial at Seymour Golf and Country Club on Friday.

Lu birdied the final hole of regulation play; a 558-yard par 5, to finish even (284) for the Championship tied with Michael Belle, and forced a sudden-death play off to determine the 2014 champion.

The pair both struggled to find the fairway from the 18th tee, but recovered well and exceptional short game kept them alive, shooting par on the first trip down number 18 in the playoff, and birdieing on their second run.

They continued neck-and-neck until Belle bogeyed on number 10 giving Lu the opportunity to putt for par and end the Championship. Lu capitalized on the chance and made a short putt to earn the privilege of hoisting the Bostock Trophy.

“Before he putt I was thinking ‘just make my putt’ because I know he’s not going to miss, but after he missed it I thought, ‘ok, now I really have to get this,'” said Lu.

“In the fourth play off I pulled my putt really hard, which was not good. So I was just trying to focus and make sure I made a good stroke. And I did.”

The 17-year-old entered the Championship with no expectations to win. He opened with a +1 after struggling on the back nine. The following day he shot 73 and at the midway mark of the Championship was 3-over. The Marine Drive Golf Club member recorded a one-under on Thursday that still left him well back of the leader.

“At the start of the day I thought I’m four strokes back I’m just going to focus on what I can do and just hit fairways and greens and hopefully make birdie,” he said.

Lu recorded five birdies on the final day of competition on his way to claiming the title and kept up with several players his senior with college-level experience. His summer season began strong after winning the individual title at the BC School Sports AAA Championship.

“[Winning these titles] makes me feel that my game has gotten a lot better. Last year I came in tied at 22nd in the BC Amateur so I’m just going to do the same thing at the Pacific Coast Amateur. Fairways and greens and hope for the birdie,” stated Lu, who is set to compete in Flagstaff, Arizona at the 48th Pacific Coast Amateur July 22-25.

Belle, 22, played an exceptional four rounds of golf, leading or co-leading for the entirety of the competition but finished two-over-par on the final day, conceding a share of the lead with four bogeys in his final round.

The Vancouver Golf Club member started the Championship off with a bang, recording the first of four holes-in-one during the course of the competition.

Jacob Vanderpas shot two-under for the second day in a row to battle to a third place finish at one-over. The 19-year-old was five-over after two days of play but with a tournament low score tying 69, repeated twice, he fought his way in to the top three. Vanderpas was already three under at the turn on the final day of competition with only a single bogey blemishing his scorecard.

Lu, Belle and Vanderpas will represent British Columbia at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship August 4-7 at Elmhurst Golf and Country Club/ Southwood Golf and Country Club in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Alex Francois and Adam Svensson finished T4 just a single stroke behind Vanderpas at +2. Francois, 16, had his best showing of the Championship with a 2-under-par 69 on the final day of competition. Svensson was -3 at the turn but struggled with four bogeys out.

Earlier this week it was announced that Svensson earned an exemption into Canada’s National Open Championship and will compete next week at Royal Montreal Golf Club along side fellow BC Amateur competitor, Kevin Carrigan, who finished tied at seventh at +5.

North Vancouver, British Columbia – After a thrilling five-hole play off, Jordan Lu won the 112th British Columbia Amateur Championship presented by Blue Shore Financial at Seymour Golf and Country Club on Friday.

Lu birdied the final hole of regulation play; a 558-yard par 5, to finish even (284) for the Championship tied with Michael Belle, and forced a sudden-death play off to determine the 2014 champion.

The pair both struggled to find the fairway from the 18th tee, but recovered well and exceptional short game kept them alive, shooting par on the first trip down number 18 in the playoff, and birdieing on their second run.

They continued neck-and-neck until Belle bogeyed on number 10 giving Lu the opportunity to putt for par and end the Championship. Lu capitalized on the chance and made a short putt to earn the privilege of hoisting the Bostock Trophy.

“Before he putt I was thinking ‘just make my putt’ because I know he’s not going to miss, but after he missed it I thought, ‘ok, now I really have to get this,'” said Lu.

“In the fourth play off I pulled my putt really hard, which was not good. So I was just trying to focus and make sure I made a good stroke. And I did.”

The 17-year-old entered the Championship with no expectations to win. He opened with a +1 after struggling on the back nine. The following day he shot 73 and at the midway mark of the Championship was 3-over. The Marine Drive Golf Club member recorded a one-under on Thursday that still left him well back of the leader.

“At the start of the day I thought I’m four strokes back I’m just going to focus on what I can do and just hit fairways and greens and hopefully make birdie,” he said.

Lu recorded five birdies on the final day of competition on his way to claiming the title and kept up with several players his senior with college-level experience. His summer season began strong after winning the individual title at the BC School Sports AAA Championship.

“[Winning these titles] makes me feel that my game has gotten a lot better. Last year I came in tied at 22nd in the BC Amateur so I’m just going to do the same thing at the Pacific Coast Amateur. Fairways and greens and hope for the birdie,” stated Lu, who is set to compete in Flagstaff, Arizona at the 48th Pacific Coast Amateur July 22-25.

Belle, 22, played an exceptional four rounds of golf, leading or co-leading for the entirety of the competition but finished two-over-par on the final day, conceding a share of the lead with four bogeys in his final round.

The Vancouver Golf Club member started the Championship off with a bang, recording the first of four holes-in-one during the course of the competition.

Jacob Vanderpas shot two-under for the second day in a row to battle to a third place finish at one-over. The 19-year-old was five-over after two days of play but with a tournament low score tying 69, repeated twice, he fought his way in to the top three. Vanderpas was already three under at the turn on the final day of competition with only a single bogey blemishing his scorecard.

Lu, Belle and Vanderpas will represent British Columbia at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship August 4-7 at Elmhurst Golf and Country Club/ Southwood Golf and Country Club in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Alex Francois and Adam Svensson finished T4 just a single stroke behind Vanderpas at +2. Francois, 16, had his best showing of the Championship with a 2-under-par 69 on the final day of competition. Svensson was -3 at the turn but struggled with four bogeys out.

Earlier this week it was announced that Svensson earned an exemption into Canada’s National Open Championship and will compete next week at Royal Montreal Golf Club along side fellow BC Amateur competitor, Kevin Carrigan, who finished tied at seventh at +5.

The Claret Jug has been presented to every Open Championship victor since 1873. First awarded to Tom Kidd, the Claret Jug has been raised by some of golf’s greatest champions. Here’s what they’ve put in in…

Top 10: Best players never to win the Open Championship

HOYLAKE, England – Phil Mickelson broke par in a major for the first time since he won last year’s British Open. It was just what he needed Friday at Royal Liverpool to stay in the hunt at this one.

Typical of Mickelson, it wasn’t easy.

He missed a 4-foot birdie putt after one of his best shots of the day, and was so irritated by that it caused him to bogey the next hole. He lost his tee shot on the par-5 10th hole, had to play another tee shot but still made par by getting up-and-down from about 215 yards away with a 2-iron.

A 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole gave Mickelson a 2-under 70, bringing him back to par for the championship.

“Fortunately, I was able to fight hard and get it back on the back nine because I was 1-over par and then hit one out of bounds, essentially,” Mickelson said. “So to get it back to even is good. And, hopefully, the weather is supposed to come in tomorrow. It will be tough for all of us.”

It looked plenty tough for him halfway through the second round.

Mickelson, who opened with a 74, appeared to be hitting his stride after a wild tee shot on No. 4 that flew over the gallery, so far right that it landed in grass that had been tamped down. He hit that to 4 inches for birdie, made eagle on the par-5 fifth hole and looked as if he would get under par when he hit a 5-iron on No. 7, the toughest at Hoylake, to 4 feet.

But he missed the birdie putt and walked quietly to the next tee, shaking his head. Mickelson usually puts blunders behind him quickly, but not this time. And it cost him. Playing aggressively to a pin tucked by a slope on the right side of the green, he went long and into the first cut. A flop shop wasn’t hit hard enough and rolled back off the green. He had to make a 4-footer to escape with bogey.

“I wasn’t patient,” he said. “I tried to get that shot a little close. And what happened is I drew that 8-iron with the wind, and when it’s going downwind, it just doesn’t stop. I should have hit it 30 feet. I thought, `I’m going to try to get one close.’ Hit it over the green, hit a poor chip and made bogey.”

Nothing saved his round quite like the 10th, however.

He never found his tee shot in the gorse and thick bushes and had to play his provisional, meaning he was playing his fourth shot from 215 yards away. He drilled a 2-iron onto the green and holed the short par putt.

Mickelson made it sound routine: “Lost ball, played the provisional in the fairway, hit a 2-iron to 6 feet and made it for par.”

Lefty didn’t drop a shot the rest of the way and closed with a birdie. Whether that’s enough depended on how the leaders fared in the afternoon and how much nasty weather arrives Saturday.

He was four shots out of the lead going into the weekend last year at Muirfield, and still five behind going into the final day. Mickelson closed with a 66, one of the great closing rounds in major championship history. He didn’t break par in a major over his next 11 rounds until Friday.

He has said he has been close at various times this year, though his last victory was at Muirfield.

Mickelson said he made a few adjustments on the back nine, such as extending his swing more toward the target, though his putting has been inconsistent.

“I’m striking it so good,” Mickelson said. “And if I putt the way I putted the last nine holes for the weekend, I’m going to have a good chance.”

That’s more than he can say for the two major champions in his pairing.

Two-time Open champion Ernie Els never recovered from that triple bogey on the opening hole that led to a 79. He shot 73 and will miss the cut at 8-over 152. Masters champion Bubba Watson bogeyed the last hole for a 72. He was at 4-over 148 and will also not play the weekend.

It’s as easy as one, two, three for the Tam Family when it comes to playing golf at King’s Forest Golf Club in Hamilton.

Forty years ago in 1974, John Tam signed up as one of the club’s very first members, when he switched his membership to the City of Hamilton’s newest municipal golf course, after being a member at its sister club since 1966.

At the time, the steelworker, who would go on to retire from Stelco in 1997, never thought his passion for the game would become a family affair, but today he looks back with only fond memories as he tees off with his son Paul and his grandson Michael.

“When I was really young my dad would bring me out and I would walk a few holes with him and just hit the ball,” says Paul, who is a Grade 7-8 teacher at Our Lady of Peace Catholic Elementary School in Stoney Creek. “Then, when I was in Grade 7 in 1983, he bought me a junior membership and I have been here since then.”

As it turns out, Paul has two children, Isabel, who is 11-years-old and plays rep soccer with dad as coach, and Michael, 14, who is walking in his grandfather’s and father’s footsteps. “When Michael was in Grade 7 I decided it was time to buy him a junior membership at King’s Forest and since that time the three of us have had a great time golfing together.”

Their summer golf routine is pretty amazing. They play 18 holes together three times a week and Grandpa John is usually out there with friends on the other weekdays. Michael also plays a few holes with his grandfather in the evenings. The Grade 10 student at Cardinal Newman CSS in Stoney Creek caddies twice a week at Hamilton Golf and Country Club, where he makes $32 for looping 18 holes plus tips.

The trio are quite funny and when asked what they think each other’s Golf Canada handicap factor might be. They all have a different number in mind for each other. To avoid a family scrap, we’ll say it’s in the teens for each of them, but the question of who is the best golfer in the group will surely be debated for years. They are definitely competitive. John says Michael is a “Wildman”, Paul says Michael is “erratic”, Michael says playing with dad and grandpa is “painful.” They all laugh. “I’m really lucky to spend this time with them. A lot of other juniors at the club aren’t out here with their parents, let alone grandparents,” Michael says. Paul says golf has allowed the trio to be best friends. John, who is 74 years-old, says it’s a “Godsend.” They walk all of the time – no carts for these boys!

John hasn’t added up the number of rounds he’s played at King’s Forest, but at an average of 100-plus rounds a year for 40 years, there were some years he had to buy two memberships because he was playing so much, John has played more golf at King’s Forest than any other person on his earth.

Not surprisingly, John has also collected four aces at King’s Forest, which he calls his second home, over the years with one on No. 5, two on No. 14 and once on No. 17. At home, his wife Marisa doesn’t mind when John leaves the house at 6 am to play golf. She continues to welcome him back later in the day with a smile, unless he’s gone to play racquet ball at the YMCA, but that is another story for another day.

The scenic layout at King’s Forest was designed by former parks foreman Matt Broman, who was 76-years-old at the time, with the guidance of Rod Goodes, the Head Professional at Chedoke Civic Golf Club from 1965 to 1990. The design was monumental for its day. It measured just over 7,000 yards, par-72 from the tips over a rolling 250-acre landscape that featured a variety of terrific elevated tee shots, several challenging doglegs and six holes crossing the naturalized Red Hill Creek. It’s interesting to note that the two courses and 36-holes at Chedoke Civic GC are laid out on just over 220 acres!

“It’s a beautiful spot, but it’s getting harder, or maybe it’s just my age,” John says. “It was pretty wide open when I first came here 40 years ago and now the trees have grown up just like my son and his son – it’s a great place to call home.

Junior golf appears to be alive and well in Alberta.

After Jaclyn Lee won both the Sun Life Financial Ladies Amateur and the Alberta Junior Girls Championships in consecutive weeks, Tyler Saunders matched the feat today with a convincing win at the Sun Life Financial Men’s Amateur Championship at Desert Blume, to follow up his 3 shot win at the Alberta Junior Boys Championship a week ago.

Saunders, with rounds of 70, 69, 65 and 67 produced a 9-shot victory. The nearest competitor was Jack Wood, who came in 8-shots back of the victor in what was one of the more lopsided victories at the championship in recent years.

Taking advantage of his length, Saunders eagled the par 5 7th hole for the 2nd consecutive day, making the turn in 3 under par on the day, before coming in with a 33 back nine to close out a round of 67.

“I had a really good start, everything was really solid,” said the newly crowned champion. “The guys I was playing with helped me feel comfortable out there,” Saunders said. “My putting was the best part of my game this week. The guys were getting sick of how many putts I was making on the back nine. I just had a good handle on the greens all week.”

Saunders will be off to the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship at Elmhurst Golf & Country Club and Southwood Golf & Country Club in Winnipeg from August 4-7 as a representative of Alberta’s Willingdon Cup team.  Wood will join Saunders on that team alongside AJ Armstrong, who defeated Brett Hogan and Evan Holmes in a playoff for the final team position.

Jordan Irwin finished the championship as the low 25 years or older competitor earning the last position on the Alberta Mid-Amateur Interprovincial Team. Irwin will join teammates Harry Aime and Kevin Temple at the Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship at the Barrie country Club in Barrie Ontario September 16-19.

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GARSON, Ont. — Entering the final day of the Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) 2014 Investors Group Junior Boys’ Championship at Timberwolf Golf Club, Waterloo’s Matt LeMay was three shots and four spots back of the lead. However, a spectacular round of five-under (67) catapulted the 18-year-old Whistle Bear Golf Club member to the title.

The final round began with Carter Simon and Charles Corner in a tie for the lead at even par. But, LeMay would have a bogey-free round to help him make up ground. LeMay birdied the first hole and then pared the rest of the front nine. He began the back with a birdie on No. 10, followed by an eagle on 11. LeMay sealed the win with a birdie on 18 to claim the championship.

After the victory, LeMay spoke about how he felt like he was in the zone for the final round.

“I felt good, I hit it well but could have hit it better, there is always that,” he said. “You can always hit it better, but I just really felt in control. The course seemed easy to me today.

“It feels good to win, I haven’t won in a while especially a GAO event. The course (Timberwolf) got me the first day, as I was six-over, since then I fought back. Heading into the day I knew I could come back, I have done it in other tournaments so there was no other thought in my head. Now to have my name on the trophy with so many other great names, is an amazing feeling.”

As for Corner, he began the day with birdies on the first two holes. However, his round included five bogeys and he would finish at two-over  after a 74. His score still was good enough to hang on for second place at two-over for the tournament.

Following Corner was a three-way tie for third place. Third round co-leader Simon fell behind early going two-over on the front nine. On the back, he would lose another stroke and finished the day three-overm and three-over for the tournament.

The low round of the day, next to LeMay’s, went to Josh Montgomery. Montgomery began the day with an eagle and despite a trio of bogeys he still managed to card a three-under 69 to earn a share of third place at three-over for the tournament.

Spencer Dobbs was in contention throughout the week. His final round finished at one-over (73) and he too earned a bronze medal at three-over.

The trio that tied for third were forced into a playoff to see who would be the final representative for Team Ontario for the Inter-Provincial competition at the Canadian Junior Boys’ Championship, July 29 – Aug.1 at Legends on the Niagara’s Battlefield Course. After the playoff, Dobbs was the last man standing and he will join LeMay and Corner as the representatives.

For more information on pairings and the leaderboard, click here.

THUNDER BAY, Ont. – Scottsdale, Arizona’s Brandon Harkins shot an 8-under 64 at Whitewater Golf Club on Thursday, tying the course record to take the first round lead at the inaugural Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel.

Harkins, currently in his fourth season on PGA Tour Canada, led by one shot over last week’s The Players Cup champion and Order of Merit No. 2 Tim Madigan of Rio Rancho, New Mexico and Stockton, California’s Joshua Stone.

“It was a pretty steady round. Not a lot went wrong,” said Harkins, who has three top-10 finishes in his PGA Tour Canada career. “It wasn’t flashy. I just hit a lot of greens and didn’t really miss anything inside of 10 feet. I just kind of plodded my way around and didn’t get ahead of myself, which is always good. It’s kind of cliché, but that’s what I did.”

The 28-year old made five birdies in a seven hole stretch on his opening nine and said that a solid start on the demanding 10^th, 11^th and 12^th holes at Whitewater, where he started par-par-birdie, set him up for a solid round Thursday morning.

“I just kind of got a little momentum going there and made a few putts, and it just always seems like once you get a few to go, a few more happen, and that’s how it went,” said Harkins, whose best finish on PGA Tour Canada is a solo second performance last year at The Great Waterway Classic, where he shot a final round 62.

Madigan, a shot behind Harkins, has been on a tear of late on PGA Tour Canada with top three finishes in three of his last four starts, including his breakthrough win last week in Winnipeg. He kept the momentum going Thursday with a 65, the 20^th time he has broken par in 26 rounds so far on PGA Tour Canada.

“The course was there for the taking, but you really had to strike it well today and I was fortunate enough to do that,” said Madigan, adding that he tried not to approach this week any differently following his win last week. “It’s just another day at the office. I just tried to go out and shoot the lowest score that I could and luckily it was 65, so I’m just having fun.”

The 24-year old Stone carded eight birdies and just one bogey to post the best round of his rookie season on PGA Tour Canada.

“I stayed really patient and made a lot of putts,” said Stone. “I got off to a great start on my front nine, again just telling myself to stay patient. I played real solid and just got a few putts to fall.”

Sean Shahi of Laguna Niguel, California and Jeffrey Corr of Apopka, Florida were one shot behind Madigan and Stone with a pair of 6-under 66s, while open qualifier Ryan Terdik of Brantford, Ont. was low Canadian at 5-under, tied with five others.

It would be permissible for Joel Dahmen and Tim Madigan to get a bit ahead of themselves as they prepare to make their first PGA Tour starts at the RBC Canadian Open next week. The pair have both secured spots in the top three on the Order of Merit through this week and will be exempted into the national open, but both insisted their focus is on this week in Thunder Bay.

“It does no good for me to be thinking about the RBC Canadian Open, so all of my effort is just focused on playing a good tournament here,” said Madigan, the current Order of Merit No. 2. “I’m not even worried about next week because this is the tournament I’m playing in right now.”

Dahmen admitted that his thoughts have wandered towards Montreal, but that he has a renewed focus on maintaining his spot atop the Order of Merit thanks to Madigan’s strong play of late. After his win at the Syncrude Boreal Open presented by AECON, Dahmen was $28,815 ahead of second place, but now leads by just $5,418.

“You try not to treat it as a warm up, but in your mind you’re thinking about it being your first PGA Tour event. With Tim only a few grand behind me though, every shot counts out here, so I’m doing my best to put in a good week here,” said Dahmen.

Golf Canada National Amateur Team member Chris Hemmerich, who won the Ontario Amateur Championship last week, opened with a 4-under 66.

NEWTON, Kan. – National Amateur Team member Garrett Rank has fallen in the round of 16 at the U.S. Amateur Public Links on Thursday, losing his match 3 & 2.

Rank made it interesting down the stretch, pulling to within 1 thru 13 holes, but couldn’t hang on as Bryon Meth of San Diego, Calif. proved to be too much for the 26-year-old.

Rank is playing strong golf of late – he is coming off a second place finish at the prestigious Players Amateur tournament just a week earlier. That finish catapulted the Elmira, Ont. native into the World Amateur Golf Ranking’s (WAGR) top 100, where he currently sits at No. 98. He will look for that number to drop even more after his performance this week in Kansas.

This finish marks the second consecutive strong showing for Rank at the U.S. Amateur Public Links – he earned medalist honours at last year’s event.

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