VIRGINIA WATER, England – After winning two titles in three weeks, Rory McIlroy ran out of steam. Now he’ll have the whole weekend to get some rest.

McIlroy missed the cut at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth on Friday after an erratic 6-over 78 at the European Tour’s flagship event.

A week after winning the Wells Fargo Championship by seven shots, the top-ranked Northern Irishman made six bogeys and a double bogey on the par-four 11th, leaving him at 5-over 149 and four strokes outside the cutline. He was 15 shots behind leader Francesco Molinari, who shot a 69.

Playing his fourth straight event – he also won the Match Play Championship three weeks ago in San Francisco – McIlroy’s round was littered with wayward tee shots and feeble putting, which he put down to fatigue.

“I was trying to muster some birdies on the back nine but could not get anything going,” McIlroy said. “Coming off the back of three good weeks in the United States, I am in need of a rest. I’ll dust myself off for next week (at the Irish Open) and not read too much into it.”

McIlroy stuttered on the front nine, going out in 36 with two bogeys and a birdie before his round unraveled at the turn.

He bogeyed the 10th and on the 11th, hooked a wild shot off the tee into trees on the left for an unplayable lie, before sending his next attempt into the crowd.

He ran up a six that left him 4 over and slid further down the leaderboard with bogeys on 13, 16 and 18, where he ended his day with a three-putt from 20 feet.

“I can take a couple of days at the weekend to refresh mentally,” McIlroy said. “It was inevitable that a good run was going to come to an end but I would love to be here for the weekend.”

Molinari started with two bogeys on his first three holes but recovered with five birdies, including three on the back nine, to take a 1-shot lead into the third day.

“The start was very difficult, it was not as good as Thursday,” Molinari said. “But I managed to steady the ship. I made a couple of birdies to get even par before the turn and with this wind on the back, you can get a few birdie chances and I took three of them.”

Byeong Hun An shot a flawless 64 to move into second.

The South Korean made a blistering start with five birdies on the front nine, before moving a shot behind Molinari with three more on the way in.

“I hit it really solid today and didn’t have to putt over 30 feet,” Hun An said. “I still missed a couple out there. I haven’t been putting well all year but got going and made the most of it today.”

FORT WORTH, Texas – Masters champion Jordan Spieth got his homecoming off to a leading start with a birdie before dark.

Spieth made a 20-foot putt from just off the fringe on the final hole for a 6-under 64 and a share of the first-round lead Thursday in the rain-delayed Colonial.

“I had a few of those on the back nine, a few good looks where I knew what the putt was doing, I just didn’t match the line and speed right,” Spieth said. “I was getting a little frustrated through 17 there. I was like just one more look. … I didn’t really count (18) as a look, but maybe more like luck, and we’ll take it.”

The closing birdie, just after 8 p.m., tied Spieth with Kevin Na, Boo Weekley and Ryo Ishikawa.

There was a huge roar at No. 1 when Spieth teed off in the first of consecutive events at home in North Texas since becoming a major champion. The Dallas player’s approach at No. 18 landed just off the back right edge of the green surrounded by family, friends and plenty of fans.

“I was little frustrated to see where my ball went, but I was still was able to soak in kind of the welcoming to the 18th green,” he said. “I’m sure it will continue to grow.”

Spieth opened his bogey-free round with a 25-foot birdie putt at No. 1, then started the back nine with a 22-footer at No. 10. He had a great chance for another birdie on the par-3 16th, but a tricky 4-foot try slid by the hole.

Ishikawa, the 23-year-old from Japan, and 2013 Colonial champion Weekley also were without a bogey.

Na, whose only bogey came at No. 18 to close his first nine, curled up in a corner of the locker room and took a nap when tee times for the morning groups like his were pushed back three hours after more than an inch of rain fell overnight at Hogan’s Alley.

“Pulled off a little veteran move, took about an hour nap,” said Na, who grabbed a few extra towels, making one into a pillow, using another for a blanket and throwing another over his head. “So I felt great when I woke up.”

Na originally woke up at 5 a.m. for a scheduled 7:22 a.m. tee time.

The afternoon groups started 2 hours, 40 minutes later than scheduled, but all 122 players managed to finish before dark.

George McNeill and Ian Poulter, who shared the lead before his only bogey at No. 18, were a shot back after shooting 65.

A group of nine players carded 66s on a day when players were able to lift, clean and place their golf balls hit in the fairways.

“We couldn’t have had better scoring conditions today. Just the wind died down, and you could just throw darts, and they were landing and stopping,” Spieth said. “I’d like to play golf in this weather the rest of my life.”

Also carding a 66 was Canada’s David Hearn – who topped the five Canadians in the field.

After the rain, it was an unseasonably cool with temperatures only in the mid-60s. The forecast is for warmer temperatures but more rain through the weekend.

Defending champion Adam Scott had a 72 that included three bogeys and a double bogey. He is No. 11 in the world and hasn’t won since Colonial last year in his first week after becoming the top-ranked player.

Weekley, whose last PGA Tour win was at Colonial, woke up with a stiff back Wednesday that was still bothering him when he finally teed off Thursday.

“We just tried to manage it knowing that we couldn’t hit the full shots, so we went down a club and felt like we just punched it around the golf course,” he said. “And I made some putts. Made a lot of putts actually.”

His 27 putts were a collective distance of 151 feet, 9 inches, Weekley’s fourth-best putting round on the PGA Tour. He made all 12 of his putts from inside 10 feet, but called a 15-foot par-saver at the par-3 13th one of the key moments in his round.

“I kind of chili-whomped it out there to the right side of the green,” he said. “Nine times out of 10 that balls goes in the water, but somehow it hung up and I hit a bad chip there.”

Canada’s Nick Taylor opened with a 68, Adam Hadwin had a 69, Graham DeLaet had 70 and Mike Weir had a 75.

COPETOWN, Ont. —The Golf Association of Ontario’s (GAO) Senior Men’s Champion of Champions took place May 21 at the Beverley Golf & Country Club in Copetown. A total of 70 senior club champions from across the province teed it up to see who would claim the 2015 title. In the end, it was Whitby’s Barry Fairhurst, from Whitevale Golf Club, who took home the honour. 

Fairhurst was the first player to bring his card to the scorers and had to wait to see where his one-over (71) would end up. It look as though it would stand until 2012 winner, Collingwood’s Mike Jackson, turned in a one-over (71) of his own that forced the two back to the first hole for a playoff.

During the playoff, Jackson, from the Georgian Bay Club, put his tee shot in a fairway bunker, while Fairhurst sailed his to within 80 yards of the green. Fairhurst would chip within nine feet and stepped up and drained his birdie putt for the win.

“Hearing who has won this before and knowing how prestigious it is, makes it great honour to be on the trophy. These are the best champions from their golf courses in the province,” said Fairhurst.

Fairhurst went on to talk about the dramatic win and where it ranks for him. “A birdie on the first playoff hole is always a good thing. The worst case, you are probably just going to the next hole. I hit a good drive, chipped it close and sank the putt down the middle. This win is definitely way up there for me.”   

Sharing the bronze medal were Brampton Golf Club and Brampton resident Rick Dodds-Hebron and Welland’s Frank Mattei, from Sparrow Lakes Golf Club. Both players finished the day at three-over (73).

With the win, Fairhurst earned an exemption into the GAO’s 2015 Investors Group Senior Men’s Amateur Championship Aug. 11-13 at Kawartha Golf & Country Club in Peterborough.

For full results click here.

FRENCH LICK, Ind. – Massy Kuramoto’s approach to the difficult Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort was simple.

“If I’m going to hit straight and hit the fairway, I can play 2 over, 3 over. I tried to play 1 over front nine, 1 over back nine,” he said, grinning, with both index fingers upraised.

Kuramoto did even better than that Thursday in the first round of the Senior PGA Championship.

He shot a 1-under 71 to take the lead.

Defending champion Colin Montgomerie, Billy Andrade, Barry Lane, Jean Francois Remesy and Bart Bryant were a shot back. Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman and Scott Verplank were in the large group at 73 on a difficult day for golf.

The temperature was in the upper 40s for the early starters and it crept only to 60 as the sun finally broke through in late afternoon. Sweaters and rain jackets were the uniform of the day and scoring on the rugged Dye Course’s twisting fairways and small greens did not come easily.

With 17 major champions and seven World Golf Hall of Fame members in the field of 156 players, only 30 shot 74 or better.

“We’re old,” said Andrade, an early starter. “We’re old guys. When it gets cold, maybe we don’t hit it as far and as well. It’s a survival test.”

Peter Jacobsen knew the feeling.

“It felt like a British Open,” he said after scattering eight bogeys in an 80. “It’s cold. It starts to rain. There’s nowhere to miss the ball on this course.”

Andrade and Montgomerie sat atop the leaderboard nearly all day and they were more than content. It was a day for precision and patience. Montgomerie compared it to the rigors of a U.S. Open.

“I’m very rarely happy with a round of golf – ever,” Montgomerie said. “I’ve shot level par today and I’m very happy leaving here.”

The 59-year-old Kuramoto won 30 times on the Japan Tour, the second-most in that tour’s history. He tied for fourth in the 1982 British Open.

But he’s now chairman of the PGA of Japan. He has no time for practice. He plays only on the side, something he does well enough to have won the Japan Senior Open and one other event while competing in 11 Japan Senior Tour events in 2014.

He hit eight of 11 fairways and 11 greens in regulation Thursday, but scrambled to save par six of seven opportunities. He countered two bogeys with three birdies.

Kuramoto said he hasn’t played three consecutive days of golf since November.

“I don’t have the confidence at all,” Kuramoto said through an interpreter, wife Margie. “So I don’t think that I’m going to be able to keep the lead.”

Weather conditions are expected to ease. The predicted high is in the low 70s for Friday’s second round, climbing toward the low 80s by Sunday.

The challenge will remain.

The Dye Course is situated on a tall hilltop with Hoosier National Forest falling away in all directions. Its fairways plunge and soar over sharp slopes and afford all manner of risky shots and awkward lies. Its small greens are difficult targets and a poorly placed shot can roll off and well away.

The Senior PGA Championship is coming off venues that over the past three years permitted the lowest scoring in tournament history. The field averaged 73.040 for four rounds at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor, Michigan, in 2012. The number was 72.78 at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis in 2013, and 73.018 back at Harbor Shores last year.

The field averaged 77.73 for the first round Thursday. There were 56 scores of 80 or higher.

Six players reached 2 under. None could hold on.

“Normally, I would be angry because I finished level par,” said one of them, Remesy, a Frenchman in his second season as a senior. “But I’m pleased to be here and pleased to be in contention.”

Three Canadians are in the field this week. Rod Spittle opened with a 5 over 77, Rick Gibson had a 78 and was 6 over, while Jim Rutledge carded a 79 to sit 7 over.

VIRGINIA WATER, England – Defending champion Rory McIlroy shot a 1-under 71 on Thursday, leaving him six shots behind leader Francesco Molinari at the BMW PGA Championship after a mixed performance he blamed on mental fatigue.

Playing for the fourth straight week, the top-ranked McIlroy failed to recapture the form that saw him surge to a record seven-shot victory at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow last week.

McIlroy had two birdies and two bogeys in his first five holes, missing a 12-foot putt for par at the first hole after failing to find the green with his approach. He went birdie-bogey-birdie from Nos. 12-14, and could not take advantage of par-5s on the final two holes.

“Physically I feel fine but mentally I could feel myself getting down on myself out there, which is not something I have been doing the last three weeks,” McIlroy said.

“I just need to be aware of that and keep everything on an even keel. It is acceptance of bad shots. Every time I have played well this year, I have been talking about how mentally good I have been. I feel like my patience was wearing thin out there today.”

Molinari carded a flawless 65, closing his round with two straight birdies on the last two holes.

The Italian has three top-10 finishes in the last three years at the European Tour’s flagship event and came second at the Spanish Open last week.

“It is a great start but you don’t win the trophy on the first day,” Molinari said. “I like the course, I think it rewards accuracy more than others, which suits my game.”

Robert Karlsson is two shots behind Molinari. The Swede went round in 67, making two of his six birdies across the last three holes.

“It was nice to put a good round together,” Karlsson said. “I was careful off the tee, it is important round here to keep the ball in play. Hopefully this is the start of a good run.”

Justin Rose also began his tournament with a 1-under 71, and two-time winner Luke Donald made a 2-under 70.

Stephen Gallacher and Padraig Harrington were both forced to withdraw from the competition through injury.

Gallacher, who was part of Europe’s 2014 Ryder Cup winning team, has a wrist injury while Harrington, who won the Honda Classic in March, has a shoulder problem.

After enjoying exchange rates near or above par for the past decade, travelling golfers of Canada are suddenly faced with as much as a 30 per cent depreciation in their buying power when they head to the U.S. The decline is so swift that the real effects aren’t seen yet in many favourite American golf destinations.

“We’ve not experienced diminished Canadian visitors thus far, but we’ll continue to monitor things as they develop and plan accordingly,” said Sue Kanoho, Kauai Visitors Bureau executive director, home to many acclaimed golf courses, including Poipu Bay, Kauai Lagoons, Wailua, Puakea and Makai.  The reckoning is coming.

First, the good news.  The dollar drop is positive for domestic operators, says Gord Schultz, President at Golf Canada’s West Ltd.  “We’re on sale 25 per cent off and we haven’t done a thing to create it,” says Schultz, whose group includes the famed Fairmont Banff Springs, Fairmont Jasper and three excellent Canmore courses.  “If history is any indication, this should have significant impact on our traditional markets in the U.S. Southwest and Pacific Northwest.”

Research agrees with Schultz.  A 2014 study released by the Conference Board of Canada predicting overnight visits in Canada says they will increase by 2.7 per cent in 2015.  “The dollar is down against most major currencies,” Schultz adds.  “Golfers in this country are acutely aware of the differences; our research shows they often make their decisions based on how much their dollar will buy, so it’s good news for Canadian operators like us.”

For American golf travel operators who depend on them, any decline in Canadian visitors is serious.  While precise numbers are hard to obtain, Canadian golf trips to the U.S. number in the many tens of thousands annually.  Many recall that, were it not for Canadian travellers- particularly from western Canada- resorts would have gone out of business during the punishing 2007-08 recession years.

“If it wasn’t for visitors from Alberta and Saskatchewan in those days, the lights might have gone out here,” says David Havens, Director of Golf at Ka’anapali resorts in Maui.  “They saved us in those years.”

Some Canadians already pre-booked for the 2015 winter season at a better rate or hedged against a drop in the dollar, so American destinations are still seeing strong Canadian numbers.  Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, which sees tens of thousands of Canadians each winter, reports no immediate impact.

“We haven’t seen a decrease in our steady stream of Canadian golfers coming down to escape the cold and play our three courses here in Myrtle Beach,” says Claude Pardue, President and CEO of Mystical Golf.  “Even with the recent decline of the Canadian dollar, we think our stay-and-play packages will still offer great value for golf vacations anywhere in North America.”

Hawaii is a mecca for Canadians, particularly from western Canada.  Sue Kanoho says they’re in wait-and-see mode.  “We’re aware of the [Canadian] exchange rate, as we are for all exchange rates for countries from where we receive a significant number of visitors.”

Mississippi, home to more than 140 golf courses, has six of its casino courses listed among the top 50 in the country by Golfweek magazine.

“The decline of the Canadian dollar, after oil’s collapse, is certainly a subject of concern and empathy for our friends up North,” said Visit Mississippi Golf and Sports Program Manager Janet Leach.  “However, our golf resorts and courses are not reporting a decline thus far, which would be of great relevance given the large number of Canadian golfers and snowbirds who visit us each year.”

In the past golf operators in border U. S. states that receive day trips have offered at-par packages for Canadians.  It’s too early yet to know if they’ll do so again, but Gord Schutlz thinks “they’ll need to compete at the risk of Canadians simply staying home.”

The dollar drop is also affecting other aspects of the industry.  For instance, golf ball reseller Knetgolf, which sources all its used balls in the U.S. for distribution in Canada, was faced with raising prices for Canadian customers or establishing a U.S.- only price.  It chose the latter.  Canadian credit cards will be charged in USD and the exchange rate will be determined at your bank.  Knetgolf said in a letter to customers: “We regret having to do this, however we live in a world marketplace and we must adapt to the economic winds of change.”

Here’s suggesting that they won’t be the only ones in the golf biz dealing with the currency changes.

Canadian and international professionals and amateurs will convene at the Glencoe Golf & Country Club in Calgary, Alta., from May 25-27 to play the first event of the 14^th Canadian Women’s Tour season.

The Canadian Women’s Tour Alberta competition will include a practice round on May 25 before the 36-hole competition begins on the following day with a purse set at $60,000 with a $10,000 share going to the winner. In addition, the champion will receive an exemption into the 2015 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open to be played August 17-23 at The Vancouver Golf Club in Coquitlam, B.C.

The Glencoe Golf & Country Club will welcome Canadian Women’s Tour players to its Meadows Course built upon elevated terrain which runs alongside the picturesque Elbow River.

“Golf Canada is proud to begin the 2015 Canadian Women’s Tour at the Glencoe Golf & Country Club. It will be an exciting competition with an experienced international field of athletes vying for the opportunity to participate in Canada’s National Women’s Open championship,” said Mary Beth McKenna, Tournament Director for the event.

California native Michelle Piyapattra will be in the field to defend her title obtained on the first stop of the 2014 tour. As an amateur last year, Piyapattra won the Canadian Women’s Tour B.C. event in a playoff at Morningstar Golf Club in Parksville, B.C. She has since turned professional and is currently in her rookie season on the Symetra Tour.

A number of former Canadian Women’s Tour champions will be joining Piyapattra in the field including Jessica Boris née Shepley who has seen much success on the Tour including two PGA Women’s Championship of Canada titles.

Samantha Richdale and Emily Childs, winners from the 2013 Canadian Women’s Tour season, will also be in the field. Joining their pursuit for victory will be former Canadian Women’s Tour Ontario winners Charlotte Mayorkas (2010) and Kirby Dreher (2008). A total of 11 players will return to their home province in hopes of claiming the first leg of the tour.

Competing alongside these seasoned veterans will be Team Canada member and Kent State University athlete, Jennifer Ha who will be playing in her hometown. Fellow national team members Elizabeth Tong of Thornhill, Ont., and Orangeville, Ont., native Brittany Marchand will also be competing.

Four members of Canada’s Development Squad will participate in the competition, including local product Jaclyn Lee playing at her home club, Ottawa’s Grace St-Germain and B.C. natives Michelle Kim and Naomi Ko.

The next Canadian Women’s Tour event will be hosted by Brooke and Brittany Henderson’s home club of Smiths Falls Golf & Country Club in Smiths Falls, Ont., from June 15-17. The PGA Women’s Championship of Canada will conclude the 2015 tour at Burlington Golf & Country Club in Burlington, Ont., from July 20-22.

The winners of each stop on the Canadian Women’s Tour will join the field at the 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.

Additional information regarding the competition can be found at the tournament’s website here.

The Canadian Turfgrass Research Foundation (CTRF) has announced a total of $114,600 in turf research funding over a three year period to help fund two new projects. This announcement is the result of an eight month process to generate, evaluate and decide on which of 18 project submissions would be funded from 2015 to 2018.

The two new projects hosted by the University of Guelph and the University of Wisconsin include: Determining Soil Potassium Requirements of Sand-Based Putting Greens; and Testing Lower Risk Fungicides Against Turf Disease.

A grant of $9,600 has been allocated to the project, “Determining Soil Potassium Requirements of Sand-Based Putting Greens.” Its goal is to evaluate putting green quality and disease incidence over a wide range of soil test and tissue potassium levels. Coordinated by Dr. Douglas Soldat, the project is scheduled for completion by February 2017.

The second project, “Testing Lower Risk Fungicides Against Turf Diseases” will receive $105,000 over a three year period and will be coordinated by Dr. Thomas Hsiang at the University of Guelph. The project will research how common diseases such as dollar spot, fusarium patch and snow molds can be reduced in lab and field tests, using different application regimes of low risk chemicals. Research will be complete by April 2018.

To learn more about these projects, click here.

What’s keeping you from trying golf for the first time or, if you have played in the past and strayed away from the most popular sport in Canada for some reason, seeing if you want to take it up again?

What if there was a fun, inexpensive and easy way to find out? It’s Get Golf Ready.

Dubious? Need some reassurance?

How about this overwhelming endorsement?  Last year, every single person—100 per cent—who participated in Get Golf Ready across Canada not only said they plan on continuing to play golf, but would recommend Get Golf Ready to their friends. Participants included men, women, children, couples and families.

Get Golf Ready offers five one-hour group sessions at a participating course or driving range at a recommended fee of just $99 for all five.  All equipment, including clubs and balls, is provided as is instruction by a PGA of Canada professional where available. Sessions include:

The Hole is the Goal

• How to get around the clubhouse and practice areas
• The many social benefits both on and off the golf course
• Suggestions on what to wear for golf fashion and comfort
• All about golf clubs and why there are different clubs in your bag
• Putting— the excitement of rolling the ball into the hole

Getting it Close

• Warm up, stretching and wellness tips
• The best ways to hold the club and get ready before you take a swing
• Getting the ball close to the hole—chipping, pitching and other shots from short distances
• Caring for the course

Swing, Swing, Swing

• Getting comfortable with the full swing
• Using your irons to get the ball in the air and onto the green
• Learn the “lingo,” like fairway, rough, tee box, green, divot, bunker, and more
• Having more fun using ‘It’s OK’ as the way to play

Driving School

• Swinging your driver and other big clubs to hit the long shots
• Starting your play from the correct tee markers – use Tee It Forward to have more fun
• Helpful shortcuts to save time while you play

Ready, Set … Go Golf!

• Linking all that you’ve learned to play a few holes
• Tips for playing in groups, on teams and other fun ways to play
• Getting you more comfortable on the course
• Review of basic rules and keeping score
• More opportunities for you to come back and play golf

“Get Golf Ready is designed to make people comfortable at the course, to help them get over that ‘intimidation factor’ that we all face the first few times we golf,” says Morgan Court, managing director of education for the PGA of Canada.

“I didn’t take up golf until I was in my late teens and I remember being a bit out of my comfort zone when I showed up at a course and had to ask some pretty basic questions. Get Golf Ready will answer those questions for a new golfer coming into the game now.”

The PGA of Canada partnered with the National Golf Course Owners Association Canada in 2010 to introduce the program to this county after it has been pioneered in the United States.

“Get Golf Ready is a tried-and-true program to ease anyone into the game,” says Nathalie Lavallee, NGCOA Canada’s chief operating officer. “It is especially welcoming for women who, for family or social or career reasons, want to see what golf is all about.

“To someone new to the game, a golf course can be an intimidating and confusing environment, and that has been a huge barrier in the past. This program helps everyone understand how to be comfortable in that environment. They quickly realize that it’s a fun and inclusive place to be.”

Participating facilities register for free and are provided with complimentary marketing, branding and resource materials and other support. “It’s a great opportunity for our golf professionals to connect with new or returning golfers,” says Court.

To find out more about Get Golf Ready, visit www.getgolfready.ca.