Former British Open Champion Stewart Cink, Matt Every, Scott Brown, and Sebastian Munoz each shot 6-under 64s on Thursday to share the lead after one round at the St. Jude Classic.

Charl Schwartzel and Matt Jones were each one stroke back at the final tuneup before the U.S. Open.

Two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen and Chez Reavie each shot a 66 on the par-70 TPC Southwind course.

The 33-year-old Every has two wins on the PGA Tour, but none since 2014. He’s only made two cuts this year and hasn’t finished better than a tie for 62nd at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March.

“I haven’t played real well in a couple years, and I’ve been out here for like seven or eight, so I kind of know the drill,” Every said. “Like one round is not that big a deal. It is nice to play well, but yeah, they don’t hand out trophies after the first round.”

Every had four birdies during his round and an eagle on the par-5 16th, sticking his second shot about 10 feet from the flagstick before sinking the putt. He closed his round by making a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th.

“Middle of the round got a little away from me, but I saved some shots and I haven’t been doing that lately,” Every said. “Then I played pretty solid the last few holes. So it was just a good day. I was kind of due for one.”

Cink, Brown and Munoz joined him by making afternoon charges up the leaderboard.

Brown, a 34-year-old who finished second at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans and tied for second at the Genesis Open, followed a bogey on the 14th with consecutive birdies, holing a pair of putts from inside of 10 feet to pull even with Every. He missed a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 18 that would have given him sole possession of the lead.

“I’ve been striking it nicely now for a few months and just the putter’s kind of been a little inconsistent,” Brown said. “Hot some days, cold some days. … If I can keep the putter rolling, should be kind of in the mix for the week.”

Cink, a 44-year-old, six-time winner on tour and 2009 British Open winner, birdied three straight holes late in his round, including one from about 10 feet on the par-4 5th. He bogeyed the next hole, then closed his round with a birdie on No. 9 to catch Brown and Every.

“The key to my round today was the key to anyone’s round who plays well here and that is you’ve got to keep the ball in front of you,” Cink said. “Meaning, you don’t have to hit every fairway, but you can’t really be off too much.”

Munoz, a 24-year-old, third-year pro from Colombia who’s chasing his first victory on tour, was bogey-free during the best round of his career. He had six birdies, including two in a row on Nos. 15-16.

Billy Horschel used a fairway wood to putt on his final hole after he broke his putter a hole earlier. After missing a 2-foot putt on No. 8, he flipped his putter in the air and the head snapped off when it struck the ground. According to PGA rules, he wasn’t allowed to use a new putter because it didn’t break during the course of play. He finished with a 72.

For the full leaderboard click here.

Canadian Ben Silverman is tied for second at six under par after round one of the Web.com Tour’s Rust Oleum Classic, in Invanhoe, IL.

The Thornhill, Ont., product fired an opening round 66 at the Ivanhoe Club to sit one shot behind the leader Brice Garnett (Gallatin, Mo.), who tied the course record with a 7-under par 65.

Silverman had five birdies, an eagle, and just one bogey on Thursday to equal his low round of the season.

His first 66 was in the second round of his best result of the year, a T17 at the shortened BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation at the Furman University Golf Club in Greensville, S.C

Tunnel vision.@Benw_Silverman is just one back after an opening 66 @RustOleumChamp. pic.twitter.com/akWdi8G8Kk

— Web.com Tour (@WebDotComTour) June 8, 2017

Coming into the week Silverman was ranked 87th on the Web.com Tour Order of Merit. He’s looking to improve on his 131st place finish a year ago.

Calgary’s Ryan Yip is T5 after 18 holes thanks to an opening round 67 (-5). Yip, a graduate of the Team Canada Amateur Team, had his best result of the season at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by NACHER, at Le Triomphe Golf and Country Club, when he finished T9 in Broussard, LA, in May.

Fellow Team Canada alum Adam Svensson (Surrey, B.C), is also T5 at 5 under par. Svensson finished his round with three birdies to card a 67.

Team Canada Young Pro Squad member, Corey Conners, (Listowel, Ont.) carded an opening round 2-under par 70 to sit T35.

For the full leaderboard click here.

Preferred lies and ideal conditions left Whistle Bear Golf Club in a prone position for Thursday’s opening round at the Manulife LPGA Classic. Canadians Alena Sharp and Brittany Marchand took full advantage.

Sharp eagled the par-5 12th hole en route to a 6-under 66 while Marchand opened with a 67. Both were within striking distance of Norway’s Suzann Pettersen and South Korea’s Mi Hyang Lee, who shared the lead at 8-under 64.

“I knew I needed to shoot a low round,” Sharp said. “But you don’t really want to think about a score in your mind. The way I’m hitting it I knew I was going to have a lot of chances and I took advantage of the par fives. I was 5 under on those so that really helped me out.”

Canadian @AlenaSharp is very appreciative of the support she receives when she comes back to her home country. She shot -6 @ManulifeClassic pic.twitter.com/TPf9PfnZEJ

— LPGA (@LPGA) June 8, 2017

South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim, Belgium’s Gonzalez Escall and China’s Shanshan Feng were one shot off the lead at 65.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., had an uneven performance in the warm, sunny conditions. She was visibly frustrated after missing a few short birdie putts around the turn and finished with a 71.

“I hit a lot of really great shots and the putts just didn’t drop today,” Henderson said. “But hopefully I can switch things around tomorrow and everything will be good.”

.@BrookeHenderson analyzes her LPGA season.

More from @ManulifeClassic ==> pic.twitter.com/pznDvyVnx1

— LPGA (@LPGA) June 8, 2017

Pettersen, meanwhile, recently lost her yardage book for the course and had to write notes from scratch this week. She trusted her eye and it paid off with six birdies over one eight-hole stretch.

“We woke up this morning to perfect conditions,” she said. “You can fire at pins and get to par fives, which is fun. I think it’s the best way to set up a golf course and get low scores.”

Sharp, from Hamilton, started on the back nine. She bogeyed her opening hole before recovering on the 12th, using a 6-iron to leave herself a 15-footer for eagle.

Sharp connected and followed it up with three birdies over her next four holes.

“I was on a nice run,” she said. “It was just easy. Felt really simple.”

Marchand, a Symetra Tour player entered as a sponsor’s invite, also had an early morning tee time. The Orangeville, Ont., native fired seven birdies over her round to go with a pair of bogeys.

She even had the clubhouse lead for a spell.

“I’ve shot 5 under before but never in an LPGA event, so it’s pretty cool,” Marchand said.

The course dried out a little as the round progressed. Warm temperatures were expected to continue through Sunday’s final round.

The 6,613-yard track is still recovering from an unusually wet and cool spring in the area. Players were allowed to lift, clean and replace balls on closely mowed fairway areas.

Those who kept drives long and tight could attack the soft greens.

“I just made a lot of key putts today and that kept me going,” Sharp said. “I made a lot of six- to 10-footers, which is what I’ve been working on. It’s nice to see the results coming early in the tournament.”

Jodi Ewart Shadoff of England and Emily Pedersen of Norway were tied with Sharp in sixth place at 66.

Joining Marchand at 67 were Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn, South Korea’s In Gee Chun and Americans Angel Yin, Lexi Thompson and Lee Lopez. Defending champion Caroline Masson of Germany opened with a 70.

There are 10 other Canadians entered in the US$1.7-million event. They include Augusta James (70) of Orangeville, Calgary’s Jennifer Ha (72), Grace St. Germain (72) of Penticton, B.C., Maude-Aimee LeBlanc (74) of Sherbrooke, Que., Jaclyn Lee of Calgary (75), Charlottetown’s Lorie Kane (76), Jennifer Kirby (76) of Brantford, Ont., Vivian Tsui (76) of Markham, Ont., Maddie Szeryk (78) of London, Ont., and Samantha Richdale (79) of Kelowna, B.C.

For the full leaderboard click here.

Lake Mary, Florida’s Jhared Hack shot a 9-under 61 on Thursday at Uplands Golf Club, taking the first-round lead at the Bayview Place Cardtronics Open presented by Times Colonist, the second event of the 2017 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season.

The 27-year old birdied four of his first five holes and finished with nine birdies and no bogeys to lead by two over Vancouver, B.C.’s Ryan Williams and Tacoma, Washington’s Derek Barron after day one.

Hack’s 61 matches the course record at Uplands, set by Andrew Roque (2012) and Roger Sloan (2011), both during the Bayview Place Cardtronics Open presented by Times Colonist.

“It was really good golfing,” said Hack, who credited his putter for his low score. “I putted really nicely. When you shoot a round like this, you have to roll it well and I made all my five- to 15-foot putts today. These greens are so good, it’s going to go in if you hit a good putt.”

Hack’s remarkable score undermines the challenging weather faced by the field on Thursday, with rains falling throughout the morning and winds gusting to over 60 km/h in the afternoon.

“We knew the weather was going to be kind of wet, kind of cold,” said Hack, crediting a patient approach for his success. “Just trying to take one shot at a time and eliminate mistakes and really stay patient. When you shoot a round like this, it just happens, you don’t go out thinking “I’m going to go out and shoot 61 today.”

Hack spent the last two years on the Web.com Tour, recording three top-25 finishes in 35 starts. He finished 132nd and 109th on the Web.com Tour Money List in 2015 and 2016, respectively, and also owns extensive experience on PGA TOUR Latinoamérica, with six top-10s in 25 career starts.

Hack on top in record-setting fashion
du Toit makes professional debut
Some unexpected patrons

Watch first-round highlights pic.twitter.com/mS4clbZKpE

— Mackenzie Tour (@PGATOURCanada) June 9, 2017

Williams birdied the 18th hole to shoot 63, his lowest career round on the Mackenzie Tour, and was tied with Barron, who qualified for the U.S. Open on Monday and carded seven birdies and zero bogeys on Thursday.

“It was a great round of golf. I got off to a great start. The greens are so pure out here, so I kept giving myself great looks. Overall, whenever you go out there and make seven birdies and no bogeys it’s a great round of golf,” said Williams.

Former Golf Canada National Amateur Team member Jared du Toit opened with a 3-under 67 in his professional debut.

““I was really kind of worried about the first one, because that’s the one you think about for four or five days in advance. To get that in with a good score, I’m really happy about it,” said du Toit following his first professional round.

For the full leaderboard click here.

Team Canada Amateur Squad member Naomi Ko is tied for first after the second round of the Porter Cup at the Niagara Falls Country Club, in Lewiston, N.Y., sharing first with Lauren Waller (Canonsburg, Penn.)

The Victoria, B.C., product started Thursday in a share of second after an opening-round 71 (-1).

Ko had an up-and-down front nine, recording three birdies, a bogey, and a double bogey to shoot an even-par 36. On the back nine she settled in recording two birdies and no bogeys to card a 2-under-par 70 on the day.

A sophomore at N.C. State, Ko’s best result of the season was a T1 finish at the Lady Puerto Rico Invitational at Rio Mar Country Club – River Course.

Alexandra Naumovski (Halton Hills, Ont.) is the next best Canadian sitting T4 at even par thanks to a 2-under par-70 in round two.

St. Catharines, Ont., native Kennedy Bodfield posted a tournament-low 5-under-par 67 to sit T7 at 2 over par alongside Alyssa DiMarcantonio (Maple, Ont.), Kelsey Sear (Unionville, Ont.) and Development Squad golfer Hannah Lee (Surrey B.C.), who carded a second-round 70 (-2).

Lee’s Development Squad teammate Monet Chun (Richmond Hill, Ont) is T15 at 3 over par after a 1-over-par 73 in round two.

Chloe Currie – the third Development Squad golfer in Lewiston this week – was much better in round two, shooting a 2-over 74 (after a first round 80). She is T35 at 10 over par.

To view the full Porter Cup leaderboard click here.

Garrett Rank, from Elmira, Ont., carded even-par 69 in Thursday’s second round at the Monroe Invitational in Pittsford, N.Y to hold a share of fourth at 3 under par after 36 holes.

Rank started the day at the Monroe Golf Club with a share of second after an opening-round 66 (-3).

After back-to-back birdies on holes No. 11 and 12 the three-time defending Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Champion was 2 under par for the round before bogeys on 14 and 17 put him back to even par.

He is one stroke behind leaders Justin Tereshko (Jamestown, N.C.), Tyler Strafaci (Davie, Fla.), and San Jose, Calif., native Shintaro Ban—who’s second round 63 (-6) was the lowest of the day.

The 28-year-old is coming off a semi-final appearance with partner Patrick Christovich at the U.S. Amateur Four Ball in Pinehurst, N.C. at the renowned Pinehurst No. 2 from May 27-31.

Fellow Canadians Joey Savoie, (Montreal, Que.), Josh Whalen (Napanee, Ont.), Maxwell Sear (Unionville, Ont.), and Blair Bursey (Gander, N.L.) are all T15 at 1 over par.

Team Canada Development Squad golfer A.J Ewart from Coquitlam, B.C., is T29 at 3 over par after a second-round 70 (+1).

Ewart’s Development Squad teammate Peyton Callens (Langton, Ont.) carded a 1-over-par 70 in the second round to sit T41, one stroke ahead of Amateur Squad golfer Hugo Bernard (Mont-St-Hilaire, Que.), who posted a second-round 71 (+1) to sit T46 at 7 over par.

Bath, Ont., product Austin James — the second member of the Team Canada Amateur Squad in the field this week — shot a 3-over par 72 on Thursday to sit T57 (+8).

Click here for full scores.

The PGA Championship of Canada sponsored by Mr. Lube and presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf takes place next week at the superb Deer Ridge GC in Kitchener, Ont.

Sixty-nine of the of the PGA of Canada’s best players tee it up June 12-15 all vying for the association’s most prestigious championship and the historic P.D. Ross trophy.

“It’s quite the understatement, but the field for this year’s PGA Championship of Canada sponsored byMr.Lube and presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf is unbelievably deep,” said PGA of Canada president Steve Wood. “With the entire top 10 and 42 of the top 50 teeing it up at Deer Ridge, we’re bound to see a compelling championship.”

The top 10 include:

• Dave Levesque, Golf Chateau Bromont
• Bill Walsh, Fairtree Golf Centre
• Oliver Tubb, University GC
• Marc-Etienne Bussieres, Club de Golf Longchamp
• Bryn Parry, Point Grey G&CC
• Danny King, The Performance Academy at Magna
• Brian McCann, Brampton G&CC
• Lee Curry, Ottawa Athletic Club Golf School
• Mike Belbin, Royal Mayfair GC
• Brad Kerfoot, Maple Downs GC

Additionally, 16 players in the field at Deer Ridge have won at least one PGA of Canada national title. This impressive list includes Levesque, Bussieres, Parry, King and Eric Laporte, all of whom are past winners of PGA Championship of Canada sponsored by Mr. Lube and presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf.

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

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 board of directors and management team at Deer Ridge are thrilled and honoured to host one of Canada’s most storied championships, the PGA Championship of Canada,” said Deer Ridge Golf Club’s head PGA professional Rich Morel. “This is a great opportunity to showcase our fantastic facility to many who are unfamiliar with it both locally and nationally.”

Deer Ridge is also home to a piece of Canadian golfing lore. Brian Hadley of Thames Valley GC shot 59 at Deer Ridge in the first round of the 2013 PGA of Ontario Championship. Hadley is in the field for this year’s PGA Championship of Canada.

Re-launched in 2011, the PGA Championship of Canada was contested strictly as a match play event thru 2014 with players from the four brackets—Stan Leonard, George Knudson, Al Balding and Moe Norman—looking to advance through the six rounds to capture the P.D. Ross trophy. However, the 2015 championship at Cabot Links saw a format change, with 64 top-ranked players from the PGA of Canada Player Rankings presented by RBC playing two rounds of stroke play. The top-16 players from the 36-hole stroke play portion of the event filled out the four match play brackets with the eventual champion winning four match play rounds.

This year’s championship at Deer Ridge will follow the same format.

Marc-Etienne Bussieres 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 and 1 on the 1893 A.V. Macan-designed seaside links gem in the championship’s final match.

It’s an honour and a privilege to have your name on a trophy that’s as historic as the P.D. Ross,” Bussieres said. “To be beside names like Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino and George Knudson is really something.”

In addition to Bussieres, past champions of the PGA Championship of Canada include Moe Norman, George Knudson, King, Levesque, Laporte, Parry, Al Balding, Bob Panasik, Tim Clark, Lanny Wadkins, Jim Rutledge, Wilf Homenuik, Stan Leonard, Lee Trevino and Arnold Palmer. For the full list click here.

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., from July 24-30.

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, visit pgaofcanada.com,  or follow the PGA of Canada on twitter, instagram and facebook.

Team Canada Amateur Squad member Naomi Ko is in a tie for second after a 1-under-par 71 in the first round of the Porter Cup at Niagara Falls Country Club in Lewiston, NY.

The Victoria, B.C., product is one stroke behind leader Madison Luitwieler from Katy, Tex.

After a 1-over-par 37 on the front nine Ko hit her stride after making the turn, dropping two birdies and carding a 2-under-par 34 on her second nine.

Ko recently wrapped up her sophomore year at North Carolina State where she competed in all 10 regular season rounds for the Wolfpack posting a season stroke average of 74.53.

In a field with 19 Canadians, Team Canada Development Squad golfer Monet Chun (Richmond Hill, Ont.) is the next highest Canadian sitting T12 at 2 over par along with Alexandra Naumovski from Halton Hills, Ont.

Markham, Ont., native Hailey McLaughlin is T19 at 3 over par.

One stroke back of McLaughlin sitting T24 are Canadians Alyssa DiMarcantonio (Maple, Ont.), Katherine Gravel-Coursol (Mirabel, QC.), Madeline Marck-Sherk (Ridgeway, Ont.), Michelle Kim (Surrey B.C) and Development Squad golfer Hannah Lee (Surrey, B.C).

The third Development Squad member in the field this week Chloe Currie, of Mississauga, Ont., is T45 (+8).

For the full Porter Cup leaderboard click here.

Elmira, Ont., product Garrett Rank fired a 3-under-par 66 to hold a share of second place after the first round of the Monroe Invitational at Monroe Golf Club in Pittsford, N.Y.

Rank, the three-time defending Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Champion, recorded four birdies and one bogey on Wednesday to sit one stroke behind leader Tyler Strafaci of Davie, Fla.

The 28-year-old is coming off a strong semi-final appearance at the U.S. Amateur Four Ball from May 27-31 at the famed Pinehurst No. 2 course in Pinehurst, N.C. He’s slated to tee off his second round at 8:15 a.m.

The 72-hole Monroe Invitational has a large Canadian contingent with four golfers from the Team Canada Amateur and Development Squads in attendance, as well as other top Canadian amateurs.

Development Squad’s A.J Ewart (Coquitlam, B.C) is T21 at 2 over par after 18 holes.

Five other Canadians join Ewart at 2 over par: Joey Savoie, (Montreal, Que.), Josh Whalen (Napanee, Ont.), Maxwell Sear (Unionville, Ont.), Kevin Fawcett (Newmarket, Ont.), and Luke Moser (Waterloo, Ont.).

Team Canada Amateur Squad members Hugo Bernard (Mont-St-Hilaire, Que.) and Austin James (Bath, Ont.) are T57 at 5 over par alongside Development Squad golfer Peyton Callens (Langton, Ont.).

To view the full Monroe Invitational leaderboard click here.

It is often said that the journey to success is not a sprint, but rather it’s a marathon—and that seems to resonate with fourth year pro, Jennifer Kirby.

After leading the University of Alabama Crimson Tide to a national title in 2012, the Paris, Ont. golfer secured her LPGA Tour card on her first attempt the following year in December of 2013.

“I started out pretty fast. I never really expected to get my LPGA Tour card right out of college,” she said recently in an interview during a media event promoting the upcoming Manulife LPGA Classic—which runs from June 7-11 at the Whistle Bear Golf Club in Cambridge, Ont.

“It was great to be able to make it that first year and I learned so much playing on Tour,” added the former amateur standout and Team Canada graduate.

However, thus far in her first four years as a professional, the former Canadian National Amateur Squad member has struggled to find the consistency that she was known for during her stellar amateur career.

Currently, Kirby is competing in her second year on the Symetra Tour; and remains firmly committed to the goal of returning to the LPGA Tour.

While her game is not where she would like it to be at this point, the 26-year-old says she’s been working overtime to change that.

“I practiced really hard this off-season and I’m really committed to improving my game,” said Kirby who adds that she’s recently been working on fine tuning her swing.

“I haven’t seen the results that I would like to thus far but it’s a long season. There are 23 events in the season; and in some ways it’s like a marathon out there, and it’s still early.  But I’m happy that I’m seeing a lot of positives in my game,” noted the Crimson Tide alum.

While she’s pacing herself for the long haul, Kirby—a Manulife brand ambassador who will receive a sponsor exception to the upcoming Manulife LPGA Classic—says she will have a nice adrenaline rush from competing at home.

“I’m very excited about being able to play at home in front of the Canadian fans. I grew up in Paris, Ontario which is really close to here, so it’ll be great to have a lot of friends and family members out here supporting me,” she said.

While the tournament is still searching for a new title sponsor for next year, Kirby is quick to point out the benefits brought on from the Manulife LPGA Classic over the past five years.

“Just having the tournament and having the world’s best compete here has brought a lot of excitement and a lot of attention to the game in the area and beyond. It’s great to see the little kids coming and getting that exposure to the game from such a young age,” she said.

“The tournament has done a lot of grow the game; and obviously I’m hoping that it continues on for a long time.”

In addition, Kirby acknowledges the success of Canadians competing on the LPGA Tour has also done a lot to bring attention to the sport and help it grow.

“Obviously, the success of Brooke (Henderson) and some of the other Canadians on the LPGA has inspired many young girls in the country to pick up the sport—which is great,” Kirby noted.

Motivated by the success of her peers and her home coming of sorts in a couple of weeks, the 2009 Canadian Women’s Amateur champion believes there’s no better time to step up her game.

“I really believe I’m capable of competing against these girls and having the opportunity to play at home in front of a supportive crowd is definitely going to provide me with that extra motivation,” she said with a smile.

While she’s looking to put in a strong performance at the upcoming Manulife LPGA Classic, the second year Symetra Tour golfer is also focused on putting up consistent results the remainder of the season in order to regain her status on the LPGA Tour.

Kirby is confident that her hard work is about to pay off; and says her best golf is just around the corner.

“I’m aiming for a bunch of top ten finishes for the rest of the season; but the goal is to win out there and winning multiple times would be better…If you win once on the Symetra Tour, then you are pretty much guaranteed a top-10 finish on the money list and status on the LPGA next year,” said the former amateur standout.

“I’ve been working really hard but I just haven’t had that really hot round yet—but I feel that I’m really close to getting back on track.”