LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Marc Leishman has a short memory when it comes to golf, which only helped him at the BMW Championship.

He forgot all about that 62 in the opening round.

He was nearly just as good Friday with a 7-under 64 to open a three-shot lead over Jason Day and Rickie Fowler going into the weekend at Conway Farms.

“I really took that as a challenge today, to not take it for granted that you’re just going to make birdies,” Leishman said. “You still have to earn every birdie. I think when you do get ahead of yourself, that’s when bad stuff can happen.”

There was plenty of good stuff from the guys chasing him in the third FedEx Cup playoff event.

Day, who has gone 16 months since his last victory, chipped in from behind the 14th green for his second eagle of the week, and then added a third eagle with one swing. He made a hole-in-one on the 17th hole with a 7-iron that turned into a payoff for multiple parties.

It carried day to a 65, putting him in the last group on the weekend with Leishman. BMW awarded $100,000 to the Evans Scholars Foundation, and then Day decided to give the car he won to the Evans Scholars, which will yield another full, four-year scholarship for another student.

Fowler also chipped in for eagle on the reachable par-4 15th hole on his way to a 64.

“The ultimate goal is to win this week,” Day said. “That’s the thing I’ve been trying to do this whole season – at least win once, and try to build on that.”

Leishman was at 16-under 126, two short of the 36-hole record Day set at Conway Farms two years ago on his way to a wire-to-wire, six-shot victory. Leishman has some experience with that, but it was long ago and the memory is vague, naturally. He recalls opening with a 70 at the Toyota Southern Classic on the Von Nida Tour in Australia and winning big.

He already has 18 birdies in 36 holes at Conway Farms, where the scoring average was a shade under 69 through two rounds.

It hasn’t been easy for everyone, particularly defending champion Dustin Johnson. The world’s No. 1 player can’ seem to buy a putt, and even when he started to make a little progress, he finished bogey-bogey by taking two chips to get on the 17th green and hitting into the water on the 18th.

Patrick Cantlay extended his remarkable run this season with a 65, leaving him alone in fourth place but six shots behind. Cantlay returned after three years away to cope with a severe back injury and the death of his close friend and caddie, Chris Roth, who was hit by a car as they were walking to dinner.

Cantlay is playing his 11th tournament this year, yet he is No. 41 in the FedEx Cup and could get into the Tour Championship if he finishes in the top 30 after this week. Phil Mickelson is trying to work his way into the top 30, and while he sputtered with two birdies, two bogeys and too many pars, he drilled an approach to 5 feet on the par-5 14th for an eagle. He shot 69 and was at 7-under 135, in a tie for 12th.

Jordan Spieth, No. 1 in the FedEx Cup after successive runner-up finishes in the playoff events, only managed a 70 and joined Mickelson in the group at 135.

Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., is tied for 12th at 7 under after shooting a 68. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., shot his second-straight 71 and is even for the event.

Leishman is hitting his stride at just the right time. Two weeks ago at the TPC Boston, he took a two-shot lead into the back nine only to get passed by Justin Thomas and Spieth by shooting 40 on the back nine to finish third behind Thomas.

After a week at home in Virginia, with the clubs never leaving the garage, he picked up where he left off.

It’s easy to overlook Leishman because the Australian has only two PGA Tour victories, including the Arnold Palmer Invitational earlier this year. He’s OK with that, and laughs at hearing fans whisper as he walks by, “Who’s that bloke?” That was his phrase, though apparently he’s heard it Down Under, too.

As for that short memory, he does have some specific recall of tournaments long ago.

One of them was eight years ago in the Chicago area. It was his rookie season on the PGA Tour. He made an eagle on the 18th hole at the TPC Boston just to advance to the third round at No. 67. Then, he was paired with Tiger Woods in the final round at Cog Hill.

“I remember being really, really nervous on the first tee, which I’m generally not a nervous person, but that was a new thing for me,” he said.

He also remembers having an eagle putt on the ninth hole, with Woods well to the right off the tee and then stuck behind a tree. Woods hit a 9-iron out of trouble and ended up making birdie, and he went on to win by eight shots.

But that was a big day for Leishman. He tied for second and advanced to the Tour Championship for the first time, leading to his first appearance in the Masters. That’s no longer an issue. Leishman now is No. 7 in the FedEx Cup and simply trying to win to get into the top five heading to the Tour Championship.

RICHMOND, B.C. —British Columbia’s fourth-largest city is set to host the PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada presented by Callaway Golf.

The 54-hole national championship takes place Sept. 18-20 at the Richmond Country Club and features a field stacked with talent.

“The PGA of Canada is excited about visiting the beautiful province of British Columbia and the highly-regarded Richmond Country Club,” says PGA of Canada president Steve Wood. “The PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada presented by Callaway Golf annually features some of the best players in our association and this year is no different.”

This year’s field at Richmond Country Club features such standouts as:

• The PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC Nos. 1 and 2-ranked players Marc-Etienne Bussieres (Club de Golf Longchamp) and Bryn Parry (Point Grey Golf & Country Club)
• This year’s PGA Championship of Canada winner Jean-Philip Cornellier (Club de Golf Knowlton)
• Past PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada past winners Dustin Risdon (National Academy Golf Dome), Brad Kerfoot (Maple Downs Golf Club), Brian McCann (Brampton Golf Club), Mike Belbin (Royal Mayfair Golf Club) and Eddward Boudreau (Gorge Vale Golf Club).

Other players to keep a keen eye out for during the week include Christine Wong (Pacific Golf Academy); Nick Kenney (The National Golf Club of Canada); Oliver Tubb (University Golf Club); Pierre-Alexandre Bedard (Club de Golf Cap Rouge); Ed Maunder (Deerfield Golf & Recreation Centre); Sonny Michaud (Club de Golf La Tempete); Thomas Keddy (Oslerbrook Golf Club); Kevin Stinson (Valley Golf Centre); Wes Heffernan (Golf Canada Calgary Centre); Adam Bruce (Glendale Golf & Country Club); Douglas Morgan (Richmond Country Club); Cory Renfrew (Cordova Bay Golf Club); and John Shin (Northview Golf Academy).

For the full field and first round tee times, click here.

Designed by famed golf course architect A.V. Macan, Richmond Country Club has become known as one of British Columbia’s premiere golf venues. Set within the greenbelt of the agricultural land reserve, the venue is known for its tree lined fairways, well-positioned bunkers, and its signature raised, undulating greens.

There will also be a 36-hole Inter-Zone competition compiled of four players on each team representing their respective PGA Zone and is contested over the first two rounds.

Admittance to the PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada is free and spectators are encouraged to attend during championship play.

London, Ont. – Kimberley, B.C.’s Jared du Toit shot a 9-under 61 on Thursday at Highland Country Club to take the first-round lead at the Freedom 55 Financial Championship, the final event of the 2017 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season.

The 22-year old member of Golf Canada’s national team made nine birdies on the day to lead by three shots over Californians Brett Lederer and Jonathan Garrick after 18 holes in London.

“I was never really out of position. I might have been out of position two times, and both times I was able to get them up-and-down for par, and I was able to convert on a lot of birdies,” said du Toit. “Overall it was a solid round and I just kind of managed well.”

With Highland Country Club playing firm and fast in Rd. 1, the recent Arizona State graduate said he felt comfortable as he meticulously plotted his way around the course instead of trying to overpower it, showing impressive wisdom for a first-year professional.

“I’m probably more on the thinking side anyway. I probably overanalyze, if anything, so when it’s firm and the wind is swirling like it was I think I have a bit of an edge just because I think a lot,” said du Toit.

du Toit can move as high as No. 5 on the Order of Merit with a win this week and was projected there after Thursday’s play with three rounds to go.

Lederer and Garrick both birdied the 18^th hole to shoot 64, while seven players – Jonathan Khan, Chris Killmer, Seann Harlingten, Chris Williams, Jordan Niebrugge, Hank Lebioda and Order of Merit leader Kramer Hickok – were a shot further behind at 65.

If you’re taking some nationalistic pride in watching Brooke Henderson, Adam Hadwin and the other Canadians on the pro tours enjoy unprecedented success, then it’s time to ask yourself, “What can I do to support upcoming generations of Canadian golfers? How can I give back to the game?”

Surprise! I have the answer: Support the second annual Adopt a School Week from Sept. 18 to 22.

Adopt a School is a component of Future Links Golf in Schools driven by Acura, an umbrella junior development initiative created by Golf Canada in conjunction with the PGA of Canada and PHE Canada with support from the National Golf Course Owners Association of Canada as a program partner. It provides golf facilities, companies and individuals with the opportunity to “adopt” one or more schools of their choosing to introduce the Golf in Schools program at that school. (Schools can also enroll in the program on their own.)

Since the program’s inception in 2009, adoptions have accounted for almost half of the more than 3,200 registered schools delivering the Future Links Golf in Schools driven by Acura curriculum. Last year, 234 new schools were adopted, introducing golf to an average of 120 students per school. Currently, the Golf in Schools program is in more than 3,200 schools with more than 380,000 students coast to coast.

While each of the preceding partners has a vital role, much rests on the country’s golf facilities and golfers to make this program succeed. Why? Because, ideally, each school is linked with a green-grass facility like a course or a range and none of this is feasible without financial support from donors like you.

Facilities that have linked to schools have reported significant increases from the business side, such as memberships, lessons and food and beverage, as well as the long-term gratification of enhancing the ongoing vitality of the game. Participating teachers at “adopted” schools laud the program for its emphasis not just on golf but on developing affiliated values such as perseverance, etiquette, character and honesty.

So whether your support helps develop the next Brooke Henderson or Adam Hadwin or just gets kids in your community interested in the game you love, you can take justifiable pride in the fact that you’ve given back to the game.

Invest in the future of golf in Canada. Support Adopt a School Week.

To support Adopt a School Week, visit www.golfcanada.ca/adoptaschool/ or call 1-800-263-0009 ext. 475.

KAHNAWAKE, Que. – American Gene Elliott carded an even-par 70 during the final round to claim the 2017 Canadian Men’s Senior Championship at Kanawaki Golf Club and hoist the John Rankin Memorial Trophy.

The native of West Des Moines, IA, finished at 3-over (283) for the championship, which was good enough for a 2-shot win over third-round leader Doug Hanzel of Savannah, GA.

“I am so thrilled – this is tough competition,” said Elliott, who recently competed in the U.S. Senior Amateur Championship where he fell in the round of 32. “Senior golf is tough; these guys are good. You win very little in golf at all and when you do it’s very special. To win in Canada, I couldn’t be more thrilled.”

Elliott may be new to the senior circuit having just turned 55 in February, but he’s enjoyed a stellar competitive golf career throughout the years. Among his many accomplishments, he’s amassed more than 20 titles in his home state of Iowa and also won the prestigious Porter Cup in 1998.

The veteran had high praises for the host club of Kanawaki.

“I hit the ball well today. I hit a lot of greens this week. I didn’t have many 3-putts,” he added. “But this Kanawaki, it’s a tough little bugger. It looks like you can get after it, but it gets after you. It’s a wonderful place to host a championship.”

With the win, Eliott earns an exemption into the 2018 U.S. Senior Amateur Championship at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore., from August 25^th to 30^th.

He’s also committed to returning to Canada to defend his title at next year’s Canadian Men’s Senior Championship, which will take place September 4-7 at Gowan Brae Golf & Country Club in Bathurst, N.B.

“I can’t wait to get to New Brunswick,” he laughed. “I have no idea where it is or how to get there, but I’ll be there.”

Hanzel, who finished runner-up, never could get things on the right track during Thursday. His 5-over round of 75 included four bogeys, a double bogey and just a single birdie.

A trio of Americans tied for third. Allen Barber of Yorktown, VA, Paul Simson of Raleigh, NC and Jack Hall of Savannah, GA, all finished at 7-over (287).

Doug Roxburgh, an honored member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame, was the top Canadian finisher. The Vancouver native finished tied for 6^th at 8-over (288). Roxburgh won the Canadian Junior Boy’s Championship in 1970 and Canadian Amateur titles in 1972, 1974, 1982 and 1988. He also claimed the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship in 2014.

Additional information, including complete scoring info for the 2017 Canadian Men’s Senior Championship can be found here.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Judith Kyrinis defeated Terrill Samuel, 4 and 3, Thursday morning at the 5,836-yard, par-72 Waverley Country Club to win the 56th U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship. In winning the first USGA championship match between two Canadian competitors, Kyrinis became the seventh USGA champion from Canada and the first since 2005.

Kyrinis, 53, was the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur runner-up three years ago at Hollywood Golf Club in Deal, N.J., losing 1 down to Joan Higgins.

“It’s very special, very surreal. I don’t really believe that I’ve won yet,” said Kyrinis. “You know, it was a tough match to lose [three years ago]. You take it to 18, and like I said, I was crying like a baby, and it’s not because I was mad I lost, it’s just because you’re so pent up with all these emotions for the whole week.”

It was another emotional week for Kyrinis, who like three years ago, was greeted before the final match by her brother, Dan Allan, who showed up without prior notice and slept the previous night in his car. The week was also a celebration of Canadian golf, as several of the nine Canadian players who competed in the championship stuck around to watch their countrywomen compete in the final. Of those nine Canadian players, four advanced to the quarterfinals.

“All the girls I think that you saw, we all played very well,” said Kyrinis. “We really kind of got far into the tournament, in our matches, and it was good because, you know, I’ve been looking at those leader boards, which were fabulous, and it really would spur you on. You’d see your friends doing well, and you’re like, OK, let’s go. You don’t want to be left in the back of the bus, right, so it was fun.”

One of those players following in the gallery was 2005 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion Mary Ann Hayward, the most recent USGA champion from Canada and a quarterfinalist this week. It seems a fitting ending for Kyrinis, who lists four-time USGA champion and three-time U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur champion Marlene Stewart Streit as a mother figure and golf idol.

“I’m just so happy for Judith,” said Hayward. “She’s worked so hard. We flew down and watched her when she made the final in New Jersey, and I’m just so happy for her.”

Three years after coming up just short, Kyrinis never trailed in this championship match. With her husband, Manny, on her bag, she won the first hole with a par.

After halving the next three holes, Samuel, a recently retired teacher from the Toronto area, played superb scrambling golf on holes 5 and 6. On the 451-yard, par-5 fifth, Samuel hit her second shot way left, behind a tree-lined area. With Kyrinis on in three, Samuel punched through the tree line, barely holding the back collar of the green. After Kyrinis rolled her birdie attempt 9 feet by the hole, Samuel two-putted from the collar and squared the match when Kyrinis three-putted.

On the ensuing 119-yard, par-3 ninth, Samuel, 56, hit into the right greenside bunker, plugged in the front lip. Kyrinis hit a beautiful shot to the front-right flag location, but her ball rolled off the right edge of the green, down a small valley. Forced to take an extremely awkward stance, Samuel popped the ball straight into the air and rolled it to 3 feet. Kyrinis then putted 8 feet past the hole, but earned a crucial half with a tricky par save to keep the match all square.

“You have to have a bit of luck with that shot, and so I was just trying to find a stance, and I was hoping that I could just pop it out,” said Samuel of her bunker shot. “It actually went perfectly because it went down, popped up and down. Got to have a little bit of luck. I knew if I could get it up over the lip, it will hit it hard enough that it would get out of the bunker because that’s pretty thick stuff in my stance.”

Kyrinis, a registered nurse who lives 20 minutes away from Samuel outside Toronto, immediately took advantage of her par save on 6 to win 7 with a birdie. Both players hit similar approach shots to about 10 feet. Going first, Samuel’s birdie attempt lipped out, and Kyrinis got a read on the line and converted hers to retake the lead.

After matching each other stroke for stroke on the next four holes, Kyrinis began her winning march on the par-4 12th hole. It all began with a fortuitous bounce for Kyrinis, as her tee shot hit the back facing of the right fairway bunker, but careened to the right rough instead of dropping in the bunker. Both players hit their second shots on the green, about 20 feet away. After Samuel posted a conceded par, Kyrinis rolled in her 20-footer to go 2 up.

“It was pretty flat, and as long as you keep the pace up on these greens, they’re not going to go one way or another way,” said Kyrinis. “It was probably a little more pace than I thought, or wanted, but happy to see it go down to the bottom of the hole for sure.”

On the par-5 13th, Samuel tried to play a delicate pitch over a bunker that protected the front-center flag location. Her shot was just a little short, however, and instead of a good birdie attempt, she was again playing out of a bunker. With Samuel unable to get up and down, Kyrinis made a routine par to go 3 up.

With Kyrinis still 3 up, the match ended on the 15th hole when Samuel again found bunker trouble. Samuel crushed her tee shot with a driver, but maybe hit it too well. She found herself in the front of a middle fairway bunker. Needing to be aggressive, Samuel took a full swing, trying to get on the green, but her shot hit the lip of the bunker and ricocheted backward. Once Kyrinis hit her second shot close, Samuel conceded the match before any putts were attempted.

Despite the defeat, Samuel was in good spirits and happy for her close friend.

Terrill Samuel and Judith Kyrinis, right, bump knuckles after splitting the sixth hole during final round of match play of the 2017 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur at Waverley Country Club in Portland, Ore. on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017. (Copyright USGA/Steven Gibbons)

“It’s easy, because I always root for her at every tournament because that’s the type of person she is, bar none,” said Samuel of Kyrinis. “We’re just such great friends. That was the bonus of playing today is whoever won, we’d be happy for each other.”

The U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, open to female amateurs age 50 and older with a Handicap Index® not exceeding 18.4, consists of two 18-hole rounds of stroke play and six rounds of match play. It is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

As the champion, Kyrinis receives a 10-year exemption into the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, as well as two-year exemptions into the U.S. Women’s Amateur and U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur championships. Kyrinis also receives a two-year exemption into the inaugural U.S. Senior Women’s Open Championship next year at Chicago Golf Club, as well as the ensuing year at Pine Needles Lodge & Golf Club. Samuel is also exempt into the 2018 Senior Women’s Open and receives a three-year Senior Women’s Amateur exemption, a two-year Women’s Mid-Amateur exemption and one-year Women’s Amateur exemption.

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France – Rain and strong winds have forced Thursday’s play to be scrapped at the final women’s golf major of the season, which will start afresh on Friday as a 54-hole event.

LPGA Tour Commissioner Michael Whan said what the little play was achieved Thursday morning at the Evian Championship is wiped from the record.

Whan announced the abandonment at 2:30 p.m. (1230 GMT) almost 4 1/2 hours after players had been called off the wind-swept course overlooking Lake Geneva.

“Nobody even played half a round,” Whan said, adding that a 54-hole championship finishing Sunday offered the “cleanest, fairest, most competitive” option.

“We know that if we said 72 holes and we start again tomorrow (Friday), we’re probably looking at Monday and Tuesday, and that’s not great for anyone,” Whan said.

Forecast weather is for “pretty good” playing conditions for the next two days and some more rain Sunday, Whan said, noting that 45 mph (72 kph) gusts were experienced Thursday.

The leaderboard had been headed by top-ranked So Yeon Ryu of South Korea and Jessica Korda of the United States on 2 under. Ryu finished five holes while Korda had gone through eight.

A re-start was good news for Ai Miyazato, the former No. 1 from Japan playing her final event before retiring. The 2009 and 2011 Evian champion was 3 over through six holes.

PORTLAND, Ore.  – For the first time in USGA championship history, two Canadian players – Judith Kyrinis and Terrill Samuel – will meet in a final match. The two will face off in the 18-hole final of the 56th U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur Championship at seven-time USGA championship host site Waverley Country Club, which is set up at 5,836 yards and a par of 72, at 8:30 a.m. PDT Thursday.

Kyrinis, who was 3 down through four holes in Wednesday’s semifinal match against former LPGA Tour professional Tara Fleming, of Jersey City, N.J., started to chip away at her opponent’s lead starting on the par-4 7th hole when Fleming bogeyed.

“I thought, ‘There’s lots of golf still in front of me, so be resilient and keep battling,’” said Kyrinis, who made it to the finals of the 2014 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, losing to Joan Higgins. “I’ve been playing well, so there’s no reason that I wouldn’t – that I couldn’t climb my way back. But, Tara is obviously a very accomplished golfer.”

A registered nurse and mother of three in suburban Toronto, Kyrinis birdied the par-3 16th hole with a 35-foot birdie from the fringe to take the lead from Fleming – a member of New Jersey’s winning team in the 2013 USGA Women’s State Team Championship – for the first time in the match.

“I can’t remember who said it, but a bad putt is way better than a bad chip,” said Kyrinis of her decision to go for the difficult putt on the 16th hole. “I try to stay calm in ups, and I try to stay calm in the downs. Just try to stay even keel, and I think I do that pretty well. I don’t get too high, and I don’t get too low.”

Kyrinis clinched the 2-and-1 semifinal win on the 17th hole. After Kyrinis missed a short birdie putt to pick up a conceded par, Fleming missed a 6-foot downhill putt that would have extended the match.

“I’m going to stick to the same game plan of driving it well, putting it well, and the goal will be to hit the irons a little bit better tomorrow,” said Kyrinis of her strategy for the final against Samuel, who also lives in suburban Toronto, approximately 25 minutes from Kyrinis.

Kyrinis, 53, also notched a 2-and-1 win in the morning’s quarterfinals against Lisa McGill, of Philadelphia, Pa. She made a 35-foot birdie putt on the par-4 15th hole to regain a 1-up lead over McGill, who never led. Kyrinis’ path to the final also included second- and third-round wins against USGA champions Martha Leach (2009 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur) and Sherry Herman (2009 U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur), respectively.

Samuel also made a comeback on the inward nine against a former LPGA Tour player – Patricia Schremmer, 51, of Honolulu, Hawaii, to win her semifinal match. A teacher in the Toronto District School Board, Samuel, 56, won the match in 19 holes.

“It was going along OK, and then I made a couple of bad bogeys with wedges, and then she made two birdies, then I’m 4 down in four holes just like that,” said Samuel of Schremmer winning four consecutive holes starting with a 6-footer for birdie on No. 4. “And then it just turned around. You just hang in.”

With her 80-year-old mother and best friend, Cam Samuel, serving as her caddie, Samuel won three holes in a row starting with a 3-foot par on the 13th to cut Schremmer’s lead to 2 up. Samuel then posted a conceded birdie on the par-3 14th. To square the match on No. 15, Samuel hit a tee shot 30 yards past the mid-fairway bunkers, sticking her approach to 10 feet with a sand wedge before draining her birdie putt.

“It was pretty good,” said Samuel of the approach shot. “[After squaring a match], your adrenaline starts going.

Before, you’re just trying to stay relaxed and you’re fine, and just going along with whatever happens. Then, all of a sudden, you’re all square, and it becomes nerve-racking.”

The next three holes, 16-18, were halved, sending the match to the first extra hole, the par-3 ninth. On the 19th hole, Samuel’s par putt was conceded, and Schremmer missed her opportunity to extend the match by pulling her putt just left.

Samuel, the 2012 and 2015 Canadian Senior Women’s Amateur champion, never trailed in defeating two-time USA Curtis Cup competitor Patricia Cornett, of Mill Valley, Calif., 5 and 3, in the morning quarterfinal. Playing in her sixth U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, Samuel’s previous best finish was in 2014 when she made it to the Round of 32.

Marlene Stewart Streit is the most recent Canadian to win the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, doing so in 2003. Gayle Borthwick is the only other Canadian to win the championship, winning in 1996 and 1998. Mary Ann Hayward, the 2005 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion who lost her morning quarterfinal match, 3 and 2, to Fleming, is the most recent USGA champion from Canada.

The U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, open to female amateurs age 50 and older with a Handicap Index® not exceeding 18.4, consists of two 18-hole rounds of stroke play and six rounds of match play. It is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA, 10 of which are strictly for amateurs.

Both finalists receive an exemption from qualifying into the inaugural 2018 U.S. Senior Women’s Open Championship at the historic Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton, Ill., with the winner receiving a two-year exemption into the championship. Both finalists also receive a two-year exemption into the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur (2017 and 2018) and exemptions for future U.S. Senior Women’s Amateurs – 10 years for the winner and three for the runner-up. All of the semifinalists are exempt into the next two U.S. Senior Women’s Amateurs, currently scheduled to be conducted at Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club in Vero Beach, Fla., in 2018, and Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Country Club in 2019.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Jason Day says his longtime coach will no longer be his caddie.

In a surprising move, Day says he has parted ways with Colin Swatton, but that he wants to keep him as his coach. Day was 12 when he went to a golf academy in Australia where Swatton coached. Day credits Swatton with taking him to the top of the game.

Day is having a tough year, however. He has fallen to No. 9 in the world and needs a good week at the BMW Championship just to reach the FedEx Cup finale next week.

He is using a friend from Australia at Conway Farms and next week at East Lake if he qualifies. Day is using a former player to caddie for him at the Presidents Cup.

KAHNAWAKE, Que. – Doug Hanzel edged closer to winning his first Canadian Men’s Senior title on Wednesday, firing his third straight even par 70 at Kanawaki Golf Cub to take a 3-shot lead heading into tomorrow’s final round.

Following his round today, the Savannah, GA, native gave credit to dialed-in approach shots and club selection off the tee for the lead.

“I could have gone really low on the front nine today; I hit it close to a few pins and made a couple of short putts for birdie to get a couple under early,” said Hanzel, who won the U.S. Senior Amateur title in 2013. “The back was pretty uneventful; I hit it decent. Game plan for tomorrow is to keep doing the same – only hit a couple drivers. You don’t need to hit drivers much here. I went with a lot of rescues and 3-woods and plan on doing the same again.”

Hanzel, who is sitting at even par (210), was the low amateur at the U.S. Senior Open in 2011 and 2012.

Trailing Hanzel by three-shots is Gene Elliott of West Des Moines, IA. The American carded the low round of the tournament Wednesday, a 4-under 66, to climb 14 spots into second at 3 over. (213).

Two additional Americans round out to the top 3. Buzz Fly of Memphis and Paul Simson of Raleigh, N.C., hold a share of third at 4-over (214).

The winner of this year’s championship will earn an exemption into the 2018 U.S. Men’s Senior Amateur Championship at Eugene Country Club in Eugene, Ore., from August 25^th to 30^th.

The Canadian Senior Men’s Championship continues Thursday with the final round beginning at 8 a.m. EDT.

Additional information, including tee times, for the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship can be found here.