KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (AP) – The wind was more manageable at Kiawah Island on Saturday, there were plenty of friendly hole locations and Pete Dye’s punishing seaside track still wasn’t set up to play its maximum distance.

Moving day at the PGA Championship? It could have been, but the leaderboard was mostly static.

Rickie Fowler, who teed off almost four hours before the final group of Phil Mickelson and Louis Oosthuizen, shot a 3-under 69 – the sixth and, as it turned out, the final round of the day in the 60s.

“Even though the wind being down a little bit from the last two days, it’s still a tough test from start to finish. Anything under par is a good thing, especially Saturday, to kind of move back up into – I guess a little bit the thick of things,” Fowler said.

His even-par total of 216 left him seven shots behind Mickelson, and given how the rest of the day played out, Fowler couldn’t have asked for much more.

The Ocean Course played to a scoring average of 73.0, 2 1/2 shots easier than Friday’s second round. But Dye’s design and major championship pressure made 69 an elusive number.

Instead of moving, it felt like the major champions and world-class players chasing Mickelson were standing around watching him. He opened a five-shot lead before falling back with a bogey-double bogey stretch on the back nine.

Several contenders had a chance to break 70 but couldn’t finish it off.

Playing with Fowler, Joel Dahmen shot 5-under 31 on the front nine but chunked back-to-back shots on the par-4 10th and made a 6. He shot 70.

Tony Finau was 4 under through 16 holes but closed with back-to-back bogeys and settled for a 70. Playing partner Patrick Cantlay had the only bogey-free round of the tournament but made only two birdies.

Kevin Streelman was 3 under on the 18th tee but drove it right into a waste bunker, leading to bogey and – yep, another 70.

Brooks Koepka’s 69th shot of the day was a 7-foot putt for par that would have kept him tied with Mickelson. He missed.

And, finally, Mickelson’s flop shot from behind the 18th green bounced just wide of the pin. He closed out his 70 by holing the 5-foot comebacker for par.

Big numbers prevented others from going low.

Bryson DeChambeau’s scores of 72, 71 and 71 would suggest consistency, and he did play the final three holes in even par on Saturday – with a birdie, a double bogey and another birdie.

Charley Hoffman made an impressive six birdies but sprinkled in five bogeys and a double. Gary Woodland made six birdies and three doubles.

Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama was one of a few to make a hard move in the opposite direction. He was 5 under for the tournament before he dropped five shots in a four-hole stretch. One last bogey on the 18th gave him a 42 on the back nine and a 76.

Jordan Spieth and Billy Horschel shot 68, the best score of the day. But Horschel made the cut on the number and Spieth was only one better through 36 holes.

It was still enough to move him up 37 spots to a tie for 13th at even par.

“If I were at 4 under and the lead was only 7, then things could be different,” Spieth said. “But I’m not.”

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., is tied for 10th after shooting a 73. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., shot a 76.

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (AP) – Phil Mickelson doesn’t need to be reminded of his age at the PGA Championship. The numbers alone speak for that, and not just his age of 50.

Buffeted by the wind along the closing holes, Mickelson was dropping shots – not unusual on the brute of an Ocean Course at Kiawah Island – and was back to even par for the championship.

And then the guy who keeps everyone in suspense ran off five birdies and finished the day with a 3-under 69 to share the lead with Louis Oosthuizen, much steadier in his round of 68.

Even at the halfway point, Mickelson joined some elite company.

He became the sixth player since 1900 to have at least a share of the lead after any round in a major over four decades. The first time for Lefty was at the 1996 PGA Championship.

The other five players were Sam Snead (starting in the 1930s), Gary Player (1950s), Jack Nicklaus and Raymond Floyd (1960s) and Tom Watson (1970s).

No one in his 50s has been atop the leaderboard in a major since 52-year-old Fred Couples after two rounds of the 2012 Masters. The most famous senior was Watson, who was 59 when he led after 54 holes at Turnberry in the 2009 British Open.

Mickelson majored in psychology, not history, at Arizona State. All that matters to him is winning, and no one over 50 has ever done that in a major.

Mickelson played the opening two rounds with Padraig Harrington, who turns 50 in August. Harrington was only five shots out of the lead, not enough for him to make some comparisons about how their minds work.

“I’m bullish about where I am and I’m sure Phil is, too,” Harrington said. “He’s not here to make the cut. Even 15th would be a disappointment. You know what? Even second would be a disappointment for Phil. I’m a little bit like that, too. … It doesn’t do my career any good. It doesn’t do Phil’s any good.

“That might make it harder for us at times because we over-push and over-try because winning is the only thing that will bring any satisfaction.”

There’s enough hard work ahead of them, and everyone else who made the cut at 5-over 149.

That list doesn’t include three of the top four players in the world – Dustin Johnson (1), Justin Thomas (2) and Xander Schauffele (4).

There’s plenty of entertainment around for those who will be around on the weekend, and it figures to be a much better show than the last time at Kiawah Island. Rory McIlroy won in 2012 and set the PGA Championship record with an eight-shot victory.

The wind was raging for one round that year. It doesn’t seem to stop this year.

That made Oosthuizen’s round all the more impressive. He was bogey-free the entire round and was in good shape to keep his card clean until his approach to the 18th had just enough pace to tumble over the table-top green. He didn’t get it up-and-down, made his only bogey and had to share the 36-hole lead with Mickelson.

Oosthuizen’s lone major was at St. Andrews in the 2010 British Open, and he has been close to adding another one over the years. There was the playoff loss to Bubba Watson in 2012 at the Masters, and to Zach Johnson in 2015 at St. Andrews. He was runner-up at the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay, and to Justin Thomas in the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow.

That’s the career Grand Slam of silver medals, and it’s not much of a consolation. The PGA Tour pointed out that it will be 3,962 days on Sunday from the last time Oosthuizen won a major.

That sounds like a worse number than 50.

“I don’t think it’s a case of not being able to or thinking that I can’t get the second (major),” Oosthuizen said. “Look, it’ll be great to get a second major. There’s a lot of golf left, and I just feel whenever I get to a major, I have my game where I want to have it.”

There’s a lot of golf left and lot of players still in the mix.

Brooks Koepka made an eagle from a bush and an eagle from the short grass, enough to offset his four bogeys. He threw in another birdie for a 71 and was one shot behind.

Branden Grace and Christiaan Bezuidenhout, among the 11 South Africans at Kiawah Island, were two shots behind along with Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama. The Japanese star still hasn’t been asked about the calendar Grand Slam, and it would probably take a Wanamaker Trophy to go along with his green jacket for that question to be posed to his interpreter.

Eighteen players were under par. Another key number is 36, the number of holes remaining, and that feels like a long way to go in conditions that have been punishing.

“It’s a major, man. It’s going to be tough, especially with the wind blowing,” Koepka said. “It doesn’t matter, just go out and go play.”

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., is tied for seventh after shooting a second round 75, Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., made the cut with a two-day score of 148, while Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., missed the cut.

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Sarah Kemp shot a 4-under 67 on Friday at firm and fast Kingsmill Resort to take a one-stroke lead into the weekend in the LPGA Tour’s Pure Silk Championship.

“This golf course is made for me because I feel like I’m not long and I have a lot the wedges in, so I can’t imagine it being an advantage for the long hitters and I’m not a bomber,” Kemp said. “If I just hit it down the fairway, it’s firm and fast and they’re rolling out and I’ve had a lot of wedge shots. ”

Kemp rebounded from a bogey on the par-4 fourth her 13th hole of the day on the River Course with birdies on the par-5 seventh and par-4 eighth, holing a 20-footer on No. 8 to tie Stacy Lewis for the lead at 6 under and finishing with a par on No. 9.

The 35-year-old Australian is winless in her 14-season LPGA Tour career.

“I worked really hard. I was annoyed because I had hit the ball great for a couple years and I just didn’t convert the opportunities.”

Lewis scrambled for a closing bogey on the par-4 18th in a 69, dropping only one shot after driving into the water and having to re-tee. She was tied for second with Jessica Korda and Ana Belac.

“I’ve been working on my driver and it’s been really good this week up until this point,” Lewis said. “So, kind of just told myself to forget about it because I know I’m hitting it better than that, and hit a great second drive. Hit 8-iron in there to about probably 18 feet, and then just told my caddie when I made that putt, `That’s what I do. Just keep grinding.”’

The 35-year-old Lewis has 13 LPGA Tour titles, the last in the 2020 Ladies Scottish Open also in firm and fast conditions.

“I love it,” Lewis said. “You have to think about how far your drive rolls out, which bounce you’re going to get in the fairways. It’s thinking golf is a better way to put it. I love it playing like this. I mean, when it’s lush and green it looks great on TV, but I like playing this kind of golf better.”

Korda eagled the par-5 seventh and 15th holes in a 67. She made a long putt on No. 7 and holed out from 86 yards after laying up on the 15th.

“I really wanted to go for it in two, but they put the tee so far back with how firm it is there was no reason to even try to take on that pin,” Korda said about the 15th. “So I laid up and Kyle (caddie Morrison) and I were like, `It’s just a hard half-shot.? It landed exactly where we wanted and it and turned straight into the hole. I was like, `Sick!? So unexpected, but very welcome.”

The winner of the season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, she also had four birdies and four bogeys on the course playing much firmer and faster than she expected.

“I honestly wasn’t prepared for this,” Korda said. “This golf course is always super pure, overseeded, soft, not what we are playing right now. It’s actually really tough to gauge wedge shots because the ground is so firm that it’s just bouncing off of it. I made a couple of mistakes with some wedges in my hand, but it wasn’t like it was a bad shot or anything.” Belac is making her second tour start of the year and fourth overall. The 24-year-old player from Slovenia shot 67, playing in the last group of the day off the first tee. She led Duke to the 2019 NCAA team title and won last year on the Symetra Tour.

First-round leader Wei-Ling Hsu followed her opening 66 with a 72 to fall two strokes back at 4 under in a group with third-ranked Sei Young Kim (71), Moriya Jutanugarn (67), Haeji Kang (68) and Wichanee Meechai (68),

Canadian Brooke Henderson had back-to-back birdies before bogeying the 17th and 18th holes and finished the second round with a 1-under 70. The native of Smiths Falls, Ont., sat four strokes back of Kemp, tied for 14th spot.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp ended the day in 68th place with a 2-over 73.

Jaclyn Lee of Calgary and Quebec City’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay did not make the cut.

Lexi Thompson bogeyed the final two holes for a 72 to make the cut on the number at 3 over. She set the tournament record of 20-under 264 in 2017.

Ariya Jutanugarn, coming off a victory two weeks ago in her home LPGA Tour event in Thailand, missed the cut with rounds of 70 and 77. She won at Kingsmill in 2016 and 2018.

Paula Creamer also failed to advance to the weekend, shooting 76-74 in her first LPGA Tour start since tying for 63rd in the BMW Ladies Championship in October 2019. Coming off wrist and thumb injuries, she also has an exemption into the U.S. Women’s Open in two weeks.

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. (AP) – Amid the wind and the havoc at Kiawah Island, there was a semblance of simplicity to the way Corey Conners navigated his way around the Ocean Course for a 5-under 67 and a two-shot lead Thursday in the PGA Championship.

He birdied all the par 5s. He made a couple of long putts for birdie. He dropped only one shot. The scorecard alone made it look like a walk on the beach.

It just didn’t feel that way.

“I’d say it’s impossible to be stress-free around this golf course,” Conners said. “You can’t fall asleep out there on any holes. It’s very challenging. I was fortunate to have a good day. Made it as least stressful as possible on myself.”

With a stiff wind into his face for his last five holes, the 29-year-old Canadian played the tough closing stretch in 2 under, one of those birdies a 55-foot putt from just short of the green.

He led by two shots over a half-dozen players. That group included Brooks Koepka, who started his day with a double bogey and stayed largely out of trouble the rest of the way; and Cameron Davis, who overcame a triple bogey on the sixth hole.

Keegan Bradley, Viktor Hovland, Aaron Wise and Sam Horsfield also were at 69. The seven players to break 70 were the fewest for the opening round of the PGA Championship since there were five at Hazeltine in 2002.

No one needed them like Koepka, a major presence when conditions are severe. One hole into this major, he had reason to be more worried about his brain than his ailing right knee.

His opening tee shot on the 10th hole at Kiawah Island was struck poorly and didn’t quite clear a waste area. Koepka tried to do too much from a soft lie in the sand and barely got it out. It led to a double bogey, and the toughest part of the Ocean Course was still to come.

But this is a major, and this is Koepka, and that’s when he’s at his best. He knuckled down from that mess by running off six birdies the rest of the way.

“You can’t do that stuff if you want to win. You’ve just got to be more focused,” said Koepka, who has played only twice in the last three months because of surgery to repair ligaments in his knee. “I don’t know if that’s a lack of not playing or what. It was just stupid. I was able to recover, I guess.”

So did 50-year-old Phil Mickelson, who had four bogeys through six holes and nothing but birdies and pars the rest of the way to join the large group at 70 that included defending champion Collin Morikawa and former U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland.

More telling were those on the other side of par, some of whom will be scrambling to make it to the weekend.

Dustin Johnson, the No. 1 player in the world in the midst of his worst stretch in nearly two years, took a double bogey from a wild tee shot on the front nine and a double bogey on the 18th for a 76. He’s in jeopardy of missing the cut in consecutive majors in the same year for the first time in his career.

Justin Thomas took double bogey on the 18th hole in the morning and two holes later sent a sand shot over the green and just into a hazard for another 6 on the par-5 second. He had a 75.

Rory McIlroy, coming off a victory at Quail Hollow two weeks ago, sent his opening tee shot into a water hazard. He salvaged a bogey, but certainly not his round. McIlroy made bogey on three of the par 5s for a 75, his worst start ever in a PGA Championship.

Jordan Spieth, who needs a victory to complete the career Grand Slam, shot 73.

The PGA of America moved up tee boxes, as expected, to account for the wind. The course played to 7,660 yards – 178 yards shorter than the scorecard – though that didn’t make it easy. Thomas, for one, still hit 7-wood into the 214-yard 17th.

John Daly was among 12 players who shot in the 80s. On the 30-year anniversary of his PGA Championship victory at Crooked Stick, he shot 85.

There were birdies to be had, and mistakes to be made, and Martin Laird was example of both. So wild was his round that he he made bogey on No. 12, ran off four straight birdies and then closed with two bogeys. That added to a 70, not a bad day’s work.

“I kind of went out with the mindset this week, even though it’s hard, don’t give the course too much respect,” Laird said. “You still have to take on shots when you have the chance. When I had a spot where I could go at the flag, I was making sure I kept doing it and hit a lot of really nice shots and managed to make some birdies.

“You’re going to hit bogeys on this golf course,” he said. “It’s nice when you can throw in a bunch of birdies, too.”

Finally heeled from a left knee injury, Koepka injured ligaments in his right knee in March and has played only twice since then, the Masters and last week in Dallas.

He began with a poor 3-wood on No. 10 that didn’t clear the waste area. He took on too much with a soft lie in the sand and barely got it out, leading to a double bogey. But he didn’t flinch and had few complaints about his start.

“It’s a major. I’m going to show up. I’m ready to play,” he said. “I love it when it’s difficult. I think that’s why I do so well in the majors. I just know mentally I can grind it out.”

Canadians Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., are also in the field. Hughes shot a 75 and Hadwin shot a 77.

Ontario golf courses will be busy over the long weekend.

Many of the provincial government’s restrictions on outdoor recreation facilities will come to an end Saturday after first coming into effect on April 17.

While Ontario Premier Doug Ford walked back moves on increased police power and the closing of playgrounds one day after making an announcement on additional restrictions related to the COVID-19 stay-at-home order on April 16, he kept outdoor sport facilities closed.

Ford gave the green light for outdoor recreation facilities to reopen on Thursday with restrictions in place, including physical distancing. Also, no team sports can be played or practised.

Ontario was the only jurisdiction in North America to ban golf, and the golf community has been vocal about its disagreement.

With COVID-19 far more transmissible indoors than outdoors, many have argued the resumption of outdoor sports can be beneficial for Ontarians at a challenging time.

Gratitude was evident across social media following the announcement.

The Province of Manitoba has announced additional public health order restrictions will take effect Saturday, May 22 at 12:01 a.m.

Outdoor gatherings with anyone from outside a household are no longer allowed, which applies to all recreation spaces including playgrounds, golf courses, parks and sports fields.

Additionally, only one person per household will be allowed to enter a business, with some exceptions, such as a single parent with children, or someone who requires a caregiver.

The new changes to public health orders will be in place until 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, May 26.

As golf courses in Manitoba remain open, the Manitoba Allied Golf Associations (Canadian Society of Club Managers, Golf Manitoba, Manitoba Golf Superintendents Association, National Golf Course Owners Association Canada and PGA of Manitoba), continue to encourage all member clubs to remain vigilant to ensure that all public health measures are met or exceeded at all of our golf courses.

Physical distancing (2 meters / 6 feet) is mandatory with people from outside your household across the province.

TORONTO – Golf Canada and title sponsor RBC in partnership with the PGA TOUR have announced that Oakdale Golf and Country Club in Toronto will join the celebrated host venue rotation for the RBC Canadian Open, with the Stanley Thompson classic confirmed to host Canada’s National Men’s Open Championship in 2023 and 2026.

A 27-hole facility quietly located near the centre of the Greater Toronto Area, Oakdale will challenge the stars of the PGA TOUR as a 7,460-yard composite championship routing that integrates elements from each of the course’s three nines (Thompson, Homenuik, Knudson). 

In 2018, the golf course underwent a major restoration under the guidance of Ian Andrew to bring consistency across the three nines. The facility is currently in the final stages of its multi-million-dollar renovation and revitalization project to the golf course and clubhouse. 

“Together with our partners at RBC and the PGA TOUR, I am extremely pleased that the membership of Oakdale Golf and Country Club has accepted our invitation to join us in hosting the 2023 and 2026 RBC Canadian Open,” said Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum. “The property is ideally situated in the heart of the GTA and presents the competitive challenge and operational capacity to stage an incredible championship. This is a special moment in Canadian golf as a classic venue emerges to challenge the world’s best golfers and share its history on the global golfing stage.”

When it welcomes the first of two RBC Canadian Opens in 2023, Oakdale will become the 37^th golf course in the 117-year history of the event (and only the seventh since 1977) to host Canada’s National Men’s Open Golf Championship. 

“RBC is proud to be title sponsor of the RBC Canadian Open and it is a special honour to see Oakdale Golf and Country Club take its place alongside the rotation of celebrated venues to host Canada’s National Men’s Open Championship,” said Matt McGlynn, Vice President, Brand Marketing, RBC. “The momentum behind this tournament continues to grow, and there is tremendous enthusiasm to introduce Canadian golf fans and the stars of the PGA TOUR including Team RBC to a great golf course and an exceptional tournament experience.” 

The 2026 RBC Canadian Open will take on additional significance as the championship will coincide with the celebration of Oakdale’s centennial anniversary.

“Oakdale is honoured to be hosting the RBC Canadian Open in 2023, as well as in 2026, a year in which we will celebrate our 100th anniversary,” said Mark Sadowski, President of Oakdale Golf & Country Club. ” We are proud to be opening our doors to the world’s best golfers so they can test themselves against our recently renovated composite golf course designed by Stanley Thompson and Robbie Robinson, two Canadian Golf Hall of Fame members. Working alongside Golf Canada, the PGA TOUR, and RBC, our membership is committed to delivering an incredible tournament experience, engaging the community surrounding the club, as well as welcoming Canada and the world to Oakdale!”

The golf club also holds a unique connection to the PGA TOUR as eight-time PGA TOUR winner George Knudson was a former Oakdale club professional. Fellow Canadian Golf Hall of Fame honoured member Wilf Homenuik has also enjoyed a 30-year teaching tenure as an Oakdale club professional. 

“We’re excited about partnering with RBC, Golf Canada and Oakdale Golf and Country Club for the RBC Canadian Open in 2023 and 2026,” said PGA TOUR President Tyler Dennis. “Oakdale is a hidden gem and players will greatly enjoy the challenge of the facility. And with its centralized location, it will prove to be a perfect venue for the RBC Canadian Open rotation and one that fans of Toronto and Canada will embrace.” 

Next June, Oakdale Golf and Country Club will also play host to the Monday Final Qualifier for the 2022 RBC Canadian Open, which will be contested at St. George’s Golf and Country Club with nearby Islington Golf Club as the official practice facility. 

OAKDALE GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB – A CLASSIC EMERGES….

Oakdale Golf and Country Club is a traditional tree-lined classic parkland style course over tumbling land, quietly situated in a populated urban setting. Formed by members of Toronto’s Jewish community, the golf course was originally designed in 1926 by renowned course architect and Canadian Golf Hall of Fame honoured member Stanley Thompson. An additional nine holes were built soon after and a third nine holes opened in 1957 under the vision of Thompson’s protégé and fellow Canadian Golf Hall of Fame honoured member, Robbie Robinson. In 2018, the golf course underwent a major restoration under the guidance of Ian Andrew to bring consistency across the three nines. The facility is currently in the final stages of its multi-million-dollar renovation and revitalization project to the golf course and clubhouse. 

The Thompson and Homenuik nines make up the original 18 holes created by Stanley Thompson while the Knudson nine reflects the additional work of Robbie Robinson. Smallish greens dominate the Thompson-Homenuik 18, while slightly larger greens are found on the Robinson 9. The ninth hole on Knudson course will be the historic finishing hole for the championship.A practice facility will be built using two existing holes on the property (#1 and #6 on the Thompson nine) while the existing practice range is expected to host a number of event activations. The practice range will be constructed by Ian Andrew who similarly constructed the temporary practice facility at Islington Golf Club which will be part of the 2022 RBC Canadian Open hosted at nearby St. George’s Golf and Country Club.

DULUTH, Ga. (AP) – Monday qualifier Dicky Pride won the Mitsubishi Electric Classic on Sunday for his first PGA Tour Champions title, closing with a 5-under 67 for a three-stroke victory.

Making his 11th senior start, the 51-year-old Pride had six birdies in an 11-hole stretch before dropping a stroke on the par-4 15th. He parred the final three.

Calgary’s Stephen Ames and Kirk Triplett each shot 70 to tie for second with second-round leader Paul Goydos (72). Brett Quigley (68), Doug Barron (69) and Billy Andrade (72) were another stroke back.

Pride finished at 11-under 205 at TPC Sugarloaf, a week after contending in the major Regions Tradition in his home state of Alabama. He won the 1994 St. Jude Classic for his lone PGA Tour victory and also won a Korn Ferry Tour event in Oregon in 2015.

After an opening 71, Pride had the best scores in the field the last two days, also shooting a 67 on Saturday to pull within two strokes of Goydos.

Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz shot 84-77-82 to finish 76th at 27 over, beating fellow former major leaguer Shigetoshi Hasegawa by three strokes to avoid finishing last.

The Golf Journalists Association of Canada (GJAC) Virtual Summit presented by RBC on the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame & Museum took place May 12, 2021, which is part of an ongoing GJAC series intended to help membership stay connected, as well as to generate discussion and opportunities around important issues in the game.

GJAC Virtual Summits presented by RBC are one hour in length and are recorded for public viewing. You can watch this one below. The format consists of a moderated question and answer period, followed by a brief opportunity for questions from attendees.

Panelists for the event included:     

• Cathy Sherk – Honourable CGHF Member
• Ted Fletcher – Son of Late Honourable CGHF Member Pat Fletcher
• Meggan Gardner – Director, Heritage, Golf Canada
• Garry McKay, GJAC Moderator

Enjoy!

The Canadian Golf Hall of Fame & Museum will be holding a virtual gala on June 8 as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations. The FREE event will be co-hosted by Bob Weeks and Gail Graham.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

DULUTH, Ga. (AP) – Canada’s Stephen Ames shot a 6-under 66 on Friday to take the first-round lead in the PGA Tour Champions’ Mitsubishi Electric Classic.

The 57-year-old Ames had an opening bogey and seven birdies for a one-stroke lead over Paul Goydos.

“I don’t think I had one highlight, I think I was very steady Eddie,” Ames said. “I hit a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens to give myself a lot of opportunities.”

A naturalized Canadian citizen from Trinidad, the four-time PGA Tour champion who calls Calgary home won the 2017 tournament at TPC Sugarloaf for his lone senior title.

“I think a combination of everything,” Ames said. “Hitting the ball really nicely and been working on my putting, a couple things on my putting that came through today, which is nice.”

Goydos played the back nine in 5 under, closing with a birdie on the par-5 18th. The 56-year-old Goydos has five senior victories after winning twice on the PGA Tour.

Gene Sauers followed at 68, and John Huston and Billy Andrade shot 69.

Jim Furyk, 2019 winner Scott McCarron, 2014 champion Miguel Angel Jimenez and Kenny Perry were in the group at 70. McCarron also won two PGA Tour events at TPC Sugarloaf.

Alex Cejka shot 71. He won the Regions Tradition last week in a playoff for his first senior victory, beating Steve Stricker in a playoff.

Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz had a quadruple bogey on the par-4 17th and a double bogey on 18 in an 84. He was 79th among the 80 finishers.

Wes Short Jr. shot 85, making five straight double bogeys in the middle of the round.