Rory McIlroy couldn’t hold back on his complaints about the U.S. Open at Erin Hills, with an unusual twist: He was discouraged to hear the USGA is making it too easy.

The USGA said Tuesday that overnight storms and more rain in the forecast were making some of the native grasses lay down, which would create such dense rough that it would be virtually unplayable. So it set out to trim the thickest rough on the fourth, 12th, 14th and 18th holes.

This was bad news to McIlroy, whose power and accuracy off the tee is his strength.

“Really?” McIlroy said during his news conference.

His issue – and the opinion Kevin Na did not share when he posted video of thick stuff earlier in the week – was that the fairways were wide enough already.

.@McIlroyRory is not having the #USOpen fescue drama ?

"If you can't hit it within [the fairway], might as well pack your bag." pic.twitter.com/EapCbnSh98

— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 14, 2017

“We have 60 yards from left line to right line,” McIlroy said. “You’ve got 156 of the best players in the world here. If we can’t hit it within that avenue, you might as well pack your bags and go home. These are the widest fairways we’ve ever played in a U.S. Open. Even the first and second cut is another ten yards on top of that. So if you’ve got 50 or 60 yards to hit into and you’re complaining about the fescue that’s wider than that, I don’t think that’s an issue.”

The grass is so thick that it’s essentially a one-shot penalty. The options are to take a penalty shot for an unplayable lie or hack it out to the fairway, assuming the player can get a club on the ball.

“I get that it’s thick and whatever, but it’s a hazard,” McIlroy said. “If you put red lines just right along that people wouldn’t complain. It’s a hazard. I don’t know. It’s a U.S. Open. It’s supposed to be a tough test. And if guys can’t put it into play within a 50-yard zone, I don’t think they’ve got much to complain about.”

Former U.S. Amateur champion Peter Uihlein had a different outlook.

He took a photo of the maintenance staff trimming away and tweeted, “Guess the USGA decided to be nice this week and cut down some of the rough.”

Guess the USGA decided to be nice this week and cut down some of the rough ? pic.twitter.com/RPHunJyKx1

— Peter Uihlein (@PeterUihlein) June 13, 2017

RULES OFFICIALS: The U.S. Open wants to be a little quicker with its communications over rules issues, especially in light of last year at Oakmont.

Dustin Johnson’s ball moved ever so slightly on the fifth green. The USGA realized a few holes later it needed a closer review. It told him about the possibility of a penalty on the 12th tee, and said he could review it after the round. That meant Johnson played the last seven holes not knowing what his score would be.

He won by four, then was docked one shot, so it went down as a three-shot victory. He still got the trophy, but the USGA looked bad.

USGA President Diana Murphy says there will not be walking scorers on the weekend for the first time. Instead, the USGA will station at least two officials on every hole (except for par 3s) and in other strategic spots along the course.

“We regretted the handling last year,” Murphy said in a meeting with golf writers. “We want to stay out of the way and not be part of the story.”

FIRST-TIME WINNERS: Zach Johnson won the British Open two years ago at St. Andrews for his second major. Since then, there has been nothing but first-time winners at the majors – Jason Day, Danny Willett, Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson, Jimmy Walker and Sergio Garcia.

When players don’t have a reasonable explanation, that can mean only one thing – it’s a cycle more than a trend.

Jordan Spieth, for example, noted that at one point he, McIlroy and Day had combined to win five of six majors when they were Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in the world.

“So maybe it’s a trend and maybe that’s the way that it happened to crumble there,” he said, without mentioning any particular cookie.

It’s way too early for a trend.

Not too long ago, first-time major champions had won 12 out of 13, from Lucas Glover in the 2009 U.S. Open through Webb Simpson winning the 2012 U.S. Open. The exception in that span was Phil Mickelson at the 2010 Masters.

And there was a time when Europeans couldn’t win a major. Paul Lawrie of Scotland won at Carnoustie in the 1999 British Open. It took 31 majors before another European won, Padraig Harrington at Carnoustie in the 2007 British Open.

Since then, Europeans have won 15 majors.

Of course, Tiger Woods won 12 of 33 majors during one stretch. That didn’t leave much room for anyone else.

McIlroy referred to it as a cycle.

“I just hope I end that streak this week,” McIlroy said.

PLAYOFF FEVER: A U.S. Open record is on the line this week at Erin Hills.

Dating to Tiger Woods winning the 2008 U.S. Open in a playoff over Rocco Mediate at Torrey Pines, there hasn’t been a Monday playoff. That’s eight straight U.S. Opens, matching the longest streak without in U.S. Open history.

There also was eight years without a playoff after Lou Graham in 1975 at Medinah until Fuzzy Zoeller beat Greg Norman at Winged Foot in 1984.

The only really close call was Dustin Johnson missing a 4-foot birdie putt to finish one shot behind Jordan Spieth in 2015 at Chambers Bay.

MCILROY’S SUMMER: Rory McIlroy has played only six tournaments this year because of a rib injury that cost him seven weeks at the start of the year, and a recurrence of the injury that made him sit out six weeks ahead of the U.S. Open.

But he has a busy summer scheduled.

McIlroy is playing the Travelers Championship next week in Connecticut. After a week off, he plans to play three straight tournaments in Europe – the Irish Open (that he hosts), the Scottish Open and the British Open.

Team Canada continues to impress at the Women’s Western Golf Association Championship with Amateur Squad teammates Maddie Szeryk and Jaclyn Lee moving into a tie for second at 1 under par after 36 holes at River Forest Country Club in Elmhurst, Ill.

Szeryk started the day T7 at 1 over par. She recorded five birdies and three bogeys on Tuesday to card a 2-under-par 70 and move to within one shot of leader Allisen Corpuz (Waipahu, Hawaii).

The London, Ont., native just finished her third year at Texas A&M, earning a First-Team All-American nod and finishing fourth in the nation with a season stroke average of 71.24 – helping her to nine top-10 finishes in 12 events.

Lee, started the day in a tie for fourth and the Calgarian had five birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey to post 1-under-par 71.

The Ohio State sophomore was the Buckeyes best player this season, leading the team with a season stroke average of 73.71 and five top-10 finishes.

Delta, B.C., product and Development Squad Rookie Mary Parsons is T5 at even par (72-72). The 18-year-old is coming off a win at the Future Links driven by Acura Pacific Championship in May.

Szeryk and Lee’s Amateur Squad teammate Naomi Ko (Victoria, B.C.) is T14 at 6 over par after a second-round 77 (+5) and Parsons Development Squad teammate Monet Chun (Richmond Hill, Ont.) is T17 at +7 after a 4-over-par 76 in round two.

The fourth member of Team Canada’s Amateur Squad, Grace St-Germain (Ottawa, Ont.), is T29 at 9 over par alongside Jessica Ip (Richmond Hill, Ont.).

Ellie Szeryk – Maddie’s 15-year-old sister – is T32 at 10 over par. Valerie Tanguay (Saint-Hyacinthe, Que.) is T51 (+14).

Sarah Beqaj (Toronto, Ont.) is part of a 12-women playoff for the final spots in the championship flight after a two-day total of 159 (+15).

64 women will advance to the match-play portion of the tournament.

For the full leaderboard click here.

For the first time, Saskatchewan will play host to a major LPGA Tour event as Golf Canada and Canadian Pacific (CP) have announced the 2018 CP Women’s Open will head to Regina’s Wascana Country Club from August 20-26, 2018.

“We are very excited to bring the CP Women’s Open to Regina and the province of Saskatchewan in 2018,” said Tournament Director Brent McLaughlin. “Saskatchewan is a tremendous golf community and we are confident Wascana Country Club will be a fitting test to challenge the world’s best women’s golfers.”

Through its CP Has Heart campaign, CP will once again be making a significant charitable donation within the host community. In its first three years of title sponsorship, from 2014-2016, the campaign has raised over $4.5 million in host communities.

“We are proud to be part of such a high-profile event on the LPGA Tour and are excited to bring the tournament to Saskatchewan, an integral province within our rail network,” said Martin Cej, Assistant Vice-President of Public Affairs and Communications for CP.  “In coordination with our CP Has Heart campaign, we look forward to leaving a significant charitable legacy in the Regina community.”

After a three-year recruiting process, Wascana Country Club finally earned its opportunity to host the stars of the LPGA Tour after originally submitting a bid back in 2014. The club is one of only four private golf courses in a province that counts 206 total facilities.

“We are delighted to have been chosen to host the prestigious 2018 CP Women’s Open, as this will be a chance for us to show the world what the city of Regina has to offer,” said Michael Fougere, Mayor of Regina.

The Wascana Country Club has welcomed more than 30 notable championships since its founding in 1911, including the PGA of Canada Championship in 1992; the Saskatchewan Men’s Amateur Golf Championship six times, most recently in 2005; and the Saskatchewan Women’s Amateur Golf Championship 10 times between 1915 and 1990. The 18-hole championship course set in the wetlands of Saskatchewan will also play host to the 2017 Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship later this summer in August.

“Our board of directors, members and staff are truly excited about hosting this most prestigious event,” said Greg Dukart, Chief Executive Officer of Wascana Country Club. “Our venue is ready and our championship golf course will provide a memorable and unique examination to the world’s greatest female golfers. We are looking forward to being part of the great history of the CP Women’s Open.”

Canada’s National Women’s Open Championship has traditionally featured one of the strongest fields on the LPGA Tour vying for a total purse of $2.25 million USD, one of the largest purses on tour. The CP Women’s Open welcomes the top players on the LPGA Tour including CP golf ambassadors Brooke Henderson and Lorie Kane and fellow Canadian Alena Sharp, along with past champions and LPGA stars such as Lydia Ko, Ariya Jutanugarn, So Yeon Ryu, Suzann Pettersen and Michele Wie.

“The Greater Regina Area is emerging as one of the best places in Canada to host an event, convention or trade show. Our unique assets and attractions combine to create what we call, the Regina Advantage. The 2018 CP Women’s Open Championship will help showcase Regina and all we have to offer to a world-wide audience,” said John Lee, President & CEO of Economic Development Regina. “

First conducted in 1973, Canada’s National Women’s Open Championship has allowed the brightest stars of the LPGA Tour to shine on Canadian soil and to inspire the nation’s next generation of female golfers.

As part of ongoing Canada 150 celebrations, Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club will host the 2017 edition of the CP Women’s Open later this summer in Canada’s capital.

Information regarding tickets, volunteer opportunities and corporate hospitality for the CP Women’s Open can be found at www.cpwomensopen.com.

It took a little extra time Tuesday at Deer Ridge Golf Club, but the round-of-16 matches are set at the PGA Championship of Canada sponsored by Mr. Lube and presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf.

A five-man for the final three-spots playoff, that lasted three holes was needed to determine the PGA Championship of Canada match play bracket. Kevin Senecal, Nick Kenney and Ed Maunder outlasted Oliver Tubb and Lee Curry.

With their playoff victories, Senecal will play first-seeded Wes Heffernan, while Kenney meets the No. 2 seed Sonny Michaud, and Maunder squares off versus Brian Hadley, who holds the course record at Deer Ridge (a 59 in 2013 during the PGA of Ontario Championship).

After his round Tuesday, Heffernan said he’s playing confidently which he believes is the recipe for success in match play.

“I’m playing pretty well right now and my game today was in a good spot,” he said. “I’ve got some confidence heading into the match play portion of this tournament and that’s the sort of thing you need if you want to win.”

The other matches include:

• Marc Hurtubise & Alf Callowhill
• Bryn Parry & Gordon Burns
• Colin Murray & Dan Greenwood
• Marc-Etienne Bussieres & Philippe Gariepy
• Craig Hocknull & Jean-Philip Cornellier

For the full leaderboard, click here.

Both Parry and Bussieres are past PGA Championship of Canada winners. Bussieres, however, looks to become the first back-to-back winner of the championship since Knudson won in 1976 and 1977. In 2016 at the Victoria GC, the 29-year-old from Club de golf Longchamp bested Billy Walsh 3&1 on the 1893 A.V. Macan-designed, seaside links gem in the championship’s final match.

The only other player who remains at Deer Ridge with a national championship to his name is Craig Hocknull, who claimed last year’s PGA Club Professional Championship of Canada.

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

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

Designed by Canada’s Thomas McBroom, a designer known for his indelible golfing concepts that have resonated with players the world over, Deer Ridge is unlike any other creation in the architect’s canon. Opened in 1990, Deer Ridge was ranked the 69th best golf course in Canada by SCOREGolf in its 2016 rankings.

Attendance to the PGA Championship of Canada sponsored by Mr. Lube and presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf is free and spectators are encouraged to attend during championship play.

To follow the PGA Championship of Canada sponsored by Mr. Lube and presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf online throughout tournament week, go to pgaofcanada.com, or visit the PGA of Canada on twitter, instagram.com and facebook.com

Remember last year, when Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson played a round for the ages, trading birdies and spectacular shots until Stenson finally came away with the British Open title?

The U.S. Open won’t be like that.

First off, barring a long rain delay on Thursday, Mickelson will be absent, attending his daughter’s high school graduation in California.

And though Erin Hills, at first glance, may look like the sort of British links course that Mickelson and Stenson tore up last summer, Stenson will be the first to tell you it most certainly isn’t.

“Golf at the U.S. Open has always been a bit harder than at the (British) Open or any of the other ones,” Stenson said.

So true.

In the closing round at Royal Troon, Mickelson and Stenson combined for 14 birdies, an eagle and 19 pars, and Stenson won by three shots with a closing score of 20-under par. A few weeks later, at the PGA Championship, Jimmy Walker made a key birdie on No. 17 to outlast Jason Day, who, playing one hole ahead, kept pressure on Walker by making eagle on 18. Walker shot 14 under to win by one.

And at this year’s first major, the Masters, Sergio Garcia beat Justin Rose in a playoff to close out a riveting day of golf. Garcia and Rose tied at 9 under in regulation.

The last two U.S. Opens, meanwhile, have been most notable for Dustin Johnson’s three-putt on the 18th green at a baked-out Chambers Bay, then Johnson’s three-shot win last year at Oakmont despite a scoring/rules dust-up that left him playing the final seven holes without knowing the exact size of his lead.

Over the last five years, the average winning score of the other three majors has been 12.2 shots below par. At the U.S. Open over the same period: 3.1 under.

“The U.S. Open, you normally play on golf courses that are tricked up just to the limits, sometimes over the limits and sometimes just underneath,” Stenson said.

Much has been made about the creation of Erin Hills, built on a 650-acre tract of Wisconsin farmland that was, according to USGA executive director Mike Davis, simply screaming to have a golf course built on it. It was developed specifically with the idea of hosting a U.S. Open.

It’s huge, the longest U.S. Open course ever, at more than 7,741 yards (with room to make it even longer). Some fairways are almost wide enough to land a Boeing 767 airliner.

“You could fit 2 1/2 fairways at Winged Foot into the No. 10 fairway here,” Davis said.

But when the USGA gives, it almost always finds other places to take away.

Already this week, some players were complaining about the depth and stickiness of the rough . That tall, hay-like grass lingering just outside those massive fairways? It’s fescue, but not all of it is the typically wispy stuff you see on the edges of British Open courses. The mist floating into the vegetation from the irrigation systems at Erin Hills has made some of it healthier than expected.

A little demonstration from Kevin Na about the dangers that wait for the players at Erin Hills this week ?#USOpen #GolfUK pic.twitter.com/1ZkKfRZRbL

— Open Stance Golf (@OpenStanceGolf) June 12, 2017

Meanwhile, author Ron Whitten, who helped design the course, said among his proudest achievements are the bunkers, most of which don’t have flat lies and aren’t nearly as well-manicured or maintained as what these players face on a weekly basis. There are 138 of them covering what will be the first par-72 test at a U.S. Open since Pebble Beach in 1992.

“I’m surprised more players aren’t complaining about the bunkers,” Whitten said.

The USGA will look at the forecast and try to set up holes to dampen, not exacerbate, the effect of wind that can blow as hard as 30 mph. Davis said it blew that hard last Saturday, and conditions were so extreme that play likely would’ve been suspended had the tournament been going on because balls on the greens wouldn’t stay still.

“We try to make the course exacting,” Davis said. “If it’s too exacting, we’ll be back here in the media centre” to explain why.

It wouldn’t be the U.S. Open without some chance of that happening.

It’s why Stenson is easing into a week at this monster of a major course, where it’s expected to be humid with temperatures in the 80s most of the week. His hay fever is bugging him, too. He played 18 on Monday and will go only nine holes Tuesday and Wednesday. The key to the week for him, and anyone in the 156-player field: “Patience and pars.”

“It’s certainly a tiring week,” Stenson said. “But it’s all worth it if you stand there with the trophy on Sunday.”

Editors note: as of 2:00 p.m. ET the USGA is cutting some of the rough on holes No. 4, 12, 14, and 18.

Visit the 2017 U.S. Open website here.

The recent proposal of modernized golf rules, set to take effect in 2019, may have absolved Lexi Thompson from a four-shot penalty that cost her a major.

Over the last few months, the Rules of Golf have certainly been in the spotlight. Though most discussions involving the rules have been positive, mostly due to the game-changing announcement on March 1 by golf’s governing bodies that proposed changes to take effect January 1, 2019, there have also been a few widespread groans from golf fans regarding rulings at the professional level.

The most recent of which transpired during the final round of the LPGA Tour’s ANA Inspiration. Walking to the 13th tee with a two-stroke lead, Lexi Thompson was informed by LPGA officials that she would be receiving a four-stroke penalty for incorrectly replacing her ball during the third round.

With just six holes left to play and a huge emotional swing, the American displayed true sportsmanship and poise, fighting back to eventually lose in a playoff. The event drew numerous headlines with many players, coaches and media vocalizing their opinion about the seemingly unfair result, which ultimately cost Thompson a chance to win her second major.

It needs to be said that, based on the current rules, the LPGA Tour applied the penalty and dealt with this unfortunate situation correctly. The tour became aware of a potential infraction through a viewer email after Thompson made the turn on Sunday.

As a Committee, it was obligated to review footage to find out if she did in fact replace her ball in a wrong place. Under Rule 16-1b, a player is allowed to mark the ball on the putting green and she must replace it on the same spot. After carefully reviewing video evidence from the 17th hole of Thompson’s third round, she had indisputably placed the ball in a slightly different spot.

The silver lining for Thompson was that this is no longer results in a penalty of disqualification. In 2016, there was a narrow exception added to Rule 6-6d that was meant to cover a situation exactly such as this.

It states that, “If a competitor returns a score for any hole lower than actually taken due to a failure to include one or more penalty strokes that, before returning his or her score card, she did not know she had incurred, she is not disqualified.” In Thompson’s circumstances, she incurred a two-stroke penalty under Rule 16-1b for not replacing her ball correctly and an additional penalty of two strokes for signing an incorrect score for the 17th hole.

Viewer call-ins and specifically, video evidence, have been a part of the ongoing Rules Modernization Project discussions as the governing bodies prepare an updated code for 2019.

But rather than waiting for the end of this rules cycle, the bodies put into immediate effect a decision to absolve players from infractions, firstly, when video reveals evidence that could not reasonably be seen with the naked eye and, secondly, when players use reasonable judgment to determine a spot, point, line, area or distance.

These standards recognize that a player should not be held to the degree of precision that can sometimes be provided by video technology. It will still be a matter for the Committee to make a determination whether any potential rules breaches could have reasonably been avoided when situations like this arise and when the new rules take effect in 2019.

The 24-rule proposal, reduced from the current 34, has been written in a user-friendly style with shorter sentences, commonly used phrases, bulleted lists and explanatory headings. The joint initiative, intended to make the rules easier to understand and apply, also focuses on assessing the overall consistency, simplicity and fairness of the Rules of Golf for play.

A few highlights of the proposed changes include:

How to drop a ball
Players will be able to drop a ball from any distance above the ground, provided it doesn’t touch anything and falls through the air when dropped.

Time for ball search
Three minutes will be the new maximum allotted time to search for a ball, rather than the current five minutes.

Repairing spike marks
Players will be allowed to repair spike marks and any other damage done by shoes, damage from a club and almost all other damage on the putting green.

Leaving flagstick in the hole
Players will be allowed to leave the flagstick in the hole on the putting green without penalty.

Relaxed rules in penalty areas
Players are allowed to ground their club and move loose impediments in a penalty area (an expanded concept of water hazards).

To review the proposed changes in more detail and submit your own feedback to the R&A and click here.

To do the same with the USGA click here.

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

For the second time in three weeks, the Web.com Tour announced a new tournament set to debut on the annual schedule in 2018. The North Mississippi Classic, which will be played at the Country Club of Oxford, will be held the week of April 16-22, 2018, with 156 players competing for a $550,000 purse. A three-year deal is in place through 2020.

The North Mississippi Classic joins the Savannah Golf Championship in Savannah, Ga., as the newest Web.com Tour events ready to host the next wave of PGA TOUR stars in 2018.

The announcement was made on Tuesday morning at a press conference at the Country Club of Oxford, with Web.com Tour President Dan Glod, Century Club Charities President Jeff Hubbard and Managing Owner of the Country Club of Oxford Larry Britt in attendance.

“We are excited to bring the North Mississippi Classic to Oxford as we continue to grow the Web.com Tour with new events in strong markets,” said Glod. “This community has demonstrated a passion for golf, and we are excited about the opportunity to partner with Country Club of Oxford and the Century Club, which has a proven tournament team that operates a very successful PGA TOUR event.”

“We are confident this partnership will allow us to engage fans, volunteers and local businesses as we look to cement our roots in North Mississippi and increase our charitable impact.”

The North Mississippi Classic will be the third PGA TOUR-sanctioned event to be held annually in Mississippi, joining the PGA TOUR’s Sanderson Farms Championship and the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic on PGA TOUR Champions.

Mississippi is one of just five states to host an annual tournament on all three Tours, with California, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.

The event will be managed by Century Club Charities, the non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization which manages the Sanderson Farms Championship. Since 1994, the group has donated over $14 million to charity through the PGA TOUR stop. The event’s Executive Director, Steve Jent, will oversee the North Mississippi Classic, with proceeds benefitting charities throughout the region.

“Century Club Charities looks forward to hosting another great professional tournament, which will allow us to again showcase Mississippi hospitality to some of the best golfers in the world – all while raising much needed money for a variety of deserving charities,” said Hubbard.

The event will mark the Web.com Tour’s return to Mississippi after a successful 10-year run with the Gulf Coast Mississippi Classic from 1990 through 2000 (tournament was not played in 1998).

The event, which was contested in Gulfport, Miss., produced an impressive list of winners, including major champions Tom Lehman (1991) and Jim Furyk (1993).

The Country Club of Oxford is a 2006 Jim Fazio design that sits just minutes south of the city on some of the most undulating terrain in the region. The 7,000-yard course is one of the home courses of the University of Mississippi golf teams, which annually produce some of the top players in the SEC, including recent NCAA Individual Champion Braden Thornberry.

“The Country Club of Oxford, as well as the Lafayette County, Oxford and University of Mississippi communities are excited the PGA TOUR has chosen The Country Club of Oxford to host this new event,” said Britt. “I, along with my partners and our members, am looking forward to showcasing our club and community. Many have said The Country Club of Oxford is Oxford’s best kept secret. We look forward to sharing that secret with golf fans and to a long-lasting partnership with Century Club Charities and the Web.com Tour.”

With 50 available PGA TOUR cards for the following season (since 2013), the Web.com Tour is The Path to the PGA TOUR. Twenty-five TOUR cards are reserved for the leading money winners at the end of the 22-event Regular Season. Another 25 are up for grabs at the four-event Web.com Tour Finals that follow the Regular Season in September.

The Finals paved the path for immediate PGA TOUR success over the last two seasons for Web.com Tour graduates, with Emiliano Grillo (Frys.com Open), Smylie Kaufman (Shriners Hospitals for Children Open) and Peter Malnati (Sanderson Farms Championship) winning three of the opening four events in the TOUR’s 2015-16 season.

Cody Gribble (Sanderson Farms Championship), Rod Pampling (Shriners Hospitals for Children Open) and Mackenzie Hughes (The RSM Classic) won three of the opening seven events in the 2016-17 season.

For more information on the North Mississippi Classic or the Web.com Tour, please visit PGATOUR.com.

Team Canada came out strong in round one of the Women’s Western Golf Association (WWGA) Championship. Amateur Squad’s Jaclyn Lee and Development Squad’s Mary Parsons hold shares of fourth place at even par through 18 holes at River Grove Country Club in Elmhurst, Ill.

Lee and Parsons carded opening rounds of 72 (E) on Monday to sit one stroke behind leaders Sophia Schubert (Oak Ridge, Tenn.), Hannah Kim (Evanston, Ill.), and Emily White (Saline, Mich.) who are leading the way at 1 under par.

A sophomore at Ohio State University, Lee (Calgary, Alta.) helped the Buckeyes reach the match-play quarter-finals of the NCAA Championship this season, leading Ohio State with a season stroke average of 73.71.

Delta, B.C., native and Team Canada rookie Mary Parsons won the Future Links, driven by Acura Pacific Championship in May – successfully defending her 2016 title. The 18-year-old has committed to attend the University of Indiana in the fall.

Lee’s Amateur Squad teammates, Maddie Szeryk (London, Ont.) and Naomi Ko (Victoria, B.C.), are one stroke back of their compatriots sitting T7 at 1 over par (73).

Ottawa’s Grace St-Germain – the fourth member of the Team Canada Amateur Squad in Elmhurst this week – is T18 at 3 over par (75) along side Development Squad’s Monet Chun (Richmond Hill, Ont.). One stroke behind them is Maddie Szeryk’s 15-year-old sister Ellie who is T26.

Jessica Ip (Richmond Hill, Ont.), Valerie Tanguay (Saint-Hyacinthe, Que.) and Development Squad member Chloe Currie (Missisauga, Ont.) are T42 (+6).

After 36 holes the low-64 qualifiers will advance to the match-play portion of the tournament.

Click here for full scoring.

Brian Hadley is no stranger to posting low numbers at Deer Ridge Golf Club and Monday was no different seeing him shoot a first-round 4-under-par 68.

The 36-year-old head professional from Thames Valley Golf Club leads the field at the PGA Championship of Canada sponsored by Mr. Lube and presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf.

“This golf course is always in such perfect shape with fabulous greens,” Hadley said. “I feel really comfortable out here and it’s really a treat to be able to play this golf course.”

Hadley holds the course record at Deer Ridge, shooting a remarkable 59 in the first round of the 2013 PGA of Ontario Championship.

A pair of first time PGA Championship of Canada players—Wes Heffernan of Calgary and Quebec’s Sonny Michaud—trail Hadley heading into Tuesday’s second round by just a shot after opening-rounds of 3-under-par.

“This event has a long, storied history and it’s very cool,” Heffernan said about teeing it up this week. “There are not many national championships that have the type of names who have won like the PGA Championship of Canada does.”

And he’s right with past champions of the PGA Championship of Canada including Moe Norman, George Knudson, Danny King, Dave Levesque, Eric Laporte, Bryn Parry, Al Balding, Bob Panasik, Tim Clark, Lanny Wadkins, Jim Rutledge, Wilf Homenuik, Stan Leonard, Lee Trevino and Arnold Palmer.

Vancouver’s Parry, who won his PGA Championship of Canada in 2013 at Magna Golf Club, is in a group that includes fellow British Columbia resident Lindsay Bernakevitch and Jean-Philip Cornellier of Quebec at 2-under, T4. Deer Ridge’s own James Skrypec, Oliver Tubb, Philippe Gariepy, last year’s PGA Club Pro Championship of Canada winner Craig Hocknull and Kevin Senecal round out the top 10 at 1-under-par.

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

The 71-player field will be whittled down to the top-16 players following tomorrow’s second round. The final 16 will fill out the match play brackets with the eventual champion winning four match play rounds.

Currently Mike Belbin, Lee Curry, Gordon Burns, Alf Callowhill, Colin Murray and Kevin Stinson would all be involved in a six-for-five sudden death playoff to determine the match play brackets.

Designed by Canada’s Thomas McBroom, a designer known for his indelible golfing concepts that have resonated with players the world over, Deer Ridge is unlike any other creation in the architect’s canon. Opened in 1990, Deer Ridge was ranked the 69th best golf course in Canada by SCOREGolf in its 2016 rankings.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on the weekend that golf will be extended through the 2024 Olympics.

Golf was already in the program for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and on Saturday the IOC approved all 28 sports from Rio for the 2024 games.

The International Golf Federation (IGF) – the official international federation for golf at the Olympics and Paralympics – released a statement on Sunday.

“We were always confident that golf would deliver exciting men’s and women’s competitions in Rio de Janeiro and even at that, it exceeded our expectations. Now, we are excited to build upon the success from last year as we prepare for the 2020 Games in Tokyo and, hopefully, beyond.”

Golf made its return to the Olympics in Rio after a 102-year hiatus. Britain’s Justin Rose and South Korea’s Inbee Park were the gold medallists.

Canada came to Rio as the defending gold medallist in the men’s competition thanks to George Lyon’s victory at Glen Echo Country Club in the 1904 St. Louis Olympics.

Graham DeLaet (Weyburn, Sask.) finished 20th in Rio and Brantford Ontario’s David Hearn was T30.

In the women’s competition Brooke Henderson (Smiths Falls, Ont.) was T7 and Alena Sharp (Hamilton, Ont.) was 30th.

The location of the 2024 games has not been officially released.