SURREY, B.C. – Team Canada’s Development Squad wrapped up a two-tournament stint in B.C. on Saturday by collecting two additional wins at the CJGA Western Junior Championship presented by the Tour Performance LAB at the Northview Golf & Country Club.

In the Junior Girls (U19) Division, Development Squad member and Surrey, B.C., product Hannah Lee collected her second consecutive CJGA victory with a three-stroke victory over fellow Surrey native Susan Xiao. Lee, 16, captured the U19 Division despite being eligible for the U17 category. She proved to be up to the test, posting her second straight wire-to-wire victory with a 6-under (69-69-72) finish.

Team Canada’s Tiffany Kong of Vancouver came in at 2-under (76-68-70) to climb to a third place finish. Teammates and Richmond, B.C., natives Alisha Lau and Kathrine Chan finished 6^th and 9^th, respectively. All three Canucks also competed in the older U19 division despite being eligible for U17.

Vaughan, Ont., native and Development Squad member Tony Gil led the way for the Junior Boys (U19) Division, posting a 14-under (68-67-67) par score for the wire-to-wire victory. Fellow teammate A.J. Ewart of Coquitlam, B.C., trailed by three strokes to finish as runner-up at 11-under (70-71-64). Jae Wook Lee of Langley, B.C., rounded out the top-three by finishing at 9-under (74-69-64) to finish two back of Ewart.

Jack Simpson (Aurora, Ont.) and Charles-Éric Bélanger (Québec) were also in action for Team Canada, finishing T12 and 14^th, respectively. Bélanger struggled down the stretch after a come-from-behind victory at the CJGA Junior at Cordova Bay a week earlier.

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ORLANDO, Fla. – Jason Day survived bursts of rain and a few bogeys for a 2-under 70 to keep his two-shot lead Saturday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

The starting times were moved forward to avoid a forecast of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Players still had to cope with occasionally heavy rain, though Bay Hill held up nicely and so did the 28-year-old Australian.

He was at 15-under 201 and had a two-shot lead over Henrik Stenson (70), Troy Merritt (67) and Kevin Chappell (67).

Stenson took the lead with a 10-foot eagle on the par-5 sixth hole, only to find a plugged lie in the bunker on the next hole. Day regained the lead with a birdie at No. 8 and kept it the rest of the way.

Lurking near the top of the leaderboard but well back of the lead is Canada’s David Hearn. The Brantford, Ont., native is sitting at 7-under in a tie for 13th after a 71 on Saturday. Abbotsford, B.C., native Adam Hadwin had a 73 and is 2-under.

PHOENIX – Sei Young Kim stumbled late Saturday afternoon in the JTBC Founders Cup, handing the lead to Eun-Hee Ji and putting Stacy Lewis, Lydia Ko, Brooke Henderson and many others in far better position than they expected.

Three strokes ahead after an eagle on the par-4 13th, Kim failed to birdie the par-5 15th and bogeyed the par-4 16th and par-3 17th. Her 2-under 70 dropped her into a tie for second with Lewis, a stroke behind Ji.

“It’s OK. I have one day, tomorrow,” said Kim, the 23-year-old South Korean player who won three times last season and was the LPGA Tour’s rookie of the year.

Ji made a 12-foot birdie putt on 17 and finished with a 65 to reach 18-under 198 on another perfect day at Desert Ridge’s Wildfire Golf Club. She is winless since the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open.

“My putting was really good,” Ji said. “My iron shot was really good, too. I was really struggling with my irons the last couple of weeks, but it’s getting better this week.”

Lewis had a 64, closing with a 4-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th.

“These scores are just ridiculous,” Lewis said. “You just can’t look at a leaderboard. You just go out there and make as many birdies as you can.”

The Texan won the event in 2013 and finished second the last two years. She has nine runner-up finishes in a 43-event victory drought that dates to June 2014.

“I’m just really happy to see some good scores going up,” Lewis said.

Jacqui Concolino was two strokes back after a 68. The top-ranked Ko, Carlota Ciganda and Paula Creamer were another shot behind. Ko and Ciganda shot 64, and Paula Creamer had a 67.

Another shot back is Brooke Henderson. The Smiths Falls, Ont., native carded a 65 Saturday to climb into a tie for 8th at 14-under 202.

Carrie Vaughan returned to her roots in 2015 and while she didn’t win on the PGA of Ontario tour she renewed her passion for playing competitive golf.

It’s not easy for a teaching professional and golf coach at one of the country’s most prominent golf clubs to take time away from the range when she has 100-plus students looking for lessons, but that time away has proven to be a breath of fresh air for the veteran coach at The Glen Abbey Academy.

The 44-year-old former Futures Tour player teed it up in six PGA of Ontario tournaments in 2015 and although she didn’t win one, Vaughan walked away with enough cumulative points to give her first PGA of Ontario Women’s Player of the Year award.

“This past year I wanted to make playing in events a priority for myself and I plan to continue along that path in 2016,” says Vaughan who was introduced to the game of golf by her father as a seven or eight-year-old in Rothesay, New Brunswick. As a single parent, Carrie’s dad would let her and her two older brothers and sister walk to neighbouring Riverside Country Club so they could play golf during the summer months, while he went to work.

“I appreciate the award as PGA of Ontario Women’s Player of the Year because even though there were days when I went out and shot 80, it’s not just about the score. Once a month I had the opportunity to pretend I was a tour player and it was a lot of fun. I love being out on the golf course playing and competing,” says Vaughan who won less than $500 for competing in the six tournaments.

Carrie finished T2 in the PGA of Ontario Women’s Summer Challenge, third in the Spring Open, Fall Classic and Player of the Year Championship, fourth at the PGA of Ontario Championship and fifth in the PGA of Ontario Mixed Championship. “I like to challenge myself even though you really never find enough time to prepare yourself for a tournament with everything else that is built into life around you,” she says.

From the time she was eight until she was 27 years old, the staff and members at The Riverside Country Club became her extended family. Carrie started working at the club at the age of 10, picking balls on the range and she went on to work in the golf shop for years. Members would sponsor and support her for three years as she played on the Futures Tour with the aspiration of making it to the LPGA Tour.

“I learned that life on tour is difficult and it’s not as glamourous as you might think,” she says. “There is a very fine line between being good and being great. I watched friends make it to the LPGA Tour by being one stroke better than me and our lives are completely different because of that one swing. However I would never take back that time. I’m so happy I did it. It was the best experience of my life, but I could not have done it without the support from home. In the end I was tired of not being good enough. I lost a little bit of that belief in myself and couldn’t look my sponsors in the face and tell them that I still believed I could make it on the LPGA Tour – my time was up.

Vaughan landed at Hidden Lake Golf Club in Burlington where she taught for seven years before getting a phone call from fellow New Brunswicker, Sean Casey Director of Instruction at Glen Abbey, asking if she would be interested in spearheading a girls’ only golf program. The program for girls ages eight to 17 has evolved from nothing to 85 girls in the last nine years and unparalleled as a girls program in Canada if not the world.

“I think it’s good for the girls to see me out there competing and trying to do my best. I may not win, but I’m out there,” says Vaughan who did have a victory in the Maple Downs G&CC Pro-Am in 2015 with an impressive round that included six birdies and one bogey – only the third time in her career that she has broken 70 in a competitive match.

“As a member of the PGA of Ontario I believe it’s important as a professional to get out there and play. It really is part of my job to be out there playing. I would like to see more female members of the PGA of Ontario taking the time to compete. Some people say they can’t afford the time off, but the way I look at it now, can you afford not too?”

TUCSON, Ariz. – Scott Verplank shot his second straight 6-under 66 on Saturday to take the second-round lead in the PGA Tour Champions’ Tucson Conquistadores Classic.

The 51-year-old Verplank birdied five of the first six holes and seven of the first 10 in perfect conditions on Omni Tucson National’s Catalina Course. He bogeyed the par-3 12th, failing to get up-and-down from a greenside bunker, and closed with six consecutive pars.

“I was really good or really bad with my shots,” Verplank said. “I’m still not hitting it as good as I would like or kind of the way I want to, but I’m hitting enough good ones to overcome it. … Shooting scores, making birdies, always helps your attitude.”

Winless on the senior tour, the five-time PGA Tour champion has fought a series of injuries, and he had a cortisone shot in his shoulder last week. He is diabetic and wears an insulin pump on the course.

“Trying to get committed to playing this tour full time,” Verplank said. “I’m just happy to shoot some good scores. I haven’t been shooting that many good scores in the last several years after all these different surgeries and injuries. It’s always good to make birdies and shoot good scores.”

Jim Carter and Wes Short Jr. were a stroke back.

The 54-year-old Carter shot a 63. He birdied nine of the first 13 holes, making six straight on Nos. 8-13. A former Arizona State player, he won the 2000 PGA Tour event at Tucson National for his lone title.

“I just hit some good shots, kept it in play, made some putts,” Carter said. “I tried not to think too much, at least for me. I try not to think at all. I seem to do better when I’m not thinking.”

The 52-year-old Short tied the tour record for eagles in a round with three in his 65. After birdieing 16 and 17 to reach 13 under, he drove into the water on the par-4 18th and made a double bogey,

“It’s a tough driving hole,” Short said. “I probably should hit 3-wood off that tee. Driver, if I hit it any left, I’m going to go in the water. I should just take my medicine and play it from a little farther back, but sometimes I’m hard-headed.”

Bernhard Langer, defending champion Marco Dawson and first-round leader Woody Austin were tied for fourth at 9 under. Langer, coming off a victory Feb. 14 in Naples, Florida, in the last tour event, had a 66.

Canada’s Stephen Ames had a 67 and sits tied for 7th, 4-shots back at 8-under.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Jason Day felt like he was bearing down on each shot. He made it look much easier Friday in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Day made a pair of long birdie putts and otherwise put on a clinic at Bay Hill for a 7-under 65 that gave him a two-shot lead over Henrik Stenson going into the weekend.

“It was great,” he said. “I felt like I couldn’t do anything wrong out there.”

Day was at 13-under 131 and was five shots ahead of Jamie Lovemark (68) when he finished.

Stenson faced a daunting task – eight shots behind when he teed off in the afternoon – and he shot 31 on the back nine for a 66 to stay in the game. Justin Rose also had a 66 and was three shots behind.

“It’s motivating,” Stenson said of the deficit he faced. “You can’t let it be frustrating that you’re eight shots back. He played great, and you’ve just got to go and do the same, and I managed to do that.”

Day, Stenson and Rose will play together Saturday because tee times have been moved forward to avoid the threat of storms.

Rose wasn’t bothered to see Day so far ahead. His objective was to take care of the par 5s and keep a clean card, and he did both. Rose is now 9 under on the eight par 5s he has played this week. And he was bogey-free on Friday.

“Yesterday was a colorful scorecard,” Rose said of an opening round that included two eagles and a double bogey. “Today, a little bit more solid.”

Day was driving it long and straight, hitting his irons well and making big putts. It’s a great combination for anyone, particularly a player who reached No. 1 in the world last year by winning four out of six tournaments, including his first major.

Canada’s David Hearn fired a 5-under 67 to get to 6-under for the championship. The Brantford, Ont., native is 7-shots back of Day and tied for 11th.

Rory McIlroy was able to watch the whole show.

McIlroy, who opened with a 75, was in the group behind Day and saw the Australian start to pull away from the field. McIlroy had his own issues on Friday, starting with a chance to play for two more days. He handled that with ease, making four birdies on the back nine to get above the cut line and posting a 67.

But he was all but ready to concede that the tournament was out of his reach.

“I was looking at Jason in front of me and I was thinking if I could maybe get within six going into the weekend,” McIlroy said. “And now it’s 11. … Even playing well, I’m not sure that’s quite going to be enough that far behind Jason. At the same time I can get confidence from that and bring it on to the next week and ultimately into the Masters.”

Stanford junior Maverick McNealy, chosen to play by his colleagues at the Palmer Cup, had a 71 and was at 4-under 140. It’s the second straight week that an amateur has made the cut; Georgia senior Lee McCoy finished fourth last week in the Valspar Championship.

U.S. Amateur champion Bryson DeChambeau shot another 72 and made the cut on the number at even-par 144.

Day, however, appeared to be in his own world on the immaculate Bay Hill course.

A pair of two-putt birdies on the par 5s on the back nine helped him extend his lead, and he added a 35-foot birdie putt on the 17th. It was after Day had to scramble for par on the par-5 fourth hole, making a 10-foot putt, that he took off. He rolled in a 10-foot birdie on the next hole, got up-and-down from a bunker for birdie on the par-5 sixth and finished his round with a 35-foot birdie on the ninth hole.

“The total that he’s on now, 13 under, I thought that was going to have a great chance at the end of the week,” McIlroy said. “I thought something around 12 under was going to be right there. For him to do that after two days is pretty spectacular. I think everyone has got their work cut out to try and catch him.”

The timing is good for Day, who had a sluggish start to the year after taking three months off at the end of 2015. He has only Bay Hill and the Dell Match Play next week before the Masters, and he thought it would be helpful to at least feel the pressure of contention before Augusta National.

Stenson could be the guy to provide it.

He thought he had Bay Hill won last year until bogeys late in his round. He was still seven shots back Friday when he made the turn and was close to flawless. Stenson had two-putt birdies on both par 5s, made a 5-foot birdie on the 10th and a 15-foot birdie putt on the 14th. The only green he missed was on the 17th hole, and he finished with a 20-foot birdie on the 18th.

“There’s a lot of intimidating shots,” Stenson said. “You’ve got to be clear on what you want to do and try and execute them well.”

PHOENIX – Sei Young Kim found the afternoon wind merely refreshing on a hot day at Desert Ridge.

“It’s OK,” Kim said Friday after taking a two-stroke lead in the JTBC Founders Cup. “It’s not confusing to me because, if I have a lot of options, I didn’t think about it. I just see a target. It’s simple.”

The 23-year-old South Korean player has made it look simple, following her opening 9-under 63 with a 66 to break the tournament 36-hole record at 15-under 129.

“I feel not bad because, before the first round, I was like uncomfortable because I couldn’t trust myself,” Kim said. “But after this round, I got confidence.”

She made two eagles Friday. On the second, she hammered a 300-yard drive on the par-5 15th, hit a 165-yard, 5-iron approach that nearly bounced into the hole and made a 7-foot putt.

“I wasn’t missing the putt,” Kim said.

On the par-5 second, she ran in a 30-footer after holding the green from 200 yards with a cut 5-wood.

“It was good work,” Kim said.

She won three times last season and was the LPGA Tour’s rookie of the year. At No. 7 in the world, she’s in position for the last of South Korea’s four spots in the Rio Olympics.

Brittany Lang was second after a 68, also in the breezy afternoon.

“It was tough with the wind at times,” Lang said.

The 30-year-old former Duke player won the 2012 Manulife LPGA Classic in Canada for her lone tour title.

“You just have to stay aggressive,” Lang said. “The weather looks great. The course conditions are going to be great. You just have to take good shots, stay aggressive, and get a few putts to fall. Should be a fun weekend. There’s going to be a lot of birdies made. Got to go for it all.”

Jacqui Concolino and Italy’s Giulia Sergas were 12 under. Concolino shot a 64 to match 17-year-old U.S. Women’s Amateur champion Hannah O’Sullivan for the best round of the day. Sergas had a 68.

Sergas is working with Costantino Rocca. The former Italian star is with her in Arizona.

“He’s right there on my side, and I love it,” Sergas said. “We started to work together in January. He’s a wonderful person.”

The cut was at 3 under, one off the tour record set last year in the Manulife. Hall of Famer Karrie Webb, the 2011 and 2014 winner, dropped out along with second-ranked Inbee Park, Michelle Wie and Suzann Pettersen.

Gerina Piller (68) and Eun-Hee Ji (67) were four strokes back at 11 under. Paula Creamer (65) was another shot behind along with Ryann O’Toole (66), Paula Reto (67), Minjee Lee (69) and Karine Icher (67).

Canada’s Brooke Henderson is 7-under after a 69 on Friday. Fellow Canadians Maude-Aimee LeBlanc and Alena Sharp held a share of 64th at 3 under.

Hall of Famer Se Ri Pak and top-ranked Lydia Ko also were 7 under. Pak shot a 68 a day after saying she will retire at the end of the season. Ko had a 67.

TUCSON, Ariz. – Woody Austin had six birdies in a seven-hole stretch and shot a 7-under 65 on Friday to take the first-round lead in the PGA Tour Champions’ Tucson Conquistadores Classic.

Playing his final nine holes after opening on No. 10, the 52-year-old Austin birdied Nos. 2-5 and 7-8 on Omni Tucson National’s Catalina Course.

“I basically hit it really close,” Austin said. “I got jump-started, I holed out a bunker shot on 2 for birdie after hitting two really good shots and being dead. I didn’t get my first one out of the bunker, and then I holed the next bunker shot for birdie, which really got me going.

“Then I knocked the flag over for a couple, I hit it about 2 feet on the next hole, then I hit it 8 feet on the next hole, and then I hit it 7 feet on the next hole. And then the par 3, I hit a 5-iron to about 7 feet, and then I hit No. 8 in 2, I only had about a 20-footer for eagle and two-putted.”

Winless in 27 starts on the 50-and-over tour, Austin won the 2013 Sanderson Farms Championship at age 49 for the last of his four PGA Tour titles.

“My game today not is indicative,” Austin said. “I haven’t played that good. I usually don’t play very good in the beginning of the year. The benefit I have this week is I took my two boys and their buddy on a golfing trip this past week, so I got in some golf, which I haven’t been able to do. I actually played Pebble Beach on Sunday, Spyglass on Monday, Spanish Bay on Tuesday, so I at last got some golf in before this week, so that was necessary because I haven’t really played that much.”

Scott Verplank and Billy Andrade were a stroke back.

“I kind of kept the ball in play and hit good iron shots, putted pretty solid,” Verplank said. “I hit a couple of tee shots that I wasn’t happy with, but I’ve been hitting a lot of tee shots that I wasn’t happy with. It was a beautiful day and just kind of played like I knew what I was doing.”

The five-time PGA Tour winner has fought a series of injuries.

“I had another cortisone shot in my shoulder last week,” Verplank said. “Just had so many little ailment things, it’s just been hard to get much rhythm. But it’s nice today. I think coming to great weather will help. Hopefully, it will keep going.”

Andrade closed with a bogey on the par-4 18th after hitting within a foot of the water. With both feet in the water, he was able to blast out with a sand wedge.

“I was just hoping and praying that a snake or something wasn’t going to come up and bite me before I hit the shot,” Andrade said. “Last year, same kind of scenario, hit the same kind of drive like that. It’s 300 yards to the water on that line into the wind, so I didn’t think I could get it to the water. Last year, I did and I did it again this year, so, I’m just not very smart, I guess.”

Mark Calcavecchia and Gene Sauers shot 67, and defending champion Marco Dawson was in the group at 68. Bernhard Langer, coming off victory Feb. 14 in Naples, Florida, in the last tour event, opened with a 69. Langer was tied with Canadian Stephen Ames, who was also 3-under.