OPELIKA, Ala. – Aaron Baddeley made a 24-foot putt on the fourth hole of a playoff with Si Woo Kim to win the Barbasol Championship on Sunday at Grand National.

Baddeley broke into a celebratory run off the green, tossed his club in the air and flung his cap back onto the green after his fourth PGA Tour victory. The Australian secured a two-year exemption and a spot in the PGA Championship, but not the Masters.

Both parred the first three holes of the playoff, three on 18 and the third on 17.

Woo parred 18 again after Baddeley had already clinched his first win since the 2011 Northern Trust Open.

Baddeley finished with a 5-under 66 to match Kim at 18-under 266. Kim shot a 63, closing with a bogey.

Woo, a 21-year-old South Korean, sent his approach down a slope into the rough between two grandstands on the fourth playoff hole. He chipped to 5 feet but Baddeley closed it out before Woo finished.

Woo had a two-stroke lead before a bogey on the 18th hole after putting within 9 inches on his par attempt. Baddeley parred to force the playoff.

The weather turned steamy after a light drizzle on the final regulation holes.

Former Auburn University player Michael Johnson finished a stroke back after a 65 in his first professional tournament, a few miles from campus. He just missed a potential birdie putt on his final hole that would have landed him in the playoff.

Richard H. Lee (65), Michael Thompson (65), Andres Gonzales (67) and Jhonattan Vegas (72) all finished at 15 under.

Vegas opened the day with a three-stroke lead and five holes to go to complete the rain-delayed third round. He posted four bogeys and an eagle over the first nine holes, two days after setting the course record with a 60.

Canada’s Graham DeLaet tied for 8th at 14-under. The Weyburn, Sask., native carded a final round 63 to climb 28 spots the leaderboard.

Thunder Bay, Ont. – Oklahoma’s Taylor Moore shot a final round 6-under 66 on Sunday at Whitewater Golf Club to win the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel for his first Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada win. The win moves Moore to No. 2 on the Order of Merit, earning him an exemption into the RBC Canadian Open next week.

The 22-year old University of Arkansas graduate carded five birdies, an eagle and one bogey to win by three over Listowel, Ont.’s Corey Conners.

“It feels incredible,” said Moore, who birdied the 18^th hole to secure the three shot victory. “I didn’t really want to think about it (RBC Canadian Open), but it’s a dream come true — it has been a life goal of mine to play in a PGA TOUR event. I’m excited about that and ready to get going.”

Starting the day with a one stroke lead over California’s Tain Lee, Moore started steadily but was quickly caught by Conners, who birdied his first three holes to tie Moore’s lead. Moore, a Mackenzie Tour rookie, responded strongly, however, with three birdies and an eagle from from holes three through seven to take control of the tournament, adding a birdie at the 10^th to take a four shot lead with eight holes to go.

“Corey came out of the gates hot and birdied the first three so I knew I couldn’t just sit there and be complacent,” said Moore.

“Taylor had a great eagle on no. 7, made a great putt, and I walked out of there with a par so that was a bit of a swing,” said Conners, who was nonetheless pleased with his performance. “I played pretty well, got off to a really nice start. I’m happy with my game all around.”

For Moore, the win came with the added bonus of having his father, Rod, caddying for him for the first time as a professional.

“It’s something you’ll remember forever. It’s awesome, to have him on the bag is even better. He doesn’t get to do it very often,” said Moore, who recorded a runner-up finish earlier this year at the Bayview Place Island Savings Open presented by Times Colonist.

Conners, who currently ranks No. 3 on the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica Order of Merit, recorded his best career Mackenzie Tour finish, as did Church Point, Nova Scotia’s Austin Connelly, who shot a 5-under 67 to finish alone in third place.

MCCARTHY, MOORE, CORNELSON TEE IT UP ON THE PGA TOUR

As the top three players on the Order of Merit, Syracuse, New York’s Dan McCarthy, Edmond, Oklahoma’s Taylor Moore and Langley, British Columbia’s Adam Cornelson earned exemptions into the PGA TOUR’s RBC Canadian Open next week at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont.

Below are the top five players on the Order of Merit through six of 12 events, with the top five earning status on the Web.com Tour for 2017 (bold denotes Canadian).

1. Dan McCarthy $106,383
2. Taylor Moore $53,392
3. Adam Cornelson $37,297

Oakville, Ont. (Golf Canada) – The final four spots into the 2016 RBC Canadian Open field will be determined Monday as the Final Qualifier is set for DiamondBack Golf Club in Richmond Hill, Ont.

A total of 72 competitors will challenge for one of four spots into the field for Canada’s National Open Championship.

The Final Qualifier features 18 holes of stroke play with the low four competitors receiving an exemption directly into the 2016 RBC Canadian Open field.  If necessary, a hole-by-hole playoff will be conducted immediately following the conclusion of play.

Click here for pairings, start times and results for RBC Canadian Open Final Qualifying on Monday, July 18. Results will be available as players complete their rounds.

The Final Qualifier on Monday, July 18—which was originally scheduled to be contested at Heron Point Golf Links in Alberton, Ont.—was moved to DiamondBack Golf Club by Golf Canada because of irrigation issues at Heron Point.

“Heron Point’s water control system was damaged late in the Spring which caused them to lose the majority of their water supply,” said Adam Helmer, Golf Canada’s Director, Rules, Competitions and Amateur Status. “Compounded by the drought that we have had in Ontario this season it has left the tees and fairways very burnt. They have worked hard to regain their turf conditions and were hopeful to get the course in shape for the qualifier, however, the conditions have become worse in the last few weeks which resulted in our decisions to change courses.”

The Final Qualifier at DiamondBack Golf Club will begin at 7:30am ET off the first tee.

SYLVANIA, Ohio – Lydia Ko outlasted Ariya Jutanugarn and Mirim Lee to win the Marathon Classic on Sunday for her fourth LPGA Tour victory of the season.

The top-ranked Ko made a 10-foot birdie putt on the fourth extra hole after Jutanugarn and Lee ran into trouble.

Also the 2014 winner, Ko closed with a 2-under 69 at Highland Meadows to match Jutanugarn and Lee at 14-under 270.

The 19-year-old New Zealander has 14 LPGA Tour titles, also winning consecutive events in South California – the second the major ANA Inspiration – and later in Arkansas. She’s 4-1 in playoffs, with the loss coming to Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., this year in the KPMG Women’s PGA.

Ko missed a 5-footer birdie putt on the third extra hole, sending the trio back to the 18th tee for the final time. Jutanugarn had chances to win on the first two playoff holes, missing birdie putts of 14 and 8 feet.

Ko opened with rounds of 68, 66 and 67 to enter the day three strokes behind Hyo Joo Kim. Ko birdied three of the first six holes, while Kim had three bogeys on the stretch. Ko birdied the par-4 ninth, bogeyed the par-3 14th and 16th and finished with two pars.

Lee shot a 65, bogeying the 18th after making birdies on Nos. 13, 15, 16 and 17.

Jutanugarn had a 68, reaching 14 under with an eagle on 17. The long-hitting Thai player won three straight events in May.

Kim followed her third-round 64 with a 73 to finish a stroke back.

Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., and Hamilton’s Alena Sharp were the top Canadians at 7 under, good for 11th place. Henderson finished even while Quebec City’s Anne Catherine Tanguay was 2 over.

Stacy Lewis was fifth at 11 under after a 71. Born in the area, the Texan is winless in 56 starts since taking the North Texas LPGA Shootout in June 2014 for her 11th tour victory. She has 11 runner-up finishes during the drought and 24 overall.

Alison Lee, tied for second with Ko entering the round, had a 73 to fall into a tie for sixth with Beatriz Recari (68) at 10 under.

Brittany Lang, coming off a playoff victory over Anna Nordqvist in the U.S. Women’s Open, had a 74 to tie for 24th at 3 under. Nordqvist also was 3 under after a 70.

OPELIKA, Ala. – Jhonattan Vegas’ lead was down to three strokes Saturday when rain finally stopped third-round play in the Barbasol Championship.

Six shots ahead after a course-record 11-under 60 on Friday, Vegas was 1 over for the round and 16 under overall playing the par-4 14th when play was stopped on Grand National’s Lake Course.

The 29-year-old Venezuelan Olympic qualifier failed to qualify for the British Open and has only past champion status – he won the 2011 Bob Hope Classic for his lone tour title – on the PGA Tour. The winner Sunday will get a two-year exemption and a spot in the PGA Championship, but will not be exempt for the Masters.

David Toms and Aaron Baddeley were 13 under.

The 49-year-old Toms was 4 under for the day with four holes left.

Baddeley shot a 64, chipping in on the par-4 18th for his third straight birdie. The 35-year-old Australian, also limited to past champion status, won the last of his three titles in 2011 at Riviera.

“All I was thinking is just playing golf,” Baddeley said. “If you try and force the issue, that’s usually when you go backwards. I was just trying to play golf, just keep playing, keep hitting good shots and, if I keep doing that, there’s a chance I’m going to shoot a low score and I did that.”

Michael Johnson, the former Auburn player making his pro debut, was tied for fourth at 11 under with five holes to go.

Sam Saunders also was 11 under along with Stuart Appleby, Brian Harman, Roberto Castro and Hudson Swafford. Saunders, Arnold Palmer’s grandson, shot a 65.

“It’s just a nice solid round, I played really well,” Saunders said. “Momentum got thrown off a little bit there with the rain delay, but I’m still pleased with the way I finished and put myself in a good position for tomorrow.”

Appleby had a 66. Harman had two holes left, Castro four, and Swafford five.

Canadian Olympian David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., was 2-under through 17 holes when play was halted. He holds a share of 21st, while fellow Olympian Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., sits T37 and is in the midst of a 4-under round with one hole to play in his third round.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – CN (TSX: CNR) (NYSE: CNI) and Golf Canada are pleased to announce the six champions of Saturday’s CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge National Event at the Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont., site of next week’s 2016 RBC Canadian Open.

The National Event, running for the eighth consecutive year, crowned female and male champions from three age groups (9-11, 12-14 and 15-18). Among the 25 participants from across the country, the following six individuals emerged as champions:

• Austin Boge, Golf Mentor Academy, MB (Boys 9-11)
• Kelly Zhao, King Valley Golf Club, ON (Girls 9-11)
• Ben Callaghan, Brian Affleck Academy, NS (Boys 12-14)
• Emily Zhu, King Valley Golf and Country Club, ON (Girls 12-14)
• Marc Sweeney, Wildwood Golf Course, SK (Boys 15-18)
• Alexandra Jucan, Copper Creek Golf Club, ON (Girls 15-18)

The winners of each age group received a champion’s package from Titleist Footjoy. In addition, Marc Sweeney and Alexandra Jucan – winners of the 15-18 age groups – have earned exemptions into their local 2017 CN Future Links Championship.

“It was so exciting and competitive at the same time,” said boys 12-14 winner Ben Callaghan. “I was pretty nervous going into it but I started to build some confidence and am very happy to come out on top.”

Saturday’s National Event tested juniors in a four-part skills challenge which tested putting, chipping, driving and iron play. The participants, split into three different age groups, were invited based on their scores from individual Skills Challenge events hosted at 134 clubs throughout the year by CN Future Links instructors, totaling over 2,200 competitors.

On the Sunday prior to tournament week, junior participants will also have the opportunity to test the storied Glen Abbey layout in an exciting match play format, outfitted by program sponsor Cobra Puma Golf. Following that, participants will be provided weekly grounds passes and have an opportunity to be involved in Monday’s Pro-Am and secure a spot in Wednesday’s CN Future Links Walk with a Pro event during the Wednesday Pro-Am.

“The CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge National Event is in place to recognize individuals from across the country in three age groups who have accumulated the highest score in our four key skill areas—chipping, putting, iron play and driving,” said Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s Chief Sport Officer. “The event being held at the RBC Canadian Open for the second straight year made for a very exciting atmosphere for all involved – we’d like to congratulate our champions and thank all competitors for their participation.”

Current CN Future Links programming includes the Learn to Play program as well as mobile clinics presented by ACURA, PGA Jr. League, Girls Club, Field Trip and the CN Future Links Championships. As part of its investment in Canadian junior golf, CN is also a proud supporter of Golf in Schools.

In 2015, CN Future Links junior golf activities were conducted at 518 golf facilities with more than 7,100 juniors registered in the Learn to Play program. In addition, 164 golf facilities took part in the Junior Skills Challenge running more than 3,200 juniors through qualifying events. More than 64,000 youngsters participated in over 1,200 mobile golf clinics presented by ACURA. Since 2006, more than 1.3 million children have been introduced to golf through the CN Future Links program.

Click here for champion and general photos from Saturday’s event.

THUNDER BAY, Ont. – Edmond, Oklahoma’s Taylor Moore eagled the 18th hole on Saturday at Whitewater Golf Club to shoot a 6-under 66 and take the 54-hole lead at the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel, the sixth event of the 2016 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season.

The 22-year old rolled in a 30-foot putt for eagle on the final hole to lead by one shot over Irvine, California’s Tain Lee and two over a group of three players headed to Sunday in Thunder Bay.

“Obviously that was nice to see that go in. I was just trying to lag it down the hill there and get another shot going into tomorrow, and it happened to fall in, so it was a bonus,” said Moore. “The wind started blowing on the back nine, and I just stayed steady throughout.”

Starting the day three strokes off the lead, the University of Arkansas graduate started slowly but caught fire with a 5-under 31 on the inward nine to reach 12-under, with four birdies complementing his eagle at the last.

“I got it going on those holes into the wind. I hit a few quality shots and had some putts drop,” said Moore.

Sunday’s fourth round will put plenty on the line for Moore, who needs at least a two-way tie for second to move inside the top three on the Order of Merit and earn an exemption into the RBC Canadian Open next week. Still, the rookie pro said he would try not to get caught up in the moment and continue with what has worked for him so far this week.

“I’m just going to try to take it one shot at a time and stick to my gameplan and add ‘em up at the end. At the end of the day, it’s just another golf tournament and I’ll try to hit some golf shots and make a few putts,” said Moore.

Lee, who began the day with a two-shot lead, managed a 70 to sit at 11-under, while Corey Conners, David Skinns and Cameron Peck were a shot further behind heading into Sunday.

Corey Conners is making his third start of the season and 12th of his Mackenzie Tour career. The Listowel, Ont., native sits third on the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica Order of Merit this season with four Top-10s and no missed cuts in eight events. “I have a lot of confidence from playing well down there. I have a goal to keep getting myself in position and hopefully to win an event, and it’s great to have played well all year and know that I can trust my game,” said the 24-year-old.

The member of Golf Canada’s Young Pro Squad is in his second season as a professional after a stellar amateur career that included a runner-up finish at the 2014 U.S. Amateur and a berth in the 2015 Masters Tournament. Conners played collegiate golf at Kent State, where he was twice named an NCAA All-American.

Conners finished third at the 2015 Staal Foundation open presented by Tbaytel, which earned him conditional status for the remainder of the season as one of the top three non-members on the Order of Merit through six events. Conners went on to finish 37th on the Order of Merit to retain exempt status for 2016.

Conners’ 64 matches the course and tournament record, which was shot four times in 2014-15 and earlier on Saturday by Long Beach, California’s Brett Lederer.

Team Canada National Amateur Squad alum Austin Connelly holds a share of sixth at 9-under. Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont., and Montréal’s Max Gilbert are part of a five-way tie for 8th.

Mary Parsons cooly rolled in her 6th birdie putt of the day on the par 5 18th and final hole of the tournament at Big Sky Golf Club on Friday to put the finishing touches on her 6-shot victory in the 2016 BC Junior Girls Championship. Parsons finished at even par (288) for the 4 rounds.

Finishing tied for 2nd were Tiffany Kong and Hannah Lee, with halfway mark leader Sumie Francois coming in 4th and 13-year old Akari Hayashi rounding out the top 5.

The win wasn’t without it’s up downs along the way, but Parsons’ perseverance proved to be the difference in the end.

Asked how it feels to be the 2016 BC Jr. Girls Champion, Delta’s Parsons said, “It feels great, having such a strong start to the season. All these girls here are strong players and we all fought our way through this course, so it feels really great.”

Each time she faced any adversity Parsons was able to refocus quickly and invariably make another birdie to get herself back on track. In round one she stemmed the damage from making bogey, double-bogey on the 7th and 8th holes with a birdie on the 9th to rescue her opening nine and proceeded to finish 2-under on the back nine.

She offset 3 bogies with 4 birdies in round two and probably did her best work of the event in Thursday’s third round where her front nine was fraught with potential disaster as every bad break possible seemed to challenge her.

After posting a 4-over 40 on the outward nine, which included a double-bogey 6 on the par 4 6th, followed of course by a birdie on the 7th, she then took on the howling wind and rain that showed up during the back nine. Her 2-under 34 coming home in that 3rd round staked her to the 2-shot lead she would take into the final round and eventually stretch to the 6-shot win.

Of course she couldn’t go through that final round without some sort of bumps in the road to navigate. First, it came in the form of the par 5 4th hole where, having made a birdie on the preceding par 3 and with her lead now up to 3 shots, she was looking to put even more distance between herself and her closest pursuer, Tiffany Kong.

It didn’t exactly work out that way, as she explains, “My alignment was a little bit off starting the round, so when I was going to hit my approach to the second landing patch in front of the green, (on the 4th) I was looking at my feet and I looked up and thought,’hmmm…that tree looks a little bit close…,” she began in recounting her 4th hole adventure.

“But I decided to hit it, ended up hitting the tree. Then I thought, ‘hey, let’s just get through this hole’. Hit it into the bunker… duffed it out of the bunker…so I thought ‘let’s just take it and go.’ ” What she took was an 8 on the hole and suddenly found herself in a tie for the lead with Kong.

But wouldn’t you know it…she made a birdie on the very next hole at the par 3 5th, giving her back a one-shot lead. Over the next four holes Parsons would add two more birdies while Kong played them in 2-over par. Suddenly from having lost her 3-shot lead on one hole she completely turned it around to take a five-shot advantage into the final 9 holes.

With neither Kong nor third place contender Hannah Lee seemingly able to mount anything of a charge on the back nine, Parsons appeared poised to cruise to the win. Not so fast…just to try and make things interesting she hit the ball out-of-bounds on the par 5 13th leading to a bogey. Lo and behold, she birdied the very next hole once more to regain her comfortable lead.

Parsons, who plays out of Mayfair Lakes in Richmond, recorded a total of 17 birdies over the 4 rounds.

This win is the second significant victory of her 2016 season following the one she picked up in the CN Future Links Pacific Championship in Kamloops earlier this summer. She had commented after that win, against a field that included many of the top juniors in the country, that she felt it was going to be a confidence-booster for the rest of the summer.

It certainly seems to have been so far, with this triumph coming just one week after she took runner-up honours in the BC Women’s Amateur at Beach Grove. The win should be a big boost toward Parsons achieving one of her big goals this year, making one of Golf Canada’s national teams.

Parsons has already committed to Indiana University, where in the fall of 2017 she will join West Vancouver’s Alix Kong as a Hoosier.

Joining Parsons on the BC Junior Girls Team going to the Canadian Junior Girls Championship at The Links at Penn Hills in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia will be Vancouver’s Tiffany Kong and Surrey’s Hannah Lee.

The 2016 venue for the BC Junior Girls Championship is TBD.

SYLVANIA, Ohio – Hyo Joo Kim had five birdies in a six-hole stretch and shot a 7-under 64 on Saturday at Highland Meadows to open a three-stroke lead in the LPGA Tour’s Marathon Classic.

“I hit good drives, good tee shots and iron shots,” Kim said. “I managed to get up-and-down and I made good putts. It was good.”

Kim had shares of the lead the first two days, opening with a 66 on her 21st birthday and shooting a 68 on Friday. The South Korean player won the season-opening event in the Bahamas for her third career title.

“I just feel happy right now,” Kim said. “I will be happy again tomorrow. Every day I’m happy.”

Kim began the birdie run on the par-4 fifth, parred the par-3 sixth, then ran off four straight on the par-5 seventh, par-3 eighth and par-4 ninth and 10th holes. She added birdies on the par-3 14th and par-5 17th and parred the par-5 18th to finish at 15 under.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko and Alison Lee were tied for second.

Ko, the 2014 winner, had a bogey-free 67. She missed a short birdie putt on the final hole.

“I let one – it was a very dumb one – slip on the last hole,” Ko said. “I’ve got to take the positives. There were so many putts that were so close but didn’t end up falling, so hopefully a few more fall tomorrow. Hyo Joo played great today, holed a lot of putts, put herself in really good positions. Obviously, I’ll be trying to track her down tomorrow, but there’s still a lot of golf to be played.”

Ko won in consecutive weeks in Southern California this year, the second the major ANA Inspiration. The 19-year-old New Zealander tied for third last week in the U.S. Women’s Open in California.

“At the end of the day, I’ve just got to focus on my game,” Ko said. “If I can put some good shots and put myself in good positions to make birdies and put good strokes on it, that’s all I can do.”

Lee, the 21-year-old American who has struggled in her second season on the tour while still attending classes at UCLA, birdied Nos. 15-17 in a 66.

“Feels like I’m playing golf again,” Lee said. “I’m actually having a great time out there and committing to the shot and watching the ball go where I want it to go. I feel really confident going into tomorrow. It’s definitely been a while since I’ve felt like this, but it was worth the wait.”

Stacy Lewis and Ariya Jutanugarn were 11 under.

Lewis birdied six of the first 13 holes in a bogey-free 65.

“I played really solid today,” Lewis said. “It was probably one of the most solid rounds of the year, just ball-striking-wise. I felt like I could hit any shot I needed to, was killing my driver.”

Born in the area, the Texan is winless in 55 starts since taking the North Texas LPGA Shootout in June 2014 for her 11th tour victory. She has 11 runner-up finishes during the drought and 24 overall.

“I want to enjoy this one today because that was probably one of the easiest rounds of the year,” Lewis said. “I just need to keep trusting what I’m doing. That’s kind of been my motto the last week or so, just believe in it and trust it, and that’s what I keep trying to do.”

Jutanugarn birdied the final three holes for a 66. The long-hitting Thai player won three straight events in May.

“I hit my tee shots really good, really a lot better than yesterday,” Jutanugarn said. “I get more comfortable with my putting, so my putting is getting better.”

Brittany Lang, coming off a playoff victory over Anna Nordqvist in the U.S. Women’s Open, was tied for 13th at 6 under after a 68. Nordqvist was 2 under after a 69.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp sits T19 to lead the Canadians in the field at 5-under. Sherbrooke, Que., native Maude-Aimée Leblanc is tied for 28th at 3-under. Québec’s Anne Catherine Tanguay is T41, while Smiths Falls, Ont., native Brooke Henderson holds a share of 50th.

Pace of play was an non-issue Saturday at Glen Abbey Golf Club as the inaugural RBC Canadian Open 5K kicked off tournament week of the 2016 RBC Canadian Open.

The five kilometre run/walk—organized by Landmark Sport Group Inc.—welcomed more than 500 enthusiasts of all ages who raced along a 5km route across the grounds of the renowned Oakville layout. Participants received the full race experience with running bibs and timed results for every competitor.

“What a great kick-off event to help celebrate the 107^th playing of Canada’s National Men’s Open Championship,” said Tournament Director Brent McLaughlin who joined the race as a participant Saturday. “I think it was a great showcase to bring running and fitness enthusiasts out to the golf course in advance of next week’s championship and we couldn’t be happier with the success of this year’s inaugural event.”

The RBC Canadian Open 5K routing began near the first tee of the championship course and trailed across the front nine with a final race leg that included the 17^th hole and grand finish alongside the iconic 18^th green at Glen Abbey Golf Club.

An awards ceremony took place immediately following the conclusion of the race in the Molson Canadian 67 Beer Garden located within the ZTE Spectator Village at Glen Abbey as participants enjoyed live third-round coverage of the British Open Championship.

Every registered participant also received a free ANYDAY ticket to come back and enjoy the 2016 RBC Canadian Open.

Click here to see a photo gallery from the inaugural RBC Canadian Open 5K.

Click here for results.