PORTLAND, Ore. – Helene Chartrand of Pincourt, Qué., who finished as a co-medalist, will lead six Canadians on to the Round of 32 at the 56th U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship.

Chartrand won the first four holes and never trailed in her 6-and-5 win over American Nanette Seman.

“Nannette had a rough time starting, so it’s tough to come back from there,” said Chartrand, 61, who won the 2014 Canadian Women’s Senior Championship and finished runner-up in 2016. “If I’ve learned one thing in golf, it’s that you can never sit on a lead. You never want to let your competitor come back. That’s what I tried to do with some good shots where I forced her to make pars, and unfortunately for her, she missed putts.”

Chartrand has played in six consecutive U.S. Senior Women’s Amateurs and made a quarterfinals appearance in 2014, losing 1 down to champion Joan Higgins. She will be joined by five other Canadian players in the Round of 32, including Mary Ann Hayward, the 2005 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion, and Judith Kyrinis, the 2014 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur runner-up. Hayward defeated M.K. Thanos-Zordani, 4 and 2, and Kyrinis ousted Jen Holland, 6 and 4, in the first round.

“These greens remind me of home – a lot of undulations and up-and-down reads,” said Kyrinis. “So, I get them and feel really comfortable on them. I sunk some fairly lengthy putts today. Anytime you birdie No. 3, that’s a real bonus.”

Rounding out the list of six Canadians advancing are Marie-Therese Torti, Terrill Samuel and Jackie Little.

The U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, open to female amateurs age 50 and older with a Handicap Index not exceeding 18.4, consists of 36 holes of stroke play, with the low 64 players advancing to match play. The championship, scheduled to conclude with an 18-hole final on Thursday, is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

KAHNAWAKE, Que. – Allen Barber of Yorktown, Va., fired a blazing 3-under-par 67 Monday to take the opening-round lead at the 2017 Canadian Men’s Senior Championship at Kanawaki Golf Club.

Barber was the lone competitor to break par (70) at Kanawaki on Monday. Following his round, he credited his strategy for tackling Kanawaki’s treacherous greens and some solid putting for the stellar start.

“The golf course is really, really good. One of the best I’ve played and it’s in pristine shape,” said Barber. “But those greens are really tough. My plan for the day was to hit fairways and leave it below the hole. I did that and thankfully I putted well on those greens, too.”

Barber has been enjoying a great summer of competitive amateur golf. He’s amassed four top-5 finishes including a T4 at the prestigious Senior Porter Cup.

Four players trail Barber after carding even-par 70s. Buzz Fly of Memphis, Brady Exber of Las Vegas, Doug Hanzel of Savannah, GA and Lance Lundy of Pemberton, B.C., all share second heading into Tuesday’s round.

Lundy leads the Super Senior (65 years +) Division by a single-shot over 2010 Canadian Senior Champion Paul Simson of Raleigh, N.C., after a 71. Another shot back is Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member Graham Cooke. The Hudson, Que., native, who celebrated his 71st birthday Monday, shot a 2-over 72. Cooke is a four-time winner of the senior title (2001, 2002, 2008 & 2009).

Following the opening two rounds, the field will be reduced to the low 70 players and ties. Also contested over the tournament’s first two rounds is an inter-provincial team competition.

Team Alberta, comprised of Frank Van Dornick of Camrose, Brian Laubman of Edmonton and Ken Griffith of Red Deer hold the lead after combining for a score of 142 (+2). Team Quebec and Team British Columbia are tied for second five shots back at 147 (+7).

Additional information, including full scores from the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship can be here.

GARDEN CITY, Kansas, September 10, 2017 – When Anne-Catherine Tanguay (Quebec, Canada) woke up Sunday morning, she was so nervous she cried. The nerves didn’t show down the stretch as she made critical birdies on holes 14, 16 and 17 to win the Garden City Charity Classic at Buffalo Dunes by three-strokes. Tanguay carded a 1-under, 71 on Sunday to earn her first career victory. She finished with a three-day total of 5-under, 211. She was one of only two players that finished under-par for the tournament. Katelyn Dambaugh (North Charleston, S.C.) finished second at 2-under, 214 while Emma Talley (Princeton, Ky.) finished third at even-par, 216.

Wind was a major factor again on Sunday with gusts exceeding 35 miles-an-hour and sustained winds over 20 miles-an-hour.

Tanguay, 26, pockets the $22,500 first-place check to jump from eighth to fifth on the Volvik Race for the Card money list with four events remaining in the season. She has now earned $70,995 in 16 starts this season. While Tanguay is not a lock to earn her LPGA Tour card yet, she is in great position. For perspective, No. 10 on the money list in 2016 earned $67,577.

Tanguay entered the day one shot off the lead and was one shot back after the front nine.

“It is just really incredible,” said Tanguay, who gave a lot of credit to her former Oklahoma head coach Veronique Drouin-Luttrell for learning to play in the wind. “Honestly, I feel like this win is a bit out of the blue because last week my confidence wasn’t very high. These past few months have been hard because I don’t feel like I was getting the results. This week, everything clicked. I had really good process goals. I tried to boost my confidence all week and my fiancé (Jean-Hubert Trahan) was doing that for me too.”

Katelyn Dambaugh (North Charleston, S.C.), who slept on the lead, made bogeys on holes 9, 10 and 13 and Tanguay made her run. She made a 6-foot par putt on 13 to take the outright lead at 2-under. Then, she stuck her approach on hole 14 to 12-feet and made a critical birdie to go up two shots with four left. She let out two emphatic fist pumps.

“I’m not sure how it happened because I was extremely nervous today,” said Tanguay, who wrote down goals in her yardage book and referred to them on the back nine. “One of my biggest goals was to pick a target and take an aggressive and fearless swing and that is really what got me through.”

Tanguay made par on 15 and then reached the par-5 16th in two and two-putted for birdie. She kept the momentum going with a 15-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole to build a three-shot lead. Tanguay nearly finished with another birdie on 18, but tapped in from a foot for par to win.

“This year was almost go big or go home,” admitted Tanguay, who made ten starts on the LPGA last year with conditional status. “Last year, I had the taste of playing there (LPGA) and I knew I belonged and I really wanted to accomplish getting back. That has been a huge goal of mine. We will see how it plays out, but I think I’m in a really good position now. I have a lot of trust and confidence now.”

Tanguay will head to the Murphy USA El Dorado Shootout in El Dorado, Arkansas next week.

Before the trophy ceremony started, Tanguay made a special call to her mom and dad, Luice and Yvan, in Quebec. Her parents travel to several events throughout the season, but weren’t in Garden City this week.

“I just thought I was going to burst into tears, but the only emotion I feel right now is happiness,” said Tanguay. “I want to share that with them and I’ve been sharing that with JH this week. They just told me that they are really, really proud of me because now they want to come to the rest of the tournaments. They have always been so supportive of me.”

Tanguay now has six top 10 finishes this season, but this is her first since May. While she hasn’t had the results on the course lately, Tanguay had a life-changing moment occur in late July. She got engaged.

She made a bet with her fiancé, who also serves as her full-time caddy, on Sunday that if she won, he would have to shave his beard. The beard will be gone next week.

“He didn’t want to shave this week so I said we’re playing for the beard,” joked Tanguay. “The beard is going.”

(September 10, 2017 – Innisfil, Ont.) – Dallas, Texas’ Kramer Hickok closed with an 8-under 64 on Sunday at National Pines Golf Club, then defeated Camarillo, California’s Johnny Ruiz in a playoff to win the Ontario Championship hosted by National Pines Golf Club, his second Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada win of the season.

The 25-year old posted his second straight round of 64, going 16-under on the weekend to post the lead at 19-under in the clubhouse, then drained a five-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole (the fourth hole of a playoff) to defeat Ruiz and solidify his position atop the Order of Merit and guarantee a spot in The Five along with Web.com Tour status for 2018.

“Being able to shoot 16-under on the weekend when you set that goal is pretty awesome. I’ve never done that before, not even close,” said Hickok, who had finished second in his two previous starts at the National Capital Open to Support Our Troops and Cape Breton Open. “It’s a step in the right direction and it’s not another second place, so I’m happy about that.”

Starting the day eight strokes off the 54-hole lead held by Ruiz, Hickok started quickly with three straight birdies out of the gate, then made four straight birdies on holes 8-11 to get within two of Ruiz’s lead. Ruiz, who defeated Hickok by one shot earlier this year at the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel, saw his lead evaporate with a triple bogey at No. 12, however, quickly turning what looked like a safe lead into anyone’s game.

That’s when Hickok produced two more birdies at the 14th and 15th holes, and after three closing pars, he posted the clubhouse lead at 19-under par and headed to the range to wait and see if he’d be the winner.

Ruiz refused to go down without a fight, however, coming up with birdies on 14 and 15 to bounce back. Down to his last chance at the 72nd hole, the 23-year old poured in a 25-footer from the fringe to send the tournament into extra holes.

The first three bonus stanzas settled nothing, as both players posted pars on the 18th, 18th and ninth holes. It was on the fourth hole, however, that Hickok drew upon a shot he had hit in regulation and then on the range afterward to try and close out the tournament.

“It was a shot I had been hitting on the range after I had finished, and I was just striping it,” said Hickok of a 9-iron from 143 yards, which he hit to five feet from the pin. “I told my caddie, Craig, who did an awesome job this week, that it’s just another shot and I was able to stick it in there close.”

Hickok emerges from the win with the Order of Merit lead firmly in his grasp, as only a Robby Shelton win next week at the Freedom 55 Financial Championship and a finish of worse than 19th by Hickok can create a change atop the season-long money list. Still, it was no easy task to come out on top this week, as all five members of The Five finished T4 or better at National Pines.

“It’s unbelievable. This course yielded some of the best players all year. Heading into today, I was in seventh place but looking in front of me, there were four guys that could jump me in The Five. I think that’s what good courses do – they bring out the best players,” said Hickok, reflecting on what has been an incredible year that still has one goal left to be achieved: the Order of Merit title next week.

“I’ve had three seconds and two wins, and it’s not even guaranteed. These guys are just that good. If you’re not playing well, someone else is, and they’re going to jump you. I know the purse is bigger next week, so I’ve gotta go out there and do it again,” said Hickok.

Ruiz’s runner-up finish represents his second of the year to go with his victory in Thunder Bay and moves him to No. 3 on the Order of Merit, while Robby Shelton maintains his spot at No. 2 with a T4 finish. No. 4 Patrick Newcomb and No. 5 Lee McCoy also finished in a tie for fourth with Shelton.

NOTES

25-year old Kramer Hickok is in his first season on the Mackenzie Tour and ranks No. 1 on the Order of Merit thanks to wins at the Ontario Championship hosted by National Pines Golf Club and Players Cup, plus runner-up finishes at the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel, National Capital Open to Support Our Troops and Cape Breton Open.

With the win, Hickok becomes the second player during the PGA TOUR era on the Mackenzie Tour (2013-present) to surpass $100,000 in earnings.

With only the Freedom 55 Financial Championship left this season, the only scenario keeping Hickok from finishing No. 1 on the Order of Merit would be a win by Robby Shelton next week in London and a finish of worse than 19th by Hickok.

Hickok’s final round 8-under 64 matches Patrick Newcomb at last week’s Cape Breton Open for the lowest final round by a winner this season.

The University of Texas alum is a roommate of two-time major champion Jordan Spieth.

SEANN HARLINGTEN TAKES FREEDOM 55 FINANCIAL TOP CANADIAN

With a total score of 13-under par in a tie for ninth, Vancouver, British Columbia’s Seann Harlingten finished as the top Canadian on the leaderboard, earning Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Week honours and a $2,500 prize.

The top Canadian on the leaderboard each week takes home the award, with the top Canadian on the Order of Merit at season’s end earning the Dan Halldorson Trophy, Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Year honours and a $25,000 prize.

ONE WEEK LEFT IN RACE FOR THE FIVE

With his win on Sunday, Kramer Hickok assured himself a spot in The Five and status on the Web.com Tour next season. Below are the top five through 11 of 12 events this season:

1. Kramer Hickok $117,702
2. Robby Shelton $84,493
3. Johnny Ruiz $81,631
4. Patrick Newcomb $81,298
5. Lee McCoy $55,551

Miscellaneous notes:

• Weather: 17 degrees Celsius, partly cloudy, winds at 5 km/h gusting to 8 km/h.
• Hickok received seven free daily rental vouchers for a rental car from AVIS for the win.
• Click here for scores.

CHIBA, Japan _ Colin Montgomerie made all the putts he needed Sunday on Narita Golf Club’s massive greens to win the Japan Airlines Championship _ the first PGA Tour Champions event in Japan.

The 54-year-old Scot two-putted for par from 50 feet on the par-4 18th, hitting his first to 1 1/2 feet, for a 5-under 67 and a one-stroke victory over Billy Mayfair and second-round leader Scott McCarron.

“The greens were as good as any, and I mean this, as good as any as we have ever putted on, ever,” Montgomerie said. “And we’ve putted on some great, great surfaces. In the 30 years as a pro, these are as good as any we have putted on as a putting surface. Superb putting surfaces. And the way the course was manicured was exceptional.”

Montgomerie finished at 14-under 202 for his fifth victory on the 50-and-over tour and first in nearly a year. He won 31 times on the European Tour and topped the tour’s money list a record eight times _ seven in a row from 1993-99 and the last in 2005.

“It’s a big deal, a very big deal,” Montgomerie said about tour’s first visit to Japan. “And let’s hope that the success of this event goes forward and not only allows the PGA Tour Champions to come back and compete but also allows the PGA Tour to come and play here. It will be fantastic if that time ever comes.”

Montgomerie ran in a 60-footer on the par-4 13th in the middle of a three-hole birdie spree, and made two key 6-foot putts _ the first for par on the par-3 16th and the second for birdie on the par-5 17th to break a tie for the lead with Mayfair.

“I think when I holed the putt on the 14th hole for my third birdie in a row, I felt that I had a chance then,” Montgomerie said. “I’m a big scoreboard watcher and knew I was leading. I just had to make sure I birdied 17 and par in, which I did.”

Mayfair, playing two groups ahead of Montgomerie, settled for a 66 after missing a 6-foot birdie try on 18.

“I hit a good putt and I knew it wasn’t going to go in the centre, but I thought it would catch the left edge and it just came out,” Mayfair said. “But I made so many putts today and the whole week.”

McCarron, tied with Bernhard Langer for the tour victory lead with four after winning three of the previous six events, birdied the final two holes for a 71. He opened with a double bogey.

“I’ve had kind of a cold that just got worse,” McCarron said. “My head’s a little foggy and just didn’t make a very good swing and I missed the first fairway, put myself in a really bad position. … But no excuses. If I shoot 3 under, I win this thing. Just wasn’t able to do it today. Unfortunately, just didn’t put myself in position off the tee.”

Montgomerie birdied four of the first five holes on the back nine _ also holing putts of 20 feet on No. 10, 15 feet on No. 12, and 14 feet on No. 14 _ after playing the first nine in even par with a bogey and a birdie.

“It wasn’t easy,” Montgomerie said. “The wind was swirling in the trees, the pins were located in some very difficult positions, very difficult, right on the edges of the greens on slopes.”

Sidelined 2 1/2 months in the spring by torn ligaments in his left ankle, Montgomerie won for the first time since beating McCarron late last September in a playoff in Canada in the Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship _ a title he will try to defend this coming week in Victoria, British Columbia. The Hall of Famer’s first three Champions victories came in majors _ the 2014 and 2015 Senior PGA Championship and 2014 U.S. Senior Open.

“I’m just beginning to play the way that I have the last three years,” Montgomerie said.

Glen Day was fourth at 12 under after a 67. Kevin Sutherland, a stroke back entering the round, had a 72 to drop into a tie for fifth with Jesper Parnevik (67) at 11 under.

Stephen Ames made an early charge in his final round but struggled on the back nine, finishing even on the day and 8 under for the championship in a share of 15th position while fellow Canadian Jim Rutledge was also even on the day to finish tied for 24th.

Massy Kuramoto topped the six Japanese players in the field at 10 under after a 67.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Canada’s Helene Chartrand and Lara Tennant of Oregon each recorded a 36-hole total of 2-over par 146 to earn co-medalist honors in the 2017 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship at Waverley Golf Club, which is set up at 5,836 yards and a par of 72.

Tennant, who had a large gallery following her, including three of her five children and her husband, Bob, carded five bogeys and four birdies to match her Round 1 total of 1-over 73. Bob grew up in a house on Waverley’s 12th hole. Tennant’s father, George Mack Sr., an accomplished Oregon golfer who learned how to play on the course, carried her bag.

Chartrand, 61, bested her first-round score by four strokes Sunday, carding a 1-under par 71 that was highlighted by a 12-footer for birdie on the par-3 ninth hole, her final hole of the day. It was one of only two under-par rounds in the championship.

“I feel strange, happy, I don’t know where this is coming from because I haven’t been playing that great,” said Chartrand, the Canadian Senior Women’s Amateur champion in 2014 and runner-up in 2016. “I took a couple putting lessons from my coach a few weeks ago and changed my setup, and have worked hard on pace and speed and trying to trust myself.

“Usually, I’m the queen of three-putts, and I had four yesterday, but only one today,” said Chartrand who is playing in her sixth consecutive U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur and made a quarterfinal appearance in 2014, losing 1 down to champion Joan Higgins. “So, I stroked the ball really well today. I actually don’t think I can hit the ball any better than I have the last two days. I missed three greens yesterday and only two today.”

The U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, open to female amateurs age 50 and older with a Handicap Index® not exceeding 18.4, consists of 36 holes of stroke play, with the low 64 players advancing to match play, which begins Monday. The championship, scheduled to conclude with an 18-hole final on Thursday, is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

Other Canadians advancing through to match play are:

• Judith Kyrinis
• Marie-Therese Torti
• Sandra Turbide
• Terrill Samuel
• Jackie Little
• Mary Ann Hayward

GARDEN CITY, Kansas, September 9, 2017 – Katelyn Dambaugh (North Charleston, S.C.) is currently reading a book entitled “Chasing the Lion”. On Saturday, she chased down the entire field with a 4-under, 68 in sustained winds of 22 miles-an-hour to grab the 36-hole lead at the Garden City Charity Classic at Buffalo Dunes. Dambaugh, who stands at 5-under, 139, will sleep on the lead for the first time in her short professional career.

Anne-Catherine Tanguay (Quebec, Canada), No. 8 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list, is one off the lead at 4-under, 140 after a 1-over, 73 on Saturday. August Kim (Saint Augustine, Florida) and Stephanie Na (Adelaide, Australia) are two back at 3-under. Dambaugh, Tanguay, Kim and Na will all go for their first career win on Sunday.

The final-round will begin at 8:00 a.m. and the final group of Dambaugh, Tanguay and Kim will tee at 10:01 a.m. A total of 68 players made the cut at 6-over, 150.

Dambaugh, 22, made six birdies and two bogeys to vault from a tie for 22nd to the lead. She was one of only four morning wave rounds under-par (Margarita Ramos, Lindsey Weaver and Caroline Inglis). Only six total players finished under-par with gusts peaking at 35 miles-an-hour. There are just 10 players under-par through 36.

“I took advantage of the par-5’s when I could, I tried to be aggressive when I had a wedge in my hand,” said Dambaugh, who made birdie on two of the four par-5’s. “I’m just trying to play really smart, especially on the downwind holes.”

Dambaugh felt like she stole a birdie on the par-3 8th, which was playing downwind. She hit a soft eight iron to 8-feet and made the putt. She nearly made birdie on nine to end her day.

“This is one of the best rounds I’ve played this year given the difficult conditions,” said Dambaugh, who has four top 10 finishes this season. “I had to stay focused and understand that everyone was going to make bogeys today, but I had to minimize them.”

Dambaugh said she developed a game plan early in the week knowing that wind was going to be a major factor.

“Depending on what direction the wind is going, I want to just let the wind take the ball,” said Dambaugh, who won the SEC individual title in 2017. “I also really wanted to hit a lot of fairways because then you have a pretty decent chance.”

Dambaugh plays out of Charleston (Bulls Bay Golf Club), which is near the water, so she has experience in the wind, but not quite to the ferocity of the wind speeds in Garden City.

She currently ranks 16th on the Volvik Race for the Card money list with $33,328 earned in just eight starts. The first-place payday of $22,500 could move her as high as No. 6. Dambaugh joined the Tour midway through the season after putting a ribbon on one of the greatest careers in South Carolina history.

Off the course, Dambaugh likes to read books that are motivational or have a religious undertone. She read Tim Tebow’s first book and is currently reading “Chase the Lion: If Your Dream Doesn’t Scare You, It’s Too Small” by Mark Batterson.

“It gives me a lot of determination,” said Dambaugh about the book. “It teaches me that there is going to be adversity, it is just how you deal with it.”

Dambaugh already has experience playing pressure-packed Sunday golf. Last week, she finished third at the Sioux Falls GreatLIFE Challenge. She is 6-under-par in final rounds over the last three weeks.

Tanguay, who has ten career top 10 finishes, would likely move to fifth with a win.

(September 9, 2017 – Innisfil, Ont.) – Camarillo, California’s Johnny Ruiz shot a 7-under 65 on Saturday at National Pines Golf Club to take the third-round lead at the Ontario Championship, the 11th event of the 2017 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season.

The 23-year old turned a slow start around with a blistering stretch of eight birdies in 10 holes and closed the round with a birdie 18 to reach 19-under through three rounds, two strokes ahead of Wilmer, Alabama’s Robby Shelton heading into Sunday.

“The putter started to heat up on the back nine a little bit, and once I started to make some putts it gave me some confidence that I didn’t need to hit it super close any more,” said Ruiz. “I hit a few to about 15 feet and got some of them to fall in.”

Ruiz, a winner earlier this year at the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel, began the day two strokes off the lead held by Georgia’s Scott Wolfes and found himself at 2-over par through five holes. After a birdie at No. 6, however, he produced a remarkable stretch that included five straight birdies on holes 8 through 12 to surge into the lead.

Entering the week at No. 4 on the Order of Merit and presented with a chance to secure his spot in The Five, Ruiz acknowledged the opportunity in front of him on Sunday but said he would do his best to remained focus on the task at hand.

“I’ve done a lot this year, but I’m still four on the money list and the goal is to be top five and I’ve got to play well tomorrow. I’m definitely not getting ahead of myself, and hopefully I’ll go have a fun day tomorrow and play well and we can talk about that after next week,” said Ruiz.

Shelton, also a winner earlier this year at the GolfBC Championship, birdied the 18th to shoot a 65 of his own, while Florida’s Lee McCoy was in solo third at 16-under after a 3-under 69.

NOTES

Johnny Ruiz

23-year old Johnny Ruiz is making his 10th career start on the Mackenzie Tour. Earlier this year, he earned exempt status for the first eight events of the season with a T2 finish at the British Columbia Q-School and has since recorded three top-10 finishes, including his first Mackenzie Tour win at the Staal Foundation Open last month.

Thanks to his win, Ruiz moved into second on the Mackenzie Tour Order of Merit and earned an exemption into the 2017 RBC Canadian Open. He missed the cut by one stroke. Ruiz ranks fourth on the Order of Merit heading into this week.

Ruiz did not begin playing golf until age 14 and notched his first pro win at the 2016 Monterey Open.

Robby Shelton

22-year old Robby Shelton is making his eighth career start on the Mackenzie Tour this week. The former University of Alabama standout ranks second on the Order of Merit thanks to a win at the GolfBC Championship runner-up finishes at the Players Cup and Cape Breton Open.

As an amateur, Shelton was consistently among the top players in college golf.

He played at the University of Alabama from 2013 to 2016, where he won seven times,

helped the Crimson Tide to the 2014 National Championship and was named a 1st team All-American in each of his three seasons.

Shelton finished third at the 2015 Barbasol Championship on the PGA TOUR, the

highest finish by an amateur on the PGA TOUR since Phil Mickelson won the 1991

Northern Telecom Open.

Shelton represented the United States in the 2015 Walker Cup along with fellow Mackenzie Tour members Lee McCoy, Hunter Stewart and Jordan Niebrugge.

Lee McCoy

University of Georgia alum and former NCAA All-American Lee McCoy is making his 11th career start on the Mackenzie Tour. Earlier this year, he set the record for largest margin of victory during the PGA TOUR era on the Mackenzie Tour with an eight-stroke win at the Freedom 55 Financial Open. McCoy ranks sixth on the Order of Merit heading into the week.

In 2016, he thrilled hometown fans in Palm Harbor, Florida by finishing solo fourth as an amateur at the Valspar Championship on the PGA TOUR.

QUOTABLES:

“I saw Patrick (Newcomb) up there, Robby, Lee and Johnny. They’re all playing well, which means I need to step up my game, because I haven’t secured anything. There’s two events left and I think it gave me a little extra motivation seeing those guys play well. I knew I had to play well today and thankfully I was able to get the putter rolling and come in with a good score.” – Order of Merit leader Kramer Hickok, who shot an 8-under 64 on Saturday.

“I always enjoy playing with Rob, and I really enjoyed playing with Johnny today. It’s a little bit of both ways because it is always great to play with great players, but I’m trying to beat probably two of the best players in the field, so it’s gonna be tough but I’m looking forward to the challenge. If it’s anything like the Johnny Ruiz session that I watched today, it’s going to be tough, but I think I’ve still got some good golf left.” – Lee McCoy on the challenge of competing for the title on Sunday.

Miscellaneous notes:

• Weather: 16 degrees Celsius, partly cloudy, winds at 8 km/h gusting to 2 km/h.
• Order of Merit leader Kramer Hickok shot an 8-under 64 and was in solo seventh going into Sunday at 11-under.
• Preferred lies were in effect for Round 3.

Click here for scores.

INDIANAPOLIS _ Lexi Thompson celebrated in the most traditional Indy style. She sipped some milk, poured the rest over her head and, of course, sealed it with a kiss of the bricks.

The 22-year-old Florida player earned it.

After dazzling fans with two days of almost error-free golf, Thompson overcame some late bobbles for a four-shot victory over Lydia Ko on Saturday in the inaugural Indy Women in Tech Championship.

Thompson closed with a 4-under 68 to finish at 19-under 197 at Brickyard Crossing, the Pete and Alice Dye-designed course that weaves around and inside the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

“Kind of regretting it now because I feel really gross,” Thompson said, referring to the first milk bath by a female champion in Indy history. “Then I went around the track in a Corvette Stingray, which I also have one there at home. It was just an amazing experience. That made my day right there.”

She said she hit 122 mph on the track.

Shortly after collecting the Waterford crystal trophy and the champions’ wreath on the 18th green, Thompson was driven to the track’s start-finish line where she kneeled down in front of cameras and kissed the bricks. Then, after taking a quick sip, the slightly hesitant player doused herself in almond milk.

The only items that were salvaged were the shoes she wanted for The Evian Championship, the final major of the season next week in France, and her sunglasses that she handed to someone.

“Here goes this outfit,” Thompson said with a laugh before posing for more photos with a streak of milk running down her nose.

She didn’t notice _ or mind _ after a dominant weekend put her in position to jump from third to second in the world ranking.

Thompson won her ninth career LPGA Tour title and became the fourth player _ and first American _ with multiple wins this season. She also won the Kingsmill Championship in May in Virginia. In April in the major ANA Inspiration in the California desert, she lost a playoff to So Yeon Ryu after being penalized four strokes for a rules violation reported by a television viewer.

Ko had a chance to end a 14-month winless streak, but the 20-year-old New Zealander couldn’t keep up with Thompson over the final 10 holes.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., finished in a tie for fifth place at 12 under after shooting a final round 69. Augusta James of Bath, Ont., was 6 under for the tournament.

The low scores that seemed like such a breeze the first two days mostly disappeared in the heaviest wind of the weekend. It showed.

While Thompson had six more birdies Saturday, she also had two back-nine bogeys and had to scramble to avoid more trouble.

Ko, who had only one bogey during the first two rounds, wound up with a bogey and double bogey in a closing 72.

“Lexi played great,” Ko said after her best finish since April. “She had some 3- or 4-footers for par and she made all of them, so it just shows you how much confidence she was playing with. But it was great being in this position.”

Nobody else really contended.

Candie Kung started the day a shot behind Thompson and Ko, but finished with 74 to tie for fifth at 15 under. Minjee Lee wound up third at 14 under after a 67. Iceland’s Olafia Kristindottir (68) was another stroke back.

For the first eight holes, it looked as if Thompson and Ko would turn it into a match-play event.

They matched pars on No. 1 and birdies on No. 2. Thompson, the first-round leader after a 63, regained the outright lead when Ko bogeyed the par-3 third. But Ko birdied the par-5 fifth to tie it again, at 16 under, and it stayed that way until Thompson birdied Nos. 9 and 10.

“I had a three-putt on the third hole and that was my first three-putt of the weekend,” Ko said. “I tried to bring it back, but I just wasn’t putting as well today as did the other couple of days.”

Thompson’s biggest obstacle the rest of the way was herself.

She bogeyed the par-4 11th and gave back another stroke after hitting her tee shot into the water on No. 16. She nearly gave away another at No. 17 when her second shot rolled through the green.

But she rebounded with a birdie at No. 18 to kick off the post-tourney party.

“I was trying to comprehend that on the car ride over. I was like, what?” Thompson said when reflecting on her gender-breaking win at Indy. “It was a huge honour to be here in Indiana, to be able to kiss those bricks _ definitely a memory that I’ll never forget.”

INDIANAPOLIS _ Lydia Ko delivered a clear message to her LPGA Tour rivals Friday.

She’s having fun again _ and she’s ready to start winning again.

The 20-year-old New Zealander shot an 8-under 64 and grabbed a share of the lead with Lexi Thompson at 15-under 129 with a round left in the Indy Women in Tech Championship. If Ko puts together one more solid round Saturday, she could finally pick up her first win since July 2016.

“I know I’ve still got a whole, full 18 holes tomorrow to go, but I think really the key was that I’ve just kind of enjoyed being in this position and being able to hit some good shots and give myself some good looks at birdie,” Ko said. “When you start doing that, it builds your confidence and you’re not dwelling on, ‘Hey, am I going to hit a good shot or a bad shot.’ I think that’s kind of the mindset that I’ve kind of gotten into the last few months.”

After a summer full of frustration, the 14-time tour winner has shifted gears at Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s golf course.

Ko started the season with four top-10 finishes in seven events, but hasn’t finished higher than 10th since. She even missed the cuts in two of her last three tournaments.

Somehow, amid the intermittent sounds of chirping birds, jet engines, sirens and car horns while playing in the shadows of the racetrack’s grandstands, Ko found some serenity.

While playing partners Anna Nordqvist and Stacy Lewis, the winner last week in Portland, Oregon, struggled, Ko took advantage of the wide fairways and receptive greens and started playing like the world’s No. 1 player_ a title she held for more than 80 consecutive weeks.

Now No. 8 in the world, Ko started on the back nine and opened with consecutive birdies to tie Thompson at 9 under. Ko finally broke the tie with a birdie at No. 15, then took charge with five straight birdies on the front side to reach 16 under. The only glitch came on No. 8 when Ko missed the green to the left and slid her par putt to the right for a bogey.

“It was a little disappointing to finish off with a bogey on my 17th hole, but I felt like I played the toughest hole out there,” she said while Thompson prepared to tee off nearby. “Sometimes you have those mistakes but you need to move on from that. To me, it’s just nice to play some solid golf and put myself in a good position.”

Ko also understood her score might not hold up for the outright lead.

Thompson made sure of it, following her opening 63 with a 66.

The 22-year-old Florida player closed out the front nine with three birdies on the final four holes then adding birdies at Nos. 13 and 14 to tie Ko. But Thompson’s birdie putt at No. 16 missed just to the left of the hole and she wound up scrambling for par on the final two holes when her approaches went through the greens.

“Actually, I didn’t hit one bad golf shot today,” Thompson said. “I feel great about it, I’ll never complain about a 6-under round.”

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., is six shots back at 9 under after shooting a 68. Augusta James (69) of Bath, Ont., is the only other Canadian to make the cut at 3 under.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (73), Jennifer Ha (75) of Calgary, and Maude-Aimee Leblanc (77) of Sherbrooke, Que., missed the cut.

The final threesome Saturday might not need to do much scoreboard watching.

Candie Kung made nine birdies and shot a 64 to reach 14 under.

“Luckily, I was able to hit some really close ones and have some 3-footers and 5-footers for birdies and I pretty much made all of them except the last one,” Kung said.

Ashleigh Buhai was fourth at 11 under after a 66, and Cristie Kerr (67) and Amy Olson (68) were 10 under.

Kerr has more than golf on her mind.

“We live in Scottsdale, Arizona, right now, but my whole family is there (in Florida) and tons of friends and I’m just really, really worried for everybody,” Kerr said as her home state braces for Hurricane Irma.

Sandra Gal was tied with Kung at 14 under, then bogeyed the par-3 15th and hit two drives into the water on the par-4 16th en route to a 10. She finished with a 73 to drop eight strokes behind the leaders.

Amateur Erica Shepherd was 5 under after a 68.

Lewis made the cut on the number at 2 under with rounds of 72 and 70.

Nordqvist failed to advance, shooting 74-71 to finish at 1 over.