Billy Kennerly won the 111th Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship co-hosted by Weston Golf & Country Club and Lambton Golf & Country Club. The native of Alpharetta, Ga., shot a final-round 2-under 70 to finish six strokes clear of his nearest competitor.

“It’s really nice to win, especially the Canadian Am,” said the graduate from Clemson University. “It’s a huge tournament and a national championship is always nice. On top of that, to win where Arnold Palmer won his first tournament, that’s really special and something I’ll never forget. I’m honoured to be the Canadian Amateur champion.”

Kennerly began the day with a front-nine 38, but settled in with four birdies across his final nine holes to complete the tournament at 12-under 275. “I got off to a slow start,” the 22-year-old explained. “I wasn’t quite putting my best and I just wasn’t quite hitting the ball where I needed to hit it. On the back nine, I just hit better and made a couple of adjustments with my putting which really made a big difference in my scoring.”

With the victory, Kennerly has secured a spot into the 2016 RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont. The 107^th playing of Canada’s National Open Championship is set to take place July 18-24, 2016. “That’s a really big honour,” added the winner. “I’m looking forward to next year, I can’t wait.” Kennerly is slated to compete in the 2015 U.S. Amateur Championship at Olympia Fields Country Club in Olympia Fields, Ill.

Three players finished 6-under 281 to claim shares of second. Garrett Rank entered the third round tied for 13^th place. An eagle and five birdies propelled the Elmira, Ont., native up the leaderboard. “I got off to a great start. After having a bad start yesterday when I was 3-over through three, today I was 3-under through three, so that led to some good momentum going forward. Overall, it was a really good day.”

Rank claimed victory at the Investors Group Ontario Mid-Amateur Championship before representing Canada at the Toronto 2015 Pan Am Games and competing in the 2015 RBC Canadian Open. “It’s been a busy summer, my game has been close. I’ve been able to play in some really cool events and it was a good experience moving forward. It was nice to get a good result here this week.”

From August 25-28, the reigning Canadian Mid-Amateur champion will defend his title at Abercrombie Golf Club in New Glasgow, N.S. “I’m really looking forward to that. It’s a big opportunity to get into the RBC Canadian Open again next year. I have the U.S. Amateur Championship next week, so hopefully I can take my momentum here and try to get into match play, and then move on from there.”

Jake Shuman earned his share of second following a seven-birdie, 4-under final round. Completing the trio knotted in second was Hugo Bernard of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que. The 20-year-old, who also earned a runner-up finish at this year’s Quebec Men’s Amateur Championship, carded three birdies and an eagle for a final round of 69.

Kevin Carrigan shot the low round of the day with nine birdies in a 7-under performance. The Victoria, B.C., native finished in a five-way tie for 6^th place alongside Team Canada Development Squad member Patrick Murphy. The Crossfield, Alta., native and UCLA Bruin led the national team contingent with a combined 4-under 283 showing.

Played in conjunction with the tournament’s first 36 holes is an inter-provincial team championship. The competition saw 12 provincial and territorial teams compete for the Willingdon Cup with Team British Columbia emerging victorious. The squad comprised of Stuart Macdonald (Vancouver), Jared du Toit (Kimberley) and Kevin Kwon (Maple Ridge) combined for a total of even-par 286 to claim a 3-stroke victory.

The Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship is the third-oldest amateur championship in the world. The 2016 edition is set to take place August 8-11 at the Royal Ottawa Golf Club in Gatineau, Que.

Additional information regarding the 2015 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship can be found here.

The 2015 Freedom 55 Financial Championship is set to be hosted at Highland Country Club in London, Ont., from September 14-20. The London community is invited to join the existing team of volunteers for the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada’s season-ending tournament.

“It’s already been an eventful season on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada this year and we’re looking forward to their flagship event,” said Tournament Director Adam Helmer of Golf Canada. “We would like to extend an invitation to all the golf enthusiasts in the London area to be a part of this championship.”

Golf competitions could not be held without the support and assistance of dedicated volunteers. This unique experience will also allow golf fans the opportunity to see future Web.com and PGA TOUR stars up close.

The season-ending championship presented in partnership with Golf Canada will feature the top 60 ranked players in the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Order of Merit.

Currently, J. J. Spaun leads the Order of Merit rankings. This season, the Los Angeles, Calif., native claimed victory at the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel and claimed five top-10 finishes on tour.

Spaun is being chased by Drew Weaver of Newport News, Va., the current No. 2 ranked player on the TOUR’s Order of Merit and current No. 3, Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Albin Choi of Toronto, Ont.

At the end of the 2015 season, the top five players in the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Order of Merit standings will receive playing privileges on the Web.com Tour in 2016.

Volunteer and ticket information for the 2015 Freedom 55 Financial Championship is available at the tournament website here. In addition, juniors aged 17 and under gain free admission all week long at the Freedom 55 Financial Championship, click here to download your free junior ticket.

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. – Rory McIlroy was nervous about his game. Jordan Spieth was frustrated with his putting.

Not so surprising about the opening round of the PGA Championship on Thursday was Dustin Johnson.

He was leading.

Shaking off a double dose of disappointment in the majors, Johnson breezed his way to a 6-under 66 in moderate morning conditions at Whistling Straits and wound up with a one-shot lead over David Lingmerth of Sweden. It was the fifth time in 13 rounds at the majors this year that Johnson had at least a share of the lead.

Just never on Sunday, which he knows all too well.

“It’s only the first round,” Johnson said.

It was a big start for McIlroy, and a shaky one for Spieth. They were the main event in the first round of the final major. McIlroy has not played since the U.S. Open, out for 53 days because of an injury to his left ankle and mildly curious whether his game would be sharp enough to compete. Adding to the buzz was playing with Spieth, the Masters and U.S. Open champion who is closing in on McIlroy’s No. 1 ranking.

“It’s not that. It’s more just being a little bit anxious coming back and seeing how my game is going to react whenever I’m put under a little bit of pressure and have a card in my hand and have to really score,” McIlroy said. “Once I got those first couple of holes out of the way, I felt like I settled into the round really nicely.”

Three birdies on the par 5s, and one big par save with his feet in the water, carried him to a 71.

Spieth doesn’t usually go 11 holes without making a putt of any length, and frustrations were starting wear on him until he chipped in from behind the 12th green for birdie which steadied him enough to match McIlroy with a 71.

Considering they played in a strong wind and tough afternoon conditions, it was a reasonable start.

It certainly was for Johnson.

He took three putts from 12 feet on the final hole at the U.S. Open to shockingly go from a chance to win to a runner-up finish behind Spieth. He had the 36-hole lead at St. Andrews until he disappeared on the weekend. And the PGA Championship was at Whistling Straits, where five years ago Johnson famously grounded his club in a bunker and lost out on a spot in the playoff because of the two-shot penalty.

It was like none of that ever happened.

He birdied the first two holes. He hit 4-iron to 30 feet and made eagle on No. 16. He added a trio of birdies on the front nine.

“Today was pretty easy, I would have to say,” Johnson said. “But I was swinging well and I was hitting the shots where I was looking. So anytime you’re doing that, it makes things a lot easier on you. The ball was going where I was looking. I was controlling it. In this wind it’s tough to do, but I did a great job of controlling the golf ball today.”

The one par McIlroy made on the par 5s was as big as his three birdies.

He pulled his third shot on the par-5 fifth hole into the water, and a double bogey looked likely. But his ball was sitting up in the water, so McIlroy rolled up his pant leg, splashed it out to 7 feet and saved par.

“The only thing I was trying not to do was get my feet wet,” McIlroy said. “Because if the water gets through this shoe, then the tape gets wet and then that would be a little more than just sort of annoying or uncomfortable for the rest of the day. But it was fine. It was a little bit deeper on the right side, so I just rolled my right trouser leg up and it was fine. I just had to remember to hit it hard. And I was very fortunate to escape with a par there.”

That shot made for good TV. Good for his soul was getting that first tee shot out of the way, and especially the 3-wood he hit pure as ever onto the green at the par-5 second that led to birdie.

“That was full bore, as good as I can do,” McIlroy said.

Spieth was far more boring in opening with 10 pars, and he was far more irritated. He had one birdie chance after another on the front nine and missed them all, trying to get the speed right and wondering how much the wind would affect it.

“I guessed wrong,” he said.

And then he started to press, and it nearly cost him. He wasted an easy birdie chance on the short 10th hole by chipping 12 feet by the hole. He three-putted from about 15 feet on the par-5 11th for a bogey. After going just long of the par-3 12th, he had to play a chip because of a sprinkler head in his line.

The chip came out hot, and Spieth figured it would have gone some 12 feet by the hole. Spieth said he was pleading it for it to hit the pin, if nothing else to keep it near the hole. It hit straight on and dropped for a birdie he badly needed.

“If I didn’t get that good break on 12, it could have been a different story the rest of the round,” he said.

The wind began to blow hard over the final hour of Johnson’s round, and it showed in the scores. Of the 14 players who broke 70, Lingmerth and Scott Piercy (68) were the only ones who faced the tougher afternoon conditions.

Tiger Woods might be one day away from the end of his season. Woods opened with a 75 and was in danger of missing the cut. In the four majors this year, he is 18-over par in the opening round with a scoring average of 76.

Canadian Nick Taylor posted an opening round of 73 to sit just above the projected cut. David Hearn opened with a round of 76.

PORTLAND, Ore. – After the opening round Canadian teen star Brooke Henderson is a shot back of the lead along with Alison Lee and Julieta Granada.

The 17-year-old Henderson birdied six of the first 13 holes. The Canadian, who doesn’t turn 18 until September, has made $466,818 in nine LPGA Tour tournaments this year. Henderson earned a spot in the field in Monday qualifying, and thought that helped Thursday.

“I feel much more comfortable in the first round than I do a lot of times because I’ve already played this golf course in a competitive atmosphere this week,” Henderson said.

Anderson and Sandra Changkija shared the first-round lead at 7-under 65 on Thursday in the Cambia Portland Classic.

Amy Anderson set an NCAA record with 20 tournament victories during her college career at North Dakota State. Now she’s seeking a breakthrough victory in her second year on the LPGA Tour.

In warm, calm afternoon conditions, the 23-year-old Anderson had five consecutive birdies on the front nine in her bogey-free round at Columbia Edgewater.

“This is a good learning experience, and I’m kind of excited to learn from it and just see what it’s like out here,” Anderson said. “You have to learn at every single level, so for me it started at local tournaments, then to national amateur tournaments, collegiate … but this is a whole other ballgame.”

Anderson had never led a round during her two-year LPGA Tour career. She’s coming off her best finish of the year, a tie for eighth in Michigan in the Meijer LPGA Classic.

Changkija, playing in the morning, made six birdies on her opening nine and reached 8 under before finishing with a bogey. The 26-year-old Changkija, in her fourth LPGA season, has only two career top-10 finishes, but one came at the 2013 Portland stop. The 65 was her lowest competitive round since shooting 63 in Canada in the 2012 Manulife Financial Classic.

Changkija has rarely been near the lead during her professional career, but said her mindset won’t change Friday.

“I’m just going to do the same thing I did today – hit fairways, hit greens and just roll some putts,” Changkija said. “I’ve been hitting it really well. I just wasn’t making putts. I switched putters this week. I went to a Cure putter. It seems to be working well for me.”

One stroke back of third place with a round of 67 is Canadian Alena Sharp sitting T6. Jennifer Kirby posted a round of 70. Brittany Henderson signed for a round of 74, while Sue Kim shot 75.

Mo Martin and Cristie Kerr shot 67. Second-ranked Lydia Ko opened with a 70, and No. 3 Stacy Lewis had a 71.

Defending champion Austin Ernst made four birdies and four bogeys and shot 72.

Suzann Pettersen, the Portland winner in 2011 and 2013, started her round with a double bogey and shot 75.

The Portland Classic is the penultimate tournament before the U.S. Solheim Cup team is set.

The top eight players in the Solheim Cup standings, the top two in the world ranking not among the top eight in the standings, and two captain’s picks will make up the 12-player team for the Sept. 18-20 matches against Europe in Germany. Six players have clinched spots in the standings. No. 7 Angela Stanford shot 74, and No. 8 Gerina Piller had a 72.

Many players are wearing pins and ribbons honoring LPGA pioneer Louise Suggs, who died Friday at 91. Suggs, an 11-time major winner, was an LPGA founding member in 1950.

Coquitlam, B.C. (Golf Canada) – Golf Canada in partnership with Canadian Pacific announced the field of competitors set to challenge for the 2015 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, August 17-23 at The Vancouver Golf Club in Coquitlam, B.C.

In all, the 156 player field at The Vancouver Golf Club will feature the top 10, top 50 and 97 of the top 100 on the current LPGA Tour Official Money List marking it the strongest field on the LPGA Tour in 2015.

Defending champion So Yeon Ryu along with two-time winner Lydia Ko, world No. 1 Inbee Park and Canadian rising star Brooke Henderson headline a field that also includes LPGA stars Stacy Lewis, Lexi Thompson, Suzann Pettersen, Anna Nordqvist, Michelle Wie, Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Karrie Webb, Morgan Pressel, Ai Miyazato, Azahara Munoz, Brittany Lincicome, Shanshan Feng, Na Yeon Choi, Sandra Gal, Charley Hull and Jessica Korda.

“We are thrilled to welcome the strongest field on the LPGA Tour to The Vancouver Golf Club with the top 10, top 50 and 97 of the top 100 players on the 2015 LPGA Tour money list confirmed to challenge for the 2015 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open,” said Tournament Director Brent McLaughlin. “In addition to welcoming a world class field, together with our proud partners at CP, we look forward to raising significant charitable dollars in the community through the CP Has Heart campaign supporting BC Children’s Hospital.”

The winner’s share of the $2.25 million USD purse for the 2015 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open will be $337,500 USD.

The event marks the return of Canada’s National Women’s Open Championship to The Vancouver Golf Club for the first time since Lydia Ko’s historic win as a 15-year old amateur in 2012.

A full field list of players confirmed to compete in the 2015 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open can be found by clicking here.

Eleven Past Champions to Compete at The Vancouver Golf Club:
Eleven of the event’s former champions will be competing at The Vancouver Golf Club including defending champion So Yeon Ryu, two-time winner Lydia Ko (2012 & 2013); Brittany Lincicome (2011); Michelle Wie (2010); Suzann Pettersen (2009); Katherine Hull-Kirk (2008); Cristie Kerr (2006); Meena Lee (2005); Karrie Webb (1999); Laura Davies (1996) and Juli Inkster (1984).

Twelve Canadians and Four Team Canada Members in the Field:
Seventeen-year-old rising star and Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont. leads a crop of 12 Canucks looking to become the first Canadian to win a LPGA Tour event on home soil since golf legend Jocelyne Bourassa’s historic victory in 1973 at La Canadienne Golf Championship. Joining Henderson are LPGA Tour players Lorie Kane of Charlottetown, P.E.I., Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont. and Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Sue Kim of Langley, B.C. as well as non-exempt LPGA Tour player Jennifer Kirby of Paris, Ont. Other Canadians competing include Symetra Tour players Augusta James of Bath, Ont. Maude-Aimee LeBlanc of Sherbrooke, Que., Samantha Richdale of Kelowna, B.C., Jessica Wallace of Langley, B.C. and Brittany Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont. who sit 4^th, 10^th, 16^th, 24^th and 34^th respectively on the Symetra Tour money list. Rounding on the Canadian contingent are Team Canada Women’s Amateur Squad members Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont. and dual citizen Maddie Szeryk of Allen, Texas. Previously announced Canadian Rebecca Lee-Bentham of Toronto has withdrawn from the event with a hip injury.

On Monday August 17, 2015, the LPGA Tour will conduct an 18-hole stroke play qualifier at Pitt Meadows Golf Club to determine the final four exemptions directly into the 2015 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open.

PORTLAND, Ore. – National Amateur Squad member Elizabeth Tong has fallen short in the Round of 32 at the U.S. Women’s Amateur on Thursday, losing by 2 holes to American Cindy Ha at the Portland Golf Club.

Tong, 22, was the lone Canadian left in the field and was looking ahead to the Round of 16 after holding a 3 up lead on the 11^th hole. The Thornhill, Ont., native ran into trouble not long after, losing four of the next five holes before eventually falling by 2 to Cindy Ha of Demarest, N.J.

Click here for live scoring.

PORTLAND, Ore. – Team Canada’s Elizabeth Tong has advanced to the U.S. Women’s Amateur round of 32 after defeating opponent Magdalena Simmermacher 6&4 on Wednesday at the Portland Golf Club.

Tong, 22, jumped out to an early lead over Argentina’s Simmermacher, winning five of the first nine and losing none. The Thornhill, Ont., product is now the lone remaining Canuck in the field. She is set to tee-it-up against 11^th seeded Cindy Ha of Demarest, N.J., Thursday morning at 9:30 am PDT.

National Amateur Squad teammate and dual-citizen Maddie Szeryk, 18, suffered defeat at the hands of England’s Bronte Law, who holds the No. 2 spot in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR). Despite holding a 1up lead twice on the front nine, the Texas A&M sophomore could not hold off Law who won 6 of the last 11 holes for the 3&2 victory.

Mariel Galdiano, the 17-year-old from Pearl City, Hawaii, who won the Canadian Women’s Amateur last month, topped Kimberly Mitchell of Woodbridge, Virginia, 7 and 5.

The match-play rounds of the 2015 U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1. Coverage will be from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. EDT on Aug. 12-16. Additionally, bonus coverage will be live streamed on usga.org on Aug. 13 and Aug. 16 from Noon to 2 p.m. EDT.

Click here for live scoring.

HONOLULU – A Hawaii man has been sentenced to five years in prison for using Robert Allenby’s credit cards after the professional golfer said he was robbed and beaten in Honolulu.

According to the Honolulu prosecutor’s office, Owen Harbison was sentenced Wednesday.

He was arrested in February on identity theft and other charges. He pleaded guilty in June to using Allenby’s credit cards and ID to make purchases, including gift cards, jewelry and clothing.

Allenby recounted a bizarre saga earlier this year of having no memory of what happened for 2 1/2 hours after he left a Honolulu restaurant in January. He had missed the cut at the Sony Open and went to dinner. He said he later woke up in a park with a bloodied face.

It’s still unclear what happened.

TORONTO – Team British Columbia captured the Willingdon Cup as provincial team champions at the 2015 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship hosted by Weston Golf & Country Club and The Lambton Golf & Country Club. The team combined for a total of even-par 286.

“It was a nice little surprise to wake up to,” said Stuart Macdonald of the winning team. “It feels awesome. We’ve joined some good names up there [in the championship’s history]. I know B.C. has had some pretty good runs with the Willingdon Cup. I thought we had a pretty good team this year.”

The native of Vancouver spoke highly of his teammates – Kimberley, B.C., product Jared du Toit and Maple Ridge, B.C., native Kevin Kwon – when reflecting on their time together. “I felt like we had the three best in the province. I’ve played with Jared in the past and we play a lot with each other. I hadn’t really played with Kevin too much. I’ve always seen him up at the top in a lot of B.C. tournaments. I got to know him pretty well and we’re all good friends now. I think we had a lot of camaraderie between the three of us.”

Since 1927, the Willingdon Cup has been awarded to the provincial or territorial team with the lowest scores from the first 36 holes of the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship. The top-two daily scores from each round of the twelve three-man teams counted towards the competition.

Finishing in a tie for second place were Teams Quebec and Alberta. Team Canada Development Squad member Étienne Papineau (St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que.), Hugo Bernard, (Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que.) and Pierre-Alexandre Bedard (Chibougamau, Que) finished with a combined score of 3-over 289. The Alberta squad was comprised of Brett Hogan (Calgary), Andrew Harrison (Camrose, Alta.) and Jack Wood (Banff, Alta.). Defending champion Team Ontario finished in fourth at 11-over 257.

Billy Kennerly opened the day in third, but supplanted the two 36-hole co-leaders with a 3-under 69 performance. “I played really solid today. I was trying to keep it around par, to be honest. It’s definitely a lot firmer out there today than yesterday.”

The native of Alpharetta, Ga., tallied five birdies on the day, including a 3-under 33 across the front nine. The graduate from Clemson University remained poised when asked about the possibility of victory. “It would be a great honour, but of course, we have a lot of golf ahead of us. [Winning] would be a great boost and I feel really good about my game, so we will see how it all goes.”

National Team Development Squad member Patrick Murphy totaled five birdies, including an impressive four-in-a-row on his final four holes to ascend the leaderboard. The Crossfield, Alta., native’s 3-under performance has him in second place at 6-under. A single shot back in third is Ben Eccles, who began the day tied for first. The Australian is 5-under 210 in the competition.

Buoyed by the team-competition win, MacDonald shot the low-round of the day, a bogey-free 5-under 67, to move into a tie for fifth. “I started off solid. I just really kept the ball in play in the fairway and gave myself a lot of opportunities,” said the Purdue University Boilermaker. “I took advantage of the par-5s. The par-5s out here are mostly reachable. So if you can do that, you can get a good number out here. I putted pretty solid. Overall, I’m pretty happy with the round, happy that I can be up on the leaderboard and maybe have a chance tomorrow.”

The winner of the 111^th playing of the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship will earn the Earl Grey Trophy and gain a prized exemption into the 2016 RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont., and entry into the 2015 U.S. Amateur Championship at Olympia Fields, Ill. The champion will also be eligible to receive an exemption into the U.S. Junior Amateur, the U.S. Mid-Amateur or the U.S. Senior Amateur, if applicable.

Additional information regarding the 2015 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, including tee times and scoring, is available here.

Click below to listen in to Golf Canada’ s media teleconference with Lydia Ko.

VANCOUVER – Lydia Ko had no idea she was in the process of making history the first time she competed at The Vancouver Golf Club.

Then just 15 years old, the New Zealander became the youngest player to win an LPGA event when she captured the Canadian Women’s Open by three strokes as an amateur back in 2012.

“I didn’t know what the record was,” Ko said on a conference call Wednesday. “I was out there trying to have fun, playing alongside the world’s best golfers.”

Now 18, Ko is herself one of the world’s best, and will be among the field when the tournament – now known as the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open – returns to Coquitlam, B.C., next week.

Ko recalled the excitement of stepping on the Vancouver course in one of her first LPGA events

“It was a very memorable week,” Ko said. “I hadn’t played many LPGA events. Just to be able to play alongside my role models, it was really exciting for me.”

Ko shot rounds of 68, 68, 72 and 67 for a score of 13 under, but didn’t get to claim her winnings because she was still an amateur.

“I just tried to enjoy it out there,” said Ko. “My goal was first of all to make the cut.”

She followed up that initial victory with another Canadian Women’s Open title in Edmonton in 2013, however she wound up tied for 55th last year in London, Ont., her first time playing the tournament as a professional.

Ko also struggled a bit earlier this year, but has been rounding into form since the end of June. She tied for third in her last two events, including last month’s Women’s British Open.

“It’s been a really fun last couple weeks,” she said. “Lots of travel to, but I’ve been enjoying it.”

Fans will be focused on Ko, currently ranked No. 2 in the world, but should also be keen to see 17-year-old amateur Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont.

Ko knows the Canadian well and said she isn’t surprised by Henderson’s success, which has seen her rise to No. 32 overall.

“I knew how good she was,” said Ko. “I think everybody’s been noticing her more because she’s been playing more LPGA events. Brooke’s a superstar.

“She hits the ball a long way and she’s very consistent.”

A two-time Canadian Open champion while still in her teens, Ko is both the present and future of women’s golf, something she sometimes stops to think about – just not on the course.

“That’s the really great thing about golf. Age is just really a number,” she said. “When we’re out there we’re not thinking about our rankings and what we are, we’re just trying to play our best. That’s all we can do.”

And what Ko will be looking to do after competing in an LPGA tournament in Portland, Ore., this week is recapture some of the magic from her performance at the Canadian Open three years ago.

“Every moment of that week was exciting (and) so much fun,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to going back.”