SANDWICH, Royaume-Uni – Il y aura trois golfeurs canadiens à l’Omnium britannique cet été.

Austin Connelly, de Lake Doucette, en Nouvelle-Écosse, a présenté un pointage de moins-8 (136) après deux rondes au club de golf Prince’s mardi pour obtenir le troisième et dernier laissez-passer octroyé à l’issue du tournoi de qualifications.

Le golfeur âgé de 22 ans, qui a grandi au Texas, a battu Curtis Knipes et Callum Shinkwin par un coup.

Connelly, qui bénéficie d’un statut conditionnel sur le circuit européen, a ainsi rejoint Corey Conners, de Listowel, en Ontario, et Adam Hadwin, d’Abbotsford, en Colombie-Britannique.

Connelly participera donc à l’Omnium britannique pour la deuxième fois en trois ans. Il avait fini à égalité en 14e place en 2017.

Le tournoi majeur se déroulera du 18 au 21 juillet au club de golf Royal Portrush, en Irlande du Nord.

Le Néo-Écossais représentera également le Canada aux Jeux panaméricains de Lima, au Pérou, plus tard cet été.

AURORA, Ont. – When she was just 10 years old, Brooke Henderson’s dad Dave took her to an LPGA event where she briefly met her idol Morgan Pressel. Pressel spoke to Henderson about her golf game, took a picture and autographed her shirt.

Weeks later, they met again at the CP Women’s– Open at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club. Pressel remembered Brooke Henderson’s name, a moment the young Canadian still treasures.

Now 21-years old, ranked No. 8 in the world, and with the most wins in Canadian pro golf history, Henderson sees it as her responsibility to create memories for her young fans like Pressel did for her.

“When I first met her, she spent that little bit of extra time with me, signed my shirt, took a picture with me, it was just a really incredible moment that I’ll remember forever,” said Henderson on Tuesday. “I think now I’m just trying to pay that forward to every little kid that I meet.”

Henderson will easily be the most popular player at the CP Women’s Open at Magna Golf Club in Aurora, Ont., this August, and will have plenty of opportunities to interact with her fans, most of whom are children.

“It’s really special to see those young kids, when they want my autograph or they want a picture with me it’s sort of surreal but it’s really inspiring for me,” said a beaming Henderson. “I do think that the LPGA is very approachable. We love little kids and we love spending time with them.

“I think that’s kind of what separates our tour from a lot of other major sports.”

The CP Women’s Open has not been in the Greater Toronto Area since 2001, when Annika Sorenstam won at Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham, Ont. Because of Henderson’s popularity among Canadian fans and its proximity to Canada’s largest city, it’s expected that it will be one of the best attended events on the LPGA Tour’s calendar this year.

Defending champ @BrookeHenderson leads a star-studded field of early commitments to the 2019 #CPWO ??⛳️#CloserToTheGame

➡️ https://t.co/w2G0RCHkrH pic.twitter.com/uMii5HFTVU

— CP Women's Open (@cpwomensopen) July 2, 2019

Charlottetown’s Lorie Kane, who will be playing in her 29th CP Women’s Open, thinks the timing couldn’t be better for the popularity of the sport in Canada.

“It’s time that we came back to the GTA. It’s time for women’s golf to be elevated one more level in this country,” said Kane, raising her hands for emphasis. “We all know in this room that (Henderson) is changing the way people see women’s golf in our country.

“We’ve been trending in the right direction but why do we keep saying that? We’re in a really awesome place.”

Golf Canada, the LPGA, and Canadian Pacific railways – the event’s title sponsor – announced on Tuesday that the field at the US$2.25 million tournament will include 15 of the top 20 golfers on the LPGA’s money list, and 90 of the top 100.

Henderson, the first Canadian to win the national title in 45 years, is one of seven past CP Women’s Open champions confirmed for 2019. Sung Hyun Park (2017), Ariya Jutanugarn (2016), So Yeon Ryu (2014), Katherine Kirk (2008), Cristie Kerr (2006) and three-time winner Lydia Ko (2015, 2013, 2012) are the other past winners in the field.

Henderson welcomes the stiff competition.

“I love it. Being able to beat the best in the world is one of the best things about this sport,” said Henderson. “To tee it up and know that you are playing the best and that you have to play really, really, well and hit shots that you’ve never hit before and shoot low scores, make a ton of birdies, that’s really exciting.”

SANDWICH, England – A third Canadian has earned a spot in the British Open.

Canadian-American dual citizen Austin Connelly of Lake Doucette, N.S., shot 8-under 136 over two rounds on Tuesday at Prince’s Golf Club to earn the third and final spot in the golf major at the qualifier.

The 22-year-old, who grew up in Texas, finished one stroke behind Curtis Knipes and Callum Shinkwin.

Connelly, who has conditional status on the European Tour, will join Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., July 18-21 at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland.

Connelly, who is scheduled to represent Canada at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru later this summer, is in the British Open for the second time in three years. He finished tied for 14th at the tournament in 2017 after falling out of contention on the final day.

AURORA, Ont.  —  Golf Canada in partnership with Canadian Pacific (CP), is proud to announce that the second annual CP Women’s Leadership Summit will take place Tuesday, August 20 at the Sheraton Parkway Toronto North in Richmond Hill, Ont. as part of the weeklong excitement of the 2019 CP Women’s Open (CPWO).

The CP Women’s Leadership Summit will bring together like-minded businesswomen from across the country for a day of networking, empowerment and philanthropy. The Summit will also raise awareness for the CP Women’s Open, with attendees receiving access to the tournament during the week.

The business panel of the Summit will consist of three businesswomen at the top of their respective fields. Maeghan Albiston, Assistant Vice-President of Investor Relations & Pensions at CP, Anne Simard, Chief Mission & Research Officer of the Heart and Stroke Foundation and Jennifer Tory, Chief Administrative Officer of RBC will all be part of the panel.

“After seeing the success of the inaugural event, I was honoured to be asked to participate in this year’s CP Women’s Leadership Summit,” said Albiston. “As an organization whose values hinge on pride and diversity, we at CP see this event as a meaningful way to show our commitment to developing and empowering women in the workplace.”

A new addition to the leadership summit in 2019 is the athlete panel, which will feature four accomplished Canadian Olympians—speed skater Anastasia Bucsis, soccer goalkeeper Karina Leblanc, multi-sport star Georgia Simmerling and two-time ice hockey gold medalist Natalie Spooner. Rogers Sportsnet Central Co-Anchor Evanka Osmak will act as the emcee and panel moderator for the event.

In addition to the business and athlete panel, Roberta Bowman, Chief Brand & Communications Officer of the LPGA will join the CP Women’s Leadership Summit as the keynote speaker.

Bowman spent 25 years with Duke Energy before retiring in 2012 as Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer. She served on the LPGA Board of Directors from 2012-2017 and joined the organization full-time in 2018 as Chief Brand and Communications Officer. In her role as a member of the LPGA’s executive leadership team, Bowman led the development and implementation of the LPGA’s new marketing campaign – Drive On –  which celebrates the power and potential in each individual, sharing inspiring stories and creating emotional connections with players, fans and sponsors alike.

“I am thrilled for the opportunity to promote diversity in both business and sport by participating in the CP Women’s Leadership Summit,” said Bowman. “I look forward to bringing together a group of women who are leaders in what they do, and discuss what motivates, challenges, and inspires us to work hard and enhance our careers.”

For Golf Canada, hosting the CP Women’s Leadership Summit as part of Canada’s National Women’s Open Golf Championship aligns with the organization’s commitment to developing a more inclusive culture in Canadian golf.

“Continuing the CP Women’s Leadership Summit is an extension of our efforts to encourage more women and girls to engage with golf and use the CP Women’s Open as a platform to bring together like-minded businesswomen in the spirit of networking, idea-sharing and empowerment,” said Mary Beth McKenna, a member of Golf Canada’s championship management team. “All of our speakers are leaders in their industries, and will provide participants with an inspiring experience and wide array of perspectives.”

The CP Women’s Leadership Summit begins at 9 am on August 20 at the Sheraton Parkway Toronto North and will feature networking opportunities, a question-and-answer session with panelists along with a three-course lunch. The day will conclude with an activity to support the charitable beneficiary of the CP Women’s Open, SickKids Foundation.

For more information about the CP Women’s Leadership Summit, including tickets and sponsorship opportunities, please visit www.cpwomensopen.com/wls.

Aurora, Ont. – Golf Canada, in partnership with title sponsor Canadian Pacific (CP), has announced that many of the world’s top players have committed to compete in the 2019 CP Women’s Open from August 19-25 at Magna Golf Club in Aurora, Ont.

Leading the charge is defending champion and world no. 6 Brooke Henderson of Smith’s Falls, Ont. who made history at Wascana Country Club in Regina last year becoming the first Canadian since Jocelyne Bourassa 45 years earlier to win Canada’s National Women’s Open. Henderson, currently 5^th on the 2019 LPGA Money List has won two LPGA Tour events in 2019 and her nine career LPGA Tour wins are the most for any Canadian professional golfer on the LPGA or PGA TOUR.

The early player commitments to challenge for the $2.25 million USD purse—one of the largest prizes on the LPGA Tour—will include golf’s brightest stars along with rising talents in Canadian golf. Among the early player commitments are 16 of the top 20 players from the 2019 LPGA Official Money list along with seven past CP Women’s Open champions.

“Brooke winning the 2018 CP Women’s Open in historic fashion was an incredible moment for Canadian golf and there is a tremendous momentum leading into Magna Golf Club as we bring Canada’s National Women’s Open back to the Greater Toronto Area for the first time in nearly 20 years,” said CP Women’s Open Tournament Director Ryan Paul. “Our early player commitments are trending towards welcoming one of the strongest fields on the LPGA Tour that will deliver a spectacular world-class event.”

Early Player Commitments:

Henderson is one of seven past CP Women’s Open champions confirmed for Magna including Sung Hyun Park (2017), Ariya Jutanugarn (2016), So Yeon Ryu (2014), Katherine Kirk (2008), Cristie Kerr (2006) and three-time winner Lydia Ko (2015, 2013, 2012) who will be chasing a record fourth CP Women’s Open title.

Henderson, currently ranked no. 5 on the LPGA Tour Money List, will be among 16 of the current top-20 players on the 2019 LPGA Money List confirmed for Magna including Jeongeun Lee6 (1), Jin Young Ko (2), Lexi Thompson (3), Sung Hyun Park (4) Minjee Lee (6), Nelly Korda (7), Hannah Green (8), Danielle Kang (9), So Yeon Ryu (10), Sei Young Kim (11), Eun Hee Ji (12), Nasa Hataoka (13), Angel Yin (15), Amy Yang (17) and Azahara Munoz (19).

Golf Canada has also extended a tournament exemption to former Canadian Women’s Amateur champion (2017) Jennifer Kupcho of Westminster, Colo., who earlier this year won the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur. The former Wake Forest University standout was the top-ranked amateur in the world prior to turning professional earlier this summer. An exemption into the CP Women’s Open (as well as the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship where applicable) will be extended annually to the winner of the Augusta National Women’s Amateur.      

Canadians in the Mix:

Henderson also headlines the early list of Canadians set to compete at Magna Golf Club. She will be joined by Canadian Golf Hall of Fame honoured member and fellow CP ambassador Lorie Kane, a four-time winner on the LPGA Tour. Kane will be competing in Canada’s National Women’s Open Championship for a record 29^th consecutive time. Other Canadians include LPGA Tour members Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., Jaclyn Lee of Calgary and Anne-Catherine Tanguay of Quebec City. The six Canucks will be joined by several more Canadian professional and amateur golfers to be confirmed in the coming weeks.

The 156 golfers teeing-it-up at Magna Golf Club will represent one of the strongest fields on the LPGA Tour with more than 90 of the top 100 players on the LPGA Tour Official Money List expected to compete.

The 2019 CP Women’s Open will mark only the second time since 2001 (won by golf legend Annika Sorenstam at Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham) that Canada’s National Women’s Open has been contested in the Greater Toronto Area.

CP Has Heart Charity Campaign to Benefit the SickKids Foundation:
Canadian Pacific  and Golf Canada are proud to support SickKids Foundation in Toronto as the primary charity partner for the 2019 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open. Funds raised through the CP Women’s Open will go towards renovating a Cardiac Operating Suite at SickKids. In addition, CP is also proud to support the tournament host community in 2019 with a donation of $250,000 to Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket, Ont. to support paediatric cardiac care. In the five years of CP’s title sponsorship of the CP Women’s Open, $8.5 million has been raised to support children’s heart health in Canada.

CP Women’s Leadership Summit to Kick of Tournament Week:

Golf Canada and Canadian Pacific will host the second annual CP Women’s Leadership Summit on Tuesday, August 20 at the Sheraton Parkway Toronto North in Richmond Hill, Ont. as part of the weeklong excitement of the 2019 CP Women’s Open. The CP Women’s Leadership Summit will bring together like-minded businesswomen from across the country for a day of networking, empowerment and philanthropy. The Summit will also raise awareness for the CP Women’s Open, with attendees receiving access to the tournament during the week.

The business panel of the summit will consist of three businesswomen at the top of their respective fields. Maeghan Albiston, Assistant Vice-President of Investor Relations & Pensions at CP, Anne Simard, Chief Mission & Research Officer of the Heart and Stroke Foundation and Jennifer Tory, Chief Administrative Officer of RBC will all be part of the panel. A new addition to the leadership summit in 2019 is the athlete panel which will feature four accomplished Canadian Olympians—speed skater Anastasia Bucsis, soccer goalkeeper Karina Leblanc, multi-sport star Georgia Simmerling and two-time ice hockey gold medalist Natalie Spooner. Roberta Bowman, Chief Brand & Communications Officer of the LPGA, will join the CP Women’s Leadership Summit as the keynote speaker while Rogers Sportsnet Central Co-Anchor Evanka Osmak will act as the emcee and moderator for the event.

For more information about the CP Women’s Leadership Summit, including tickets and sponsorship opportunities, please visit www.cpwomensopen.com/wls.

KIDS 12-AND-UNDER GET IN FREE…
Golf Canada and CP are committed to offering a fan friendly, family event with the CP Women’s Open. To introduce more juniors to the sport, children aged 12-and-under get FREE admission to the CP Women’s Open for the entire week.

Click here to purchase tickets for the 2019 CP Women’s Open.

For the second-straight year, the Ladies’ Golf Club of Toronto is set to host some of the best in Canadian women’s golf for the DCM PGA Women’s Championship of Canada.

A field highlighted by four-time LPGA Tour winner and Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member Lorie Kane, as well as a number of noted up-and-coming players, will tee it up July 2-4 at Ladies’ Golf Club of Toronto.

“It’s shaping up to be a very competitive week at the tremendous Ladies’ Golf Club of Toronto,” said PGA of Canada president Mark Patterson. “In addition to Canadian and PGA of Canada Hall of Fame member, Lorie Kane playing, we’ve got a solid mix of up-and-coming Canadian talent and a number of PGA of Canada members who will vie for the championship.”

The field also features players from Sweden, India, Venezuela, Mexico, New Zealand and the United States.

FOR THE FULL-FIELD AND FIRST ROUND TEE TIMES, CLICK HERE

“Once again DCM is delighted to sponsor the 2019 DCM PGA Women’s Championship of Canada,” said DCM president Greg Cochrane. “Our involvement and support of women’s golf in Canada directly ties into our belief of giving back to our local communities across Canada and internationally,” he said, adding, “providing women with the chance to compete at the highest level is inspiring for all of us at DCM.”

The Ladies’ Golf Club of Toronto hosted the inaugural DCM PGA Women’s Championship in 1987, which was won by PGA of Canada Hall of Fame member Cathy Sherk. The club also hosted the event in 1999 (won by Lorie Kane), in 2007 (won by Salimah Mussani) and of course last year when American Jessica Porvasnik captured the title.

As North America’s only golf club created by women for women, we are thrilled to host the DCM PGA Women’s Championship,” said Ladies’ Golf Club of Toronto PGA head professional Padraig Kelly. “We are so proud of our club and are excited to showcase it for this great championship. The golf course will be a great test and the membership is looking forward to watching the professionals take on their home course.”

The winner of this year’s championship will earn an exemption into the CP Canadian Women’s Open at the Magna Golf Club, Aug. 19-25.

Additionally, with the inaugural Women’s PGA Cup taking place later this year; the race for spots on Team PGA of Canada is about to heat up.

Taking place Oct. 22-26 at the Omni Barton Creek Resort  & Spa in Austin, Texas, PGA members from across the world come together in a team competition for this landmark event.

The five members representing the PGA of Canada at the event are determined by their performance at the DCM PGA Women’s Championship in 2018 and 2019. Furthermore, the low club professional at the championship in ’18 and ’19 receives an automatic spot on the team.
Currently, the top five is:

• Emma De Groot, Hamilton Golf and Country Club;
• Meghan Allum, Magna Golf Club;
• Casey Ward, Credit Valley Golf and Country Club;
• Rebecca Lee-Bentham, RLB Golf;
• Meghan McDougall, Weston Golf and Country Club.

“We’ve got some nice players currently in our top five to represent our association at the inaugural Women’s PGA Cup later this year in Texas,” says the PGA of Canada’s managing director of championships and foundation Adam LeBrun. “Other than De Groot, the other four spots are completely up for grabs and will add another exciting element to this year’s DCM PGA Women’s Championship of Canada.”

Admittance to the DCM PGA Women’s Championship of Canada is free and spectators are encouraged to attend the 36-hole championship play.

The DCM PGA Women’s Championship of Canada was first played in 1987 and past champions include five-time winner Lorie Kane, Brooke Henderson, Alena Sharp, Cathy Sherk, Gail Graham, Nancy Harvey, and Jessica Shepley.

To follow the DCM PGA Women’s Championship of Canada online throughout tournament week, visit pgaofcanada.com, twitter.com/pgaofcanada, instagram.com/thepgaofcanada and facebook.com/pgaofcanada

ROGERS, Ark. – Sung Hyun Park two-putted for birdie on the par-5 18th to win the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship on Sunday for her second LPGA Tour victory of the season and seventh overall.

The 25-year-old Park is projected to move from second to first in the world ranking Monday. She will take the top spot from friend Jin Young Ko, the fellow South Korean player who poured water over Park’s head on the 18th green.

“It would definitely be good to be back on the top, but to be honest, there was a lot of pressure when I was the No. 1,” Park said through a translator. “But I wouldn’t want to sort of keep that in mind, because I would be under pressure. But then again, it would feel nice to be the No. 1.”

Park closed with a 5-under 66 to finish at 18-under 195 at Pinnacle Country Club. She tapped in a putt not much more than a foot on the 18th to beat Danielle Kang, Hyo Joo Kim and Inbee Park by a stroke.

“To be honest, my round today didn’t go as well as I thought it would,” Sung Hyun Park said. “I knew that it was important to make a lot of birdies on the front nine, but there were a lot of opportunities. … But I talked with my caddie, and we both said there’s still a lot of hope left. Every single shot was really important.”

Kang, Kim and Inbee Park each shot 65, with Kang playing the final five holes in 5 under with an eagle on the par-5 14th and birdies on the last three.

“I definitely finished well,” Kang said. “I gave everything I got the last nine holes, so came up one shot short. Wish we could have gone to playoff, but I knew that Sung Hyun was going to have an iron in on the last hole.”

She did, and from only 164 yards. She hit about 30 feet left of the flag to set up the two-putt birdie

Sung Hyun Park birdied all four par-5 holes in the final round. She played the 18th in 4 under for the three rounds, making an eagle Friday and a birdie Saturday for a share of the second-round lead with Carlota Ciganda.

She won the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore in early March and was second last week in Minnesota in the major KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., the lone Canadian to make the cut, shot 66 to finish 9-under.

Inbee Park missed a chance for 20th LPGA Tour title and first since early last season.

“I had a lot of birdie opportunities, but I wasn’t able to convert enough,” she said. “My putting was just a little bit weak compared to other parts of the game today.”

Brittany Altomare was fifth at 16 under after a 66. Ciganda had a 69 to finish at 15 under with Ryann O’Toole (64), Mi Jung Hur (64) and Daniela Darquea (67).

DETROIT – Nate Lashley completed an unlikely wire-to-wire victory in the Rocket Mortgage Classic on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title.

Lashley closed with a 2-under 70 to finish at 25-under 263 and win by six shots, the margin he took into the day after opening with rounds of 63, 67 and 63.

The 36-year-old Lashley’s parents and girlfriend were killed in a plane crash 15 years ago. He dabbled in real estate after graduating from the University of Arizona, quit playing professional golf several years ago and resumed playing in the PGA Tour’s minor leagues.

“Without my parents, I wouldn’t have started playing golf when I was little,” said Lashley, who began playing when he was 8. “They did everything to help me have a career.”

Monday qualifier Doc Redman shot a 67 to finish second. Rory Sabbatini (68) and Wes Roach (68) were another stroke back.

Canadians Mackenzie Hughes and Roger Sloan finished in a tie for 21st at 13-under 275. Nick Taylor finished in a tie for 35th at 11 under.

Lashley, the 353rd ranked player in the world, slipped into PGA Tour’s first event in Detroit as an alternate Wednesday.

The Nebraskan took full advantage, shooting a career-low 63 in the first round to take a lead he refused to lose at Detroit Golf Club. Lashley stayed atop the leaderboard with a 67 on Friday and gave himself a cushion with another 9-under 63 Saturday.

On the brink of breaking through during his second PGA Tour season, his sister, girlfriend, buddies and family friends flew to Detroit to join him.

Brooke Lashley, who lives near her brother in Arizona, was in awe of as fans followed and cheered for her little brother as they stood along the ropes from tee to green.

“I’m sure a lot of these people didn’t know him a couple days ago,” she said, standing near the No. 8 green. “He’s doing all he can to focus, but this is so incredible. It’s foreign to him because he’s never had this much attention. He’s never played in front of a gallery like this with TV cameras all over the place.”

In 2014, parents Rod and Char Lashley and girlfriend Leslie Hofmeister, all of Scottsbluff, Nebraska, were missing for three days before their bodies and the wreckage were found near the 13,780-foot Gannett Peak in Wyoming after watching him play in a tournament for the University of Arizona.

“It rocked our community,” recalled Helen Reinhardt, a family friend from Nebraska.

Reinhardt and her husband, Jim, boarded a charter plane in Nebraska that stopped in Minnesota to pick up Lashley’s girlfriend and arrived in the Motor City on Sunday.

“It’s great to be here to watch his dream come true after watching him play in the Dakotas Tour and work his way up to here,” said Jeff Peck, one of about a dozen of Lashley’s friends at Detroit Golf Club.

Lashley made a living as a real estate agent after graduating from Arizona and his playing career started, stopped and resumed again. He won the Waterloo Open, a professional tournament, in Iowa in 2011 and quit competitive golf the next year.

When Lashley was flipping houses, he thought his playing career was over.

Lashley gave the game another shot, playing on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica circuit in 2015 and moved up to what is now called the Korn Ferry Tour two years later.

“The Latin American tour changed his trajectory,” Brooke Lashley said. “It was tough with all the travel to a lot of different countries, but it gave him the chance to get here.”

He made his PGA Tour debut last season in his mid-30s, but he had to end his year after 17 events because of a knee injury. He tied for eighth in February in the Puerto Rico Open – played opposite the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship – for his only top-10 finish previously on the tour. He started the tournament No. 132 in the FedEx Cup standings.

Lashley would’ve had to collapse and one of the contenders would’ve had to have a sensational performance to put the final result in doubt.

Neither happened.

Lashley played it safe, putting together a conservative round that kept his comfortable lead.

He made a slow-rolling, downhill putt from 15 feet to birdie the first hole. At No. 3, he started confidently walking toward the cup before his 10-foot birdie putt went in to put him at 25 under.

“The birdies on 1 and 3 really calmed me down,” Lashley said.

Lashley had two bogeys on the front nine – one more than he had the previous three rounds – and coasted to victory on the back with two birdies and no bogeys.

Family and friends stood near the edge of the green as he closed out the round.

Lashley’s girlfriend and sister, choking back tears, went onto the green to give him a hug.

“I’m just real emotional,” he said later. “I’m just thankful I got in the tournament.”

DETROIT – Nate Lashley has been thinking about the deaths of his parents and girlfriend as he tries to close out the Rocket Mortgage Classic for his first PGA Tour title.

“Yeah, it definitely crosses your mind,” Lashley said Saturday after shooting a bogey-free 9-under 63 to open a six-stroke lead at 23 under. “It came through my mind at one point today. At some points it’s not easy, but it goes through your mind and it’s something that’s always going to be there for me.”

The 353rd-ranked player is in his second season on the PGA Tour, reaching the highest level of golf after a long road that included tragedy , selling real estate and playing in the PGA Tour’s minor leagues.

After watching Lashley play in a tournament for the University of Arizona in 2004, his parents and girlfriend died in a plane crash in Wyoming. Rod and Char Lashley and Leslie Hofmeister, all of Scottsbluff, Nebraska, were missing for three days before their bodies and the wreckage were found near the 13,780-foot Gannett Peak.

Lashley meditates, but acknowledges he can’t always control where his thoughts drift even when he’s playing golf.

“You can’t prepare for what your mind’s going to go through on the golf course,” he said.

Lashley made a living as a real estate agent after graduating from college and his playing career started, stopped and resumed again. He won the Waterloo Open, a professional tournament, in Iowa in 2011 and quit competitive golf the next year.

“When I was flipping houses, I thought I was pretty much done with golf,” Lashley recalled. “I always felt like I had the talent and ability to play out here. It was just a matter of getting out here and getting comfortable.”

Lashley gave the game another shot, playing on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica circuit in 2015 and moved up to what is now called the Korn Ferry Tour two years later.

He made his PGA Tour debut last season in his mid-30s, but he had to end his year after 17 events because of a knee injury.

The 36-year-old Lashley slipped into the field at Detroit Golf Club as an alternate. He tied for eighth in February in the Puerto Rico Open – played opposite the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship – for his only top-10 finish on the tour. He’s 132nd in the FedEx Cup standings.

If he can shoot 63 for a third time, he’ll set the PGA Tour scoring record in relation to par that Ernie Els has held since 2003 at 31 under.

Lashley, the first- and second-round leader, started Saturday with a one-shot lead and pulled away with the low round of the day.

Nick Taylor (69) of Abbotsford, B.C., and Roger Sloan (69) of Merritt, B.C., were tied for 30th at 9-under par. Mackenzie Hughes (72) of Dundas, Ont., dropped 18 spots into a tie for 39th.

J.T. Poston (66) was second. Cameron Tringale (65) was another stroke back as one of many players taking advantage of scoring opportunities on one of the easiest courses on the tour.

“I think I had dropped 25 places before I even teed off today, so I knew low scores were out there,” Tringale said. “I just had to keep hitting fairways and greens.”

That’s exactly what Lashley has been doing at Detroit Golf Club.

Lashley is not long off the tee, ranking among the middle of the pack. He has been spectacularly accurate on his approach shots into receptive greens, setting him for a lot of relatively short putts that he’s making.

When Lashley did take chances, he was able to make shots.

His drive on the 559-yard, par-5 seventh landed in an adjacent fairway, leaving him with the choice of hitting a shot low below branches or sending the ball over towering trees and toward the green. He chose to go high and cleared the trees, leaving him 120 feet from the pin. Lashley’s approach landed just 4 feet from the cup and he made the putt for birdie.

He had birdies on four of his first seven holes and had five more on the back nine in the third round. He opened the Rocket Mortgage Classic with a career-low 63 that he matched in the third round.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this,” said Lashley, who shot a 67 in the second round. “You don’t ever expect to shoot 9 under on the PGA Tour, and I’ve done it twice in three days.”

ROGERS, Ark. – Sung Hyun Park birdied the final two holes for an 8-under 63 and a share of lead with Carlota Ciganda on Saturday after the second round of the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship.

Park, the second-ranked South Korean star who won the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore in early March for her sixth LPGA Tour title, is coming off a second-place finish last week in Minnesota in the major KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

“I only have one win this season, but overall I think I have been doing a good job,” Park said through a translator. “Last week I did pretty well, too. Tomorrow, I hope to focus on each shot.”

Ciganda shot a 66 in hot conditions to match Park at 13-under 129 at Pinnacle Country Club. The Spanish player chipped in from 60 yards for eagle on the par-4 first hole and closed with a birdie on the par-5 18th.

“There’s still lots of golf to play tomorrow and it can go very low here,” Ciganda said. “I think it’s nice to be up there, but I think there are some great players there.”

Park rebounded from a bogey on the par-4 16th with the closing birdies.

“I wasn’t really worried when I made that bogey,” Park said. “I like the 17th and 18th holes, and I made a birdie on the last hole yesterday, too, so I knew that I won’t have to worry after that bogey.”

First-round leader Inbee Park was tied for third at 11 under, following her opening 62 with a 69. Top-ranked Hyo Joo Kim (64) also was 11 under with Danielle Kang (63), Linnea Strom (65), Brittany Altomare (65) and Daniela Darquea (65).

“I feel good, but it was definitely a hot round,” Kang said. “This golf course is very score-able, so all I need to do is keep giving myself opportunities. We were just matching birdies back and forth, so it was a lot of fun.”

Brooke Henderson is in a tie 52nd at 4 under. Fellow Canadians Jaclyn Lee and Brittany Marchand failed to make the cut.