Wilmer, Alabama’s Robby Shelton shot an 8-under 63 on Thursday at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf and Country Club to take the first-round lead at the GolfBC Championship, the third event of the 2017 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season.

The former University of Alabama standout notched nine birdies and a bogey to lead by one over Dearborn, Michigan’s Evan Bowser after day one at Gallagher’s Canyon.

“I’ve been playing well in my practice rounds. I kind of figured something out with my putting,” said Shelton. “I missed a few on the front nine, but I saved a few on the back nine, so I’m playing well.”

Shelton was one of the top amateur players in the United States while playing at the University of Alabama from 2013-2016 and is making his third start of his first season on the Mackenzie Tour. The 21-year old said he’s enjoyed getting his feet wet as a pro in Canada so far this season.

“This Tour’s deep. There’s a lot of good players,” said Shelton. “You have to play well. A lot of these guys out here could make it on the PGA TOUR right now. It’s a process and a stepping stone, and a lot of guys have to get through it.”

With three rounds to go, Shelton said he knows he’ll need more low rounds to keep the rest of the field at bay.

“When you get off to a start like this, for sure your expectations are high, but you still have to play really well, or these guys are going to catch you,” said Shelton.

A shot behind Bowser were Southlake, Texas’ Matt Gilchrest, Dallas, Texas’ Kramer Hickok, Springfield, Illinois’ Kyle Peterman and Muncie, Indiana’s Chase Wright.

Bowser is making his third career start on the Mackenzie Tour. He earned exempt status for the first four events of the season at the USA West #2 Q-School in March.

Bowser played collegiate golf at Oakland University and qualified three times for the U.S. Amateur Championship.

“When I turned pro in January, I thought about how golf’s always been fun for me. I never looked at it like a job or thought about the money, and I still don’t do that. I just try to hit the next shot the best I can, and that’s all I can do,” said Bowser

Gilchrest opened with a 6-under-par 65.

“The key was the front nine. I made two 30-footers for eagle that got me going pretty good. I had some bad breaks and was in some tough spots on the back nine and made some good pars to get it in at 6-under,” said Gilchrest.

As an amateur, Shelton was consistently among the top players in college golf. He played at the University of Alabama from 2013 to 2016, where he won seven times, helped the Crimson Tide to the 2014 National Championship and was named a 1st team All-American in each of his three seasons.

Shelton finished third at the 2015 Barbasol Championship on the PGA TOUR, the highest finish by an amateur on the PGA TOUR since Phil Mickelson won the 1991 Northern Telecom Open.

Shelton earned exempt status for the 2017 season by winning the USA East #1 Q-School. He opened his 2017 season with finishes of T20-T14 and ranks 21st on the Order of Merit.

Shelton’s 2015 Walker Cup teammates Lee McCoy, Hunter Stewart and Jordan Niebrugge are also Mackenzie Tour members this season.

Watch the first round highlights below.

Get caught up on day one at the @gbcchampionship with Thursday's highlights ? pic.twitter.com/Alwqnly9WC

— Mackenzie Tour (@PGATOURCanada) June 16, 2017

For the full leaderboard click here.

Erin Hills made its debut as a U.S. Open course Thursday with a most gracious welcome for Rickie Fowler, who matched the record to par in the opening round with a 7-under 65 on the longest course in major championship history.

Fowler had a one-shot lead over Paul Casey and Xander Schauffele. And they plenty of company.

The low scoring suggested the 11-year-old course was a cream puff, hardly the USGA’s idea of the ultimate test in golf.

Just don’t mention that to some of the best players in the world.

Jason Day had two triple bogeys and posted a 79, his worst score ever in the U.S. Open. Rory McIlroy joked earlier in the week that anyone who couldn’t hit such wide fairways “might as well pack your bags and go home.” He spent all day in the knee-high fescue and shot 78, his worst U.S. Open score.

Defending champion Dustin Johnson probably didn’t feel so badly by the end of a most peculiar day. He only shot 75, with just one birdie.

“You won’t get a better day for scoring,” Johnson said wistfully during the long walk to sign his card.

No one took advantage like Fowler.

Fowler, who shared the 36-hole lead at the Masters in April, never came seriously close to bogey because he was never in trouble. He kept it in the short grass, the secret to Erin Hills that wouldn’t appear to be that difficult with some of the widest fairways for this major.

“You don’t get many rounds at the U.S. Open that are stress-free,” Fowler said.

Fowler’s seven birdies were from no more than 12 feet, including three in a row around the turn. His 7-under par tied the record to par for the first round of a U.S. Open held by Jack Nicklaus and Tom Weiskopf, who each shot 7-under 63 at Baltusrol in 1980.

“It is always cool to be part of some sort of history in golf,” Fowler said. “But I’d rather be remembered for something that’s done on Sunday.”

1️⃣2️⃣ of 1️⃣4️⃣ fairways hit.

Rickie Fowler credits a shorter driver for his accuracy off the tee in Round 1.pic.twitter.com/TuxloZeiYP

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 15, 2017

Day and McIlroy, just to name a few, might not make it that far.

Of the top 10 players in the world, only Masters champion Sergio Garcia (70) and Fowler broke par. For players like Jordan Spieth (73) and Johnson, it was a matter of not making enough putts. For most others, it was being careless off the tee and facing the rigorous test of recovering.

Casey started eagle-birdie and finished with two birdies over the final four holes for his 66.

“I was just trying to have half as good a round as Rickie had,” said Casey, who played in the afternoon. “The scoring was so good this morning. I was happy it stayed benign for us, and I capitalized on it.

The opening round was without Phil Mickelson for the first time since 1993. He was in California for his daughter’s high school graduation, hopeful for enough of a weather delay to jet across the country to Wisconsin. But as the sun rose over Erin Hills, and the forecast was for no rain, Mickelson withdrew.

More startling than the low scores was smoke rising from about a half-mile away when a commercial blimp, not affiliated with the tournament, crashed into a field and burst into flames. The pilot, the only one aboard the blimp operated by Florida-based AirSign, was being treated for injuries.

“I was teeing off and I looked up and saw it on fire, and I felt sick to my stomach,” Jamie Lovemark said.

On the golf course, there was only a barrage of birdies.

Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood and Brian Harman were at 67, with Patrick Reed and Adam Hadwin in the group at 68. Hadwin tied a U.S. Open record when he made six straight birdies, from the 18th hole through the fifth hole. He was 100 feet away for birdie on No. 6 and burned the edge of the cup on that one, except that it ran by some 7 feet and he three-putted for bogey.

“You don’t often see that in a U.S. Open,” Hadwin said. “But there’s way too many holes out here where one bad shot could be a double bogey quickly. So I did a really good job of staying present, staying focused on the next shot.”

Adam Hadwin's last six holes

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He has tied the U.S. Open record for most consecutive birdies. pic.twitter.com/L81MGWlJDH

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 15, 2017

The course was set up at 7,845 yards, the longest of any major. Length wasn’t the issue. It was sporadic storms earlier in the week that has softened the greens. One example of that was Fowler hitting 3-wood into the green on the 632-yard 18th hole, with a breeze at his back. His ball landed on the green and only rolled out about 10 feet. On typical U.S. Open greens, that would have run all the way off the back of the green.

Still to be determined is what kind of test Erin Hills can present the rest of the week, especially with more rain on the way Friday and Saturday afternoon.

For the for leaderboard click here.

Canadian Brooke Henderson shot an 8-under 63 on Thursday to top the star-packed leaderboard in the Meijer LPGA Classic.

The 19-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., eagled the par-5 eighth hole and had six birdies at Blythefield in her lowest round of the season. She won the major KPMG Women’s PGA Championship last year and has three tour victories.

“It’s beautiful here,” Henderson said. “I feel like this course suits my game really well. There’s a couple tee shots where you need to hit it really straight, which I think is kind of my advantage or my strength. And once the putts start dropping, then really good things can happen.”

Fellow major champions Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis and Shanshan Feng were a stroke back along with Calgary’s Jennifer Ha, Giulia Molinaro and Holly Clyburn. Lydia Ko, at No. 2 in the world after an 85-week run at the top, returned from a three-week layoff to top the group at 65.

.@JenniferHa0201 makes the turn tied for the lead at (-6) with @HPClyburn! @MeijerLPGA pic.twitter.com/QXCVPJZ8p3

— LPGA (@LPGA) June 15, 2017

“I had the last three weeks off to get prepared with this big stretch coming up,” Ko said. “I took some time to relax, did some university work. So it was, I think, a really good break.”

New No. 1 Ariya Jutanugarn opened with a 69. She won the Manulife LPGA Classic on Sunday in Canada in a playoff with Thompson and In Gee Chun.

Henderson tied for 11th last week in her native Ontario, her seventh top-15 finish of the year.

“I felt like today was going to be a really good day,” Henderson said. “Everything was just kind of going my way. I was hitting the ball really well and some putts were dropping, which is kind of a change from the last few weeks. It’s really exciting and I’m looking forward to the next three days.”

“I felt great from the start and felt like today was going to be a very good day” – @BrookeHenderson after her opening 63 @MeijerLPGA pic.twitter.com/B3lReeH9GQ

— LPGA (@LPGA) June 15, 2017

Thompson had eight birdies in a 10-hole stretch in the middle of the round.

“I just love the layout,” Thompson said. “It’s always in great shape for us, first of all. Hit a lot of drivers, which is nice. That’s my strength, so it comes into factor on this golf course a lot.”

Lewis also eagled No. 8. She won the last of her 11 tour titles in 2014.

“I played really solid,” Lewis said. “I was kind of surprised looking at the scoreboard. I expected somebody else’s name to pop up that was still playing. It was pretty hard out there and the greens got firm. The wind was tricky back in the trees. I played great. It felt like boring golf but it was good, boring golf.”

She was surprised by the low scores.

“I didn’t quite see all those numbers, but I knew the golf course had to be softer,” Lewis said. “I tried to stay patient. The ball was going so far. That was my biggest challenge. I had some iron shots rocket on me, just because of the heat. I tried to dial it back and was able to make the last two.”

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp shot 67 while Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., shot 72. Augusta James, from Bath, Ont., shot a 2-over 73.

Feng is trying to complete a Michigan sweep after winning the LPGA Volvik Championship three weeks ago in Ann Arbor. The Chinese star pointed to putting on Blythefield’s undulating greens.

“Some the greens are pretty hilly, so you have to get the right read and also the right speed at the same time,” Feng said.

Madelene Sagstrom and Simin Feng matched Ko at 65. Jane Park and Mi Jung Hur shot 66.

Michelle Wie opened with a 68, and defending champion Sei Young Kim had a 70.

For the full leaderboard click here.

Maddie Szeryk from London, Ont., defeated her Team Canada Amateur Squad teammate Naomi Ko (Victoria, B.C.), 2 and 1 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Women’s Western Amateur Golf Association Championship at River Forest Country Club, in Elmhurst.

Due to inclement weather delaying the tournament the last two days, Ko and Szeryk met in their third match of the day.

Ko jumped out to an early lead and was 2-up after nine holes before struggling on the back nine.

Ko recorded three bogeys and a triple-bogey on the back nine, allowing Szeryk to win four holes and secure her spot in the quarterfinals.

When team mates win their matches of r32 @WWGAGOLF but have to play each other in the next round @naomiko_golf @mszeryk #sadface #2often pic.twitter.com/tJL6jl0YfE

— Tristan Mullally (@tmullallygolf) June 15, 2017

Valerie Tanguay, from Saint-Hyacinthe, Que., lost her round-of-16 match 3 and 2 to Sophia Schubert
(Oak Ridge, Tenn. )

In the round of 32 Szeryk def. Jessica Ip (Richmond Hill, Ont.) 2 and 1 and Ko, def. Gabby Curtis (Eau Clarie, Wisc.) 4 and 3.

Tanguay def. Mikayla Fitzpatrick (Phoenix, Ariz.) 4 and 2 in her round-of-32 match.

Development Squad’s Mary Parsons, (Delta, B.C.) fell short in her round-of-32 matchup, losing 4 and 3 to Jackie Chulya (Oakland, Calif.).

Ottawa’s Grace St-Germain – a Ko and Szeryk’s Amateur Squad teammate – lost her round-of-32 match to Maddy Rayner (Southlake, Tex.) 2-down.

The round-of-64 wrapped up in the morning after being suspended Wednesday evening due to inclement weather.

St-Germain won her round-of-64 match in 22 holes, defeating Myanmar’s Angela Aung. Szeryk def. Logan Otter (St. Peters, Mo.) 4 and 2 and Ko def. Grace Curran (New Lennox, Ill.) 3 and 2 in her first match of the day.

Tanguay def. the Philippines Mikhaela Fortuna 2 and 1 and Parsons def. Caroline Smith (Inverness, Ill.) 3 and 1 in the round-of-64.

Ip def. Ellie Szeryk, Maddie’s younger sister, 4 and 3 in their round-of-64 matchup.

The fourth member of the Amateur Squad Jaclyn Lee (Victoria, B.C.), was the No. 3 seed in the draw but lost in 23 holes to Rayner in the round-of-64.

Lee can hang her hat on the Amateur Team winning the Maschmeyer Cup Team competition trophy.

@TheGolfCanada players won the 2017 maschmeyer Team trophy @WWGAGOLF ,attached pic of last group to do so #doneokforthemselves pic.twitter.com/ac96duoYMB

— Tristan Mullally (@tmullallygolf) June 15, 2017

For full scoring click here.

Jean-Philip Cornellier won’t soon be forgetting his first win as a professional.

The 26-year-old from the Club de Golf Knowlton captured the PGA Championship of Canada sponsored by Mr. Lube and presented by TaylorMade-adidas in dramatic fashion Thursday afternoon at Deer Ridge Golf Club.

Cornellier outduelled Bryn Parry of the Point Grey Golf & Country Club, sinking a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 18, to win 2-up.

“This is just a great feeling to have my first win as a professional come at the PGA Championship of Canada,” Cornellier said. “It means a lot to me to have my name on the same trophy as so many legends.”

Past champions of the PGA Championship of Canada include Moe Norman, George Knudson, Danny King, Dave Levesque, Steve Stricker, Parry, Al Balding, Bob Panasik, Tim Clark, Lanny Wadkins, Jim Rutledge, Wilf Homenuik, Stan Leonard, Lee Trevino and Arnold Palmer.

Cornellier came out guns blazing in the championship match, making six birdies thru nine holes and found himself 6-up over the 2013 PGA Championship of Canada winner with just eight to play.

“I was just in an amazing zone and the hole looked like the size of a basketball hoop,” Cornellier admitted.

However by the time the 16th hole rolled around, not only had his confidence evaporated, his monster-size lead had as well. A combination of four-straight bogeys and a Parry birdie on the 15th saw Cornellier’s lead shrink to just 1-up with three to play.

“Once I got it to just three down, I just told myself to hit good shots and see if I could put some pressure on him, make him nervous and find out if he could hold on for the win,” Parry said.

Parry’s strategy worked. For the first time all week Cornellier said he felt nervous.

“After a while, I started thinking, ‘what is happening out here? Is this really happening?’” Cornellier admitted. “But I just had to say to myself  ‘stay calm, you’re still leading this match and put the ball in play.’”

Both players halved holes 16 and 17 with pars before reaching the Deer Ridge’s final hole, the tree-lined 510-yard par 5 18th.

Parry’s drive found the centre of the fairway, while Cornellier’s tee shot missed wide right, finding the trees.

“On 18 I was 1-up, so why not hit driver? With a good drive I’ll hit the green in two, make birdie and it’s probably over,” Cornellier said. “And with a bad drive, I could always pitch out, hit the green in three and make birdie the old way.”

After pitching out from the right trees into the fairway, Cornellier found himself with 154-yards to the pin. He took a bold line with his 9-iron, hitting his approach to 15-feet.

After Parry failed to get up-and-down for birdie from behind the green, Cornellier calmly rolled his putt into the cup, securing the victory with a 2-up score.

“That was a nice finishing birdie and a cool way to win,” Parry said.

With the championship win, Cornellier takes home the historic P.D. Ross Trophy and the first place prize of $15,000.

However, at the end of the day, there was a silver lining for Parry as well.

By virtue of his stellar play this week at Deer Ridge, Parry will jump to the top of the player rankings when they’re released Friday and earn the PGA of Canada exemption into the RBC Canadian Open.

In the third place match, Nick Kenney outlasted Marc Hurtubise, winning on the 19th hole.

The next PGA national championship takes place this August at Burlington Golf & Country Club for the Mr. Lube PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada.

The Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada announced today that the Ontario Championship hosted by National Pines Golf Club, an official event to be conducted at National Pines Golf Club in Barrie, Ontario, has been added to the 2017 schedule.

The 144-player event will take place September 4-10, leading into the season-ending Freedom 55 Financial Championship. The Canadian Junior Golf Association (CJGA) will serve as the event’s Host Organization, with Brad Parkins as Tournament Director.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to announce the Ontario Championship hosted by National Pines Golf Club as the newest event on the Mackenzie Tour. Thanks to the support of our partners, ClubLink and the CJGA, we’re confident this will be an tremendous week of golf at an outstanding venue this summer,” said Mackenzie Tour President Jeff Monday.

National Pines, a 7,013-yard Tom McBroom design located 45 minutes north of Toronto, was opened in 1992 and hosted the season-ending Freedom 55 Financial Championship in 2007 and 2008.

“We are extremely pleased the Mackenzie Tour has selected National Pines to host the Ontario Championship in 2017,” said Brent Miller, Vice President of Corporate Operations and Member Services for ClubLink. “It’s wonderful to have this thoroughbred layout challenge the future stars of the PGA TOUR again.”

“So many of our ClubLink Members already know that an extra 10 minutes in the car up HWY 400 provides them a day of golf that is quite simply, complete. We look forward to showcasing National Pines again and reminding Southern Ontario golfers about this great 18 hole facility Tom McBroom built for us 25 years ago.”

Among the players who competed at National Pines in 2007 and 2008 is current PGA TOUR player and Olympian Graham DeLaet, who said he fondly remembers his experience competing at the course.

“I have great memories of competing at National Pines in 2008, and I know it will be an awesome host for a tournament like this. The guys that will be playing there are trying to make their way to the PGA TOUR, and this is going to be a great venue for those players to compete for a chance to make the next step in that direction,” said DeLaet.

The CJGA, which previously operated The Great Waterway Classic on the Mackenzie Tour from 2013-15, is a national junior golf association dedicated to providing high level competition and instruction to Canada’s junior golfers and operates tournaments throughout Canada.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to conduct an official Mackenzie Tour event once again and to work with one of our partners in ClubLink makes it that much more special,” said Brad Parkins, COO of the CJGA. “We look forward to working with the community to put on an exceptional event on an exceptional golf course in National Pines.”

Following the event, the top 60 players on the Order of Merit will earn a spot in the season-ending Freedom 55 Financial Championship at Highland Country Club in London, Ont., along with securing exempt status for the 2018 Mackenzie Tour season.

To view the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Order of Merit click here.

Due to inclement weather only one Canadian completed their round-of-64 match at the Women’s Western Golf Association Championship on Wednesday at River Forest Country Club in Elmhurst, Ill.

Development Squad member and No. 17 seed Monet Chun (Richmond Hill, Ont.) fell 1-down to Cecily Overbey (High Point, N.C.).

Chun held a 2-up lead heading to hole No. 16 but Overbey closed with three straight birdies while Chun recorded a bogey, double-bogey, and a par.

When play was officially suspended at 6:58 p.m. local time after two weather delays Delta B.C., native Mary Parsons from the Development Squad was 1-up through nine on Caroline Smith (Inverness, Ill.)

All four Team Canada Amateur Squad golfers had matches in progress when play was suspended.

London, Ont., product Maddie Szeryk is all square through nine against Logan Otter (St. Peters, Mo.), and Victoria, B.C.’s Naomi Ko is 5-up through nine against Grace Curran (New Lennox, Ill.)

Jaclyn Lee (Victoria, B.C.) is 2-down through nine on Maddy Rayner (Southlake Tex.) and Ottawa’s Grace-St-Germain is 1-down through four holes against Angela Aung (Myanmar).

Ellie Szeryk, Maddie’s 15-year-old sister, is 4-up through nine on Jessica Ip (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and Valerie Tanguay (Saint-Hyacinthe, Que.) is all square after four holes in her match against the Philippines Mikhaela Fortuna.

For full scoring click here.

Father’s Day presents some interesting scenarios for me, a man who lost his father far too soon. Eventually, that void was filled in many ways by the man who became my father-in-law. I was in my mid-30s before my wife and I had the first of our three children. Not too long after, I was covering U.S. Opens, where the final round always falls on Father’s Day.

The common thread is golf and family, with the notable exception that my father never played the game and I didn’t take it up until my early 30s. But bear with me. The reason I started to play was that my in-laws, both golfers, gave my wife and I clubs. That started my addiction, one that led to me getting into golf writing. It changed the course of my life.

As much as I have been blessed to have a career in golf, the sport has meant more, much more, in a family sense.

My in-laws, my wife and I played many rounds together, followed by drinks and dinner. When the grandchildren reached the appropriate age, we organized the “Super Gramps Invitational” every summer. The extended family played nine holes and returned to the cottage for a bonfire and barbecue. Quips and barbs, but no prizes, were exchanged. No prizes, that is, except the permanent trophy which was always awarded, no matter what his score, to “Super Gramps.”

Our son now is 30, about the same age I was when I took up the game. He’s been playing, off and on, for most of his life. He was the first grandchild to play in the Super Gramps Invitational. One of my dearest memories is of three generations—he, his grandfather and me—playing together. He is passionate about golf, almost as much as he is about his wife, who also enjoys the game. They golf a lot together.

Our younger daughter and her fiancé both worked at a golf club for a couple of summers and golf whenever the opportunity presents itself.

My wife and I have played with them all, separately and together, to reconnect, to catch up on their busy lives. We all treasure the experience.

A month ago, our older daughter presented us with our first grandchild. As a memento, I gave him a copy of my Kids Book of Golf. Part of the inscription went something like this: “Dearest Carson, I hope we get golf together and, when I am gone, you think of me whenever you play the game.”

There is a reason golf is called “the game for a lifetime.” And, hopefully, beyond, in a legacy sense.

Golf has had a profound impact on not just my career, but on my family.

While it may not be a central theme to your life, trust me when I tell you that golf forms a bond that ties together a family as nothing else, let alone a sport, can.

I look forward to being the centrepiece of the “Patriarch Pro-Am” or the “Senator Scramble” some day. An event where everyone wins. But only I am guaranteed the trophy.

Perhaps we will schedule it for Father’s Day.

And then there were four.

Marc Hurtubise, Nick Kenney, Jean-Philip Cornellier and Bryn Parry punched their ticket to the final day of the PGA Championship of Canada sponsored by Mr. Lube and presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf.

The National Golf Club of Canada’s Nick Kenney secured the George Knudson bracket, with Jean-Philip Cornellier winning the Moe Norman bracket. Kenney and Corneiller will square off in the semi-final match at 7:45 a.m

In the other semi-final match Marc Hurtubise meets 2013 PGA Championship winner Bryn Parry of Vancouver at 7:30 a.m. at Deer Ridge Golf Club in Kitchener, Ont.

The two winners will play in the championship’s final match Thursday afternoon, with the winner taking home the historic P.D. Ross Trophy and the first place prize of $15,000.

“I’ve never actually thought about being a national champion,” Kenney admitted after his afternoon victory or last year’s champion Marc-Etienne Bussieres. “It’s one of those things you try not to think about, but it’d be really cool to win.”

Corneiller, the 26-year-old from Club de Golf Knowlton, said his goal for the week just to make sure he was still playing by the time Thursday rolled around.

“My goal for the week was to play on Thursday, so I’m really excited about being able to play two great matches tomorrow,” he said. “I’ve been really happy with how I’ve been playing for the past three days and I expect the same tomorrow.”

Of the four players remaining, only Parry has been this deep in the championship (winning in 2013 at Magna Golf Club and reaching the semi-finals last year at Victoria Golf Club). The 45-year-old feels that should work to his advantage.

“Each year in this championship I play more matches so, I’m playing more golf and figuring how things work,” Parry said.

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.

By virtue of his stellar play this week at Deer Ridge, Parry will jump to the top of the player rankings when they’re released Friday and earn the exemption into the RBC Canadian Open.

“It is obviously very cool and another exciting thing to look forward to this summer,” Parry said. “I’m really enjoying my equipment with TaylorMade having a special thing going with their irons, wedges and ball,” he said, adding, “and if the ball does what it’s supposed to do for those four days, it could be a lot of fun.”

Mishits and errant shots could be the product of bad balance. Team Canada Head Physiotherapist and Strength Coach Greg Redman is here to help you improve your balance.

Balance, or kinesthetic awareness, is critical to a smooth, co-ordinated and efficient swing. Why? Because each golf swing requires millions of neurons to communicate effectively and with minimal error in the blink of an eye.

The accuracy and speed of this communication plays an important role in your optimal swing. The better your balance and kinesthetic awareness, the better your weight shift from setup to backswing to impact. As your balance improves, you reduce the need for unwanted compensatory movements, which inevitably lead to swing faults and errant shots.

Additionally as your kinesthetic awareness improves, the more likely each body part will accelerate and decelerate with optimal timing. For example, the pelvis accelerates and decelerates before the thoracic spine, which is before the shoulders and before the wrists.

These two exercises, as shown by Team Canada’s Hugo Bernard, will improve your balance and body awareness during the swing.

1. Airplane

With your arms reached out to your sides, stand on one foot, balance yourself and flex forward at the hip while lifting the opposite leg into extension. Try holding this airplane-like position and balance for 30 seconds. For a progression of this exercise, close your eyes and try to balance for 20 seconds without leaning to one side or flapping your arms around like a bird.

2. Twisties

While holding an iron out in front of your chest at shoulder height, balance on one leg. Begin by rotating from side to side, first slowly and not through the full range. Then, as you improve, progress to a full range of hip and trunk rotation. Finally, do so with increased speed until you reach the pace of your ideal tempo swing.

Completing these exercises three to four times a week for three to five minutes per day will provide the benefits of a smoother and more co-ordinated swing.

This article was originally published in the Family Issue edition of Golf Canada Magazine. Click here to view the full magazine