ZANDVOORT, Netherlands – Thomas Pieters of Belgium won his second European Tour title Sunday, two weeks after his first, by shooting a 5-under 65 to win the KLM Open by one shot as Lee Slattery faltered on the final hole.

The 23-year-old Pieters, who won the Czech Masters on Aug. 30, parred the last five holes at the Kennemer Golf and Country Club to finish with a 19-under total of 261.

Slattery, the joint overnight leader who was trying to win back-to-back tournaments after taking last week’s Russian Open, had only one bogey all day – but it came on the 18th when a par would have forced a playoff with Pieters.

“I’m a bit surprised,” Pieters said after Slattery’s par putt slid just past the hole on the 18th. Now he is looking for a third win on tour.

“I was confident. I teed it up to win and I did it. Next time I’ll do the same,” he added.

Pieters carded four birdies on the front nine of the links course on the Dutch North Sea coast and made his fifth at the par-four 10th before giving back a shot on the next hole. But he retained his composure and birdied the 13th before pars on the remaining holes.

Slattery’s drive on the 18th missed the fairway and his chip only reached the edge of the green, from where he three-putted.

Eduardo De La Riva of Spain tied Slattery for second after a 63, one shot ahead of Fabrizio Zanotti of Paraguay (63).

American veteran Tom Watson shot his third consecutive 68 Sunday to finish at 7 under.

BEN EION, Nova Scotia – Canadian Taylor Pendrith saved the best for last. After a 3-putt bogey at No. 17 to fall out of a share of the lead, Pendrith hit an 8-iron from 175 yards to six inches for eagle to take sole possession of the lead at the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada’s Cape Breton Celtic Classic. The former Kent State star finished with a third straight 5-under-par 67 and his 54-hole total of 15-under-par 201 leads four players by one, including Justin Bardgett, Kyle Wilshire, Canadian Max Gilbert and Dan McCarthy.

Just as he has done in his two previous rounds, Pendrith took full advantage of the par-5s, making four birdies and an eagle during his round. The eagle at 18 was the his third in the event. He also had eagles in the opening round on Nos. 16 and 18.

“It was a grind today but I managed to make some birdies late and then made that eagle on the last hole which was nice,” Pendrith said. “I had some three putts coming, but that eagle on No. 18 was big. I hit the driver well again today like I’ve been doing all week and I made some putts which was nice.”

Sunday could be important day for Pendrith, who is currently 10th on the Order of Merit. Should he win on Sunday he would receive $31,500 which would move him into The Five with one week remaining on the 2015 schedule. The Tour finishes its season next week at the Freedom 55 Financial Championship in London, Ontario.

“I just have to keep doing what I’ve been doing tomorrow,” Pendrith added. “If I can get it in play on the par-5s and make some birdies and some eagles then tomorrow should be fun.”

While Sunday will be important for Pendrith, it also looms large for the four players currently chasing him in second place. All four players are outside the top 60 with Bardgett, at 132nd on the Order of Merit, having the largest hill to climb. Gilbert (69th), Wilshire (67th) and McCarthy (88th) will also need a strong finish to move into the coveted top 60.

“Tomorrow is important for everybody,“ said Bardgett, who shot an 8-under-par 64 on Saturday. “You know I really don’t have any expectations. I came here knowing I had to play phenomenally to get into next week’s Tour championship and I still don’t have any expectations of playing. To be honest, I’m just going to go out tomorrow and walk around and hit some golf shots and try to be as loose as possible. If I play well, great; if I play horrible, life is still going to go on.”

NUMBERS YOU NEED TO KNOW:

29: The back-nine score for Justin Bardgett, matching the low 9-hole score on the Mackenzie Tour this year.

18: Number of strokes under par by Taylor Pendrith on the 15 par 5s this week.

10: Number of players with three rounds in the 60s this week.

64: The day’s low round posted by Justin Bardgett.

QUOTABLES:

“I knew I had to play well this week. I finished 10th last week and that really bumped me up (Order of Merit), but I knew I had to play well to get into next week. It’s like, ‘this is my year’. All it takes out here is one week. I’ve seen that from a lot of guys who have missed more cuts than I have and gone out and won events. It’s out there. You have to be smart and stay patient.” – Kyle Wilshire on the importance of this week.

“It would be awesome to get a win late in the season. I’ve had a pretty solid season and a win would kind of cap it off. It would be pretty nice.” – Taylor Pendrith on what a win on Sunday would mean.

TOURNAMENT NOTES:

• Preferred lies were utilized in the third round.
• Justin Bardgett’s B-B-B-B-E finish matched the best birdie-eagle streak on Tour this year. Olin Browne was also 6-under-par at the ATB Financial Classic.
• David Pastore made the day’s biggest move, climbing 33 spots on the leaderboard to T21.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – South Korea’s D.H. Lee shot a 6-under 66 in windy conditions Saturday to take a three-stroke lead over India’s Anirban Lahiri in the Web.com Tour Finals-opening Hotel Fitness Championship.

Lee had seven birdies and a bogey to reach 15-under 201 at Sycamore Hills.

“It was very windy out there so I tried to keep the ball low under the wind and hit a lot of low shots off the tee,” said Lee, who hit 13 of 14 fairways. “I’m very comfortable hitting low shots off the tee, but with my irons I just focus on getting my number and try to attack the pins when I can.”

Lee finished 15th on the Web.com Tour regular-season money list to earn a 2015-16 PGA Tour card and is playing the four-event series in a bid to improve his tour priority status.

“I just want to keep it in play tomorrow and focus on trying to hit a lot of good shots and make some putts,” said Lee, winless this season.

Lahiri, the first Indian player to qualify for the International Presidents Cup team, had a 70. Ranked 40th in the world, he tied for fifth in the PGA Championship.

“Just grinding all day,” Lahiri said. “It’s hard because I was hitting it all over the shop. But all in all, I’m just three back. If I can put another good 18 holes together tomorrow we’ll see if I can get over the line.”

The series features the top 75 players from the Web.com Tour money list, Nos. 126-200 from the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings and non-members of the tour such as Lahiri who earned enough money to have placed in the top 200 had they been eligible to receive points.

The top 25 players on Web.com regular-season money list earned 2015-16 PGA Tour cards. They are competing against each other for PGA Tour priority, with regular-season earnings counting in their totals and the final leader getting a spot in The Players Championship. The other players are fighting for another 25 cards based on their earnings in the series.

Sam Saunders, Arnold Palmer’s grandson, was third at 11 under after a 65. He finished 137th in the FedEx Cup standings.

Second-round leader Jamie Lovemark had a 73 to drop into a tie for fourth at 10 under. He finished 12th on the Web.com Tour regular-season money list to earn a PGA Tour card.

LYTHAM ST ANNES, England – Britain and Ireland enjoyed a 7-5 lead over holders United States on Saturday after the first day of the 45th Walker Cup on the links of Royal Lytham and St Annes.

The hosts led 3-1 after morning foursomes in northwest England of the biennial amateur event before the eight afternoon singles were shared, with each side winning three matches and the other two halved.

“Given our start this morning I was pleased with the way we came back this afternoon,” United States captain John `Spider’ Miller said.

The 37-year-old Scott Harvey, one of the senior members of the American team, won his singles by sinking a 55-foot putt at the 17th.

“There are 14 points available tomorrow, so being two down is not bad in the scheme of things,” Harvey said after an enthralling day’s play in blustery conditions.

There was never more than one hole in it in the first match between Bryson DeChambeau and Ashley Chesters. The American twice went one up on the front nine only for Chesters to pull him back. After the lead switched hands, DeChambeau leveled with his fifth birdie of the match at the 16th and they parred the two closing holes to share the spoils.

Hunter Stewart was one down for the U.S. with three to play against Paul Dunne but birdied the 16th and 18th and parred the 17th, when Dunne three putted, to win the match by two holes.

Another American point came when Scott Harvey won the 16th with a par and then took the match 2 and 1 when he sank a 55-foot birdie putt at No. 17 when Grant Forrest narrowly missed a birdie.

England’s Jimmy Mullen got the first singles point on the board for Britain and Ireland when he beat Denny McCarthy by two holes. Mullen played faultless golf with 14 pars and four birdies at Nos. 9, 12, 13 and 18.

Maverick McNealy was never ahead against Ewen Ferguson, but came back from three down after seven to take him to the 18th where the Scot won by one hole.

Gavin Moynihan claimed Britain and Ireland’s third singles point with a 4 and 2 win over Jordan Niebrugge.

Robby Shelton was three up after seven in his match with another Irishman Gary Hurley, but ended up halving the match.

Beau Hossler for the U.S. was three down after 10 holes against Ireland’s Jack Hume but fought back to win by one hole.

Earlier, Britain and Ireland took a 3-1 lead after the morning foursomes in windy conditions.

English pairing Chesters and Mullen claimed the first point for the home side with a 3 and 2 victory over McNealy and Stewart. Ireland’s Cormac Sharvin and Scotland’s Jack McDonald dominated Jordan Niebrugge and Shelton, winning three of the first four holes on their way to a 5 and 4 victory.

Hossler and Denny McCarthy claimed the Americans’ only point in the third match with a 3 and 1 win over Irish pair Dunne and Hurley. The second Irish pair of Hume and Moynihan never trailed in their match against Lee McCoy and Mike McCoy before winning 3 and 2.

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France – Mi Hyang Lee retained the lead in difficult weather in the third round of the Evian Championship on Saturday, as teenager Lydia Ko remained in contention to become the youngest player to win a major.

Lee shot 1-under 70 for a 10-under total of 203 and a one-shot lead over Lexi Thompson, who charged back with fine putting and a 5-under 66 card.

Chasing her first major, Lee was paired with Morgan Pressel (71), and they went toe to toe until the par-4 18th hole, when the American double-bogeyed after landing her second shot in water.

They played their final six holes in rain, wind, and gloom.

Pressel shares third place with Ko, two shots off the pace. The 18-year-old Ko shot a 67 and is pursuing her last chance to become the youngest woman to clinch a major. If she wins on Sunday, Ko will surpass Pressel, who won the Kraft Nabisco Championship at 18 years, 10 months, 9 days back in 2007.

“Obviously, this is my last chance,” said Ko, about five months younger. “I’m just going to give myself a good chance tomorrow.”

Many still have a good chance on the foothills of the Alps, with only five shots separating the 11 best players heading into the final round.

Meanwhile, top-ranked Inbee Park, seeking a career Grand Slam, made four birdies but struggled on the back nine with three bogeys for a 70. She was on 2-under 211, eight shots off the pace, with Michelle Wie (70).

Wie sank a 25-foot putt on the par-5 9th for her first eagle of the tournament.

With more bad weather expected on Sunday, players will tee off on the first and 10th tees in groups of three for the final round, with Lee of South Korea, Thompson of the U.S., and Ko of New Zealand together in the final group.

Ko, who started four strokes off the lead, produced five birdies but bogeyed the 18th for the third consecutive day.

“It was not the easiest of up-and-downs on 18, but I have not played the 18th hole well this week,” she said.

Many players were caught off guard by the bad weather, with Pressel getting some help from a TV channel employee who ran to her locker to bring her a rain jacket.

“Very thankful to the guy,” Pressel said.

Thompson, who mixed six birdies with a sole bogey on the par-3 16th, relied on her dad to bring her an umbrella with four holes to play.

The round began under blue skies, and Pressel immediately applied pressure on Lee with a birdie on the par-4 first hole. Lee could not match her, conceding two consecutive bogeys on the course looking over Lake Geneva.

Lee had another bogey on the par-3 14th but emerged from the round with four birdies and a superb par-putt on her final hole.

Pressel put herself in trouble on the par-5 9th, driving her ball onto a rough patch of grass below the fairway. She missed her putt from the edge of the green to drop her first shot. She said her double bogey on the final hole was probably due to a bad choice of club, a 4 hybrid, for her second shot that found the water.

“It’s just the grass was so wet that it did not get up in the air,” she said. “I thought I could hit the shot.”

Amy Yang was tied for fifth place, three shots behind Lee, after a flying start with an eagle on the first hole, which she bogeyed in the second round.

A broad smile illuminated the South Korean’s face when she realized her shot landed straight in the hole. The U.S. Open runner-up high-fived her caddie and continued her surge back among the top five. She sank a birdie-putt on No. 3, and picked up one more shot with a 15-footer on the par-4 4th. But Yang also bogeyed three holes and finished with a 68.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., finished the day at 1-over 72 to move into a tie for 41st place. Hamilton, Ont., product Alena Sharp posted a 75 and is tied for 51st.

ZANDVOORT, Netherlands – Lee Slattery and Rafa Cabrera-Bello both shot a 7-under 63 Saturday to take the joint lead after the third round of the KLM Open on a low scoring day.

Cabrera-Bello was on track for a spectacular round after making six birdies and an eagle on the front nine, along with only his third bogey of the tournament, but the Spaniard could only manage a string of nine pars coming home.

“I sank a very long putt on the first but then I felt that really all the other birdies were pretty much just tap ins and even the bogey I had was a three putt from five feet so … it could have actually been better,” Cabrera-Bello said.

Slattery, who won last week’s Russian Open, also shot six birdies, an eagle and a bogey in his round as he sought his second consecutive European Tour victory. They had a 16-under total of 194, one shot ahead of Paul Lawrie, who was third after a 63.

“It’s like a dream come true at the minute,” Slattery said. “Going into last week with a lot of pressure on and winning. Then coming into this week with no pressure on really, just trying to play good golf again, it’s a fabulous feeling.”

Thomas Pieters was another shot back after a 62.

Wade Ormsby of Australia followed a double-bogey six on the 10th with a hole in one on the 169-yard 11th on his way to a 68 that left him tied for fifth with Mikko Ilonen and Morten Orum Madsen at 13 under.

CUMBERLAND, ONT. —Brad Kerfoot outlasted the field Friday at Camelot Golf and Country Club to win the 2015 PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada presented by Callaway Golf.

The 35-year-old from Maple Downs Golf Club finished the three-day national championship at 9-under-par, besting Eric Locke of Wolf Creek Golf Resort and Club de Golf Longchamp’s Marc-Etienne Bussieres by a shot.

“It’s really unbelievable to have won this national championship because I know all the great names who have won and have their names on the trophy,” Kerfoot said. “This is something that I’ll graciously accept and cherish for a long time.”

Kerfoot, who started the day two shots back of Bussieres put together a gutsy final round 4-under-par 68, which featured six birdies.

“I had a really good game plan all week and tried to play to my strengths which is hitting fairways and greens,” Kerfoot said. “But at the end of the day, I’m really just a grinder and I’m proud of that.”

With the win, Kerfoot becomes the second Smiths Falls, Ont.-born golfer to win a PGA of Canada national championship in 2015. Canadian golf superstar Brooke Henderson won the PGA Women’s Championship of Canada earlier this summer at Burlington Golf and Country Club.

Past champions of the PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada include Serge Thivierge, Remi Bouchard, Marc Girouard, Bryn Parry, Ashley Chinner, Phil Jonas, Bill Walsh, Brian McCann and Mike Belbin.

Nicolas Fortin of Academie de golf Levis finished fourth at 7 under, while Laval Sur Le Lac’s Jean-Hubert Trahan rounded out the top five at 3 under for the week.

FOR THE FULL LEADERBOARD, CLICK HERE.

In the Inter-Zone competition (compiled of four players on each team representing their respective PGA Zone) the squad from Ontario (Walsh, McCann, Kenney and Keir Smith) bested Team Quebec (Fortin, Belair, Clement Herviou and Kevin Senecal).

The next PGA of Canada national championship takes place Oct. 26-29 at the Mid Ocean Club in Bermuda for the Nike Golf PGA Team Championship of Canada.

BEN EION, Nova Scotia – Canadian Taylor Pendrith, Nathan Tarter and Mike Van Sickle share the lead after two rounds at the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada’s Cape Breton Celtic Classic presented by PC Financial. The trio sits a 10-under-par 136 and they lead five players by one stroke after 36 holes at the 6,904-yard The Lakes Golf Club.

With a second consecutive 5-under-par 67, the long-hitting Pendrith is making a late push for a spot in The Five, the five players who will earn a card on next year’s Web.com Tour. He is currently 10th on the Order of Merit and trails the fifth spot by $10,146.

After his disastrous start on Thursday where he was 4-over-par after six holes, the Kent State product has played as well as anybody in the field over his last 30 holes, going 14-under-par during that span.

“I got off to a good start today and played the par-5s in 5-under which is handy,” said Pendrith, a resident of Richmond Hill, Ontario. “I made a couple of sloppy bogeys, but I hit my driver well and overall I’m pretty pleased with how I played. I made eight birdies today so I guess I am doing something right.”

Van Sickle posted the day’s low round, an 8-under 64 and credited some of his success on Friday to a missed opportunity at his opening hole.

“I got off to a bit of a rocky start on my first whole which was No. 10. I hit my second shot to 12 feet and then sent my eagle putt seven feet by,” Van Sickle recalled. “I then left my birdie putt hanging on the lip and had to settle for par. In retrospect it might have been a good thing because it got me seeing red and then I stuffed a couple of shots on the next couple of holes for birdies and then it was off to the races.”

Van Sickle went birdie-eagle on Nos. 6 & 7 to turn in 5-under-par 31 and had his lone bogey at No. 14 when he missed a five-footer. His 64 matched his low round of the year in the final round at the Bayview Place Island Savings Open presented by Times Colonist.

The weekend looms large for Tarter, who came into the week ranked 149th on the Order of Merit. However, consecutive rounds of 67 have handed him a golden opportunity.

“I knew coming into this week I needed a pretty high finish to advance to next week’s tournament,” said Tarter, who has made just two cuts in nine starts this year, “so I came into this week with the attitude that I had nothing to lose. I’ve made it a point this week to eliminate stress. It was something I wasn’t doing earlier this year and after a week off, it’s the best I’ve felt in a while and I’m excited for the weekend.”

NUMBERS YOU NEED TO KNOW

12: The number of strokes under par by Taylor Pendrith on the par-5 holes so far thru two rounds.

14: Number of strokes under par for Taylor Pendrith in his last 30 holes after starting out 4-over-par thru 6 in Rd. 1.

11: The number of consecutive cuts made this year by 2013 Cape Breton Celtic Classic champion Mackenzie Hughes. That is the best current streak on the MacKenzie Tour.

59: The number of places that Krister Eriksson moved up the leaderboard after improving his score by six strokes from Thursday (73 to 67). He is now T42.

QUOTABLES:

“Sometimes the best preparation for trying to reach the next level is to challenging yourself to the best of your ability. You can easily do that out here on this Tour. You can learn a lot from other players; see how they hit some of their shots, how they play as well as picking each other’s brains. You can learn a lot playing with other good players.” — Mike Van Sickle on competing on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada.

“I learned over the course of the year that my strengths my last couple of years in college became a weakness for me out here early in the year. I was comfortable with my style of golf coming out here but I let myself get away from that. I was able to reflect on that recently and it’s been a good feeling.” — Nathan Tarter on his early struggles this year.

NOTES:

• Weather: 16 degrees Celsius. Overcast with occasional light rain. Winds 10-15 km/NW.
• Preferred lies were utilized in the second round.
• After 36 holes, here is Taylor Pendrith’s scorecard totals: 12 pars, 15 birdies, 2 eagles, five bogeys and two double bogeys.
• After an opening-round 6-under-par 66 on Thursday, first-round leader Matt Marshall posted a 2-over-par 74 and slipped 28 places to T29.
• One of the 65 players making the cut was Canadian amateur Eric Banks from Truro, Nova Scotia.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Jamie Lovemark shot a bogey-free 6-under 66 in rainy conditions Friday to take a one-stroke lead over Anirban Lahiri in the Web.com Tour Finals-opening Hotel Fitness Championship.

Lovemark finished 12th on the Web.com Tour regular-season money list to earn a 2015-16 PGA Tour card and is playing the four-event series in a bid to improve his tour priority status.

“The rain was moderate for most of the round and it was good we didn’t have any downpours,” Lovemark said. “The greens were rolling pure this morning and it was easy to make some putts.”

The former Southern California player birdied all four par-5 holes at Sycamore Hills.

“Big hitters have an advantage on almost every course, especially when the rough is long because it’s easier to come out of the rough with a wedge than a 7-iron,” Lovemark said. “The driver has probably been my best club. I’ve been hitting it aggressively off the tee, just like I have been most of the year.”

He had an 11-under 133 total

Lahiri, the first Indian player to qualify for the International Presidents Cup team, bogeyed the final hole for a 65. He birdied five of his first six holes, and had only 22 putts – three on his final hole.

“I made a ton of putts on the front nine,” Lahiri said. “I haven’t putted that good in a while. I was terrible off the tee all day. I hardly found any fairways.”

Ranked 40th in the world, he tied for fifth in the PGA Championship.

The series features the top 75 players from the Web.com Tour money list, Nos. 126-200 from the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings and non-members of the tour such as Lahiri who earned enough money to have placed in the top 200 had they been eligible to receive points.

The top 25 players on Web.com regular-season money list earned 2015-16 PGA Tour cards. They are competing against each other for PGA Tour priority, with regular-season earnings counting in their totals and the final leader getting a spot in The Players Championship. The other players are fighting for another 25 cards based on their earnings in the series.

Canada’s Brad Fritsch (64) and South Korea’s D.H. Lee (68) were tied for third at 9 under. Fritsch was 37th on the Web.com Tour money list, and Lee finished 15th to earn a PGA Tour card.

Patton Kizzire, the regular-season Web.com Tour money champion, was tied for fifth at 7 under after a 65.

Roger Sloan shot 4-under 68 to climb into a share of 53rd place at 2-under.

LYTHAM ST ANNES, England – United States captain John `Spider’ Miller wants his team to have “fun” against Britain and Ireland in the 45th Walker Cup when the biennial amateur event starts Saturday.

Playing on the Lancashire links at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club in north west England, the Americans are seeking to retain the trophy they won 17-9 at the National Golf Links of America in New York two years ago.

“I want it to be fun for them,” said Miller, himself a Walker Cup player in 1999. “To make it an experience that they will never forget.”

Welshman Nigel Edwards, the Britain and Ireland captain for the third successive time, will be bidding to regain the trophy he won on his first occasion at the helm at Royal Aberdeen four years ago.

The teams play four foursomes and eight singles on Saturday, then four foursomes and 10 singles on Sunday.

Miller’s team ranges from 52-year-old Mike McCoy from Iowa and 37-year-old Scott Harvey from North Carolina to eight college players in their teens and early 20s.

“Cap’s done an incredible job for us, making us comfortable,” Hunter Stewart said. “He knows that each player on the team may prepare a little bit differently, so he’s done exactly what makes us feel comfortable before the first tee tomorrow.”

Edwards, who played in four successive Walker Cups from 2001 to 2007, said it was a “hard task” choosing “who to play and who not to play, which is great because quite often you come to the Walker Cup and not everybody has got their game.”

In Saturday morning foursomes, it’s: Maverick McNealy and Stewart (United States) vs Ashley Chesters and Jimmy Mullen (Britain and Ireland); Beau Hossler and Denny McCarthy vs Paul Dunne and Gary Hurley; Jordan Niebrugge and Robby Shelton vs Cormac Sharvin and Jack McDonald; Lee McCoy and Mike McCoy vs Jack Hume and Gavin Moynihan.

In Saturday afternoon singles, it’s: Bryson DeChambeau (United States) vs Chesters (Britain and Ireland); Stewart vs Dunne; Harvey vs Grant Forrest; McCarthy vs Mullen; McNealy vs Ewen Ferguson; Shelton vs Hurley; Hossler vs Hume; Niebrugge vs Moynihan.

The Britain and Ireland team has a record five Irishmen: Dunne, Hume, Hurley, Moynihan and Sharvin.

The event, first played in 1922 at National Golf Links, is named in honor of former USGA President George Herbert Walker – grandfather and great-grandfather of former U.S. presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush.

The U.S. leads the series 35 to 8.