TOYOTA CITY, Japan – The Team Canada boys are sixth of 15 teams following the opening round of the TOYOTA Junior Golf World Cup. Christopher Vandette of Beaconsfield, Que., is the top-ranking Canadian in a tie for 8th at 2 under par.

The Canadian quartet features Vandette, Laurent Desmarchais, Jeevan Sihota and William Duquette. The players are competing individually, with each nation’s three lowest scores counting towards the team competition.

Vandette made birdie on all three par 5s in the opening round, en route to carding a 2-under-par 69. The 17-year-old sits three strokes back of leaders Abel Gallegos Caputo of Argentina, Gustav Andersson of Sweden and Albert Boneta of Spain.

Desmarchais shot even-par 71 in his first round. The Longueuil, Que., product made a seven on the par-5 ninth, but recovered by carding a bogey-free back nine to finish T16.

Sihota sits T24 after the first 18 holes. His 1-over par 72 is six shots behind the leaders.

Duquette shot 6-over par and is T55.

Canada ranks sixth in the team competition at 1 under par. Spain are the current leaders at 9 under.

In the girls division, Mexico holds a 3-stroke lead over Sweden and the United States. Spain’s Carla Tejedo is leading the individual competition at 3 under par.

Full scoring can be found here.

Brooke Henderson is now the undisputed monarch of Canadian golf. Her predecessors can’t wait to see what she’ll do next.

The 21-year old from Smiths Falls, Ont., won the Meijer LPGA Classic on Sunday to break the Canadian record for professional golf titles. The victory elevated her over Sandra Post, Mike Weir and George Knudson, who have eight wins apiece on their respective tours.

“I knew it was coming,” said Post on Monday. The Canadian Golf Hall of Famer noted that normally Henderson wins by a wide margin, rather than the one-stroke victory she earned over Lexi Thompson, Nasa Hataoka, Su Oh and Brittany Altomare. “I think I was looking at it as more a tournament rather than the ninth win because in my mind that was a given.

“I hope she goes to double figures with the wins and runs it up as high as she can for the next Canadian.”

Weir also wasn’t concerned about his record. Instead, he was excited to see an elite golfer at the top of her game.

“I don’t really pay that much attention to records and things like that, that’s more for other people’s water-cooler talk,” said Weir, also a member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. “I just appreciate watching good golf and I appreciate excellence in all sports. When you see a player really excelling themselves and improving their own game and seeing them round into form, as Brooke has, it’s great to see.”

Although Henderson’s nine career wins is impressive, she is a ways off from reaching the all-time mark on the LPGA Tour.

Kathy Whitworth holds the all-time professional record with 88 wins on the LPGA Tour. Sam Snead has the most among men with 82. That record may fall, however, with Tiger Woods picking up his 81st PGA Tour win at this year’s Masters.

Golfing great Annika Sorenstam, third in LPGA Tour history with 72 wins, tweeted her support of Henderson on Monday afternoon.

“Congratulations to ?BrookeHenderson on winning the #meijerlpga,” said Sorenstam, adding an emoji of a champagne bottle popping and a trophy.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also voiced his support on Twitter.

Congratulations on making history, @BrookeHenderson! We can’t wait to see what’s next for you. ??⛳https://t.co/xalwKnhyGQ

— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) June 17, 2019

Henderson also won the Lotte Championship in April in Hawaii.

Just six months into the year, she is an early contender to win the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s athlete of the year and the Bobbie Rosenfeld Award as the Canadian female athlete of the year. Henderson has won the Rosenfeld three of the past four years, including in 2017 and 2018.

Post, who won the Marsh in 1979 and back-to-back Rosenfelds in 1979 and 1980, didn’t want to make any bold predictions just yet though.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen in sport this year, do we? It’s not an Olympic year, that’s a good thing,” said Post. “All I’m saying is that she’s got a good shot at it. But I think it’s great that we can have that conversation.”

Weir, who was awarded the Marsh in 2003 after winning the Masters, also likes Henderson’s chances.

“Her odds are great, she’s playing great,” said Weir. “There’s still a lot of the year left in other sports but clearly in the golf world Brooke’s setting herself apart from any other player, man or woman, in this country. She’d be a real deserving recipient.”

Now under the Rules, when your ball is lost or out of bounds, your course or can use a Local Rule that does not require you to play under stroke and distance.

Click here to learn more.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Gary Woodland denied Brooks Koepka’s bold bid at history with two clutch shots and made U.S. Open memories of his own, starting with that silver trophy in his hands at Pebble Beach.

Woodland finished in style Sunday. He holed a 30-foot birdie putt for a 2-under 69, giving him the lowest 72-hole score in six U.S. Opens at Pebble Beach and a three-shot victory over Koepka, who was going for a third straight U.S. Open.

Koepka had to settle for a footnote in history as the first player with all four rounds in the 60s at the U.S Open without winning. But he made Woodland earn every bit of his first major championship.

Clinging to a one-shot lead with more pressure than he has ever felt, Woodland seized control by going for the green on the par-5 14th hole with a 3-wood from 263 yards, narrowly clearing a cavernous bunker and setting up a simple up-and-down for a two-shot lead.

Even more significant was a shot from 90 feet.

Woodland hit the edge of the green on the par-3 17th all the way to the right, with the pin on the hourglass green on the other side.

Ahead on the 18th, Koepka’s 3-iron went just over the back of the green, leaving him a chip for eagle to tie, with a birdie likely to do the trick considering what Woodland faced. Koepka chipped to just inside 10 feet and missed the putt.

PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 16: Gary Woodland of the United States poses with the trophy after winning the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links on June 16, 2019 in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

Woodland delivered again. Unable to use putter to get it close, he perfectly clipped a pitch over the mound, and it checked about 12 feet short of the hole and trickled down to tap-in range.

That effectively ended the U.S. Open. Woodland played conservatively down the 18th and made one last birdie that only mattered in the record book. He finished at 13-under 271, one shot better than Tiger Woods’ historic rout in 2000.

The difference was Woods won by 15 shots and was the only player under par. With a marine layer blocking the sunshine, and no significant wind at Pebble Beach all week, 31 players finished under par.

Koepka closed with a 68 for his second runner-up in the majors this year, along with his second straight PGA Championship title.

Justin Rose was the only one who caught Woodland, with a birdie on the opening hole. Rose bogeyed from the bunker on No. 2, and fell out of the race with three bogeys in a four-hole stretch on the back nine. He shot 74 and shared third with Xander Schauffele (67), Jon Rahm (68) and Chez Reavie (71).

Brooke Henderson wins the Meijer LPGA Classic (for a second time), collecting her 9th career LPGA title — the most ever by a Canadian.

YORKTON, Sask. – Josh Nagy came from behind, while Hyeji Yang maintained her second-round lead to win the boys and girls division, respectively, at the Future Links, driven by Acura Prairie Championship at Deer Park Municipal Golf Course.

Yang, from Langley, B.C., moved into the lead during the second-round and topped the field by seven strokes at 11-over par 227. Birdies were at a premium throughout the tournament in the girls division, but Yang’s two back-nine birdies on Sunday helped her secure the victory.

“I think I played not bad overall this week,” said Yang. “Today my game was struggling on the front nine and I couldn’t make some birdies when I had a chance. On the back nine I was pushing myself. On 13 my shots started coming back and on No. 15 I made a 15-foot birdie putt which helped me get more confidence and momentum.”

Sherri Yang finished in second at 18-over. The Richmond, B.C. product held the lead following the first-round, but was unable to withstand the charge from Hyeji Yang. She finished a stroke ahead of Calgary native Brooke Frerichs, who put in three consistent rounds to end up 19-over.

Autumn Neiszner of Regina and Kaitlyn Wingnean of Edmonton round out the top-five earning exemptions to the 2019 Canadian Junior Girls Championship from July 29-August 2 at Lethbridge Country Club in Lethbridge, Alta.

In the boys division, Josh Nagy cemented himself atop the leaderboard with a tremendous final round. The Saskatoon native made a double bogey on the par-4 second hole, but went on to make eight birdies to finish the day at 6-under par 66 and 3-under par 213 for the tournament.

Ranked No. 2 on Golf Saskatchewan’s Order of Merit, Nagy shot only the third under-par round of the tournament. The other rounds belonged to Calgary’s Richard Dou, who carded a 2-under 70 during the opening round, and Winnipeg’s Jordon McDonald, who shot a 1-under 71 in the final round.

“It’s an honour,” said Nagy. “I came in playing alright, and it was really nice to be able to turn the week around in the last round. I had a little hiccup on No. 2, and then I was able to bear down on the greens.”

Finishing seven strokes behind Nagy was second-round leader Tae Kyoung (Eric) Yun of Richmond Hill, Ont. Yun shot even-par on Saturday, finishing 4-over for the tournament.

An even-par final round from Neel Soni secured T3 for the Winnipeg product, tied with fellow Winnipegger Jacob Armstrong at 6-over.

Dou rounded out the top-five at 7-over.

Each of the top five finishers received an exemption into the 2019 Canadian Junior Boys Championship from August 11-15 at Covered Bridge Golf & Country Club in Hartland, N.B.

Full results can be found here.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Brooke Henderson won the Meijer LPGA Classic on Sunday to break the Canadian record for tour victories with nine.

The 21-year-old Henderson led wire-to-wire for her second victory in three years at Blythefield Country Club, closing with a 2-under 70 in chilly conditions to hold off Lexi Thompson, Nasa Hataoka, Su Oh and Brittany Altomare by a stroke.

Henderson broke a tie with Sandra Post for the Canadian record on the LPGA Tour and also moved ahead of George Knudson and Mike Weir for the overall country mark.

“That’s really cool,” Henderson said. “Earlier this year to get my eighth win and to tie that record was a huge deal for me. To now to kind of breakthrough that is awesome. I’m just really excited for the rest of the summer and hopefully many more wins in the future.”

With caddie/sister Brittany and mother Darlene looking on, father Dave sprayed her with champagne to celebrate.

“It’s really special,” Henderson said. “I’m so happy that both my mom and my dad can be out here to watch my sister and I win this. It’s always special when they’re here, especially on Father’s Day.”

Also the Lotte Championship winner in April in Hawaii, Henderson matched the tournament record of 21 under that she set in 2017 (when the course played to a par of 71) and also was tied last year by So Yeon Ryu. Henderson opened with consecutive 64s, playing 30 holes Friday after rain delayed the start Thursday, and had a 69 on Saturday to take a two-stroke lead into the final round.

“It’s a lot like the courses I grew up playing back home in Canada,” Henderson said. “I love it out here. Just trying to hit good shots and hopefully make a lot of birdies. Didn’t make as many as I wanted, but just enough.”

The final putt at @MeijerLPGA that sealed the deal in Canadian #golf history ???? pic.twitter.com/q9i2cIsFZz

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) June 16, 2019

Her lead reduced to a stroke after a bogey on the par-4 16th, she three-putted the par-5 18th from 45 feet for the winning par.

“When I was walking up here I thought maybe I would have to birdie or eagle this hole to get the job done, but when I looked at the scoreboard I was sort of shocked that all I needed to do was three-putt and par,” Henderson said. “I’m really grateful about that because I was shaking pretty bad on those last couple putts.”

Henderson had Canadians from coast-to-coast cheering her on all throughout.

“Congratulations to Brooke on becoming the winningest Canadian professional golfer ever on the PGA or LPGA,” said Sandra Post, Canadian Golf Hall of Fame Honoured Member. “I’m so happy for her and her family and for golf in Canada. I know there are many more wins in store.”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Win No. 9, so fine ???? @brookehendersongolf wins one for the history books, becoming the winningest Canadian golfer of all time ?? #LPGA #meijerlpgaclassic

A post shared by CP Women’s Open (@cpwomensopen) on Jun 16, 2019 at 2:21pm PDT

“On behalf of Canadian golf fans across the nation, we are so proud of Brooke Henderson on her incredible 9th LPGA Tour victory,” said Laurence Applebaum, Golf Canada CEO. “She’s made Canadian golf history at 21 years of age and there is no doubt that the very best is yet to come for this inspiring young athlete. We can’t wait to celebrate this victory and the defense of her CP Women’s Open title this August at Magna Golf Club!”

Thompson followed her course-record 62 in the third round with a 68, closing with an eagle for the second straight day. The 2015 winner at Blythefield, she was coming off a victory last week in New Jersey.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t hit it that great today, but I made some really good putts on my second nine,” Thompson said. “I had a little bit of a muscle spasm in my shoulder all day, but it is what it is, you can’t control that. So, overall great week.”

Hataoka shot 65, also making an eagle on the par-5 18th. Oh had a 66, and Altomare shot 68.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp had a strong tournament, finishing tied for ninth at 13-under with a final round of 72.

Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee (71) finished at 2-under while Anne-Catherine Tanguay of Quebec City (74) was at 1-under.

Jennifer Kupcho, four strokes behind Henderson entering the day, had a 76 to drop into a tie for 23rd at 11 under in her third professional start. The former Wake Forest star won the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April.

The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the third major championship of the year, is next week at Hazeltine in Minnesota.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Brooke Henderson birdied the final three holes Saturday for a 3-under 69 and a two-stroke lead over Annie Park in the Meijer LPGA Classic, with Lexi Thompson three shots back after matching the course record with a 62.

Trying to break a tie for the Canadian victory record for both women and men, the 21-year-old Henderson had a 19-under 197 total at Blythefield Country Club. She opened with consecutive 64s, playing 30 holes Friday after rain delayed the start Thursday, then got off to a slow start Saturday with three birdies and three bogeys in the first 15 holes.

“I kind of found it hard to find my rhythm during the middle part of the round, so I kind of got started batting third and that’s never a good sign,” Henderson said. “But to come back with three birdies at the end there makes the round feel a little bit better.”

The 2017 winner at Blythefield, Henderson successfully defended her Lotte Championship title in April in Hawaii for her eighth LPGA Tour victory, tying Sandra Post’s Canadian record. George Knudson and Mike Weir share the mark on the PGA Tour, also with eight victories.

“Of course, that’s in the back of your mind, but it’s long from over,” Henderson said. “There’s so many great players close to the top of the leaderboard. And this course, you know there’s a lot of birdies out there, so it’s going to take a low score. So, hopefully, I can just continue to hit good shots and give myself a chance for the win.”

Park birdied the par-5 18th for her second straight 65.

Three straight birdies to close out the round for @BrookeHenderson ????

She takes a 2-stroke lead into the finale at the @MeijerLPGA pic.twitter.com/LAE8S5Slc3

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) June 15, 2019

“Overall, it’s been good with shots, short game, putting,” Park said. “Hopefully, I can keep that momentum going on for tomorrow. I can’t wait.”

The American returned early Saturday to complete the final hole of the suspended third round, making a birdie on 18.

“Took a good nap in there,” Park said.

Thompson, the 2015 winner, eagled the 18th, hitting an 8-iron approach within 2 feet.

“It helped to have a really good number, let alone a short number,” Thompson said. “But you have to take advantage of it. There’s a lot of birdie holes out there and a lot of opportunities, so you just have to take advantage of them.”

The winner last week in New Jersey, she had the eagle, 10 birdies and two bogeys.

“I had a good warmup on the range, felt good about my game,” Thompson said. “The last two days I haven’t struck it to my capability and what I’ve been working on in my game, but today it kind of all fell together.”

Brittany Altomare matched Thompson at 16 under with a 69.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp shot up the leaderboard with a 64. She’s tied for ninth at 13 under. Quebec City’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay (72) is 3 under while Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee (73) is 1 under.

Jennifer Kupcho was another stroke back after her third 67. The former Wake Forest star is making her third professional start. She won the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur in April and the NCAA individual title last year.

“Just go into it just like any other tournament,” Kupcho said. “I mean, I always like the chase, so I’ll just go out there and play my game and see what shows up tomorrow.”

The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the third major championship of the year, is next week at Hazeltine in Minnesota.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – An impossible par from the rough. An improbable birdie from a divot.

If Gary Woodland can handle whatever comes his way this weekend as well as he did Friday, he might be holding a trophy at the end of the U.S. Open.

Woodland brought his power game to the majors once again, shooting 6-under 65 to head into the weekend at 9 under and with a two-shot lead over Justin Rose.

The 65 matched the record for a U.S. Open at Pebble Beach – a number previously shot by Rose on Thursday, and Tiger Woods 19 years ago.

For Woodland, the feat appeared virtually undoable as he lined up a chip from the deep rough just past the canyon that separates the eighth fairway and green – his second-to-last hole. He made a delicate chip to 15 feet, then sank the putt to save par and give him momentum heading to No. 9.

“That’s one you’re hoping to get close, but it’s nice when it goes in,” Woodland said.

Pumped from that make, he hit a 316-yard drive into the middle of the fairway on the 526-yard par-4 ninth. Perfect, except it came to rest in a divot. Woodland grabbed 7-iron, gouged it out to the right side of the green – then made that 50-footer to take a two-shot lead over Rose.

“It was a nice putt to go in, and kind of keep the momentum going,” Woodland said.

That birdie dropped him to a cumulative 22-under par in the first two rounds of the last four majors. He had the lead heading into the weekend in one of those majors – the 2018 PGA at Bellerive – and played Saturday with Brooks Koepka and Sunday with Woods.

But it turned out to be a bit too much. Woodland shot 71-69 over the weekend and finished in a tie for sixth.

“You learn you have to stay within yourself. You can’t get caught up in what’s going on around you,” he said. “Obviously there’s a lot more noise going on. Playing with Tiger on Sunday, I’d never seen anything like that.”

Tiger won’t be anywhere near him at Pebble Beach on Saturday. He finished with a pair of bogeys to shoot 72 and finished at even-par – still among the 79 players to make it through to the weekend, but with tons of room to make up and not much time to do it.

“We’ve got a long way to go, and we’ll see how it shapes up for tomorrow,” Woods said.

There were 10 players within five shots of the lead, including Koepka, in search of his third straight title, and Rory McIlroy, who made double-bogey on No. 14 after failing to hit the green with wedge on two straight shots. But he followed that with back-to-back birdies to finish at 5 under.

“I didn’t quite get those three shots back, but 2 under for the last four after what happened, I’m very pleased with it,” McIlroy said.

He was one of 31 players to finish under par after a second consecutive day of calm wind and cloudy skies that brought an occasional thin mist across the course.

Pleasant enough, though not everyone enjoyed their trip around Pebble Beach.

Patrick Reed flubbed a chip at the right of the 18th green and snapped his wedge over his thigh. He made double-bogey there to make the cut on the number, at 2 over.

Francesco Molinari was cruising at 5 under before he put one in the canyon on No. 8 – the start of a double-bogey-bogey finish that left him tied for 19th, at 2 under.

“I liked it more before the last two holes,” Molinari said, when asked about his position.

Woodland liked his position best.

But it’s the U.S. Open. Nobody can feel too comfortable.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Canada’s Brooke Henderson had sole possession of the lead after her second round of the Meijer LPGA Classic.

The native of Smiths Falls, Ont., had her second straight score of 8-under 64 on Friday to go up by three shots on American Brittany Altomare prior to the later tee-off times.

Henderson completed her first round with 12 holes on Friday after darkness halted play on Thursday, jumping into a one-stroke lead after 18 holes.

The 21-year-old, who won this event in 2017, had nine birdies and a bogey in the second round.

“I started off really well late last night and I was able to carry it on early this morning,” Henderson said. “Then I had lunch and came right back and played another 18. I just felt really confident today with my ball-striking, which is awesome, and I rolled in a few putts, too.”

.@BrookeHenderson goes 64-64 to set a 36-hole tournament record at the @MeijerLPGA ??

She takes a 3-stroke lead into the weekend ?? pic.twitter.com/DEVwb1Mwli

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) June 14, 2019

Just before play was suspended Thursday, Henderson got a hole-in-one on her sixth hole (the par-3 15th after starting on No. 10) to go to 4 under.

Henderson is looking for a Canadian record (on the PGA or LPGA Tours) ninth career title.

“I’m pretty tired right now, not a lot of sleep last night with the late night, early morning, so I look forward to some rest later tonight,” Henderson said. “I think it kind of was a bonus when I had things rolling just to keep it going.”

Alena Sharp of Hamilton was 5 under through 36 holes after an even-par 72 in the second round. Quebec City’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay was 3 under after also shooting a 72.

Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee was 2 under, while Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., and Selena Costabile of Thornhill, Ont., had later tee-off times after each shot 76 in the first round.