INDIANAPOLIS _ Lydia Ko delivered a clear message to her LPGA Tour rivals Friday.

She’s having fun again _ and she’s ready to start winning again.

The 20-year-old New Zealander shot an 8-under 64 and grabbed a share of the lead with Lexi Thompson at 15-under 129 with a round left in the Indy Women in Tech Championship. If Ko puts together one more solid round Saturday, she could finally pick up her first win since July 2016.

“I know I’ve still got a whole, full 18 holes tomorrow to go, but I think really the key was that I’ve just kind of enjoyed being in this position and being able to hit some good shots and give myself some good looks at birdie,” Ko said. “When you start doing that, it builds your confidence and you’re not dwelling on, ‘Hey, am I going to hit a good shot or a bad shot.’ I think that’s kind of the mindset that I’ve kind of gotten into the last few months.”

After a summer full of frustration, the 14-time tour winner has shifted gears at Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s golf course.

Ko started the season with four top-10 finishes in seven events, but hasn’t finished higher than 10th since. She even missed the cuts in two of her last three tournaments.

Somehow, amid the intermittent sounds of chirping birds, jet engines, sirens and car horns while playing in the shadows of the racetrack’s grandstands, Ko found some serenity.

While playing partners Anna Nordqvist and Stacy Lewis, the winner last week in Portland, Oregon, struggled, Ko took advantage of the wide fairways and receptive greens and started playing like the world’s No. 1 player_ a title she held for more than 80 consecutive weeks.

Now No. 8 in the world, Ko started on the back nine and opened with consecutive birdies to tie Thompson at 9 under. Ko finally broke the tie with a birdie at No. 15, then took charge with five straight birdies on the front side to reach 16 under. The only glitch came on No. 8 when Ko missed the green to the left and slid her par putt to the right for a bogey.

“It was a little disappointing to finish off with a bogey on my 17th hole, but I felt like I played the toughest hole out there,” she said while Thompson prepared to tee off nearby. “Sometimes you have those mistakes but you need to move on from that. To me, it’s just nice to play some solid golf and put myself in a good position.”

Ko also understood her score might not hold up for the outright lead.

Thompson made sure of it, following her opening 63 with a 66.

The 22-year-old Florida player closed out the front nine with three birdies on the final four holes then adding birdies at Nos. 13 and 14 to tie Ko. But Thompson’s birdie putt at No. 16 missed just to the left of the hole and she wound up scrambling for par on the final two holes when her approaches went through the greens.

“Actually, I didn’t hit one bad golf shot today,” Thompson said. “I feel great about it, I’ll never complain about a 6-under round.”

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., is six shots back at 9 under after shooting a 68. Augusta James (69) of Bath, Ont., is the only other Canadian to make the cut at 3 under.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (73), Jennifer Ha (75) of Calgary, and Maude-Aimee Leblanc (77) of Sherbrooke, Que., missed the cut.

The final threesome Saturday might not need to do much scoreboard watching.

Candie Kung made nine birdies and shot a 64 to reach 14 under.

“Luckily, I was able to hit some really close ones and have some 3-footers and 5-footers for birdies and I pretty much made all of them except the last one,” Kung said.

Ashleigh Buhai was fourth at 11 under after a 66, and Cristie Kerr (67) and Amy Olson (68) were 10 under.

Kerr has more than golf on her mind.

“We live in Scottsdale, Arizona, right now, but my whole family is there (in Florida) and tons of friends and I’m just really, really worried for everybody,” Kerr said as her home state braces for Hurricane Irma.

Sandra Gal was tied with Kung at 14 under, then bogeyed the par-3 15th and hit two drives into the water on the par-4 16th en route to a 10. She finished with a 73 to drop eight strokes behind the leaders.

Amateur Erica Shepherd was 5 under after a 68.

Lewis made the cut on the number at 2 under with rounds of 72 and 70.

Nordqvist failed to advance, shooting 74-71 to finish at 1 over.

GARDEN CITY, Kansas, September 8, 2017 – Anne-Catherine Tanguay (Quebec, Canada) and Carlie Yadloczky (Casselberry, Florida) posted stellar rounds of 5-under, 67 in sustained winds of 18 miles-an-hour to share the 18-hole lead at the Garden City Charity Classic at Buffalo Dunes. Tanguay made one eagle on the day while Yadloczky made eagles on back-to-back holes. Wind was a major factor for much of the day with gusts reaching 23 miles-an-hour in the afternoon.

Six players share third place at 4-under, 68 including No. 4 on the Volvik Race for the Card money list Erynne Lee (Silverdale, Washington), No. 11 Kendall Dye (Edmond, Oklahoma) and No. 13 Sophia Popov (Heidelberg, Germany).

The first-place payout of $22,500 would go a long way in moving Tanguay, No. 8 on the money list, closer to securing her LPGA Tour card. She could move as high as fifth with a victory, which would be the first of her career.

“My ball striking was really, really solid,” said Tanguay, who made five birdies and an eagle on hole 13. “I gave myself a lot of chances to go at pins. I felt like I was at home in Norman, Oklahoma. I have to thank my coach Veronique Drouin-Luttrell for putting us through these conditions. It think it really pays off and I’m in my comfort zone here.”

Tanguay played college golf at the University of Oklahoma from 2010-2014 and posted 15 top 10 finishes. She also closed her career with the second lowest scoring average in school history.

“This was an above average windy day in Norman,” said Tanguay. “You can get out of practice in windy conditions and it has been awhile, but I stayed really focused all day and that helped me a lot.”

Tanguay hit 12 of 14 fairways and attempted only 25 putts.

“Everything was good today,” said Tanguay. “I hit it close enough to give myself a lot of birdie chances, some four-five footers for birdies, but you have to make those putts. My putter was rolling really nicely and I made a 25-footer for eagle on 13.”

In 2015, Tanguay finished in a tie for fourth in Garden City so she has good memories at Buffalo Dunes. She didn’t play last year.

“This course fits my game really well, but I’m a different player than I was two years ago so it is good to be able to test my game again,” said Tanguay. “I took some more aggressive lines and it is definitely good to know the greens.”

Tanguay started the year with five top 10 finishes in the first six events, but doesn’t have a top 10 since May. She was pleased to start strong this week.

“I feel like I’ve been playing well these last few months, but the results haven’t been there,” admitted Tanguay. “It is good for my confidence to shoot under-par and I’m really happy.”

(September 8, 2017 – Innisfil, Ont.) – St. Simon’s Island, Georgia’s Scott Wolfes shot a second consecutive 7-under 65 on Friday at National Pines Golf Club to take the second-round lead at the Ontario Championship, the 11th event of the 2017 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season.

The 24-year old made six birdies, an eagle and a bogey on the day to reach 14-under, one stroke ahead of Tampa, Florida’s Lee McCoy through two rounds at National Pines. With three top-25s this year but no top-10 finishes, the Georgia Southern grad said he hoped to turn his season around this weekend.

“It’s been a struggle this year. I know I’ve been good enough and the scores just weren’t there, and I’ve just been trying to stay patient,” said Wolfes, admitting that his year to this point hasn’t been what he had hoped for in his second Mackenzie Tour season. “Hopefully I can produce some good results this weekend. I have nothing to lose, so I’m just trying to get better and get on the Web.com Tour.”

McCoy, who was one of five co-leaders after day one, shot a 66 to sit one back heading to the weekend, crediting his round to a strong tee-to-green performance once again.

“If you told me, given those conditions, that I would be not in the lead at 13-under, I would have told you that you were wrong,” said McCoy with reverence for Wolfes’ playing. “Obviously Scott played some great golf yesterday and today, and I’m looking forward to tracking him down.”

California’s Johnny Ruiz was a stroke further behind at 12-under after a 67, while British Columbia’s Stuart Macdonald was at 11-under with a 67 of his own.

NOTES

Scott Wolfes

24-year old Scott Wolfes is making his 22nd career start on the Mackenzie Tour this week. He owns one previous top-10, when he finished T2 at the 2016 ATB Financial Classic. Wolfes ranks 55th on the Order of Merit this season thanks to three top-25 finishes, including a season-best T11 at the Players Cup. Wolfes played college golf at Georgia Southern University, where he was named an Honorable Mention All-American in 2015.

Lee McCoy

University of Georgia alum and former NCAA All-American Lee McCoy is making his 11th career start on the Mackenzie Tour. Earlier this year, he set the record for largest margin of victory during the PGA TOUR era on the Mackenzie Tour with an eight-stroke win at the Freedom 55 Financial Open. McCoy ranks sixth on the Order of Merit heading into the week. In 2016, he thrilled hometown fans in Palm Harbor, Florida by finishing solo fourth as an amateur at the Valspar Championship on the PGA TOUR.

Johnny Ruiz

23-year old Johnny Ruiz is making his 10th career start on the Mackenzie Tour. Earlier this year, he earned exempt status for the first eight events of the season with a T2 finish at the British Columbia Q-School and has since recorded three top-10 finishes, including his first Mackenzie Tour win at the Staal Foundation Open last month. Thanks to his win, Ruiz moved into second on the Mackenzie Tour Order of Merit and earned an exemption into the 2017 RBC Canadian Open. He missed the cut by one stroke. Ruiz ranks fourth on the Order of Merit heading into this week. Ruiz did not begin playing golf until age 14 and notched his first pro win at the 2016 Monterey Open.

QUOTABLES:

“I’ve definitely been waiting for it all year, for special things like that to happen that don’t happen every week. It was nice to have them happen today, but I’m going to have to make a few more putts the next couple of days. This week is do-or-die for me, so it’s just kind of pedal to the medal and whatever happens, happens.” – Riley Wheeldon on a 6-under 66 that included a hole-out eagle on No. 7 and a chip-in eagle on No. 9.

“Honestly, I had one of my best ball striking rounds I’ve had in a while and just kind of caught fire. I threw a lot of darts and had a bunch of tap-ins.” – Stuart Macdonald on a 6-under 66 that included an inward nine of 6-under 30.

Miscellaneous notes:

• Weather: 14 degrees Celsius, partly cloudy, winds at 15 km/h gusting to 22 km/h.
• Preferred lies were in effect for Round 2.

Click here for scores.

CHIBA, Japan _ Scott McCarron was in a familiar spot at the top of a PGA Tour Champions leaderboard in his first trip to Japan. California childhood rival Kevin Sutherland was close behind _ again.

Coming off his third victory in the last six tournaments, the 52-year-old McCarron shot his second straight 6-under 66 on Saturday at Narita Golf Club to take a one-stroke lead over Sutherland in the Japan Airlines Championship _ the senior tour’s first event in Japan.

“I’ve been in this position a lot as of late,” McCarron said. “I really enjoy being in this position. I get to play with Kevin Sutherland again. We’ve been making a habit out of it this last month, I think we’ve been in the final group three out of the last four weeks. We’ve been battling it out and I’m sure it will be a good battle tomorrow.”

Sutherland, tied for the first-round lead with Glen Day at 65, had a 68. Also visiting Japan for the first time, Sutherland made a 30-foot putt on the par-4 18th for his third birdie on the last four holes.

“I stayed really patient today,” Sutherland said. “I didn’t get frustrated at all. I wasn’t making any birdies and then all of a sudden you birdie three of the last four. But I think a lot of it was just early in the round I just didn’t let any sort of frustration creep in.”

The long-hitting McCarron birdied all four par 5s after birdieing three of them Friday. He saved par on 18 with a 6-footer to keep the outright lead.

“These greens are absolutely perfect,” McCarron said. “The golf course is in great shape, so we’re just having a lot of fun here.”

McCarron won the Shaw Charity Classic last week in Calgary, Alberta, to tie Bernhard Langer for the tour victory lead with four. The three-time PGA Tour winner won the Allianz Championship in February in Florida, the major Senior Players Championship in July in Maryland and the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open three weeks ago in upstate New York. He has six victories in the last two seasons on the 50-and-over tour.

“I prepared very hard to get ready for this PGA Tour Champions,” McCarron said. “I knew how good these guys were and I wanted to get my game in the best shape that I could possibly be in. I’m starting to reap some of those rewards from all that hard work. But it’s just been a lot of fun for me. That’s the biggest thing I think why I’m playing well, I’m really enjoying it out here.”

The 53-year-old Sutherland has five straight top-10 finishes. He was second in the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open and tied for third in Calgary to remain winless on the tour. His lone PGA Tour victory came at McCarron’s expense in 2002 at La Costa in the Accenture Match Play Championship, when he beat the fellow Sacramento, California-area player 1 up in the 36-hole final.

“I felt like I drove the ball a lot better today, which is a good sign for tomorrow,” said Sutherland, the only player to shoot 59 in tour history.

Todd Hamilton, the 2004 British Open champion and an 11-time winner on the Japan Golf Tour, was three strokes back at 9 under along with Colin Montgomerie and Carlos Franco. Hamilton birdied the last two holes and five of the last seven for a 65.

“I figured I would see some people I hadn’t seen for a while, which I have,” Hamilton said. “The Japanese people are very good hosts and I think we’ve been treated to a very good week.”

Montgomerie had a 66, and Franco shot 68.

“The greens were most difficult today,” Montgomerie said. “They were quicker and the pins were on more slopes than they were yesterday, so it was harder.”

Jeff Sluman birdied the last four holes for 66 to match Paul Goydos (69), Stephen Ames (67) and Wes Short Jr. (69) at 8 under. Goydos won the 3M Championship last month in Minnesota.

Day was another stroke back after a 72.

Ames’ second round 5 under 67 has him 8 under through 36 holes, four shots off the lead. Fellow Canadian Rod Spittle sits T14 at 6 under.

Massy Kuramoto topped the six Japanese players in the field at 5 under after a 72.

Fan favourite John Daly closed with a double bogey for a 73 that left him 2 under. Tom Watson, at 68 the oldest player in the field, was 1 under after a 73.

(September 7, 2017 – Innisfil, Ont.) – Murray, Kentucky’s Patrick Newcomb, Camarillo, California’s Johnny Ruiz, Tampa, Florida’s Lee McCoy, St. Simon’s Island, Georgia’s Scott Wolfes, and Raleigh, North Carolina’s Carter Jenkins each shot rounds of 7-under 65 on Thursday at National Pines Golf Club to share the first round lead at the Ontario Championship, the 11th event of the 2017 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season.

The quintet finished the day one stroke ahead of six players at 6-under 66, with 21 players within two strokes of the lead after Thursday’s play.

Newcomb, the winner last week at the Cape Breton Open, was bogey-free on the day with seven birdies and said he was even better on the greens than during his three-stroke victory last week.

“I holed a couple of putts today that I haven’t been holing, even last week, so it was good. I hit 17 greens today and just had no stress, and I almost chipped in on the one I missed, so it was a nice, easy day,” said Newcomb.

Ruiz, a winner earlier this year at the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel, birdied three of his last four to reach 7-under and said he was comfortable on this week’s course, which was designed by Tom McBroom – the same designer as Whitewater Golf Club, where he captured his win in Thunder Bay.

“The course really suits my eye. If I can keep it in the fairway and hit a couple of irons close, I can play really well this week. It’s a matter of hitting them close and making a few putts here and there,” said Ruiz.

McCoy, who also owns a win earlier this year at the Freedom 55 Financial Open, said a great day tee-to-green led him to his 7-under 65 despite minimal help from a cold putter.

“My ball striking was awesome. Most of my birdies were tap-ins, and I didn’t really make any putts, which has kind of been the trend lately. I did have a couple of holes where it felt a little bit better, so I’m starting to feel a little bit more comfortable and am just working the kinks out on some of the shorter ones,” said McCoy.

Wolfes and Jenkins each birdied their final holes of the day to share the lead, one ahead of Kentucky’s Hunter Stewart, Missouri’s John Kelly, Oklahoma’s Max McGreevy, Texas’ Brian Dwyer, Georgia’s Greyson Sigg and England’s Charlie Bull.

Miscellaneous notes:

• Weather: 14 degrees Celsius, cloudy with showers, winds at 9 km/h gusting to 14 km/h.
• Preferred lies were in effect for Round 1.
• Jared du Toit, Sebastian Szirmak and Stuart Macdonald were tied for low Canadian after opening with a trio of 5-under 67s
• Click here for scores.

INDIANAPOLIS _ Lexi Thompson shot a 9-under 63 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead over Sandra Gal and Kris Tamulis in the LPGA Tour’s inaugural Indy Women in Tech Championship.

Thompson had 11 birdies and two bogeys to fall a stroke short of the Brickyard Crossing record set by Mike McCullough in the PGA Tour Champions’ 1999 Comfort Classic.

“It was quite the early morning, so it was a bit cold on the range and struggled a bit on the range, but I just hit a few good drivers at the end,” Thompson said. “I just committed to one thing going into the round and I think that’s what made my day a lot easier on me. I just stuck to my routine and committed to my golf shots.”

Gal, like Thompson, started her morning round on the back nine that features four holes inside the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Gal hit 12 of 14 fairways in regulation in her bogey-free round.

“It’s cool, it’s funky. I really do like the course,” Gal said. “I think it has really good challenges off the tee and the greens, and it’s cool being inside the track. It gets a little bit windy in there actually. It’s just so big, it’s unbelievable to be in there.”

Tamulis had the best afternoon score with four birdies on each side.

“I think actually just worrying about the hurricane makes me feel like golf’s not a big deal, so I just hit it where I was looking, made some putts,” said Tamulis, who lives in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Thompson, the 22-year-old Florida player ranked No. 3 in the world, tied for 21st last week in Portland, Oregon, in her first event since the Solheim Cup _ where she overcame a big deficit in her closing singles match against Anna Nordqvist to earn a half-point for the winning Americans.

“I would say that round definitely gave me the confidence that I can make those birdies if I just let it go and fire at pins and commit to my shots and don’t doubt it,” Thompson said. “That’s how golf is. Golf is a lot about confidence and just committing to yourself and believing in yourself, something I’m learning along the way.”

Taking advantage of the wide fairways and forgiving greens softened by overnight rain, Thompson birdied three of the first five holes. She has seven birdies and a bogey in an eight-hole stretch from No. 17 to No. 6, and rebounded from a bogey on No. 8 with a birdie on No. 9.

“It was just two really bad iron shots and just ended up bogeying,” Thompson said. “But for the most part, I hit it great. Just hit a few bad shots with the bogeys, but I’m definitely not complaining.”

She won at Kingsmill in May for her eighth career victory.

The 32-year-old Gal needed a little more time to get started. After opening with five straight pars, the German player birdied six of the next seven holes and closed with two more birdies at Nos. 5 and 9.

“I’ve been feeling like my game’s been pretty good the last couple months, but I just haven’t been scoring, so everything just came together,” Gal said. “I think I also had a good attitude. I felt like I enjoyed it a little bit more out there.”

Lydia Ko, winless in more than a year, was two shot back at 65 along with Moriya Jutanugarn.

“It’s nice to get off to a really solid start,” Ko said. “I’ve been struggling the last few months, so it’s nice to be able to put myself in a different rhythm. And I was with a really good group with Anna and Stacy (Lewis). Obviously, Stacy winning last week, it’s really nice to play alongside them.”

Nanna Koerstz Madsen and Amy Olsonshot 66, and Cristie Kerr and Brooke Henderson topped the group at 67.

“It’s so different than every other golf course that we get to play,” Henderson said. “It’s in amazing condition and it really makes you think all the way around, which I think is good for my game.”

Lewis opened with a 72. The Houston player donated her winnings last week in Portland to hurricane relief efforts in her hometown area.

Nordqvist had a 74.

Danielle Kang tried to play through a leg infection, but withdrew before finishing the round.

The 54-hole event ends Saturday.

The USGA and The R&A have received comments on the proposed new Rules from more than 22,000 golfers in 102 countries, as well as representatives of golf organizations throughout the world, providing valuable feedback as the organizations work toward their implementation on January 1, 2019.
With the worldwide survey and evaluation period now complete, the USGA and The R&A and their respective committees will continue to review all comments received with the goal of finalizing the new Rules next spring and beginning a comprehensive education program later in 2018.

The USGA and The R&A began an extensive review of the Rules starting in 2012, with the intent of making them easier to understand and apply. A draft of the new Rules – reduced from the current 34 to a proposed 24 Rules – was released in March, beginning the six-month feedback period that was open to the entire golf community.

“After listening to golfers and reviewing the extensive comments, one thing is very clear – we all share a passion for the game and are eager to be a part of this process,” said Thomas Pagel, USGA senior director of Rules and Amateur Status. “We appreciate everyone who took time to provide their thoughts and insights. They have been very helpful and encouraging.”

David Rickman, Executive Director – Governance at The R&A, said, “It is pleasing to see that so many people from different parts of the world have taken this opportunity to engage with the process of modernizing the Rules. We have received insightful comments and suggestions from throughout the professional and amateur game and will take time to consider the feedback in detail. We will then work on finalizing the changes ahead of their implementation in 2019.”

While the feedback will continue to be analyzed over the next few months, several common themes emerged, including:

Golfers are enthusiastic about the scope and direction of the overall changes, such as pace-of-play improvements, the elimination of penalties and streamlined procedures.

Golfers provided the most feedback on the proposed Rules changes focused on the putting green (such as putting with the flagstick left in the hole, repairing spike marks and eliminating the penalty for accidentally moving a ball); the creation of “penalty areas” (extending water hazard type relief and eliminating penalties for moving loose impediments and grounding a club); and the new dropping procedures (including the size of “relief areas”).

Golfers strongly welcomed the new Player’s Edition of the Rules and found it much easier to read and understand.

The current 2016 edition of the Rules of Golf remains in effect when playing, posting scores or competing until the Jan. 1, 2019 adoption of the new Rules.

For more information on the proposed new Rules of Golf, see usga.org or randa.org.

KAHNAWAKE, Que. – The 2017 Canadian Men’s Senior Championship heads to Kanawaki Golf Club for the 55th playing of the event on Sept. 11-14. A qualifying round will take place at Caughnawaga Golf Club on Friday, Sept. 8 before the championship’s four tournament rounds begin on Sept. 11.

“Golf Canada is thrilled to once again visit Quebec for our national amateur championships,” said tournament director Akash Patel. “It has been our pleasure to partner with these tremendous venues for what is sure to be a fantastic championship. Our hosts at Kanawaki have brought together a great team of volunteers; our players are going to have a wonderful experience.”

Ranked at No. 104 on SCOREGolf’s 2016 Best Courses in Canada 2016 list, Kanawaki Golf Club is one of Quebec’s premier private golf courses. Founded in 1914, the course–designed by Canadian Golf Hall of Fame brothers Albert and Charles Murray–features a challenging layout with lush fairways lined with majestic trees and quick, true greens, and was also where the movie “The Greatest Game Ever Played” was filmed.

A full field of 156 competitors aged 55-and-over from five countries will take to Kanawaki for the 55th playing of this national championship in hopes of joining its list of notable winners. Returning to defend his Canadian Men’s Senior title is Michael Mercier of Juno Beach, Fla., who shot a final-round 70 to win the event by two strokes.

John Gallacher of Burnaby, B.C., will play for a second consecutive Super Senior title after capturing the 36-hole, 70-and-over division in 2016. Also contested over the tournament’s first two rounds will be an inter-provincial team competition. Team Alberta finished 4-under 284 in 2016 to claim a dominant nine-stroke victory.

Following the opening two rounds, the field will be reduced to the low 70 players and ties. The champion will receive an exemption into the 2018 U.S. Senior Amateur championship to be contested at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Or., from Aug. 25-30.

Additional information from the tournament can be found here, while details from the qualifying competition are available here.

NOTABLES

Graham Cooke of Hudson, Que.
The 70-year-old is a member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and has won the event two times in 2008 and 2009. Cooke is one of Canada’s greatest amateur golfers of all time and holds the record number of wins at the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship with seven.

Doug Roxburgh of Vancouver B.C.
The 2014 winner of the event is a member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. The 65-year-old won the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship four times (1972, 1974, 1982 and 1988). He also has the record for most wins at the B.C. Men’s Amateur Championship with 13.

Pierre Archambault of Candiac, Que.
The 73-year-old is a member of the host Kanawaki Golf Club. He was recently inducted into the Quebec Golf Hall of Fame and he won the Quebec Amateur Championship three times (1972, 1979 and 1987). His victories include the 1974 Duke of Kent, the 1983 Alexander of Tunis and the 1987 Spring Open.

Michael Mercier of Juno Beach, Fla.
The 59-year-old comes in as the event’s defending champion. In 2015, he won the Welsh Open Seniors Championship at Nefyn and District on the North Whales coast.

Frank Van Dornick of Camrose, Alta.
Van Dornick finished T3 at the 54th playing of the event and earned low-Canadian honours. He is fresh off a win at the 2017 Guardian Capital Alberta Senior Men’s Championship – his fourth win at the event.

Jack Hall of Savannah, Ga.
The 60-year-old won the event in 2015 and finished T7 last year. On Aug. 21 he won the Golfweek Senior Match Play Championship at Tobacco Road Golf Club in N.C.

David Schultz of Calgary, Alta.
The 60-year-old won the event in 2013 after making a birdie on the final hold of the tournament. Shultz also won the 2016 Guardian Capital Alberta Senior Men’s Championship and the Calgary City Amateur Championship – the latter he won five times – earning himself a spot in Calgary’s golf Hall of Fame.

FAST FACTS

Conducted since 1962.

Golfers must be 55 and over to be eligible.

In 1995, the 70 and over Canadian Super Senior division was added and is contested through the first two rounds.

The inter-provincial competition, which began in 1977, occurs concurrently over the first two rounds.

The champion is awarded the John Rankin Memorial Trophy.

The winner of the Super Senior division is awarded the Governors Cup.

Calgary’s Bob Wylie has won the event seven times since 1985.

Nick Weslock won the event six times between 1973 and 1983.

Paul Simon became the first person to win the British, U.S. and Canadian senior titles in the same year in 2010.

The winner receives and exemption into the 2018 U.S. Men’s Senior Amateur Championship.

ABOUT THE COURSE

Kanawaki Golf Club.

Par 70.

Founded in 1914.

Ranked at No. 104 in SCOREGolf’s 2016 list of Canada’s best golf courses.

Kanawaki hosted the 1929 RBC Canadian Open, won by legend Leo Diegel.

The Disney movie “The Greatest Game Ever Played”, starring Shia LaBeouf, and based on the true story of Francis Ouimet and the 1913 US Open, was filmed at Kanawaki in 2004.

Although Adam Hadwin still hasn’t come to grips with being Canada’s top-ranked male golfer, he’s happy to be part of the international team for the upcoming Presidents Cup.

Hadwin earned the 10th and final automatic berth on the team made up of golfers from outside Europe who will take on a team of Americans at the biennial competition. The 2017 event is slated for Sept. 28-Oct. 1 at Liberty National Golf Course in Jersey City, N.J.

The 29-year-old Hadwin captured his first PGA Tour win last March at the Valspar Championship. He locked up his Presidents Cup berth last week by finishing in a tie for 13th at the Dell Technologies Championship.

“It never really left my mind this year,” Hadwin said of the Presidents Cup.

He admitted he was glad his spot didn’t come down to a captain’s pick – Canadian Mike Weir is one of the assistants to International captain Nick Price – and was pleased to make the team on merit.

“I have my place on this team,” Hadwin said. “It was nice to go out and have a great week when I needed it.”

Hadwin played Liberty National for the first time last month and liked what he saw. The par-71 course is 7,328 yards long.

“It’s an incredible piece of property. I think it’s going to be a great match-play golf course,” he said. “There are a few places where bombers can let go, but I’m not sure if it suits any specific type of player. There’s a little bit of everything.”

Hadwin said that since he’s rather reserved on the course, being paired with someone like Australia’s Marc Leishman might make sense during the competition, which features three days of team play before a final day of one-on-one matchups.

“Personality-wise I think we’re very similar,” Hadwin said of the two-time PGA Tour winner. “You think back to 2013 when Graham (DeLaet) was paired with Jason Day, and they’re both very fiery and get very pumped up. There were a lot of fist pumps and screaming and yelling.

“Maybe I will become that player at the Presidents Cup, but if I was to be paired with someone who gets that pumped up, I don’t know if I could match that energy. I’ll have to learn and find out.”

Hadwin’s first Tour victory was followed by a busy stretch away from the course. He married his longtime girlfriend Jessica two weeks after the win and they bought their first home together in Phoenix.

They had to postpone their honeymoon to December after Hadwin’s win, which gave him a spot in the Masters.

“It’s been a whirlwind season,” Hadwin said in a recent interview from Vancouver. “A lot of great golf early, some average golf in the middle, and a couple of good finishes of late. But there’s still lots to play for and to cap off the year.”

Hadwin, from Abbotsford, B.C., has already earned over US$3.2 million this season. He’s 16th on the money list with two events remaining and has risen to 45th in the world rankings. The only other Canadian in the top 100 is DeLaet at No. 95.

Hadwin added he’s still getting used to his position as one of the best golfers in the world.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to it, to be honest,” he said. “It’s a tremendous honour to play under the Canadian flag week in and week out. We’ve got some great players having some great seasons.

“We all have goals of getting higher (in the rankings) and I’m certainly not comparing myself to fellow Canadians, and I wouldn’t expect them to compare to me. We’re chasing the same one thing: trying to be the best player we can be.”

DeLaet’s 2013 appearance was the last time a Canadian played in the Presidents Cup.

The Americans retained the trophy in 2015 with a one-point victory in South Korea.

The world’s top 18-and-under female junior golfers will head to Ottawa for the fourth edition of the World Junior Girls Championship from Sept. 26-29 at The Marshes Golf Club. As host nation, Canada will send two teams of three athletes to compete for the international title of World Junior Girls champion.

“It is an honour to host this prestigious event and we look forward to welcoming these players to Canada,” said tournament director Mary Beth McKenna. “The course is in fantastic shape and we are thrilled to host some of the world’s best juniors at this historic club. Our partners at The Marshes Golf Club and the communities in the surrounding area have come together to make this a truly memorable event for our competitors.”

Representing Canada One will be Monet Chun (Richmond Hill, Ont.), Céleste Dao (Notre-Dame Ile Perrot, Que.) and Ellie Szeryk (London, Ont.), who are three of Canada’s top-ranked junior golfers at No. 375, 453 and 597, respectively, on the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR).

The 16-year-old Chun is experiencing her first year as a member of Team Canada’s Development Squad and second year representing Canada at the World Junior Girls. So far in 2017, she has wins at both the Future Links, driven by Acura Ontario Championship and the Ontario Junior Spring Classic, which put her in second on the Junior Girls Order of Merit – the same spot she finished at last year.

Dao is having an extremely impressive season for the second straight year. In 2017, she registered six wins and made it to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Junior Girls Championship to lead the Future Links, driven by Acura Junior Girls Order of Merit. Dao will also play in her second consecutive World Junior Girls Championship – she finished T16 in 2016 alongside Chun.

Szeryk, sister of Canada’s top-ranked amateur female golfer Maddie, has two victories in 2017 so far including six top-five finishes. She currently sits in fourth in the Junior Girls Order of Merit and made it to the round of 32 at the 2017 U.S. Junior Girls Championship after earning gold medallist honours at the qualifying tournament in Garland, Texas.

As the host country, Canada reserves the right to field two teams in the 60-player, 19-country competition. Canada Two will consist of Alyssa DiMarcantonio (Maple, Ont.), Euna Han (Coquitlam, B.C.) and Emily Zhu (Richmond Hill, Ont.) who are ranked 776, 955 and 1,792, respectively.

DiMarcantonio, 14, won her second event of the season at the MJT – Spring Invitational and has six top-five finishes this year. She is currently enjoying her best season on the junior circuit and sits sixth on the Junior Girls Order of Merit.

Han has three wins in 2017 including earning gold medallist honours at the U.S. Junior Girls Qualifier in Kent, Wa., where she went on to finish in the round of 64. Her only wins of her junior career came this year and she is in eighth in the Junior Girls Order of Merit. Han represented Canada previously at the 2015 World Junior Girls Championship, also hosted at The Marshes.

Zhu is the youngest of all Canadian team members at the age of 13. She has seven top-five finishes this year and competed in the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship where she finished T66. Her last win came in 2016 at the MJT – PGA of Ontario Junior Championship and she currently sits in ninth in the Junior Girls Order of Merit.

“Golf Ontario is excited to once again partner with Golf Canada to conduct this global championship at another of Ontario’s storied clubs – The Marshes Golf Club,” said Mike Kelly, Golf Ontario executive director. “We thank their membership and volunteer committees for all their hard work. We are thrilled for our athletes from Ontario who have been selected to represent Canada and wish them the best of luck.”

“These six athletes have had tremendous seasons and their selections to Team Canada are the result of their hard work and commitment to the sport,” said Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s chief sport officer. “The joint efforts of Provincial Golf Associations, home clubs, parents and athletes have made this accomplishment possible and they should all be proud to have earned their selections.”

Ann Carroll (women’s national development squad coach) and Matt Wilson (Golf Canada’s director of next generation performance) will lead the two Team Canada squads for this competition.

In addition to the 72-hole team and individual competitions, the World Junior Girls Championship will be a celebration of the sport with a specific focus on the development and promotion of junior girls golf.  The days leading up to tournament play will see a PGA of Canada coaching summit as well as a free junior girls skills clinic.

Opening ceremonies for the championship take place on Sept. 25 followed by the first round on Tuesday, Sept. 26. The tournament’s closing ceremonies will immediately follow the conclusion of play on Friday, Sept. 29.

Admission to the competition is free. Additional information regarding the fourth annual World Junior Girls Championship can be found on the competition’s website.