RICHMOND, British Columbia –  Taylor Kim of Surrey, B.C. finished at 10-under par to win the 111th British Columbia Golf Women’s Amateur at Kamloops Golf and Country Club on Friday.

Kim shot 2-under 71 Friday to finish out a week of exceptional play, winning her first title at a British Columbia Golf Championship. The Team Canada member was already 2-under at the turn and only bogeyed once on number 15 that proved to be just a slight speed bump on the way to the title.

“I thought simple. Just hit the fairways and hit the green and two putt or if I get close just one putt it,” she said. “I came into trouble on number 15 a par-3 and bogeyed it but I knew I was still leading then I had a birdie opportunity on number 18 but I thought ‘just make par, don’t do anything stupid’ and it worked out.”

After recording the lowest score of the tournament during the opening-round of the championship, a 6-under 67, Kim struggled slightly the following round with tough wind conditions. She proved her adaptability the following round when she shot 70 (-3) to reclaim the lead.

“There was no wind today, it was a perfect and I knew it was going to be my day it felt just like the first day,” said the 19-year-old.

“I was a little nervous going into the round because it was my first opportunity to win this event and I’m just really excited to win” she explained. “I felt like I played really great, I used the advantage of the par-5’s again and it worked out.”

A Ram Choi finished two-strokes back of Kim, finishing second at 8-under. Choi briefly co-led at the midway mark of the tournament after finishing 3-under in back-to-back rounds. Choi shot 3-under for the final round to finish at 8-under.

Alisha Lau played an incredible four rounds of golf to finish third at 6-under. The 14-year-old from Richmond, B.C.’s 3-under-par 70 on Friday was good enough to earn her a top three finish and the final spot on Team British Columbia which will represent the province at the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship July 22-25 at Craigowan Golf & Country Club in Woodstock, Ont.

The 2014 B.C. Junior Girl’s Champion, Naomi Ko, finished fourth at a 4-under 288. She was followed by Michelle Kim of Surrey, B.C. and Christina Proteau of Port Alberni at 289. Proteau won the Mid-Amateur title.

Click here for full results.

SILVIS, Ill. – Zach Johnson and William McGirt were at 12-under-par 130 and tied for the lead at the halfway point of the John Deere Classic.

They were a stroke ahead of Steven Bowditch, Johnson Wagner and Brian Harman.

Three-time Deere winner Steve Stricker shot a 65 Friday for a 133 total to vault into contention at the par-71 TPC Deere Run, and was tied for sixth with Rory Sabbatini, Ryan Moore and Todd Hamilton.

Johnson, the Deere winner in 2012, shot a 4-under 67 in the afternoon despite two bogeys in his last four holes. That dropped him into a tie with McGirt.

McGirt, 35, is looking for his first PGA Tour victory.

He added a 66 to his opening 64, but like Johnson, he finished with a bogey. McGirt’s best finish this year is a tie for sixth in the Northern Trust Open at Riviera. Since then, he’s had one top 10 and has missed the cut in seven of 14 tournaments.

McGirt is winless on the PGA Tour in 111 starts, most of them in the last four years. His best finishes are a pair of ties for second in the Canadian Open, in 2012 and 2013.

Asked how he’d gotten to 12 under and the lead on Friday, he said, “I couldn’t tell you what happened.”

Four birdies in a row and seven in a stretch of nine holes happened.

One thing McGirt hasn’t been doing well recently is sinking putts, but he’s needed only 24 in each of the first two rounds.

“For some reason I’m able to see the line this week,” McGirt said. “I feel I’ve putted better the last few weeks and haven’t holed anything.”

Bowditch opened his round with an eagle 3 on the 10th hole en route to a 67, while Wagner made it to 12 under before a bogey on his last hole.

Stricker matched McGirt’s 5-under 30 on Deere Run’s front nine to finish his round.

Hamilton, who grew up in the area, used a 69 to get to 133, while Moore shot 67 and Sabbatini shot 70.

Jerry Kelly and Charles Howell III were among those at 8 under. Howell, who shot 68, aced the uphill 132-yard third hole.

Defending champion Jordan Spieth was five strokes back of the leaders through 36 holes thanks to a 64 for 7-under 135. He was five back after two rounds last year.

Johnson’s victory in 2012 isn’t the only good finish at the Deere for the native of nearby Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He lost in a playoff last year, tied for second in 2009, and tied for third in 2011. He also sits on the tournament’s board of directors.

There’s a comfort level for Johnson that didn’t exist previously, when he missed the cut three times in seven years and didn’t finish better than 20th.

“I’ve grasped and embraced the fact I’m going to have a lot of friends outside the ropes, and it’s terrific,” Johnson said. “They don’t care if I shoot 62 or 82. They’re still going to be on my side.

“Trying to play for them may have been part of the issue years ago, but not anymore.”

Stricker, 109 under par in 22 rounds since 2009 at Deere Run, got within sight of the leaders with his 30 on the course’s front nine to finish his round.

“At least I kept pace,” Stricker said. “This was an important day for me. I didn’t go out with a specific number in mind, but I knew I needed something good.”

Stricker won three straight at Deere Run starting in 2009, and has tied for fifth and 10th place, respectively, the last two years.

“I know how to play it, I guess,” Stricker said. “There’s a lot of short iron shots, which plays into my game, and I seem to putt the ball really well, too.”

The cut fell at 2-under-par 140, sending 77 players home. Former world No. 1 David Duval withdrew after an opening 81.

Both Canadians in the field were able to survive that cut.

Brad Fritsch leads the Canuck charge. He carded a second round 68 to climb 28 spots into a tie for 35th at 4-under 138.

David Hearn also made his way up the leaderboard Friday. He fired a 69 to sit at 2-under 140, on the cut line, and is tied for 57th.

EDMOND, Okla. – Colin Montgomerie remains in front after the second day of action at the U.S. Senior Open.

The Scotsman had an even-par 71 on Friday and is 6 under for the tournament, good for a one-stroke lead over Scott Dunlap.

A few golfers remained on the course as of 8 p.m. EDT, but the leaders had finished.

Dunlap had a 68 in the second round. He birdied Nos. 2, 5 and 7 on his way to a 3-under 32 on the front nine.

Bernhard Langer took sole possession of the lead with a birdie on 14, but netted bogeys on 15, 16 and 18 to finish tied for third at 4 under. He is tied with Gene Sauers, who shot 69 on both the first two days.

Canada’s Rod Spittle shot a 78 Friday and dropped into a tie for 55th at 7-over 149. Spittle was event after the opening-round and despite the lackluster second round he’ll stick around for weekend action after making the cut on the number.

GEORGETOWN, Ont. — It was a spectacular final round for Kitchener, Ont.’s Chris Hemmerich at the Investors Group Ontario Men’s Amateur Championship being contested at the Club at North Halton. Hemmerich entered the day 5-under, two-shots behind leaders and Team Canada teammates Corey Conners of Listowell, Ont. and Richmond Hill, Ont.’s Taylor Pendrith. However, Hemmerich shot an 8-under 63 in the final round and held on for a one-shot win over both Conners and Pendrith.

Hemmerich, 21, lit up the course from the beginning of the final round. He opened the day with birdies on the first two holes to grab a share of the lead. After birdies on holes 5, 7 and 9, Hemmerich sat 5-under for the day when he made the turn. He didn’t let up on the back nine as he drained birdies on Nos. 10, 11 and 13 to drop to 13-under for the tournament. From there he parred the final five holes to enter the clubhouse with the lead, at a tournament total of 271 (-8).

“This really feels awesome,” said Hemmerich after the round. “I had a great support staff with me here this week, from the National Team staff to family and friends, who all came out to watch. It really couldn’t have been drawn up any better.”

One of the things Hemmerich was able to do well during his final round was rebound from sub-par shots. He talked about how he approached those situations.

“In years past I have hit a lot of very bad shots, so I know they are going to happen and when they do you just need to laugh about it,” he explained. “That is really how I approach golf.”

Hemmerich gave full credit to the other members of Team Canada who will join him in representing the province at the inter-provincial event at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship being held August 4-7 at Elmhurst Golf & Country Club and Southwood Golf & Country Club in Winnipeg.

“Every tournament we have entered as a team, at least one of us has been up near the top of the leaderboard,” he added. “It is kind of weird when you are 7-under for the day and still not leading. That just shows how good those boys are.”

For full scoring and other information, click here.

BRAMPTON, Ont. — There is only one way to describe Smith Falls, Ont. resident Brooke Henderson’s performance at the Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) Investors Group Women’s Amateur Championship at the Brampton Golf Club – clutch. The 16-year-old went wire-to-wire leading thru all four rounds to capture the 2014 title with a combined score of 12-under (272).

Henderson, a Team Canada member, came into the final round with a two-shot lead over fellow Team Canada member, Bath, Ont.’s Augusta James and seven ahead of a third Team Canada representative, Orangeville, Ont.’s Brittany Marchand.

The day began with a birdie for the 21-year-old James on the first hole and a bogey for Henderson on the third. That brought the two back to a share of the lead at 7-under. However, that would be the sole blemish on Henderson’s day. She completed the front nine with birdies on holes 4, 7 and 9. She then hit back-to-back birdies on 13 and 14 to finish the round at four-under (67).

As for James, she hit another birdie on the 5th hole, but a bogey on 6 brought her back to 7-under. She began the back nine with a birdie and a bogey, on 10 and 11, before closing out her round with birdies on 14 and 17. She finished the day three-under (68) and the tournament at 9-under.

Marchand, 22, looked to jump into the race for the title with a 3-under front nine. She would bogey 12, but added birdies on 13 and 15 to finish the day four-under (67) and six-under for the tournament.

After the round, Henderson spoke about what it meant to win the championship.

“It was such a great event,” she said Friday. “I had a good opening round and was able to finish it off today.  Coming into the tournament, I wanted to get my name on that trophy. There are so many great names on it and I am so happy I was able to do it.”

The three Team Canada members spent most of the week playing together, Henderson talked about how that impacted her game.

“I played with Britt (Marchand) right from the get go and then with Gus (James) for the last two rounds,” she added. “I had a couple of middle rounds that weren’t that great but playing with them was a lot of fun. They are a couple of great players. With them knowing how to win and being on the national team with them, I knew I needed to have four solid rounds to finish it off.”

The win is just the latest in a series of strong finishes for Henderson, but is sure to help keep her momentum going.

“I’ve been on a bit of a roll as of late with winning the Porter Cup, then I finished tenth at the U.S. Open, then won the Canadian Women’s Tour event in Niagara Falls and now the Ontario Amateur,” she said with a smile. “It really has been a great last couple of weeks and I have enjoyed it.”

With their top three finishes, the trio of Henderson, James and Marchand will go on to represent Ontario in the inter-provincial competition at the Canadian Women’s Amateur, July 22-25 at Craigowan Golf & Country Club in Woodstock.

For full results from the 2014 Investors Group Ontario Women’s Amateur Championship, click here.

ABERDEEN, Scotland – Rory McIlroy surrendered the lead at the Scottish Open with his latest second-round meltdown on Friday, leaving three players tied for first place on a day when brutal winds played havoc with the field.

Kristoffer Broberg of Sweden, Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez and Marc Warren of Scotland were atop the leaderboard on 6 under, with just 17 of 150 players shooting below 70 on the par-71 Royal Aberdeen links course.

McIlroy shot a course-record 64 in the first round but followed it up with a 78, continuing a worrying trend this season that has seen the former world No. 1 fail to build on strong starts.

“Having to talk about it, it’s always being brought up, it’s sort of in your mind,” a frustrated McIlroy said.

Justin Rose shrugged off the effects of hayfever to sign for a 68 and was alone in fourth place, a shot behind the trio of leaders.

Defending champion Phil Mickelson was among the afternoon starters who had to deal with a punishing breeze, especially on the back nine. A 73, which left him at 1 under, was something of an achievement but left him “mentally drained” just a week before the defense of his British Open title.

“I’m a little concerned that it’s taking up a little bit more energy than I’d like ahead of next week,” Mickelson said. “But it’s also a good opportunity to focus on the more difficult shots that we’ll have next week. So it kind of goes both ways.”

Englishmen Lee Westwood (73 for 3 over) and Ian Poulter (74 for 5 over) were the high-profile names to miss the cut.

McIlroy’s brilliant first round suggested the Northern Irishman had turned the corner in his bid to conquer the links but he looked a disgruntled, beaten man after he came off the 18th green.

Over the same seven-hole stretch (Nos. 8-14) where he picked up six shots on Thursday, McIlroy dropped six shots – including a double-bogey 7 at the 12th.

“It was a grind out there,” McIlroy said, “but at the end of the day, it’s a great way to prepare for next week, if nothing else.”

Gonzalez headed out in the next-to-last group and led by two shots on 8 under at the turn. He held himself together through the tough back nine until the last hole, when he made a double-bogey 6 after being forced to take a penalty shot for sending his drive into a gorse bush.

A 71 dropped Gonzalez back into a tie with Broberg (71) and Warren (69), who is leading the Scottish charge and looking to make amends for blowing a three-shot lead with four to play at the Scottish Open in 2012.

“What happened two years ago was tough to take at the time but hopefully it stands me in good stead,” Warren said.

“It would be a romantic tale.”

After admitting to needing an “adjustment period” to fully digest winning his first major at the U.S. Open at Merion in 2013, Rose returned to the winner’s circle after more than a year at the Quicken Loans National in June.

That has given him some self-belief heading into the British Open – and so will a solid start in northern Scotland, despite struggling with hayfever for the last 12 days.

Rose rolled in three birdies on the benign front nine and held on grimly coming back in.

“I came off a victory (on the U.S. PGA Tour) and didn’t do much practice for whatever reason last week, so I came here and felt absolutely horrendous,” Rose said. “The last couple of days I have been trying to find my feel again.

“I am beginning to click back into gear again and see some good shots.”

Paul Waring of England shot a 66 for the lowest score of the day.

SOUTHPORT, England – Mo Martin had a plan for Royal Birkdale, and it’s working better than she imagined at the Ricoh Women’s British Open.

Martin took two putts from short of the green on the par-5 18th hole Friday for her 10th birdie in two rounds, and her second straight 3-under 69. That gave the American a three-shot lead over Beatriz Recari of Spain and former U.S. Women’s Open champion So Yeon Ryu going into the weekend.

“It’s always nice when your plan pans out,” Martin said. “So it’s fun to be here.”

For Michelle Wie, it was fun while it lasted

Coming off her first major in the U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst No. 2, Wie kept putting herself in tough spots and couldn’t convert enough pars. She followed her highest score of the year (75) with one that was even worse, a 78 to miss the cut by three shots.

Wie was among the favourites. It was easy to overlook the 31-year-old Martin, who has never won an LPGA Tour event and is playing links golf for only the third time.

She is 5-foot-2 and among the shortest hitters in women’s golf. That figured into her strategy at Royal Birkdale, which is littered with pot bunkers and is framed by dunes covered in thick grass.

“Every hole you have something to think about. Every single shot you have something to think about,” Martin said. “But there’s fairway there, and there’s green there, and that’s what I’m focusing on. … My caddie and I just figured out where the widest parts of the fairway were, where I would have the best approaches into the greens.”

She made it sound so simple, even as Royal Birkdale has been plenty tough in pristine weather for these parts _ a steady wind, but not as strong as it could be.

Martin was at 6-under 138, one of only two players to break par in both rounds.

Ryu was the other, overcoming a double bogey on her second hole by not dropping a shot the rest of the way. She shot 70 and was at 3-under 141. Recari, who arrived at Birkdale with a sore wrist that she attributed to no one helping her carry her luggage in the airport, birdied the last three holes for a 67.

Ahn Sun-Ju also had six birdies in a round of 67 that left her one shot behind at 2-under 142, along with Julieta Granada (70). Only nine players were under par when the cut was made at 6-over 150.

The accuracy of Martin has been critical, for it doesn’t take much to get out of position at Royal Birkdale, and escaping is never easy.

Karrie Webb, the only woman to win five of the LPGA’s majors, began her back nine with a triple bogey and picked up a bogey on the par-5 17th for a 79 to miss the cut. Catriona Matthew, a former Women’s British Open champion, had a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 for scores on her card. She finished with a tap-in eagle for an 83.

Ayako Uehara, the first-round leader with a 68, shot a 44 on the back nine for a 79 and fell nine shots behind. And then there was Lexi Thompson, the Kraft Nabisco winner, who began her round by hitting two shots out of bounds and making a 10. Thompson fought back for a 77.

The second round offered a few amazing shots, none that tops the one by Vikki Laing of Scotland. She holed out with a 5-wood from 240 yards for a double eagle on the par-5 17th.

Wie was on the cut line until her tee shot on the 16th went right into a blackberry bush. She was inches away from asking for a free drop from a plaque in the ground, but instead had to take a penalty drop and made double bogey. She was too disgusted to read the plaque _ it was there in honour of Arnold Palmer, who in 1961 slashed a 6-iron out of the bush and onto the green on his way to his first British Open title.

“That didn’t happen for me,” Wie said with a smile.

Through it all, mighty Mo just motored along without much fanfare. The UCLA grad played bogey-free on the front nine with two birdies. And when she got in trouble with back-to-back bogeys, she chalked that up to a good plan with poor execution. And then it was back to work.

She hit a soft wedge from 71 yards to tap-in range for birdie on the par-5 15th, and then added her third birdie on a par 5 at the last hole.

Martin has won three times on the secondary Futures Tour. She had a plan for those courses, too. The real test comes this weekend, with a major title at stake and experienced players behind her.

One of them is Ryu, who has played enough big events to know that bad things can happen to everyone. For Ryu, it was a double bogey on the second hole.

“Links golf is always hard to predict,” Ryu said. “Even when I hit the great shots, still can finish at the worst place. And when I hit the bad shots, still can finish close to the pin. So it’s really important, whatever the result, we need to accept it and just keep working. Today I made a double bogey on the second hole, but I knew it was just unlucky. I just accepted it and then think about next holes, and it helped a lot.”

Canada’s Alena Sharp made a timely birdie on hole No. 17 today to get to 6-over for the championship and make the cut on the number.

PITT MEADOWS, B.C. – Keaton Gudz of won the British Columbia Golf Junior Boys’ Championship presented by Canadian Direct Insurance on Friday with a five-under-par 283 after four rounds of fierce competition.

It came down to the final hole. Tied with Trevor Yu of Vancouver at 4-under with one hole left to play, it looked like a playoff may be imminent, but the 15-year-old from Victoria, B.C. showed incredible composure hitting the clutch birdie putt to claim the title.

This year is the first year that Gudz participated in the Junior Boys’ Championship. He finished tied for 10th in the 2013 British Columbia Golf Bantam Boys’ Championship and tied for 34th in the 2013 Juvenile Boys’ Championship.

“I improved a lot over the winter and had some good scores in the start of this year,” he said. “I was looking good coming into this tournament and I just played really well.”

Gudz entered the final day of competition after an incredible five-under-par 67 took him to just a single stroke back of Yu and Chris Crisologo of Richmond, B.C., who were tied for the lead. His fantastic performance carried on into the final round, starting with a first-hole birdie. He briefly ran into some trouble bogeying the 435-yard par-4 number 16, but for the fourth day in a row, capped off his round with a birdie on the final hole.

“I wasn’t really expecting anything,” said Gudz. “I just stayed loose and played as good as I can I guess, I was really happy.”
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Yu finished tied at second with Curtis Chan. The 17-year-old playing out of Marine Drive Golf Club never dropped lower than second place and played consistently all week shooting 69-71-72-72. He entered the Championship fresh off of a win at the CN Future Link Western Championship last week.

Chan played a remarkable final round, finishing the day 7-under par. He bettered his third round score by 10 strokes to find himself in the top three. Chan will not represent BC at the Canadian Junior Boy’s Championship as he is already committed to the Boys’ Junior America’s Cup which conflicts with nationals July 29- August 1.

Graham DeLaet, Canada’s top ranked male professional golfer, will be sporting red and white each round when the 2014 RBC Canadian Open takes to The Royal Montreal Golf Club later this month.

Here’s a look at exactly what he’ll be wearing.

Top 10 Greenside Bunker Shots on the PGA Tour

Check out the top 10 shots greenside bunker shots on the PGA Tour (excluding majors), featuring heartbreaking shots, plugged lies and clutch finishes.

Little Rapids, Nfld. (Golf Canada) – Humber Valley Resort will play host to the final CN Future Links Championship event of 2014 – the CN Future Links Atlantic Championship – which will be held July 13-16, with a practice round being held Sunday, July 13.

The 54-hole stroke play championship will feature some of the country’s top junior golfers aged 11-18. Players will vie for titles in a Junior Boys and Junior Girls division, respectively.

“We are looking forward to finishing off the CN Future Links regional series on the East Coast,” said Tournament Director Cam Crawford. “For many of the competitors this event will be their first CN Future Links tournament of 2014. It will be exciting to see all that the juniors in the Maritimes have to offer.”

Play will take place on Humber Valley Resort’s River Course, which was ranked as the 9^th Best Modern Course in Canada by Golfweek in April 2014. The course was also the only Newfoundland course to make ScoreGolf’s Top 100 Canadian Golf Courses list in 2012.

“Our management, staff, and course crew have been busy preparing the course and clubhouse to welcome the athletes and their parents to the resort,” said Host Club Tournament Chair Heather Oke. “The future of golf lies in the athletes who compete in these tournaments and we want them to enjoy their golf experience here at Humber Valley.”

Defending CN Future Links Atlantic champion, Ryan Nowe of Bridgewater N.S., will be present in the field again this year. Nowe grabbed the title last season with a seven stroke victory in 2013 and also claimed second place in the 2013 Nova Scotia Junior Championship. The third place finisher at CN Future Links Atlantic in 2013, Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S., will also look to pick up the champion title this year.

In the Junior Girls division, CN Future Links Atlantic veterans include Rachel Cormier of Rothesay, N.B., Claire Konning of Indian Mountain, N.B., and Bailey Carr of Charlottetown, P.E. The trio placed in the top-15 last year, and will look to improve their standing at this year’s tournament.

The top six competitors in the Junior Boys division of each CN Future Links Championships will earn exemptions into the 2014 Canadian Junior Boys Championship, which will be contested July 28 – August 1 at Legends on the Niagara’s Battlefield Course in Niagara Falls, Ont.  The Junior Girls champion from each CN Future Links Championship will earn an exemption into the 2014 Canadian Junior Girls Championship, which runs July 28 – August 1 at Thornhill Golf and Country Club in Thornhill, Ont.

Starting times, post-round results and a full field list are available online.

The CN Future Links Junior Golf Championships are part of CN’s ongoing partnership with Golf Canada and their commitment to junior golf. Focused on supporting safe and fun activities that have a positive impact on children’s health and well being, CN’s investment into CN Future Links is helping to increase grassroots junior golf participation in communities across Canada.