Once a dragon, always a dragon – at least that’s how former Team Canada National Squad golfer Garrett Rank feels.

Rank – a full-time NHL referee – gifted Team Canada Men’s Head Coach Derek Ingram a signed NHL referee jersey to say thank you for Ingram’s tutelage during his time with the national team.

Rank was a member of the national team, who call themselves the dragons, from 2012-2014. Now he’s the highest ranking Canadian in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

Ingram shared photos of his present on twitter acknowledging it as one of the best gifts he’s received from former players.

I have gotten several very cool things from players I coached & this is near the top! @TheGolfCanada #dragonalum #GRank ??#alwaysadragon pic.twitter.com/mnwVxJuMEJ

— Derek Ingram (@dingramgolf) July 3, 2017

Refereeing is special to Rank. It’s something his late father did and the two bonded over. He’s made it known how lucky he feels to be able to work in the NHL.

His gift to Ingram reinforces how much Team Canada athletes value all the hard work and hours that Team Canada coaches put in to helping the next generation of Canadian golfers reach their potential.

Go dragons.

Today, Brooke Henderson, Adam Hadwin, and Mackenzie Hughes are household names for Canadian golf fans because of their impressive accomplishments on the professional stage.

And making an important contribution in their journey to success has been Golf Canada’s national team program.

It began in 2005 with a men’s amateur team and a women’s amateur team – and has evolved and grown over the years.

Presently, the national team program consists of a development squad, an amateur squad, a young pro team, and an Olympic team.

The program is year-round in scope and provides world class support and services to the selected athletes to help them reach their short term and long-term goals.

“I joined the national team when I was 14 years old.  That’s also the first year that I won a professional event in Quebec,” said Brooke Henderson, now a four time LPGA champion.

“I played my first LPGA TOUR event as a 14-year-old; and that had a lot to do with my dad, who is my coach, and also joining forces with the Canadian national team.”

The 19-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ontario is quick to speak about the important components of the program which encompasses fitness, sports, psychology, nutrition, technique, equipment and international competition.

“I got so many opportunities to compete outside of Canada and in the U.S.  We played in the British and world amateur championships and all over the world,” Henderson continued.

“So being on the team really taught me a lot. Not only from the coaches – but golf-wise, we had access to a nutritionist, psychologist, strength and conditioning. I learned about all the aspects of the game of golf and that’s been very important to my development.”

As part of the selection process, Golf Canada offers athletes spots onto the respective teams based on performance results along with other factors; and each participant receives a personalized program tailored towards his or her needs.

As part of the program, competition schedules are reviewed and approved by the coaching staff.

Derek Ingram serves as the head coach for the men’s amateur team, young pro team, and Olympic team; while Robert Ratcliffe is the head coach of men’s development squad.

On the women’s side, Tristan Mullally is the head coach of the amateur team, the young pro team and Olympic team; while Ann Carroll being the head coach of development squad.

In addition, leaders in the field of sport science have been a part of building the program and continue to play an important part – often from behind the scenes.

As the country’s top-ranked female amateur, Maddie Szeryk, says her involvement has helped her game and is quick to credit the national team program staff.

“We have so many different elements to it. We have our head coach, Tristan, and then we have our sports psychologist and physio and they’re all awesome. It’s definitely helped me over the last couple of years and I’m very thankful for the program,” said the amateur team member recently at the Manulife LPGA Classic.

“It’s great to have a sports psychologist working through the mental aspect because the sport is very mental and it’s important to understand how to react to not playing well or different situations,” added Szeryk, who won the Ontario Women’s Amateur in 2015.

As the national team program’s sports psychologist, Dr. Adrienne Leslie-Toogood speaks about the importance of maintaining the right mental state of mind.

“A golfer needs to be able to judge distance and what kind of club they want to use, as an example; and sometimes we forget that they are human beings, and the person executing the skill is vulnerable to anxiety and stress,” said Dr. Leslie-Toogood, a licensed psychologist and adjunct faculty at the University of Manitoba.

“We really want to help athletes be self-aware of where they are mentally, so they have tools to calm themselves and they know what to focus on during a round of golf,” she continued.

“If athletes have thoughts that are not productive, we want to provide them with tools and strategies to bring their thoughts back to things that can help them on the course, so they can perform at their best.”

Szeryk is also quick to offer a personal example of how she has benefitted from working with the program’s physiotherapist, Greg Redman.

“I’ve had some issues with my back and Greg really worked with me to fix that through showing me different exercises,” noted Szeryk, a dual-citizen of the United States and Canada who is currently in her junior year at the University of Texas A&M.

As the head physiotherapist and strength and conditioning coach for the national team program, Redman understands the importance of athletes being at their physical best.

“Besides the technical component, golf like many other sports has many facets to it. There’s also the mental side and the strength and conditioning aspect, etc.,” said Redman, a respected clinical physiotherapy specialist who has also worked with the Canadian Olympic team in Athens, Torino, Beijing, London, Sochi and Rio.

“Athletes need to be at their physical best to perform at their best and maintain optimal health and avoid injuries.  And through the program we work with the athletes on those aspects,” he added.

Having been involved with the program since day one back in 2005, Redman says his personal highlight comes from seeing the success of past alumni.

“Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin were part of the program from way back in the day and they were two of the best that we had. It’s amazing to see how far they have progressed and to see their success,” said Redman.

According to Hadwin – who broke through this year to win his first PGA victory at the Valspar Championship in March – golf in Canada is on the rise.

“We’ve got guys playing well on the Web.com Tour and are ready to take that next step; and guys in behind that are moving up in to the Web.com Tour… I think Canadian golf is in great hands and I think it’s just going to continue to get better,” noted Hadwin.

Besides Henderson, Hadwin, and Taylor, other notable participants of the program include Maude-Aimée LeBlanc, Jennifer Ha, Graham DeLaet, and Mackenzie Hughes – just to name a few.

“Derek, Tristan, and the rest of the coaching staff have played a significant part in the success of the program and the players,” said Redman.

“It’s just exciting be part of the team that has played a part to helping the athletes get to the point where they are.”

As an ambassador for the game in the country and a keen observer of the sport, Lorie Kane also gives her endorsement for the contributions made by the national team program.

“Tristan and Derek and the staff there are doing a great job,” said the Canadian Golf Hall of Famer.

“At end of the day the athlete needs to own their own game. And they have to be able to reach out and get help; and we do know that Golf Canada has definitely done their job and have the help there for the players,” she added.

“From a fundamental standpoint, the program is solid.”

PEABODY, Mass. – Kenny Perry claimed his second U.S. Senior Open on Sunday, pulling away from Kirk Triplett at Salem Country Club to finish at 16 under and win by two strokes.

The 56-year-old Perry closed with a 2-under 68 for a record score of 264. Perry also won the event in 2013 in Omaha, Nebraska. It is his fourth major victory on the senior tour.

Perry started the day a stroke behind Triplett but five ahead of the next-closest contender, Brandt Jobe. Triplett, who tied the tournament record with a 62 in the opening round, had five bogeys Sunday and shot 71.

Jobe had a 70 to finish seven strokes back. Tom Lehman and Fred Couples each shot 69 to tie for fourth at 8 under.

Perry’s 264 total was three strokes better than the U.S. Senior Open record set by Hale Irwin at Saucon Valley in 2000 and matched by Perry in 2013. Perry was the only player to shoot under par in each of the four rounds at the 6,815-yard Donald Ross-designed course, which also hosted the tournament in 2001.

That year, Bruce Fleischer won at even par.

But overnight rain before the first three rounds softened the greens, and Triplett and Jobe each took advantage with rounds of 62 – matching the lowest score in a PGA Tour Champions major.

“Today was probably how they wanted the golf course to play all week,” said Jobe, who played his other three rounds at a combined 1 under. “It was hard out there.”

Triplett started the final day with a one-stroke lead but it didn’t last long. Perry birdied the first hole and then took the lead for good when Triplett dropped a stroke on No. 5. By the ninth hole, Perry’s lead was four strokes, and Jobe had closed within two shots of second place.

Triplett, who only had two total bogeys in the first three rounds, had five on Sunday. Perry played bogey-free, with a pair of birdies.

Perry has nine overall victories on the 50-and-over tour after winning 14 times on PGA Tour. He lost a playoff to Mark Brooks in the 1996 PGA Championship at Valhalla in his home state of Kentucky.

Kyle Stanley was in tears on the 18th green after he holed a 5-foot par putt to win the Quicken Loans National in a playoff over Charles Howell III. He wept again in the interview room as he spoke about the long slump between his first and second career victories and the doubts that his game would ever return.

He believed he could win again. But he never really had to think about it until midway through his round on a wild Sunday at TPC Potomac.

“There was some doubt there for a little bit. Yeah, I mean, it’s no fun,” Stanley said, wiping away tears. “You certainly question if you’ll get back … and have a moment like this. It makes this pretty special, for sure.”

On a day when about a dozen players had realistic chances to win, Stanley moved into a share of the lead for the first time with a birdie on the par-5 10th as the leaders faltered behind him. He never had the lead alone until the trophy was his.

Stanley and Howell began the day four shots off the lead, playing together in the fourth-to-last group. Stanley got into the mix with birdies on the fifth, sixth and eight holes, none of the putts longer than 10 feet.

A win in a playoff! ?@KyleStanleyGolf claims the @QLNational as his 2nd career PGA TOUR victory!#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/CA8DWw7LPL

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 2, 2017

Howell nudged ahead momentarily with a 27-footer for eagle on the short par-4 14th, only for Stanley to match him with a two-putt birdie.

Both parred the final four holes to shoot 4-under 66s and finish at 7 under, and no one could catch them. Howell had a 21-foot putt to win on the final hole of regulation that rolled over the left edge of the cup.

Playing the par-4 18th again in the playoff, both missed their tee shots to the right, with Stanley getting lucky to draw a good lie. Both missed the green. Howell’s chip came up short and he missed the 11-foot par putt. Stanley chipped to 5 feet and pumped his fist as the putt dropped.

Stanley’s previous win came in 2012 at the Phoenix Open. Later that year, he was ranked a career-best 47th in the world. He declined steadily after that, bottoming out at No. 683 in May 2015.

Even before this week, he was having his strongest season since that 2012 campaign, with four top-10 finishes and three missed cuts in 19 starts.

For three days, the event had been a staid affair, with a lackluster field, small galleries and steady, sometimes dull golf from David Lingmerth, who led after each of the first three rounds. Tournament host Tiger Woods did not attend while he seeks treatment for his use of prescription drugs.

On Sunday, the crowds were bigger, the course was softer and chaos broke out. Then it started pouring. A pop-up storm temporarily soaked TPC Potomac and doomed the chances of Sung Kang, who didn’t pack any rain gear in his bag and missed a 4-foot birdie putt in the heart of the downpour just before play was stopped for 5 minutes. When play resumed, he hit his tee shot into the water on the par-3 17th.

“It was so unfortunate,” Kang said. “There was a zero percent chance of rain today and it was raining so hard.”

His consolation prize was qualifying for his first British Open. The top four players who weren’t already exempt earned spots, and Kang, who finished in an eight-way tie for fifth, got the final berth because of his world ranking.

The other British Open qualifiers were Stanley, Howell and Martin Laird of Scotland, who closed with a 67. He tied for third at 5 under with Rickie Fowler, who shot a 65.

Fowler embraced his role as the tournament’s star attraction, making a career-best nine birdies, but he lamented the one hole that got away – the easy 14th, where his drive found the water and he made double bogey.

Howell, who hadn’t played in more than two months because of a rib injury, notched his 16th career runner-up finish. He hasn’t won in 10 years and never imagined he’d come so close this week.

“Going into this week I was extremely rusty,” Howell said. “I really can’t believe how well I played.”

Lingmerth coughed up the lead immediately with a bogey on the first hole. His chances ended when he pulled his drive on the punishing par-4 11th into a hazard and made double bogey. He closed with a 73. Daniel Summerhays, who blew a three-shot lead at the Memorial a month ago, moved in front with a birdie on 2 but gave it back with a double bogey on 4. He shot 74.

This win means so much. ?

This emotional interview speaks volumes. ❤️️ pic.twitter.com/mvZCLy3ioz

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 2, 2017

Playing on a sponsor exemption, 20-year-old Australian Curtis Luck also held the lead briefly but coughed it up with bogeys on Nos. 8 and 9. His top-10 finish means he won’t have to use a sponsor exemption at the Greenbrier Classic next week.

Stanley is heading home for a week off before he gears up for Royal Birkdale. At some point the tears will give way to satisfaction.

“I wish I didn’t cry so much, to be honest,” he said. “It just feels good to put the work in and see the rewards. I think that’s where most of the emotion’s coming from.”

Abbotsford native Nick Taylor was T29 at 1 over par.

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Danielle Kang birdied the final hole to win the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship on Sunday for her first LPGA Tour title, edging defending champion Brooke Henderson of Canada.

Kang bogeyed the tricky par-3 17th, and Henderson closed with two birdies to move into a tie for the lead, coming up just short on a 30-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th. But Kang responded with two solid shots to get to the green in two, and then two-putted for the victory.

It was another great finish for the LPGA Tour’s second major of the season. The 19-year-old Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., beat Lydia Ko in a playoff last year at Sahalee in Washington.

.@BrookeHenderson goes bogey-free to finish 2nd at the @KPMGWomensPGA! Watch highlights from her amazing round: pic.twitter.com/GKBaBd1fbE

— LPGA (@LPGA) July 2, 2017

The 24-year-old Kang trailed Henderson and Chella Choi by one after she bogeyed the par-4 10th at Olympia Fields. But she moved in front with four straight birdies on Nos. 11-14, getting hot with her putter at the right time.

Kang also had a clutch 21-foot par putt at 16 on her way to a 4-under 68 and the winner’s check of $525,000. Henderson closed with a 66 to finish a stroke back, and Chella Choi, who was tied with Kang for the lead coming into the day, was third at 10 under after a 71.

“She won it-I was just trying to make it close. 2nd in a major championship isn’t bad. I’m very happy” Brooke Henderson @KPMGWomensPGA pic.twitter.com/Cfz2q4j5K8

— LPGA (@LPGA) July 2, 2017

Kang’s previous best finish in a major was a tie for 14th in the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open.

Henderson made a strong bid for a second straight title in the event, jumping up the leaderboard three birdies in her first seven holes. But the Canadian had nine straight pars in the middle of the round.

Mi Hyang Lee (67), Amy Yang (68) and Sei Young Kim (68) tied for third at 9 under, and Lexi Thompson (69) and Inbee Park (68) were another two strokes back. Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (73) tied for 36th at even par.

Kang received some high-profile support as she tried for her first title since turning pro, hearing from Wayne Gretzky and Caitlyn Jenner _ friends from her days at Sherwood Country Club in California _ over the weekend. Four-time major winner Hollis Stacy also reached out, but it was some sage advice from brother Alex that set the tone for her breakout performance.

Feeling overwhelmed after her last practice round on the tree-lined course near Chicago, Kang called her brother to help formulate a game plan. Alex Kang, who plays on the Web.com Tour, told her to “just blast it down.”

Lights out. ?
Watch highlights from @daniellekang‘s incredible final round at the @KPMGWomensPGA! pic.twitter.com/WylvMVnTfi

— LPGA (@LPGA) July 2, 2017

Guided by that simple strategy, Kang posted four rounds in the 60s. The two-time U.S. Women’s Amateur champion had just five bogeys, with each of them coming in the final two rounds.

Thompson looked ready to make a charge, beginning with three birdies and no bogeys on her front nine. But she sputtered down the stretch.

Thompson contended for the first major title of the year, but was penalized for a controversial rules violation and lost to So Yeon Ryu in a playoff in the ANA Inspiration. The top-ranked Ryu shot a 72 in the final round at Olympia Fields and tied for 14th.

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David Lingmerth waved his arm disgustedly to the right to warn the gallery after he blocked his tee shot on the tight par-5 10th hole at TPC Potomac. After two shots from the rough, one from a hazard and one from a bunker, he made a 6-footer for bogey to fall to 3 over for the day.

He was still tied for the lead. Minutes later, he led by himself again when Daniel Summerhays bogeyed 11.

It was that kind of day at the Quicken Loans National.

Lingmerth steadied himself after his adventure on 10 and made an aggressive swing with a driver that came off perfectly on the short par-4 14th, leading to a two-putt birdie. The 29-year-old Swede made a sloppy bogey on 17 and managed a 3-over 73 to drop to 7 under and maintain a one-shot over Summerhays.

Spencer Levin, who teed off two hours ahead of Lingmerth, was alone in third at 5 under after the best round of the day, a 65.

There was little wind Saturday, and the greens were softened by a thunderstorm that caused a 90-minute delay, but TPC Potomac played as difficult as ever, showing as much bite as its storied neighbour, Congressional. Saturday ended the same way the first two rounds did _ with Lingmerth atop the leaderboard.

Lingmerth, who came from behind to win a Web.com Tour event at TPC Potomac in 2012, has a chance to go wire-to-wire for his second PGA Tour victory.

“I haven’t had the wire-to-wire scenario in my career, but a lot of great players have won tournaments that way and I would like to do it as well,” he said. “I’m kind of feeling like I’m up for the challenge.”

Lingmerth relied on a fade to avoid trouble off the tee while starting the tournament with back-to-back rounds of 65. On Saturday, it didn’t take long for his go-to shot to abandon him. He yanked his opening tee shot into a fairway bunker, leading to bogey. It was one of four tee shots he missed to the left in the first eight holes, including a driver in the water on the narrow par-4 fourth.

Still, no one managed to get ahead. Geoff Ogilvy’s putter went cold and he didn’t make a birdie in a round of 74. He was still just three shots back, along with a fellow Australian half his age, Curtis Luck, who shot 67, and South Korean Sung Kang, who shot 71. Kyle Stanley and Charles Howell III both shot 67 and were four shots back.

Just 17 players were under par after three rounds.

Summerhays was solid from tee to green but couldn’t get many putts to fall. His only chance to win this season came at the Memorial, where he led by three shots after 54 holes but shot a final-round 78 to tie for 10th. He’s earned $8.4 million in 188 career PGA Tour starts without a victory.

“I struck the ball extremely well,” he said. “I’ve had a lot of great looks, so maybe I just need to persuade that ball into the cup a little bit more.”

Levin has been the PGA Tour’s iron man this season, with little to show for it. He’s making his 25th start and has teed it up in every event he’s been eligible for, making only 10 cuts and failing to record a top-20 finish. At 176th in the FedEx Cup standings, he’s in danger of losing his tour card.

“It was the best round I’ve had all year by far. It’s been a tough year, but the putts have been going in this week, which is obviously why I’m playing well,” Levin said.

Levin, who first gained attention as a cigarette-smoking amateur at the 2004 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, has played in 232 events in his PGA Tour career, with his best finish a runner-up in 2011. That was also the year he played in his only British Open.

“I’ve had a chance and have never won, so if I don’t, it wouldn’t be anything new,” Levin said. “But I’m going to go out there with a different mindset. I’m going to try and make putts and see if I can’t do it.”

Even if he doesn’t win, he could earn one of four spots available at this event for the British Open at Royal Birkdale. No player inside the top 18 going into the final round is currently eligible for golf’s next major.

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Team Canada Young Pro Squad’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay is T8 after two rounds of the Symetra Tour’s Tullymore Classic at Tullymore Golf Resort in Canadian Lakes, Mich.

Tanguay carded a 2-under-par 70 to sit six shots back of Lindsay Weaver (Scottsdale, Ariz.) who is 14 under par after a second round 65.

The Quebec City native entered the week sixth in the Symetra Tour’s Volvik race for the Card.

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Burlington, Ont., native Michael Gligic carded a 5-under-par 67 in round three of the Web.com Tour’s Nashville Golf Open benefiting the Snedeker Foundation to move to 11 under par and sit T4 after 54 holes at Nashville Golf and Athletic Club.

Playing on a sponsor exemption this week the Burlington, Ont., native had five birdies and no bogeys to sit two shots back of Conrad Shindler (Phoenix, Ariz.) who is 13 under par.

Gligic, 27, is playing on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada this season. His best result to date is a T14 at the Bayview Place Cardtronics Open presented by Times Colonist.

He had three top-five finishes on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada in 2016.

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When the wind picked up in the afternoon and the sun beat down on Olympia Fields, Chella Choi delivered a smart, steady performance.

The kind that wins major championships.

Choi shot a 4-under 67 on Saturday for a share of the lead with Danielle Kang heading into the final round of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Kang birdied the par-5 18th to join Choi at 10 under, setting up a final pairing of two players looking for their first major title.

Kang had a 68, also birdieing the 18th.

Jiyai Shin rocketed up the leaderboard with a 64, the best round of the day and good enough for third all by herself at 8 under. Defending champion Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., was another stroke back after a 69.

Kang and Sei Young Kim were tied for the lead after the second round. While Kim stumbled to a 72, the 24-year-old Kang had five birdies and two bogeys.

She saved par with a perfect bunker shot on No. 12 and then birdied the par-4 14th to get to 10 under for the first time. She gave a shot back with just her second bogey of the tournament on 16, but recovered with another nice bunker shot to set up her closing birdie.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp was eight strokes off the lead.

Kang on the U.S. Women’s Amateur in 2010 in 2011, but she has never won an LPGA Tour tournament.

“I’ve been working on my game every day to get better,” Kang said. “Like I said previously, all I could do is work on my game and hope that every day, just chip away at your game and it gets better every day and that’s where it’s getting at. Every year, I’ve just been performing better. I have trust in my own game.”

The 26-year-old Choi had four birdies and no bogeys. She credited her solid play to her father, Ji Yeon Choi, who is caddying for her again after her play suffered when he retired following her only LPGA Tour victory in the 2015 Marathon Classic.

“I played bad, so my mom tell to my dad, go help Chella, why are you staying here?” Chella Choi said.

Shin, a former world No. 1 and two-time major champion, took off after a birdie on No. 9. She played the back nine in 5-under 30 to grab the clubhouse lead while Kang and the leaders were out on the course.

It’s a rare U.S. tournament for Shin, the straight-hitting South Korean player who left the LPGA Tour a couple years ago and moved to Japan to be closer to her family.

“I think I’m pretty lucky because I started a little bit early in the morning,” she said. “I started early in the morning. That’s why easy to make a few birdies.”

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Danielle Kang won back-to-back majors as an amateur yet she’s never cracked the winner’s circle in her half-dozen years as a pro.

The 24-year-old Californian took a big step in the right direction, grabbing a share of the second-round lead in the morning wave Thursday at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. Her biggest hurdle could well be co-leader Sei Young Kim, the LPGA Tour’s 2015 Rookie of the Year and already a six-time winner on tour.

Kang and Kim each shot 5-under 66 to reach 7-under 135.

First-round leader Amy Yang (71), Chella Choi (70), Brittany Lincicome (66), Jodi Ewart Shadoff (66) and Mi Hyang Lee (67) were another stroke back.

So Yeon Ryu (68), who climbed to No. 1 in the world ranking after a victory last week and won the LPGA Tour’s first major of the season, was at 5 under, along with defending champion Brooke Henderson (69) of Smiths Falls, Ont., Moriya Jutanugarn (68) and Sarah Jane Smith (67).

Lydia Ko shot 68 to put herself back in contention at 4 under. Michelle Wie also was 4 under, following her opening 68 with a 70.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (71) was tied for 41st at even par.

Kang, the U.S. Women’s Amateur champion in 2010-11, conceded she didn’t have a game plan after her last practice round at Olympia Fields Country Club, one of several venues that previously hosted men’s majors now being tested by the women.

“I kind of was super-overwhelmed and didn’t know what to do,” she said. “So I called my brother, Alex, of course.”

Alex Kang, who plies his trade on the Web .com Tour, was familiar with Olympia Fields and its bunkers, and he gave her some simple advice.

“He goes, ‘Just blast it down,”’ she recalled. The plan worked as Kang, relying on her driver, hit 11 of 14 fairways and hasn’t made a bogey through 36 holes.

Kim carved her path up the leaderboard with a closing flourish, making three birdies in her last five holes. They came on the tougher front-nine side, though players caught a break as the swirling wind that made club selection dicey Thursday subsided in round two.

“Fortunately, when I tee off a little less windy,” Kim said, “so I was able to attack the pin.”

The KPMG kicks off a stretch of three majors in six weeks and Ryu could cement her new No. 1 status by adding a second major to the one she claimed in May by beating Lexi Thompson in a playoff at the ANA Inspiration. The LPGA Tour staged a brief celebration as she teed off Thursday, draping her caddie, Tom Watson, in a special green bib.

“The ceremony made me more nervous,” Ryu said. “No. 1, I thought it’s a lot of responsibility and it just gave me a lot of pressure. I finally got relaxed a bit more and just played as normal.”

Yang was on the 18th fairway a day earlier when play was suspended because of lightning. She returned just before 8 a.m. to complete her first round and made a birdie for a 65. Although she got to 7 under, she couldn’t hold it.

Kelly Shon, who opened with a 77, notched the low round of the tournament and tied a competitive course record with a 63. The former Princeton player made six birdies and an eagle without a bogey, placing her name in the Olympia Fields record book alongside Patty Sheehan and Meg Mallon and Rickie Fowler and Vijay Singh (who played the course with a par of 70).

“I wish I’d known I could have beat them all by one shot,” she said, adding quickly, “I’m just kidding.”

Shon knew something special was happening when she rolled in a 90-foot putt for eagle at No. 2.

“My caddie said to me, ‘I had a feeling you were going to make it. And I had a feeling if you made it, you were going to make the cut,”’ she recalled. “I don’t know if I believe in superstitions and stuff, but he’s 1-for-1.”

Among those missing the cut at 3 over were major champions Ariya Jutanugarn, the No. 2 ranked player in the world, and Anna Nordqvist.

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