Henley shoots 69 to lead by 3 after third round at Wyndham; Sloan T3
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – Russell Henley was grateful to get through the round with the lead at the Wyndham Championship. He hopes to hold on for 18 more holes for his first PGA Tour victory in four years.
Henley shot a 1-under 69 on Saturday to take a three-stroke lead.
Henley, who tied the lowest 36-hole score on tour this year, couldn’t keep up that pace at Sedgefield Country Club. Yet, he rolled in a 33-foot putt for eagle on the par-5 15th and went on to finish at 15-under 195 as he tries to win his fourth career title and first since the 2017 Shell Houston Open.
Henley acknowledged he was edgy enter the round with his large lead. “That’s not going to happen every time and these rounds are kind of what make and break really good tournaments,” he said. “So I’m really thankful to be under par today.”
Tyler McCumber, the son of 10-time tour winner Mark McCumber, shot a 66 and was at 12 under in second. He’s winless on the tour.
The group of six four shots behind at 11 under included three playoff outsiders in Rory Sabbatini, Scott Piercy and Roger Sloan now on track to tee it up in the 125-man field for the postseason that starts next week at The Northern Trust.
Sabbatini, the Olympic silver medalist last month, has used his momentum from Tokyo to make a charge in the playoff standings. His 69 included a birdie on the 17th hole that moved him from outside the postseason – he began the week at No. 141 – to a projected place of No. 122.
Piercy, too, continued his charge into the tour playoffs with a 68. He was first man out of the playoffs at No. 126 when the week began. But his third straight round in in the 60s projected him to 93rd.
Sloan also needed a big week to continue his season and he’s gotten it so far with a second straight 64 to move from 131st in the playoff standings to No. 102.
Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., is tied for 15th at 9 under, while Nick Taylor of Abbotsford and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., are both tied for 28th at 7 under.
Others tied at 11 under were Branden Grace, Kevin Kisner and Kevin Na. Grace shot 64, Kisner 66 and Na 67.
Former FedEx Cup champion Justin Rose, who started the week 138th in the standings, shot 69 after a bogey on the final hole. He’s 126th in the projections.
There are no guarantees that current results mean anything come the next round – or next hole. Just ask Tyler Duncan, who made five birdies on his front nine to move up 61 spots in the playoff standings to 101st.
But Duncan played the back nine at 3 over for a 69 – and dropped to 150th by round’s end.
It won’t be a normal final round either as the PGA Tour will start earlier with the first golfers going off at 7 a.m. to beat expected bad weather later in the day. Golfers will also go off in threesomes and from the first and 10th tees.
Henley, who entered at No. 46, was locked into the playoffs long before this event began. He’s focused on finishing out the victory, something he could not two months ago when he was in a three-way tie for the top after three rounds of the U.S. Open.
Henley shot a final-round 76 at Torrey Pines to fall back.
He looked as if he’d regained his form with his eagle on No. 15. But Henley missed a 13-foot par putt on the 18th to drop a shot.
Henley hopes to get away from golf for a few hours tonight, knowing he’s got an earlier start than normal.
“I think just trying to get a good meal and get your mind away from it if you can,” he said.
McCumber’s career best came this year with a second at the Puntacana event in the Dominican Republic last September. He had missed his past six cuts before getting hot this week.
“You’ve got to stay in the process and I feel like I’ve been doing that pretty well and getting rewarded for it through the first three rounds this week, so taking that momentum into tomorrow,” he said.
Billy Mayfair leads after first round at Shaw Charity Classic; Mike Weir in second
CALGARY – Billy Mayfair needed to sink a lengthy putt on his final hole of the Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club on Friday to tie the course record of 61.
He just missed the putt a few centimetres to the right and had to settle for a tap-in par on his way to carding a round of 8-under 62.
“That’s great to hear that I almost got the course record,” said Mayfair, whose great round put him atop the leaderboard after the opening day of the Shaw Charity Classic. “We’ve still got a long way to go, but it was a good day.”
Mayfair, 55, started his first round of the PGA Tour Champions event on the back 9. After going 2 under through his first six holes, Mayfair rolled in four straight birdies to move into contention.
“Just about everything went right today,” he said. “Been a long time since I’ve shot this low and I was real happy with it. I moved from Arizona to Oklahoma and was moving boxes and doing all that stuff for three weeks. Maybe it did me some good because I got here and I was refreshed and definitely had a good day today.”
Meanwhile, Canadian fan favourite Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont.,made his debut at the Shaw Charity Classic in fine fashion as he carded a tidy round of 7-under 63 on the par 70, 7,086-yard layout to put him alone in second spot.
“You really have to get off to some good starts and today was one of those days that was exceptional,” said 51-year-old Weir, who’s a rookie on the senior circuit for golfers aged 50 and older. “I would have taken 3 or 4 under, so 7’s definitely a bonus.”
The 2003 Masters champion and winner of seven other PGA Tour events was 4 under after his front nine.
“I caught fire in the middle of the round with a birdie and an eagle on 10 and 11, then just kind of stalled a little bit,” said Weir, who finished his round with seven straight pars. “I had a couple good looks at it and didn’t make them. All in all, it was a really good day.”
Although the gallery at this year’s tournament is limited to just 2,000 people a day, Weir said he appreciated the support he received on the opening day of the 54-hole event that wraps up on Sunday.
“I was ready to make a few putts for them and hopefully I can kind of keep some momentum, so Sunday maybe it will be even louder hopefully,” Weir said.
Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member and former Calgary resident Stephen Ames is in a tie for third spot at 6 under along with Doug Barron and Steve Flesch.
“It’s a good start,” said Ames, who was among a patron group who brought the tournament to Calgary in 2013. “Like Mike has mentioned, the mindset has to change when it’s three rounds of golf. You’ve got to get out of the box really quick and get going, so this obviously is going to help.”
Ken Duke and Brandt Jobe both shot rounds of 65 and are tied for sixth place overall.
The 65-player field also featured two other Canadians.
David Morland IV, who’s originally from Aurora, Ont., and Dennis Hendershott, of Brantford, Ont., both carded rounds of 2-under 68 and are in a logjam of 11 players – including Germany’s Bernhard Langer – who are tied for 21st spot.
“Hopefully that’s the worst round of the week and we can get a little closer to the leaderboard,” said Morland, who shot 64 in his opening round of the 2019 event before falling out of contention with back-to-back rounds of 72. “We miss having super big crowds, but right now we’re just glad to be playing in any circumstance.
“But the guys did a great job here to be able to have the event, so we’re happy with what we’ve got and we look forward to next year having everybody back.”
Henley holds halfway lead at Wyndham Championship after 64; Hughes T12
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – Russell Henley shot a 6-under 64 on Friday to open a four-stroke lead halfway through the Wyndham Championship.
Henley was at 14-under 126, tying Stewart Cink at the RBC Heritage in April for the lowest 36-hole score this season in a tournament Cink went on to win.
Olympic silver medalist Rory Sabbatini was tied for second with past champion Webb Simpson and playoff bubble man Scott Piercy.
Sabbatini shot a 64, Simpson 65 and Piercy at 66.
Former FedEx Cup champion Justin Rose, outside the playoffs at the start of the week, continued his surge toward the postseason with a 65 that left him at 9 under in a group with Tyler Duncan and Brian Stuard.
Duncan had the lowest score of the round at 62. Stuard shot 66.
Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., fired a 63 and is the top Canadian at 7 under.
Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., (71) and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., (64) are both 5 under, while Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor (71) and Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont., (66) are 4 under.
When Henley teed off, the first-round leader had already been passed by Sabbatini, Piercy and Simpson. Henley, who opened on the back nine, got going with four straight birdies on Nos. Nos. 14-17 to regain the lead.
Henley added three more birdies on his final nine. It was a couple of months ago that Henley shared the halfway lead at the U.S. Open. He was among three leaders after 54 holes until falling off with final-round 76.
Henley hopes he can keep the same drive and mentality on the weekend. After all, this is not the U.S. Open and pars here will probably lead you out of contention.
“You have to do everything right,” Henley said. “So it’s kind of the same way except for I’m just mainly trying to keep committing to every shot off the tee and put myself in the fairway” where he can stay aggressive.
It was a good day for Sabbatini, Piercy and Rose, all who began the week outside the 125-man postseason cutoff, but have played themselves into next week’s Northern Trust with 36 holes to go.
Sabbatini, buoyed by his Tokyo experience, has moved from 141st in the FedEx standings to a projected 95th. He tied his career low 36-hole score of 130, last accomplished in 2003 at the Shriner’s Children’s Open.
Piercy started this week as first man out at No. 126. His 64-66 start has him projected at 80th for the playoffs.
Rose, who won the 2018 FedEx Cup, was also outside at No. 138 when he teed off Thursday. He’s inside the playoffs at 117th after shooting 66-65.
It was not the case for playoff outsider Rickie Fowler, who missed the cut after shooting 71-72. He had needed to finish 21st or better to keep his 11-season streak of advancing to golf’s postseason intact. Instead, Fowler will have a few weeks off before next season.
“I know what I’m capable of, I’ve been up there and played against the best in the world and been a top-five, top-10 player in the world for a number of years in my career,” Fowler said. “I’m not in a position where I’m comfortable or where I want to be.”
Sabbatini said his game kicked into gear in Tokyo – he finished with a 61 for the silver behind gold-medalist American Xander Schauffele – and has continued at the PGA Tour’s final regular-season event.
His play at Sedgefield Country Club has him pointing toward the playoffs. “I do potentially have a flight reservation, but I don’t know which direction.”
Piercy had made the playoffs the past six seasons.
Rose said his first two rounds have him thinking about more than the top-10 finish needed to continue his season: He’s aiming for his first PGA Tour win since the Farmers Insurance Open in 2019.
“I know I need to finish top-10, but at the same time there’s no point limiting yourself to that kind of thinking,” he said. “Winning would go a long way to kind of feel like you can compete in the playoffs.”
Among those missing the 3 under cut were Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama and veteran Ryan Moore, who will miss the tour playoffs for the first time since it began in 2007.
Weir in Shaw Charity Classic field in Calgary for first time
Mike Weir will make his Shaw Charity Classic debut at Canyon Meadows Golf & Country Club in Calgary on Friday.
The 51-year-old from Sarnia, Ont., is in his rookie season on the PGA TOUR Champions and has already notched one win and four runner-up finishes in 20 starts over the course of the 2020-21 season.
“I’m having a lot of fun,” Weir said on the season so far. “When you’ve been down and struggling for a long time and you’ve kind of clawed your way out of it, it’s very satisfying. Now my game’s in a really good place and I’m excited.”
Weir’s win at the Insperity Invitational in May was the former Masters winner’s first win since 2007 when he won the Fry’s Electronics Open on the PGA TOUR.
This will be the first time the PGA TOUR Champions is in Canada since the 2019 Shaw Charity Classic.
“It’s always great to get back up here,” said Weir on playing in Canada. “I had a chance to check out the golf course, first time around. It’s very good, really good condition.”
Canyon Meadows Golf & Country Club has hosted the event since its inaugural year in 2013 and is a par 70, 7,086-yard course.
Weir will be playing in a field alongside fellow Canadians Stephen Ames, David Morland IV, and Dennis Hendershott.
This will be Ames’ seventh appearance at the tournament, his best finish being a tie for fifth in 2015. Ames also has a win on the PGA TOUR Champions this season at the Principal Charity Classic in June where he narrowly beat out Weir by one stroke for the win.
Weir, who’s currently ranked No. 8 on the Charles Schwab Cup, said he feels great being back in Canada.
“Whenever we play the Canadian Open or here and then back in the day at the Air Canada Championship, it was just the support that we got,” Weir said. “I think the fans have always been just so wonderful to me and rallied behind me and supported me, and the Presidents Cup in Montreal, they’re phenomenal memories.”
The event will allow 2,000 spectators each tournament day.
American Wes Short Jr. is the defending champion of the event. He won with a birdie on the final hole to win by one stroke over Scott McCarron, who won the event back-to-back in 2017 and 2018.
Weir will tee off at 10:58 a.m. in Calgary.
Henley shoots lowest round in 2 years to lead Wyndham; Hadwin T2
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – Russell Henley shot an 8-under 62, his lowest round in more than two years, to take the lead Thursday in the suspended first round of the Wyndham Championship.
Henley birdied three of his final four holes for a two-stroke lead over Sung Kang, Ted Potter Jr., Chris Kirkand, Hudson Swofford, Scott Piercy and Michael Thompson in the PGA Tour’s final regular-season event. Adam Hadwin also was 6-under, but had two holes left when darkness ended play.
Canadians Michael Gligic and Nick Taylor are both tied for ninth at 5 under. Mackenzie Hughes is tied for 108th and Roger Sloan is tied for 130th.
A storm halted play for 2 hours, 7 minutes, with 22 players unable to finish.
Past champion Webb Simpson and Kevin Kisner led a group of 10 another stroke behind at 65 at Sedgefield Country Club, where many competitors are scrambling to make it into top 125 to advance to the playoffs that start next week at the Northern Trust.
Henley, at No. 46 in the standings, had no worries about the postseason, but came out fast with a bogey-free round in chasing his first PGA Tour victory in four years.
He moved in front with a two-putt birdie on the par-5 15th before closing with birdies on 17 and 18, the last with a 20-foot putt. He had with his lowest round on the tour since a career-low 61 at the John Deere Classic in 2019.
Henley has played some solid golf of late. He was tied for the 36-hole lead at the U.S. Open in June, then had two straight top-20 finishes before missing the cut at the British Open. He returned this week, hoping he can carry his strong play to the end.
“I haven’t won in years, so I feel like as well as I’ve been playing, I feel like I’ve underachieved a little bit,” he said.
“My mindset,” Henley continued, “is I feel if I can play my game, play my normal game, then I can maybe give myself a chance and that’s kind of where I’m at.”
There are several big names competing to keep their season’s alive. Adam Scott, who started at No. 121, and Matt Kuchar, at No. 124, both had strong starts at 66.
“I would like to play well this week and get a chance to play next week and keep getting my game into place,” Scott said.
Rickie Fowler, who came at 130th and needing a good week, didn’t help himself with a 71. Justin Rose, the Payne Stewart Award winner this week, has to finish in the top 10 to advance after coming in 138th. He opened with a 66, tied for 19th.
Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama was at 69, tied for 89th.
Olympic medalists Rory Sabbatini and C.T. Pan also are playing after the Tokyo Games. Sabbatini, who took silver for Slovakia behind U.S. gold medal winner Xander Schauffele, started with a 66.
Pan, from Taiwan, won a seven-man playoff for the bronze. He shot a 68.
Louis Oosthuizen, the only top 10 player in the FedEx standings entered, withdrew because of a neck injury.
Jean-Philippe Parr hangs on to win 2021 Canadian Junior Boys Championship
SAINTE-JULIE, Qué. – Jean-Philippe Parr of St. Celestin, Que., shot a final-round 2-over-74 en route to winning the Canadian Junior Boys Championship title by one stroke on Thursday at Vallée du Richelieu – Le Club in Sainte-Julie, Que.
“It feels great,” said Parr, who held the opening-round lead after shooting a 7-under-65, the low score for the championship. “It’s for sure a tournament I always wanted to win, and it feels great to get it done.”
The 17-year-old Team Canada National Junior Squad member jumped into the lead by one stroke after Wednesday’s third round following a bogey-free 66 that included an eagle on the second hole.
The final pairing saw Parr chased by duo Cooper Humphreys (Vernon, B.C.) and fellow Junior Squad member Owen Mullen (Shortts Lake, N.S.), both who started the day one back. It came down to the wire with Mullen’s par attempt falling just short on the final hole—avoiding the need for a playoff.
Parr said the key to his final-round success was staying patient and bouncing back from bad shots.
“I really tried to stay patient and make sure I didn’t get too down on myself,” said Parr. “It’s important after a bad shot to move on and focus on what’s next.”
Humphreys, 16, won the Juvenile Boys division (ages 16 and under) by a convincing 13-strokes—the largest margin of victory since 2011 (Kevin Kwon).
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, GOLF CANADA Ste-Julie, Québec: Canadian Championship Junior Boys Championnat Canadien Junior garçons Final Round Club de golf Vallée du Richelieu Cooper Humphreys Harvest Golf Club, Vernon, BC -Thursday, August 12th, 2021
“I just wanted to shoot as low as I could, stay patient, hit the middle of the greens, make some putts and try my best,” said Humphreys, who plays out of Harvest Golf Club in Kelowna, B.C.
With the victory, Parr receives exemptions into both the 2022 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship at Point Grey Golf & Country Club in Vancouver (Aug. 1-4) and the 2022 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort in Bandon, Oregon (July 25-30).
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, GOLF CANADA Ste-Julie, Québec: Canadian Championship Junior Boys Championnat Canadien Junior garçons Final Round Club de golf Vallée du Richelieu Jean-Philippe Parr KI-8-EB (Club de golf), St. Celestin, QC -Thursday, August 12th, 2021
Parr adds his name to a list of notable previous Canadian Junior Boys Champions including PGA TOUR player Nick Taylor (2006) and Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member George Knudson (1955).
Parr’s resume includes victories at the Quebec Junior and Juvenile Boys Championship in 2020 and both the AJGA Junior at Southpointe and the Future Links Fall Series East in 2019.
Ben MacLean of Niagara Falls, Ont., and Jeevan Sihota of Victoria, B.C., rounded out the top five in a tie for fourth place at 1 under.
The 2022 Canadian Junior Boys Championship will be held at Rivershore Golf Links in Kamloops, B.C.
Click here for full results.
What makes a responsible golfer?
If my foursome gets the first time on Sunday mornings, we usually play 18 in about three hours. When I tell most people this, they say, “Wow! You play fast.” (At least in North America.)
My response is, “No, we play efficiently.” There’s lots of advice available online on how to play more quickly (efficiently) so I leave that to you to check out. Lord knows, I’ve written about myself ad infinitum.
To me, “efficient golf” means taking most, if not all, of that advice and combining it with some other vital components to make the complete “responsible golfer.”
What makes a responsible golfer? In the interest of gaining the widest possible perspective, I threw that question out on Twitter.
The responses didn’t surprise me for the most part but, like the advice on playing more efficiently, they are well worth taking to heart in the interests of the game and those of us who love the game. Some came from folks who make their living in the golf industry but most were from the same people you meet on the first tee.
Before I share those responses, I refer you to Rule 1 of the Rules of Golf.
In summary, they define what makes a responsible golfer.
- Act with integrity.
- Show consideration for others.
- Take good care of the course.
I guess I could end this column right here but I think we all can benefit from the reactions of our fellow golfers on social media.
Many harked back to what I define as efficient golf, elements that improve pace of play: playing the correct tees for your ability, ready golf, continuous putting, marking your score at the next tee, and so on.
@MarchbankAndrew summed it up pretty well, I thought, with one word: Respect.
“Respect is the whole thing for me. Respect the course and the staff that facilitate your golf. Respect other golfers and that they are all different, play differently and that is OK. Respect the game, the Rules and traditions.”
Many of you may be new golfers and the second-last point above will resonate with you if you’re finding the game challenging. Don’t despair. All golfers were beginners at some point and the “responsible golfer” will recognize that and make allowances. But this street runs both ways. As a beginner, it is incumbent on you to keep an acceptable pace of play as well as knowing and abiding by the basic Rules and etiquette. Don’t be reticent to ask more experienced golfers for their advice on how to be an efficient and responsible golfer.
Often, this advice will include taking a couple of lessons and hitting the driving range. As someone pointed out, when you decide to take up the piano, you don’t just sit down and expect to play Brahms’ Lullaby. You take at least a lesson a week and practise frequently. Take it from someone who has mastered neither.
Once on the course, leave your ego in the parking lot and hit from the forward tees. If you hit double par, pick up your ball and watch your more experienced friends finish up and head to the next tee. Remember, the object of the game is to have fun.
Several respondents were current or former turf employees who, obviously focused on some pet peeves. You can guess the usual suspects: Replacing divots, fixing ball marks on greens and raking bunkers (post-COVID restrictions).
There were some comments about technology, starting with the distractions of ringing cell phones and portable speakers.
While some abhorred any music at all on the course, most were happy if the volume level was kept at a reasonable level. (Although one fellow vowed to leave the course if he heard country music. As a country music guy, I immediately blocked him. I’m kidding.)
@andypdmd offered a pretty complete check list: “Throws trash away. Mindful of golfer(s) behind them. Not loud. Rakes bunkers. Keeps cart away from green. Replaces pin. Doesn’t practice swing while others are hitting. Doesn’t offer unsolicited swing advice.”
There was also a unanimous call for the death penalty for those who spit sunflower shells on the green, drop cigar and cigarette butts randomly and toss beverage cans and other trash indiscriminately around the course.
Without dislocating my shoulder patting myself on the back, I leave it to @Wallajay to sum this up: “I looked through all these responses and can’t think of anything that hasn’t been mentioned already. Great job, folks. Proud of Twitter golf.”
Let me know @gordongolf if you have more advice on how to be an efficient and responsible golfer.
Golf Journalists Association of Canada announces the winners of its 13th annual Media Awards
Terry Lenyk
A panel of judges has examined close to 100 stories, photos, videos and podcasts to identify the finest content created by members of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada (GJAC) in 2020. There was an astonishing variety of content produced across many platforms in 2020 in the world of Canadian golf journalism. The judges faced a difficult task but managed to identify the cream of the crop in five categories: Column, Profile, Feature, Photography and Multimedia. Due primarily to the pandemic there were fewer entries in certain categories, which resulted in the merging of the Action and Landscape categories to a single Photography category and the merging of the Travel category into the Features category.
There were some notable highlights from this year’s award, including sweeps in two of the categories. Bernard Brault swept the Photography category with his exceptional work from 2020 and Kody McWilliams and Casey McWilliams swept the Multimedia category for their set of Mackenzie Tour videos on PGA TOUR Canada.
Other highlights included a focus on golfers with disabilities, resulting in Tim Baines winning First place in Features and Second place in Profiles for his story, “Breaking Down Barriers: Golf has healing powers for people with disabilities.” A different kind of barrier breaking was written about in Rick Young’s winning profile of golf architect Christine Fraser. David McPherson picked up top spot for columns with his timely and lively mix of music and pandemic precautions.
The full list of GJAC Award winners is below:
Column
First Place: David McPherson, Golf from a Distance, snowbirds.org
Second Place: Robert Thompson, Nick Taylor, Global Golf Post
Third Place: Jon McCarthy, Take a magical ride to the Masters from your couch, Toronto Sun
Photo
First Place: Bernard Brault, An aerial view of the 14th hole , par 3, of the south course of the Elmridge Country Club in Île Bizard, Québec
Second Place: Bernard Brault, A view of the 6th hole , par 5, at the Château Bromont golf course
Third Place: Bernard Brault, Richard Boudreau gets out of the bunker of the 15 th hole during a nice autumn day at the Château Bromont golf course
Profile
First Place: Rick Young, Christine Fraser Breaking All Kinds of New Ground, Score Magazine
Second Place: Tim Baines, Breaking Down Barriers: Golf has healing powers for people with disabilities, Postmedia
Third Place: Adam Stanley, Taylor Pendrith’s dream of playing on the PGA TOUR is close, PGATOUR.com
Multimedia
First Place: Kody McWilliams and Casey McWilliams, Laurent Desmarchais is on the rise, Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada
Second Place: Kody McWilliams and Casey McWilliams, Blair Bursey’s journey from Newfoundland towards the PGA TOUR, Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada
Third Place: Kody McWilliams and Casey McWilliams, Eric Hawerchuk competes with a heavy heart at Canada Life Series, Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada
Features
First Place: Tim Baines, Breaking Down Barriers: Golf has healing powers for people with disabilities, Postmedia
Second Place: Curtis Gillespie, The Long Game, enRoute magazine
Third Place: Brad Zeimer, Golf, Played Well…Or Not So Well, Has Immense Health Benefits, British Columbia Golf
The GJAC Media Awards are often presented at the annual GJAC golf day event, which has usually been held in southern Ontario during the early summer. However, the pandemic affected planning for this event, which will go ahead in early October 2021. Given that time frame, the awards this year were presented via a social media release in early August and will also be posted on the GJAC website.
GJAC wishes to offer its thanks to the judges for their effort and insight. This year’s judges were Jeff Brooke, Patty Condon, Harvey Freedenberg, Craig Gardner, Bernie Kollman, Norm MacDonald, Brian McPherson, Scot Morison and Shana Wilson.
Riley Fleming stamps his name on P.D. Ross Trophy as winner of the 2021 BetRegal PGA Championship of Canada
(Bromont, QC) – Saturday at Parcours du Vieux Village in Bromont, Quebec belonged to Riley Fleming.
From the time he made a 15-foot eagle putt on the fifth hole to break the deadlock between himself and Kevin Stinson to take the lead at the BetRegal PGA Championship of Canada presented by TaylorMade Golf and adidas Golf to the time he narrowly fought off water works on the 18th green with the P.D. Ross trophy in hand, the day was his, and the game is seldomly played as beautifully as Fleming played it this week.
The full leaderboard can be viewed here.
“This is the biggest win of my career by far,” said Fleming, who pieced together rounds of 66-63-68-66 this week to win by three. “Kevin (Stinson) and I duked it out pretty good on the front, and even on the back, I was only one clear after 13, so it was pretty tight. I’m just so excited.”
While the 63 the pro from Lynx Ridge Golf Club in Calgary, Alberta managed on Thursday may have been his lowest number, Saturday’s 66 was arguably his most impressive.
With a one-stroke lead on the par-5 7th hole, Fleming made one of his only major mistakes of the week – hitting his tee shot right, where it landed out-of-bounds. After striking his provisional perfectly down the center, a long-way down the center, I may add, his demeanour was unflustered, and he only sacrificed a single shot.
The 8th hole at Parcours du Vieux Village presents an interesting option for players. At only 330-yards and slightly downhill, it is certainly drivable, but with a pond guarding the right side, Fleming, who “is almost always against laying up,” as he told us after his round, took iron off the tee early in the week.
This was not the case on Saturday. Fleming, with thoughts of his wayward drive on seven nonexistent, made a winning decision and drove the green. Birdie for Fleming and bogey for Stinson, erasing the blemish from the seventh and adding even more cushion between himself and the PGA of BC pro. He never looked back and didn’t relinquish his lead for the remainder of the tournament.
By the time Fleming strolled down the 18th fairway, he had given himself a three-shot cushion. The scene could have been from a movie, (and the scene of Fleming walking towards the green with the Bromont faithful encircling him was like a tamed-down version of Tiger Woods at the 2018 FedEx Cup Finals) as Fleming buried a 35-footer for birdie and put his hands in the air.
“The crowd was so friendly and supportive, even cheering on the Alberta guy,” said Fleming, who takes home $10,000 with the win. “It was so much fun to see them there and our group hit some really good shots today so hopefully they enjoyed it as much as we did.”
His caddie, Chad Thompson, who booked his own ticket to Montreal to be there for his friend (and, little did he know, a moment of Canadian golf history), gave him a big bear hug.
When asked how it felt to have his name alongside Lee Trevino, Moe Norman and Arnold Palmer on the P.D. Ross trophy, Fleming fought back tears.
“It’s hard to believe… it’s pretty cool to have my name on a trophy with Arnold,” he said.
Kevin Stinson, who made only one bogey all tournament, finished in second place at 22-under, while Sang Hwa Lee rounded out the top three at 20-under. The full leaderboard can be viewed here.
The NoSweat Hardest Hole of the Day on Thursday was the 435-yard 16th hole. In total, 16 players made birdie on the par-4. After a random draw between those players, Phillip Jonas is the fourth round’s NoSweat Hardest Hole of the Day champion and will be awarded $250 for his feat.
Players continued to rave on Saturday about the LivRelief product they have been given throughout the week. For more information about LivRelief, click here.
This year’s championship comes on the heels of a historic announcement, as it was announced on Tuesday that the PGA of Canada has inked a three-year agreement with Canadian sports betting company BetRegal which gives them title sponsorship over the championship through 2023.
“We have a lot of great people that run events, but you can’t do it without sponsors,” said Fleming. “We’re all really appreciative that they jumped on board and we can’t say enough about how great it is to have their support.”
Sloan climbs 10 spots at Barracuda Championship finishing 6th; Pendrith T13
TRUCKEE, Calif. (AP) – Erik van Rooyen won the Barracuda Championship on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title, finishing with 50 points in the modified Stableford scoring system.
Canadian Roger Sloan climbed 10 points on Sunday after finishing the third round tied for 16th. Sloan completed the fourth round with an eagle and 6 birdies to rocket him up to the 6th spot. Richmond Hill, Ont.’s Taylor Pendrith joined fellow Canadian inside the top 15, completing the fourth round with 34 points.
Van Rooyen, the 31-year-old former University of Minnesota player from South Africa, eagled the par-4 eighth and closed with a birdie on the par-4 18th for a five-point victory over Andrew Putnam at Tahoe Mountain Club’s Old Greenwood Course.
Players receive eight points for an albatross, five for eagle, two for birdie and zero for par. A point is subtracted for a bogey, and three points are taken away for a double bogey or worse.
Van Rooyen had a 16-point final round, making the eagle, six birdies and a bogey.
Putnam scored 11 points on the first four holes with an eagle on the par-5 second and three birdies, then had two birdies and a bogey on the final 14 holes. He won the 2018 event for his lone PGA Tour title.
Scott Piercy was third with 44 points after an 11-point day. Third-round leader Adam Schenk had a five-point round to finish with 43.
Van Rooyen jumped from 139th to 78th in the FedEx Cup standings, with the top 125 after the Wyndham Championship next week earning spots in the playoff opener at Liberty National. He earned a spot in the PGA Championship next year but not the Masters because the event is being played opposite a World Golf Championship the FedEx St. Jude Invitational in Memphis, Tennessee.
Putnam went from 104th to 75th, Piercy 144th to 126th and Schenk 113 to 95th.