CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Rickie Fowler is looking to jumpstart his season at a course where he first won on the PGA Tour.

Fowler shot a 4-under 68 on Saturday to take the third-round lead at the Wells Fargo Championship.

Fowler, who broke through at Quail Hollow Club in 2012 for his first tour title, had a one-stroke lead over Roberto Castro, with Justin Rose and James Hahn two strokes back.

Fowler won The Players Championship and Deutsche Bank Championship last year and took the European Tour event in Abu Dhabi early this year. Though he blew a late lead and lost the Phoenix Open in a playoff this season, he has the confidence to handle pressure situations in the final round. That’s something he admitted he didn’t have five years ago.

“It’s completely different,” Fowler said. “I would say before (it was) maybe not the complete belief or knowledge of knowing what to do and how to win to get the job done. But now it’s fun to go out there and go take care of business.”

Castro was atop the leaderboard most of the day, but bogeyed the 18th hole for a 71.

Winless on the tour, he said he’s looking forward to playing with Fowler in the final group Sunday.

“If you want to win a tournament out here and really win a marquee event like this one, you’re going to have to grab your hat and play with one of the top five players in the world probably the final round,” Castro said. “So that’s what I’ve got tomorrow so I’m excited about it.”

Fowler parred the first seven holes Saturday before heating up with three straight birdies on Nos. 8-10. It appeared things were starting to crumble after bogeys on 10 and 12, but Fowler came back strong with three straight birdies starting on No. 14 to pull into a tie for the lead.

He had a little luck along the way.

Fowler avoided potential trouble on the 18th hole when his ball held up in the high grass instead of rolling into the creek along left side of the fairway. Playing with the ball well above his feet, Fowler ripped an iron onto the green and saved par.

Phil Mickelson and defending champion Rory McIlroy struggled, dropping eight shots behind Fowler.

Mickelson, looking for his first win at the Quail Hollow Club in 13 starts, was in contention until a quadruple-bogey 8 on his old nemesis, the 18th hole. He finished with a 76.

He found the creek on his approach shot and, after taking a drop, needed three chips before finding the green and two-putting for an 8.

Mickelson’s struggles on the final hole at Quail Hollow have been well documented. In the 51 career rounds, he is 21 over on No. 18 – a hole he said earlier this week simply doesn’t set up well for the left-hander.

McIlroy, the tournament’s only two-time winner, had two bogeys in the first four holes and shot 73.

The two-time tournament champion who shot 11-under 61 last year in the third round on his way to a runaway victory, couldn’t muster that same magic on Saturday.

He struggled throughout his round with his accuracy off the tee and putting. A double bogey on the ninth hole and bogey on the 11th seemed to zap him of any momentum and likely a chance at becoming the tournament’s first three-time winner.

McIlroy said the course is “tricky,” especially on the back nine but said his game still isn’t where it needs to be.

“There’s been spells where it’s been good and I’ve had a couple of chances to win this year, but it’s a work in progress,” said McIlroy, who has not won on the PGA Tour this season. “I’m trying to stay patient, as patient as possible, but there are definitely times out on the course where I get quite frustrated.”

Adam Hadwin, of Abbotsford, B.C., and Graham DeLaet, of Weyburn, Sask., are both 2 over for the tournament and tied for 51st.

Rose has quietly put himself in contention on Sunday after rounds of 70, 70 and 69.

He said the course, which will host the PGA Championship next year, is playing extremely hard especially given the gusty wind this week.

“This type of scoring would definitely hold up in a PGA Championship,” Rose said. “They’re not looking for us to shoot even par like a U.S. Open. Single digits under par is really good golf and it’s a sign of a great golf course.”

PRATTVILLE, Ala. – Ariya Jutanugarn knows the pain of losing a final-round lead, so she’s sticking with the theme of “having fun” this time.

Jutanugarn certainly had some good times when she birdied eight of the final nine holes Saturday to match the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic record at 9-under 63 and take a three-stroke lead.

Seeking her first LPGA Tour victory, the 20-year-old Thai player had a 14-under 202 total. She showed little emotion at the end, giving a small wave toward the bleachers after picking up her ball and strolling toward her playing partners for a hug.

“(Sunday’s) going to be so much fun,” Jutanugarn said. “I just want to enjoy and have fun.”

Ryann O’Toole and Australia’s Minjee Lee were tied for second. They each shot 68 on a day when the winds calmed down after the first two rounds.

Jutanugarn parred No. 15, the only blemish in her back-nine birdie run on the links-style Senator Course at Capitol Hill. She pulled her approach left on No. 17 and still knocked it within a couple of feet of the hole, and closed with a 5-footer on the final hole for yet another birdie.

She has flirted with wins before but had two final-round collapses. Last month in the ANA Inspiration, she had a two-stroke lead with three holes left and closed with three bogeys to finish fourth _ two strokes behind winner Lydia Ko in the major championship. In the 2013 LPGA Thailand at age 17, Jutanugarn blew a two-stroke lead with a closing triple bogey in a one-stroke loss to Inbee Park.

Asked about the close calls, Jutanugarn stuck to the “fun” theme.

“Final round, so (I) just want to have fun and enjoy and good shots tomorrow,” she said.

She’s the eighth player to shoot 63 in the tournament, which was moved up from its normal late summer slot because of the Olympics.

“As far as she hits it, on this golf course, she should shoot that number,” Stacy Lewis said.

The 19-year-old Lee won last month in Hawaii for her second LPGA Tour title.

Second-round leader So Yeon Ryu was four strokes back after a 71, making two birdies and a bogey.

Alena Sharp is the top Canadian after shooting a 71 on Saturday. The Hamilton native is tied for 20th at 5 under. Brooke Henderson, of Smiths Falls, Ont., shot a 68 to move into a tie for 30th while Samantha Richdale, of Kelowna, B.C., is 1 under for the tournament.

Lewis, the 2012 winner, didn’t have a bogey until the final hole Saturday for her second straight 68. She and Morgan Pressel, who shot a 70, were 9 under.

“I just got on the wrong side of the holes,” Lewis said. “I had a lot of tough putts, a lot of downhill sliders and just played a lot better than the score, which I guess is a good thing going into the final round.

“I know a low score is still out there.”

Brittany Altomare was among six players at 8 under after a 66. She birdied seven of the first 11 holes, then had two straight bogeys before regrouping.

Altomare got her first victory as a professional two weeks ago in the Symetra Tour’s Guardian Retirement Championship, beating Nicole Broch Larsen with a birdie on the fifth hole of a playoff.

Altomare expects to be eligible the rest of the year for LPGA Tour events after gaining status on the money-list reshuffle.

Possibly being in LPGA Tour contention going into the final day is another new experience for the 25-year-old, though Jutanugarn’s scorching finish made that less likely. Asked about her approach for Sunday, Altomare laughed and gave a shrug.

“I don’t really know, actually,” she said. “I’ve never really been in this position on the LPGA. It’s just the same, I think. Just go out there and just be aggressive and hopefully it’s your day.

THE WOODLANDS, Texas – Local favourite Jeff Maggert and Jesper Parnevik shared the Insperity Invitational lead at 7 under Saturday, leaving John Daly six strokes back in his PGA Tour Champions debut.

Maggert birdied the par-4 18th for a 3-under 69, and playing partner Parnevik had a bogey on the par-4 17th in a 68 at The Woodlands Country Club.

Daly followed his opening 70 with a 73 to drop into a tie for 21st at 1 under.

“I just have to get some confidence with the putter. That’s the thing,” Daly said. “My chipping wasn’t very good today, but I’m under par and I think seven is leading, you never know what can happen tomorrow. Maybe try to get maybe a little more aggressive with the driver, hit it a little bit more, get some more wedges in the holes and give myself a chance.”

The two-time major champion made four straight bogeys in the middle of the round and rebounded with birdies on 15 and 18. He turned 50 on April 28.

“Just bad execution, bad chips, bad putts,” Daly said about the bogey run on Nos. 8-11. “I actually thought I had a good shot on 9. I hit a 9-iron and it went over the back and you’re dead. But all in all, I hung in there. … I didn’t hit it real close today. The wind was a little tricky on the back nine.”

Maggert had four birdies and a bogey.

“Up and down today,” Maggert said. “I think the golf course played a couple shots harder today. I hit the ball great. I didn’t even struggle with the ball-striking. … I was trying to press a little bit on the back nine, trying to make up a little ground. But it was good. Gusty wind, and also the direction was shifting quite a bit, so that made shot selection harder.”

The Woodlands resident and former Texas A&M player led the tour with four victories last year, including major wins at the U.S. Senior Open and Regions Tradition. He won three times on the PGA Tour.

“I had a great career, and it’s different now,” Maggert said. “I think the difference is, when you’re younger, we’re all out here trying to prove things to ourselves and now, it’s more like there’s not a lot left to prove. I’d like to play well here tomorrow, but just going to enjoy the day and really looking forward to this week to jump-start my summer.”

Parnevik eagled the par-5 13th and had four birdies and two bogeys.

“The game didn’t feel good today, but putting felt a little bit better, even though I seemed to miss every short one,” Parnevik said. “Then, I holed two monsters, to sort of kind of even it out.”

The 51-year-old Swede is winless on the 50-and-over tour. He won five times on the PGA Tour.

“It’s great to feel the butterflies come alive,” Parnevik said. “All of a sudden you go, ”Oh, I have to focus on these shots.’ It’s different and it’s going to be fun tomorrow, just to be able to have a chance to win.“

First-round leader Mike Goodes was 6 under after a 72. Glen Day (68), Michael Allen (69), Grant Waite (69) and David Frost (70) were 5 under.

Canadian Stephen Ames (73) was in a tie for 8th at 4 under.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Phil Mickelson said this week it is “imminent” that he’ll win the Wells Fargo Championship sooner or later.

The 46-year-old is in contention once again at one of his favourite tournaments, although he will need to outplay former champions Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler to make good on that prediction this week.

Andrew Loupe topped the leaderboard Friday at 8 under after a 71, an up-and-down round with four birdies and three bogeys. Roberto Castro was a stroke back after a 66, the best round of the day. He eagled No. 18, one of the toughest closing holes on the PGA Tour.f

Chesson Hadley and Mark Hubbard were two shots back. Hadley had a 67, and Hubbard shot 68.

But big names were looming.

Fowler shot a 68, and Mickelson had a 70 to reach 5 under. McIlroy, the defending champion and only two-time winner of the event, bogeyed the final two holes for a 69 to drop six strokes back.

Mickelson has tied for fifth or better six times in 12 starts at Quail Hollow, but has never won.

While Mickelson said it’s “still a little early” to start thinking about winning. He was striking the ball well the past week in practice, but can’t put his finger on why he’s missing so many fairways with his driver.

“My touch around the greens, my short game is as good as it’s been in a long time and I think it will save me if I happen to not strike it well,” Mickelson said. “If I do strike it well, I think there’s a really low round in there.”

He’s winless since the 2013 British Open.

Fowler had five birdies and one bogey before saving par with a 13-foot putt on 18.

Playing partner McIlroy’s round didn’t end as well.

McIlroy got rolling when he chipped in for eagle from just off the green on the par-5 seventh hole. He followed that with three birdies in the next four holes to get to 4 under for the tournament and looked as if he was going to start a big run. But three bogeys on the back nine stunted his momentum.

“Rory and I definitely enjoy the times we get to play together,” Fowler said. “It was fun to kind of get each other going a bit and kind of feed off each other. It would have been nice to get a few more for the both of us.”

Despite the poor finish, McIlroy called it a step in the right direction after going nearly a month without playing competitive golf.

Now McIlroy is hoping to carry a little weekend magic over from last year. He shot 14 under on Saturday and Sunday last year to win by seven strokes.

“If I get off to a fast start (on Saturday), then I’ll be right there back in the tournament,” McIlroy said.

The 27-year-old Loupe has three top-10 finishes this season, but is still looking for his first victory. Despite the lead, he knows there is a lot of work to be done.

“It’s halftime,” Loupe said. “There’s a lot of good golfers right behind me. Just do my best to stay in this very moment.”

For the second straight day, there were some bizarre moments at Quail Hollow Club.

One day after a spectator was escorted from the property by police for tossing a ball with an earplug attached to it at McIlroy and Fowler while they were on the tee box, Zac Blair was disqualified after hitting his head with his putter – and then using the bent club to finish out the hole.

Blair said in a statement he didn’t notice the putter was bent until the next hole, at which time he immediately turned himself in by notifying a PGA Tour official of the situation.

“Going forward I’m going to do my best to not let my emotions get in the way out on the golf course,” Blair said in the statement.

There were some bizarre shots, too.

Jason Kokrak’s ball landed in an elevated tent near the 18th green. With tables and chairs on each side of him and fans holding glasses of wine on either side of him, Kokrak chipped off the green artificial grass rug through a small opening “Tin Cup” style to 17 feet of the hole before two-putting for bogey. Unlike the fictional Roy McAvoy, Kokrak failed to make the cut.

Adam Hadwin, of Abbotsford, B.C., and Grahaem DeLaet, from Weyburn, Sask., are the only Canadians that will tee off on Saturday. DeLaet had a 71 and is 1 under while Hadwin shot a 74 and is 1 over for the tournament. Hamilton’s Mackenzie Hughes, David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., and Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor failed to make the cut.

Jim Furyk, playing in his first tournament in eight months in his return from a wrist injury, also missed the cut with rounds of 73 and 75.

PRATTVILLE, Ala. – So Yeon Ryu birdied five of her last eight holes for a bogey-free 7-under 65 and a two-stroke lead Friday in the windy Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic.

Ranked 10th in the world but sixth in the race for the four spots on South Korea’s Olympic team, Ryu made three straight birdies on Nos. 2-4 and added two more on the par-4 sixth and par-5 eighth.

“Yesterday my shot was really great, but I couldn’t make a lot of putts, but today I pretty much made everything,” Ryu said. “It was a bit windy, but we played with a lot of wind the last few weeks, so it wasn’t really like really big difference. I think I was good at reading the wind as well, especially happy with having a bogey-free round and having seven birdies under my belt really feels good.”

The 2011 U.S. Women’s Open champion had a 9-under 135 total on the links-style Senator Course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail’s Capitol Hill complex.

“I heard it’s not going to be this windy on the weekend, so I think the course is going to feel slightly easier,” Ryu said. “I think I just want to do what I did today, just focus on my ball and focus on each shot, focus on the moment.”

Minjee Lee, Morgan Pressel and Ryann O’Toole were tied for second.

Lee closed with a bogey for a 70. The 19-year-old Australian won last month in Hawaii for her second LPGA Tour title.

“I think the wind direction was a little bit different,” Lee said. “I feel like I had more, maybe crosswinds and not as many downwind holes, so it makes it a little more trickier. But all in all, I think I played pretty solid.”

Pressel had a bogey-free 68.

“I’ve only made one bogey over the last two days, which is helpful,” Pressel said. “I’ve made a lot of good putts, both for birdie and for par, and just haven’t put myself in a lot of trouble. … It’s very difficult to play in the wind. I just really tried to stay patient out there and get birdies when I had the opportunity, but kind of sometimes play a little safer than going at every pin.”

O’Toole birdied her final hole for a 67.

First-round leader Laetitia Beck followed her opening 65 with a 73 to drop into a tie for fifth at 6 under with Caroline Masson (68) and Annie Park (71).

“I’m going to learn from today and hopefully handle the pressure a little better tomorrow,” said Beck, the first Israeli player to qualify for the LPGA Tour. “I think the wind made it a little harder, and some pin placements were tricky, and for me today the putts were harder.”

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp is the top Canadian. She had a 5-under 67 to move to 4 under, good for 15th place. Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., and Samantha Richdale of Kelowna, B.C., both shot 73s and are 1 over. Maude-Aimee Leblanc, of Sherbrooke, Que., and Quebec City’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay failed to make the cut.

Fourth-ranked Stacy Lewis, the 2012 winner, topped the group at 5 under after a 68. She birdied the final two holes.

“Stayed patient there on the back nine and was rewarded at the end with two good birdies,” said Lewis, winless in 48 events. “It’s playing hard, so I knew every shot you can get back and get a little closer is always good. It was blowing harder yesterday afternoon, but it was still going pretty good.”

Eighth-ranked Amy Yang and Gerina Piller also shot 68 to reach 5 under.

Michelle Wie was 1 under after a 72. She’s winless since the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open and hasn’t had a top-10 finish in 34 events.

Kris Tamulis missed the cut in her title defence with rounds of 76 and 77.

Courtenay, B.C. – California’s Aaron Wise shot an even-par 72 on Friday at Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community to take medalist honours and earn fully exempt status for the 2016 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season at the British Columbia Qualifying Tournament.

The 19-year old sophomore at the University of Oregon finished at 14-under for the week, two shots ahead of Dallas, Texas’ Conrad Shindler and Atherton, California’s Jonathan Garrick.

“It feels awesome,” said Wise, who admitted victory had eluded him in recent weeks competing for the Oregon Ducks. “The last four events coming into this one, all four were top-10s and three of them were top-3s and I didn’t quite win one. I knew I had a great opportunity after the first three rounds I played, and I did well to finish this one off.”

Starting the day ahead of Shindler and San Antonio, Texas’ Jeff Rein by four shots, Wise held steady with two birdies and two bogeys on the day, giving the world’s No. 6-ranked amateur a confidence-boosting win heading into the NCAA Regionals and Nationals.

“I know I’ve been playing great, but winning’s a whole other level, and to win on a stage that’s even bigger than the college stage is awesome. Going back for regionals and nationals, I’m going to do everything I can to help my team out and take it from there,” said Wise.

The Southern California native said he plans to turn pro following the completion of the NCAA Championships on June 1, meaning he’ll miss at least the season-opening Freedom 55 Financial Open. That make his exempt status through the 2016 season even more important, a fact not lost on Wise.

“It’s awesome, especially because I’m going to miss the first two events. To be able to build your own schedule, I can plan flights and hotels and all that in advance, which is awesome,” said Wise.

In all, 41 players earned status, including 30 Americans, seven Canadians, two Chileans, one Scotsman and one Argentinian.

THE WOODLANDS, Texas – John Daly shot a 2-under 70 on Friday in his PGA Tour Champions debut, leaving him four strokes behind leader Mike Goodes in the Insperity Invitational.

Daly had four birdies and two bogeys at The Woodlands Country Club, playing alongside friend Fuzzy Zoeller and Peter Jacobsen. The two-time major champion turned 50 on April 28.

“It was like starting all over,” Daly said. “The nerves were good, but it’s cool coming out here and having positive nerves, and I just fed off Fuzzy and Jake. You know, I couldn’t have asked to play with two better people. For my first round on the Champions Tour, we just had a blast.”

Daly was in a nine-man tie for 12th. He hit 13 of 14 fairways, 16 of 18 greens in regulation and topped the field with a driving average of 317.5 yards on the two measuring holes.

“I was surprised how good I hit the ball,” Daly said. “I mean, I hit a lot of fairways, and that 1-iron was a blessing today for me. Even when I didn’t hit it good, it was going in the fairway, and I gave myself a lot of chances, a lot of chances to hit greens and a lot of opportunities.”

Daly parred the first six holes, bogeyed the par-4 seventh and rebounded with birdies on the par-3 eighth and par-4 ninth. He added birdies on the par-4 11th and par-5 13th, had a bogey on the par-3 14th and closed with four pars.

“I just couldn’t get the putter to make anything,” Daly said. “But I rolled it good, and for me that’s what mattered today, is just hitting the ball solid and getting it around, and I didn’t shoot myself out of the tournament.”

The 59-year-old Goodes bogeyed the par-4 18th for a 66. He made four straight birdies on Nos. 13-16.

“The key in my game is keep giving myself opportunities,” Goodes said. “You make some putts and you go around, it looks like you’re not making much, and all of a sudden I make four in a row and that’s just the way this game is. You have to be patient, keep giving yourself opportunities.”

Canada’s Stephen Ames had a 67, and area resident Jeff Maggert and Duffy Waldorf shot 68.

“Struggling a little bit with my golf swing right now, but I’ve put a lot of work on my putting the last couple weeks when I haven’t been playing,” Ames said. “I haven’t put a lot of work into my golf swing so it’s showing now for me. Made some nice putts and a lot of birdies.”

Defending champion Ian Woosnam opened with a 73.

Zoeller and Jacobsen each shot 76.

PGA TOUR – In response to the wildfires ravaging Fort McMurray, Alta., the Graham and Ruby Delaet Foundation put into place this week a plan to assist in the battle against the devastation.

For each birdie Graham makes at this week’s Wells Fargo Championship, he will donate $500 to the Canadian Red Cross to help those affected by the fires.

“In all honesty, I didn’t see a lot of news about it here, but began looking more into it and found that it’s really a crisis, a disaster,” DeLaet said. “We just thought this may be a way to raise not just money, but also awareness for the people down here, who may not know much about what’s going on up there.”

As of Thursday night, more than 210,000 acres had fallen victim to the wildfires in Fort McMurray, an 800 percent increase from the night before. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called it the “largest fire evacuation in Alberta’s history.” By Thursday evening, upwards of 90,000 people had been forced to evacuate, with 70 percent of the homes in nearby Beacon Hill having been lost to the fires.

Fort McMurray is northwest of where DeLaet grew up in Weyburn, Sask.

“The support has been unreal,” said DeLaet. “Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor have also agreed to jump on board and donate $500 for each birdie. So, hopefully, it will raise both funds and awareness. That’s important to us.”

In Thursday’s first round, DeLaet posted a pair of birdies en route to a 1-under 71, while Hadwin and Taylor each made three birdies, worth a total of $4,000.

Not only has the inferno ripped the heart out of community and country, but it has also reduced to a charred terrain the Fort McMurray Golf Club, where the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada had contested the Syncrude Boreal Open presented by AECON the last five years.

“The region has been a wonderful host for the Mackenzie Tour, displaying the strong community spirit and hospitable demeanour of the people there, particularly the volunteers and the staff at Fort McMurray Golf Club,” said Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada President Jeff Monday. “To assist with upcoming relief efforts for the community, the Mackenzie Tour and the Syncrude Boreal Open will be making a donation to the Canadian Red Cross in Alberta.”

Though the dollar amount may be no match to that of DeLaet, Hadwin and Taylor, but the symbolic gesture being made this week by Arizona native Conrad Shindler in this week’s Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canda Q-School is every bit as significant. For each birdie he makes in Courtenay, B.C., Shindler will donate $10 to the Canadian Red Cross and $25 for each eagle. Shindler is the same individual who, in 2013, donated his entire $15,000 winner’s paycheck from anAdams Tour event to the relief efforts after an EF5 tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma.

“It’s just devastating to see. I played up there in Fort Mac a few years ago, and I stayed with a really nice family that week. I’m pretty sure their house is gone,” said Shindler, who is tied for second place at 10-under through three rounds this week. “I just felt like it was the least I could do, because when you see something like that it’s so much bigger than golf. When I played there a few years ago, I could really tell how much the people up there cared about their city, so this is the very least I could do.”

This week’s call to action is nothing new to the DeLaets, either. In 2013, Graham and Ruby spearheaded a similar campaign to help the victims of flooding in Alberta and Calgary.

The Graham & Ruby DeLaet Foundation is encouraging others like Shindler to help in the fight against the wildfires with donations of their own.

For more information or to donate, go to www.myevent.com/grahamdelaet.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – PGA TOUR Champions and Pacific Links International announced today that the 2016 Pacific Links Championship, originally set to be contested in Tianjin, China, has moved to Bear Mountain Resort in Victoria, B.C.. The tournament dates will remain September 19-25, with the field increasing from 60 players to 81 players, and the purse remaining $2.5 million.

“Bear Mountain Golf Resort is an incredible property, offering not only great golf, but an impressive variety of activities and accommodations,” said Mr. Du, Owner & Chairman of Pacific Links International. “Western Canada is a prime travel destination with attractions that include the internationally prized wine region of the Okanagan Valley, the cosmopolitan coastal city of Vancouver, Vancouver Island and to the east Jasper and Banff National Parks in the Canadian Rockies. We are proud to showcase Bear Mountain and the entire travel destination of spectacular British Columbia by bringing this special event to Victoria.”

Tournament play at the Pacific Links Championship will be held on the Mountain Course at Bear Mountain Resort, which opened for play in 2003.

The Jack & Steve Nicklaus co-design sits just minutes from Victoria’s downtown harbor, and is one of two Nicklaus Design courses at the resort. The Mountain Course sits at the base of Mount Finlayson, and features panoramic city, ocean and mountain views throughout.

“We are delighted that PGA TOUR Champions and Pacific Links have chosen Bear Mountain to host this event, and at such an important time of the year in the Tour’s schedule,” said World Golf Hall of Fame member Jack Nicklaus. “Players and fans will find that this is an incredible backdrop for golf, with gorgeous mountains framing the resort and spectacular vistas from many holes. It also made for a terrific canvas on which Steve and I could create a challenging but memorable resort golf experience. I hope the competitors will enjoy the experience as much as Steve and I did designing it.”

“Bear Mountain is honored to be a part of Pacific Links’ PGA TOUR Champions event,” said Dan Matthews, President and CEO, Ecoasis Developments LLP. “Hosting The Pacific Links Championship at Bear Mountain will enable us to showcase Canada’s only 36 holes of Nicklaus Design golf and go a long way in supporting our goal to demonstrate why we are fast becoming the finest golf resort community in Canada.”

The tournament will give PGA TOUR Champions two events in golf-rich Canada during a four-week stretch, pairing with the Shaw Charity Classic on September 2-4 to provide an exciting late-season run up to the inaugural Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs this fall.

In addition to the Pacific Links Championship, Victoria serves as host of the Bayview Place Island Savings Open presented by Times Colonist, a Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada event operated by the Island Open Golf Society for 33 years. The event’s past champions include Steve Stricker (1990), who is set to make his PGA TOUR Champions debut in early 2017, and current PGA TOUR Champions member Mike Grob (2006). Victoria native and Tour member Jim Rutledge has served as the event’s Honorary Chairman since 2014.

“Pacific Links International has been a wonderful partner for PGA TOUR Champions, and we are confident that Bear Mountain Resort will provide a championship-caliber setting for one of our premier events,” said PGA TOUR Champions President Greg McLaughlin. “The passion for golf is strong in British Columbia, and should make for a wonderful tournament week atmosphere for our fans and players.”

From 2012-14, PGA TOUR Champions held the Pacific Links Hawai’i Championship at Kapolei Golf Club on Oahu. Following the 2014 tournament, Pacific Links announced it was moving the 2015 tournament to Tianjin, China, to be played at the company’s flagship course in Asia, The 27 Club. Tragically, in August, a factory explosion in the port area of Tianjin forced the cancellation of the event, with officials making the decision just weeks prior to tournament week out of respect for the hundreds of victims of the tragedy.

Pacific Links and the PGA TOUR remain committed to holding a PGA TOUR Champions tournament in Tianjin, but due to ongoing challenges in the city associated with the explosion, the joint decision was made to move the 2016 event to British Columbia.

Tournament week in Victoria will begin with pro-ams on Wednesday and Thursday, followed by 54 holes of tournament play from Friday through Sunday, with no cut. All three rounds will be broadcast on Golf Channel.

In November of 2015, Bear Mountain was named Golf Canada’s official training centre.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Steve Wheatcroft and Andrew Loupe each shot 7-under 65 on Thursday in rain and steady wind to share the first-round lead in the Wells Fargo Championship, while Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler dodged a thrown golf ball with an earplug attached to it.

As if battling a lengthy and saturated course wasn’t enough, playing partners McIlroy and Fowler endured a bizarre event on the sixth tee box when a spectator hurled the dressed-up golf ball their way as Fowler was preparing to hit.

“So random,” Fowler said. “The guy tried to say it was a gift. I don’t know why you would give a gift of a golf ball with an earplug attached to it.”

The fan was escorted from the property by police.

“It was one of those things,” McIlroy said. “It was a golf ball with an ear plug stuck on it, so it was sort of strange.”

Fowler, the 2012 winner, finished with a 71, leaving him six shots behind Wheatcroft and Loupe, who were also paired together. McIlroy, the only two-time winner of the tournament, shot a 73 after a bogey-plagued start to his title defence. He won by seven shots last year, finishing at 21 under.

India’s Anibarn Lahiri was a shot back after a 66.

Phil Mickelson, who has finished in the top five six times in 12 starts at the Wells Fargo Championship but never won, opened with a 69.

“I have been able to play well here over the years, but just haven’t been able to breakthrough and get a victory,” Mickelson said. “But I will keep knocking on the door and hopefully keep giving myself a chance.”

But the talk of the tournament came after McIlroy hit his tee shot on the green on the 250-yard, par-3 sixth hole. When Fowler stepped up to the tee he saw something fly by his left side, startling him for a moment.

He didn’t know what it was until it stopped rolling.

McIlroy wound up with a birdie, while Fowler and the other member of their threesome, Hideki Matsuyama, carded 3s.

The 27-year-old Loupe, who has three top-10 finishes this season, shot 31 on the front nine. Wheatcroft did his work on the four par 5s, playing them in 6 under with two eagles and two birdies.

“Kind of felt like I was trying to keep up the whole time with Steve,” Loupe said. “We both had it rolling early. Just solid golf for the most part, just looking to keep that momentum going.”

McIlroy has some work to do to get into contention if he hopes to become the first three-time winner.

He called his first competitive round since the Masters a “tale of two nines.”

The world’s No. 3-ranked player shot a 4-over 40 while starting on the back side, then got things headed in the right direction with four birdies on the front.

“I was sort of still in range mode on the front nine,” McIlroy said. “I didn’t really have my scoring head on.”

McIlroy, who turned 27 on Wednesday, wasn’t pleased with how he played in the soggy conditions but said the strong finish gave him something strong to build on for Friday.

“I need to go out and shoot a good round, something in the 60s, and get myself back into the tournament going into the weekend,” said McIlroy, who has spent the last three weeks working to fix his swing.

Jim Furyk shot a 73 in his return from an eight-month layoff because of a wrist injury.

Furyk had “no pain, no apprehension,” but said he wasn’t planning to hit many practice balls after the round – which didn’t exactly upset him.

“I don’t enjoy hitting balls, so actually it’s kind of fun,” Furyk said. “I’m not really allowed to or can’t, so I’m enjoying that part of it.”

Top-ranked Jason Day and No. 2 Jordan Spieth did not enter the event, and No. 8 Dustin Johnson withdrew earlier in the week because of unspecified reasons.