NAPA, Calif. – Brendan Steele felt no different about his game Friday than when he tied the course record with a 63 in his opening round at the Frys.com Open. The difference was seven shots. What didn’t change was his position on the leaderboard.

Steele had to settle for pars on the closing three holes at Silverado that tend to produce birdies, giving him a 2-under 70 on a course that was getting firmer and featured much stronger pin positions.

All that mattered was a two-shot lead going into the weekend.

“I expected today to be tough,” said Steele, who was at 11-under 133. “And it’s always tough to follow up a round like yesterday with anything even under par. I think we’ve seen guys over the years follow 63 up usually with something around par. If you can go lower than that, you probably have a pretty good-sized lead.”

He’ll take the two-shot margin over Canada’s Graham DeLaet (68) , Will Wilcox (67), Jhonattan Vegas (71) and Harold Varner III (70).

One thing didn’t change for Rory McIlroy. He can’t seem to make a putt.

McIlroy, the No. 3 player in the world, shot 71 and was six shots behind. Considering how many putts he missed, it felt like an even greater margin.

“Not to be able to break 70 today is quite disappointing,” McIlroy said.

His only two birdies were on par 5s where he missed putts for eagles. And he ended his round by missing a birdie putt from just outside 12 feet, a familiar sight for him over two days at Silverado.

“I think it’s more mental than anything else,” McIlroy said. “Whenever you don’t see anything go in, it makes it harder and harder each and every hole that goes by. … I don’t expect to hole everything, but I expect to hole more than I am at the moment.”

And with that, he signed a few autographs and headed straight for the practice green.

With tougher pins, Silverado played about one shot more difficult. It was just as tough to get some separation.

The cut was set at 2-under 142, and a 54-hole cut was in play for Saturday because 81 players advanced to the weekend. That group includes Brandt Snedeker, who birdied his last two holes to make it on the number.

Missing putts was a familiar sight for everyone.

“I actually felt like from tee-to-green, I played way better than yesterday, to be honest,” said Vegas, who followed his 64 with a 71. “I just couldn’t buy any putts.”

This is a big week for Vegas, who received a sponsor’s exemption after losing his card and needs to make the most of what limited tournaments he can play this year.

And it’s a big start for Varner, who joins Tiger Woods as the only players of black heritage on the PGA Tour this year. Varner made back-to-back birdies and was closing in on the lead when he had to settle for four straight pars at the end. It was nearly dark when Varner played his last hole, though he never considered coming back to finish Saturday morning.

“Six hours of sleep is way more important than one putt, I think,” Varner said. “I’m staying in American Canyon. It says it’s 25 minutes, but it’s yet to take me 25 minutes to get back. I’m going to get it tomorrow. I’m pretty excited.”

Steele opened his round with a birdie, which he thought might be a sign of another low score. He made two birdies in three holes to start his back nine and was thinking he might get a chance to pull away at 12 under, especially with a pair of par 5s and a short par 4 among the three closing holes.

Plus, he ended that side with five straight birdies Thursday. It just didn’t quite work out that way.

Steele missed the green on the par-5 16th with a wedge in his hand. His tee shot on the short 17th settled in a divot. And then on the par-5 18th hole, he drove left into the rough, laid up in the group and missed the green again.

“So those last three you think you can score on were kind of a struggle,” he said.

But he wasn’t alone. Justin Thomas, coming off a strong rookie season and a 66 to start the new season, caught Steele with a 20-foot birdie putt at the turn and had his hopes ruined by missing the green at No. 4 with a wedge, and then taking double bogey on No. 6. A birdie on the last hole for a 70 put him in the group at 8-under 136 that included Justin Rose (69), Russell Henley (69 and Martin Laird (71).

The Camosun Chargers men’s team and the Humber Hawks women’s squad have been crowned champions of Canadian collegiate golf.

The Chargers and the Hawks emerged victorious following Friday’s third and final round at the PING CCAA Golf National Championships, hosted by the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades at Chilliwack Golf Club.

The Chargers overhauled the Niagara Knights in the final round to earn the men’s team championship for the first time since 2000, when they won the inaugural CCAA tourney. The Knights took a three-stroke lead into the day, but top-ranked Camosun made a charge on the back nine to win by eight.

The Chargers – comprised of Brady Stead, Jeff Riches, Mac Keats, Grant Maskiewich and Matt Matheson – totalled 860 strokes as a team over three rounds. Niagara took silver with a cumulative score of 868.

The best team score of the day was posted by the host UFV Cascades, who combined for a two-under 286 to rally for the bronze medal. They began the day in seventh place, but ended up edging the Georgian Grizzlies by a stroke, 873 to 874.

Humber earned the program’s fourth CCAA women’s title, moving into a tie for most all-time with Champlain St. Lawrence. The team of Sonia Nagindas, Michaela DiMarcantonio and Sheila McKeen amassed 473 cumulative strokes, good for an eight-stroke margin over the runner-up UBC Okanagan Heat (481). The Georgian Grizzlies (491) took bronze.

In the men’s individual event, Étienne Papineau of the Champlain St. Lawrence Lions clawed his way to the top of a crowded leaderboard on the back nine. The Team Canada development squad member came into the day two strokes back of second-round leader Stephen Brown of the Lambton Lions, and he trailed Matt Lemay of the Georgian Grizzlies by two strokes with three holes to play.

But Lemay double-bogeyed both 16 and 17, leaving the door open for Papineau, who birdied 16 to get to -10 for the tournament. Brown (-8) won silver, while Lemay (-7) took bronze.

The women’s individual race was less dramatic – Carolyn Lee of UBC Okanagan took a five-stroke lead into the final round, and she pulled away from the field on Friday to win by eight. The All-Canadian finished at +13 for the tournament. Katie Griffiths (+21) of the Red Deer Queens earned silver, while Humber’s Nagindas (+22) took bronze.

This week marked the first time UFV had hosted the PING CCAA Golf National Championships. Next year’s tournament will be held at Holland College in Charlottetown, PEI.

• Tournament website
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• Results

SAN ANTONIO – Wes Short Jr. birdied three of the last four holes Friday for a 5-under 67 and a one-stroke lead in the Champions Tour’s San Antonio Championship.

The 51-year-old former University of Texas player had seven birdies and two bogeys on TPC San Antonio’s AT&T Canyons Course. He won the Quebec Championship last year for his lone victory on the 50-and-over tour and also won the PGA Tour’s 2005 Las Vegas event.

Paul Goydos, Jeff Sluman, Canada’s Stephen Ames, Duffy Waldorf and Scott Dunlap were tied for second.

Defending champion Michael Allen had a 69. Fred Couples shot a 70. He won the 2011 event

Charles Schwab Cup leader Colin Montgomerie opened with a 71. He has a 39-point lead over Jeff Maggert with three events left in the season-long competition. Maggert had a 72. He has a tour-high four victories, winning majors in the Regions Tradition and U.S. Senior Open.

On October 8th, 2015, the AT&T Byron Nelson – a PGA TOUR stop in the Dallas/ Fort Worth area – issued a challenge to Golf Canada – organizers of the RBC Canadian Open.

The bet was that if the Texas Rangers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays in the MLB playoffs, Golf Canada staff would have to sing “Texas, Our Texas” – the official state song of the state of Texas. However, since the Toronto Blue Jays bet Texas, the organizers of the AT&T Byron Nelson had to sing “O’Canada”. Here is their rendition. Enjoy!

VILAMOURA, Portugal – England’s Andy Sullivan carded a 7-under 64 for a second straight day to take a three-shot lead at the Portugal Masters on Friday.

Sullivan, who shared the overnight lead with Nicolas Colsaerts, hit seven birdies in a flawless second round at the Oceanico Victoria course for a 14-under total of 128.

Belgium’s Thomas Pieters is second on 11 under, while Eduardo de la Riva of Spain and Bernd Wiesberger of Austria are four strokes behind Sullivan.

Play is scheduled to start at 8 a.m. local time Saturday due to a bad weather forecast. Last year’s edition was reduced to 36 holes.

INCHEON, South Korea – Lydia Ko took advantage of Sung Hyun Park’s struggles to take the lead Friday in the LPGA KEB Hana Bank Championship.

The second-ranked Ko made an 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole for a 7-under 65 and a one-stroke lead over Lexi Thompson. Park followed her course-record 62 with a 74 to drop two shots behind.

“I thought I played really solidly and made a lot of good putts,” Ko said. “When I was in trouble, I got a little fortunate, got a good lie in the rough.”

The South Korean-born New Zealander moved into position to regain the No. 1 spot in the world from South Korean star Inbee Park, one of her playing partners Friday. Ko would take the top spot with a victory and also could move up under other scenarios depending on where Inbee Park finishes. Inbee Park replaced Ko atop the list in June with the first of her two major victories this year.

“The closer we get or if there is a switch, the media is going to talk about it,” Ko said. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to try and ignore you guys. I think that’s the best way. Because when I’m out there, I’m just trying to hit a good shot and put myself in good position. If I thought about the rankings, the awards, it’s just way too much. It’s hard enough just trying to hit the ball straight out there.”

Ko had a 10-under 134 total on Sky 72’s Ocean Course. She tied for second last week in the LPGA Malaysia after winning her previous two starts in Canada and France, where she became the youngest major champion.

Inbee Park was tied for 25th at 3 under after a 72. She’s tied with Ko for the tour victory lead with four.

Thompson birdied three of the final four holes for a 67 on the course made more difficult by some tough pin positions.

“There were a few that were tucked on some ridges and that were just hard to get to,” the American said. “I think there’s going to be even harder ones tomorrow.”

Sung Hyun Park took a four-stroke lead into the round and was seven shots ahead of Ko.

“I think it would be a lie to say that I didn’t feel any pressure because of the record that I set yesterday,” Sung Hyun Park said.

Still four strokes in front after birdies on Nos. 4 and 5, she bogeyed the next three holes to drop into a tie for the lead with Ko. The 22-year-old South Korean player, making her first LPGA Tour start, missed a 3-foot putt on No. 6 for her first bogey of the week, had a 4-footer circle the cup and stay out on No. 7 and missed from 6 feet on No. 8. She birdied the 10th, but bogeyed the 12th and 18th.

“It was very difficult to read some of the putting lines,” she said. “I think I missed a couple of putts that I could have made. That’s kind of lingering on my mind at the moment.”

South Korea’s Yoon-Ji Cho also was 8 under after a 68. Taiwan’s Yani Tseng, the 2011 winner, and South Korea’s Mirim Lee were 7 under. Tseng shot 67, and Lee had a 69.

England’s Charley Hull, playing alongside Sung Hyun Park and U.S. Solheim Cup hero Gerina Piller in the final group, pulled within a stroke of the lead on the seventh hole, but dropped five strokes on the next six holes and finished with a 74 to drop into a tie for 19th at 4 under. Hull four-putted for a double bogey on No. 8, made a bogey on No. 10 and had another double bogey on the par-5 13th after hitting into the water.

Piller also was 4 under after a 74.

American Jessica Korda, the Malaysia winner, was 1 under along with Michelle Wie and U.S. Solheim Cup captain Juli Inskter, the oldest player in the field at 55. They each shot 72.

Ko and Inbee Park attracted a large gallery.

“It’s great to play in front of big crowds,” Ko said. “I think they are as excited as us, even a little bit more. … Last year was the first time playing in Korea, and I’ve been noticing even more and more how much they love the LPGA and how much they love golf. I think the numbers are only going to go up. I think it’s going to be pretty crazy on the weekend.”

NAPA, Calif. – Brendan Steele had an ideal start to the new PGA Tour season at the Frys.com Open with a round that featured nine birdies, no stress and a simple explanation.

“As weird as it is to say, it was kind of a basic 63,” he said.

It gave him a one-shot lead over Jhonattan Vegas among early starters in ideal scoring conditions at Silverado, which has such subtle movement in the greens that the course doesn’t always yield low scores even when players have a short iron into the putting surface.

Of the early starters, 21 players were at 68 or better.

That included Rory McIlroy, who is between two seasons. The world’s No. 3 player had numerous birdie chances and didn’t convert nearly as many as he would have liked. What pleased McIlroy was the quality of his game from tee-to-green, far crisper than it was at the Tour Championship three weeks ago.

“Definitely a step in the right direction today,” McIlroy said.

Vegas, who won as a rookie in 2011 at the Humana Challenge, lost his card this year and failed to get it back at the Web.com Tour Finals two weeks ago. He is relying on his limited status as a past champion and sponsor exemptions, so it was important to make the most out of his exemption this week.

Harold Varner III, who joins Tiger Woods as the only players of black heritage on the PGA Tour this year, made a strong rookie debut with a 65. The group at 66 included Justin Thomas, with Justin Rose among those at 67.

Steele posted a target early with a 29 on the back nine, including five straight birdies before making the turn. At one point, he rolled in putts of 25 feet, 20 feet and 18. That prompted this observation from Steve Wheatcroft.

“Just hang in there,” he said Wheatcroft told him. “It’s a long season. You’ll make one eventually.”

Sang-moon Bae, unable to defend because of his mandatory military service in South Korea, won last year at Silverado at 15-under par. No one had better than 65 the entire tournament last year, which made Steele’s round stand out even more.

Steele wasn’t surprised.

This is the third straight year of a wraparound season that starts in October with a two-week break after the old season ended. Steele had some good results toward the end of last season, took a short break, started practicing and liked how his game felt.

“In the pro-am yesterday I was like, ‘We need to get this tournament going.’ I hate it when I’m home and I feel really good,” he said. “It’s hard to keep it. I always say that your game is either coming or going, right? So when it’s coming, you want to be in the right place.”

McIlroy is coming and going as it relates to seasons.

While this is the season opener on the PGA Tour, he leaves after this week for three tournaments in Asia to finish off his European Tour schedule with hopes of winning another Race to Dubai title. This is only his fifth tournament dating to the PGA Championship, when he returned from a two-month hiatus to heal his injured ankle.

His game looked good, but he struggled to match the speed with the line for a number of birdie chances from about 12 feet or in.

“Gave myself a lot of chances,” McIlroy said. “I converted a few, but I’ll need to hole a few more. I feel like this is a golf course that you can give yourself a lot of chances. If I can keep hitting the ball the way I am and just hole a few more, I’ll be OK.”

Varner made a flashy finish to get near the top of the leaderboard. He holed an 18-foot eagle putt on No. 16, stuffed a sand wedge into 2 feet for birdie on the 17th and had to settle for a birdie on the par-5 18th when he narrowly missed another eagle chance.

Varner earned his card through the Web.com Tour, and he already noticed one big difference. While a tournament in wine country doesn’t attract a massive crowd, it was still far more than he was used to seeing.

“It’s fun until you hit one too far left or right,” Varner said. “I get a little nervous because there are people over there. Usually there is no one over there and I just go find it. But there are so many people, you might hit them. So it’s good. Different experience. I guess you’ve just got to get used to it.”

Weyburn, Sask., native Graham DeLaet leads the Canadians in the field following a 5-under 67 performance to finish T7. Nick Taylor and David Hearn shot 71 while Adam Hadwin opened at even-par. Cory Renfrew, who claimed medalist honours at the Monday Qualifier, posted a 1-over 73.

VILAMOURA, Portugal – Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium shot a seven-under-par 64 to claim a share of the lead after the first round of the Portugal Masters in Vilamoura on Thursday.

The 32-year-old former Ryder Cup player shares the lead with Andy Sullivan of England, who matched Colsaerts’ score after hitting eight birdies and one bogey.

Just behind the lead pair are Belgium’s Thomas Pieters, David Drysdale of Scotland, Eduardo de la Riva of Spain and Thomas Aiken of South Africa, all on six under par 65.

Colsaerts hit two eagles and four birdies, and could have improved on his clubhouse score had he not dropped one shot.

Petro-Canada has named Team Canada’s Étienne Papineau and Robert Ratcliffe among the 2015 recipients of the Fuelling Athletes and Coaches (FACE) program. The pair is one of 50 sets of athletes and coaches to receive funding in pursuit of continued excellence in their sports.

The 2015 FACE recipients from across Canada represent both summer and winter sports, with each athlete and coach pairing receiving $10,000. Since 1988, Petro-Canada has contributed almost $9.4 million to over 2,700 athlete-coach pairings.

“We are extremely grateful to receive this generous offering from the Fuelling Athletes and Coaches program,” said Ratcliffe, Team Canada’s Lead Development Squad Coach. “This program credits the importance of athlete-coach relationships while understanding the costs associated with advanced training. This will go a long way for myself and Étienne as we continue to excel and improve.”

Papineau of St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., is coming off his second season representing Canada. The 19-year-old claimed victories at the Alexander of Tunis, the Québec Men’s Amateur Championship and the Graham Cooke Junior Invitational.

Ratcliffe, a native of Comox, B.C., is entering his tenth season at the helm of the Development Squad. He is a class “A” member with the PGA of Canada.

Developed by Petro-Canada, the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) and Canadian Paralympic Committee (CPC), and facilitated by their National Sport partners, the FACE program provides developing, pre-carded Canadian athlete and coach pairings with funding to help fuel their dreams. Coaches are selected along with the athletes they directly coach as they often incur additional costs on the road to developing the Canadian Olympic and Paralympic stars of tomorrow.

Click here for the full list of 2015 FACE recipients.

NAPA, Calif. – The Frys.com Open is everything Rory McIlroy thought it would be.

And the tournament hasn’t even started.

He knew nothing about Silverado Resort, which is hosting the PGA Tour season opener for the second year and is expected to stay here even longer, except that it was located in the middle California’s most famous wine country.

“Expected vineyards, wine, good food,” McIlroy said Wednesday. “Got all those boxes ticked last night.”

McIlroy, who for now is No. 3 in the world ranking, represents the biggest star power at this event since Tiger Woods began what amounted to a rehab assignment in 2011, and his week ended with a fan throwing a hot dog on the green he was playing.

McIlroy was part of the “Turkey Eight” that signed off on a one-sided deal three years ago – eight PGA Tour players in an exhibition in Turkey agreed they would play the Frys.com Open at least once over the next three years. Woods was supposed to be at Silverado this year, too, until he had his second back surgery. Also in the field from Turkey are Charl Schwartzel, Justin Rose and Webb Simpson.

Hunter Mahan also is playing. He was in Turkey, but he fulfilled his commitment last year, liked it so much that he came back. It’s all about location.

Here’s how the first tournament of the new season is shaping up:

SEASONS BLUR: When the new seasons gets started Thursday morning, it will have been 18 days since the last season ended with Jordan Spieth becoming the first $22 million man in golf ($10 million of that from winning the FedEx Cup).

For all the angst over golf not having an offseason, only the starting line has changed.

The PGA Tour has 47 events that occupy 43 weeks of the year. Ten years ago, it had 48 events that occupied 44 weeks on the calendar.

And one thing hasn’t changed. The offseason is as long as a player wants it to be. Chris Kirk played three FedEx Cup playoff events, had two weeks off, went to South Korea for the Presidents Cup and is teeing it up at Silverado. Phil Mickelson played three FedEx Cup playoff events, had two weeks off, went to South Korea, and golf won’t see him again until January in California.

RORY’S SCHEDULE: See if you can follow along.

McIlroy feels as though his “new season” started in August when he returned from two months of healing his injured ankle. He is playing the Frys.com Open, which is the first event of the new PGA Tour season. And then he heads to Asia for three tournaments to end the season on the European Tour.

And then he gets two months off.

“I feel like I’m in the middle of a nice little run to the end of the year,” McIlroy said. “I guess for a lot of guys, even the guys that played a full PGA Tour schedule last season and then played the Presidents Cup and they’re coming here, it’s a lot of golf. But as I said, I haven’t played as much as those guys, so I’m happy to be playing and happy to play quite a bit until the end of the year.”

STRONG FIELD: For a time of the year when the “stars” were going to be taking time off, the Frys.com Open has six of the top 30 in the world. McIlroy and Rose are at Silverado as a part of the Turkey agreement. But that doesn’t account for Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama, Robert Streb and Brandt Snedeker.

This is the third straight year that the Frys.com Open has started the PGA Tour’s new wraparound season. The previous two winners, Jimmy Walker and Sang-moon Bae, both reached the Tour Championship.

AT STAKE: The winner of the Frys.com Open gets a spot in the Masters and the same number of FedEx Cup points as winning the Memorial or Arnold Palmer Invitational.

But he won’t be getting any Ryder Cup points.

The illustrious Ryder Cup Task Force decided to count PGA Tour events toward the U.S. standings at the start of 2016 (Kapalua) instead of the start of the season.

BIG DAY: McIlroy already has had a good time in Napa based on the wine and the food (and yes, he likes the golf course).

So has Justin Thomas. The second-year player played the pro-am with a couple real Warriors – Steph Curry and Andre Iguodala.

CHAMPION KIRK: A tradition that never gets old on the PGA Tour is celebrating the previous week’s winner.

Chris Kirk knows the feeling. Kirk wound up making the most significant putt in the Presidents Cup, a 15-footer down the hill on the 18th hole for a 1-up victory over Anirban Lahiri. Kirk was stopped four times on his way from the range as players congratulated him on a great week.

Kirk said his biggest weakness all week in South Korea was putting. He discovered later he was set up too close to the ball. But he made the one that mattered. Asked if he was getting as many congratulations for the Presidents Cup as he was for winning the Colonial, Kirk smiled and said, “More.”