SYLVANIA, Ohio – Alena Sharp of Canada and Youngin Chun of South Korea shared the Marathon Classic lead at 7-under 64 on Thursday, a stroke ahead of Stacy Lewis and three others at Highland MeadowsGolf Club.

The 38-year-old Sharp, winless on the LPGA Tour, had eight birdies and a bogey to finish with a 64 – her lowest round this season.

“I played really well right from the first tee shot,” Sharp said. “I felt really calm this morning coming into this event. I always love playing here. I have great housing.”

The 19-year-old Chun, also seeking her first LPGA Tour victory, had a bogey-free round.

“I didn’t know I shot 64 today,” Chun said. “The funniest thing I finish par on the 18 and then I saw the leaderboard and there is a 7-under and I was like, ‘Who is that?’ I asked my dad. ‘I think I shot 6, right?’ He said, ‘No, you’re 7.’ So it was me.”

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.

“It was awesome,” Lewis said. “The biggest thing is I hit 18 greens today. I’ve been working on the ball-striking a lot, so just really nice to see some results. Got a few putts to fall there on our last few holes.”

The Texan had seven birdies and a bogey.

“It’s a golf course I’m not necessarily 100% comfortable on,” Lewis said. “I just had some really good golf shots today. Had some easy tap-in birdies. I haven’t done that in the long time, in general.”

Azahara Munoz, Caroline Masson and Jenny Haglund matched Lewis at 65.

Brooke Henderson, Smiths Falls, Ont., (67) is 4 under, Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee (69) came in 2 under, Calgary while Anne-Catherine Tanguay of Quebec City shot an even-par 71.

Lexi Thompson was at 66 with U.S. Women’s Open champion Jeongeun Lee6, Carlota Ciganda and Clariss Guce.

Thompson is coming off a two-week break.

“I played five weeks straight before that and really I’ve never played five weeks in a row in my career,” Thompson said. “It was definitely different for me. But two weeks off just relaxing, hanging out with my family and friends, just making sure I get that relaxing time was much needed. I felt good about my game coming into this week.”

Defending champion Jasmine Suwannapura opened with a 70.

Yealimi Noh, the 17-year-old from California who tied for sixth last week in Wisconsin in her LPGA Tour debut, had a 73. Playing on a sponsor exemption after Monday qualifying last week, she had five birdies and seven bogeys.

Full scoring can be found here.

Caledon, Ont. — When Taylor Pendrith hits the golf ball, people take notice, especially when he does so in the General Toronto Area.

Growing up in Richmond Hill, Ont, about an hour east of TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, site of this week’s Osprey Valley Open presented by Votorantim Cimentos and CBM Aggregaetes, Pendrith feels right at home on the North course’s fairways, proven by Thursday’s 9-under 63, which leads the tournament by one-stroke among those to finish their opening round.

“I’ve been out here a bunch, living kind of close by,” said Pendrith. “I didn’t play very well here last year, so this is a little redemption.”

Being one of the longest hitters on not only the Mackenzie Tour, but any Tour, Pendrith says the wide fairways suit his style of play, despite missing the cut at the event in 2018.

“There’s lots of drivers,” said the 28-year old. “I can cut it over a couple bunkers, which is an advantage for me, and I drove it fantastic today, hitting lots of fairways and giving myself some opportunities.”

Pendrith did his damage on the back nine on Thursday. Making the turn at 3-under, the Kent State alum made four birdies on his next five holes to move to 7-under.

“Honestly, on the front nine I missed two or three very makeable putts and I was a little disappointed to be 3-under through 8,” said Pendrith. “I was hitting it great, I think I only missed one green, so I had a lot of opportunities and I was able to get the putter going on the back nine.”

Finishing with back-to-back birdies, the second coming after a weather delay that lasted nearly two hours, Pendrith signed for his lowest score of the season, and best opening round since his 62 to open the 2018 Windsor Championship.

“I’ve been pretty close to having a good tournament, I just haven’t capped it off,” said Pendrith, who has one top-10 finish this season and is coming off a T16 at last week’s Windsor Championship. “I’ve been hovering around 25^th going into Sunday and I’ve played OK. It’s nice to get off to a good start and hopefully keep it going.”

Paul Barjon, who continued his strong 2019 season by posting a bogey-free 64, looking for his fifth top-10 finish this season, and Jeremy Gandon trail Pendrith by one stroke.

Due to Thursday’s weather delay, play was suspended due to darkness and 19 players will return to finish their opening rounds at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley on Friday morning at 8:15 A.M., while second round tee times will begin at 7:15 A.M., as originally planned.

Full scoring can be found here.

Golf Canada caught up with 21-year-old superstar Brooke Henderson at Magna Golf Club, site of the 2019 CP Women’s Open from August 19-25.

Southwood Golf & Country Club’s 125th anniversary highlights a list of 52 Golf Canada member clubs across all ten provinces that are celebrating anniversaries in 2019.

Founded in 1894 and on its current site since 2011, Southwood Golf & Country Club is one of the oldest clubs in Canada. As part of the Winnipeg club’s anniversary celebrations, The Players Cup, a Mackenzie Tour – PGA Tour Canada event, will be held at the course from Aug. 15-18.

All clubs that are celebrating an anniversary will receive a plaque from Golf Canada. Clubs celebrating their 100th anniversary will receive a commemorative scroll.

In addition to Southwood Golf & Country Club’s 125th, 11 clubs are celebrating their centennial:

• Abercrombie Country Club (New Glasgow, N.S.)
• Westfield Golf & Country Club (Grand Bay – Westfield, N.B.)
• Club de golf Islesmere (Sainte-Dorothée, Que.)
• Glendale Golf & Country Club (Hamilton, Ont.)
• Midland Golf & Country Club (Midland, Ont.)
• Muskoka Lakes Golf & Country Club (Port Carling, Ont.)
• Sault Ste. Marie Golf Club (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.)
• Windermere Golf & Country Club (Windermere, Ont.)
• Elmwood Golf Club (Swift Current, Sask.)
• Weyburn Golf Club (Weyburn, Sask.)
• Earl Grey Golf Club (Calgary, Alta.)

Earl Grey Golf Club (Calgary, Alta.)

Three clubs are celebrating their 75th anniversary:

• Club de golf Victoriaville (Victoriaville, Que.)
• Neepawa Golf & Country Club (Neepawa, Man.)
• Humboldt Golf Club (Humboldt, Sask.)

Neepawa Golf & Country Club (Neepawa, Man.)

Sixteen clubs are celebrating their 50th anniversary:

• Brudenell Golf Course (Cardigan, PEI)
• Mactaquac Provincial Park Golf Club (Mactaquac, N.B.)
• Club de golf Revermont (Amqui, Que.)
• Horseshoe Resort (Barrie, Ont.)
• MontHill Golf & Country Club (Caledonia, Ont.)
• Petawawa Golf Club (Petawawa, Ont.)
• Pine Valley Golf Club (Brantford, Ont.)
• Tilbury Golf Club (Tilbury, Ont.)
• Rock Creek Golf Club (Shaunavon, Sask.)
• North Battleford Golf & Country Club (North Battleford, Sask.)
• Maple Ridge Golf Couse (Calgary, Alta.)
• Taber Golf Club (Taber, Alta.)
• Sunshine Coast Golf & Country Club (Roberts Creek, B.C.)
• Hirsch Creek Golf and Winter Club (Kitimat, B.C.)
• Prince Rupert Golf Club (Prince Rupert, B.C.)
• Musqueam Ladies Golf Club (Vancouver, B.C.)

Brudenell Golf Course (Cardigan, PEI)

Twenty-one clubs are celebrating their 25th anniversary

• Humber River Golf Club (Deer Lake, N.F.)
• Eagle Crest Golf Couse (Centreville, N.S.)
• Club de golf Baie-Comeau (Baie-Comeau, Que.)
• Diamond ‘In the Ruff’ Golf Club (Utterson, Ont.)
• NationView Golf Course (South Mountain, Ont.)
• Pakenham Highlands Golf Couse (Pakenham, Ont.)
• Silver Lakes Golf & Country Club (East Gwillimbury, Ont.)
• The Fox Golf Club (Granton, Ont.)
• Lashburn Town & Country Club (Lashburn, Sask.)
• Mainprize Regional Park Golf Couse (Midale, Sask.)
• Riverview Golf Course (Mannville, Alta.)
• The Legends Golf & Country Club (Sherwood Park, Alta.)
• Big Sky Golf & Country Club (Pemberton, B.C.)
• Golden Eagle Golf Club (Pitt Meadows, B.C.)
• Northview Golf & Country Club (Surrey, B.C.)
• Riverway Golf Couse (Burnaby, B.C.)
• The Redwoods Golf Club (Langley, B.C.)
• Valemount Pines Golf & Country Club (Valemount, B.C.)
• Winchelsea View Golf Course (Lantzville, B.C.)
• Harvest Golf Club (Kelowna, B.C.)
• Chinook Cove Golf Couse (Barriere, B.C.)

Winchelsea View Golf Course (Lantzville, B.C.)

If you take an action near your ball and cause it to move, you get a one-stroke penalty, unless your ball is on the putting green.

Visit golfcanada.ca/rules to learn more.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The trophies continue to pile up for Canadian superstar Brooke Henderson.

The 21-year-old Smiths Falls, Ont., native was honoured with an ESPY award on Wednesday night for the Best Female Golfer of 2019. Earlier this spring, Henderson collected her ninth LPGA Tour title, becoming the winningest Canadian professional golfer in history.

The Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards are presented by the ABC television network and were previously put on by American sports network ESPN.

“Extremely honoured to receive Best Female Golfer at the #ESPYS!! So cool!” said Henderson from her verified Twitter account.

She was unable to attend the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles because she’s competing at the Marathon Classic at Highland Meadows Golf Club in Sylvania, Ohio, this week.

Extremely honoured to receive Best Female Golfer at the #ESPYS!! So cool! ☺️??

— Brooke Henderson (@BrookeHenderson) July 11, 2019

Henderson, a graduate of Golf Canada’s National Team program, captured the hearts of Canadians from coast-to-coast in August of 2018 when she became the first Canadian to win the National Open since 1973. 

The other nominees were Ariya Jutanugarn, Jin-Young Ko and Sung Hyun Park.

MELBOURNE, Australia – With his recent fourth-place finish at the 3M Open, Adam Hadwin has vaulted himself into contention for a spot on the International Team at the 2019 Presidents Cup.

The International Team will consist of the top eight players from the President Cup International Team Points List. The points list is determined by Official World Golf Ranking points accumulated between August 27, 2018 (Dell Technologies Championship) and August 18, 2019 (BMW Championship).

Team captain Ernie Els will make four additional selections at a to-be-determined date.

Hadwin’s strong showing at the 3M Open – his sixth top-10 finish of the season – moved him up four spots in the standings to No. 15.

“A goal coming in this year was to play my way back onto that team again,” Hadwin said. “I had a ton of fun in New York a couple years ago and I know that heading down to Melbourne will be just an awesome experience in front of those fans. I’ve just got to keep playing good golf. Good golf will take care of a lot of things.”

The Abbotsford, B.C., product competed at the 2017 Presidents Cup. He earned half a point for the International Team when he and teammate Hideki Matsuyama halved a fourball match Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed. Hadwin lost his lone singles match to Phil Mickelson, while he and teammate Adam Scott lost their foursome with Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar.

The Americans won the 2017 Presidents Cup by a 19-11 score, their seventh victory in a row at the competition.

The 2019 Presidents Cup will take place at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia from Dec. 12-15.

Full Presidents Cup Points Lists can be found here.

When your ball is on the putting green, your caddie is now allowed to mark, lift and clean it, with or without the player’s approval.

Visit golfcanada.ca/rules to learn more.

FAIRHAVEN, Mass. – Twenty-two years after the emergence of his original Teryllium-inserted, major-winning TeI3 designs, Scotty Cameron has reimagined and announced the limited release of three new putter models built under the “T22” moniker.

Available in golf shops beginning Aug. 16, the Teryllium T22 Newport and Teryllium T22 Newport 2 offer modernized versions of the TeI3 models first introduced in 1997, while the Teryllium T22 Fastback 1.5 becomes the first Fastback 1.5 designed with a Teryllium insert.

Precision milled in the United States from 303 stainless steel, and given a tactical matte black finish that brings out Scotty’s unmistakable “domino pattern” in the back cavity, the new T22 putters are designed to the modern specifications demanded by today’s dedicated golfers. An updated Teryllium inlay construction with an improved elastomer vibration dampening membrane combines with Scotty’s removable sole weight technology and increased head weight to catapult the entire T22 line into the future:

• Teryllium T22 Newport: First brought to prominence as the putter design trusted to victory at the 1997 Masters, Scotty’s new Teryllium T22 Newport pays homage to the overall look, feel and setup of its original design, but with numerous upgrades and improvements – including a stainless steel construction, flat topline, adjustable sole weight, lightly-milled Teryllium insert and new durable tactical matte black finish.

• Teryllium T22 Newport 2: Incorporating decades of design refinements, Scotty built the Teryllium T22 Newport 2 in the spirit of the early models – with the soft feel of his Teryllium alloy inlay, but with the modern shape and sole balancing precision of a modern Newport 2 Tour model milled from 303 stainless steel with interchangeable sole weights and a flatter topline.

• Teryllium T22 Fastback 1.5: The new Teryllium T22 Fastback 1.5 incorporates a Tour-preferred mini-slant neck, improved four-way sole balancing for a square setup and a thinner topline similar to the Select line’s Fastback model, while maintaining the visual aesthetics of early Teryllium putters – with its familiar black, white and gold color scheme and “domino pattern” in the putter’s back cavity.

QUOTING MASTER CRAFTSMAN SCOTTY CAMERON: “There’s nothing quite like the feel of Teryllium. It’s the number one material request I get from players. And, as we’ve seen multiple majors won over the past few seasons with a Teryllium-inserted putter, it’s a great time to celebrate this legendary design.

“T22 gave us the opportunity to take everything we’ve learned over the past two decades and refine the entire look, feel and performance. Like a modern day muscle car, everything looks original at first glance, but each component is brand new. Better milling. Better materials. Better construction. They’re made to game.”

MULTI-MATERIAL CONSTRUCTION: Each Teryllium T22 model extends Scotty Cameron’s proven construction methodology of incorporating complementary materials to achieve desired performance characteristics and feel. With a precision milled Teryllium insert expertly designed into the 303 stainless steel putter head, Scotty’s early execution of this concept has been improved upon using modern milling and manufacturing techniques, while preserving the incomparable feel of Teryllium.

WEIGHTING: Each Teryllium T22 putter features advanced stability weighting with two customizable stainless steel heel-toe sole weights, stepless steel shafts and a custom Limited Release Teryllium headcover and shaft band.

ACCESSORIES: A new black Pistolini Plus grip with copper paintfill was designed especially for the T22 release and features a thicker, less tapered low hand.

AESTHETICS: Inspired by the early Teryllium models, the new Teryllium T22 putters feature a tactical matte black finish with a unique bead blast for a radiant yet glare resistant appearance, with metallic gold and white paintfill. The familiar back cavity “domino pattern” is produced by the white vibration dampening elastomer membrane used in the assembly of the Teryllium alloy face inlay.

AVAILABILITY: Limited Release Teryllium T22 putters will be available worldwide on Aug. 16, 2019, at Titleist authorized golf shops. MAP $799 CAD.

WINDSOR, Ont.— Entering the final round of the Windsor Championship with 26 players within four strokes of the lead, the stage was set for an incredible day of golf. Sunday did not disappoint.

Especially if your name is Dawson Armstrong.

Opening with two birdies in his first three holes, the Lipscomb University alum managed a clean card, marking down three more circles throughout the day.

Not having to make a par putt from outside three feet for the duration of the round, Armstrong picked up his first-career Mackenzie Tour title by one stroke over six players.

“I’ve never seen a leaderboard as jam-packed as that one,” said Armstrong following the victory. “Come about No. 16 today there were 12 guys within two shots of the lead, it was just jam packed all day and anyone could make a run at any given time.”

Playing in the third to last grouping of the day, Armstrong tapped in for par on hole No. 18 at 20-under and managed to dodge bullet after bullet as he became a highly-engaged spectator. This was already after Patrick Fishburn missed a short par putt on the last hole in the group ahead to drop to 19-under.

Playing competitor Ryan Ruffels missed a six-foot birdie putt which would have matched Armstrong in the clubhouse. At the same time, the entire final group of Bryson Nimmer, Jonathan Garrick and Will Register, who were all within one-stroke of the lead, made bogey on the difficult No. 16 to fall two back.

Register managed birdie on No. 17, giving himself a chance to force a playoff, but had to chip out from the fescue following his drive, leaving himself 65-yards to the pin.

“I called my fiancé [after finishing] and she said, ‘don’t get excited until you know for sure’,” said Armstrong. “I really kept an even keel and came out here and watched, there was nothing I could do but just accept whatever happened.”

What happened was that Register almost made it, twice. The ball landed two inches from the pin, jumped a few feet past, and slowly trickled back, burning the edge of the cup; Armstrong hugged caddie Derek Bayley.

“That was the most nerve-racking shot I’ve ever seen from someone, he’s got some guts to hit that shot when he needed it,” said Armstrong. “Sadly, he didn’t make it and sadly we didn’t have the chance to perform in a playoff. (Register) is a deserving player and he’s going to get his share out here.”

Entering the week in spot No. 13 on the Order of Merit, Armstrong said that it was his previous professional experience that helped propel him through Sunday.

“This is my 15^thevent up here, so putting myself in contention two of the last four events, I’m really happy with where I was,” said Armstrong. “The game felt great and I’m more confident than I’ve ever been

“To have it all cap off this week was really special, because it feels good to be back in that situation where you have the nerves running and you have to calm down and just perform, that was the best feeling.”

His second year on the Mackenzie Tour, Armstrong had a moderately successful debut campaign, finishing in spot No. 34 on the order of merit following a successful collegiate career where he managed the lowest career scoring average (71.2) in Lipscomb history.

“Last year I never felt like I could get myself in contention, whether it was me backdooring a top 10 or worrying about the cut every week, it was a different mindset last year compared to this year,” said the 23-year old. “Instead of trying to finish top-10, I’m going out trying to win, and this week it worked out pretty good.”

Fishburn, Ruffels, Garrick, Register, Paul Barjon and Anthony Maccaglia made up the grouping one-stroke back, while Riley Wheeldon managed his second Canada Life Canadian Player of the Week title of the season, as well as his first top-10 finish of the year, finishing two-strokes back at T8.