WATERLOO, Ontario – Michelle Wie and defending champion Hee Young Park shared the first-round lead at 6-under 65 on Thursday in the Manulife Financial Classic at windswept Grey Silo.

Wie, the winner in Hawaii in April, birdied three of the last four holes in her morning round. She’s seeking her second victory in Canada after winning the 2010 Canadian Women’s Open in Winnipeg.

Park had a bogey-free round in the afternoon. Last year, the South Korean player beat Angela Stanford on the third playoff hole after they finished at 26-under 258 to match the tour record for lowest total score.

China’s Shanshan Feng was a stroke back, and countrywoman Xi Yu Lin matched Cristie Kerr with a 67.

Stacy Lewis had a 69 in her first round since taking the top spot in the world with a victory Sunday in New Jersey. Second-ranked Inbee Park also shot 69, and No. 3 Lydia Ko had a 71.

Team Canada’s Brooke Henderson, 16, leads the nine player Canadian contingent. The Smiths Falls, Ont. native who is the world’s No. 3 ranked women’s amateur opened with a 1-under 70. She finished her opening-round with consecutive birdies on Nos. 17 and 18.

Sue Kim of Langley, B.C. and Jennifer Kirby of Paris, Ont. were a stroke back after even-par 70s, leaving them tied for 54th.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp, Charlottetown’s Lorie Kane and Erica Rivard of Tecumseh, Ont. were tied for 87th at 2-over 73.

Maude-Aimee LeBlanc (74) of Sherbrooke, Que. was tied for 101st.

Toronto’s Rebecca Lee-Bentham and Brantford, Ont.’s Nicole Vandermade fired matching 75s and were tied for 111th.

WATERLOO, Ontario – Michelle Wie and defending champion Hee Young Park shared the first-round lead at 6-under 65 on Thursday in the Manulife Financial Classic at windswept Grey Silo.

Wie, the winner in Hawaii in April, birdied three of the last four holes in her morning round. She’s seeking her second victory in Canada after winning the 2010 Canadian Women’s Open in Winnipeg.

Park had a bogey-free round in the afternoon. Last year, the South Korean player beat Angela Stanford on the third playoff hole after they finished at 26-under 258 to match the tour record for lowest total score.

China’s Shanshan Feng was a stroke back, and countrywoman Xi Yu Lin matched Cristie Kerr with a 67.

Stacy Lewis had a 69 in her first round since taking the top spot in the world with a victory Sunday in New Jersey. Second-ranked Inbee Park also shot 69, and No. 3 Lydia Ko had a 71.

Team Canada’s Brooke Henderson, 16, leads the nine player Canadian contingent. The Smiths Falls, Ont. native who is the world’s No. 3 ranked women’s amateur opened with a 1-under 70. She finished her opening-round with consecutive birdies on Nos. 17 and 18.

Sue Kim of Langley, B.C. and Jennifer Kirby of Paris, Ont. were a stroke back after even-par 70s, leaving them tied for 54th.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp, Charlottetown’s Lorie Kane and Erica Rivard of Tecumseh, Ont. were tied for 87th at 2-over 73.

Maude-Aimee LeBlanc (74) of Sherbrooke, Que. was tied for 101st.

Toronto’s Rebecca Lee-Bentham and Brantford, Ont.’s Nicole Vandermade fired matching 75s and were tied for 111th.

I’ve spent many years working with golfers and they are a pretty easy crowd to describe. Let’s see if you fit into this description: You’re obsessed with the game. You spend countless hours on the range, in the sand and on the putting green practicing. You get coaching to help improve your swing. You’ve spent a lot of money on a new driver or putter. Or both.

Like many golfers you likely see the value of investing time, effort and money on your game. You may, however, forget to work on the single most important tool you have at your disposal on the course: Your body. Your body swings the club. Your nervous system controls the muscles. Your eyes collect information about the course – distance, wind, angles, and more. Your brain processes the information and helps you execute that perfect shot. Or maybe not…

When you make mistakes on the course your first thought might be “what was wrong with my swing?” In fact the cause might be even more basic. What if the poor shot was caused by the fact that your body didn’t have the basic fuel or nutrients that it needed to perform? One single nutrient is the most important factor in helping your body think and move. Carbs? Protein? Nope… Keep going… What’s the nutrient for your muscles and brain? That’s right! Water! There is not a single cell in your body that doesn’t rely on water. Water helps transport the carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that the cells in your muscles and brain need to make energy. When your body works at its best it does so because water helped deliver energy and nutrients to your cells and also helped all the energy creating processes inside the cells work most efficiently. Remember that great quote, “Golf is 90% mental and the rest is in your head.” Make sure that you remember to fuel your brain. Your brain needs water. While 60 percent of your body weight is made up of water, incredibly it makes up almost 90 percent of the brain. Water lubricates and cushions the brain. It also helps you think, concentrate, problem solve and remember – which just happen to be all the tasks you need to do when you’re on the golf course. Always take a water bottle with you when you play or practice and sip at regular intervals while you’re playing. Doing so will ensure that you stay hydrated and will help keep your brain on track for all 18 holes.

We’ve taken care of the mental side but what about the rest of your body? While the brain has the highest concentration of water in the body, your muscles are comprised of nearly 75 percent water. Remember the Krebs Cycle from grade 10 biology class? Well, perhaps that time of your life is a little foggy. All you need to know from that class is that the Krebs Cycle is the series of steps that take place in your muscle cells to create energy. No water? No energy. Do you often suffer from fatigue on the last few holes? For many people the late-round crash is caused by a combination of dehydration and poor nutrition. So do yourself and your game a favour; support your muscles and create more energy by drinking water. If you do one thing to improve your on-course performance this season, make drinking water part of your golf routine. It’s a small change that can make a big difference to the scores of every golfer, from high-handicappers to the pros on tour. You’ll stay hydrated, feel more energetic and play better, and it’s more affordable than new gadgets!

Dr. Greg Wells is an Assistant Professor in Kinesiology at the University of Toronto and the sport scientist for the United States Junior National Golf Team.

Follow him on Twitter @drgregwells or visit his website at www.drgregwells.com.

ATZENBRUGG, Austria– England’s Adam Gee and Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg shot 5-under 67 to share a one-stroke lead on a windy and cloudy opening day of the Lyoness Open on Thursday.

Starting on the back nine, Gee eagled the par-4 14th hole but bogeyed the 18th before carding three birdies on the front nine.

Lundberg hit six birdies and lost a stroke on the par-3 second. The Swede, who came through the European Tour Qualifying School for a third straight year, is looking for his first title since winning the Russian Open for a second time in 2008.

Lundberg said he’s improved since working with new coach Neil Jordan: “I am more solid from the tee onto the green. You have to be careful out there, and don’t take unnecessary chances.”

The pair led a group of four which finished at 4 under, including Wales’ Rhys Davies, England’s Richard Finch and Mattew Baldwin, and American Berry Henson.

Defending champion Joost Luiten from the Netherlands hit three birdies in his opening four holes. Later, however, he struggled to hit the fairways and dropped to 1 over before finishing his round level par with his fourth birdie on the 17th.

Miguel Angel Jimenez overcame three bogeys in the first eight holes to card a 2-under 70.

The 50-year-old Spaniard, who resides in Vienna since marrying an Austrian in May, is seeking his third win of the season. Starting on the back nine, he bogeyed the par-4 11th and 17th and the par-3 14th but recovered with four birdies.

“It’s OK, it’s under par,” Jimenez said. “It’s not easy because of the wind.”

Former champions Jeev Milkha Singh of India, Kenneth Ferrie of England, and Bernd Wiesberger of Austria each shot a 71.

ATZENBRUGG, Austria– England’s Adam Gee and Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg shot 5-under 67 to share a one-stroke lead on a windy and cloudy opening day of the Lyoness Open on Thursday.

Starting on the back nine, Gee eagled the par-4 14th hole but bogeyed the 18th before carding three birdies on the front nine.

Lundberg hit six birdies and lost a stroke on the par-3 second. The Swede, who came through the European Tour Qualifying School for a third straight year, is looking for his first title since winning the Russian Open for a second time in 2008.

Lundberg said he’s improved since working with new coach Neil Jordan: “I am more solid from the tee onto the green. You have to be careful out there, and don’t take unnecessary chances.”

The pair led a group of four which finished at 4 under, including Wales’ Rhys Davies, England’s Richard Finch and Mattew Baldwin, and American Berry Henson.

Defending champion Joost Luiten from the Netherlands hit three birdies in his opening four holes. Later, however, he struggled to hit the fairways and dropped to 1 over before finishing his round level par with his fourth birdie on the 17th.

Miguel Angel Jimenez overcame three bogeys in the first eight holes to card a 2-under 70.

The 50-year-old Spaniard, who resides in Vienna since marrying an Austrian in May, is seeking his third win of the season. Starting on the back nine, he bogeyed the par-4 11th and 17th and the par-3 14th but recovered with four birdies.

“It’s OK, it’s under par,” Jimenez said. “It’s not easy because of the wind.”

Former champions Jeev Milkha Singh of India, Kenneth Ferrie of England, and Bernd Wiesberger of Austria each shot a 71.

The Canadian University/College Championship touched down in Winnipeg for the first time in the championship’s history.

In all, 154 of Canada’s top post-secondary talents vie for their respective team and individual national titles, but what many don’t know is the role the Golf Canada Foundation plays behind the scenes in supporting these universities and colleges long before they ever compete at this national championship.

Since 2004, the Foundation has been granting funds to programs across the country as a whole. Each year, schools apply to receive grants and the Foundation distributes valuable dollars to selected qualifying programs. In the past decade, the foundation has distributed over $1.6 million in grants that were either used for operational funding, scholarship funding or capital projects at Canadian post-secondary institutions and colleges.

The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades are relatively new to the Canadian University/College athletic landscape and their Head Coach Chris Bertram is grateful for the opportunities the Foundation has given his team.

“Last year was the first year we were successful in our application for the Foundation and it had a massive impact right off the bat,” Bertram said.

“We have two teams and with our men’s program we had a really strong core group of players and there were a couple of young prospects I was trying to get to come and play at the university. By getting a bit of extra money it gave us the ability to offer a few more scholarships and it gave us those extra pieces that we needed.”

In order to qualify for grants through the Golf Canada Foundation, a team needs a dedicated (full or part-time) coach and a men’s and women’s program. They need to have a competitive schedule and also show a willingness to compete in the national championship.

The Cascades Head Coach was quick to point out those dollars received played a vital part in his Cascades squad winning both the men’s and women’s CCAA National Championships earlier this season. The ability to attract some great players with more scholarships out of the gate he said made a ‘huge impact’ for both his rosters and the success his players have had is a reflection of that.

“I’ve been involved with the program for 10 years and we started really on a shoestring,” Bertram said. “The university gave us a bit of money but post- secondary budgets are getting tighter in Canada and the athletics programs really feel that and our program is no exception.”

Bertram’s thoughts were echoed at Southwood Golf and Country Club by the University of Manitoba Bisons’ Head Coach, Garth Goodbrandson.

“The Foundation has basically kept our program alive over the years, we’re not funded by the university which makes things a little tough but the fact is we’ve done a lot of fundraising and we try to keep the program together and the foundation really got us started,” Goodbrandson said. “We’ve been very fortunate, very appreciative and very proud of where the program has gone.”

As the host university, the Bisons will look to pick up their first national title in the history of the program.

“Recruiting has never been too much of an issue, financially it’s the biggest challenge,” Goodbrandson continued. “We want to make our program one that’s comparable to a U.S. program and I think over the years we’re getting closer and closer to doing so and the players are really starting to believe in staying here in Canada.”

“You can see it with the quality of the Canadian Championship how much it’s improved over the years,” he continued.

The Foundation not only benefits institutions it also provides individual players academic scholarships. Last year there were 14 scholarships valued at $51,000 awarded to players from coast-to-coast.

As a recipient of one of the 14 scholarships, Devon Rizzo of the University of Waterloo is a past individual champion of the Canadian/University Championship.  She said her decision to stay and play in Canada was an easy one.

“One of the main reasons was the program, I wanted to take Management Engineering and Waterloo is well known for their Engineering programs,” Rizzo said. “I met our coach Carla and she kind of sealed the deal because I could get the best of both worlds at Waterloo – I could compete at a high level, with a great coach and a great team and get the schooling that I wanted.”

Rizzo hasn’t only benefited from the scholarship program once, she’s been a multiple recipient and recommends any collegiate golfer in Canada apply.

“Our coach usually sends us the links, they’re very easy to apply for I recommend everyone applies for them they’re not too difficult and don’t take too much of your time and are very beneficial,” she continued. “The scholarship helps me pay for my schooling, university costs a lot of money and every bit helps and it’s fantastic.”

To find out more information on available scholarships and how athletic golf programs can apply for grants from the Golf Canada Foundation please contact Spencer Snell, Operation Manager for the Golf Canada Foundation by email at ssnell@golfcanada.ca or phone 1-800-263-0009 ext. 265. Additional information can also be found on the Foundation’s website www.golfcanadafoundation.com.

WATERLOO, Ontario – Stacy Lewis is all about winning, figuring everything else will fall in place.

Everything did Sunday in New Jersey when the 29-year-old Texan won the ShopRite LPGA Classic to reclaim the top spot in the world ranking from Inbee Park.

“Getting the No. 1 was just a bonus,” Lewis said Wednesday, a day before the start of play in the Manulife Financial Classic at Grey Silo.

She also won the North Texas LPGA Shootout in early May after finishing second six times in her previous 16 events since winning the Women’s British Open in August.

“I feel like over the last year I’ve put myself in position to win so many times that I’m very comfortable there,” Lewis said. “You know, I wouldn’t say it gets easier, but I would say you definitely get more comfortable. Sunday last week, the nerves were there initially, but then once we got going I felt like if I took care of my game, there’s no way anybody was going to beat me.”

Park is winless in 10 tour starts this season after sweeping the first three majors last year and finishing the season with six victories.

“I’m the No. 2 right now and my life didn’t change,” she said. “I’m just still doing the same thing, doing my routine, practice round, pro-am, playing again. Yeah, it’s just numbers, but my life is the same life.”

In the two previous events at Grey Silo, Lewis tied for fifth and sixth.

“It’s a golf course you have to make a ton of birdies on and I led the tour in birdies last year, and I think I’m leading that stat this year, so I think that fits my game,” Lewis said. “You have to go out there and attack and make as many birdies as you can.”

Last year, Hee Young Park beat Angela Stanford with a birdie on the third playoff hole. They finished at 26-under 258 to match the tour record for lowest total score.

“This golf course is in perfect shape, everything, and I know how I was feeling and green conditions pretty much perfect, so easy to get used to it,” Hee Young Park said. “(Earlier in the week there) was rain here so it got softer, so I can hit more aggressive, which is good.”

She’s has been bothered by a lingering wrist injury this season.

“It feels a lot better and I’m back to pretty much normal. I can play,” she said. “The last few weeks I played pretty good, so I think it’s ready.”

Lewis hopes the wind sticks around for the weekend.

“I would much rather play a golf course when it’s playing hard than when it’s playing easy,” she said. “What’s surprised me the last two years is that I have played well here, because I don’t like courses that are just a straight birdie-fest and you go crazy. I like it when it’s hard and you have to golf shots and things like that. The wind this year, I’m actually pretty excited about.”

Third-ranked Lydia Ko also is in the field. The 17-year-old Ko won the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic in California in late April and has five top-seven finishes in 11 tour starts this year.

The teenager won the Canadian Women’s Open as an amateur the last two years and took the Swinging Skirts World Ladies Masters in December in Taiwan in her second start as a professional. She has six victories in pro events, also winning in Australia and New Zealand.

DIVOTS: Brooke Henderson, the 16-year-old Canadian who is third in the world amateur ranking, received a sponsor exemption. … Brittany Lang won the inaugural event in 2012. … Manulife has extended its sponsorship deal through 2016. … The tour will return to Ontario in August for the Canadian Women’s Open at London Hunt.

As the end of the school year approaches, Golf Canada and the PGA of Canada are looking to expand participant numbers in Golf in Schools by providing the option of customizable kits for high school teachers.

In previous cases, high schools were requesting additional equipment or could not purchase the entire kit due to budget restrictions. With the addition of customizable kits, teachers may now purchase clubs, mats, balls and tees separately to suit their needs.

“This is a welcome addition to the program that will please many Physical Education teachers” said Golf In Schools coordinator, Kelly Woloshyn. “Our goal is to get as many students as possible golfing, and this is just one of the many ways in which we can accomplish that.”

New in 2012, the High School program was introduced as an extension of the Elementary program to provide students with more advanced programming for adolescents. The Golf in Schools learning resource is endorsed by Physical Health Education (PHE) Canada, and is structured to accommodate all teachers, regardless of their golf background.

Golf in Schools is constantly evolving to find new and innovative ways to get more youth playing golf – a game for a lifetime.

To get golf in a High School in your area, click here

As we approach the 2014 golf season, the four Atlantic Provincial Golf Associations are pleased to announce the new Atlantic Golf Championship will take place August 15-17, 2014 at Bell Bay Golf Club in Cape Breton.

The New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador Golf Associations have collaborated to create this new tournament for the region’s best golfers. The Atlantic Golf Championship will see golfers in six (6) categories competing both as inter-provincial teams and as individuals.

Twenty (20) golfers from each province will make up the exclusive eighty (80) player-field.  In accordance with Golf Canada’s national championship eligibility requirements, players will compete in the following divisions:

• Men (under 40)
• Women (under 40)
• Mid-Master Men (40-54)
• Mid-Master Women (40- 49)
• Senior (55+) and Super Senior (70+) Men
• Senior (50+) and Super Senior (65+) Women

Each Golf Association will set its own qualifying process to determine the players that make up their team. The new Atlantic Cup will be awarded after 36 holes to the provincial team that accumulates the most overall points. All players will also compete for individual honours through 54 holes of stroke play, within their respective divisions.

The Association’s note that a key objective for the championship is to give players in different age brackets the opportunity to test their skills against others from across the region.

Over the next four years the Atlantic championship will rotate between the four provinces. Following Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador will host the tournament next year followed by New Brunswick in 2016 and Prince Edward Island in 2017.

Golf Canada, the National Sport Organization for golf in Canada, has placed its support behind the Atlantic Golf Championship.

“The Atlantic Championship provides a great opportunity for the best competitors in the Atlantic provinces to compete against each other at a premier event,” said Adam Helmer, Golf Canada’s Director of Rules and Competitions. “This new event will provide another pathway for players to earn spots directly into our national championships.”

In addition to providing exemptions for individual division winners into future National Championships, Golf Canada will also be donating Golf in Schools kits to a number of local schools as a legacy of the tournament.

“The Atlantic Championship is being developed to be the premier tournament for amateur golfers in Atlantic Canada,” said David Campbell, Executive Director of the Nova Scotia Golf Association.

“Our goal is to create a fun, first class experience for our players. We want the regions top competitive players to start thinking about the Atlantic Championship as soon as they tee it up in the spring. In years to come we hope that this tournament becomes the standard by which great amateur golfers in this region are recognized,” he continued.

The 2014 Atlantic Golf Championship takes place August 15^th -17^th at the Bell Bay Golf Course in Cape Breton.

For more information and to register for the championship click here.

For information on Bell Bay Golf Club click here.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — For the second time in less than a year, Tom Pernice Jr. hit a crucial shot on the 17th hole on his way to a victory.

This time, Pernice needed one more big shot to secure the win.

Pernice birdied the second hole of a sudden-death playoff with Doug Garwood on Sunday to win the Champions Tour’s Principal Charity Classic.

“I was calm all day. I played it with the right edge and I stroked it and it went right in the hole,” Pernice said.

Pernice won for the third time on the 50-and-over tour, closing with a 3-under 69 to match Garwood at 12-under 204 at Wakonda Club.

Garwood, making only his fourth start of the season, birdied the final two holes of regulation for a 71.

They played the par-4 18th hole twice in the playoff. Pernice won with a putt from roughly 8 feet after they opened the playoff with matching pars.

Pernice’s performance was reminiscent of the 3M Championship last August in Minnesota, when he made a 45-foot putt on No. 17 to win.

He chipped in from roughly 30 feet out to take the lead on Sunday, though Garwood matched that birdie and later forced a playoff.

“I really hit the ball good all week and really kept the ball in play in the fairway when I needed to and holed some key shots at key times,” Pernice said.

Bill Glasson, Jay Haas, Mark Calcavecchia and Michael Allen finished a shot back. Glasson shot 64, Haas 67, Calcavecchia 70, and Allen 71.

Garwood opened the final round with a one-shot lead but needing to win to earn a full Champions Tour card for the next 12 months. A birdie putt from the fringe on the first hole seemed to portend well for his prospects.

But Garwood bogeyed three consecutive holes – after going par or better on the first 41 holes of the tournament – and went into the back nine tied for first.

Garwood’s fourth bogey of the round, on the par-5 13th hole, appeared to ruin his shot for a career-defining win. But Garwood rallied with clutch birdies on the last two holes to stay alive.

Those shots helped Garwood redeem himself for three-putting the final hole of a qualifying tournament with a full exemption at stake in the offseason.

“I gave it away at Q-school. Straight gave it away. Here I didn’t feel like I gave it away because I earned it with the birdies on 17 and 18,” Garwood said.

Garwood’s troubles made for a crowded leaderboard for much of the day.

Glasson began Sunday eight shots off the lead. But he jumped atop the leaderboard with the best round of the tournament and sat around for over two hours waiting to see if he’d end up in a playoff.

Haas, a three-time winner of the event, joined him in the clubhouse at 11 under with a birdie on No. 18. Allen also nearly qualified for the playoff before missing a birdie putt on No. 18.

Garwood then sent his approach on the final hole over the green, while Pernice stuck his close enough for a relatively easy winner.

“This is a great course. I love it. It’s an old classic course,” Pernice said. “I liked it from the get-go and I’m very happy with how it turned out.”

Jim Rutledge shot 72 in all three rounds to end the tournament among the group tied for 50th.