CALGARY – Today, WestJet and Canadian Pacific revealed a mother’s day video celebrating Canadian golf idols, Lorie Kane and Brooke Henderson, and the love they have for their mothers. Journey to the LPGA: #LoveMom witnesses the unconditional love between mother and daughter and inspires the golfers to thank and recognize the one person who’s been with them every step of the way to the top – mom.

“As the official airline sponsor for the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open (CPWO), we watch many moms walk the golf course cheering for, consoling and guiding their daughters,” said Richard Bartrem, WestJet Vice-President, Marketing Communications. “The idea for the video comes from this journey, and the connection and experience that we all have with our moms or with someone who is like a mom. We believe that connecting people and creating amazing experiences is truly the core of our brand. Journey to the LPGA: #LoveMom will inspire people to think of how they can connect with their own mom and make the day extra special.”

“Being a professional golfer is an intense physical, mental and emotional journey – a journey one doesn’t take alone,” said Mark Wallace, CP Vice-President, Corporate Affairs. “Through this video we celebrate the journey taken by these professional golfers, their families and their moms. We look forward to their arrival at the destination, the 2016 CPWO, to be held in Calgary this summer.”

“It has been a thrill to watch Lorie go from the Belvedere Golf and Country Club in Charlottetown all the way to the LPGA Tour and now the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame,” said Lorie Kane’s mother, Marilyn Kane. “Participating in this video shoot has been an emotional and surreal experience for me. As I reflect on Lorie’s tremendous career and the important role family has played in it, I am truly proud beyond words.”

WestJet and Canadian Pacific invite individuals to follow Lorie and Brooke’s lead in saying thanks to their moms by posting their favourite “mom” memory for a chance to take their mom to the CPWO. Enter by either commenting on the official video on the WestJet Facebook page or using the #LoveMom hashtag and sharing a link to the video on Twitter. Eligible entries have a chance to get closer to the game and win two tickets and an exclusive “Inside the Ropes” experience to the CPWO in Calgary this summer. Winners from outside Calgary will receive flights and accommodations. The contest runs May 3 to May 8, 2016. Please visit the WestJet blog for full contest rules and regulations.

Journey to the LPGA: #LoveMom is the first WestJet video to be released featuring Lorie and Brooke. WestJet and Canadian Pacific teamed up with creative agency, studio m, to create the video ahead of the CPWO taking place at Priddis Greens Golf and Country Club near Calgary, August 22 to 28, 2016. Tickets to the tournament can be purchased at cpwomensopen.com.

Growing up in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Brent McLaughlin never imagined he’d be the maestro behind Canada’s national championships. “It still doesn’t really compute in my brain that I’m doing it,” he admits. That’s because 20 years ago he walked onto the grounds of Glen Abbey and begged anybody he could find for a job. Ascending up through the maintenance staff, into the pro shop, and then the Golf Canada (nee RCGA) offices after a brief stop at the Golf Association of Ontario, the tournament director for the men’s and women’s national opens has made the most of his opportunity.

Golf Canada Magazine: What is the daily routine of a tournament director?

Brent McLaughlin: It’s so many things and yet, I don’t really do anything. All I do is answer questions. The real doers are the sales and marketing folks in our office and our operations team. I kind of sit there and I steer the ship. I try to make sure the people that are really doing the work have strong direction, can share ideas and feel supported when they make decisions. It is just such a great job because on top of it all, when you’re planning for a great party, I still get to have the conversations with player agents and players to entice them and their families. What do these players need when they get here? What type of car do they need? Are they bringing their family with them? What do their kids want to do? It’s just such a wide variety. To say there’s one thing I focus on each day is crazy and that’s what makes this job so great. There’s so many things every day that come up.

How does that change during tournament week?

Tournament week is actually the best week because hopefully you’ve planned everything correctly — if you screwed something up, it’s too late to fix it. So our stressful time, believe it or not, is the three months leading up to July. Once we’re into July we’re hopefully in a state where you’re just wishing for good weather and a great finish. Tournament week we’re there at 4:30 in the morning. We don’t usually leave the property until 11 o’clock at night. And our 1,500 volunteers, they’re doing the same hours and it’s amazing. You go into the volunteer centre at 5:30 in the morning and it’s jam-packed.

What’s your biggest challenge?

Space. To find space, not only on-site but off-site, to run these events is a huge challenge. When I look at parking, for example, how do we park so many cars? For the men, we have to park 10,000 vehicles in a town (Oakville, Ont., where Glen Abbey is located) that’s continually growing. I think on-site, golf continues to grow. It’s such a huge sport and our TV compound has changed drastically over the last couple years. The square-footage for our TV compound has basically quadrupled in size. Fitting all those little jigsaw pieces into the property at Glen Abbey or any golf course is a huge challenge. On top of that, what everybody talks about: the date. Especially this year, you’re sandwiched between the British Open and the PGA Championship so two majors. That’s a huge challenge, the field. But I always keep saying whenever I talk to the media or anybody, this event can’t be solely about the field and it can’t be about the date. This is a party. It was a party last year. I go to the Players Championship every year, as a rules official for 10 years and now as a tournament director to talk to players. I go to 16-17-18 and their hospitality areas. Rest assured, nobody is watching golf. It’s just like the Waste Management (Open in Phoenix) — no one is watching golf. They’re there because it’s the place to be. It’s a party, they’re socializing, they’re networking, they’re doing a million different things but they don’t know who’s on the tee necessarily or who’s hitting shots. That’s my vision for our Open.

Is there anything you really want to do but haven’t figured out how to pull off?

I would love to take the 14th hole down in the valley and on the far left side, where there’s a gravel access road, I’d love to pump in a bunch of sand and make that a beach. Have people go down and change into their bathing suits, grab a beach towel and lie in the sun. You’ve got your feet in the water, catching some rays watching the golfers play through. I’m also trying to get a five-kilometre race off the ground. The golf course is closed the week before. I’d love to do a road race through the golf course, a 5k where you come in and get a ticket to the Open the following week but now you get to run the golf course. There are so many runners in the community — in Oakville and across the Halton region — you call it the Par 5k and away you go. For a lot of people that may not be golfers and may not have seen what goes on in there, now you run the course and you’re connected to it and you realize this is a big thing, there is a lot of infrastructure.

What’s been your biggest surprise since taking on the job?

The spring of last year I visited four or five different events and started talking to players (about why they did or didn’t play the RBC Canadian Open) and the one thing that was the common theme I heard from every player was that when you come to Canada you never know you’re in Canada. They said it looks like every other PGA Tour event. When I came back I said we’re going to bring the Canadiana back to the Canadian Open. So when you stood on No. 18 tee and looked down, the only thing you could see was the Canadian flag. I think we need more than that.

How about the craziest problem you’ve had to navigate?

On Sunday last year, when David Hearn’s group came out of the valley off 15, I remember getting a call from Barry Hughes, who’s a sergeant with Halton Police and oversees our policing. He called me and said, ‘We got a lot of people coming up from the valley. There’s nowhere for them to go.’ There had to be nearly 5,000 people who couldn’t go down 16, they couldn’t go down 17, they couldn’t go down 18. So we brought everybody around the back of 17 and 18 tee and allowed them to walk the driving range for the first time ever just to get the flow going. So we had to re-rope basically the entire three holes on the fly. As everybody was watching play, we’re freaking out about re-roping people to get them out and back to the spectator village. So that was chaotic and quite a scene.

Biggest difference setting up the Men’s Open vs. Women’s Open?

There’s a few more moving parts on the Men’s Open. One notable difference is from a courtesy-car standpoint. Traditionally on the LPGA Tour we’ll dole out about 20 courtesy cars to the top players but for the RBC Canadian Open, through our relationship with BMW, every player gets a car. So that’s 156 moving parts right there off the top. From an infrastructure standpoint, the Men’s Open is just a bigger animal. It has more spectators on site, more corporate hospitality options so the footprint on site is larger, as far as your build goes. With the CP Women’s Open, we’re building around 16, 17 and 18 for our hospitality.

Fact or fiction: The LPGA Tour players are easier to deal with than the PGA Tour players.

That’s probably 90 per cent fact. The women are very engaging, they understand it’s a big deal. They all have their moments as professional athletes so I wouldn’t say easier but maybe a little more available.

What’s the best compliment you’ve received from a player regarding the CP Women’s Open?

I think every player that I’ve spoken to on the women’s side believes it’s a major. They treat it like a major even though it’s not a major in name. It’s the largest purse they play for outside of the majors so I think that has a lot to do with it. Last year, including the majors, we were the strongest event on tour. We had 96 of the top 100 players. We’re the event after the Olympics this year and every single person I talked to said, ‘We will not miss the Women’s Open. We don’t care when the Olympics is.’ So that’s a telling statement that they’ll turn out in Calgary and how important the event is.

What are your thoughts on the possible development of Glen Abbey?

From a personal standpoint, it’s a huge part of my life. I would be devastated. Devastated not to have that as a golf course and not to have it as a place to drive into every day. It’s much deeper than just the Open. It goes back to my days in the golf shop and riding the shuttle and picking the range. It’s also our office plus the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame & Museum. There’s a lot of things that go on outside of the RBC Canadian Open but from a purely personal standpoint, I want it to stay a golf course.

Some personal stuff: What inspired you to buy your ice fishing trailer?

I love my outdoors. I love my alone time. I love hunting. Fishing is one of my huge hobbies too but I hate being cold. So I started thinking what I could do to make this a more comfortable experience. I went on Kijiji and looked for a camper. I found an old, beat up 15-foot Prowler camper. I tore it apart inside, put a wood stove in it and it’s got room for five or six people pretty comfortably. It’s got three fishing holes and once you get the wood stove going, it is incredible how hot it is. You can fish in your underwear if you want.

What’s the biggest fish you’ve caught?

Biggest fish I’ve caught would be a halibut in B.C. It was a small halibut for its size but big for me, about 80 pounds. But the most prized fish I’ve caught is one just outside Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario) in Echo Bay. I caught an 11-pound walleye and as I reeled it in, I said to myself this is going to cost me money now. It goes from being a prized fish to being an expensive fish real quick. To get the taxidermy and put it on the wall was something else but it was a beautiful fish.

You drove your motorcycle cross-country last summer. What kind of bike is it and does it have a name?

(Laughs) It does not have a name although after we bonded coming back from Seattle after the CP Women’s Open at The Vancouver Golf Club it should have a name. I was telling my wife that I wanted to upgrade the bike and then I drove it back from out west and as soon as I got home I said I’ll never get rid of that bike. It’s a 2004 Dyna Low Rider. The bike’s originally from Texas and it’s in miles, which screws me up all the time.

How much golf do you play?

Last year I had the good fortune of playing in the RBC Heritage pro-am with Ian Poulter. That was my last round of golf. Never touched a club after April. Now, 80 per cent of that is my own fault because I have other interests outside of the game. But I need to get back in that mindset of playing more.

What would you be doing if you weren’t in golf?

Growing up I always wanted to be a fireman. I went to school at Seneca College for Fire Science and I think if I wasn’t a fireman, I really see myself in some other sport. Hockey’s my passion, I’m a huge Philadelphia Flyers fan. My bar downstairs is painted orange and black. It’s got all kinds of Flyers memorabilia. My dog’s named Philly. The dog before that was named Tocchet, after my favourite player Rick Tocchet. Anybody that knows me knows that I’m obsessed so it’d definitely be something in hockey.

The Party Planner This article was originally published in the April 2016 edition of Golf Canada Magazine. To view the full magazine, click the image to the left.

GASTONIA, NC – Canadian Mackenzie Hughes fired a 7-under 64 on Monday at the Gaston Country Club to nab one of four spots in the PGA TOUR’s Wells Fargo Championship this week.

Hughes, a 25-year-old Dundas, Ont., native, carded a bogey-free round to share a three-way tie of second place. The trio trailed medalist Corey Nagy of Charlotte, N.C., by one stroke.

The Young Pro Squad member has played seven times on the Web.Com Tour this year, making four cuts in total—he currently sits at No. 99 on the money list.

The Kent State alumnus is set to join fellow Canucks Graham DeLaet, David Hearn, Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor when play begins this Thursday at Quail Hollow.

Click here for full results.

Is Golf Canada guilty of false advertising when they offer golfers across the country their new “free” Bronze-level membership?

We’re being facetious, of course, but there is a hidden cost as Peter Kirkpatrick, Golf Canada’s Managing Director of Brand and Marketing Services, points out.

While no money changes hands, joining the new membership initiative comes with a price. That “price,” he says, is the time it takes you to sign up and make use of the array of utilities and benefits. “Just because there may not be a payment involved in becoming a Bronze member, we realize that time and attention are valuable commodities for everyone these days. We have tried to ensure that there is enough value there for golfers to make that investment,” Kirkpatrick says. Much of that value stemmed from the input of focus groups and surveys across the country over the past three years.

“Our research gave us insight into what golfers want,” says Karen Hewson, Managing Director of Membership and Heritage Services.  “They want to track scores, they want meaningful experiences and more information about the game. They told us they would like to be part of the larger golf community so we created a no-cost membership to remove any barriers to that objective.”

At present, the free membership level offers golfers online game and score tracking (not to be confused with an official Golf Canada Handicap Factor® which is a benefit at the paid level), the opportunity to win rewards for playing and posting scores, online Rules of Golf education access, free subscriptions to online golf publications, and exclusive offers on event tickets and merchandise. Bronze members are also entered into some impressive contests when they sign up and each time they post a score. Currently, The Great Canadian East-West Contest offers a golf vacation for two to either Cabot Links/Cabot Cliffs in Nova Scotia or Banff Springs in Alberta.

The objective of Golf Canada’s Bronze membership category is to engage the millions of Canadian golfers who are not members today, to build that community for all golfers, and to encourage them to support the game. To welcome those golfers, the Bronze membership comes at no charge and offers a lot of value. Call it the “starter” membership for those who want to test the golf community experience.

For those who want all the trappings of a full-fledged Golf Canada membership, there is the Gold level. For $49.95, Gold-level members receive an official Golf Canada Handicap Factor, multiple rewards opportunities, the Golf Canada Equipment Replacement Guarantee, golf club identification labels and access to the Golf Canada Equipment Identification and Retrieval System, discounts on event tickets and merchandise, online Rules of Golf education access, as well as lifetime scoring history and even more digital utilities.

Member dues support myriad national and provincial programs such as Long-Term Player Development, multiple junior initiatives such as Golf in Schools, Team Canada, Rules of Golf, national amateur championships, handicapping and course rating, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum, the Canadian Golf Foundation, and more.

No matter which level you choose, a Golf Canada membership definitely is one of golf’s best “value propositions” and will pay immediate dividends not just for you, but for the game itself.

And that’s truth in advertising.

(To become a member of Golf Canada and the Canadian golf community, visit www.golfcanada.ca and click on “Join Now.”)

AVONDALE, La. – Brian Stuard a eu raison de Jamie Lovemark au deuxième trou de prolongation de la Classique Zurich pour mettre la main sur son premier titre sur le circuit de la PGA.

Stuard n’a pas commis de bogey tout au long du tournoi disputé sur le très long (7425 verges) parcours du TPC Louisiana, noyé par près de 115 millimètres de pluie au cours du tournoi. Des délais en raison des conditions météo jeudi, samedi et dimanche ont non seulement forcé les organisateurs à repousser la prolongation à lundi, mais également à raccourcir le tournoi à 54 trous.

Lovemark, Stuard et Byeong-Hun An ont tous trois amorcé la prolongation avec un pointage cumulatif de 15 coups sous la normale.

An a trébuché sur le premier trou de prolongation tandis que Lovemark est tombé au deuxième. pendant ce temps, Stuard a poursuivi son chemin, inébranlable, comme tout au long du tournoi. Il s’est pratiquement assuré de la victoire en en envoyant son coup d’approche sur 160 verges à environ deux pieds et demie de la coupe, pour un coup roulé facile et un birdie.

Stuard est ainsi devenu le septième joueur à signer sa première victoire en carrière au tournoi disputé en banlieue de La Nouvelle-Orléans au cours des 11 dernières années.

AVONDALE, La. – Brian Stuard beat Jamie Lovemark on the second hole of a playoff Monday to capture his first PGA Tour win at the water-logged Zurich Classic.

Stuard never bogeyed a hole throughout the tournament on the long (7,425-yard), par-72 TPC Louisiana course, which was drenched with more than 4 1/2 inches of rain during the tournament. Weather delays on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday not only forced a Monday finish but also led officials to shorten the tournament to 54 holes.

Lovemark, Stuard and Byeong-Hun An entered the playoff at 15 under par.

An unraveled on the first playoff hole and Lovemark on the second while Stuard remained steady, virtually clinching the win with a 160-yard approach to within 2 1/2 of the pin for an easy birdie putt.

Stuard is the seventh first-time winner at the New Orleans-area Tour stop in the past 11 years.

David Hearn had the best finish of the four Canadians in the field. The Brantford, Ont., native tied for 20th at 8-under par. Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor, both of Abbotsford, B.C., finished in a tie for 36th at 6-under. Mike Weir missed the cut at 8-over.

COURTENAY, B.C. – Mackenzie Tour Q-School resumes this week with the fourth and final 2016 qualifying tournament taking place May 3-6 at Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community.

One hundred and thirty two players, including 39 Canadians, will compete at the fourth and final qualifying tournament for the 2016 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada. The medalist will earn full exempt status, while players finishing second to 16th Exempt through the first four events and are subject to re-shuffle. Players finishing 17th to 40th earn conditional status.

Crown Isle, a 7,025-yard layout designed by Graham Cooke and Associates in 1992, has hosted Mackenzie Tour qualifying each of the last two years. Water-lined with 11 lakes and immaculately manicured, the course offers stunning vistas of the Comox Glacier and Beaufort Mountain Range.

Among the Canadians looking to earn status is five-time Stanley Cup champion goaltender Grant Fuhr. The Hockey Hall of Fame member and Spruce Grove, Alta., native has played Q-School on three occasions previously and was recently named the Honourary Tournament Chair of the Oil Country Championship. He competed at the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel last year on a sponsor exemption.

CANADIANS IN THE FIELD (39)

• Adam Cornelson (Langley, B.C.)
• Andrew Funk (Edmonton, Alberta)
• Grant Fuhr (Spruce Grove, Alberta)
• Turner Southey-Gordon (Toronto, Ontario)
• Josh Wytinck (Glenboro, Manitoba)
• Keith Martin (Kelowna, B.C.)
• Michael Belle (Burnaby, B.C.)
• Shawn Vanderwal (Kamloops, B.C.)
• Ryan Werre (Redcliff, Alberta)
• Mitch Sutton (London, Ontario)
• Braeden Cryderman (Hunstville, Ontario)
• Kevin Stinson (Mission, B.C.)
• J.J. Regan (Burlington, Ontario)
• Brendon Williams (Victoria, B.C.)
• Thomas Hay (Langley, B.C.)
• Ryan Curran (Thornton, Ontario)
• James Seymour (Aurora, Ontario)
• Brian Churchill-Smith (Oakville, Ontario)
• Charlie Boyechko (Winnipeg, Manitoba)
• Marko Viinikka (Victoria, B.C.)
• Scott Stiles (Calgary, Alberta)
• Mitchell Fox (Calgary, Alberta)
• Tyson Beaupre (Grande Prairie, Alberta)
• Scott Cameron (Langley, B.C.)
• Andrew Rasmussen (Delta, B.C.)
• Tony Mak (Vancouver, B.C.)
• Michael Powell (Surrey, B.C.)
• William Deck (Kelowna, B.C.)
• Matt Hoffman (Thornhill, Ontario)
• Gianfranco Guida (Maple, Ontario)
• Eric Hawerchuk (Barrie, Ontario)
• Aaron Cockerill (Gunton, Manitoba)
• Russell Budd (Toronto, Ontario)
• Matt Hamilton (Courtenay, B.C.)
• Ryan Crnac (Richmond, B.C.)
• Zejun Ni (Calgary, Alberta)
• Brendan Dillon (Port Moody, B.C.)
• Donghoon Oh (Coquitlam, B.C.)
• Jacob Vanderpas (Vancouver, B.C.)

More info:

Field List
Tee Times
Scores

IRVING, Texas – Jenny Shin won the Volunteers of America Texas Shootout on Sunday for her first LPGA Tour victory, pulling away for a two-stroke victory at Las Colinas.

Making her 133rd tour start, Shin closed with a 4-under 67 to finish at 14-under 270. The 23-year-old South Korean player went to high school in Torrance, California, and won the 2006 U.S. Girls’ Junior.

“Still in awe. Nothing has registered yet,” Shin said. “I wanted to talk to my mum, but I was on the verge of tears, so I hung up without really her answering the phone. I think it will hit me as soon as I talk to my mum.”

Third-round leader Gerina Piller, the area resident seeking her first tour victory, birdied the final hole for a 73 to tie for second with South Koreans Amy Yang and Mi Jung Hur.

“I was proud of the way I finished. I’ll be back,” Piller said after her fourth straight top-six finish.

Yang and Hur each shot 71.

Shin birdied three of the first five holes and added another on the par-5 10th. She closed with eight pars, the last an up-and-down save from right of the green on the par-5 18th.

“I actually didn’t know I was in front of everybody, I thought Amy Yang was only one stroke behind, so I was really nervous on the last hole,” Shin said.

Other players showered her with beer after the victory.

“It wasn’t something I pictured, for sure,” Shin said. “I wanted something like champagne, but now I’m stinking of beer. Then they were like, ‘Oh, you stink of beer.” Then they shower you more with water. But it’s still good. I’m so glad they stuck around and gave me a shower of beer.“

She’s projected to jump from 38th to 24th in the world ranking.

“Nothing’s easy, golf is not easy,” Shin said. “I worked my butt off out there. I didn’t have my ‘A’ game this week, surprisingly, and to know that I won with kind of a semi-goodish game, it makes me very happy.”

Piller lives in Plano, about 20 miles from Las Colinas. The long-hitting U.S. Solheim Cup hero grew up in Roswell, New Mexico, and played at the University Texas-El Paso. A number of high school and college friends joined her family _ led by her husband, PGA Tour player Martin Piller _ in the gallery.

“The thing that makes it more special is I don’t have to play good golf for them to continue to love me, so that’s pretty cool,” Piller said. “No matter what I shoot, no matter what I do, they’re behind me.”

Fifth-ranked Brooke Henderson closed with a 71 to tie for 19th at 3 under, ending the 18-year-old Canadian’s string of top-10 finishes at eight.

Cheyenne Knight, a 19-year-old University of Alabama freshman from nearby Aledo, had a 72 to tie for 30th at 1 under. Karah Sanford, a 14-year-old high school freshman from San Diego, tied for 51st at 6 over after a 77.

NEWBURGH, Ind. – Seamus Power took advantage of the other leaders’ late problems to win the United Leasing & Finance Championship on Sunday for his first Web.com Tour title.

The 39-year-old Irish player closed with a bogey-free 5-under 67 at Victoria National to finish at 12-under 276. He birdied the par-4 17th and parred the par-4 18th.

Third-round leader Adam Schenk, Cody Gribble and Jonathan Randolph finished a stroke back. Schenk, from nearby Vincennes, made a double bogey on par-5 15th in a 70. Gribble bogeyed the final two holes for a 69. Randolph bogeyed the 17th in a 67.

Calgary’s Roger Sloan was fifth at 10 under. The Canadian made double bogeys on the final two holes for a 69.

AVONDALE, La. – Jhonattan Vegas birdied two of five holes he was able to play in the rain-delayed third round of the Zurich Classic on Sunday, giving him a share of the lead with Brian Stuard.

Tournament officials cut the event to 54 holes in an attempt to finish play Monday.

Vegas made birdie putts from beyond 7 feet on the first two holes to reach 13 under, then parred three straight before steady rain, accompanied by intermittent thunder, forced organizers to clear the water-logged TPC Louisiana after little more than two hours of play.

Stuard, who has not made a bogey in the tournament, had one birdie Sunday. Like Vegas, he’ll resume play on the sixth hole.

Top-ranked Jason Day was in a five-way tie for fifth at 10 under through 44 holes.

Rain, which also delayed play Thursday and Saturday, is again forecast Monday.

The Zurich Classic is the first PGA Tour event to be shortened to 54 holes since the 2013 Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua. The last Monday finish was the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in early February.

Play was suspended a just after 10 a.m. time and tournament officials waited hopefully through a delay of more than six hours before finally calling off play for the day and shortening the tournament.

“I’m just trying to stay awake right now. It’s been a really long day,” Vegas, a Venezuelan with one career PGA Tour triumph, said during the delay. “Just got to find a way to relax and keep the mind calm.”

He said he was focused on “doing things simple” in conditions that were sloppy but hardly unfamiliar to him.

“I grew up in a place that rained a lot,” Vegas said. “The big thing here (is) just being able to hit the ball clean, especially when it’s muddy and so wet.

“It should be a fun finish,” he added.

The 33-year-old Stuard is trying to win a PGA Tour event for the first time, and the delays have given him plenty of time to sit around and think about the high stakes he now faces in his final round, although he’s trying not to do that.

“Just try not to get ahead of yourself,” Stuard said. “We just got to keep that right mind frame and just worry about the next shot.”

Bobby Wyatt, who has an eagle and four birdies in his third round, climbed from 22nd after two rounds to third at 12 under with nine holes to play. Jamie Lovemark was fourth at 11 under with 13 holes left.

Day birdied his last two holes before play was stopped. He was tied with Charley Hoffman, Scott Stallings, Chris Kirk and Charles Howell III. Hoffman and Stallings each have just four holes left, while Kirk has nine and Howell 12.

“I’m only three shots back, but anything can happen on the back side,” Day said. “We always say golf is a marathon, not a sprint, (but) this is kind of a sprint now.”

Canada’s David Hearn was 8-under thru 13-holes of his 3rd round.