THORNHILL, Ont. – Cougar Collins of Toronto and Jackson Bowery of London, Ont., earned exemptions into the 2019 U.S. Amateur Championship at the Qualifier held at The Thornhill Club in Thornhill, Ont., on Monday.

Collins earned medallist honours by carding rounds of 69 and 67 during the 36-hole competition. The 20-year-old clinched the exemption with an eagle on the par-5 No. 17 during his second round.

“I had my dad on the bag today and it means a lot to both of us that we’ll be able to go back to the U.S. Am,” said Collins. “I came into the day wanting to be committed to every shot I hit. When it came to the back nine today, the two par-5s were really the turning points.”

Collins is entering his junior season at Eastern Michigan University and advanced to sectional qualifying for the 2019 U.S. Open. He played the U.S. Amateur in 2018, failing to make the cut.

A playoff was needed to determine the second automatic exemption, with Bowery and Team Canada National Amateur Squad member Josh Whalen (Napanee, Ont.) finishing at 5 under. Bowery won with a par on the second playoff hole (the par-4 No. 18) after Whalen lipped out his putt to save par.

Bowery will be playing the U.S. Amateur Championship for the first time. He finished runner-up at the 2019 Canadian University/College Championship.

It was a breathtaking turnaround for Whalen, who looked out of contention at 2 over following the first round. A 7-under-par-64 in his second round – the lowest round of the day – earned him the playoff with Bowery.

Whalen earns the first alternate spot from the Qualifier. Garrett Rank of Elmira, Ont., earned the second alternate spot. Rank and Zack Mason (Toronto) finished at 4 under and Rank clinched the spot with a par on the sixth playoff hole (the 18th).

Monday’s qualifier was one of 96 being held across North America from July 1-24 and the only such qualifier in Canada.

Nine Canadians have now qualified for the 2019 U.S. Amateur Championship; Julien Sale (Reunion Island), Colwyn Abgrall (Niverville, Man.), Étienne Brault (Mercier, Que.), Calvin Ross (Fredericton, N.B.), Joey Savoie (La Prairie, Que.), Tristan Mandur (Mill Bay, B.C.), Chris Crisologo (Richmond, B.C.), Collins and Bowery.

Seven additional Canadians are alternates for the event; Jacob Presutti (Brampton, Ont.), Etienne Papineau (St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.), Tyson Turchanski (Calgary), Kade Johnson (Yorkton, Sask.), Jeevan Sihota (Victoria), Whalen and Rank.

The 119th U.S. Amateur Championship is being held at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in Pinehurst, N.C., from August 12-18.

Full results can be found here.

Fifteen years ago, golfers didn’t have to worry about making the Olympics. The sport hadn’t been featured at a Games since 1904 when Canada’s George Lyon won gold.

But since golf returned to the fold for the 2016 Rio Olympics, it’s been a priority for Derek Ingram and the rest of Golf Canada’s high performance team. In fact, Ingram has been preparing for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics since the last Summer Games ended.

“Canadians are super patriotic and they love sport. Our athletes on the PGA Tour and the LPGA Tour are no different. They love it. You think they don’t want to be like Sidney Crosby?” Ingram, the head coach of Canada’s men’s team, said on Thursday from Winnipeg. “In that respect, the Olympics have gone from not on the radar at all to probably one of their top four or five events and as time goes along it may become No. 1 or 2.”

Qualifying players for the Olympics – the men’s tournament is July 30-Aug. 2 and the women’s event is Aug. 5-8 – can be tricky but the format will benefit Canada.

A total of 60 players will play in each gender’s 72-hole, stroke-play tournament, with qualification based on world rankings. The top 15 players of each gender can play, with a limit of four golfers per country. The remaining spots will go to the highest-ranked players from countries that do not already have two golfers qualified, with a limit of two per country.

The International Golf Federation also guarantees that at least one golfer from the host nation – in this case, Japan – and each geographical region (Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania) will qualify. The fields will be set based on the world rankings on June 22, 2020 (men) and June 29, 2020 (women).

In practice, that will make for a relatively weak field that Canada’s golfers can take advantage of.

If this week’s rankings were used, the United States men’s golf team would consist of world No. 1 Brooks Koepka, No. 2 Dustin Johnson, fifth-ranked Tiger Woods and sixth-ranked Bryson DeChambeau. No other Americans would be able to play, eliminating 24 of the top 60 players in the world. Similarly, Great Britain would be represented by world No. 3 Rory McIlroy, No. 4 Justin Rose and Paul Casey would squeak in as the 15th-ranked golfer in the world. All other Britons would miss out.

That means the Canadian’s men’s team, based on current rankings, would be Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C. (No. 64) and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont. (No. 87). Although both are out of the top 60, they would get “pulled up” by all the Americans, Brits, and other players who are ineligible because their country’s allotments are full.

“It’s a softer field and, all of a sudden, our players go into the tournament as the 15th- or 20th-ranked player in the field,” said Ingram. “In four rounds, in golf, they’ve already beaten all those guys that are in front of them. They don’t beat them every day but they’ve beaten them in tournaments and they’ve beaten them in rounds.”

On the women’s side, Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., would represent Canada as the ninth-ranked golfer in the world. Hamilton’s Alena Sharp is the next highest ranked Canadian at 125th but with 44 players from South Korea ineligible to play after that nation’s top four have qualified, she rockets up the qualification charts. That’s before eliminating golfers from other powerhouse countries like the U.S., Thailand, or China.

A challenge that all teams will face is preparing for the Olympic course at Kasumigaseki Country Club., a private course in Saitama, Japan, that most golfers haven’t seen. Ingram and Tristan Mullally, the head coach for Canada’s women’s team, plan on travelling to Japan in the fall to scout it out for their players.

“It’s not down the street, they can’t take a trip down there on a Monday of a PGA TOUR event and play 18 holes and get to know it. It’s a bit of a hike,” said Ingram with a laugh. “We have to be prepared as we can be. That’s doesn’t mean the player and the caddy and their coaches won’t do their due diligence when they get to the event and have lots of time but it’s nice to have a little bit of background information or a lot of background information. It just makes it a little bit easier when they get there.”

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. – From President Donald Trump’s putting advice to playing partner Kelly Kraft’s two late bogeys, Jim Herman got the help he needed to win the Barbasol Championship on Sunday for his second PGA Tour title.

He executed when he had to, too.

“Really proud of how I can step up on that 18th tee when everything’s on the line and hit the fairway and hit the green and get out of there,” Herman said.

Trump’s regular golf partner while working as an assistant professional at Trump National Bedminster in New Jersey, Herman changed to a conventional putting grip and clubhead at the president’s suggestion following a recent round.

Encouraged by Trump more than a decade ago to pursue a playing career, Herman won the 2016 Shell Houston Open for his lone tour title – a victory that also followed a friendly round with Trump.

“I think I need to see him again soon,” the 41-year-old Herman said on the 18th green after his winning tap-in par. “He motivates me and puts me in a good spot.”

Herman finished with a 2-under 70 at Keene Trace in the round interrupted for over three hours because of a thunderstorm with the leaders on the seventh pole. Herman’s putting cooled off after sizzling in opening rounds of 65, 65 and 62.

“Today was just hanging on,” Herman said. “Kelly and I couldn’t find what we had on Saturday…. I was just able to hang on. Kelly played great obviously all week, but I came out on top.”

A shot ahead with three to play, Kraft bogeyed the par-3 16th and par-4 17th. He followed a third-round 61 with a 70 to finish a shot back and squander a chance for his first tour victory.

“I just didn’t have my best stuff today, but I had it going there – made a couple birdies, 14, 15,” Kraft said. “I just gave it to him coming down the stretch, that’s basically all there is to it.”

Herman parred the last three holes to finish at a tournament-record 26-under 262.

“Obviously, with one hole (left) and a one-shot lead, I’ve been in that scenario before, just had to hit a good drive,” Herman said. “You have to step up and give yourself a look at birdie just in case Kelly was going to have a look as well.”

Herman earned a two-year tour exemption and a spot in the PGA Championship, but not in the Masters. He played the last two weeks on past champion status and thought he was headed down to the Korn Ferry Tour.

“My future on tour was not looking too bright coming off a lot of cuts,” Herman said. “I didn’t feel like I was playing poorly, but just putting, short game was not there. Driving, irons has always been there for me, but this week found the touch and here we are.”

The former University of Cincinnati won close to home, giving many family members and friends a chance to watch.

“I’ve never really had a problem with Kentucky, but they beat us in basketball a bunch,” Herman said. “It’s great to win here so close to home. Winning in Houston, didn’t have many people around.”

He was surprised to see wife Caroline and children Abigail and Andrew during the rain delay.

“I’m sitting there with the rain delay and my wife shows up,” Herman said. “We spend most of the summer with her mom and dad in Philadelphia and they drove over this morning. They left at, I don’t know, 4 this morning, so they were confident on what I was doing. …. Didn’t want to waste the opportunity for them.”

He was looking forward to hearing from his golf buddy in the White House.

“I’m sure I’ll be receiving some kind of message,” Herman said. “That was very unexpected to hear from him directly on Friday night. I got a phone call from him wishing me on for the weekend and congratulating me on my first two rounds. It’s pretty amazing I’ve had this relationship with him. I’m very fortunate I get to play a little golf with him.”

Sepp Straka of Austria was a career-best third at 23 under after a 66.

Matt Jones (63) and Austin Cook (70) followed at 22 under. Cook had a tour-record five birdies in the week. There were 114 eagles during the event, the most in a single-course tournament since the tour began tracking the statistic in 1990.

Lexington native Josh Teater tied for sixth – his best finish since 2013 – at 21 under after a 68.

Full scoring can be found here.

HALIFAX, N.S. — Throughout the first half of the Mackenzie Tour season, it has felt like a matter of time before Lorens Chan would pick up his maiden victory.

Earlier this year at the GolfBC Championship, Jake Knapp edged Chan, despite Chan shooting a final-round 68. On Sunday, it was Chan who edged Knapp at Oakfield Golf & Country Club to win the HFX Pro-Am HFX Pro-Am presented by Steele Jaguar, despite Knapp shooting a final-round 67.

And when Chan two-putted for par from 30 feet on the 72nd hole to pick up a two-stroke victory at the inaugural event, Knapp was the first one to give his buddy, and past UCLA teammate, a hug.

“We were texting last night, and he said, ‘Let’s make it fun tomorrow,’” said Chan following his victory. “I said, ‘If I don’t win, I want you to win,’ and he said the same thing back to me.

“I just told him ‘”Let’s just finish one-two, no matter who wins.”

Less than 24 hours later, it was Chan No. 1, at 24-under, and Knapp No. 2, at 22-under.

“Throughout the whole season I’ve been knocking on the door, but I’ve come up a little bit short and made a few mistakes on the weekends, that adds up and I finish a few strokes behind,” said Chan, who moved to third on the Order of Merit with the victory.

“Since Friday, I’ve been getting lots of texts encouraging me from friends and family. They said ‘This is your week,’ so I kept telling myself that it was my time.”

Chan wasted no time adding to his one-stroke lead entering Sunday. On hole No. 1, the Honolulu, Hawaii, native drained a 40-foot eagle look to quickly separate himself from playing partners Hayden Shieh and Stoney Crouch.

“I was kind of struggling on that hole this week, and I was just trying to two-putt from 40 feet,” said Chan. “For that to go in was a bonus and set the tone for the round because there’s nothing better than making a long putt to start the day.”

The 25-year old managed to avoid looking at leaderboards throughout the entire round. It wasn’t until he asked his mom, Linda, who has also doubled as his caddie this season, what his status was on the final hole.

“She said I had a two-stroke lead, but I wanted to make sure it was fully updated,” said Chan. “When I was on No. 17, I knew there was a leaderboard, but I didn’t need any more pressure, I’m trying to make the putt regardless of if I’m up by 10 or down by 10.”

Throughout the season, Chan’s mom has closely shadowed him, a woman whose smile beamed from ear to ear as her son accepted the trophy.

“She means everything. She’s been my biggest cheerleader since day one,” said Chan. “Ever since my dad passed away a few years ago, she has been even more of a cheerleader for me. It’s really nice having her on the bag.”

For the second consecutive week, Canadian Taylor Pendrith was in the mix on Sunday. Coming off a runner-up finish a week ago at the Osprey Valley Open, Pendrith shot a final-round 69 to tie for third with Blake Sattler and Hayden Shieh.

With a scoring average of 66.75 the past two events, Pendrith successfully picked up his second consecutive Canada Life Canadian Player of the Week Award, his third of the season.

Full results can be found here.

PORTRUSH, Ireland – Shane Lowry made the 68 years between British Opens in Northern Ireland worth the wait.

The silver claret jug is staying on the Emerald Isle.

Lowry, the 32-year-old Irishman with stout nerves and a soft touch around the greens, endured the worst weather of the week and the Sunday pressure of a sellout crowd cheering him along to win the British Open by six shots at Royal Portrush.

Even as the rain stopped, the tears began flowing.

“I can’t believe this is me standing here,” Lowry said as he cradled golf’s oldest trophy. “I can’t believe this is mine.”

It was never really in doubt.

Lowry closed with a 1-over 72, the first time since 1996 the Open champion was over par in the final round, and it was no less impressive. More difficult than the rain was wind strong enough to break an umbrella. Lowry began making bogeys in the middle of the round without losing ground. No one from the last 12 groups broke par.

And no one got closer than three shots all day of Lowry, who finished at 15-under 269.

Thousands of fans who filled these links off the North Atlantic began to celebrate when Lowry, after his fourth bogey in seven holes, rolled in an 8-foot birdie putt on the 15th hole to stretch his lead to six with three holes to play.

Lowry’s smile got wider with every hole coming in.

When his approach to the 18th was just on the fringe, he stretched out his arms, hugging caddie Bo Martin. The loudest cheer of a raucous week was for a tap-in par that made Lowry a major champion.

“He’s done brilliantly,” Lee Westwood said after grinding out a 73 to tie for fourth. “All the chasers would have wanted tough conditions and he’s clearly played brilliantly to be on the score he has, under the pressure he’s under.”

Tommy Fleetwood had to settle for his second runner-up finish in a major. He missed a 10-foot birdie putt on the opening hole that would have cut the deficit to two, and he missed a 5-footer for par on the third hole. His hopes ended with a double bogey from the bunker and the rough, and he closed with a 74.

Tony Finau shot 71 to finish alone in third, though he was never closer than seven shots. Brooks Koepka, going for his fourth major in the last seven, began the final round seven shots behind and opened with four straight bogeys. He shot 74 and tied for fourth.

Royal Portrush last hosted the British Open in 1951, the only time it had been outside Scotland and England. It pinned hopes at the start of the week on Rory McIlroy, who missed the cut by one shot. It celebrated Darren Clarke hitting the first tee shot Thursday. The other Ulstersman, Portrush native Graeme McDowell, basked in the loudest cheers he has heard this side of the Ryder Cup when he walked up the 18th green on Sunday.

And then along came Lowry, who teamed with McIlroy to bring Irish golf a European Amateur title in 2007, and who won the Irish Open as an amateur 10 years ago. He joins Padraig Harrington as Irishmen to win majors, while McIlroy, McDowell, Clarke and Fred Daly are major champions from Northern Ireland.

“Everyone knows we’re all one country when it comes to golf,” Lowry said.

It was one big group hug when it ended, starting with his wife and daughter, and his parents. Harrington and McDowell were among those waiting behind the 18th green to share in the celebration, along with Koepka and his caddie, Ricky Elliott, once a promising amateur who grew up at Royal Portrush.

“I didn’t feel great out there. It was probably the most uncomfortable I’ve ever felt on a golf course,” Lowry said. “You’re out there trying to win an Open in your home country, and it’s just incredibly difficult.”

It showed early when Lowry pulled his tee shot into the rough, hit into a deep bunker well short of the green and had to make an 8-foot putt just to escape with bogey. The wind was picking up and it was relentless for so much of the day. Lowry made his move on the more forgiving start, with three birdies in a four-hole stretch through the par-5 seventh that boosted his lead to six.

Everyone except Fleetwood fell back.

J.B. Holmes, who shared the 36-hole lead with Lowry until falling back Saturday, really went the wrong direction. He hit his first tee shot out-of-bounds. And it only got worse. He made one birdie and shot 87.

Lowry’s lead was four shots when he saved par from a bunker left of the par-3 13th. Even on his bogey at the hole, he added to his lead when Fleetwood hit a poor shot from the fairway bunker into the rough, couldn’t get to the green and three-putted for a double bogey.

“I never really got close enough, and Shane played great,” Fleetwood said. “The conditions were horrendous. It was Shane’s time, Shane’s tournament.”

Lowry shared it with his family who paved the way, the players who inspired him. And after he was introduced as “champion golfer of the year,” he shared it with thousands of people he didn’t even know, all of them crammed along the hillocks and swales, along the edge of the ocean, and who sat in the horseshoe-shaped grandstands under umbrellas waiting for the Irishman to arrive.

Holding up the claret jug, Lowry said to them, “This one’s for you.”

Full results can be found here.

NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. – Helped by President Donald Trump’s putting advice, Jim Herman had two eagles in a 10-under 62 to maintain a one-stroke lead Saturday in the PGA Tour’s Barbasol Championship.

Ben Silverman is the low Canadian in the field at 13 under, good for a tie for 14th.

Trump’s regular golf partner while working as an assistant professional at Trump National Bedminster in New Jersey, Herman changed to a conventional putting grip and clubhead at the president’s suggestion following a recent round.

“He gave me a good talking to and told me to use a different style if it’s not working,” Herman said Friday after shooting his second straight 65 to top the leaderboard. “Some great advice, so I appreciate it.”

On Saturday, Herman made an 11-foot eagle putt on the par-5 eighth and a 10-footer on the par-5 15th. He also had six birdies to get to 24-under 192 at rain-softened Keene Trace.

Encouraged by Trump to pursue a playing career, the 41-year-old Herman won the 2016 Shell Houston Open for his lone tour title – a victory that followed a friendly round with Trump.

Kelly Kraft was second after a 61. He also eagled the 15th, holing a 65-footer.

Austin Cook (63) and Bill Haas (65) were four strokes back at 20 under.

David Toms, two shots back after a second-round 64, had a 73 to drop into a tie for 32nd at 11 under. The 52-year-old Toms is making his third PGA Tour start of the season.

The winner will receive a spot in the PGA Championship, but not in the Masters.

Full scoring can be found here.

MIDLAND, Mich. – Cydney Clanton and Jasmine Suwannapura ran away with the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational on Saturday, shooting an 11-under 59 in best-ball play for a six-stroke victory.

Clanton and Suwannapura took a five-shot lead into the final round after shooting an alternate-shot 63 on Friday at Midland Country Club in the LPGA Tour’s first-year team event. They finished at 27-under 253.

“It’s pretty awesome,” Suwannapura said. “I couldn’t ask for a better partner.”

Suwannapura won her second tour title, and Clanton her first.

Clanton earned spots the next two weeks in the Evian Championship and Women’s British Open. The first Auburn University player to win on the tour, she began the season without a full LPGA Tour card after finishing $8 out of the top 100 on the 2018 money list. Clanton has split time this year on the LPGA Tour and developmental Symetra Tour, winning the Symetra Tour’s El Dorado Shootout in April.

“I couldn’t even dream up to have won a Symetra event earlier this year and then to come out and win with Jasmine,” Clanton said. “It’s so funny, this is the tournament that I wanted to come and play in. I was like, ‘Team event, I’m in, let’s go.’ So, I’m blessed for the opportunity, I’m blessed that Jasmine came and let me come play with her.”

Jin Young Ko and Minjee Lee closed with a 58 to finish second.

“We both played better than we did the last time we played four-balls,” Lee said. “We just had a better rhythm out there. I think we just fed off each other. Jin Young had so many birdies today, so I just tried to keep up pretty much.”

“I’ve had full status before, but it will allow for me to kind of sit back and relax a little bit and kind of set my own schedule,” Clanton said. “I think it’s just going to free me up because it’s been something that I’ve been working on. I guess I was quite down for the first couple years.”

Suwannapura, from Thailand, also won the Marathon Classic last year.

Clanton and Suwannapura each bogeyed the first hole, then each had eight birdies.

“Actually, felt pretty good on the first tee,” Clanton said. “Didn’t hit a great shot into the green, but I’m not going to lie, the majority of my rounds start with bogeys. So I told Jasmine, I was like, ‘Dude, we’re ready. We’re ready to go. We got it out of the way. we’ll go low.”’

Sisters Ariya Jutanugarn and Moriya Jutanugarn tied for third with Na Yeon Choi and Jenny Shin at 20 under. They each shot 61.

“So much fun,” Ariya Jutanugarn said. “Need to be patient with alternate shot, but also even best ball we still have to be patient because we feel like you going to make birdie hole after hole, but it’s not going to happen.”

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., and Hamilton’s Alena Sharp were fifth at 19 under after a 9-under 61 round. Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee and Australian partner Robyn Choi shot a 6-under 64 to finish 36th at 6 under.

Full scoring can be found here.

HALIFAX, N.S. — Playing his last 42 holes without a bogey at Oakfield Golf & Country Club, Lorens Chan finished Saturday the way he entered it—with a one-stroke lead at the HFX Pro-Am presented by Steele Jaguar.

“I played fine today,” said Chan, who has four top-10 finishes this season in six starts. “I couldn’t really take advantage of the par-5s today, but I saw I was a bit behind mid-round, and I made a few birdies on the back nine to keep myself ahead.”

Chan, who entered the tournament with the second-best scoring average on the Mackenzie Tour, at 67.5, will attempt to fend off a slew of six players within three strokes of his lead, including two-time 2019 winner Jake Knapp and Canadian Taylor Pendrith, fresh off a runner-up finish at the Osprey Valley Open.

“(It’ll take) a lot of birdies, probably,” said the 25-year old Chan. “It’s a bunched leaderboard, so you can’t afford many mistakes. You have to go out and make as many birdies as you can.

“Dru (Love) proved it Thursday that 59 is almost out there, he shot 60,” Chan added, “so I don’t think people five or six back are out of it, and we might end up chasing.”

Speaking of birdies, only Paul Barjon’s 122 tops Chan’s 112 on the Mackenzie Tour this season; making the UCLA alum’s eight consecutive pars to open the third round surprising.

“There were some birdie opportunities on the front. On No. 1, I hit one bad shot and one bad chip to take myself out of a good birdie chance,” said Chan. “I hit a lot of good putts that didn’t go in, and on the back I hit a few more that did.”

A win would project Chan, who, in six attempts, hasn’t fired a final round over 68 this season, to move from the sixth spot on the Order of Merit into third.

Folding into a two-way tie for second, one stroke back, are Hayden Shieh and Stoney Crouch, each having their best outings this season, coming into the tournament 87th and 138th, respectively, on the Order of Merit.

Looking for his second consecutive Canada Life Canadian Player of the Week Award, Taylor Pendrith shot a third-round 68 and is two strokes back.

Full scoring can be found here.

PORTRUSH, Ireland – The cheers grew louder and Shane Lowry kept getting better Saturday in the British Open.

He made two straight birdies around the turn at Royal Portrush to break out of a four-way tie for the lead. The Irishman made three straight birdies toward the end of the third round, each shot better than the previous one. He walked off the Dunluce Links with an 8-under 63, the 54-hole record at the British Open and a four-shot lead over Tommy Fleetwood.

The first British Open in Northern Ireland since 1951 no longer has favourite son Rory McIlroy.

Lowry – teammates with McIlroy for Irish golf when they won the European Amateur Championship in 2007 – filled the void just fine.

He didn’t mind the lack of attention showered on the trio of Ulstermen – McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke – at the start of the week as Northern Ireland celebrated the return of golf’s oldest championship.

“They guys are from here. I grew up four hours away,” Lowry said. “I felt like I could come here and come under the radar. I’m not quite under the radar anymore. I didn’t feel like a forgotten Irishman. But hopefully, I’m the one they’re talking about tomorrow evening.”

He was at 13-under 197, breaking by one the 54-hole record held by Tom Lehman at Royal Lytham & St. Annes in 1996.

Adam Hadwin (72) of Abbotsford, B.C., was tied for 54th at 2-over par.

Low scoring was helped by a day that ended in relative calm, perhaps ahead of the storm. The forecast for Sunday is so nasty that the R&A moved up the tee times by one hour in a bid to avoid the worst of heavy rain and gusts expected to top 35 mph.

There’s also the chance of an internal storm brewing in Lowry.

This is the second time he has had a four-shot lead going into the final round of the major. The other time was in the 2016 U.S. Open at Oakmont. Lowry closed with a 76 as Dustin Johnson rallied for his only major. The pressure figures to be even greater this time around as he goes for a silver claret jug on the Emerald Isle.

Fleetwood did his part with a bogey-free 66, and he lost ground. He at least got into the final group as he goes for his first major.

“You have to look at it realistically,” he said. “I had a great day today. I had one of the best rounds of the day and I was bogey-free. Shane just played great and I’m four back. But that’s it. I’m just happy with how I played.”

J.B. Holmes, who started the third round tied with Lowry atop the leaderboard, tried to stay with him until he dropped two straight shots in the middle of the back nine. A birdie on the 18th gave him a 69, leaving him six back.

Still on the fringe of contention was a familiar face in the majors – Brooks Koepka. He couldn’t get enough putts to fall for the third straight day and still managed a 67, leaving him seven shots back.

“I’ve hit it as good as I could possibly imagine. I putted the worst in the entire field,” Koepka said. “It’s been really bad. Very frustrating. Disappointed. But thankfully, it’s going to blow tomorrow to have any sort of chance. I need to figure out the putter.”

Justin Rose had a 68 and joined Koepka at 9-under 204, figuring that just enough to at least stay in the conversation.

Behind him, Lowry kept widening the gap. The pin was back right on the par-3 16th known as “Calamity Corner” because it drops off some 50 feet right of the green. He sent that tee shot onto the green and right at the flag until it settled about 10 feet away.

From the light rough to the left of the fairway on the 17th, he hit a perfect chip-and-run to 3 feet for his final birdie. Holmes drove down the hill short of the green, close enough to use putter. He ran it about 8 feet by, and when it caught the lip and spun away, Holmes dropped the putter in disbelief.

Some of that surely was the frustration of seeing Lowry getting farther and farther away from him.

Lowry can’t think of a better day he’s ever had on the golf course. His 63 was one short of the major championship record that Branden Grace set at Royal Birkdale in 2017. The support was more than he could have imagined.

“Every time I had a putt today, I wanted to hole it so I could hear that roar,” Lowry said.

Now he has 18 holes left to make it through tough weather and Sunday pressure with the hopes of an island following him along.

Full scoring can be found here.

MIDLAND, Mich. – Cydney Clanton and Jasmine Suwannapura shot a 7-under 63 in alternate-shot play Friday to open a five-stroke lead in the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational, the LPGA Tour’s first-year team event.

Clanton and Suwannapura birdied five of the last seven holes on the front nine and played the last five holes in 2 under, making three birdies and a bogey.

“I think because we pretty chill, like ‘You hit a bad shot, like OK, I’ll fix it, don’t worry,”’ Suwannapura said. “So everybody kind of like relaxing the game today, so the result pretty good.”

They had a 16-under 194 total at Midland Country Club, with a best-ball round left Saturday.

“Each hole’s an opportunity,” Clanton said. “How many opportunities can we give ourselves. One of those things where as many fairways and greens as you can hit and if the putts go in, great.”

Suwannapura, from Thailand, won the Marathon Classic last year for her lone LPGA Tour title. Clanton is winless on the tour. They had an alternate-shot 67 on Wednesday and shot a best-ball 64 on Thursday.

“Today, I think what we did was quite impressive just with our ball-striking in general,” Clanton said. “Jasmine’s putting’s on point. I think you’ve just got to look at it as it’s just another opportunity to play and the more that you can think of the fact that it’s just another day on the golf course, we’re going to go out and try to do what we’ve been doing, the better it’s going to be.”

Sisters Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn had a 64 to move into a tie for second at 11 under with Simin Feng-Ruixin Liu (67), Na Yeon Choi-Jenny Shin (67) and Paula Creamer-Morgan Pressel (69).

“I felt like first round, don’t want to miss any shot because I don’t want my sister to have like tough shot and I kind of worry and scared,” Ariya Jutanugarn said. “But today we already make the cut and nothing to lose, so we keep playing golf.”

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., and Hamilton’s Alena Sharp fired a 69 to finish the day tied for sixth at 10 under, six shots back of the lead. Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee and Australian partner Robyn Choi combined for a 75 and are in a tie for 36th at even par.

Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., and partner Daniela Darquea of Ecuador as well as Quebec City’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay and Germany’s Sophia Popov missed the cut.

Full scoring can be found here.