Kent Gilchrist covered just about everything in a sportswriting career that spanned more than 40 years, but he had a particular affinity for golf. Not just the game, but the people who played it. 

Gilchrist, known as Cookie to his countless friends, died at his New Westminster home Wednesday night after a lengthy illness. He was 72. Cookie was larger than life. He could light up a room and fill it with laughter. He seemed to know everyone.

Doug Roxburgh, the 13-time B.C. Amateur winner, was shocked to learn of Gilchrist’s death after his round Thursday at the B.C. Amateur Championship at Storey Creek Golf Club in Campbell River. 

“I have so many great memories of Cookie,” Roxburgh said. “I can remember talking to him so many times like this after a round at the B.C. Amateur. Cookie always had a smile on his face. He just really enjoyed talking to the players and was a golfer himself. He kind of lived a little of his golf through the people he covered.” 

Gilchrist was born in Souris, Man., and worked at the Brandon Sun, Regina Leader-Post and Winnipeg Free Press before moving west in 1973. He worked briefly for the Vancouver Sun before moving down the hall to The Province, where he spent 37 years before retiring in 2010. 

Gilchrist served a stint as sports editor, covered the B.C. Lions and many other sports, including curling and horse-racing, and eventually became a general sports columnist at the newspaper.

For many years he returned to his boyhood home to play in the annual Grey Owl golf tournament in Clear Lake, Man. Kris Jonasson, chief executive officer of British Columbia Golf, accompanied Gilchrist on one of those Grey Owl trips. “Cookie was a storyteller,” Jonasson said. “All great reporters should be storytellers. But in addition to being a storyteller, Cookie created stories and there are a lot of great stories about things that he did during his career. I am really happy that I got to know him, I am happy I got to travel with him and he is somebody that will be missed.” 

Like many of us, Gilchrist was a frustrated golfer. He loved the game, but it didn’t always love him back. “He couldn’t get out on the football field and play with the guys, but he could get out on the golf course,” Jonasson said. “Cookie knew his limitations. He was never going to be star player, but he enjoyed himself on the golf course.” 

Gilchrist covered golf whenever he had the opportunity. He was a fixture at Northview Golf Club in Surrey during the seven-year run of the Greater Vancouver Open/Air Canada Championship, worked both of the Canadian Opens held at Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club in 2006 and 2011 and LPGA Tour events at Vancouver Golf Club and Point Grey. He was a big supporter of amateur golf in British Columbia.

Gilchrist was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2005, the B.C. Football Hall of Fame in 2017 and was awarded the Northwest Golf Media Association’s Distinguished Service Award in 2015. His many friends in the media industry paid tribute to him after news of his death was announced by longtime friend and former BCTV/Global sportscaster Bernie Pascall.

“It is devastating,” Pascall said. “He was a fun guy to be around and we’ll all miss him. With Cookie, the emphasis was always on fun, but he was always a very dedicated journalist and well respected. I travelled some early football trips with him. He liked to enjoy a good meal and a good time, but the job was of utmost importance to him and he was very focused on what he did. I don’t think he had an enemy in the world. He had friends everywhere.”

On a personal note, I like to count myself as one of those friends. I got to know Cookie when I inherited the golf beat at the Vancouver Sun from the retired Arv Olson in the mid-1990s. Cookie went out of his way to help me get comfortable on the golf beat. I marvelled at how many people he knew and he went out of his way to introduce all of them to me.

We covered many tournaments together and played lots of golf. He always put a smile on my face. We had lots of laughs. He had struggled with his health in recent years. After a battle with throat cancer, Gilchrist battled respiratory issues and had recently spent time in hospital following a heart attack.

Gilchrist is survived by his wife, Lesley, son Riley, daughter Rebecca and four grandchildren. The entire family had spent considerable time with him in recent weeks. No immediate service is planned.

LEDUC, Alta. – The 66th Canadian Junior Girls Championship will return this year from July 20-23 at Leduc Golf Club in Leduc, Alta., a year after the pandemic forced a cancellation of Golf Canada’s 2020 competitive season.

The 72-hole event kicks off the return of Golf Canada’s National Amateur Championships. The last tournament was conducted in September of 2019.

This year’s 106-player field includes three Team Canada National Junior Squad members; Jennifer Gu (West Vancouver, B.C.), Katie Cranston (Oakville, Ont.), and Nicole Gal (Oakville, Ont.). Due to travel restrictions, only Canadian residents are allowed entry to the event.

This year 11 of Canada’s top 50 players in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) will travel to Leduc Golf Club for the championship, including Luna Lu (Burnaby, B.C.), who finished ninth in the 2019 event.

The winner receives an exemption into the 2021 Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship held from July 27-30 at Edmonton Petroleum Golf & Country Club in Spruce Grove, Alta.

The Canadian Junior Girls Championship is a 72-hole stroke play event, that features a 36-hole cut for the low 70 players and ties. In the event of a tie at the end of four rounds, there will be a hole-by-hole playoff immediately following completion of 72-holes.

The Juvenile division will run concurrently with the Junior division through the 72-hole competition. The Juvenile division is for girls 16 and under.

A practice round will be conducted on July 19, the day before competition begins.

Leduc Golf Course was founded in 1961 as a nine-hole course. Now, it’s an 18-hole course with over 6,000 yards of fairways—some tree-lined and some with water hazards and sloped greens.

Previous winners of the Canadian Junior Girls Championship include Brooke Henderson (2012), Alena Sharp (1999), and Sandra Post (1964-66).

Click here for the full field and tournament information.

NOTABLES

Jennifer Gu
Another 16-year-old from B.C., Jennifer Gu of West Vancouver is also a member of the National Junior Squad and is coming off an incredible 2020 season that saw multiple top 10 finishes at major events. Gu won the PGA of BC Junior Championship, finished third at the Alberta Junior Girls Championship and fourth and the B.C. Junior Girls Championship last year.

Katie Cranston
The 17-year-old from Oakville, Ont. is also a member of the National Junior Squad and like both Arora and Gu, Cranston found a win in 2020, winning the Ontario Junior Girls Championship. In 2019, Cranston finished second at the Future Links Ontario Championship, and third at the Future Links Fall Series (East).

Nicole Gal
Also from Oakville, 16-year-old Nicole Gal rounds out the National Junior Squad members in the field. In 2020, Gal finished runner-up at the Ontario Junior Girls Championship to fellow Oakville golfer, Cranston, and finished in a tie for eighth at the North & South Junior Amateur. In 2019, Gal won the Drive, Chip and Putt Championship in the Girls 14-15 division.

FAST FACTS

Celeste Dao’s win in 2018 broke a streak of three straight years in which a British Columbia golfer won the individual event: Susan Xiao in 2017 (Surrey, B.C.), Naomi Ko in 2016 (Victoria, B.C.) and Michelle Kim in 2015 (Surrey, B.C.).

Ten-time LPGA winner and major champion Brooke Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., won the event in 2012 at River Spirit Golf Club in Calgary, Alta.

Heather Kuzmich won four straight Canadian Junior Girls Championships from 1981-1984.

Four Canadian Golf Hall of Fame members are past champions of the event: Betty Stanhope-Cole (1956), Judy Darling Evans (1957), Gail Harvey (1958-60) and Sandra Post (1964-66).

Current LPGA golfer Alena Sharp was the 1999 Canadian Junior Girls Champion.

In 2019, Euna Han of Coquitlam, B.C., set a new course record at the host course, Lethbridge Country Club during the Canadian Junior Girls Championship by shooting an opening-round 64.

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Brian Stuard shot an 8-under 64 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead in the suspended first round of the PGA Tour’s Barbasol Championship.

Play was suspended twice in the afternoon because of rain and lightning, with 30 players unable to finish before dark.

After dropping a stroke on the par-4 18th to finish his opening nine, Stuard birdied five of the next six holes in the morning round at Keene Trace.

“I felt like my iron play was nice today,” Stuard said. “I didn’t think I drove it well, but there’s not a lot of rough so you can kind of attack from anywhere, so that’s what I was able to do.”

Team Canada’s Taylor Pendrith was at 65 with Luke List, Joseph Bramlett, Ryan Armour, Scott Harrington, J.T. Poston, Vaughn Taylor and David Lingmerth.

Patrick Rodgers, Stephen Stallings Jr. and Will Grimmer also were 7 under when darkness stopped play. Rodgers and Stallings had two holes left, and Grimmer three. Play was delayed for a total of 2 hours, 35 minutes in the afternoon.

Stuard won the rain-shortened Zurich Classic of New Orleans in 2016 for his lone PGA Tour title. The 38-year-old Michigan player tied for eighth last week in Illinois in the John Deere Classic.

“It was a good start, but in all honesty, it doesn’t really mean much,” Stuard said. “I need three more good rounds to put myself in contention, I guess. It’s nice to start off well. I need three more, so just got to keep going.”

List birdied the par-4 17th after the second rain delay to join Stuard at 8 under, then drove into the right-side water on the par-4 18th and closed with a bogey.

“Long day,” List said. “There’s birdies to be made on this golf course, so I kind of knew that I had to be aggressive out there and I was fortunate to be able to make some birdies and one eagle. Had a few bogeys, but overall I played well.”

Bramlett eagled the par-5 fifth and eighth holes and also had a double bogey.

“I’ve gotten a little bit more speed this year, which has helped, so the par 5s are a little bit more shorter for me,” Bramlett said. “I had an 8-iron in on one, 7-iron in on the other and I hit some really good iron shots, so gave myself good looks and knocked them in.”

Defending champion Jim Herman opened with a 67. He won in 2019, and the event was canceled last year.

Canada’s David Hearn and Jason Dufner also shot 67.

Wilco Nienaber, the big-hitting South African who received a foreign exemption to play, was 3 under with three holes left.

Canadians Roger Sloan and Michael Gligic were both 3 under when play was suspended, while Nick Taylor fired a 1-under 71.

John Daly had two double bogeys in a 76.

SANDWICH, England – Jordan Spieth rolled in putts like it was 2017. Louis Oosthuizen put those runner-up finishes in the last two majors out of mind and soared to the top of the leaderboard. They gave the British Open a familiar feel on Thursday.

Normalcy returned to the wind-swept links at Royal St. George’s in other ways, too.

The roars and cheers of the biggest golf crowd since the pandemic rumbled around this quirky course off Sandwich Bay, just like pre-COVID times.

For Spieth, that was as welcome as being an Open contender once again.

His 5-under 65 certainly turned back time to four years ago when he lifted the claret jug at Royal Birkdale the last English venue to host the British Open when he was hitting the ball better than he ever has.

Spieth was a shot off the lead held by Oosthuizen, who saved par from a fairway bunker on No. 18 for a 6-under 64. That tied the lowest opening round at Royal St. George’s, previously set by Christy O’Connor Jr. in 1981.

That didn’t look as though it would be the case after the South African opened with seven straight pars. He followed with six birdies in his next nine holes.

“I’ve learnt over the years playing major championships that patience is the key thing,” said Oosthuizen, who hasn’t won one of them since the British Open at St. Andrews in 2010. There have been six runner-up finishes in the majors since then, including in the last two.

Oosthuizen and Spieth were among the morning starters who enjoyed the best of the conditions, notably soft bounces on the most undulating fairways and greens on the Open rotation.

Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., started early and opened with a strong round of 4-under 66, good for a tie for fourth. His day included three straight birdies on holes 4-6.

Yet many of the world’s best couldn’t take advantage.

Patience already might be wearing thin for U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm, who slapped his thigh in frustration after making a double-bogey at No. 9, where he took two shots to get out of a pot bunker in the fairway. He shot 71, like Bryson DeChambeau, who spent much of his first round up to his knees in deep grass and cursing his driver, saying it “sucks” after being unable to use his power to overwhelm Royal St. George’s.

Shane Lowry, the Open winner in 2019, also shot 71 in front of a crowd that has a daily capacity of 32,000 this week. Not since Royal Portrush, where Lowry won, has any golf tournament seen so many spectators through the gates.

With last year’s event canceled because of the pandemic, Lowry could finally be announced at an Open as the reigning champion golfer.

Not so for the majority of the afternoon starters, who encountered more prolonged gusts off the English Channel and slightly drier conditions.

Rory McIlroy birdied the last to salvage a 70 in his bid for his first major title in seven years. Justin Thomas shot 72. Phil Mickelson shot 80, his highest start ever in the British Open, that left him tied for last place.

Benjamin Hebert and Webb Simpson, with rounds of 66 that tied them for fourth place with three others, had the best scores from the afternoon. Former PGA champion Collin Morikawa, in his first links test, and English favorite Tommy Fleetwood were at 67.

Fleetwood would like nothing more than to become the first Englishman with his name on that silver jug since Nick Faldo in 1992.

“It’s been a long time since an Englishman has won the Open, and I would love to be the next one. So we’ll see,” Fleetwood said.

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., opened at 2 under, while Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., and Toronto’s Richard T. Lee were at 5 over.

Brian Harman was tied for second with Spieth after making five birdies in his first eight holes and finishing with a 65. Top-ranked Dustin Johnson hit 14 greens in regulation and said he was pleased with his round of 68 that had him in a tie for 19th.

Spieth had not won since Birkdale until he ended his slump at the Texas Open in April. He looked the happiest of anyone Thursday, saying he liked where his game was at after matching his lowest score at an Open. He also had a 65 on the first day at Birkdale.

And he made reference to that victory while running off four straight birdies starting at No. 5, telling former caddie John Wood part of the U.S. broadcast team that it was just like 2017 the way he was making putts and Wood was watching him. Wood was caddying in the final round at Birkdale for Matt Kuchar, who was second.

It was only Oosthuizen ahead of him. And that was no real shock, considering the South African was tied for the lead in the first and third rounds at last month’s U.S. Open and in the second round at the PGA Championship in May.

The return of the spectators made it feel like a proper Open, especially on the hill overlooking the par-3 6th hole that attracted some of the biggest galleries of a day that started with a blue, cloudless sky.

Just before midday, the group containing Stewart Cink, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer all hit tee shots inside 6 feet of the pin. As they walked onto the green, one spectator shouted: “You three should be professionals.”

To which Kaymer’s caddie, Craig Connolly, replied back across the green: “You should be a comedian.”

“I feel like the fans here are very knowledgeable about the sport,” Spieth said, “and they’re also having a great time.”

Like many athletes in a training environment over the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruption to competitive opportunities for junior golfers in Canada. To facilitate the selection of participants for the 2021-2022 National Junior Squad, Golf Canada will hold a National Junior Selection Camp from August 29 through September 3 at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley in Caledon, Ont. 

Approximately 50 junior boys and girls who have not reached their 19^th birthday by August 1, 2021, will be invited to participate in the National Junior Selection Camp. The camp will include skills testing as well as a 54-hole stroke-play competition that will award World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) points. 

Performance at the camp will be considered alongside results from recent competitions to assist Golf Canada in selecting participants for the 2021-2022 National Junior Squad. Additional details about final squad selection will be released later the summer. 

The 54-hole competition at the selection camp will also be used to fill remaining spots for Canada’s team at the World Junior Girls Championship in late September (Markham, Ontario), should this international competition gain government approval to proceed. More information about selection for the World Junior Girls team can be found at this link. 

There are several ways that athletes may qualify for the National Junior Selection Camp. Players who meet any of the following criteria will automatically qualify:

• Age eligible members of the 2020-2021 National Junior Squad.
• Any junior girls ranked within the top-750 on the WAGR and any junior boys ranked within the top-1250 on WAGR as of August 4, 2021.
• Canadian national junior and juvenile champions (boys and girls) from 2021.
• Champions from each of the ten provincial junior championships from 2021, provided the winning total score is even par or better and the championship has concluded before August 9,  2021.

In addition, each provincial golf association may nominate athletes for consideration, and athletes may apply to the camp directly by completing the application form at this link by August 9. Complete information about qualification criteria for the National Junior Selection Camp should be reviewed here. 

Selected athletes should plan to arrive for the camp in the afternoon or evening on August 29 and depart in the afternoon on September 3. Skills testing and practice rounds will take place on August 30 and August 31. Competitive rounds will occur on the North course at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley on September 1-3. 

Golf Canada will provide camp participants with a stipend to cover the cost of travel and accommodations while parents are invited to attend the camp at their own expense. 

Please contact Brian Newton (bnewton@golfcanada.ca) with any questions.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Wondering how Canada’s Olympic golf team will be selected? You’re not alone.

In 2016, golf made its historic return to the Olympic Games for the first time in 112 years, dating back to when Canadian George S. Lyon won gold for Canada at St. Louis 1904. A lot has happened since 2016 (new Rules of Golf and new PGA TOUR schedule just to name a few) and many golf fans have forgotten how Olympic qualifying works, which is why we’re writing this article.

The field for the 2020 Olympic golf competition will include 60 women and 60 men competing over 72 holes of stroke play in a men’s individual event (July 30-August 2) and a women’s individual event (August 5-8).

Athletes earn their spots on their respective Olympic Golf Team based on their standing in the respective men’s and women’s Olympic golf rankings. The final day for qualifying is June 22, 2020 for the men’s teams and June 29, 2020, for the women’s teams.

The top-15 players will qualify with a limit of up to four golfers per any one country. Any remaining spots will go to countries who do not already have two golfers qualified, with a limit of two per country. As well, the International Golf Federation (IGF) has guaranteed at least one golfer from the host nation and each geographical region (Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania) will qualify.

If Canada’s team was determined today (Sept. 12, 2019), Adam Hadwin, Corey Conners, Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp represent Canada. However, there’s still plenty of golf to be played before the selection is made.

Golf Canada is the National Sports Federation and governing body for golf in Canada representing 319,000 golfers and 1,400 member clubs across the country. A proud member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Golf Canada’s mission is to increase Canadian participation and excellence in golf. By investing in the growth of the sport and introducing more participants of all ages to the game, our vision is to be a world leader in golf.

Prior to being named to the final Canadian 2020 Team, all nominations from Canada are subject to approval by the Canadian Olympic Committee’s Team Selection Committee following its receipt of nominations by all National Sport Federations.

UPDATE: May 27, 2020

Qualification will still be based on the Olympic Golf Rankings, with the men’s qualification period now ending on June 21, 2021 and the women’s closing a week later on June 28, 2021. The rankings have been suspended since March 20 and points will begin to be accumulated again when competitions are allowed to resume.

UPDATE: June 30, 2021

The men’s individual event will now be played from July 29-Aug. 1, 2021 and the women’s individual event will be played from Aug. 4-7, 2021. Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes are the men’s nominated athletes and Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp are the women’s nominated athletes to represent Canada.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Jim Furyk put his name alongside some of golf’s greats Sunday once he recovered from a rough start in the final round of the U.S. Senior Open.

Making his debut in the event, Furyk closed with a 1-over 71 to become the eighth player to win both the U.S. Open and Senior Open, joining Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Billy Casper, Gary Player, Hale Irwin and Orville Moody.

Furyk finished at 7-under 273 at Omaha Country Club and held off Retief Goosen and Canadian Mike Weir by three strokes.

He won the U.S. Open in 2003 at Olympia Fields south of Chicago, is a 17-time winner on the PGA Tour and won his first two PGA Tour Champions events upon turning 50 last year. This was the third senior major he’s played. He tied for 16th in the Senior PGA and was sixth in the Senior Players Championship.

It was not the stress-free final round Furyk wanted Sunday. He played the first three holes in 3 over, finding the unforgiving rough three times on the second hole and a tricky lie in the greenside bunker on the third. Suddenly, his four-shot lead was down to one.

Furyk righted himself with a birdie on the par-5 sixth and, after going out in 2-over 37, regained the four-shot lead by the time he made the turn.

It wasn’t until he stuck his 109-yard approach to 3 feet to birdie the par-5 16th that he put away his closest pursuers, major champions Goosen and Weir. That put him three up with two holes to play.

“I felt real good about it, I’ll say that,” he said. “Looking back after making bogey at 15, that was probably the clincher.”

Furyk played his final 15 holes in 2 under and finished at 7-under 273 to win the Francis D. Ouimet Memorial Trophy and $720,000. He was the seventh player to have a lead of four or more strokes entering the final round of the U.S. Senior Open, and six have gone on to win.

Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., tied for lowest round of the day with a 67, and Goosen shot 69.

Furyk looked to be in full control after he followed his 64 on Friday with a 66 on Saturday.

But he bogeyed the par-5 second hole after his layup attempt from the right rough rolled across the fairway and into the left rough, and his next shot found the greenside cabbage.

Then he put his tee shot just below the lip of the left bunker on the par-3 third and needed two swings to get out. He two-putted for a double bogey that dropped him to 5 under for the tournament.

Goosen birdied the first hole and tapped in for another on the sixth to get to 4 under. It looked as if he would stall out with bogeys on two of his next four holes, but he played his last seven in 2 under to hang around.

“Overall, I would say the way I felt early in the week I would have taken second,” Goosen said, “but it would have been nice to have been a little closer coming down the last.”

Weir started the day seven shots off the lead and made three pushes to get within three, the last when he made birdie on the 16th just before Furyk bogeyed the 15th.

Rod Pampling (67) birdied two of the last four holes to finish at 3 under,

Bernhard Langer, who has won a record 11 senior majors, made long birdie puts on Nos. 11 and 12 and tapped in for another on No. 13 to pull within four of the lead. The 63-year-old could get no closer in his bid for his first senior major win since 2017. He had a 68 to tie for fifth at 1 under.

Calgary’s Stephen Ames, paired with Furyk, couldn’t take advantage of his partner’s early struggles.

The first-round co-leader Ames, who won the Principal Charity Classic last month, plugged his tee shot into the face of the left greenside bunker on the third, took an unplayable lie and double bogeyed. He bogeyed the first two holes on the back nine to fall out of contention. His 75 left him 1 over.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Jim Furyk overcame a mid-round lull following the second of two weather delays Saturday and moved closer to winning his first senior major title.

The 51-year-old took a four-shot lead into the final round of the U.S. Senior Open after shooting a 4-under 66 on Saturday to get to 8-under 202 at Omaha Country Club.

First-round co-leader Stephen Ames birdied three of the last five holes for a 68, bouncing back from a 73 on Friday, and will be paired with Furyk on Sunday.

Retief Goosen closed with two birdies, shot 66 and was alone at 3 under.

The biggest mover was Steve Flesch. The part-time television analyst shot the best round of the day with a 64 and was at 2 under. Past Masters champions Fred Couples (69) and Mike Weir (68) were in a group with Wes Short Jr. (68) and Kevin Sutherland (69) at 1 under.

Tee times were pushed back three hours after an overnight storm with straight-line wind of 90 mph knocked over camera towers and downed trees.

Furyk birdied the par-4 fourth and par-3 fifth and, as thunder rumbled, tapped in for par on the par-5 sixth before the horn sounded to signal the stoppage of play.

About an inch of rain fell during the three-hour delay, and workers who cleared brush off the course in the morning used squeegees and blowers to get standing water off fairways and greens.

Furyk, who won the U.S. Open in 2003, hit the first six greens in regulation and then went into grinding mode. He hit only two greens while playing the first six holes following the delay in 1-over par.

He closed with birdies on three of the last six holes, hitting his approach to 4 feet on the par-4 18th and making the putt to extend his lead.

Ames bogeyed two of the last three holes on the front nine and then got a hot putter and shot 4-under 32 on the back to put himself in contention again.

All he did to start making putts was stand a bit closer to the ball.

“All of a sudden my eyes felt better, my stroke felt easier and more free, and I started hitting the pace right, which is what I was struggling with,” Ames said. “I hit some real quality putts coming down the end there, so that right there alone is going to make my dinner taste a lot better tonight.”

Goosen, who won U.S. Opens in 2001 and 2004, had five birdies against one bogey. His biggest disappointment was a three-putt for par on the 313-yard 13th after he drove the green.

“My expectations were really low in the beginning of the week,” Goosen said. “I was hitting it so bad the last few weeks, and I was trying everything. I just decided to stick with something, and as the week got on, I started hitting it better and better. My confidence is coming back a little.”

Flesch flirted with missing the cut for a third straight U.S. Senior Open but rallied with a couple late birdies Friday and was among the first to tee off Saturday.

Flesch bogeyed his second hole, the par-3 11th, and then went flag hunting on receptive greens and birdied seven of the next 13.

He said he was proudest of parring the 434-yard ninth, his final hole. He drove into 4-inch-high rough, chopped the ball out and got up and down from 85 yards.

“I haven’t had much luck in U.S. Opens or U.S. Senior Opens, for that matter,” he said. “But it’s fun to contend, and I really have nothing to lose, and that’s kind of how I played today. I imagine I’ll kind of play the same way tomorrow and just enjoy it.”

Flesch said he’s savoring the experience because his college-age son, Griffin, has been carrying his bag while his regular caddie recovers from back surgery.

SILVIS, Ill. (AP) – Luke List has a happy and healthy home life with his newborn son, and he felt pretty good about his golf game Friday in the John Deere Classic.

List ran off seven birdies in an eight-hole stretch in the middle of his round, his only par on a 12-foot birdie chance on the 15th hole, and posted an 8-under 63. That gave him a one-shot lead over Sebastian Munoz going into the weekend at the TPC Deere Run.

List was at 13-under 129.

Munoz played early and shot a 4-under 67, getting all his birdies on the back nine and then finishing with 10 pars.

Former tournament winner Ryan Moore had a chance to catch List until he ran into trouble off the 18th tee and made bogey, giving him a 66 and leaving him among seven players two shots off the lead. That group included Lucas Glover and Chase Seiffert, each with 63.

List is still searching for his first PGA Tour victory, though that wasn’t front and center over the last month. His son, Harrison, was born June 5 and had to return to the hospital because of a respiratory virus that had him intubated for a few days and in intensive care for two weeks.

List, who is No. 117 in the FedEx Cup with the season winding down, stayed home the last two weeks to help with their 2-year-old daughter.

“It was tough, but it’s been amazing to come back,” List said. “Everyone has been asking and praying and thinking about us, so it’s kind of cool. It’s a big family out here, and it’s nice to know that you’ve got everyone’s support when it’s not going great.”

Harrison is home and gaining weight. “Everything is great now,” List said.

The key to his round Friday was simple. While all eight of his birdies were about 10 feet or closer, there’s a reason for that. List missed only one fairway. On two of the par 5s, he had eagle putts from 25 feet and 10 feet.

The scoring was so good, as it often is at the John Deere, that the cut was at 4-under 138.

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., was the top Canadian after a 6-under 65 put him 10 under. Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., (64) was 8 under, followed by David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., (65) at 7 under. Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont., (70) was 1 under and missed the weekend cut.

Among those making it to the weekend was Steve Stricker, the 54-year-old Ryder Cup captain and three-time John Deere Classic winner. Stricker wanted to be part of the 50th anniversary of the tournament, so he skipped his title defense at the U.S. Senior Open.

His play on Friday suggested that was a good move, with six birdies in his round of 66 that left him seven shots behind in the middle of the pack.

“This tournament has meant a lot to me over the years. It’s a special place for me,” Stricker said. “It’s hurt the last few times I haven’t been able to come here. … I wish the two events were at different times. I could have played both of them. But this is the spot for me to be this week.”

One of his birdies was on the par-5 second hole, which he reached in two with an iron. Calling the action was 22-year-old daughter Bobbi Maria Stricker, who plays for Wisconsin.

Also making the cut was Nick Watney, who was hovering close to the line with a bogey on the fifth hole (his 14th of the round) and responded with back-to-back birdies. He shot 66, significant because it ended a nasty patch of 18 consecutive missed cuts.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The combination of wind, heat and humidity made it difficult to go low at the U.S. Senior Open on Friday.

Jim Furyk and Greg Kraft found a way.

Furyk shot a 6-under 64, the best round in days at Omaha Country Club, to take a two-stroke lead over Canada’s Stephen Ames. The 2003 U.S. Open champion and 17-time PGA Tour winner rebounded from an opening 72 to get to 4 under.

“I was able to see some putts go in, and I hit a lot of fairways, a lot of greens today, kept the ball in good places,” Furyk said. “When I missed it, I missed it in the right spots for the most part. Just really kind of got on a roll and got some momentum.”

First-round co-leader Ames, based out of Calgary, bogeyed four of the first six holes on his second nine and shot 73. Two-time U.S. Senior Open runner-up Miguel Angel Jimenez (71) was 1 under.

Kraft, who hadn’t played in a tournament since September 2019, had four straight birdies on his second nine and shot 65 for the best round of the afternoon session.

Kraft was in a logjam of 10 players at even par. Among them were first-round co-leader Billy Andrade (75), Fred Couples (71), David Toms, Thongchai Jaidee (71) and the oldest player in the field, 67-year-old Jay Haas (71).

“You know, there’s such a long way to go, but I’m playing OK,” Haas said. “I don’t think I’m playing just amazingly golf that I can’t even fathom. I can play better, I think, but I have to do it. I feel good. Health, I love the heat. It keeps me loose.”

Alex Cejka (74), the winner of the first two majors of the year, was in a group of 12 at 1 over along with major winners Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., (74), Mark O’Meara (71) and Retief Goosen (69). Weir sits tied for 14 heading into the weekend.

With thunderstorms in the forecast Saturday, the first tee times for the third round were moved up to 7:15 a.m. with threesomes going off Nos. 1 and 10.

Temperatures were in the low 70s when Furyk went out Friday morning, but wind swirled and was gusty. The wind calmed by the afternoon, but heat and humidity set in to create feel-like temperatures near 100, and the conditions coupled with the hills of OCC wore on the 50-and-over players.

Furyk hit 12 of 13 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation and had three birdies on each side.

The turning point, he said, was making a 30-foot putt to save par after his tee shot landed in a greenside bunker on the 240-yard, par-3 third hole. Birdies on three of the next four holes got him under par for the tournament.

Furyk ended his round with a birdie on the par-4 18th. He hit a knocked-down 8-iron about 15 feet under the hole and made the putt to secure his lowest score in an official event since last September.

The 51-year-old Furyk has two victories and nine top-10s in 15 events since he joined PGA Tour Champions last year. He’s never been out of the top 25 as a senior. His highest finish in a senior major is sixth in the Senior Players Championship at Firestone two weeks ago.

Andrade followed a bogey-free 65 with a 75 that included six bogeys.

“I felt like I played better than 75, and I’m still in it,” Andrade said. “So just go prepare for tomorrow and go out and hit some drives in the fairway and see if we can make a few birdies.”