VANCOUVER – California’s Ben Geyer opened with a 7-under 65 at Point Grey Golf and Country Club on Thursday to take the first round lead at the Freedom 55 Financial Open, the first event of the 2016 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season.

The 24-year old made seven birdies and was bogey-free on the day to lead by one over Florida’s Tyler McCumber and New Hamburg, Ont.’s Cam Burke.

“I drove it really well today and kept it in play. I didn’t have many stressful holes, and I was really happy with how I scored,” said Geyer, who earned exempt status on the Mackenzie Tour by the narrowest of margins last year.

After struggling on the Web.com Tour for the first half of 2015, the St. Mary’s College graduate earned the final spot in the field at last year’s season-ending Freedom 55 Financial Championship by placing 60th on the Order of Merit through the Cape Breton Open by a mere $373, thereby retaining status for this year.

“I struggled unfortunately on the Web.com Tour last year, and it was nice to be able to come up to Canada and get things figured out a bit. I have a good feel for this Tour now and I’m looking forward to competing up here this season,” said Geyer.

Burke, a two-time Canadian Amateur champion and former Team Canada member, was also bogey-free in his debut as a Mackenzie Tour member to share second place with McCumber after day one.

“I putted really well. I didn’t drive it that well, but I kept it in between the trees for the most part. I had an approach shot to all 18 holes, and I putted outstanding and my short game was really good today,” said Burke.

One shot further behind at 5-under were Mike Ballo, Jr., Vancouver-area native Devin Carrey and 19-year old Austin Connelly, also a first year Mackenzie Tour member.

FORT WORTH, Texas – Bryce Molder a réussi des oiselets sur six de ses neuf derniers trous pour une première ronde de 64 (moins-6), jeudi, et il détient un coup d’avance en tête de l’Invitation Dean & Deluca au Colonial.

Molder faisait partie du premier groupe à prendre le départ sur le 10e tertre et il était sur le 16e vert quand le jeu a été interrompu pendant 75 minutes en raison d’un orage. Il a réussi la septième de ses neuf normales consécutives quand le jeu a repris, puis il a accumulé les oiselets sur le premier neuf.

Patrick Reed, Anirban Lahiri et Webb Simpson suivent à 65.

Ryan Palmer, qui est membre au Colonial, faisait partie du groupe

à égalité au cinquième rang à 66. Jordan Spieth, classé deuxième au monde, a joué 67 après avoir raté les six premières allées.

David Hearn, de Brantford, en Ontario, a joué 67 pour faire partie du groupe à égalité en neuvième position. Adam Hadwin et Nick Taylor, tous deux d’Abbotsford, en Colombie-Britannique, ont remis des cartes respectives de 68 et 69.

FORT WORTH, Texas – Bryce Molder was joking around with playing partner Scott Langley as the sky darkened over Colonial.

“It was almost like they were about to blow the horn for darkness,” Molder said.

Except it was early in the morning after Molder – the leader after a 6-under 64- and Langley began play in the first group off the 10th tee Thursday in the Dean & Deluca Invitational at Colonial.

“It wasn’t dark to where you can’t see the ball flight, but you’re kind of reading putts looking a little funny at it,” Molder said. “It was dark. It was weird. It was almost like late, late, late in the day.”

They were on the 16th green next to the clubhouse when play was stopped because of rain and lightning in the area. After the 75-minute delay, when clouds thinned considerably, Molder had six birdies in his last nine holes and the 64 held up for a one-stroke lead over Patrick Reed, Anirban Lahiri and Webb Simpson.

David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., shot 67 for a share of ninth place. Abbotsford, B.C., products Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor shot 68 and 69, respectively.

Ryan Palmer, the Colonial member whose caddie James Edmondson is the four-time club champion, joined Jason Dufner, Martin Piller and Kyle Reifers in a tie for fifth at 66.

“It’s a golf course I can step on to each tee and don’t even need my yardage book,” Palmer said. “To shoot 4-under out here on a Thursday, you’re not hurting.”

Jordan Spieth, the world’s No. 2-ranked player, was among nine players at 67 after his breezy afternoon round when he missed the first six fairways. But he hit eight of the first nine greens and 14 overall while carding only one bogey – at the 244-yard, par-3 fourth hole.

“It was so tough to gauge the wind correctly and get the ball close to the hole,” Spieth said. “On a day like this, you’re just really looking to hit greens in regulation, be as stress-free as possible, and it felt like we were out there.”

Seventh-ranked Adam Scott, who in 2014 won at Colonial to cap his first week at No. 1, had an opening 72 with four birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey.

Jason Kokrak was at 6 under and tied with Molder for the lead when he hit a drive in the centre of the 18th fairway. But his approach went into the water to the right of the green, as did the next shot after his drop. His quintuple bogey 9 ended a round of 69.

Kevin Chappell (68) had the shot of the day with an eagle on the 387-yard 10th hole when his 8-iron approach from 158 yards went into the hole on the fly.

Moulder, with one win in 251 career PGA Tour starts, had his first 18-hole lead since the 2002 Byron Nelson. He finished Thursday with four consecutive birdies – all from at more than 10 feet, including a 20-footer at No. 7 after his drive into a fairway bunker on the 438-yard hole.

His only non-birdies on the front nine were at Nos. 3-5, known as the Horrible Horseshoe because of the layout and difficulty of that trio. He had pars of each of those holes, the 452-yard dogleg left 3rd hole, the long par 3, and the 465-yard 5th hole parallel to the Trinity River.

“I hit a lot of greens early, 20, 30 feet, and just kind of rolled it up close,” Molder said. “And then all of a sudden hit a couple close when I made the turn, Nos. 1 and 2, got some close birdies. … Maybe (the delay) just kind of helped me wake up. Actually, I went back out on the range and just kind of one little tinker here or there and found a little groove for the rest of the 12 holes.”

Langley had a 70.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Christina Kim took advantage of favourable conditions Thursday morning, shooting an 8-under 64 to top the leaderboard in the inaugural Volvik Championship.

She didn’t expect to stay there.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if someone gets me by two,” Kim said.

No one did.

Ariya Jutanugarn, coming off consecutive wins on the LPGA Tour, was a shot back after her morning round at Travis Pointe Country Club.

The course conditions got tougher later in the day when the wind picked up and the pins got tougher to shoot for on drying greens.

Minjee Lee, So Yeon Ryu and Marina Alex shot 68, putting them four shots behind Kim.

Samantha Richdale of Kelowna, B.C., shot 69, Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., shot 72 and Hamilton’s Alena Sharp shot 73.

Second-ranked Inbee Park’s lingering thumb injury led her to withdraw from the tournament. Haru Nomura and Perrine Delacour also were unable to complete their first rounds.

Kim ended a 24-round streak in which she didn’t break 70, but wasn’t surprised.

“I’ve been playing really well,” she insisted. “It’s just the scores haven’t reflected how I’ve been playing.”

The three-time LPGA Tour winner, though, was able to withstand her relative slump because of her perspective on the game and life.

“At the end of the day, you know, things will balance out,” Kim said. “We all end up six feet under.”

The 20-year-old Jutanugarn is coming off a victory at the Kingsmill Championship after becoming the first Thai winner in tour history in Alabama.

One of her friends saw this coming.

“She’s been playing like this since she was 17 years old,” Kim said. “I think that for her it was just a matter of breaking the shell and getting over that first hump and getting that first win. She is going to just be an absolute world-beater.”

Kim might be one of the people who paves the way after she was in a rough patch of her career.

“Last year, I played bad,” Jutanugarn recalled. “And, she the only person come and talk to me.”

Jutanugarn played through a stiffer wind on her back nine, competing well enough to give herself a chance to possibly win three straight tournaments.

Her ability to play without a driver in her bag or a 3-wood in her hand may help her make the most of opportunities on a layup set up to give players success.

“The course pretty firm so I not even need to hit 3-wood,” Jutanugarn said. “Two-iron fine because I can keep it low.”

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – Rocco Mediate played the first 13 holes in 9 under and closed with five pars for a 62 to match the Senior PGA Championship and Harbor Shore records Thursday.

Taking advantage of greens softened by overnight rain, Mediate matched the marks set by Kenny Perry in the 2012 final round.

“It wasn’t wet, as far as soaking wet. A couple wet spots. But it was fine,” Mediate said. “Greens were good. Soft. They received pretty good. … I know it rained like heck last night. I heard it last night. But the golf course was fine. Greens were good. Everything was good. A little softer.”

The 53-year-old Mediate capped a front-nine 29 with an eagle on the par-5 ninth and added birdies on the par-3 11th and 13th holes at Jack Nicklaus-designed Harbor Shores.

“Solid stuff,” Mediate said. “A lot of fairways. A bunch of greens. When I missed it was in the right spot. … I hit it close, so I had a lot of short putts for birdie. I didn’t really make a long one. It was one of those days. I just drove it really well. I hit a lot of solid irons.”

Mediate has two victories on the 50-and-over tour after winning six times on the PGA Tour.

“Stuff I’m working on is coming around,” Mediate said. “I’m just trying to get back to what I used to do and that’s hit the ball in the middle of the face most of the time. It’s been a few years since that’s happened. So it was a lot of fun. A lot of fun.”

Gene Sauers had a bogey-free 63.

“I like being up are early in the morning. It was nice,” Sauers said. “You get fresh greens and I hit the ball really solid. Just tried to concentrate on just where I wanted to place the ball and just not have too many long putts, because you can get some really pressure putts out here.”

Mike Goodes shot 64, and Kenny Perry, Kirk Triplett and club pro John DalCorobbo were another stroke back. Perry played alongside Mediate and two-time defending champion Colin Montgomerie, who had two late bogeys in a 67.

“We were all feeding off each another,” Perry said. “Rocco shot 29 on the front nine and drug us all along in there. He hit it close and made a lot of putts. It kind of set the tone for the whole group.

“The whole group played nice until the last couple holes, I don’t know if we got tired or what, but they’re hard holes, 16, 17 and 18 are tough holes. I bogeyed 17 and I think Colin bogeyed 16 and 17. But Rocco parred them all. So he had an amazing round.”

Bernhard Langer, fresh off the 100th victory of his career – at a major, no less, at the Regions Tradition in Alabama, opened with a 69.

The 58-year-old German is going for an unprecedented sweep of all five PGA Tour Champions majors. In Alabama, he won his sixth major championship as a senior and joined Nicklaus as the only players to win four different senior majors. Nicklaus had largely retired when the Senior British Open was added to the major rotation. He only played that once in its first year as a major in 2003.

John Daly struggled to a 75 in his first senior major start. He had a 9 on the par-4 16th, a double bogey, three bogeys and six bogeys. Daly tied for 15th and 17th in his first two senior starts since turning 50.

Montgomerie played the first 10 holes in 6 under, with four straight birdies on Nos. 7-10. The Scot won in 2014 at Harbor Shores and last year at French Lick Resort in Indiana.

DalCorobbo holed out with a 9-iron from the fairway for an eagle on the par-5 18th. A PGA assistant professional at Brickyard Crossing in Indiana, he won the Senior PGA Professional Championship in October.

“For not playing in a competitive event for quite some time, I think that the focus, really, the plan was, to not so much to score, but can I handle my mental routine and stay within that. So for the most part I think I did a good job. I hit a tremendous shot on 18 and a lot of that is luck, but I hit some good shots during the day and really happy about that.”

St. Catharines, Ont., resident, Rod Spittle shot 2-under to sit T30, while Stephen Ames of Calgary is T68 after carding a 71.

It was a golf tournament much like any other.

At the same time, it was a golf tournament unlike just about any other.

There was the usual assortment of right-handed and left-handed golfers.

And there was a one-handed golfer.

Like most tournaments, there was applause from the other players, their caddies and the gallery when someone hit a good tee shot.

Not so typically, there was the same sincere, supportive applause when someone hit a not-so-good one.

Like I said, not your average golf tournament.

On Wednesday, I was privileged to act as the starter for two dozen Special Olympics athletes who competed at my home course, Midland Golf and Country Club in central Ontario.

No. “Competed” does neither the event nor the participants justice.

Watching them try their best, relishing the opportunity,  just immersing themselves in the experience, put a lot of things in perspective for those fortunate enough to interact with them that day.

“They experience the same frustrations as any golfer but it seems to me they recover from them more quickly and just enjoy the overall experience,” says Serge Boulianne, Sport Manager for Special Olympics Canada.

Lorinne Russell (2nd from the left) / (SpecialOCanada)

Boulianne, who organized Wednesday’s event, said the partnership between Special Olympics Canada and Golf Canada is “huge” from a number of perspectives. Half a dozen years ago, he says, there were between 300 and 400 Special Olympic athletes across Canada who golfed. Now there are almost 1,700. To support them, the PGA of Canada has developed a dedicated course for coaching Special Olympics athletes.

“Integration is a big part of Special Olympics and there is no better place than a golf course to accomplish that. Golf also has brought us many athletes who might not have been part of our movement before but have been golfing with their parents since they were young. “

Mike Trojan can relate to that. Along with his wife and another couple in St. Catharines, Ont., they conduct a Special Olympics golf program at Chippawa, the executive-length course at Legends on the Niagara. Thanks to their dedication and the support of the Niagara Parks Commission, 22 athletes get to enjoy this experience.

Trojan’s daughter, Tess, is a Special Olympics golf success story.  “We always golfed as a family and that’s how she got the bug.”

Strong play at the provincial and national levels earned Tess a spot on Team Canada which participated in the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles.

“Golf Canada and the PGA of Canada really stepped up,” says Trojan. An instructor was assigned to each of the five Team Canada members for the six months leading up to the event in Los Angeles, with impressive results. Among other Canadian medallists, Tess came home with a gold.

“Golf is wonderful,” says Trojan, “because it not only gives them confidence to participate in a sport but confidence in other things—jobs, being productive members of their community, and so on.”

Ian Kirkpatrick, General Manager of Midland G&CC, was beaming Wednesday as he watched the athletes and their coaches participate in skills clinics conducted by two PGA of Canada professionals: Midland head pro Brian Urbach and Jason Bennett, head pro at nearby Oak Bay G&CC.

Kyle Koopman (SpecialOCanada)

“Golf has to change in its approach to many things in the future,” Kirkpatrick said. “We, as a sport, have to be more inclusive, more community-oriented. We have to provide opportunities for anyone who wants to participate.”

The partnership between Golf Canada and Special Olympics Canada is a giant step forward in accomplishing that challenging goal.

While Wednesday’s results show that Lorinne Russell of Milton, Ont., and Kyle Koopman of Hamilton had the lowest scores, it must be said that anyone who met these very special athletes also came out a winner.

“It just feels good to be around them,” says Bouilanne.

From my experience on Wednesday, I couldn’t agree more.

New Bedford, MASS. – Less than two years ago, former Titleist and TaylorMade golf ball engineer Dean Snell left the comfort and safety of working for a large golf ball manufacturer to launch his own business, Snell Golf.

With headquarters in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Snell has quickly seen his golf ball line-up chalk up record sales numbers and earn high praise from independent golfers and media including rave reviews in Golf Digest’s 2016 Hot List issue.

Today, Snell announced that he is expanding his business into Canada with the launch of SnellGolfCanada.com to provide avid and recreational Canadian golfers with easy access to purchase and enjoy golf balls with excellent performance at affordable prices.

“At the heart of Snell Golf is an e-commerce business model, zero player contracts and low overheads,” said Snell Golf President Dean Snell. “Our intent is to create a high-quality golf ball and sell it an attractive price lower than comparable balls in the market. Golfers everywhere – including Canadians – are starting to take notice, which is why expansion into Canada was a logical and inevitable move for the company.”

As a result of the launch in Canada, Snell Golf has named Ron Stenzl, from Kingston, Ont. as President. Stenzl, 58, is an entrepreneur with a strong sales and finance background with previous ownership and management experience at Leeds Transit. Moreover, Stenzl is a life-long, avid golfer who understands the golf consumer and is excited about the Snell Golf brand.

“Dean Snell is a golf ball guru and our group intends to transfer his expertise and effectively market and distribute his existing golf ball line and any future golf ball innovations to the Canadian golf community,” Stenzl said. “Both golf balls are outstanding. Golfers who now play the balls are quick to talk about how much they like them and we are thrilled with now easily available they will now be to Canadian golfers.”

Snell Golf Canada is going to initially introduce the 2 piece ball (Get Sum) at $27.50 per dozen and the 3 piece ball (My Tour Ball), the flagship product at $42.00 per dozen which is 20-25% percent less than other recreational and tour quality golf balls. We are confident that our customers in Canada will have amazing shot-making moments with Snell Golf balls.”

Snell, who has worked with countless Tour professionals, owns 40 granted U.S. golf ball patents and is the co-inventor of the original ProV1 has parlayed his 25 years of experience with equipment giants Titleist and TaylorMade to bring forth the same philosophies and materials to create his premium golf balls.

A premium multi-layered ball with a thin cast urethane cover, Snell Golf’s “My Tour Ball” ($31.99 per dozen) is the company’s flagship model and its performance is akin to the balls played on today’s professional tours. The ball features a low compression high velocity core allowing lower driver spin rates and faster ball speeds for all swing speeds to promote longer and straighter drives. The cast urethane cover is a Tour-proven technology that produces excellent short game spin and control while delivering soft feel and outstanding durability.

Maude-Aimée LeBlanc will be participating in the U.S. Women’s Open from July 7 to 10. She won her spot Tuesday at the Hermitage Country Club in Manakin-Sabot, Va., finishing three shots ahead of the field.

The qualifying selections are decided during a marathon 36-hole event.

LeBlanc had started off with a solid 71 in the morning round and came back stronger in the afternoon with a 68 bogey-free round featuring four birdies.

She is eligible as a regular LPGA member for all tournaments except invitational tournaments and national championships which include the British Open.

The U.S. Women’s Open will be held at CordeValle in San Martin, Calif., in six weeks.

LeBlanc’s decision to remain in Virginia despite the disappointment of being eliminated last Friday midway through the Kingsmill Championship paid off for the Sherbrooke, Que. native.

“It’s official, I’ll be playing in the 2016 Open,” she proudly posted to Facebook after securing her spot.

Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON – Niagara College’s Professional Golf Management (PGM) program celebrated their continued support of Golf in Schools with a donation exceeding $1,900 to three schools in the Niagara region (with additional funds to follow).

The donation marks the sixth consecutive year students in the PGM program have donated to Golf Canada’s in-school program. Since 2010, over $10,000 has been raised resulting in 14 Niagara schools adopted into the Golf in Schools program. Funds are generated through the program’s PGM Invitational Golf Tournament, an annual fundraising event conducted by the 3^rd year PGM class that attracts 80 participants including students, alumni, faculty, and industry supporters.

With the funds, Niagara College adopted three intermediate schools in the St. Catharine’s region. Each school received the intermediate kit (valued at $635), which comes equipped with age-appropriate equipment and a teacher-friendly learning resource that was developed in conjunction with PHE Canada and the PGA of Canada.

“On behalf of Golf Canada, I’m very proud of the continued dedication of the professional golf management students at Niagara College and their support of junior golf in their community,” said Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s Chief Sport Officer. “Their investment in the Golf in Schools program represents an important link between education, community and junior golfers—the future of our sport.”

Grant Fraser, Coordinator of the PGM program at Niagara College, continues to see the benefits of this initiative for the community, the college and his PGM students.

“I believe that it is important for the golf community to support the Golf in Schools program and to do all we can to help grow the game. The professional golf management students at Niagara College are part of that community,” said Fraser. “One of the key topics we discuss in our Event Management class is the importance of giving back and doing what we can to introduce the game to students at schools throughout the Niagara region. Supporting Golf Canada’s Golf in Schools program helps us do this.”

Niagara College’s generous contributions have added to the national total of over 2,900 schools delivering the best-in-class program. Offered at the elementary, intermediate and high school level, Golf in Schools has instilled the fundamental values and life skills associated with golf to over 300,000 Canadian students.