COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Stephen Ames came out of the gate recording par on Thursday after the first round of the U.S. Senior Open. He’s sitting T10 after the first round, five strokes behind the lead.

Though John Smoltz may have felt very much alone on the wind-whipped, sun-baked Broadmoor course, he wasn’t.

The main difference between him and most of the guys battling the conditions Thursday was that Smoltz does not do this for a living.

The pitching Hall of Famer spent Day 1 of his fantasy golf camp in much the same position as the rest of the players – gouging out of ankle-high rough, then scrambling to put himself in position for par putts. But Smoltz didn’t make many. His round of 15-over 85 included only five pars and no birdies.

“I’m just being honest,” Smoltz said. “I don’t have enough game for this course yet.”

The ultimate test for the seniors produced only six below-par scores through the morning rounds, with the wind forecast to pick up as the day wore on.

Rocco Mediate was in an early three-way tie for the lead at 2 under – in the mix again for a national championship 10 years after his epic, 19-hole playoff loss to Tiger Woods at the U.S. Open.

“I love our national Open. I don’t care if it’s the regular national Open or a Senior national Open, it looks like a U.S. Open golf course,” Mediate said. “It is a U.S. Open golf course. It will show you quickly that it is, if you hit it in the wrong place. That’s what I love most about the setup.”

Deane Pappas and Kevin Sutherland were tied with Mediate, with Billy Mayfair, Scott Parel and two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen a shot behind.

Defending champion Kenny Perry was 1 over and not feeling all that bad about a round that included only a single birdie.

“Here, the greens, they’ve got you on edge,” said Perry, whose title last year gave him entry into the U.S. Open earlier this month. “ I feel like I’m at Shinnecock again.”

The USGA took its usual drubbing for the course set-up earlier this month at Shinnecock, and though the spotlight isn’t nearly as bright here, the record-high forecast for this week (high 90s) has left tournament organizers ‘pacing“ themselves when it comes to firming up the Broadmoor, according to the USGA’s daily course set-up notes.

Even when softened up for resort players, conquering this course takes its fair share of local knowledge. Virtually every putt – even those that appear to be aimed uphill – break away from the Will Rogers Shrine located on Cheyenne Mountain to the southwest of the course.

“You have to hit them a few times to trust you know what you’re doing,” Janzen said.

Janzen and Mediate trekked to Colorado Springs last month to play a few practice rounds and gain some of the valuable local knowledge.

Smoltz walked onto the Broadmoor for the first time this week. He hired a local caddie, Colin Prater, who was a Division II All-American at Colorado-Colorado Springs.

Almost immediately, though, Smoltz received a crash course in the difference between casual rounds of golf and the sport at its highest level.

“I never expected to get that many bad lies,” he said. “Nothing I could do about it. And I had a lot of tough shots that I have not practiced and that I am not used to hitting.”

A few times during the round, Smoltz had to stop, take off his shoes and tape up his toes, which were raw and aching. Lesson: Don’t break in new golf shoes at the U.S. Open.

“It was fun to have him out here,” said Bob Ford, who was in the threesome with Smoltz. “But I didn’t expect him to break 80. I know how good he is. But this is just another world. It’s not his world.”

Smoltz’s first turn through this world will end after Friday’s round.

“I hit three bad shots, and I shot 85,” he said. “It just tells you, from an amateur standpoint, and for people sitting at home, how great these players are.”

Golf Canada and RBC today announced that four of the top five finishers from the 118^th playing of the U.S. Open will be facing off in the 2018 RBC Canadian Open.

Two-time U.S. Open champion and world No. 4 golfer Brooks Koepka, Bubba Watson (world No. 13), Tommy Fleetwood (world No. 10), Tony Finau (world no. 31) and world No. 28 Ian Poulter will all join Dustin Johnson, the world’s number one ranked golfer and Team RBC member in competing for the 2018 RBC Canadian Open, July 23-29 at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont.

Koepka, who recently defended his U.S. Open title, is only the seventh player in history to win consecutive U.S. Opens. He is a 3-time PGA TOUR winner who sits 13^th on the 2018 FedEx Cup standing.

#PGATOUR stars @Bkoepka, @TommyFleetwood1, @TonyFinauGolf & @BubbaWatson join this year’s #RBCCO field. #OurOpen

Read ➡️ https://t.co/nKTP9gP9c2
Tickets ➡️ https://t.co/y8VjKms2RO pic.twitter.com/2EZxkos1Xu

— RBC Canadian Open (@RBCCanadianOpen) June 28, 2018

Fleetwood made a fierce charge at the U.S. Open, firing a final-round 7-under 63 to finish runner-up behind Koepka. With four top-10 finishes in 2018, the 27-year old Englishman is ranked No. 10 in the world and No. 28 on the FedEx Cup standing. The European rising star will be making his debut appearance in Canada’s National Open Championship.

Johnson’s solo-third place finish at the U.S. Open was his eighth top-10 finish in 2018. A member of Team RBC, Johnson is an 18-time PGA TOUR winner, including two 2018 victories—the Sentry Tournament of Champions as well as the recent FedEx St. Jude Classic. He is currently ranked No. 1 in both the world ranking and FedEx Cup standing and will compete in his sixth RBC Canadian Open.

Finau is having a career-best season on the PGA TOUR in 2018—his T5 finish at the U.S. Open was one of six top-10 finishes this season. A graduate of the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada, Finau has one-career PGA TOUR win and is ranked No. 31 and No. 11 on the world ranking and FedEx Cup standing respectively.

Also confirmed to compete at Glen Abbey is big-hitting lefty Bubba Watson who claimed his 12^th career PGA TOUR win last week at the Travelers Championship. The win was Watson’s third of the season including the World Golf Championship—Dell Technologies Match Play and the Genesis Open.  The win was his fifth top-10 finish in 2018. He is currently ranked No. 13 in the world and is 3^rd on the 2018 FedEx Cup standing in a season which includes five top-10 finishes. Watson, whose wife is Canadian, will again be a fan-favourite making his eighth appearance at the RBC Canadian Open.

Ryder Cup star and fan-favourite Ian Poulter is also committed to compete in the RBC Canadian Open. Poulter has three career PGA TOUR wins including the 2018 Houston Open. He has three top-10 finishes in 2018 and is currently ranked 28^th and 29^th on the world ranking and FedEx Cup standing respectively.

The foursome of Watson (3), Johnson (2), Koepka (1) and Poulter (1) have captured a combined seven PGA TOUR wins during the 2018 season to date.

“A growing list of the hottest players on the planet are coming out for the 2018 RBC Canadian Open,” said Golf Canada Chief Championship Officer and acting Tournament Director Bill Paul. “We are thrilled to welcome two-time U.S. Open winner Brooks Koepka along with rising stars Tommy Fleetwood and Tony Finau plus in-year winners Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson and Ian Poulter to Canada’s National Open Championship.”

Players have until 5 p.m. ET on the Friday of the week preceding the tournament to officially commit to playing. The field is released and published by the PGA TOUR as soon as possible after 5 p.m. ET on that Friday.

More information about the 2018 RBC Canadian Open including tickets, corporate hospitality and volunteer information is available at www.rbccanadianopen.ca.

Juniors and students aged 17-and-under get FREE admission to the RBC Canadian Open.

ACTON, Ont. —Eleven players. Four playoff holes. One survivor.

The PGA of Canada’s No. 1-ranked player Marc-Etienne Bussieres won a wild 11-for-one person playoff Tuesday at Credit Valley Golf & Country Club and advanced to the match play portion of the PGA Championship of Canada presented by TaylorMade and adidas Golf.

“I’ve definitely never been part of a playoff this big, but that sure was exciting,” Bussieres admitted. “Although I didn’t think it would take four times through before someone would finally make a birdie.”

In addition to Bussieres, the marathon playoff included Ken Tarling, Kevin Stinson, Dustin Risdon, Terry O’Brien, Jeff Mills, Eric Laporte, Gary Jeffrey, Billy Houle, Alf Callowhill and Tim Alarie.

With the playoff victory, Bussieres—who won the PGA Championship of Canada in 2016 at Victoria Golf Club—rolls into match play as the No. 16 seed and faces medalist Bryn Parry, who won this championship in 2013 at Magna Golf Club.

“I’m pretty confident in my game and I know he’s (Parry) confident in his game too, so I think we’re going to have a really fun time tomorrow morning,” Bussieres says. “Bryn’s a great guy, a great player and I love playing with him.”

Thursday’s round-of-16 matches include:

• Brynn Parry (1) vs. Marc-Etienne Bussieres (16)
• Danny King (2) vs. Gordon Burns (15)
• Jim Rutledge (3) vs. Jean Philip Cornellier (14)
• Oliver Tubb (4) vs. Pierre-Alexandre Bedard (13)
• Jean Laforce (5) vs. Thomas Keddy (12)
• John Shin (6) vs. Dave Levesque (11)
• Brian McCann (7) vs. Billy Walsh (10)
• Brad Kerfoot (8) vs. Wes Heffernan (9)

For the full leaderboard and match play bracket, click here.

Of the remaining 16; Parry, Bussieres, King, Rutledge, Cornellier and Levesque have all won the PGA Championship in the past. Furthermore, McCann, Walsh and Kerfoot are past PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada winners, with Bedard winning last year’s Mike Weir Player of the Year Award.

The winners of the morning matches Wednesday qualify for the afternoon quarterfinal matches. The eventual champion will win four match play rounds, adding his name to the historic P.D. Ross Trophy.

“This is such a great championship because when you have 16 of the top 70 players in the country you know you’re going to face someone with serious skills,” Bussieres said. “You can’t fall asleep during any part of your match or you’ll end up losing. You need to be focused the entire time, play well and maybe get a little lucky to advance through the brackets.”

Re-launched in 2011, the PGA Championship of Canada was contested strictly as a match play event through 2014 with players from the four brackets—Stan Leonard, George Knudson, Al Balding and Moe Norman—looking to advance through the six rounds to capture the historic P.D. Ross trophy. However, the 2015 championship at Cabot Links saw a format change, with 69 top-ranked players from the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC playing two rounds of stroke play. The top-16 players from the 36-hole stroke play portion of the event filled out the four match-play brackets with the eventual champion winning four match play rounds.

This year’s championship at Credit Valley follows the same format.

Credit Valley last hosted the PGA Championship of Canada 25-years ago in 1993, which was won by 12-time PGA TOUR winner Steve Stricker. The club has also recently hosted two PGA Women’s Championships (2010 and 2016) and a PGA Seniors’ Championship in 2015.

Credit Valley was also home to PGA of Canada Hall of Fame member Al Balding, a four-time winner of the PGA Championship of Canada, as well as recently deceased PGA of Canada member Jerry Anderson, who won the championship in 1987.

TORONTO, Ont. – Hopes were high at Weston Golf and Country Club on Wednesday as 37 players vied for one of three spots up for grabs into 2018 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship taking place at The Golf Club of Tennessee in Kingston Springs, Tennessee on August 6-12.

Despite the threat of rain hanging over the tournament, Kelsey Sear posted an even-par 72 to top the field and earn one of three spots that were up for grabs at the qualifier held at Weston Golf and Country Club in Toronto.

The Unionville, Ont., talent ran into trouble with bogeys on holes 1 and 12 but otherwise cruised to victory over the competition.

Team Canada graduate Chloe Currie fired three sets of consecutive birdies to tie for second with fellow Mississauga, Ont., native Melany Chong at 1 over to earn the other available spots into the 2018 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship.

A playoff between Guatemala’s Pilar Echeverria and Siyan Chen of Howey In The Hills, Fla., was set to determine which players would be designated first and second alternates. After the playoff ended on the first playoff hole with Chen winning with a par to secure the first alternate spot. Echeverria will be the second alternate.

More information on the qualifier at Weston, including final results, can be found here.

Acton, ONT. – After years of playing professional golf, Vancouver’s Bryn Parry is well educated about the strengths and weaknesses of his own game.

On Tuesday at Credit Valley Golf & Country Club in Mississauga, Ont., the 46-year-old PGA of Canada professional from Point Grey Golf & Country Club used all that knowledge to shoot a 5-under-par opening round.

“Over the years I’ve learned what I can and can not do,” Parry said. “I don’t tend to try things that I don’t think I can pull off—so I’m hitting what I consider to be the easiest shot for me at the safest target.”

Apparently, he thought he could pull off a fair bit, though. His scorecard backed it up.

Parry opened his PGA Championship of Canada presented by TaylorMade and adidas Golf with a birdie on the first hole at Credit Valley. He then made a bogey at the sixth before reeling off six birdies in a row on holes Nos. 8-13.

“It’s funny because I hadn’t made more than three in a row all year,” Parry admitted. “But I made some putts out there and before you know, I had made six in a row.”

“When you’re playing shots that are correct for where the holes are, or the style of the green, or the length of the hole, then the swings you’re going to make are the easiest moves to the biggest targets,” he said. “And I like to play that way, so I feel most secure when I play that way.”

Parry is one of seven past PGA Championship of Canada winners in the field this week at Credit Valley. Additionally, this impressive field features 21 PGA of Canada national championship winners.

Ranked No. 80 on SCOREGolf’s Top 100 Courses in Canada for 2016, Credit Valley last played host the PGA Championship of Canada 25-years ago in 1993, which was won by 12-time PGA TOUR winner Steve Stricker. The club has also recently hosted two PGA Women’s Championships (2010 and 2016) and a PGA Seniors’ Championship in 2015.

2015 PGA Championship of Canada winner Danny King sits alone in second place after an opening-round 67.

Like Parry, King preached patience as the key to success at Credit Valley.

“I was really patient out there today,” King said. “The game plan out here is to get it in the fairway off the tee and control your ball into these greens.”

Brad Kerfoot, 2015 PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada winner, and Oliver Tubb are tied for third at 2-under-par. 1984 PGA Championship of Canada and five-time PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada winner Jim Rutledge, along with fellow B.C.-native John Shin round out the top five at 1-under.

For the full leaderboard and second-round tee times, click here.

The 69-player field will be whittled down to the top-16 players following tomorrow’s second round. The final 16 will fill out the match play brackets with the eventual champion winning four match play rounds.

Currently, Jean Laforce, 2014 PGA Championship of Canada winner Dave Levesque, Billy Walsh, Tim Alarie, Gar Hamilton, Brennan Rumancik, 2012 PGA Championship of Canada winner Eric Laporte and Greg Pool would be involved in an eight-for-five sudden-death playoff to determine the match play brackets if the cut was today.

Re-launched in 2011, the PGA Championship of Canada was contested strictly as a match play event through 2014 with players from the four brackets—Stan Leonard, George Knudson, Al Balding and Moe Norman—looking to advance through the six rounds to capture the historic P.D. Ross trophy. However, the 2015 championship at Cabot Links saw a format change, with 69 top-ranked players from the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC playing two rounds of stroke play. The top-16 players from the 36-hole stroke play portion of the event filled out the four match-play brackets with the eventual champion winning four match play rounds.

This year’s championship at Credit Valley follows the same format.

In addition to the above mentioned, past champions of the PGA Championship of Canada include Moe Norman, George Knudson, Marc-Etienne Bussieres, Dave Al Balding, Bob Panasik, Tim Clark, Lanny Wadkins, Jim Rutledge, Wilf Homenuik, Stan Leonard, Lee Trevino and Arnold Palmer.

The player who sits atop the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC at the conclusion of the PGA Championship of Canada earns an exemption into the RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont.

The Ladies’ British Open Amateur Championship didn’t have any Canadian entries at last year’s tournament. The entire women’s national amateur squad is making the trip this time around.

Maddie Szeryk of London, Ont., Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee, Ottawa’s Grace St-Germain and Naomi Ko of Victoria will lead Canadian hopes starting Tuesday at the Hillside Golf Club.

“They all have the appropriate game to come and play well here,” said Canadian women’s head coach Tristan Mullally.

The tournament’s first stage includes two rounds of 18-hole stroke play on the championship links course. The field of 144 will be trimmed to 64 for the match play stage.

Each round of match play will consist of 18 holes leading up to Saturday’s final. The tournament shares top billing with the US Women’s Amateur as the premier events in women’s amateur golf.

“With match play, it’s always a bit of a challenge because you can play well in stroke play, play great golf and still get beat,” Mullally said from Southport, England after walking the course with the Canadians during their practice rounds. “But (we’ll) worry about that in a couple of days.”

The picturesque course features several elevated tees with many holes overlooking the Irish Sea. The early weather forecast is calling for warm, sunny conditions with little wind.

#TeamCanada‘s @naomiko_golf, @mszeryk and @gracestgermain lead ?? hopes at the @RandA #LadiesAmateur

Read ➡️ https://t.co/xEdYV2c3Fz pic.twitter.com/MZhxMuCwk1

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) June 26, 2018

Szeryk is the top Canadian on the women’s world amateur golf ranking list at No. 16 while Lee, who finished tied for 35th at this month’s Meijer LPGA Classic, holds the No. 40 position. Ko is at No. 176 and St-Germain is ranked 247th.

Szeryk closed out her college career with a tie for 17th at last month’s NCAA Championship. The Texas A&M player won four tournaments during her time with the Aggies and set an NCAA career record with 91 rounds of even-par or better.

“Maddie has been the most consistent performer in Canada over the last couple of years,” Mullally said. “She’s up to 16th in the world based on just playing well all of the time.”

Lee finished tied for fifth at the NCAA playdowns for the best individual finish in Ohio State Buckeyes history. She won three individual titles during her junior year and is slated to return for her final collegiate campaign next season.

“Jaclyn has had a great run of form,” Mullally said. “The way she hits the ball, she can really (use) different trajectories. I can see her having a really good run this week.”

St-Germain is off to the University of Arkansas in the fall while Ko played at North Carolina State last season. Ko had to borrow clubs for Monday’s practice round after the arrival of her usual set was delayed.

Marlene Stewart Streit was the last Canadian to win the Ladies’ British Open Amateur. She posted a 7-and-6 victory over Philomena Garvey in 1953.

The Pam Barton Memorial Salver is awarded to the winner of the championship. An international team award is presented after the stroke play qualifying rounds.

Ireland’s Leona Maguire beat Spain’s Ainhoa Olarra 3 and 2 to win last year at Pyle & Kenfig in Bridgend, Wales.

The tournament was founded in 1893.

ROGERS, Ark. – Nasa Hataoka didn’t have the star power in her final grouping at the NW Arkansas Championship.

What the Japanese teenager did have by the time she was finished was her first victory on the LPGA Tour.

Hataoka shot an 8-under 63 to run away with the tournament at Pinnacle Country Club on Sunday. The 19-year-old did so in record-breaking fashion, finishing with a tournament-best 21-under 192 total – three better than the mark set last year by So Yeon Ryu.

Tied at 13 under with ninth-ranked Minjee Lee entering the day, Hataoka was paired with Lee and third-ranked Lexi Thompson on Sunday. She jumped to the early lead and never let up while matching the lowest round of the week.

Austin Ernst was second after a 65. Lee and Thompson topped the group at 13 under.

Brittany Marchand (70) of Orangeville, Ont., finished at 5 under while Quebec City’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay was 2 under.

They were all left looking up at the five-foot-two Hataoka, who entered the week ranked 30th.

“I (have) played with Lexi and all the big-name players,” Hataoka said. “Playing with them was really big for me, and winning this tournament was so huge for me.”

Hataoka won twice late last year on the Japan LPGA and has finished in the top 10 in five of her last six LPGA Tour stars, including a playoff loss last month in the Kingsmill Championship. This year has been a far change from last year when she made only eight of 19 cuts on the LPGA Tour, including a missed cut in Arkansas.

Much of her success has come in the last three months after she won the tour’s qualifying tournament in December to earn her full tour card. Hataoka missed the cut in two of her first three tournaments this year, but she’s now earned prize money in 10 straight events – including $300,000 on Sunday.

“She played amazing,” Thompson said. “… She’s just got a great game, no weaknesses, pretty long off the tee and just rolls it amazing on the greens. So, it was great to watch. It was definitely a well-deserved win.”

The final round was delayed by an hour and a half because of morning thunderstorms. When Hataoka did finally tee off, she did so in a tie with Lee at 13 under.

That didn’t last long after Hataoka chipped in from just off the green on the par-3 third hole for a birdie to reach 14 under. Lee, meanwhile, left her chip shot well short on the rain-soaked green and two-putted for a bogey that dropped her two shots off the lead.

Hataoka stretched her lead to four shots after reaching the 520-yard par-5 seventh hole in two and two-putting for birdie.

The following hole, she nearly holed out from the fairway for an eagle. Her approach shot hit the edge of the hole, resulting in a short break while a rules official did some minor repairs, and she settled for a two-putt par to remain at 16 under.

It was one of the few moments that didn’t go Hataoka’s way on Sunday, or all week. She followed by sinking a 20-foot birdie putt on the ninth hole to reach 17 under, and got to 17 under on No. 12.

A final birdie at the 15th pushed Hataoka into record-setting position at 19 under. She didn’t flinch on the final few holes, birdieing the par-3 17th and par-5 18th to reach 21 under.

Local favourite Stacy Lewis shot a 65 to tie for 22nd at 9 under. The former University of Arkansas star is expecting her first child in early November.

CROMWELL, Conn. – Bubba Watson says TPC River Highlands feels like home. It certainly a comfortable place again this week.

Watson overcame a six-stroke deficit Sunday to win his third Travelers Championship title, shooting a 7-under 63 for a three-stroke victory.

The left-hander became the first three-time winner on the PGA Tour this season and pulled within one of Billy Casper’s tournament record of four victories.

He finished at 17-under 263. Third-round leader Paul Casey, Stewart Cink, Beau Hossler and J.B. Holmes tied for second. Casey shot 72, Cink 62, Hossler 66 and Holmes 67.

Watson also came from six back to win the 2010 event for his first tour title and beat Casey in a playoff in 2015.

“I feel like this is my home course,” Watson said. “As soon as they put the schedule up, I sign up for this. I want to come back here. This means so much, not only from the golf side of it, but from the family side. My dad, it was the only time he got to see me win (in 2010). He got to see me qualify for the Ryder Cup at this event. So all these things just mean so much to my family.”

During the victory ceremony, Watson children – six-year-old son Caleb and three-year-old daughter Dakota – received small trophies of their own.

Watson shot a 33 on the front nine, but really got it going on the back, with five birdies. He tied Casey at 16-under par by getting up and down from the bunker for a birdie on the course’s signature 15th hole.

Still tied on the par-4 18th, Watson hit his tee shot 366 yards, then pitched inside three feet, giving caddie Ted Scott a big high-five before taking the lead with the putt.

“Hitting some of those shots, especially the shot on 18, downwind, it was very difficult, but somehow pulling it off” Watson said. “And that’s what we all try to do on Sundays is pull off the amazing shot.”

Adam Hadwin (66) of Abbotsford, B.C., and Mackenzie Hughes (70) of Dundas, Ont., tied for 42nd.

Casey, who shot 65, 67 and 62 to lead the field by four shots coming into Sunday, birdied his opening hole. But he gave that back on the fifth and had back-to-back bogeys on 16 and 17 to end any chance he had of catching Watson.

The Englishman has finished in the top 20 in eight of his last nine tournaments. He was second here during his first visit in 2015, came in 17th a year later and had a fifth-place finish in Cromwell a year ago.

“There was a lot of fight in there,” Casey said. “But, I fought my golf swing all day as you can see coming down the last couple of holes.”

Watson earned $1.26 million and a 500 FexEx Cup points, moving him into third place in the standings.

Cink tied the best round of the week with a 62 on Sunday. The two-time Travelers Champion came out blazing, opening with three straight birdies and putting up a 29 on the front nine. He was 7-under through 10 and acknowledged thinking about a sub-60 round after making birdie on the 15th.

“I knew that I needed three birdies to shoot 59. But quickly, I also remembered that the golf tournament was on the line and it would mean a lot more to me to win the Travelers Championship than to shoot a 59.”

He bogeyed 16, but finished the round with his 10th birdie.

Defending champion Jordan Spieth, who was tied for the lead after the opening round, shot a 69 to finish at 4 under. There hasn’t been a repeat champion in Cromwell since Phil Mickelson in 2001 and 2002. Spieth said he was originally planning to take time off until he defends his title at the British Open, but may re-evaluate that as he works on his game.

U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka shot a 65 to tie for 19th at 9 under. He said his top priority right now is rest, but said that won’t come until after he attends a bachelor party for his best friend next week.

“I don’t feel like I need to play; I feel like my game is in a good spot,” he said. “I played really well this week, just some stupid mistakes, just mental errors. That’s all it was, lack of focus, low energy. To be honest with you, I’m not surprised.”

Qualifier Chase Seiffert shot a 63 on Monday just to make the tournament. He shot a 64 Sunday to finish at 12 under and tie for ninth.

Seiffert’s round included an eagle at the sixth hole that saw him put second shot 301 yards over the green, before holing out from 49 feet away. The 26-year-old former Florida State star also qualified last year and tied for 43rd.

“I feel like my game’s good enough to be out here full-time and kind of confirms that with the way I’ve been playing this week and last year here as well,” he said.

Jason Day holed out on 18 from 38 feet, just in front of the greenside bunker to finish at 69 and 11 under.

ROGERS, Ark. – Minjee Lee wasn’t all that concerned when she missed her first cut of the year this month at the ShopRite LPGA Classic.

The ninth-ranked Australian has certainly looked at ease and back in form at Pinnacle Country Club in her first event since then.

Lee and Japan’s Nasa Hataoka each shot 6-under 65 on Saturday to share the second-round lead in the NW Arkansas Championship 13-under 129. Lee is chasing her fifth victory since turning pro three years ago. It’s also an opportunity to put any lingering frustration over that missed cut two weeks ago behind her for good.

“I didn’t particularly hit it bad, even though I missed the cut at ShopRite, I just didn’t really hole any putts,” Lee said. “I’d been hitting it pretty solid going into that tournament and even into this tournament, too. Just to see a couple putts roll in has been nice.”

The 22-year-old Lee needed only 24 putts during her opening 64 on Friday, helping her to match the low round of her career. Despite needing 28 putts Saturday, she still briefly took the outright lead after reaching as low as 14 under after a birdie on the par-5 seventh.

Lee missed the green on the par-4 ninth soon thereafter to lead to her only bogey of the day and a tie with the 19-year-old Hataoka, who is in pursuit of her first career win.

Hataoka birdied six of eight holes midway through her bogey-free round on Saturday. It was yet another stellar performance from the Japanese teenager, who has finished in the top 10 in four of her last five tournaments and will be a part of Sunday’s final pairing.

“I try to make birdies and try to be under par, that’s really the key for me to get a top ten,” Hataoka said. “Golf is just trying to be in the top 10 every single week, so that’s the key.”

Third-ranked Lexi Thompson matched the low round of the day with a 64 to get to 11 under. She hit 17 of 18 fairways and shot a 5-under 30 on her opening nine, The American is in search of her first win since September in the Indy Women in Tech Championship.

Ariya Jutanugarn and Celine Boutier were 10 under.

First-round leader Gaby Lopez followed her opening 63 with a 75 to drop to 4 under. Fellow former Arkansas star Stacy Lewis also was 4 under after a 72.

Brittany Marchand will be the sole Canadian making the cut into Sunday’s final round at 4 under.

CROMWELL, Conn. – Paul Casey has come close each of the three previous times he has played in Connecticut. He has a great chance to break through Sunday in the Travelers Championship.

Casey shot an 8-under 62 on Saturday to take a four-stroke lead into the final round.

Casey, whose win at Valspar in Florida in March was his first PGA Tour title in nine years, called the bogey-free round at TPC River Highlands his best of the year.

The Englishman had six birdies and an eagle – at the signature par-4 15th hole – where he hit his tee shot onto the green and then sank a 23-foot putt. He broke out of the pack hitting all 18 greens and has a streak of 23 straight heading into Sunday. He was at 16-under 194.

“It was clinical,” he said. “I did everything I wanted to do. I can’t do any more than that.”

Casey was second here during his first visit in 2015, came in 17th a year later and had a fifth-place finish in Cromwell a year ago.

“I love this golf course,” he said.

Russell Henley was 12 under after a 67,and J.B. Holmes (65), Anirban Lahiri (65) and third-round leader Brain Harman (69) were 11 under.

“I think I can shoot a low number on this course,” Henley said. “You’ve got to make the putts. I’m definitely hitting it well enough, and if I can get a couple putts to fall, that would be good. But I can’t control what (Casey) is doing. I can just try to keep playing solid.”

Jason Day shot 66, and Bubba Watson 67, leaving them 10 under. Watson came from six back to the 2010 event and beat Casey in a playoff in 2015.

Watson would join Billy Casper as the only players to win this tournament more than twice. Casper won his fourth Connecticut title in 1973.

“I’m hoping the weather is real sunny when I’m teeing off and as soon as I putt out it gets windy and a little be of rain and gives me a better shot at it,” he said.

Morning rain and drizzle throughout the day kept the greens soft, but nobody was able to stay with Casey.

The shot of the day came from James Hahn, who aced the 154-yard 11th hole. Hahn’s tee shot went over the greenside bunker on the right front of the hole, struck the bottom of the flag pole and went into the hole, which required some repair work to the front lip after taking the hit.

“Sorry, not sorry,” joked Hahn, who said this was the sixth or seventh ace of his lifetime, but the first on Tour.

U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka shot a 69 to get to 4 under. Koepka said he plans to go right at every pin Sunday, then take time off from golf before the British Open.

“I’m going to try to shoot 60,” he said. “You’re so far back, you’ve got to kind of make a move and if you shoot 10 (under), you never know what can happen.

It was a bit of a squirrely round, quite literally for Rory McIlroy.

His opening tee shot was delayed when a squirrel camped right in front of him in the tee box. McIlroy finally got the shot off, hitting it wide right and into the rough en route to a bogey.

McIlroy had an eagle at 15, but three-putted 18 for a bogey and a 69. He was tied for 15th place at 8 under.

Defending champion Jordan Spieth was 3 under after a 71. He opened 63-73.

Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., shot a 71 to finish the round at under-4 while Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., shot a 73.