NEWCASTLE, Northern Ireland –  Rory McIlroy can’t seem to perform in front of a home crowd.

The Northern Ireland star looked bewildered as he shot a 9-over-par 80 – his worst score of the season – in Thursday’s opening round of the Irish Open. He fell to the bottom of the morning’s leaderboard and finished tied for 150th place at the end of the day.

Many other players struggled amid gales and pounding showers at Royal County Down, a links course in the shadow of the Mourne Mountains famed for its stunning seaside setting, blind approaches and undulating greens. But the scores improved as the winds eased somewhat and the afternoon sun came out.

Taking advantage were Irish veteran Padraig Harrington and unheralded Maximilian Kieffer of Germany, who both shot 67 to share the lead.

The 43-year-old Harrington, who hasn’t won on the European Tour since 2008 but took the PGA Tour’s Honda Classic in March, said understanding the strong winds gave him a tactical advantage. He birdied five of the final eight, but edged an 8-foot putt for birdie just wide on the final hole. Had he made it, Harrington would have tied the 76-year-old course record.

“There’s plenty of ways to get around this golf course in the wind. I was happy to see it,” said Harrington, who won the Irish Open in 2007.

The 290th-ranked Kieffer, 24, was in the last group to start and not expected to contend. But he eagled the par-5, 525-yard 12th hole on his way to one of his best rounds since finishing second in the 2013 Spanish Open.

McIlroy bogeyed half of the course and couldn’t hit a birdie. The sellout crowd of nearly 20,000 gasped with each miss, and offered relieved applause as he narrowly two-putted his final hole for par.

“My poor iron play led to missed greens, which led to giving myself a lot of 8- to 12-footers for pars, and that led to missing all of them,” said McIlroy, who described his play as “worse as I got closer to the green.”

He had played three practice rounds at the course south of Belfast after failing to make the cut at Wentworth last weekend, but the unexpected extra practice didn’t help his play.

If McIlroy fails to make the cut Friday, it would be his third straight early exit at the Irish Open. He’s never come close to winning the event in eight tries.

McIlroy, whose Rory Foundation children’s charity is hosting the Irish Open for the first time, said he might need to shoot a 66 on Friday to make the cut. That would match the course record set by Jimmy Bruen in 1939.

McIlroy said his first goal is to give Northern Ireland fans “something to cheer about and not just have sympathy claps.”

Local fan favorite Darren Clarke, who has rarely contended since winning the 2011 British Open, also struggled in shooting a 75.

“We all want to play well,” he said, “but sometimes the ball doesn’t realize that.”

If you polled any number of Canadian golf fans in October, asking who the next Canadian winner would be on the PGA TOUR, the percentage who selected Nick Taylor would likely have been low.

It was definitely not because he wasn’t talented enough.  Canadians also believed in the 26-year-old.  It was just long-standing PGA TOUR members such as Graham DeLaet and David Hearn seemed due for a victory.  But one Sunday in November, Taylor trumped them all, capturing The Sanderson Farms Championship by two shots.

Taylor talks about his victory, being an inspiration, and why his Twitter biography says he is one of the “top five Mario Kart N64 players in the world.”

On who he called first after his win:

There was so much crazy stuff going on.  I left my phone in my golf bag, so there was probably half an hour before I got to call anybody.  I called my wife Andie (Taylor and Andie have been together for seven years and got married in May 2014) after the trophy ceremony.  She was on pins and needles waiting for me to call.  She knew what was going on.  She was crazy excited … there were tears.

On what he did with all that prize money ($720,000 USD):

No big purchases from the winnings yet; I don’t really need anything!  I already have a car, but we’re looking at buying a condo in Scottsdale. On the tournament he was most excited to get into: The Waste Management Phoenix Open.  It kind of lived up to everything; it was so intense.  The most equivalent for nerves was when I teed off at my first U.S. Open at Torrey Pines in 2008.  There were probably 10,000 people around that first hole.  And at no.16 (at TPC Scottsdale), I think I was more pumped up because if you don’t hit a good shot, the crowd is relentless.

On being an inspiration for his fellow players:

It’s not uncommon for players who are my age, who played on the Vancouver Golf Tour or PGA TOUR Canada to say how inspiring it’s been to see the steps I’ve taken, or how fast things have happened.  It’s cool and humbling to hear guys say, “watching you do what you’ve done has inspired me to keep working hard and to get to that level too.”

On how Golf Canada has helped develop golf talent:

If you look at the new wave of guys coming out, a lot of them have been involved with Golf Canada.  Derek Ingram has done a really good job.  They’re improving every year.  It’s good to see, and the results are showing for themselves.  A lot of guys are doing well now.

On who he’d most like to play with on the PGA TOUR:

I’d obviously love to play with Tiger, just to have that experience.  Even when he’s struggling he still has the crowds and the aura of Tiger Woods.  I’d also love to play with Rory again too (Taylor and McIlroy played together at the 2009 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black).

On where he was when Mike Weir won The Masters:

I was watching at home with my dad and my brother.  I was into golf then, in grade nine, so I was starting to get into golf but I was still into other sports.  It was one of the first times that I was really into watching The Masters.  From then on, that was the week to watch golf.  It was really memorable.

On how he became so good at Mario Kart:

The last two-and-a-half years of college we (roommate and fellow golf professional Kevin Spooner) played a lot.  When it was pouring rain and after class, we were just playing Mario Kart.  It’s pretty nerdy, but we became extremely good.  There have been a lot of people who have chirped me or challenged me, but I haven’t come across anyone in Canada who can beat me.  There isn’t an official ranking – I made that up – but it’s legit.  The last time I played was Christmas break.  There were people there who thought they were pretty good, but I just smoked them.

BARRIE, Ont. — It was a beautiful day at Horseshoe Resort – Highlands Course as 48 champions, from Ontario golf clubs, teed it up for the Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) Ontario Men’s Champion of Champions.

In what is turning out be a theme with GAO events this season, this championship needed a playoff to determine a winner. Despite many players having difficulty with the course, Oakville’s Mike Kray and Bognor’s Josiah Dixon both managed to finish the round one-under (70).

On the playoff hole, Kray, from the St. Catharines Golf & Country Club found the rough on his tee shot and had tree branches between his ball and the hole. He would get out and on the fairway but was short of the green. He would go on to bogey the hole. As for Dixon, he put his tee shot in the fairway and found the fringe with his approach. The Legacy Ridge Golf Club member, chipped it to within a couple feet and made his par putt for the win.

“It feels good, I really enjoyed the course it was in great shape,” said Dixon. “I had a pretty good day out there, I struck the ball well. I probably should have made a few more putts than I did, but overall it worked out well. I hit fairways and greens. That was what you really had to do out there. I didn’t have to look for the ball except once and even then I was able to make par.”

For Dixon, this was his first GAO championship, a win that he said tops his list. “I haven’t won any GAO events before. I have won a couple Amateur Tour events, but overall this has to be my biggest win.”

Earning the bronze medals were Whitby’s Spencer Dobbs, from the Cherry Downs Golf & Country Club and Wasaga Beach’s Dean Henry, from the Mad River Golf Club. Both Dobbs and Henry finished the round two-over (73).

With his win, Dixon also receives an exemption into the Investors Group Ontario Men’s Amateur Championship July 14-17 at the Peterborough Golf & Country Club.

Click here for complete tournament results.

GRAND LEDGE, Mich. – A wife and husband from Michigan say they both got a hole-in-one in consecutive shots at the same hole.

Tony and Janet Blundy tell the Lansing State Journal that their aces came while golfing Sunday at Ledge Meadows Golf Course in Grand Ledge. The couple says Tony hit a hole-in-one first at the 16th hole, and Janet then equaled his feat.

The newspaper says two golfers who didn’t know the Blundys verified the back-to-back holes-in-one.

According to contest prize insurer National Hole-in-One Association, the odds of two amateur golfers in a foursome getting an ace on the same hole in the same round are 26 million-to-1.

The Blundys say they typically golf at least 18 holes a week together.

Guelph, Ont. (Golf Canada) – The University of Toronto women’s golf team took advantage of pristine early morning conditions Wednesday, combining for a team total of 238 to take the second round lead at the Canadian University/ College Championship being contested at Cutten Fields in Guelph, Ont.

The Varsity Blues (230-238–468) received strong play from all four members as they snagged a one stroke lead over Université de Montréal Carabins (234-235–469). University of Victoria’s squad had the best showing in day two with a team score of 232, good enough to sit in fourth place, only four shots back.

Leading the charge for the Varsity Blues women was Laura Upenieks, a PHD graduate who shot 78. Sitting at 15 over par, Upenieks is in a four-way tie for seventh place in the individual championship, sharing that spot with her three teammates. The strong consistent play of the four women allowed them to break their first round tie with the defending University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbirds, who slipped to fourth.

Individually, Caroline Ciot stumbled with a six over par round, but maintained her hold on first place. Advancing up the leaderboard was Brynn Tomie of the University of Victoria Vikes who shot a day low of 72 with four birdies. The Bedford, N.S., native’s strong second day gives her a two-round total of 150 – one shot back of the lead and a share of second with Robyn Campbell, a fifth-year Queen’s University student who matched her opening round 75.

An early evening weather-related delay set back the conclusions of the majority of the men’s groupings. Despite the challenge, UBC (282-296–578) was able to fend off the second-day advance of the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks (291-29–584) who finished their round earlier in the afternoon. The University of Victoria Vikes, the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades and the Varsity Blues are tied for third with a two-round total of 589.

Golden Hawks rookie and former NCAA Division I player, Eric Flockhart of Mississauga, Ont., carded four birdies en route to a 2-under-par 68 to gain sole possession of the lead at even par.  Defending champion Scott Secord had a tough start to the day, but regrouped on the back nine shooting even par and finishing the round with a 73, good for second place.  Two shots back of the lead after shooting a 72 is Victoria, B.C., native Michael Griffin, who plays for his hometown Vikes.

The third round begins tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. with complete results and tee times available here.

Calgary (Golf Canada) – For the second consecutive year, Michelle Piyapattra has won the season-opening event on the Canadian Women’s Tour. The Corona, California native fired a final round 3-under par 69 and tournament total 4-under par 140 at the Glencoe Golf and Country Club in Calgary to claim her second career Canadian Women’s Tour victory.

With the victory, Piyapattra earns the $10,000 winner’s cheque as well as the coveted exemption into the 2015 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, August 17-23 at The Vancouver Golf Club in Coquitlam, B.C.

Piyapattra, who began the final round at 1-under par in the second last group, carded three birdies in a bogey free round to win by two shots over opening round co-leader Seul-Ki Park of Northbrook, Illinois.

In 2014, playing as an amateur, Piyapattra won the Canadian Women’s Tour stop at Morningstar Golf Club in Parksville, B.C. in a playoff, eventually making her pro debut at the 2014 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open at the London Hunt and Country Club in London, Ont.

“I played about [the] same as yesterday, but near the end my putts we’re going in; really a lot more putts were falling today,” said Piyapattra, a LPGA Symetra Tour regular who was playing in her fifth career Canadian Women’s Tour event. “Last year I won as an amateur so it’s nice to come back and win as a professional and get the exemption into the [Canadian Pacific] Women’s Open.”

Park, who began the day with a share of the lead, shot a final round 2-over 74 and tournamenttotal 1-under 143 to finish alone in second, while Lauren Mielbrecht of Gulf Stream, Florida and Kristen Park of Buena Park, California finished tied for third at even-par 144.

Kirby Dreher of Fort St. John, B.C. finished tied for fifth (1-over 145) to claim low Canadian honours, while Doris Chen of Bradenton, Florida finished tied for eighth (2-over 146) to capture the Low Amateur Award.

The shot of the day Wednesday went to Erica Rivard of Tecumseh, Ont. who used a 9-iron to ace the 140-yard third hole on the Bridges course.

With the victory, Piyapattra vaults to the top of the 2015 Canadian Women’s Tour Money List as well as the Jocelyne Bourassa Player of the Year Order of Merit.

Only two players (Michelle Piyapattra at 4-under and Suel Ki-Park at 1-under) finished below par for the championship at The Glencoe Golf and Country Club.

The most difficult hole of the championship was the 393-yard par-4, 18th hole (10 birdies, 79 pars, 54 bogeys, 18 double bogeys, 6 other – scoring average 4.60) while the 533-yard, par-5 1^st hole played the easiest (34 birdies, 105 pars, 22 bogeys, 6 double bogeys – scoring average 5.00). Complete course stats are available here.

A total of 84 players including 42 international golfers competed in the season opening Canadian Women’s Tour stop in Calgary.

The next Canadian Women’s Tour event will be contested at the Smiths Falls Golf & Country Club in Smiths Falls, Ont., from June 15-17. The final stop on the Canadian Women’s Tour will be the PGA Women’s Championship of Canada at Burlington Golf & Country Club in Burlington, Ont., from July 20-22.

The winners of each stop on the Canadian Women’s Tour will earn exemptions to compete in the 2015 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open. Also receiving exemptions will be the top two competitors on the 2015 Canadian Women’s Tour Order of Merit. To be eligible, participants must play in at least two of the three events on the 2015 schedule.

At season’s end, the five highest ranked players on the Canadian Women’s Tour Order of Merit will be awarded direct entry into the second stage of LPGA Qualifying School.

Click here for complete scores.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla., and TORONTO – The PGA TOUR and Mackenzie Investments announced today a six-year agreement making the investment management firm the umbrella sponsor of PGA TOUR Canada.

The Tour is being renamed the Mackenzie Tour–PGA TOUR Canada, effective immediately with this week’s season-opening event in Vancouver.

“We are extremely pleased to announce this landmark sponsorship and to welcome Mackenzie as the umbrella sponsor of PGA TOUR Canada,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. “Mackenzie’s involvement will enable us to continue to strengthen and grow the Tour throughout Canada.”

“Golf has a strong and proud history in Canada and we are thrilled to be umbrella sponsor of the prestigious PGA TOUR Canada,” said Jeff Carney, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mackenzie Investments. “As one of Canada’s largest investment management companies, we are pleased to help support and inspire athletes in their pursuit of excellence both through our sponsorship of Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada and Snow Sports Canada. We are also excited to be part of an organization that has contributed more than $2 billion to charity and we look forward to partnering with the PGA TOUR and continuing the tradition of giving back to Canadians.”

The relationship provides a good strategic fit in regard to philanthropy as the PGA TOUR’s well known charitable efforts, which has totaled $2.14 billion all time including a record $140.5 million in 2014, complement the goals of the Mackenzie Investments Charitable Foundation. In association with the new relationship, the 12 tournaments on the Mackenzie Tour will share a $150,000 donation being made to support their charitable efforts.

In addition to naming rights, Mackenzie Investments will receive a comprehensive list of benefits as umbrella sponsor, including client entertainment opportunities; branding on-site at tournaments; a strong presence on PGATOUR.COM, which includes a dedicated site for the Tour, as well as the TOUR’s mobile and social media platforms; plus ongoing exposure through the Tour’s half-hour highlight show in Canada, PGA TOUR telecasts and ancillary programming, and Sirius/XM Radio’s PGA TOUR channel.

This is the second significant sports sponsorship for Mackenzie Investments. The company has a long-term sponsorship with Snow Sports Canada, which was expanded earlier this year with a sponsorship agreement with three-time Olympic downhill racer Manny Osborne-Paradis.

This marks the first umbrella sponsorship for the Tour, which launched in 2013 as PGA TOUR Canada after the TOUR lent strategic and financial support to the former Canadian Professional Golf Tour the previous year. The new season begins this week with the PC Financial Open at Point Grey Golf & Country Club in Vancouver.

“This commitment by Mackenzie will provide long-term continuity to the Tour and impact the charitable mission of our tournaments,” said Jeff Monday, President of the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada. “By strengthening our Tour through Mackenzie’s support, our members will have a greater opportunity to pursue their ultimate goal of someday playing on the PGA TOUR.”

The Mackenzie Tour provides direct access to the Web.com Tour for its leading money winners, based on the final Order of Merit. The top five players receive playing privileges on the Web.com Tour, while the next five are exempt into the finals of the Web.com Tour qualifying school. The five players who qualified for this year’s Web.com Tour, based on the 2014 Order of Merit, were, in order, Joel Dahmen, Matt Harmon, Timothy Madigan and Brock MacKenzie of the U.S. and England’s Greg Eason.

All-time, Mackenzie Tour alumni have accounted for 122 wins on the PGA TOUR. Since becoming a part of the PGA TOUR, four players – Nick Taylor, Tony Finau, Mark Hubbard and Carlos Sainz, Jr. – have moved from the Mackenzie Tour to the PGA TOUR. Taylor’s win at the Sanderson Farms Championship came less than 14 months after he played on the Mackenzie Tour.

BRADENTON, Fla. – Mariah Stackhouse rallied to beat Hayley Davis in 19 holes to give Stanford its first NCAA women’s golf title, 3-2 over Baylor on Wednesday in the match-play final.

Stackhouse, a junior from Riverdale, Georgia, won when Davis’ 3-foot par putt missed to the right on the par-4 10th hole at The Concession Golf Club.

Two holes down after losing the par-4 16th, Stackhouse won the par-5 17th with a two-putt birdie and took the par-4 18th with a 15-foot birdie putt. Davis, a senior from England, birdied the 16th, hitting a 134-yard shot from a muddy lie in the left-side hazard to 8 feet.

Casey Danielson and Shannon Aubert also won matches for Stanford in the event that switched to the match-play format for the team title this year.

After Danielson gave Stanford a 2-1 lead with a 2-up victory over Laura Lonardi, Baylor tied it with Dylan Kim’s 3-and-1 victory over Lauren Kim. Stanford took a 1-0 lead when Aubert beat Lauren Whyte 4 and 3, and Baylor pulled even with Giovana Maymon’s 4-and-3 victory over Quirine Eijkenboom.

The Cardinal beat Arizona and Southern California on Tuesday to reach the final.

On Monday, Alabama’s Emma Talley won the individual title.

For a few years, the golf industry has been focused on ho w to get more young people- especially Millennials-to take up the game.  Another key to the sport’s growth lies in looking ahead to the next generation and spreading the golf gospel to those just getting a foot out of the crib.  After all, smacking the dimples out of little balls and chasing after them is an innate childhood pleasure right there with eating an ice cream cone.

Hook the young

My toddler’s favourite toy du jour is a Little Tikes golf set that distills the game down to its essentials.  First, you load a chunky plastic all-purpose club with a clear shaft with four coloured balls and depress a trigger to release spheres onto a tee or the ground.  Then, your little one simply tries to knock balls into a moveable flag adorned hole with a ramped lip that works just as well on hardwood and carpet as it does on grass.

My son’s first time playing he proceeded to flub a series of five-foot putts, missing every which way, before he had a brilliant idea.  Smiling, he stealthily grabbed the tee and repositioned it right next to the hole.  Next, he took his stance, pretending to deliberate over the significant putt ahead before bumping a blue ball right into the cup.

“Daddy I did it!”  He squealed while waving his club in the air and running multiple victory laps around the living room.

Who knew a centimeter tap in could elicit such wild-eyed excitement, boost confidence, and give a feller the intoxicating taste of a leader board-topping victory?  Long before one experiences the transcendental beauty of their first monster drive down the fairway or the sheer stroke-saving awesomeness of a chip-in, there is a small short tap that ends with lifted spirits and a rattle in the back of a cup.

Just play: Falling hard for the game

Falling in love with the game is typically a slow seduction.  Casual golfers may flirt with breaking 100 for years before the deed is done; then, suddenly, they find themselves in a committed relationship, going steady with the nearest muni weekly and getting as intimately acquainted with the quirks and nuances of the 14 clubs in their bag as they are with their spouse’s equipment.

One of the oft-cited roadblocks to taking up golf is its relative inaccessibility to newbies.  Unlike soccer or tennis where first timers can immediately hit the field of play running and enjoy moderate success, attempting to play a round of golf without a few trips to the driving range, or a few lessons, is daunting.  Anybody who watched Tiger Woods’ flub filled 82 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open this past February understands golf is a game that can even humble its titans.

In a time when course closures are rising, and more folks are headed for the exits than joining the fray, industry players are realizing that old ways may need a swing adjustment.  Clinging to the refrain from one of Fiddler on the Roof’s catchiest ditties, “Tra-di-tion … Tra-di-tion,” won’t reverse the game’s fortunes.

Golf Sudoku

Matty Du Plessis, a globetrotting home schooled 11-year-old from Quechee, Vt., – a nook of New England reminiscent of many a small town in Southern Ontario- is a breath of fresh air.  On YouTube, Vine, Instagram, and other social media spheres Du Plessis is known as MD_18undapar.  A golf rapper in the mode of Bubba Watson, Du Plessis has a knack for going viral.

“I like Lego and puzzles.  There isn’t a wrong shot so golf is like a 3-D puzzle,” pipes Du Plessis when I reach the precocious golf personality on Facebook chat and ask him about his attraction to the game.  Du Plessis is riveted by the problem-solving aspect of the game: being stuck with a lie right behind a tree and figuring a route out, having to hit over or under branches, or pulling off a mega slice to coax maximum yardage on a sharp dog leg right.

“When it doesn’t come off, sure it blows up your card but hey, you at least tried,” he explains.

For Du Plessis golf means having a great time; his infectious fun-first attitude has earned him thousands of fans.  “Hitting driver, making the ball move, sunset on the range, making the ball skip on a pond, thinking at first there is no way, but then making it happen.  There is just so much,” opines Du Plessis on why he loves to play.

In his popular “Stop, drop and make a 12 Foota” videos he sinks putts about as long as a Fiat 500 on the streets of Vermont, London, Cape Town, and even the center aisle of a Boeing 757.  His antics have caught the attention of a host of top tier media outlets from the U.K.’s Daily Mail to The Golf Channel.  If his handle isn’t a dead giveaway, Du Plessis’ ultimate goal is to shoot eighteen under par and play on the PGA TOUR.

While putting on uneven surfaces in his golf vignettes doesn’t help him read greens any better, holing out under taxing conditions certainly bolsters his confidence.  “If I can make a putt in a parking lot or in London or 30,000 feet above the Atlantic [in the aisle of a plane] with crazy moves, then making a putt from anywhere on a green is possible.”

Beating your elders

When cultivating a golf affinity, long before fixations over equipment and lowering your handicap ever develop, the allure of the game can often stem from a desire to knock balls into holes-at least mine did.  Mini-putt at Meaford’s Memorial Park, a family-oriented campsite on the waters of Georgian Bay was my initiation into the game.  It remains the course I’ve logged my highest round count on.  You always remember the first time you beat your father in a competitive sport where he didn’t let you win.  After a couple summers worth of compiled course knowledge where I memorized hump apexes, optimum ricochet points to navigate dastardly walled in geometry, the pace necessary to jump a water feature, and the ideal spot to aim at the mystery box, so it spits your ball out in a jetstream toward the hole, I did the deed.  A two-stroke victory over my old man that at that time felt like I’d just won the Masters.  Instead of a green jacket my just as sweet reward was a Dairy Queen hot fudge sundae.  In case you’re wondering, Du Plessis celebrated the glorious milestone last fall by posting a pic of his winning scorecard on Instagram with the hashtag: “Beat-Your-Dad-Selfie.”

While the catalyst for golf to escape its current economic plugged lie may be around the corner (the plus 500-year-old sport always finds a way to keep rolling), there’s never been a better time to tap into the game and have a ball.  Whether that’s a toddler developing their hand-eye coordination by putting pine cones at backyard targets, a social media savvy pre-teen with a GoPro getting creative on YouTube or a mini-golf family outing that creates an indelible memory, it’s all a gateway to playing more golf and it bodes well for the game’s future.

Guelph, Ont. (Golf Canada) – Gusty winds proved to be no problem for the University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbirds at the Canadian University/ College Championship at Cutten Fields in Guelph, Ont. The tournament teed up for the first round on Tuesday with the Thunderbirds men’s team soaring to the top of the leaderboard. UBC’s women’s contingent ended their day tied with the University of Toronto Varsity Blues atop the standings.

The Thunderbirds men’s team shot a combined 2-over-par to gain a slight edge in its quest to avenge last year’s runner-up finish. The Humber College Hawks sit three shots back of the lead while the University of Victoria Vikes round out the top three.

The defending men’s champion, Calgary native Scott Secord, and Humber Hawk Christian McCullough carded 2-under-par 68s to lead the men’s division. Six golfers are locked in third place, two strokes back of the leaders, including a pair of Vikes in Andrew Funk and Michael Griffin.

The reigning champion UBC Thunderbirds women’s team is joined at the top of the leaderboard by the University of Toronto Varsity Blues. UBC is eyeing its 11^th team championship in the 13 years of this competition. The leaders each registered 17 over par team performances and are four strokes clear of the third place Université de Montréal Carabins.

Third-year Carabins player Caroline Ciot has a two-shot lead after opening at 1-over-par 72 on the strength of a trio of birdies. Tied for second at 3 over par are Alexandra Pelletier of Université Laval Rouge et Or and Okotoks, Alta. native Kat Kennedy whose steady play tops the Thunderbirds squad. Playing key roles in the Varsity Blues’ co-leading position were Rylie Wilson and Sarah Dunning who each opened at 76 – good for a share of fifth place.

The second day of competition tees off with the women’s division at 7:30 a.m. while the men start at 8:14 a.m. The 72-hole competition will conclude on Friday where both team and individual titles in the men’s and women’s divisions will be awarded.

For more info regarding the championship event, click here.