The 117th U.S. Open Championship continues to fill its field in preparation for the second major tournament of the season. Golf Canada, in collaboration with the USGA, and Beacon Hall Golf Club in Aurora, Ont., are set to host a U.S. Open Qualifier for the first time on May 8.

The 18-hole tournament will be one of 114 local qualifiers across 44 states and Canada, and it serves as the first of a two-step process to qualify for the U.S. Open. The Canadian Qualifier is a reaction of the growing number of Canadians who travel to the U.S. to participate in the qualifiers every year.

“The support provided by state and regional golf associations, along with Golf Canada, will allow thousands of golfers from around the world, both professional and amateur, to take part in the two-tiered process of U.S. Open qualifying,” said Stuart Francis, USGA Championship Committee chairman. “We are pleased to conduct an international local qualifier in conjunction with Golf Canada for the first time as we continue to expand qualifying opportunities around the globe for all of our USGA championships.”

In 2016, over 100 Canadians travelled to the U.S. to play in the local qualifiers — 14 earned a trip to the sectional qualifiers but none made it to the U.S. Open Championship. On Monday, a field of 75 golfers will compete for five spots to move on to sectional qualifiers.

“We are extremely excited that Golf Canada will be partnering with the USGA in running the first local qualifier for the U.S. Open Championship on home soil in nearly 20 years,” said Tournament Director Adam Helmer. “We are grateful for Beacon Hall Golf Club, one of the most beautiful courses in the country, to host the field of 75 golfers.”

NOTABLES

Danny King of Milton, Ont.
A five-time PGA of Canada major championship winner and only PGA of Canada professional to win three majors in one calendar year back in 2015, the same year he won player of the year. The 49-year-old is the second Ontario PGA player to win the PGA Ontario Championship more than four times and is currently ranked at No. 5 in the PGA of Canada.

Mitch Sutton of London, Ont.
The 25-year-old former Team Canada member captured his first national title back in 2008 at the Canadian Junior Boys Championship in Edmonton and defended his title in 2009. His best finish on the Mackenzie Tour in 2016 was a T44 at the Cape Breton Open.

J.C. Deacon of Toronto, Ont.
Is the current head coach of the Florida Gators golf team at the University of Florida in Gainsville, Fla., and he played on the Canadian Tour for three years between 2008-10 during which his highest finish was a T4 at the Saskatchewan Open in 2008.

Matt Lemay (a) of Barrie, Ont.
21-year-old amateur who made it through the 2016 qualifying round with a T3 at Mendon Golf Club in Mendon, N.Y. He is coming off a 3rd place finish at the CCAA PING Golf National Championship on Oct. 19-21.

FAST FACTS

First international local qualifier held on Canadian soil since 1999 when the Golf Association of Michigan held a qualifier in Windsor Ont., at Essex Golf and Country Club.

Top five in the field of 75 move on to sectional qualifying where 980 golfers will compete for a to-be-determined number of slots.

Qualifying is open to any professional or amateur golfer with a handicap factor not exceeding 1.4.

The last person to complete the qualifying process and go on to win the U.S. Open was Orville Moody in 1969.

Of the 14 Canadians who made it to the sectional qualifiers in 2016, only three (Drew Nesbitt, Matt Lemay and Brian Churchill-Smith) are competing on Monday.

Mackenzie Hughes (2013) and Brad Fritsch (2015) are the only two Canadians currently on the PGA TOUR who have gone through the qualifying process and made it to the final field.

Monday’s pairings.

More information on the event can be found here.

ABOUT THE COURSE

No. 3 ranked Canadian course by U.S. Magazine Golfweek for courses built after 1960, and No. 11 on ScoreGolf’s 2016 list of Canadian golf courses.

Yardage: 7,037 yards, Par 72.

Rating/Slope: 74.8/148.

Opened in 1988 and designed by famed golf course architect Bob Cupp.

Santiago, Chile’s Horacio Leon shot a 7-under 65 on Thursday at Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community in Comox, British Columbia to take the 54-hole lead at the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada’s Canada Q-School.

The 27-year old, whose older brother is two-time Mackenzie Tour winner Hugo Leon, carded eight birdies against just a single bogey on the day to build a three-shot lead over Bear Delaware’s Eric Onesi with one round to go.

“I started great. I hit a great lag putt on one and a good birdie putt on two, and that kind
of steadied me,” said Leon, who found momentum around the turn, making six birdies in seven holes during the middle of his round.

“I wasn’t hitting it great, but then on nine I chipped in and from then on I was ready to go.”

The later portion of Leon’s round was highlighted by a tremendous up-and-down at the
par-3 16th, where the Chilean missed the green well to the right but produced an
incredible flop shot to walk away with an unlikely par.

“It was kind of not the greatest of lies. It was a tough flop shot, but I pulled it off and hit it to six inches,” said Leon. “I went at it and pulled it off, and those are the shots
sometimes that change the round.”

Local product, Riley Wheeldon who hails from Comox, continued his strong play and was tied for fourth after recording his second consecutive 69 to sit at 10-under par.

Onesi, who claimed medalist honours at Crown Isle in 2015, carded a 67 for his third
straight round in the 60s to sit solo second, while Camarillo, California’s Johnny Ruiz
was in solo third at 11-under.

““I don’t know what it is. The shapes of the holes set up perfect for me, and I’m swinging
really well. I gave myself a lot of chances, and 5-under was probably the worst I could
have shot today.”

Going into the final round, two other Canadians are in position to earn status. Team Canada National Squad graduate Blair Hamilton and Russell Budd are both T28 at 2-under par.

Hamilton is in his inaugural professional season after turning pro in September following a strong four years at the University of Houston, while Budd is coming off a top-10 finish at a PGA Tour latinoamérica event in April.

Below is a list of the exemptions available this weekend at Crown Isle.

1st – Exempt for 2017 season
5th – Exempt for first 8 events, subject to 2nd reshuffle
16th – Exempt for first 4 events, subject to 1st reshuffle
40th – Conditional status

The full leaderboard can be viewed here.

Canadian Peter Campbell of Baddeck, N.S., is leading the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica’s Essential Costa Rica Classic after setting a course record at Reserva Conchal Golf Club with an opening-round 64 (-7).

The event was suspended due to darkness, with only half the field completing the first round. Players will resume positions tomorrow at 6:30 am local time.

Campbell had four top-10 finishes on the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica last year and finished 44th on the Order of Merit. He will look to continue his strong play into the weekend and make his second cut of the season.

You can see the full leaderboard here.

Lydia Ko beat home favourite Ana Menendez, and the Jutanugarn sisters set up a second-round showdown in the Lorena Ochoa Match Play.

The top-ranked Ko edged Menendez 3 and 2 on Thursday at Club de Golf Mexico in the event that switched from stroke to match play and from November to April.

“I am going to try to give myself as many birdie opportunities as I can,” Ko said. “I think a big key going forward is that you need to have many birdies opportunities, because some of them will end up falling.”

Third-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn will face older sister Moriya in the second round.

“I think playing against her will be fun, because even if I don’t make a putt in that hole and she does I’ll feel happy for her,” Ariya said.

Ariya beat Amy Anderson 5 and 4, and Moriya topped Alena Sharp 2 and 1.

“Is a little too early this week to see my sister, but … tomorrow will be fun,” Moriya said.

Ko will face Jennifer Song, a 3-and-2 winner over Mi Hyang Li.

Ko took a two-hole lead with birdie win on the par-5 second and par-4 fourth. Menendez took the par-3 fifth with a birdie, and Ko rebounded with birdies on the par-4 seventh and eighth to make it 3 up. Menendez won the par-5 10th with a birdie, Ko took the par-3 14th with a par and ended the match with a birdie halve on the par-3 16th.

“Hopefully, that last birdie is good momentum going into tomorrow,” Ko said.

The event is the LPGA Tour’s first match-play tournament since 2012.

Carlota Ciganda, the November winner in stroke play at Club de Golf Mexico in the then-Lorena Ochoa Invitational, topped Mexico’s Gaby Lopez 5 and 3.

Michelle Wie routed Lizette Salas 6 and 5.

“I love match play,” Wie said. “It reminds me of Solheim Cup. It brings back lot of memories. I love it. I had fun today and Lizzete was a really good opponent. I chipped down for eagle twice.”

Wie will play Laura Gonzalez Escallon, the Belgian player who knocked off fourth-ranked In Gee Chun 2 and 1.

Cristie Kerr topped Brittany Altomare 2 and 1. Kerr won three weeks ago in Hawaii and lost to Haru Nomura on Sunday on the sixth hole of a playoff in Texas.

“I didn’t really have my full game today and I still got it done,” Kerr said. “I made some really clutched-outs coming in and I was able to get it done.”

Olympic champion Inbee Park beat Peiyun Chien; Shanshan Feng had a 7-and-5 victory over Laetitia Beck; and Brooke Henderson outlasted Katherine Kirk in 20 holes. Stacy Lewis dropped a 1-up decision to Ayako Uehara.

Second-ranked So Yeon Ryu, the ANA Inspiration winner, is taking the week off.

The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews (R&A) announced that Bruce Mitchell will serve as captain in 2017/2018, the first Canadian to ever hold the position.

Mitchell was nominated by the past Captains of the Club and will officially begin his position on Sept. 22, 2017, which will be signified by the traditional driving-in ceremony on the first tee of the Old Course.

The duties of the captain include representing the R&A and aiding its effort in developing golf around the world as well as attending all R&A championships while embracing the role of ambassador for the club.

The 71-year-old is the founder, owner and president of Permian Industries and his impressive business resume includes serving on the board of directors of the Bank of Montreal and other public, private and not-for-profit organizations.

He served as president of the Toronto Golf Club in 1996-97 where he continues to be a member today and has been a member of the R&A since 1988.

Mitchell graduated from both Queen’s University (Bsc engineering) and Harvard University (MBA). He currently resides in Toronto.

Six weeks away from competition didn’t keep Dustin Johnson from extending one streak Thursday, with hopes of adding to another.

Johnson showed more game than rust at the Wells Fargo Championship, where he missed only two greens – and plenty of putts – for a 2-under 70 that left him four shots behind Francesco Molinari among the early starters at blustery Eagle Point Golf Club.

It was Johnson’s 13th consecutive round at par or better.

Johnson wasn’t as flawless as he looked while winning three straight tournaments, though he had few complaints under the circumstances. It was his first time playing since he slipped in his socks down the stairs at his rental house in Augusta National, hurting his back and knocking him out of the Masters.

“Since I hadn’t played in so long, I’m happy with the way I played,” Johnson said. “I didn’t score that great, didn’t really hole that many putts, but other than that, I played really well. I think I hit 16 greens and I hit the ball great.”

No one was sure what to expect at Eagle Point, where the Wells Fargo Championship moved this year because its traditional venue, Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, is hosting the PGA Championship in August.

On greens that were slightly softer and as pure as can be, Molinari ran off five birdies in a seven-hole stretch on the front nine and closed out his round with a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-5 18th.

That gave him a one-shot lead over Alex Noren of Sweden, who is trying to play well enough in the majors, World Golf Championships and a few other American events to secure a PGA Tour card for next year. Noren, who played college golf at Oklahoma State, won four times last year on the European Tour and is No. 12 in the world.

Ben Martin and Ken Duke were at 68. Of the 78 players who started in the morning, only 23 players broke par. Phil Mickelson was among those playing in the afternoon.

Johnson started well enough to act as though nothing has happened since he last played March 26 at the Dell Technologies Match Play, his third straight victory, which strengthened his hold at No. 1 in the world.

He was rarely in trouble, made only one putt longer than 10 feet and still shot 70. It was a reasonable start in resuming his quest for a fourth straight PGA Tour victory, which would be the longest streak since Tiger Woods won five in a row at the end of the 2007 season and the start of 2008.

“I played a lot better than my score,” Johnson said.

He didn’t miss a green until a gust knocked down his tee shot on the par-3 second hole (his 11th of the round) and sent it down a slope short of the green. He chipped weakly up the hill to 12 feet and made his first bogey. He closed out his round by pulling a drive on the par-4 ninth hole, punching under tree limbs to short of the green and again pitching it short. He started walking as soon as he hit his 10-foot par putt, knowing it was off to the right.

“All in all, I’m very pleased with the day,” Johnson said.

There were no issues with the deep bruise he suffered in his lower left back, which ranks among the top freak accidents in golf under the circumstances. Johnson was playing the best golf of his life – those three victories were against the three strongest fields of the year – when he hustled downstairs to move his car in the rain because his 2-year-old son was on his way home from day care.

He slipped at the bottom of the stairs, crashing onto his back and left elbow, and Johnson couldn’t swing well enough to compete at the Masters.

Whatever rust he showed in the pro-am Wednesday was gone, at least on the back nine when he started. He hit a sand wedge to the back tier on the par-5 12th to 4 feet for birdie. He holed a putt just inside 10 feet for birdie on the par-5 15th, smashed another drive down the 16th and hit a wedge to 2 feet.

That put him at 3 under through eight holes, at the time tied for the lead, and he hammered another drive on the par-5 18th. With the wind in his face and water on the right, Johnson elected to lay up. His lob wedge was 20 feet right of the pin, and there were other short irons that a month ago he would have expected to get within 10 feet. The few times he did, Johnson missed the putts.

“I knew I wasn’t going to play as good,” Johnson said. “I maybe played a little more conservatively. But anything under par was going to be a good score.”

Canadians Mackenzie Hughes and Nick Taylor were among the 23 competitors able to break par at 2-under and 1-under respectively. Hughes recorded six birdies and four bogeys on the day.

After 36-holes Riley Wheeldon, of Comox B.C, has climbed near the top of the leaderboard at Mackenzie Tour Q-School at Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community. His second round 68 has him in a tie for fifth at 7-under par

Wheeldon, a member of The Five in 2013, has nine career top-10 finishes on the Mackenzie Tour. He grew up playing Crown Isle, which is located in his hometown of Comox.

“For the most part I’m hitting a lot of greens, so I’ve got a lot of birdie looks. I haven’t had too many chances to make bogey,” said Wheeldon. “I definitely think there’s a lot of chances to go a bit lower, too, so that’s been encouraging.”

Tacoma, Washington’s Derek Barron, who shot a 6-under 66 is in the lead. He’s four shots clear of Wheeldon, at 11-under par.

Last year the 32-year old Barron, decided to give becoming a touring professional a try after winning several events as a member of the Pacific Northwest PGA Section. He was bogey free for the second straight day and recorded four birdies and an eagle. He leads by one over Santiago, Chile’s Hugo Leon.

“I actually hit my irons better and made a few less putts today, but I’m not going to be picky. I’m playing some really solid golf right now and it feels easy,” said Barron.

Leon, who led by one after 18 holes and had ankle surgery just over three months ago, shot a 68 to sit one stroke back.

“I took advantage of the par-5s,” said Leon. “It could have gone both ways. I was 3-under through nine and lipped out or touched the hole a couple of times before going back to 2-under, but I knew I was playing good so I just kept it up.”

Bear, Delaware’s Eric Onesi, who won the 2015 Qualifying Tournament at Crown Isle, carded a 68 and sits two strokes behind Barron in solo third, at 9-under.

In addition to Wheeldon, there are four Canadians currently in position to earn status: Brady Stead T19, Russell Budd T28, Blair Hamilton T28, Andrew Rasmussen T32, and Brett Thompson T37.

Stead is a graduate of the powerhouse Camosun Chargers golf team, and Budd is continuing his strong play, after finishing T9 at a PGA TOUR latinoamérica event in April.

Hamilton, a graduate of Team Canada’s National Squad, turned professional in September after four top-10s in his final NCAA season at the University of Houston.

Below is a list of the exemptions available at Crown Isle this weekend.

1st: Exempt for 2017 season
5th: Exempt for first 8 events, subject to 2nd reshuffle
16th: Exempt for first 4 events, subject to 1st reshuffle
40th: Conditional status

The full leaderboard can be viewed here.

The annual Ontario Golf Hall of Fame ceremony was held on May 3, from Wooden Sticks Golf Course in Uxbridge. This year, four deserving inductees entered the Hall and one member of the Ontario golf media was honoured with the Lorne Rubenstein Media Award.

“I wish to extend my congratulations and those of Golf Ontario’s board members, staff and volunteers to this truly deserving group of inductees,” said Golf Ontario President John Gallinger as he welcomed those in attendance. “Whether as a Builder, Amateur or Professional, all of tonight’s inductees have shown extraordinary contributions to the game at the provincial, national or international levels.”

The evening began with the presentation of the Lorne Rubenstein Media Award, an award that recognizes major contributions to golf in Ontario and is named after Ontario Golf Hall of Famer and one of Canada’s best known golf journalists: Lorne Rubenstein. This year the award was given to Ian Hutchinson. Hutchinson’s career has spanned over 35 years and seen him cover a variety of sports. However, he eventually specialized in golf and it is because of those contributions he was named the 2017 Lorne Rubenstein Media Award winner. 

“What a prestigious award to win. I said to Lorne that he set the bar for us, not only in standards of writing but in the way he conducts himself. He is always willing to talk and help out his colleagues,” said Hutchinson. “I looked at the past winners of this award and what a great lineup of golf writers to be joining!” 

The first inductee to join the Hall was Oakville’s James Fraser. Fraser entered the Hall in the Builder category after an impressive career that saw him involved in numerous areas within the sport. Fraser held multiple roles around rules but also served associations provincially (in both Ontario and Quebec) along with nationally. 

Fraser told the crowd about how he grew up with the game of golf and that once he started to attend events, he became interested in the rules side. Fraser followed that passion into the Hall of Fame career that he now possesses. 

Port Carling ‘s Thomas McBroom also entered the Hall in the Builder category. McBroom, a well-known golf course architect has designed more than 60 courses in Canada and even more internationally. Many of his designs have been recognized on top lists nationally and internationally. 

“I am obviously thrilled to be here tonight and to have so many good friends and good clients here,” said McBroom. “I thank you all for your support of the years. I have had a great career in golf and am happy to have been part of a great period where golf expanded.”

Entering in the Professional category was Sandford’s Ken Tarling. Tarling, who turned pro in 1982 captured 21 provincial titles, two national championships, a Canadian Tour win and 12 international victories in eight different countries. 

Tarling thanked those in attendance for their involvement in his career and told them about how he became a professional. “Originally I wanted to be a head professional because I thought that was the life. It wasn’t until a Golf Ontario (Ontario Golf Association) camp where Ontario Golf Hall of Famer Sam Young said to me ‘I think you should try to become a tour player.’ He saw something in me and that changed my entire outlook.”

The final inductee of the evening was Stacey (West) Mahoney. Now living in Cary, North Carolina, Mahoney entered the Hall in the Amateur category. Mahoney had a tremendous junior career, which saw her win three Ontario Junior Girls’ titles, three Canadian Junior Girls Championships and the 1979 Canadian Ladies’ Amateur Championship in addition to the numerous team honours she received.

“I have been really lucky. I have been to every province in Canada, probably half of the states in the U.S., England, Australia and Fiji in my golf career on provincial and national teams,” said Mahoney.

With that the 2017 Ontario Golf Hall of Fame ceremony concluded and the inductees officially joined the other members of the Hall. 

Golf Ontario would like to congratulate all of the inductees and thank all those who attended, including Golf Ontario partners who make events like the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame possible. Also, a big thank you to Wooden Sticks for their continued support in hosting the ceremony and housing the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame. Thanks as well to TSN’s Mark Zecchino for emceeing the event.    

Golf Canada’s club membership is made up of over 1,400 clubs, where Canadians around the country go to play the great game of golf. We are thrilled to join in the celebration of a select group of clubs that have reached their 25^th anniversary milestones.

Do you remember walking the course for the first time? Introducing a friend or family member to the game? We all have our own unique stories shared on the golf course.

At Golf Canada, we would like to celebrate these moments. Please visit ch.golfcanada.ca to find one of the below clubs celebrating an anniversary this year and share your golf story.

Notable Golf Moments in 1992:

Tom Kite won the US Open; Fred Couples won his first Masters; Nick Faldo won his third consecutive British Open; on Feb. 27, 1992, Tiger Woods becomes the youngest PGA golfer in 35 years at the age of 16.

CLUBS CELEBRATING 25 YEARS

• Carnmoney Golf Club (Foothills, AB)
• Le Parcours du Cerf (Longueuil, QC)
• Champion Lakes Golf & Country Club (Fruitvale, BC)
• Cottonwood Coulee Golf Course (Medicine Hat, AB)
• Country Hills Golf Club (Calgary, AB)
• Elbow Springs Golf Club (Calgary, AB)
• Fort St. John Links Golf Course (Fort St. John, BC)
• Gold River Golf Club (Gold River, BC)
• Golden Golf Club (Golden, BC)
• Heritage Pointe Golf Club (DeWinton, AB)
• Kanata Golf & Country Club (Kanata, ON)
• Lakeside Greens Golf & Country Club (Chestermere, AB)
• Lewis Estates Golf Club (Edmonton, AB)
• Loon Lake Golf & Country Club (Loon Lake, SK)
• McArthur Island Golf Club (Kamloops, BC)
• Meadowlands Golf Club at Sylvan Lake (Sylvan Lake, AB)
• Club de golf du Mont Orford (Orford, QC)
• Mountain Creek Golf Club (Arnprior, ON)
• National Pines Golf Club (Innisfil, ON)
• Osprey Valley Golf (Caledon, ON)
• Paradise Canyon Golf Resort (Lethbridge, AB)
• Pineridge Golf Course (Kamloops, BC)
• Redtail Golf Course (Port Stanley, ON)
• River Ridge Golf & Country Club (Edmonton, AB)
• River Road Golf Course (London, ON)
• Riverbend Golf & Fishing Club (Durham Bridge, NB)
• Royal Woodbine Golf Club (Etobicoke, ON)
• Trickle Creek Golf Club (Kimberley, BC)
• Waterloo Golf Academy (Waterloo, ON)
• Westlock Golf Club (Westlock, AB)
• Will-O-Bend Golf Club (Jaffray, BC)
• Wintergreen Golf & Country Club (Bragg Creek, AB)