VANCOUVER, B.C. – Dylan Kim shot a 5-under 66 at Marine Drive on Thursday to head into the final round of the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship with a one-shot lead.

For the second time in three rounds, Kim carded a 66 to move her to 12-under par for the tournament. She had a bogey free round and made some great putts.

“I had a few good par saves, I made a 15-footer on 15 that was really big. I’m proud of the way I played today,” said the 21-year-old from Sachse, Tex. “I’ve putted really well, and I’ve been smart.”

Kim played a very smart round, regardless of missing the fairway on a few holes.

“There are some tricky holes out here and it is narrow, so I think it is smart to know which side you can recover from and which side you can’t, so I’ve done that well,” said Dylan Kim. “I actually didn’t make that many fairways today. I don’t really know how many I hit, but I didn’t drive it that well, so I’m going to go work on that now.”

Dylan Kim started the round in a tie for the lead with Gina Kim and Yealimi Noh. Noh tried hard to catch up to Kim after she bogeyed her first hole and watched carefully at the end of the round as Dylan Kim made her final putt on hole 18.

“My round started off a little rough on the front nine with one birdie and one bogey,” said Noh. “The back nine I started putting a little better.”

When Noh made the turn, she tried her best to catch up to Dylan Kim. The 16-year-old from Concord, Calif. birdied hole 10, just as Dylan Kim did. Dylan Kim then continued to birdie hole 11 while Noh pared it.

But that didn’t stop Noh. She continued to birdie hole 12 and 13 but couldn’t quite catch Dylan Kim and they both carded one more birdie each.

“This course is very challenging and narrow with all the trees. All the courses I’ve played in California aren’t really like this, it’s a little different,” said Noh, who has never played on a Canadian course.

Yealimi Noh ended the day 4-under-par 67, 11-under for the tournament, just one stroke behind Dylan Kim.

Gina Kim carded three birdies and three bogeys to finish even par, her first time in three rounds finishing with a score in the 70s. She remains at 7-under for the tournament in third.

Gina Kim, Dylan Kim and Yealimi will play together again tomorrow and make up the final grouping while Lilia Kha-Tu V (-6), Allisen Corpuz (-5) and Jennifer Chang (-5) will tee off in front of them.

The Vancouver B.C. native, Tiffany Kong, still remains the top Canadian on the leaderboard after the third round. She carded a 3-over 74 today to push her into a share of ninth with Kaitlyn Papp from Austin Tex at 2-under for the tournament.

The final round of competition will see the first groups tee off at 7:30 a.m. and 7:35 a.m. from holes 1 and 10, respectively.

The 2018 Canadian Women’s Amateur title, the individual champion will earn an exemption into the 2018 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship and – along with the low Canadian – the CP Women’s Open at Wascana Country Club on August 20-26, 2018.

For full results click here.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – As good as Robert Garrigus has been at the RBC Canadian Open, he thinks he could have been even better in Thursday’s first round.

The American shot a 9-under 63 to take the clubhouse lead. A rainstorm suspended play for over two hours in the late afternoon before the PGA TOUR tournament resumed for a little over an hour. By the end of the day, Garrigus was still one shot ahead of fellow American Adam Schenk at Glen Abbey Golf Club.

“Could have been 59 there if a couple putts didn’t lip out,” said Garrigus, who had birdie putts lip out on Nos. 10 and 17. “Got lucky on the par-5, on 13, hit it right in the middle of the water, and it hit a rock and bounced over the thing and I made birdie.

“I think 20-something-under is going to win, so we’ll forget about it when I get home. This was a good day, get to enjoy it for a minute, but I’ve got to close my mind off.”

Keeping focused has been an issue for Garrigus of late.

He shot an impressive 6-under 66 in the third round of the Barbasol Championship last Saturday, before coughing up an ugly 7-over 79 in the final round. The low point for Garrigus was when he quadruple bogeyed the 567-yard par-5 No. 17, finishing the tournament tied for 66th at 4 under.

“I prayed a lot this week, I’ll tell you that much,” said Garrigus. “There was a lot of prayers for my family, just to give me peace and calm, just to come out and not worry about it, not worry about where I am.”

Last year at Glen Abbey, Garrigus shot a 10-under 62 in the third round to match the course record. If not for those two missed putts on Thursday, he could have tied or surpassed that mark.

“I love this place. I’ve always played well in Canada. There’s a lot of good vibes here. And the golf course is absolutely pure,” said Garrigus. “I mean, I was walking on the fairway on No. 8, and it just felt like you were walking on carpet, and you get up on the green, and it’s like grass. The conditions are absolutely perfect.”

Although Garrigus played in ideal conditions, they turned a few hours after he got off the course. Play was suspended for over two hours in the late afternoon, with high winds and potential lightning strikes making it unsafe to keep golfing. Play resumed for another hour after the rain cleared, but over a dozen players were unable to finish their round.

Rain on Monday and briefly on Wednesday had kept the greens and fairways soft.

Schenk made the most of the conditions, closing out his round in the rain with three straight birdies as the morning group finished its day at the US$6.2-million PGA Tour event.

“If you were in the fairway, it was much easier to attack, but you could still play from the rough, so I did that too often today but was fortunate to get away with it,” said Schenk, a PGA Tour rookie who is fighting to keep his card with a handful of tournaments left on the schedule. “But if you can get within 20 feet of the hole, you’re going to make some putts, especially in the morning. The greens are very smooth.”

Chris Stroud was third after shooting a 7-under 65.

David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., shot 4-under 68 for the top score among Canadians. After play resumed Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., drained a six-foot putt on No. 18 to tie Hearn.

“I thought I was hitting a little better before the delay, felt a little off on the last few holes,” said Taylor, who was on the 16th hole before the delay. “Made a couple putts on the last two holes so that was nice to finish the round off.”

Adam Hadwin, also from Abbotsford, the top-ranked Canadian on the PGA Tour, fired a 2-under 70.

Victoria’s Pat Fletcher, who was born in England, was the last Canadian to win the country’s national championship, claiming the event all the way back in 1954. Carl Keffer is the only Canadian-born champion, winning in 1909 and 1914.

British Columbia has a little streak going at the Canadian Junior Girls Championship; one its players hope to extend at Beach Grove Golf Club.

The last three Canadian Junior Girls Championships have been won by B.C. players. Susan Xiao of Surrey won it last year, Naomi Ko of Victoria was the 2016 champion and Michelle Kim of Surrey captured the title in 2015.

“This is home turf and the B.C. girls have to represent and do well and have some fun out here,” says Vancouver’s Tiffany Kong, one of a large number of strong B.C. players who will compete in this year’s championship, which goes July 31-Aug. 3 at Beach Grove.

Hannah Lee of Surrey is another one of those British Columbians especially motivated to play well at Beach Grove. This will be Lee’s final junior tournament and she has come close the last three years, finishing no worse than tied for 11th. She was runner-up in 2015.

“Considering this is my last one and it is at home, I obviously want to do well,” says Lee, who is heading into her sophomore year at the University of Oklahoma. “It would definitely mean a lot if I could do well.”

Doing well at Beach Grove starts with keeping the ball in play off the tee. The course is tight in spots and missing fairways makes it difficult to hit the course’s small greens in regulation.

“What the players will have to do especially well is position the ball off the tee,” says longtime Beach Grove head professional Brent Derrheim. “You can’t be overly aggressive, you need to be patient. And also putting. If you make the putts, you are going to score well.”

Beach Grove is a private club located in Tsawwassen, a suburban community located about a half-hour south of Vancouver. It opened as a nine-hole course in 1929 and a second nine was completed in 1965.

Tsawwassen, home to the B.C. Ferries terminal that takes passengers to the Victoria port of Swartz Bay, is renowned as the sunniest spot in the Metro Vancouver area. Beach Grove certainly benefits from all that sunshine and this year is no different. The course is in immaculate shape and figures to play firm and fast for the junior girls.

“The course has been in fantastic shape all summer and our superintendent Ian Murray and his crew have been doing a great job,” Derrheim says. “The course will play firm and fast. I feel it is a great golf course for women and it will be a great test for the girls, too.”

The course figures to be set up at about 6,000 yards for the junior girls.

None of the competitors know the course better than Amanda Minni, who has been playing it regularly as a junior member for the last several years.

“Actually my first tournament ever was at my home course,” Minni says. “It was one of the club championships and I shot like 112 and 112 to win when I was nine years old. Playing another huge championship there is going to be different from a little club championship, but it’s going to have the same sort of feeling. Hopefully the members come out and watch. I think it is going to be a great event.”

Minni, who is heading into her sophomore year at Oregon State University, finished 10th at the 2016 Canadian Junior Girls Championship in Shubenacadie, N.S., and was third at the B.C. Junior Girls Championship earlier this month at Kimberley Golf Club. She will be joined on the B.C. team at Beach Grove by B.C. Junior Girls Champion Phoebe Yue of West Vancouver and Vancouver’s Leah John.

“The course is definitely going to play really tough over the week,” Minni says of Beach Grove. “The grounds crew has been out here every day making it look sharp so I am really excited about the conditions.

“Definitely hitting greens there is big because the greens are so tiny and they are so firm that chipping around them is tough. If you short-side yourself, you are in trouble.”

Of course, there a number of strong competitors from the rest of the country in what will be a very deep field at Beach Grove.

Ellie Szeryk of London, Ont., fresh off her win at the Ontario Women’s Amateur Championship, must be considered one of the favourites. Szeryk, a member of Golf Canada’s national developmental team now based at Bear Mountain in Victoria, tied for second at last year’s Canadian Junior Girls Championship.

Other national developmental team players in the Beach Grove field include Monet Chun of Richmond Hill, Ont., Celeste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-I’lle-Perrot, Que., and Alyssa DiMarcantonio of Maple, Ont. Chun and Szeryk finished 1-2 at the Future Links, driven by Acura Pacific Championship at Bear Mountain this past May.

Three other Future Links champions from this year are in the field, including: Taylor Stone of Calgary (Western Championship), Emily Romanceow (Quebec Championship) and Sydney Scraba of Calgary (Prairie Championship).

A Canadian Juvenile Girls Champion will also be crowned at Beach Grove. That competition is open to players 16 and younger. An inter-provincial team competition will be held over the first 36 holes of the tournament. Ontario won that competition last year by three shots over British Columbia.

MEDICINE HAT, Alta. – Medicine Hat Golf and Country Club will welcome the nation’s premier young golfers for the 2018 Canadian Junior Boy Championship. The 80th playing of the tournament will take place between July 30-Aug. 2 and will consist of 156 junior golfers, including all five members of Team Canada’s Development Squad.

Founded in 1913, Medicine Hat Golf and Country Club is a par-72 championship golf course located on the cliffs of the South Saskatchewan River.

“Our tremendous staff has worked very hard and the course is in fantastic shape. The community of Medicine Hat is extremely excited to host an event of this calibre,” said Cam Jacques, General Manager at Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club. “We look forward to hosting this strong field through what is sure to be a great week of golf.”

The Canadian Junior Boys Championship has served as a significant milestone in a number of professional and amateur careers. Before playing on the PGA TOUR, Abbotsford, B.C., native Nick Taylor captured the 2006 Canadian Junior Boys title. Other champions include Canadian Golf Hall of Fame members Doug Silverberg, George Knudson, Gary Cowan and Doug Roxburgh.

“Golf Canada is pleased to head to Medicine Hat to hold our annual Canadian Junior Boys Championship,” said Tournament Director Adam Cinel. “We have received a very warm welcome here and truly appreciate the support and commitment of the staff, volunteers and community. Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club will be a great platform to showcase the talents of Canada’s best junior golfers.”

In 2017, Calvin Ross became the first New Brunswick golfer to win the Canadian Junior Boys Championship after the Fredericton native set an amateur course-record 62 during the third round, eventually securing a seven-stroke victory. Team Canada’s Christopher Vandette won the under-16 Juvenile title.

In order to be eligible to participate in the championship, all entrants must be under 19 years of age as of August 1^st, 2018. This year’s field will consist of the defending Canadian Juvenile Junior Champion, Team Canada Development Squad members, the current Junior Club Champion, the top six finishers in all Future Links, driven by Acura regional championships and those players earning a spot through their respective provincial championship.

NOTABLES
Christopher Vandette of Beaconsfield, Que.
The 16-year-old Team Canada Development Squad member finished third at the event last year, the highest of any returning player. Vandette, who was ranked No.1 on the 2017 Future Links, driven by Acura Order of Merit, is coming into the tournament with two top-ten finishes, including a solo second at the 2018 Future Links, driven by Acura Pacific Championship. 

Cam Kellett of London, Ont.
The 18-year-old, who will be competing in his first ever Canadian Junior Boys Championship, is currently ranked No.1 on the Future Links, driven by Acura Order of Merit. Kellett finished in the top-10 in six of the seven events he has competed in this year so far, including a win at Golf Ontario Men’s Match Play Championship and second place finishes at Future Links, driven by Acura Ontario Championship and Golf Ontario Investors Group Junior Spring Classic.

Matthew Anderson of Mississauga, Ont.
The 18-year-old member of Team Ontario is currently ranked No.3 on the Future Links, driven by Acura Order of Merit and is coming into the tournament with a win at Golf Ontario Investors Group Junior Spring Classic and four top-ten finishes.

Ethan Choi of Pincher Creek, Alta.
The 16-year-old is currently ranked No.4 on the Future Links, driven by Acura Order of Merit and finished T5 at this event last year. Choi has four top-five finishes in 2018 so far, including a win at PGA of Alberta Junior Masters.

Nolan Thoroughgood of Victoria, B.C.
The 17-year-old rookie member of the Team Canada Development Squad finished in fourth at the event last year T3 at the Future Links, driven by Acura Pacific Championship at Bear Mountain Resort – Valley Course in May and has finished in the top-ten in nine out of the 10 tournaments he competed in during 2017.

FAST FACTS

• The first championship was held in 1938, which was won by James Hogan.
• Current Canadian Golf Hall of Famers who won the championship include: Doug Silverberg, George Knudson, Gary Cowan and Doug Roxburgh.
• In 1970, the 16-and-under Juvenile Championship was added to the Championship, which runs concurrently with the competition, with the winner receiving the Jack Bailey Trophy.
• Nine golfers have won both the Juvenile and Junior titles: Jim Rutledge, Jeff Makahon, Rob McMillan, Jesse Collinson, Dustin Risdon, Gord Scutt, Rafael Lee, Mitch Sutton and Charles-Eric Belanger.
• There is a Junior Inter-Provincial Team championship that is held in conjunction with the first 36 holes of the tournament, which has been held since 1959.
• The Junior champion earns an exemption into the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship.
• 2017 Junior Champion: Calvin Ross.
• 2017 Juvenile Champion: Christopher Vandette.
• 2017 Inter-Provincial champion: Alberta
• Current PGA TOUR player Nick Taylor captured the title in 2006.
• London, Ont., product Mitch Sutton was the last player to win the event in back-to-back years in 2008 and 2009.
• More information on the event including tee times can be found here.

ABOUT THE COURSE

• Established in 1913.
• Course was redesigned during 1984-1986
• The 9^th & 10^th holes were just recently redesigned and rebuilt during the fall of 2017. These two greens will open for play in May of 2018.
• Hosted the Alberta Ladies Amateur, Alberta Men’s Amateur and 2016 CN Future Links Western Championship
• Assistant Professional Jesse Florkowski is the reigning 3-time One Arm World Champion Golfer
• Course tournament record: 65 by Kelly Risling in 2016
• More information can be found here.

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Gina Kim, Yealimi Noh and Dylan Kim all sit 7-under after the second round of the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship at Marine Drive on Wednesday.

Gina Kim started the day at 4-under then carded three birdies and a bogey on her front nine. She made the turn and fired three more birdies and a bogey to finish with a 3-under 68, one stroke lower than her score on Tuesday.

“I thought it was a fairly solid round. My shots were really consistent, and I managed to play all the smart shots today and the putts were dropping. I’d say overall I was pretty happy with what I came out with,” said the 18-year-old from Chapel Hill N.C.

“This course is narrow and tricky in its own way. Considering yesterday went pretty well I thought why not just continue to go with what I’ve been doing, and I think it worked out again today and I think I’m going to keep going with that for the rest of the week,” she said.

Dylan Kim came in at 2-under today after starting with two birdies and a bogey on her front nine. The 21-year-old from Sachse, Tex. ended strong with a beautiful birdie on hole 18.

“I got off to a good start and then I went a little rough in the middle there, but I’m proud of the way I finished. I finished with a birdie and that was really nice. I also had a nice par on hole 17, which is a hard hole, so I’m really glad I got through that one,” she said.

Dylan Kim recorded a 66 on Tuesday, to tie Yealimi No’s new course record before Jennifer Kupcho carded a 7-under 64.

“I thought the pins were tougher today, when I was looking at them before my round I was thinking ‘Ok today is going to be a little tougher, I need to be a little bit smarter today,’” said Dylan Kim.

Yealimi Noh from Concord, Calif. also came in at 2-under and had a strong round. She recorded 5 pars in a row on her front nine before adding a birdie to her scorecard. Right before she made the turn she recorded another birdie on hole 9. She finished her back nine with a bogey and a third birdie.

Tiffany Kong, a former Team Canada Development Squad member, recorded a 3-under 68 to land herself in fourth and as the low Canadian. She sits 5-under par for the tournament, just two strokes behind the lead trio.

73 players have advanced to the final two rounds of the national championship. The first groups will tee off Thursday at 7:30 a.m. from holes 1 and 10.

Team British Columbia won the inter-provincial competition after the team consisting of Naomi Ko, Mary Parsons and Christina Proteau shot a combined 8 over par through the two-round event. Team Ontario came in second at 13 over par and Quebec finished 9 back in third.

The 2018 Canadian Women’s Amateur title, the individual champion will earn an exemption into the 2018 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship and – along with the low Canadian – the CP Women’s Open at Wascana Country Club on August 20-26, 2018.

For full results click here.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – The 109^th playing of Canada’s National Men’s Open Championship gets underway Thursday with 156 of the world’s best golfers, including 21 Canadians and world No. 1 Dustin Johnson set to compete for the 2018 RBC Canadian Open trophy and the champion’s share of the $6.2 million (US) purse.

Johnson, an 18-time winner on the PGA TOUR, has had great success at Canada’s National Open Championship, finishing runner-up in both 2013 and 2016.

“It’s always good to come back here. I’ve had some success here and I enjoy coming and playing the Canadian Open, especially being an RBC ambassador,” said Johnson. “I get a lot of fans out here and they’ve been great the past few years.”

The world’s No. 1 golfer had high praise for the work superintendent Andrew Gyba and his team have done to get the course ready for the RBC Canadian Open.

“The course is in really good shape, probably the best shape I’ve seen it since I’ve played here,” added Johnson. “It’s going to be a good week.”

Johnson went on to talk about the recently announced date change for the RBC Canadian Open—moving to June 3 to 9 beginning in 2019—and the impact he anticipates it will have on the tournament.

“I think it’ll be good for the golf tournament. A lot of guys like to play the week before the U.S. Open, so you’ll definitely get some different guys,” said Johnson. “I think the field will definitely improve, even though this year I feel like we have a really good field at the tournament.”

PAIRINGS FOR ROUNDS 1 and 2
Pairings and start times for the opening two rounds of the 109th playing of Canada’s National Open Championship on Thursday, July 26 and Friday, July 27 are now available online here.

INTERVIEW VIDEO, AUDIO AND TRANSCRIPTS FOR WEDNESDAY, JULY 25
Interview, audio and transcripts for the following players and events from Wednesday, July 25 are available here and video is available here. Please note the videos are unedited, uncut and broadcast-quality.

• Brooks Koepka
• Jhonattan Vegas
• Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Connors
• Dustin Johnson

2018 MEDIA GUIDE AND PLAYER PERFORMANCE BOOK:
Media can also download the 2018 RBC Canadian Open Media Guide for complete stats, records and historical information. Media can also download the 2018 RBC Canadian Open Player Performance Book which details individual player statistics from 1904-2017.

TELEVISION COVERAGE:
The following are television times for the 2018 RBC Canadian Open:

Thursday July 26

• TSN 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
  Golf Channel 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Friday July 27

• TSN 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
  Golf Channel 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Saturday July 28

• Golf Channel 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
• CBS & Global 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Sunday July 29

• Golf Channel 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
• CBS & Global 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

RED AND WHITE DAY:
On Friday, July 27, we invite you to wear your brightest reds and your whitest whites to celebrate Canada and show your support for the Canadian players competing in our National Open. Canadian flags will be handed out at the main entrance while supplies last. 

TICKETS:
Grounds tickets for all days of the 2018 RBC Canadian Open, as well as, a limited number of premium ticket packages are still available. A full list of ticket packages and pricing is available online at http://www.rbccanadianopen.com/. Golf Canada and RBC are also pleased to offer FREE admission to juniors 17 and younger—Click here to download a FREE Junior Pass.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Dustin Johnson pulled on the Edmonton Oilers jersey with “Gretzky 99” on the back, lined up his shot and hit it over the water and on to the green at No. 7 on Glen Abbey Golf Club.

Jersey: 9⃣9⃣
Swing: ?@DJohnsonPGA pays homage to @WayneGretzky with an @Oilers jersey at “The Rink” during his @RBCCanadianOpen pro-am.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/NyVSspUOVz

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 25, 2018

American through-and-through, the RBC Canadian Open is Johnson’s home tournament by marriage, with future father-in-law Wayne Gretzky growing up in nearby Brantford, Ont.

But playing in a pro-am tournament on Wednesday morning, Johnson was encouraged to embrace his extended family’s sport of choice at Glen Abbey’s seventh hole, which has a tee box surrounded by hockey boards and tournament volunteers stationed at the hole wearing referee’s stripes.

“I’m sure Wayne had something to do with it,” said Johnson with a laugh. “They wanted us to wear our favourite hockey jersey when we hit the shot on No. 7 so I had the Gretzky jersey on.”

Johnson leads a highly competitive field that also includes U.S. Open winner Brooks Koepka, two-time RBC Canadian Open winner Jim Furyk, and top-20 players Tommy Fleetwood and Bubba Watson. Jhonattan Vegas, who has won the last two RBC Canadian Opens, is also back.

As world No. 1, Johnson always draws a big crowd. But the added boost of having family ties to hockey royalty makes him extra popular at the RBC Canadian Open.

“I get a lot of fans up here, thanks to Wayne. Thanks Wayne, I appreciate that,” said Johnson, who is engaged to Gretzky’s daughter Paulina. “I get a lot of fans and it’s great. It’s always fun to play for a big crowd, to have them cheering you on.”

Johnson will tee off with Watson and Canadian Adam Hadwin to start the first round on Thursday. Hadwin, ranked No. 55, is the top Canadian on the PGA TOUR this season. Although he’s from Abbotsford, B.C., he also sees the RBC Canadian Open as his hometown event, even if it’s more than 4,000 kilometres from home.

“It’s always exciting to come back in to Canada and play,” said Hadwin. “They love golf up here. They love supporting Canadians. I’m really just proud to represent them.”

Hadwin is one of 21 Canadians in the field at this year’s tournament, which also includes PGA regulars Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont.

Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., the 2003 Masters champion, and David Hearn, from Gretzky’s home town of Brantford, are other Canadians to watch.

Pat Fletcher of Victoria was the last Canadian to win the national championship in 1954, finishing at 8-under with a four-stroke lead at Vancouver’s Point Grey Golf Club.

“We all want to do well, we all want to play well,” said Hadwin. “I know it’s been a long time (since a Canadian won).”

The RBC Canadian Open’s undergoing major changes after this season. With Glen Abbey possibly slated for demolition, it could be the last time the Jack Nicklaus-designed course will be used for the event. Hamilton Golf and Country Club will play host next year.

It’s position on the PGA TOUR’s schedule is also being moved from mid-July, a week after the British Open, to early June, the week before the U.S. Open. The change in schedule will improve the strength of the RBC Canadian Open’s field as many golfers like to rest after the British Open.

“I like playing the week before (a major),” said Koepka. “I think it’s good prep to know where your game is at. I wouldn’t be surprised if the (Hamilton) golf course, they grow the rough up just to kind of imitate, I guess, Pebble Beach a little bit.”

OAKVILLE, ONTARIO, CANADA – The PGA TOUR announced that Facebook has been added to an already impressive viewing schedule for fans within Canada to watch the RBC Canadian Open July 26-29 at Glenn Abbey Golf Club. Facebook will join Golf Channel, PGA TOUR LIVE, Twitter, Global TV, TSN, RDS (French only) and DAZN to offer a tournament record 235 hours of live coverage available on virtually any device, radio or television in Canada.

“Fans are consuming golf across more platforms than ever,” said Bill Paul, Golf Canada’s Chief Championships Officer. “We’re excited to be taking advantage of new and innovative technologies to help bring the RBC Canadian Open to additional viewers and encapsulate an exciting new, young demographic.”

Facebook will distribute exclusive live coverage of featured groups on Saturday and Sunday morning of the RBC Canadian Open in the U.S. and Canada on a free basis. To access, users can follow the PGA TOUR LIVE Page at www.facebook.com/pgatourlive. The PGA TOUR will uniquely produce this coverage for Facebook’s social video platform, with interactive elements aimed to engage fans.

While PGA TOUR Canadian broadcast partners TSN, RDS, Global TV and Golf Channel will deliver extensive RBC Canadian Open action to television sets across Canada, they will each stream coverage that can be accessed via Golf Channel Live (www.golfchannel.com/livegolf), TSN Go (www.tsn.ca/live), RDS Direct (www.rds.ca/emissions/en-direct) and Global TV (www.globaltv.com/watchlive)

PGA TOUR LIVE, the PGA TOUR’s global, Over-The-Top subscription service is available iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Android smartphones and tablets, Windows 10, Xbox, as well as PGATOURLIVE.com. PGA TOUR LIVE Featured Groups coverage of the RBC Canadian Open will begin at 7 a.m. ET on Thursday and Friday and will feature Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Sergio Garcia, Bubba Watson and Canadian star Adam Hadwin. PGA TOUR LIVE Featured Groups coverage is available for $5.99 per month or $39.99 for a year. The PGA TOUR LIVE Featured Groups on Thursday and Friday can also be accessed via the DAZN Over-The-Top sports subscription service at www.DAZN.ca.

Finally, Twitter’s preview window of PGA TOUR LIVE will be available globally to its audience and can be found at www.live.twitter.com/pgatourlive and via @PGATOUR.  The Twitter preview window of PGA TOUR LIVE will begin at 7am ET on both Thursday and Friday, concluding after the Featured Groups finish their second hole.

RBC Canadian Open Coverage Schedule (all times ET):

Thursday, July 26
7-8:30 a.m.                            Preview – Featured Groups             Twitter
7 a.m. – 3 p.m.                       Featured Groups                               PGA TOUR LIVE, TSN and DAZN
3-6 p.m.                                  Featured Holes                                 PGA TOUR LIVE
3-6 p.m.                                  Broadcast                                           TSN, RDS and Golf Channel

Friday, July 27
7-8:30   a.m.                          Preview – Featured Groups             Twitter
7 a.m. – 3 p.m.                       Featured Groups                               PGA TOUR LIVE, TSN and DAZN
3-6 p.m.                                  Featured Holes                                  PGA TOUR LIVE
3-6 p.m.                                  Broadcast                                           TSN, RDS and Golf Channel

Saturday, July 28
8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.              Featured Groups                                   Facebook (U.S. and Canada)
1-6 p.m.                                 Featured Holes                                    Facebook and PGA TOUR LIVE
1-2:45 p.m.                           Broadcast                                               Golf Channel
3-6:00 p.m.                           Broadcast                                              Global TV and RDS

Sunday, July 29
8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.              Featured Groups                                   Facebook (U.S. and Canada)
1-6 p.m.                                 Featured Holes                                     Facebook and PGA TOUR LIVE
1-2:45 p.m.                           Broadcast                                               Golf Channel
3-6:00 p.m.                          Broadcast                                               Global TV and RDS

Fans can also listen to the SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio channel on SiriusXM radios (Sirius channel 208, XM channel 92). For more information, visit www.SiriusXM.com/SiriusXMPGATOURRadio.

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Jennifer Kupcho shot a 7-under-par 64 during the opening round of the 105th playing of the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship at Marine Drive Golf Club on Tuesday.

Kupcho, from Westminster, Colo., carded seven birdies and an eagle on the par 5 13^thhole during her round. She was close to recording an eighth birdie on hole 9 but, unfortunately, the ball lipped out.

“I was hitting a lot of fairways, hit a lot of greens, and just made a lot of putts. I was making putts from everywhere,” said Kupcho. “It’s a narrow course so I just tried to keep it straight.”

“The course was really scorable. I was surprised from the practice round yesterday, it seemed like it was going to be difficult, but today I came out and it was just a really scoreable course,” said the current No. 1 ranked amateur golfer.

The Women’s course record was beat earlier in the morning by Yealimi Noh from Concord, Calif.when she recorded a 5-under 66. Dylan Kim from Sachse, Tex. then tied Noh’s new record before Kupcho came in at 7-under to break the record for a second time.

The initial course record was a 4-under 68 set by Annika Sorenstam in 1992 when Marine Drive co-hosted the World Amateur Team Championships in Vancouver where Sorenstam won the individual title.

Yealimi Noh and Dylan Kim sit tied for second just two strokes behind Kupcho. Both players finished with 6 birdies and a bogey on their scorecards.

Two players sit tied in fourth place at 4-under: Alyaa Abdulghany from Newport Beach, Calif., and Gina Kim from Chapel Hill N.C.

Team British Columbia leads the inter-provincial competition after the team consisting of Naomi Ko, Mary Parsons and Christina Proteau shot a combined score of 2-over par. Team Ontario sits in second at 5-over par.

The 2018 Canadian Women’s Amateur title, the individual champion will earn an exemption into the 2018 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship and – along with the low Canadian – the CP Women’s Open at Wascana Country Club on August 20-26, 2018.

For full results click here.