SYLVANIA, Ohio – Sei Young Kim shot a 5-under 66 on Saturday in the Marathon Classic to take a one-stroke lead over Lexi Thompson into the final round.

Brooke Henderson is in a tie for seventh, but seven shots behind Kim. Alena Sharp, who held a tie for the lead after round one, is  now in a tie for 41st.

Kim had seven birdies and two bogeys in gusty conditions to reach 16-under 197 at Highland Meadows Golf Club.

“It was a little tough to judge the distance,” Kim said. “Wind very gusty, on and off.”

The South Korean player won the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship in May in California for her eighth tour title.

“Tomorrow, I play with Lexi Thompson, one of my favourite players,” Kim said. “I’m very exciting play with her. … I’m very confident right now. Play same as last three days.”

Thompson made a 20-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th for a 65. She won the ShopRite LPGA Classic last month in New Jersey for her 11th tour title.

“It was a lot windier today,” Thompson said. “A little bit different direction, but not a big difference. It was just gusty. … It was a little bit more to deal with and then firmer greens in the afternoon, but it was a good test.”

She’s coming off a two-week break after playing five straight events.

“I took my first week off at home and just relaxed and then I basically just played the second week,” Thompson said. “I just wanted to keep my swing in the groove because I was hitting it well before I took the break. Just really took it easy. Came into this week knowing I like this golf course and just this tournament in general, so it’s just been overall a fun week for me.”

U.S. Women’s Open champion Jeongeun Lee6 was third at 12 under after a 69.

“My tee shot was not very good, especially my iron shots,” Lee6 said. “It was so hard to control my shots. There weren’t a lot of birdies today.”

Stacy Lewis (69), Jennifer Kupcho (69) and Carlota Ciganda (68) were 11 under.

Lewis won the last of her 12 LPGA Tour titles in 2017. She was born in nearby Toledo and has an endorsement deal with Marathon Oil.

“As long as it stays windy and the golf course keeps playing hard, I think there is a good round out there,” Lewis said. “I feel like I’m getting really close. I did a good job hanging in there today. I thought it played pretty tough. Just keep inching a little closer to playing some really good golf. That’s all you can do.”

Kupcho is making her sixth tour start as a pro. The former Wake Forest star won the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April.

“It was good,” Kupcho said. “I definitely struggled a little bit the beginning with tee shots. Got the groove going at the end and just missed a couple putts.”

Full scoring can be found here.

SILVIS, Ill. – Cameron Tringale and Andrew Landry topped the John Deere Classic leaderboard Saturday, with a half-dozen guys right behind them.

Roger Sloan of Calgary is one of them, sitting three back of the leaders after firing a 4-under 67. Canadians Nick Taylor and Adam Svensson are also in the hunt, tie for 14th and tied for 21st, respectively.

Winless on the PGA Tour, Tringale shot a 6-under 65 to match Landy at 16-under 197 at TPC Deere Run. Landry had a 67. He won the Valero Texas Open last year for his lone tour title.

“Some golf courses you can leaderboard watch, but this is not one of them,” said Landry, with eight players within two shots of the lead. “You want to stay with your game plan.”

Bill Haas, the 2011 FedEx Cup champion, and Adam Schenk were a stroke back. Haas shot a 64, tying the best round of the day. Schenk had a 66.

Nick Watney also had a 64 to join 2016 winner Ryan Moore (65), Dylan Frattelli (65) and Vaughn Taylor (66) at 14 under. Chris Stroud (66), Lucas Glover (69) and Roger Sloan (67) were 13 under.

Second-round leader Jhonattan Vegas stumbled to a 76 and fell to 8 under.

Tringale bogeyed the first hole, but that only motivated him to post his lowest score of the tournament.

“The bogey on the first hole was a shot in the leg,” Tringale said. “But I was able to get out of there myself and birdie the next two, which gave me some momentum.”

Landry looked as if was in trouble after bogeys on the 11th and 12th holes. He then birdied Nos. 16 and 17 – only to miss a 10-foot putt that would’ve given him the outright lead.

Haas, who hasn’t won since 2015, was a passenger in a car last February when driver and friend, Mark Gibello, was killed on a winding road outside Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles. Gibello’s Ferrari clipped another car and slammed into a pole. Haas walked away largely unscathed.

Haas has struggled this season, finishing 48th or worse in each of his last six starts. He had seven birdies in a bogey-free third round.

“I don’t know if it ever leaves you. But at the same time, I’m just trying to be the best I can be out here,” Haas said.

Moore, who has five PGA wins, finished birdie- eagle-birdie.

Perhaps the biggest surprise on a day when so many players moved into position to win Sunday was that Vegas won’t be among them.

After just one bogey in his first 40 holes, Vegas missed an 8-foot putt for par on the 5th – and a pair of poorly-hit pitches at the par-4 sixth led to a double bogey. Vegas then stuck his tee shot on the par-3 seventh hole within five feet of the cup before pushing his putt left.

Full scoring can be found here.

Lakewood, Wash. – Team Canada National Junior Squad member Laurent Desmarchais (Longueuil, Québec) defeated Josh McCollum of Upland, Calif. 3&2 in the final match to win the 118th Pacific Northwest Men’s Amateur Championship, held this week at Tacoma Country and Golf Club in Lakewood, Wash.

After starting with 168 players in stroke-play qualifying, split between Tacoma and nearby Chambers Bay, the championship came down to the final match between McCollum and Desmarchais, both of whom survived five matches to reach today’s final match.

Desmarchais threatened to make short work of the scheduled 36-hole final match. McCollum had difficulty off the tee immediately, and Desmarchais took advantage, going 5-up after nine holes and 8-up after 18 holes. During the lunch break, it seemed the match would be over soon.

But McCollum, a recent graduate of Chico State in California, got control of his driver, and gradually worked himself back into the match. After 27 holes, Desmarchais’ lead was just 5-up. Then McCollum birdied the 28th hole, and was just 4-down.

After the 25th hole, no hole was halved until the 34th and final hole.

Then Desmarchais made the putt of the championship. On the par-5 11th hole, he sprayed his second shot against the fence on the right, two feet from being out of bounds. From there he chipped over the green, 12 feet onto the fringe, and faced a 40-foot, downhill, side-hill putt on a green that was rolling 14 on the Stimpmeter. When he drained the putt, increasing his lead to 5-up with seven to play, it looked pretty much over.

Then it was 5-up with five holes to play. But McCollum still didn’t give up. He birdied 14, then stuffed a 9-iron on the par-3 15th to five feet for another birdied that was accentuated by a fist-pump.

On the 16th hole, a par-5, McCollum had just 163 yards left for his second shot, and he hit a wedge to 12 feet. When Desmarchais 2-putted for birdie, McCollum’s attempt at eagle slid by the hole, and the match went to Desmarchais.

“Josh wasn’t playing too well this morning, so I was able to take advantage of some of that,” Desmarchais said. “I kind of let it go in the second round, and he started to make some putts, and kept pushing me out there. He was making birdies, and good on him for doing that. He grabbed the momentum around the 26th hole or so, but I felt at that point all I had to do was make the shots because the pressure was on him. Just make pars, and then he would have to make birdies. This feels really great.”

McCollum said he found out about the Pacific Northwest Men’s Amateur from a teammate at Chico State who is from Idaho. “I knew it always has a strong field, and I try to find events where I can compete against the best.”

Laurent just turned 18, and at 6-foot-5, he is long off the tee. He is a member of the Canadian National Junior Team. He spent four months this spring at the Golf Canada National Development Centre at Bear Mountain Resort outside Victoria, B.C. on Vancouver Island. “That’s when I found out about this championship,” Desmarchais said. “My coach told me about it, and that I should play in it.”

Desmarchais had played last week in the Sahalee Players Championship, where he tied for 41st, as the first leg of the Western Swing, and this week played the second leg. His coach on the Canadian National Junior Team, Robert Ratcliffe, caddied for Desmarchais at Sahalee, but went back to Victoria afterward. Desmarchais told Ratcliffe that if he made it to the final match this week, Ratcliffe would have to return to caddie for him. This morning on the first tee, Ratcliffe was on the bag, standing side by side with Desmarchais.

Desmarchais has committed to play for the University of Tennessee, but will not begin there until 2021. Until then, he will continue to play on the Canadian Junior National Team. Next week he will compete in the Pacific Coast Amateur, held at the Championship Course at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

One of the oldest amateur golf championships in the world, Desmarchais’ name now goes on the Macan Cup, which is named after legendary golf course designer A.V. Macan, a member of the Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Fame and winner of this championship in 1913.

Past champions include names such as Tiger Woods, Jeff Quinney, Ben Crane, Jeff Coston, Nick Flanagan, Jim McLean and Pacific Northwest Golf Hall of Famers Chandler Egan, Harry Givan, Jack Westland, Bud Ward and George Holland, among many others.

Full results can be found here.

CALEDON, Ont.—Co-leading the Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos and CBM Aggregates at 14-under alongside JD Fernandez through two rounds of play, Paul Barjon has yet to make a bogey this week on the TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley’s North course as he seeks his second win of the Mackenzie Tour season.

With a scoring average just a hair below 67 this season – tops on the Mackenzie Tour – another trophy to accompany his hardware from the Bayview Place DCBank Open presented by Times Colonist would propel Barjon to the top spot on the Order of Merit.

However, even with four top-10s, a T19 at the RBC Canadian Open, and not a single Mackenzie Tour round over par this season, this is the first time the 26-year old heads into a Saturday as a leader.

“So far, I’ve always seemed to be coming from behind, so this is fun,” said the Dumbea, New Caledonia native. “We’ve played 36 holes, but there are still 36 left. As Tyler (McCumber) showed last year, a 61 is out there, so anybody can catch you.”

So far this week, it has been Barjon’s efforts on the par-4s, which he has played 9-under par, that has set him apart – along with his ability to grind for pars when the North course shows its teeth.

“I’m 1-under this week on the par-3s, which is good because they’re not easy,” said Barjon. “I’ve made a couple 15-footers for par when I’ve missed in the wrong place, but I found a little something with my swing on the back nine with my irons, so I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Heading into the weekend, Barjon says two holes, No. 7 and No 11, are going to be key, and could determine who adds their name to the trophy.

“No. 11, you have to hit a good shot, you don’t have a choice or else you’ll make bogey or worse,” said Barjon. “And then No. 7, those two holes are key because right after you have a stretch of easier holes, so you have to set the tone.”

Meanwhile Fernandez (65-65) is off to the best 36-hole start of his Mackenzie Tour career and has momentum on his side after firing four sub-70 numbers at the Windsor Championship on his way to a T28 finish.

Sitting one stroke back is a group of three players: Taylor Pendrith, Sean Walsh and Carter Jenkins. Pendrith is seeking his second Canada Life Canadian Player of the Week Award after claiming the prize with a T10 finish at the Bayview Place DCBank Open and is looking to become the first Canadian to win on the Mackenzie Tour since 2016.

SILVIS, Ill. – Jhonattan Vegas shot a 9-under 62 on Friday in the John Deere Classic to take a one-stroke lead into the weekend.

Off since missing the cuts in the Memorial and U.S. Open in June, , the three-time PGA tour winner from Venezuela said he “found something really good” on the range Thursday after an opening 67.

“Probably the best I’ve felt all year, to be honest,” Vegas said. “I hit the ball extremely well, kind of what I’ve been struggling with a little bit the past few months. It felt really good, in control the whole time with the ball-striking, which is my type of game. So I’m glad that stuff is back.”

Vegas had a 13-under 129 total at TPC Deere Run.

“It’s usually soft, and it’s been a little firmer because of the conditions, obviously a little warm,” Vegas said. “It’s the best I’ve ever seen it. The greens are perfect. The fairways are rolling more. It’s actually a little bit tricky because a lot of the fairways, as undulated as they are, you have to be a little careful with some of those run-outs.”

He last won on the tour in 2017 at the RBC Canadian Open.

Andrew Landry was second after his second 65. He birdied the first three holes on his second nine, then played the next six in 1 over with a bogey on the par-4 sixth hole.

“I’ve been hitting the ball very, very well all year long,” Landry said. “The putter has just kind of been letting me down all year long, and it seems to be working pretty good the last two days.”

Lucas Glover had an albatross on the par-5 10th in a 64 that got him to 11 under. He holed out with a 3-iron from 255 yards after a 318-yard drive.

“Honestly, I was trying to hit it over short left, chip up the green, and I pushed it 5, 8 yards, and it bounced and rolled and I guess it went in. I didn’t see it,” Glover said. “I was just trying to make birdie, and I got lucky with a 2.”

Three Canadians made the weekend cut.

Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., shot 65 and sits 9 under, while Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., also had a 65 and is 7 under. Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., is 6 under after shooting 69.

Harold Varner III (65), Russell Henley (68), Daniel Berger (66), Cameron Tringale (66) and Adam Schenk (65) were 10 under. Varner chipped in for eagle from 42 yards on the par-4 14th.

“I hit a really good drive in the rough and it was perfect, and I blasted it and it went too far and smashed the pin and went in,” Varner said. “It was awesome.”

First-round leader Roberto Diaz closed with a double bogey for a 73 that left him at 7 under.

Matthew Wolff, the rookie who won last week in Minnesota, was 4 under after a 71.

Michael Kim, the winner by eight shots last year, missed the cut with rounds of 73 and 72.

SYLVANIA, Ohio – Sei Young Kim shot a 7-under 64 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead over U.S. Women’s Open champion Jeongeun Lee6 in the Marathon Classic.

Kim had four straight birdies on Nos. 3-6 and also birdied the par-4 12th and 15th holes and the par-5 18th to get to 11-under 131 at Highland Meadows Golf Club. The South Korean player won the LPGA MEDIHEAL Championship in May in California for her eighth tour title.

“My play wasn’t good the last two weeks,” Kim said. “I’m just trying to do my best this week. So, I’m very happy with the (better) result than I expected.

Lee6 shot her second straight 66. The South Korean birdied two of the last three holes.

“It was pretty good,” Lee6 said. “The greens were not too soft, not too firm. It was so easy to play with my second shot in order to control my shots. Satisfied with it.”

Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis and Jennifer Kupcho were 9 under. Kupcho shot 66, Thompson 67, and Lewis 68, with Lewis playing alongside Kim the first two days.

Lewis won the last of her 12 LPGA Tour titles in 2017. She was born in nearby Toledo and has an endorsement deal with Marathon Oil. From Texas, she’s treated like a hometown player.

“I love it,” Lewis said. “It was pressure at first, but now it’s fun. It’s nice having the crew out there behind me and give them something to cheer about this year, which is awesome.”

Canadian Alena Sharp carded a 1-over 72 to slip into a tie for 11th after holding a share of the 18-hole lead.

Kupcho is making her sixth tour start as a pro. The former Wake Forest star won the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April.

“I’m hitting the ball really good this week, reading the putts well, and putting good rolls on them,” Kupcho said.

She parred the par-5 17th and 18th after birdieing three of the previous four holes.

“Obviously, walking off 17 and 18, two par 5s to finish, you expect to get at least one,” Kupcho said. “Left 17 short and just pushed 18’s putt. It’s a little upsetting.”

Thompson is coming off a two-week break.

“I just took yesterday’s round and came into today with the same confidence and same mindset,” Thompson said. “Just firing at pins and focusing on one shot at a time. I feel good with where my game is at. It was perfect weather. Couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Yealimi Noh, the 17-year-old from California who tied for sixth last week in Wisconsin in her LPGA Tour debut, missing the cut with rounds of 73 and 72. She played on a sponsor exemption after Monday qualifying last week.

BELLEVILLE, ON – Muggy conditions kicked off the fourth and final round of the 104th annual Ontario Women’s Amateur Championships from Black Bear Ridge Golf Course. The final day would produce both an amazing comeback attempt from Emily Zhu (Team Canada National Junior Squad Member) and also an excellent display of toughness from Brigitte Thibault (Team Canada National Amateur Squad Member). This toughness allowed Thibault, who had been the leader after days two and three, to claim the title.

Zhu (National Pines Golf Club) came out very strong, carding a 4-under par 36 on the front and actually taking the lead after nine holes but Thibault battled back tying things on the 12^th with a nice birdie.  The two would stay tied until late when Zhu would bogey 16 and 17. Thibault bogeyed 18 but would still claim the title by one stroke firing a final round +1 (73). Zhu would finish with the only under par round of the day, a -2 (70) and claim the silver medal. Hailey McLaughlin (Granite GC) took home the bronze medal after another steady round of +1 (73) to finish 5 strokes back of the leader.

A thrilled Thibault spoke of her win after the round. “I knew my game wasn’t clutch-clutch the past few days, but I just tried to keep my head up” she said. “I knew Emily was playing really well and she wasn’t going to go away, so I just focused on myself and I’m someone who never gives up.” She then mentioned what it means to win this particular trophy. “It’s obviously a honour, I love to see the previous winners that have all took this kind of step to where they are now. I see a lot of names from Team Canada and excited to see where this could take me.”

Golf Ontario would like to thank Black Bear Ridge Golf Course and their staff for their support of the Ontario Women’s Amateur Championship. A special thank you as well goes out to all the Golf Ontario volunteers.

Full results can be found here.

The 2019 Rules include a new form of stroke-play called “Maximum Score” where a player or side’s score for a hole is capped at a maximum number of strokes set by the Committee.

Visit golfcanada.ca/rules to learn more.

SILVIS, Ill. – Roberto Diaz shot a 9-under 62 on Thursday to take the first-round lead in the John Deere Classic.

Playing in the final group of the day off the first tee, the 32-year-old Mexican player birdied four of the first five holes, eagled the par-5 10th and birdied three of the last five in the bogey-free round at TPC Deere Run. He took the lead with a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-3 16th.

“I just feel that everything clicked,” Diaz said. “I’ve been playing pretty solid throughout the year. The driver has been awesome. I’ve been hitting a lot of fairways, and today I hit good numbers all day, and that helps.”

Winless on the PGA Tour, Diaz tied for eighth at the Travelers Championship last month.

Americans Adam Long and Russell Henley were two strokes back. Martin Laird was another stroke back at 65 with Ryan Palmer, Andrew Landry, Vaughn Taylor, Zack Sucher and Ryan Blaum.

Long, who got his first career win earlier this season at the Desert Classic, had eight birdies – four on the front nine and four on the back nine.

Henley has missed the weekend cuts in his last four straight starts. But he highlighted an impressive birdie run by drilling a 55-foot putt on the par-3 7th hole.

“I don’t think I’ve ever lost the belief that I can have a nice tournament,” Henley said. “It’s just a matter of a few bumps here and there.”

Scotland’s Laird, who skipped his national tournament this week in an effort to boost his playoff positioning, followed up a 65 to close out last week’s event in Minnesota with birdies on five par 4s on Thursday.

Palmer, the second-highest ranked player in the FedEx Cup standings in the field at No. 22, returned from a month-long family vacation with a strong round.

Palmer was somewhat inconsistent on his front nine before rallying for three birdies in a five-hole stretch.

“Stress-free today, it felt like. Being off for four weeks, travelling the world a little bit was fun. But I just came into the week just wanting to get my game back going for next week obviously,” Palmer said.

Twenty-year-old rookie Matthew Wolff, who picked up his first career win at the 3M Open last week, opened with a 67. Wolff, the youngest winner on the tour since Jordan Spieth won at Deere Run six years ago, hit 15 greens in regulation and played bogey-free.

“Having that PGA Tour card locked up is a lot of weight off of my shoulders,” Wolff said. “Everything in my game feels really good right now.”

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., is the top Canadian after a 4-under 67.

Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C. (68) finished 3 under, David Hearn of Brantford, Ont. (69) is 2 under, Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C. (70) are 1 under, while Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., (71) is even. Austin Connelly, an American-Canadian dual citizen, shot a 1-over 72.

Defending champion Michael Kim, who set the tournament record at Deere Run a year ago by winning by eight shots, had a 73. Kim has made just five of 28 cuts since winning in the Quad Cities.

Local favourite and past tournament champion Zach Johnson saw a streak of 40 consecutive rounds of even par or better at Deere Run come to an end after a 1-over 72. Johnson, who last shot over par there in 2008, missed a long birdie putt that would’ve kept the streak alive by inches.

“Frustrating. I mean, the good shots that I hit I didn’t get anything out of it and the bad ones were, I’m scrambling a little bit,” Johnson said.

Full scoring can be found here.

SYLVANIA, Ohio — La Canadienne Alena Sharp et la Sud-Coréenne Youngin Chun partagent la tête de la Classique Marathon à l’issue de la première ronde, elles qui ont inscrit des pointages de 64 (moins-7), jeudi.

Sharp, qui est âgée de 38 ans et qui est originaire de Hamilton, a réussi huit oiselets contre un seul boguey. Elle est toujours en quête d’une première victoire sur le circuit de la LPGA.

Chun, qui est âgée de 19 ans, a évité les bogueys. Elle est aussi à la recherche d’une première victoire dans la LPGA.

À leur poursuite au club de golf Highland Meadows, on retrouve notamment quatre golfeuses à moins-6. L’Américaine Stacy Lewis, dont le dernier des 12 titres de la LPGA a été acquis en 2017, l’Espagnole Azahara Munoz, l’Allemande Caroline Masson et la Suédoise Jenny Haglund ont joué des rondes de 65.

Brooke Henderson, de Smiths Falls, en Ontario, a remis une carte de 67 pour s’installer à égalité au 11e rang à moins-4. Jaclyn Lee, de Calgary, a inscrit un score de 69, tandis qu’Anne-Catherine Tanguay, de Québec, a bouclé sa ronde en 71 coups.