PARKSVILLE, B.C. – The University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbirds claimed team and individual honours on both the men’s and women’s sides at the 2016 Canadian University/College Championship at Morningstar Golf Club. All four titles have never been captured by the same school in the competition’s 14-year history.

UBC Coach Chris MacDonald who was named the Golf Coaches Association of Canada’s Coach of the Year for both the men’s and women’s teams, reflected positively on his team and the state of Canadian collegiate golf. “This means a lot. It’s an exciting time and we’re going in a better direction. It’s just nice to see consistent golf and to see how much this tournament has grown – not just from our team, but the entire field.”

For the second time since this tournament’s inception in 2003, UBC earned both team titles – a feat that has not been matched by another school. UBC came just shy of sweeping the four honours in 2009, only missing out on the women’s individual title. Kat Kennedy of Okotoks, Alta., ensured this year’s team would not suffer the same fate, carding a 1-over 73 en route to a four-stroke victory.

“Before we went out today, as a team, we talked about staying in our own bubble and taking it one shot at a time,” said the 21-year-old. “I think I went out there with that mindset and it helped me today. I’ve put in a lot of time and practice after some injuries this year. This was a big win for me and to see my hard work pay off is a big push for next year and for the rest of my golf career.”

The significance of the victory was not lost on the third-year science student. “Golf Canada has been a big part of my life. I have played a lot of junior golf with Golf Canada. This is a big title to have and I’m not used to it yet. It’s great to be a national champion.”

Alexandra Pelletier of the Université Laval Rouge et Or claimed runner-up honours. The Montréal native tallied two birdies and finished the competition at 16-over-par. UBC’s Barbara Neto-Bradley, of Porto, Portugal, claimed third-place with a four-day total of 22-over 310.

The UBC women claimed a 19-stroke victory over the defending champions, the Université de Montréal Carabins, and the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, who tied for second at a combined 79-over-par.

Kennedy beamed when asked about wearing the blue and gold of the UBC Thunderbirds. “It is a big honour. We have a great team. I feel like everyone is very supportive. We help push each other to be more competitive. Everywhere I go, I wear the T-bird with pride. I couldn’t be more proud of both the women’s and men’s teams.”

For the second straight year, UBC’s men’s team claimed a wire-to-wire victory. It was the fifth team title for the men’s side and their third in the past four years. The fivesome finished 2-over on the day to complete the tournament at 18-under 1134 – 45-strokes clear of the competition. The University of Victoria Vikes were 1-under on the day and placed second, while the Queen’s University Gaels finished third.

The men’s Thunderbirds were again led by Scott Secord, who registered a wire-to-wire win of his own. The Calgarian finished with rounds of 67-67-73-70 to reach 11-under 277 in the competition. All five members of the quintet finished in the Top-10 with Andrew Harrison of Camrose, Alta., taking 9^th, Victoria’s Nate Ollis finishing T7, Evan Holmes of Calgary claiming 6^th and fellow Albertan Jack Wood of Banff placing 4^th.

Secord spoke of the tight-knit group when asked about his tenure as a Thunderbird. “It’s meant a lot. I’m glad I could finish (my career with UBC) like this and as a team, as well. I’ve known Jack since he was a little tyke. We’ve had a different kind of relationship – like brothers. But that’s what it’s like with everyone. We’re such good friends with each other.”

Despite gusty conditions at times, Secord tallied four birdies on the day, including two back-to-back in a bogey-free back nine. “I was kind of steady throughout the front,” commented the champion. “It was pretty windy and it was shifting. The trees were playing tricks on us and we weren’t really certain which way it was going.”

The 23-year-old withstood the impressive play of Lawren Rowe of the University of Victoria Vikes. The Sophomore who hails from Victoria notched four birdies on the day to finish 2-under – four shots shy of the champion. Taking third was the University of the Fraser Valley’s Connor McLellan of Chilliwack, B.C., who carded the day’s low round – a four-birdie 4-under 68 showing – to finish 5-under in the competition.

Additional information regarding the championship can be found here.

GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP, N.J. – Anna Nordqvist and Stacy Lewis know their way around the Donald Ross-designed Bay Course at Stockton Seaview.

Nordqvist opened her ShopRite LPGA Classic title defense with a 7-under 64 on Friday for a share of the lead with Ai Miyazato and Paula Reto. Lewis, the tournament winner in 2012 and 2014, had a 66.

Nordqvist bogeyed Nos. 11 and 12, the second and third holes of her round, then birdied nine of the last 12 holes. The Swede twice made four straight birdies – on Nos. 16-1 and 6-9.

“I think it was just a little rust,” said Nordqvist, playing alongside Lewis and Lizette Salas the first two rounds. “It was early in the morning. I’m not a morning person. But 11 and 12, they weren’t really bad shots, but they just ended up in places you really couldn’t want to be. I just kept my head high and started giving myself better chances.”

Miyazato and Reto were paired together in the afternoon.

“First time playing with her in a tournament, actually, but she’s a really nice girl and she hits it really long,” Miyazato said. “It was a good atmosphere. Just a good chemistry, I guess.”

Japan’s Haru Nomura, a two-time winner this year, was a stroke back along with Casey Grice and Catriona Matthew.

Lewis and Sherbrooke, Que., native Maude-Aimee Leblanc each shot five birdies in bogey-free rounds to join Beatriz Recari, Jodi Ewart Shadoff, Christel Boeljon, Katherine Kirk, Stephanie Meadow and Amelia Lewis at 66.

“A little bit frustrating because I left some out there, but I think that’s the best first round I’ve had all year,” Lewis said. “So, first round’s kind of been my thing and to get off to a good start is a really good thing. … Maybe a round like this will break the trend a little bit.”

Down to sixth in the world, the 31-year-old Lewis is winless in 49 starts since taking the North Texas LPGA Shootout in June 2014 for her 11th LPGA Tour victory. She tied for second three weeks ago in Alabama, her 10th runner-up finish during the drought and her 23rd overall.

“It’s a shootout,” said Lewis, a 10-stroke winner in 2014. “Especially as soft as the greens are and the course this year, there’s a bunch of low scores.”

Salas had a 67 in the strong group.

“We had a bunch of holes where we all made birdies,” Lewis said. “Anna, I think, is the only one that got off to a slow start, but then she just made everything the last 12 holes or so. She made nine birdies in 12 holes or something. It’s cool and fun to watch. Especially on these greens, it’s nice to see other people making putts because then you feel like you can make some, too.”

Miyazato had an eagle, six birdies and a bogey. The Japanese player won the last of her nine LPGA Tour titles in 2012. She won at the Bay Course in 2010.

“I can’t believe it has already been six years last time I won this tournament.” Miyazato said. “But still, I love this golf course, and the local people are so supportive of this tournament.”

Reto birdied four of her final five holes. The Spanish player is winless on the tour.

“I’m really excited,” Reto said. “I played good today, steady, especially with irons and putting, but not so much off the tee. So, I got away with a couple of the shots. I told myself, ‘One shot at a time, don’t focus and doubt yourself.’ Everything paid off and I’m really happy.”

The KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the second major championship of the year, is next week at tree-lined Sahalee near Seattle. Straight driving also is important on the Bay Course.

“I think it’s a ball-striker’s course,” Nordqvist said. “Greens tend to get a little bumpy. It’s poa, so you just have to give yourself a lot of chances. Iron play has been one of my strengths and today I hit them close, and that’s how you’re going to make birdies out here.”

After the early bobble, Nordqvist put on an iron clinic.

“I didn’t get off to the best start, but then on 16, I hit it to about a foot and a half,” the five-time tour winner said. “Both 17 and 18, I had birdie putts from, I think, 6 feet. Hit a good one wedge shot to another foot on 1, so that was a good stretch. From there on, I seemed to hit really good shots. Made a good 3-footer on 6 and a little longer putts on 7 and 8 I didn’t expect, and then a good 3-footer on the last.”

Fourth-ranked Brooke Henderson (Smiths Falls, Ont.) opened with a 69. The 18-year-old Canadian is coming off a third-place tie in Michigan, her ninth top-10 finish of the year. She won last year in Portland, Oregon. Henderson’s score was matched by Hamilton, Ont., resident Alena Sharp.

Samantha Richdale of Kelowna, B.C., shot 68, and Québec native Anne-Catherine Tanguay shot 71.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko and streaking Ariya Jutanugarn are skipping the tournament to get ready for the KPMG Women’s PGA. Jutanugarn has won three straight events, the last a five-stroke victory Sunday in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the LPGA Volvik Championship.

DUBLIN, Ohio – Two matches at home against Phil Mickelson made Brendan Steele feel inadequate. Two rounds at the Memorial gave him a share of the lead.

Steele put in a little more work and it paid off over two days in soft conditions at Muirfield Village. He had a 5-under 67 on Friday and was tied for the lead with past Memorial champion Matt Kuchar (66) going into a wide-open weekend.

Steele, whose only PGA Tour victory was in his rookie season five years ago, took the last two weeks off to attend a wedding, go fishing with his father and venture over to San Diego to play a few games with Mickelson at The Bridges at Rancho Santa Fe.

“He just drummed around for a couple days, so I knew that I needed to really work hard on my game when I got here,” Steele said.

The mathematical definition of getting drummed turned out to be 2 and 1 on the first day, 5 and 4 on the second day.

“But the second day, he shot 10 under, I just felt like my game was very inferior to his,” Steele said.

He made a quick fix with swing coach Rick Smith, had time for a few more tweaks, and he took that straight to the course for solid play over the last two days. And while there was nothing at stake, he has Mickelson by five shots at the moment.

Mickelson gets credit for a tip.

“I think it’s hard in an off week to find out where your game is at unless you play against some good competition,” Mickelson said. “It identified the area that he needed to work on. He called up Rick, he came out and worked on it, and now here’s the result. That was kind of the benefit.”

As for the description of Mickelson “drumming” Steele?

“I use a little more flamboyant term, but that’s fine. You can use that,” he said.

Steele and Kuchar were at 12-under 132, the same score that led a year ago.

The scoring was so good, however, that the cut was at 2-under 142, the lowest since Jack Nicklaus started this tournament in 1976.

Jordan Spieth for a brief moment looked as though he might be on the wrong side of it when he opened with two bogeys in four holes. He made six birdies over his last 12 holes for a 68 to at least stay in range, six shots behind at the halfway point.

“The more you think about the cut line, the easier it is to hang around the cut line,” Spieth said. “I looked up at the board when I was at even and I thought, ‘You know, I’m 12 back. That’s a lot. How can we do our best just to do a little dent in it and maybe make some magic happen after that?'”

Rory McIlroy was mildly disappointed with his 66, but only because he played the last seven holes in even par.

“I thought it had the potential to be something quite special after 11 holes,” McIlroy said. “I don’t think you can ever be too disappointed with a 66, but at the same time, it had the potential to be a little bit better.”

Jason Day was thrilled with a 71 because he lost his swing and figured it should have been something in the upper 70s.

All of them are still in the chase, and they have plenty of company.

Emiliano Grillo of Argentina, who won his first PGA Tour event as a member at the Frys.com Open, feasted on the fast greens for a 66 and was one shot behind with Gary Woodland, who has quietly gone about rounds of 68-65. That included a shot into 3 feet for eagle on the par-5 15th.

Dustin Johnson, who opened with a 64, never caught the morning leaders. He had a pair of bogeys on the back nine that slowed him, and he took a double bogey on the par-4 sixth hole. It led to a 71, though he was only three shots behind.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., shot a 6-under 66 to climb into a three-way tie for 9th. Brantford, Ont., native David Hearn is tied for 32nd.

Kuchar also got a tip from Mickelson – a tip of the cap, anyway – when he got up-and-down with a flop shot on his final hole at No. 9 for a share of the lead. Dating to his 68 in the final round of The Players Championship, Kuchar has shot in the 60s in 10 of his last 11 rounds.

“I feel like I’ve put it all together,” Kuchar said. “The tough thing and the great thing about golf is there’s so many facets of the game, so many pieces, that need to come together for you to play well. It seems like some weeks the putter is hot but the driver’s not. If you get them all clicking, it’s great. And it feels like everything’s coming along on good form now.”

BEAUCEVILLE, Que. – Sun broke through the morning’s cloudy skies at Club de golf Beauceville for the first round of the 2016 CN Future Links Quebec Championship. Sam Meek snuck through a close group of competitors to top the Junior Boys division by one stroke, while Monet Chun and Alyssa DiMarcantonio shot matching 72s to share the Junior Girls lead.

Meek, a Peterborough, Ont., native, maintained an even-par round through 15 holes before sinking birdies on holes 16 and 18 to finish at 2-under. The 17-year-old tallied five birdies en route to the day’s low round.

Callum Davison from Duncan, B.C., and Marc-Antoine Hotte of Mascouche, Que., sit T2 after matching rounds of 1-under. Davison sunk two eagles on holes 11 and 16, while Hotte led all players in the field with seven birdies.

Charles-Éric Bélanger – a member of Team Canada’s Development Squad – began the day with back-to-back birdies on the first two holes. The Québec City native finished in a six-way tie for 4th at even par.

Two players share the Junior Girls division’s top spot, with Monet Chun of Richmond Hill, Ont., notching three birdies on the back nine to finish at even-par. Alyssa DiMarcantonio of Maple, Ont., holds a share of first after collecting four birdies and an eagle on the par-5 16^th hole.

Ellice Hong of Thornhill, Ont., Céleste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-L’Île-Perrot, Que., and Québec City native Sarah-Ève Rhéaume sit two strokes behind the co-leaders. Dao and Hong both tallied four birdies on the day, with Hong sinking three on the back nine.

Exemptions into the 2016 Canadian Junior Boys Championship will be awarded to the top six finalists in the Junior Boys division. The event will be contested at Clovelly Golf Club in St. John’s N.L., from August 1-4. In the case of ties, exemptions will be decided via a hole-by-hole playoff. All those in the Top-6, including ties, in the Junior Girls division will gain entry into the Canadian Junior Girls Championship at The Links at Penn Hills in Shubenacadie, N.S., August 2-5.

The second day of competition will see the Junior Girls division tee-off at 7 a.m. before the Junior Boys take to the course at 8:40 a.m. Additional information, including pairings and up-to-date scoring is available here.

GORMLEY, Ont. — Men’s club champions from across the province were at Meadowbrook Golf & Country Club on June 3 for the playing of the Golf Ontario 2016 Champion of Champions tournament, presented by Turkish Airlines.

It was a beautiful day for the 53 champions who teed it up, as they all looked to be crowned 2016 Champion of Champions. The event had a wide range of ages competing, as the youngest champion was just 15-years-old while the oldest was 68.

Taking the title was Brampton Golf Club’s Russell Bowie. The 24-year-old Mississauga resident fired a two-under (69) to win the title by one stroke. Following the win, Bowie spoke about how honoured he was to be following in the footsteps of other Brampton Golf Club members who have won the Ontario Champion of Champions. “It means a lot to me to win this. It is a collection of club champions, so it’s pretty special to win. For Brampton, we have had a few previous winners: Stu Hamilton won it years ago and just a few years back, a good friend of mine, Binupa Wijesinghe, won it. I’m happy to bring it back to Brampton.”

Bowie credited his win to avoiding any major mistakes during the round. “I think I just avoided any major errors. I was never in any trouble. I hit a lot of fairways and greens, so I was never really scrambling. It was a good straight-forward round.”

This is the first provincial championship for Bowie.

Finishing in second place was Cherry Down’s Golf & Country Club’s Mathew Iceton. Iceton, from Brooklin, shot a one-under (70) to take home the silver.

Rounding out the podium in a tie for third were Deer Ridge Golf Club’s Ryan Kings and St. Catharines Golf & Country Club’s Robert Ellis. Kings, from Kitchener, and Ellis, from St. Catharines, each finished at even par (70).

NEEPAWA, Man. – The CN Future Links circuit is heading to Neepawa Golf & Country Club for the 2016 CN Future Links Prairie Championship. The fourth-of-six events in the series will welcome a field of 57 local and national junior golfers from June 10-12 as they compete in the 54-hole stroke play event.

The CN Future Links Championships are conducted in partnership with CN in an effort to support and develop junior golfers across Canada. Competitors will participate in a practice round on June 9 to prepare for the course’s challenging landscape situated around the Whitemud River.

“Golf Canada is excited to see the field compete at Neepawa Golf & Country Club,” said Dan Hyatt, the event’s Tournament Director. “This scenic track winds around the river to offer fantastic views for spectators and players alike. Neepawa will present an excellent chance for these players to strengthen their games.”

Three competitors from last year’s Top-10 will return in a bid to capture the Junior Boys title, led by Keaton Gudz from Victoria, B.C., who finished tied for fourth at the 2015 competition held at Cooke Municipal Golf Course in Prince Albert, Sask. The 17-year-old will be joined by Carson Harcourt of Kipling, Sask., and William Comeau from Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Que., who are looking to build upon their respective seventh and T10 finishes.

Shirin Anjarwalla of Nanaimo, B.C., represents one of three returning players in the Junior Girls division. The 16-year-old, who finished third last year, will see a familiar face in the field in Winnipeg product Rebecca Kuik, who claimed 13th.

After recording a 14^th-place result at her home club last year, Kayla Sawchuck of Prince Albert, Sask., completes the contingent of returnees looking to make good on lessons learned throughout the past year.

Two CN Future Links Championships remain to be played this season:

• July 4-6 – CN Future Links Western – Medicine Hat, Alta. – Medicine Hat Golf & Country Club
• July 12-14 – CN Future Links Atlantic – Fairview, P.E.I. – Countryview Golf Club

The top six scorers in the Junior Boys division will gain entry into the 2016 Canadian Junior Boys Championship, held August 1-4 at Clovelly Golf Club in St. John’s, N.L. A hole-by-hole playoff will determine exemptions in the case of ties. All players in the Top-6 of the Junior Girls division, including ties, will earn exemptions into this year’s Canadian Junior Girls Championship, hosted by The Links at Penn Hills in Shubenacadie, N.S., from August 2-5.

Additional information on the 2016 CN Future Links Prairie Championship, including a full list of competitors and tee-times, is available here.

Nanaimo, B.C. – June 2nd, 2016 – Victoria’s Kevin Carrigan led wire-to-wire in securing the BC Men’s Mid-Amateur championship today, with Greg Bismeyer of Mission taking home the Mid-Master title.

On the women’s side, Shelly Stouffer of Nanoose Bay captured both the Ladies Mid-Amateur & Mid-Master honours after overtaking round 1 & 2 leader Alison Murdoch of Victoria.

Carrigan Goes Wire-To-Wire Winning Mid-Am At Nanaimo Golf Club

In the end, Kevin Carrigan won by six shots, but it was more of a struggle than you might think. Carrigan, who had a nine-shot lead to start Thursday’s final round of the B.C. Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship, saw his huge cushion slipping away after a disastrous beginning to his back nine.

“It didn’t feel like I was going to win by six after I had made three consecutive bogeys and splashed one into the water,” the 29-year-old Victoria native said. “I was thinking that the wheels had fallen off and I didn’t know where they had gone.”

After bogeys on the 10th, 11th and 12th holes, Carrigan then doubled the par 3 13th at Nanaimo Golf Club. Fortunately, he was able to birdie the par 5 14th hole to steady things and he parred the final four holes to post a five-over 77 that left him at four-under for the 54-hole tournament.

Carrigan finished six shots ahead of Victoria’s Scot Kral and Greg Bismeyer of Mission. “I definitely learned some stuff today,” said Carrigan, a 29-year-old member of Royal Colwood Golf Club in Victoria.

“It’s the first time I have won a tournament when I haven’t played three solid rounds of golf. I guess the fact there wasn’t anybody close after two rounds, I maybe got complacent or something like that.

I came out of the gate and bogeyed three of the first four holes and I’m thinking ‘oh my gosh, here we go.’ It’s one of those games. I always tell the juniors I work with no matter how bad it gets, it can always get worse, so just bear down and try to finish your round. I was fortunately able to do that not playing my best golf.”

The B.C. Mid-Amateur, which is open to competitors 25 and older, was held at the same time as the Mid-Master Championship, which is for players 40 and over. Bismeyer, a 54-year-old retired Vancouver police officer, took the Mid-Master title after closing the tournament with a solid round of one-under 71.

“It was a bit of roller-coaster round,” Bismeyer said. “It was some bad shots, some good shots and I strung three birdies together on 14, 15 and 16. Then the nerves get going on 17 and 18. It was fun.”

Bismeyer finished one shot ahead of Victoria’s Craig Doell and Nanaimo’s Sandy Harper in the Mid-Master category. Bismeyer and Kral will join Carrigan on the three-man team that will represent B.C. at the Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship, which goes Aug. 23-26 in Bromont, Que.

Carrigan has now won two B.C. Mid-Amateur titles. He is also a two-time winner of the Canadian Mid-Amateur championship. Carrigan and Doell captured the two-ball championship that was also contested during the event. They finished with a score of 21-under par. That was eight shots better than the teams of Harper and Shelly Stouffer and John Gallacher and Gudmund Lindbjerg.

Click HERE for complete scoring

Nanaimo Twice As Nice For Nanoose Bay’s Shelly Stouffer

Shelly Stouffer battled more than just her closest pursuers in Thursday’s final round of the B.C. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship. She also battled the butterflies, which were in full flight as she walked the final few holes at Nanaimo Golf Club.

Stouffer, a Nanoose Bay resident, overcame her nerves and held off Alison Murdoch of Victoria and Christina Proteau of Port Alberni to win the Mid-Amateur title by two shots. “I am pretty happy,” Stouffer said. “I was able to hang in and win coming down the stretch. I was nervous, man.”

Thursday’s final round was something of a roller-coaster ride for Stouffer, who shot a final round of four-over 76 to finish the 54-hole event at 16-over par. That was two shots better than the 66-year-old Murdoch, who closed with an 80. Murdoch, a Victoria Golf Club member, had begun the day with a two-shot lead on Stouffer.

“I was just trying to hit every shot the best I could and it was a much better ball-striking day certainly than the first day, but I just put myself in some awkward spots that I couldn’t get out of,” Murdoch said.

Stouffer also claimed the Mid-Master title for players 40 and over. So she won two provincial championships in one day. Not a bad day at the office. “I’ve never won the Mid-Am before so it’s exciting. In a major tournament like this I have never beat Christina before, so it’s a good feeling.”

Last summer, when the Mid-Amateur and Mid-Master events were contested separately, Stouffer won her first Mid-Master title and finished runner-up to Proteau at the Mid-Amateur. Proteau, the pre-tournament favourite, simply could not buy a putt on Thursday, or most of the tournament for that matter.

She finished alone in third place, three shots behind Stouffer. “I hit a lot of good shots at one point and then I didn’t really pull the trigger the last couple of holes,” Proteau said. “It just happens, I guess.”

Click HERE for complete scoring.

DUBLIN, Ohio – Ian Poulter will be out of golf for the next four months with a foot injury, a big setback for the fiery Englishman in a Ryder Cup year.

Poulter has been dealing with an arthritic join in his right foot for more than two years, and it has reached the point where it is painful to walk and practice. He missed the last two cuts on the PGA Tour in Texas and has fallen to No. 85 in the world, his lowest ranking since 2003.

The 40-year-old hasn’t won since the HSBC Champions in 2012.

“I am obviously disappointed to be in this situation, especially during a Ryder Cup year,” Poulter said. “Right now, rest and rehab take priority in me returning to full strength later this season. I look forward to resuming a full schedule as soon as I am able.”

Poulter was far down the Ryder Cup standings, in European Tour money and world ranking points, though his record in the Ryder Cup would have been difficult to ignore if he had found some form in the coming months.

He has been a catalyst for Europe, notably when he sparked the greatest comeback by a visiting team at Medinah in 2012. Poulter birdied his last five holes in the final fourballs match to turn a loss into a point, and he closed an undefeated week with a singles victory as Europe rallied from a 10-6 deficit to win.

Poulter has a 12-4-2 record in five appearances. He would be an ideal candidate as a vice captain. Darren Clarke last week selected Thomas Bjorn, Padraig Harrington and Paul Lawrie as three of his five assistants.

Poulter’s doctor, Ara Suppiah, said the arthritic joint has worsened over the last year, and Poulter was able to keep playing after several cortisone shots. Suppiah said further shots would risk thinning the bones and leading to stress fractures, which might require significant time away from golf.

“We feel that the best option at this stage is to take some time off to allow complete recovery and rehabilitation of his foot,” Suppiah said. “This will give him the best chance of returning to the game sooner and preventing further deterioration of the affected joint.”

Poulter would receive a major medical extension on the PGA Tour for the 2015-16 season if he doesn’t play the rest of the year. He remains exempt on the European Tour based on his No. 7 standing on the career money list.

PARKSVILLE, B.C. – Third-round action at the 14^th playing of the Canadian University/College Championship at Morningstar Golf Club saw the teams representing the University of British Columbia (UBC) increase their leads atop their respective leaderboards.

The UBC men’s team continued to show its dominance by posting a collective 2-under 286 for the round. The Queen’s University Gaels occupy second with a team total of 7-over 887 – 43-strokes behind the leaders. The Kingston, Ont., university is being pursued by two institutions located in British Columbia: the University of Fraser Valley Cascades and the University of Victoria Vikes, who trail the Gaels by four and five strokes, respectively.

The Thunderbirds were led by a 3-under 69 from Jack Wood of Banff, Alta. The third-year kinesiology major collected five birdies and added an eagle on the par-5 13^th hole to move to 5-under in the competition. Tied with Victoria’s Lawren Rowe of the Victoria Vikes, Wood trails individual leader and teammate Scott Secord by four strokes. The Calgary product carded a 73 after opening the competition with consecutive 67s.

For the third consecutive day, Thunderbirds Evan Holmes of Calgary and Victoria’s Nate Ollis registered matching rounds. The pair have now shot 72-71-72 and sit T5 at 1-under alongside British Columbians Connor McLellan of Chilliwack who plays for the Cascades and Richmond’s Chris Crisologo, a member of the Simon Fraser University Clan.

Completing the Thunderbird contingent is Andrew Harrison of Camrose, Alta., who sits fourth following a 1-over performance. The 19-year-old tallied five birdies, but sees the round as a missed opportunity. “Today was a little bit disappointing,” commented the kinesiology major. “I had a good chance to shoot a good number, but made some bad bogeys. It’s a nice course, but it’s very tricky. There are lots of dog-legs that can trick you into trying to cut some corners. You have to be patient and lay back on those.”

The team’s rookie reflected pensively on his first year donning the blue and gold of the Thunderbirds. “It’s been pretty good. Jack and Evan have been great. I’ve known them for a very long time from Alberta, so it wasn’t too hard fitting in with them. We have a pretty young team and they’re great guys – easy to talk to; easy to be around – so it’s been fun.”

“College is very different, it’s interesting,” added Harrison, when asked about the experience of playing in this competition. “You’re playing against men unlike junior, where you’re playing against kids. I’m really taking it all in and learning a lot from all the older guys.”

After opening the third round with a five-stroke advantage, the UBC women’s team tallied a 16-over total on the day and now lead the Université de Montréal Carabins by 12 strokes. The University of Toronto Varsity Blues climbed into third at a combined 64-over 712, led by the T6 standings of Ontarians Sarah Dunning of Waterloo and Etobicoke’s Laura Upenieks, who made a hole-in-one on the par-3 eighth hole.

Thunderbird Kat Kennedy made a significant climb up the standings for the second straight day. The native of Okotoks, Alta., carded a round of 5-over 77 and at 11-over-par, leads the competition by one stroke. After holding the 18- and 36-hole leads, the Université Laval Rouge et Or’s Alexandra Pelletier now sits one-stroke shy of the leader. The native of Montréal was 13-over on the day after opening 71-72 in the competition. Porto, Portugal’s Barbara Neto-Bradley of the Thunderbirds moved into third-place at 13-over.

The competition opened with 20 men’s teams and 12 women’s teams from across the nation vying for team and individual honours. With the conclusion of the third round, the field has now been reduced to the top 10 men’s teams and the top six women’s teams, in addition to any individuals within 15 shots of the lead.

The final round of competition will see both the men’s and women’s sides begin the day at 7:30 a.m. off split tees. Additional information regarding the championship, including pairings and up-to-date scoring can be found here.

CHENGDU, China — Canada’s Justin Shin shot a final-round 69 at last week’s United Investment Real Estate Wuhan Open to earn a top-10 in defense of his 2015 title. That final round, apparently, was a harbinger of things to come.

At the Cadillac Championship, Shin avoided bogeys all afternoon, made six birdies and added an eagle on his way to a first-round, 8-under 64—matching the career-low score he shot in the second round during his 2015 victory in Wuhan. Shin holds the 18-hole lead at Chengdu Poly Golf Club by two strokes over Americans Jarin Todd and Sejun Yoon, South Korea’s Geon Ha Kim, China’s Zihao Chen and Australia’s Mitch Davis. Chen continued his strong start to the season after finishing runner-up a week ago in Wuhan.

Zecheng Dou is going for this third consecutive title to win the season, and he did nothing to hurt his chances. Dou, the Tour’s leader in birdies made, made an additional six Thursday with a lone bogey on his way to a 5-under 67. He’s tied for eighth with nine others on the bunched leaderboard.

If Dou had one flaw in his 2016 season, it was slow starts. He opened with a 1-over 73 in his first tournament and a 2-over 74 in Wuhan. No such problems to start the Cadillac Championship.

Yet the day belonged to Shin, who was inside the top five on the Order of Merit for a considerable period of 2015 before finishing No. 6 and just missing earning Web.com Tour membership. Shin is following his pattern of a year ago, with another solid start to his season. In 2015, his victory and one of his two other top-10s came in his first six tournaments.

“After the final round last week, I was feeling pretty good heading into this week,” Shin said. “On the range before my round, I was hitting it well. I hit a lot of straight shots today and gave myself a lot of birdie chances out there.”

Shin birdied his first hole of the day and added three more, on Nos. 6, 7 and 9. His chip-in birdie to close his front nine was particularly noteworthy, Shin explained. After missing the green and facing a difficult chip, making bogey on the par-4 entered his mind. “The key thing for me was chipping in from the front of the green. I was thinking being only 2-under going to the back nine, and that got me to 4-under. So it was a turning point for me.”

The South Korea native, who spent his formative years outside Toronto and played collegiate golf at New Mexico State, kept his momentum going on the par-5 12th when he nailed an 18-foot eagle putt to push him to 7-under. “I just wanted to keep patient out there. There is more room off the tee (than in Wuhan), so it’s all about second shots out here because the greens are pretty undulated,” Shin added. “You have to put [your approach shots] in the right spots, and that will make it a lot easier. I was pretty good with my distance control out there, and that gave me a lot of good chances for birdie.”

Indonesia’s Rory Hie was one of the nine who posted a 5-under 67. He felt like his score could have been a stroke or two lower. Despite the six birdies he made Thursday, he still missed three 10-foot birdie putts on his back nine, a 12-footer at No. 7 and a three-footer at No. 8.

“I was just misreading the greens in the afternoon,” Hie noted. However, the former University of Southern California player also rolled in a 40-foot downhill putt on No. 6 for birdie, a happy outcome when he gladly would have walked away from that hole with a par.

“I was really thinking about two-putting it. But that’s the way it is in golf. I missed some good putts for birdie but made that one. So it sort of evened out.”

Hie was in contention through 54 holes last week at the United Investment Real Estate Wuhan Open. He was in fourth place ready to make a run at Dou until the sixth hole of his final round. Hie made a 10 on the par-4, and he tumbled all the way into a tie for 18th. “I made a mess there,” he said with a laugh. Even with that disappointment from a week ago, Hie walked away Thursday in good spirits. “I’m playing pretty well, and I’m happy.”

China’s Huilin Zhang made a back-nine push and briefly held the lead until a 17th-hole double bogey knocked him back into a tie for eighth.