OAKVILLE, Ont. – In anticipation for next month’s National Event, Golf Fore the Cure presented by Subaru is pleased to announce this year’s top three fundraising sites.

Each of the following three teams are recognized as the leading fundraising sites for 2014:

• RedTail Landing Club (top fundraising site), Matt Truong, Alberta — $22, 527
• Southside Golf Course (2^nd top fundraising site), Eleanor Rudd, Manitoba — $14, 388
• New Brunswick Golf Association (top provincial site) — $20,418

The top two fundraising sites have made the list for the first time, while the New Brunswick Golf Association has consecutively won the provincial honour since the inaugural season. As a result of their play and significant fundraising, the New Brunswick Golf Association will be represented by teams from Pine Needles Golf & Country Club and Maplewood Golf & Country Club.

Golf Fore the Cure, now in its 11^th year, has a long list of people to thank including site coordinators, donators, sponsors, participants and host golf courses. In addition to the achievement of the above three sites, it is important not to forgot the fact that every bit counts and the program is equally as thankful to all other sites.

Program coordinator, Rebecca Siddall, couldn’t be prouder of all participants and the support they show for the cause and for one another.

“The support we receive from all angles fuels the success of the program,” said Siddall. “Seeing everyone work together and share a passion for this cause is truly a beautiful thing.”

The top three fundraising sites will be flown into Toronto (courtesy of Golf Canada) to play in the Golf Fore the Cure National Event on September 22^nd at Carrying Place Golf & Country Club in King, Ont. The day marks the success of the program through a fun-filled day of activities, celebration and golf.

Click here to learn more about Golf Fore the Cure presented by Subaru.

DOURO-DUMMER, Ontario – Langley, B.C.’s Adam Cornelson did just enough to keep his lead at The Wildfire Invitational presented by PC Financial, firing a 5-under 67 on Friday to reach 14-under par through two rounds at Wildfire Golf Club.

The 26-year old carded five birdies on a bogey-free day, including one at the par-3 ninth, his final hole of the day, to lead by one over player partner Brock Mackenzie of Yakima, Washington.

“This is crunch time, and hopefully I can stick to my routine and keep the weekend going hot,” Cornelson said, refusing to get ahead of himself with two rounds to go. “I’m happy where I’m at, but there’s a long way to go, and with this TOUR, we all know the weekends get going. I’m going to keep my foot on the gas.”

Cornelson, a fourth-year PGA Tour Canada member, comes to Wildfire at 97^th on the Order of Merit, knowing he needs to make a move up the leaderboard to capitalize on the biggest opportunity of his season – if not his career. The University of New Orleans grad has five career top-25 finishes on PGA Tour Canada, but is looking for his first top-10 after missing five of his past six cuts.

“I started out pretty decent and got in a bit of a lull, but I kept working hard and had the attitude that I knew I could do this, and fortunately I’m starting to score,” Cornelson said of his 2014 season. “I’m sticking to my routine and picking good targets, and making good committed golf shots. I’m making the putts I need to make to keep the momentum going.”

The solid starts for Cornelson and Mackenzie came after the pair played together in each of the first two rounds, with the pair combining for 27 birdies, an eagle and just two bogeys through 36 holes.

“It was a real comfortable group, and Adam had another great round, so we just kind of fed off each other a little bit,” said Mackenzie. “It’s always more comfortable when you play with somebody that you like and you respect.”

“Brock had a hot start, and it pushed me to make more birdies for sure,” added Cornelson. The pair will tee it up together again on Saturday in the day’s final pairing at 1:15 PM ET.

One shot back of Mackenzie at 12-under were Meridian, Idaho’s Joe Panzeri and Corpus Christi, Texas’ Randall Hutchison.

PORTLAND, Ore. – I.K. Kim birdied the first four holes on the back nine Thursday and finished with a 7-under 65 to take the first-round lead in the Portland Classic.

The South Korean player birdied seven of the first 13 holes and closed her afternoon round with five straight pars. She won the last of her three LPGA Tour titles in 2010.

Amelia Lewis and Jennifer Song were a shot back in ideal conditions at Columbia Edgewater.

Anna Nordqvist, a two-time winner this year, was another stroke back at 67 along with Mina Harigae, Julieta Granada, Laura Diaz, Alison Walshe, Emma Jandel and Paula Reto.

Juli Inkster, making her 28th appearance in the event at age 54, was in the group at 68. She won the 1999 tournament to wrap up a Hall of Fame spot. Also in that group at 68 is Jennifer Kirby of Paris, Ont.

So Yeon Ryu, coming off a victory Sunday in the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, was in a group at 70 that included Na Yeon Choi, 18-year-old English player Charley Hull and Yani Tseng. Hull, playing on a sponsor exemption, won a Ladies European Tour event in Morocco in March.

Defending champion Suzann Pettersen shot 71. She also won the 2011 event.

Gigi Stoll, a senior at Beaverton High School, won the Portland Classic Amateur Open last week to earn a spot in the field, also had a 71.

Top-ranked Stacy Lewis, No. 2 Inbee Park and No. 3 Lydia Ko are skipping the tournament, giving them a two-week break before the Evian Championship in France.

Kim nearly won the 2012 Kraft Nabisco Championship for her first major title, but missed a 14-inch putt on the final hole of regulation and lost to Sun Young Yoo in a playoff.

DOURO-DUMMER, Ont.  – Langley, B.C.’s Adam Cornelson fired a 9-under 63 on Thursday at Wildfire Golf Club to take the first round lead at The Wildfire Invitational presented by PC Financial.

The 26-year old carded seven birdies and an eagle to card his lowest career round on PGA Tour Canada in 37 starts, and led by one shot over Andover, Massachusetts’ Evan Harmeling. At 97^th on the Order of Merit with three events to go, Cornelson said he was coming to Wildfire in search of a spark, and certainly found one on Thursday.

“We’re all making a push for the end of the season, and every dollar counts on this Tour,” said Cornelson, who has five career top-25 finishes. “It’s been a long summer for me, and I was happy to get a good one in the books. I just kind of slowly got rolling and took it one shot at a time.”

After re-securing his exempt status at the British Columbia Qualifying Tournament earlier this year, the University of New Orleans grad had high hopes for his 2014 season, but hasn’t been as sharp as he would have liked through nine events, with just three made cuts on the campaign.

“Everything felt good for my game and I just wasn’t scoring. I just had no expectations and went out and played, and some putts went in,” Cornelson explained as the catalyst for his stellar opening round.

One shot back with an 8-under 64, Harmeling finds himself in a similar position to Cornelson, sitting 126^th on the Order of Merit with two events left to get inside the top-60 and qualify for the TOUR Championship of Canada presented by Freedom 55 Financial. The 26-year old put his round into perspective, noting that he was in solo second after one round at the Syncrude Boreal Open presented by AECON before finishing tied for 53rd, and was simply focused on continuing his solid play into the weekend.

“I’ve had some low rounds, so I’m not getting too excited after this one because of that. I definitely want to finish strong,” Harmeling said. “I started feeling it there at the end. I hit one pretty close at the end and I putted it well all day, so it was nice to finish it off well.”

West Vancouver, B.C. (Golf Canada) – Vancouver’s Doug Roxburgh edged closer to winning his first Canadian Men’s Senior Championship title Thursday, firing a 1-under-par 70 at Capilano Golf and Country Club to take a 4-shot lead heading into tomorrow’s final round.

The Canadian Golf Hall of Fame honoured member once again got off to an unsteady start with a bogey on the 1^st hole, but it proved to be the only blemish on his scorecard for the day.

The four-time Canadian Amateur and 13-time British Columbia Amateur champion carded birdies on holes 9 and 10 to fire his third consecutive sub-par round (69-69-70) at Capilano to sit at 5-under 208.

“I had a bit of a shaky start, but settled into a nice rhythm,” said Roxburgh. “I always enjoy playing with Sandy Harper and it was a fun day. I’m looking forward to tomorrow with Sandy again and Brady (Exber).”

Brady Exber of Las Vegas carded a 4-under 67 Thursday – the low round of the tournament – and now sits alone in second at 1-under 212 (74-71-67), four-shots back of Roxburgh.

“My approach today was to not make the silly mistakes I made the first two days,” he explained. “I’ve been driving the ball really well, and having some 4 or 5 irons into the par-5s, but was missing the greens in very bad spots. Today I did a better job of that, birdieing all four of the par-5s.”

Exber is the reigning (British) Seniors Amateur Champion, winning the R&A’s championship earlier this month in North Yorkshire, England to gain entry into the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship.

“My goal this week was to just not embarrass myself because people know I’ve won a big tournament and I didn’t want them to think it was a fluke,” he joked. “I think I’ve accomplished that at this point, so the pressure if off there. I’m still riding that high though, trying to play good and hopefully tomorrow will be a good day.”

Nanaimo, B.C.’s Sandy Harper is third, five shots off the lead at even-par 213 (71-73-69).

This week’s champion receives an exemption into the 2014 USGA Senior Amateur Championship taking place September 13-18 at Big Canyon Country Club in Newport Beach, Calif.

The Canadian Senior Men’s Championship continues Friday with the final round beginning at 7:30 a.m. (PDT). Scoring, pairings and start times can be found online here.

TURIN, Italy – Home favorite Francesco Molinari and Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger both shot 66 to share the first round lead at the Italian Open on Thursday, while Stephen Gallacher’s bid to earn a late spot on Europe’s Ryder Cup team ran into trouble.

Molinari – who was born in Turin – and Wiesberger managed six birdies each in their bogey-free rounds to finish six under par. They lead a group of five players, including early leader John Hahn of the United States, by one stroke.

Gallacher, who needs a top-two finish to dislodge former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell from Europe’s team, opened with a par-72. The Scot is the only player still capable of moving into the automatic Ryder Cup places in the final qualifying event.

European captain Paul McGinley said Molinari is “very much in my mind” for one of the three Ryder Cup wild cards he will announce on Tuesday, while the man himself thinks he needs a second Italian Open win on Sunday to guarantee a third consecutive cup appearance at Gleneagles next month.

”I had a chat with Paul when he got here and I think the good thing is that he knows what I can bring to the team because he has seen me as vice-captain on the last two teams,” Molinari said.

”But it’s up to me to prove that I really want it and am playing well enough. I think anything less than a win would not be enough so I have to aim for that.”

Gallacher headed straight to the range after a round featuring four birdies and four bogeys. The 39-year-old Scot squandered a good start after almost holing his approach to his second hole of the day.

“I’m a bit disappointed because I threw away a couple of shots midway through my round, but it’s OK for the first day and I am only one good score away from the top of the leaderboard,” Gallacher said.

“I know I have to finish first or second, that’s not going to change, so I’m not putting any pressure on myself. Once you get out on the course you just try to birdie every hole. That’s the easy part. It’s when you finish you think about the Ryder Cup.”

Hahn produced six birdies but bogeyed the sixth hole to leave him second with Northern Ireland’s Gareth Maybin, Scotland’s Richie Ramsay, England’s Richard Bland and South African Hennie Otto, with 17-year-old Italian amateur Edoardo Lipparelli among a seven-strong group another shot back.

CHILLIWACK, British Columbia – Diego San Pedro secured the 2014 Juvenile Boys’ Championship title with a one-hole play-off victory, while Shirin Anjarwalla held on to become the Juvenile Girls’ champion at Royalwood Golf Course after leading all three days of competition.

San Pedro’s first play-off hole tee shot found the middle of the fairway, while Jaewook Lee drained his into the water hazard. His opponent’s error and added stroke left the 16-year-old with some breathing room and despite bogeying the hole, he became this year’s Boys’ Juvenile champion.

“I knew I had a good chance [to win], and I felt a little pumped on the first tee, so that’s always a good start. It’s good to pull it off in the end,” San Pedro said.

After sitting comfortably in third place and within strokes of the lead on both days one and two, San Pedro made a surge for the title with just a few holes remaining to play. He forced a play off against Lee after an eagle and two birdies coming in left him tied for first at 6-under.

“On hole 14, the par-5, I had a chip and I told them to take the flag out because I knew I had a chance to chip it in… and it went in,” added San Pedro.

“So I fist pumped a little bit and that got me going real fast, the adrenaline started coming and I finished strong.”

Lee (72-68-70), 15, led after the second round and remained even at the turn, but applied some pressure with a pair of late-round birdies to hold on to his share of the lead and force the playoff.

A.J. Ewart (66-77-68) finished in third with an exciting final-hole birdie aided by a great tee-shot landing just feet from the pin. The 15-year-old from Coquitlam shot the championship low-score on the first day of play.

Anjarwalla shot -1 (72) on her final round on the way to becoming the 2014 girls’ champion. The 14-year-old from Nanaimo cultivated her lead early and would hold on over three days of tough competition finishing with scores of 68-67-72.

“I played really good, I think my first two rounds were the best I’ve ever played, so I was really proud of myself,” said Anjarwalla.

Over the course of 54 holes, Anjarwalla only made three bogeys but made an outstanding 15 birdies.

When Team Canada member, Naomi Ko, began to catch her lead, Anjarwalla changed her approach.

“I was just thinking to myself, don’t try to play so aggressive, just try to make your pars. If birdies fall then they’ll fall, but don’t play just for birdies,” she explained. “I was just trying to stay to my game plan and keep steady.”

Ko (69-70-69), the 2014 BC Junior Girls’ Champion played with consistency and finished just a single stroke behind Anjarwalla at -11, after playing a stellar final round, finishing 4-under for the day.

Tiffany Kong played her best round of the championship on the final day to finish in third, carding four birdies and an eagle to finish -3 for the day and +1 for the Championship.

West Vancouver, B.C. (Golf Canada) – Vancouver’s Doug Roxburgh continued his solid play at Capilano Golf and Country Club Wednesday, posting a 2-under 69 to build a four shot lead thru two rounds of the 2014 Canadian Men’s Senior Championship.

The Canadian Golf Hall of Fame honoured member had a less than ideal start Wednesday, bogeying the 1^st and 8^th holes en route to finishing his front 9 at 1-over par. However, the 13-time British Columbia Amateur Champion rallied to birdie holes 10, 11 and 14 to get below par and shoot his second consecutive 69 (69-69—138) at challenging Capilano.

The difference between the two nines proved to be Roxburgh’s flat stick.

“I needed to get my putting going and started to on the 9^th hole,” he explained. “I made a nice side-hiller from about 10 feet to save par. After that I really putted well. I didn’t miss too many (putts) coming in on the back nine. I left myself below the hole and took pars when I needed. I’m happy with my 69 and am looking forward to the next two days.”

Steven Hudson of Birmingham, Ala. sits second thru 36-holes at even-par 142 (71-71), while Nanaimo, B.C.’s Sandy Harper is third at 2-over 174 (71-73).

In the Inter-Provincial Team Championship, the British Columbia contingent of Roxburgh, Lance Lundy (Pemberton, B.C.) and Jim Shaw (Mission, B.C.) combined for a 2-under 140 to capture the Phil Farley trophy with a 1-over 285 total. The squad finished 13-strokes ahead of Alberta, who carded a final round 1-over 143.

In the battle for the Super Senior title (70+), Mickey Batten of Chateauguay, Que. claimed a two-shot victory over runner-up George Stokes of New Hamburg, Ont. Batten carded 77-80 for a two day total of 15-over 157 for the victory.

“This is my first national championship win,” said Batten, a former Quebec Amateur and Duke of Kent champion. “I’m really happy today. I played this course (Capilano) 30 and 40 years ago, but I hardly recognize it. It’s truly a special place.”

The Canadian Men’s Senior Inter-Provincial Team and Canadian Men’s Super Senior Championships are conducted concurrently with the opening two-rounds of the Canadian Men’s Senior Championship.

The Canadian Senior Men’s Championship continues Thursday with the third round beginning at 7:30 a.m. (PDT) off the 1st and 10th tees. Scoring, pairings and start times can be found online here.

For those who don’t know him, Austin James is an 18-year-old sophomore out of Charleston Southern, in Charleston, S.C. He won the 2014 Canadian Junior Boys Championship with a 15-under 273 for a four-stroke victory. How did he get here? Well, it seems as if the road to success was paved out for him at an early age – the foundation at least.

Austin comes from a family of golf. His immediate family lives on the grounds of Loyalist Golf and Country Club in Bath Ont., where his father, Geoff, is the head PGA of Canada professional. This past week, James played in PGA Tour Canada’s Great Waterway Classic, held on the very own grounds of Loyalist. Against the pros, James finished tied for 49th with an 8-under 280 (71-68-73-68). Home course or not, a very promising finish for the young sophomore.

James has enjoyed success in the past, winning a couple Canadian Junior Golf Association (CJGA) events in 2013 before winning a national championship. With age, he seems to be developing a greater understanding of the game, evident in his recent string of finishes.

While still young, James has directed his focus to the collegiate level by looking to get into the lineup at more NCAA events, before his ultimate plan of turning professional.

“I got to play about half of our team’s events – overall though, I really enjoyed my first year there,” said James. “I’d like to have a solid college career and see how good I can get while I’m still at school and hopefully go pro after that. It’s still a while away, so I am just more focused on getting my game better and better.”

Austin is the younger brother to sister Augusta James, three-year member of Team Canada’s National Amateur Squad. Just as you’d expect, the support for each other within the family is strong. A week after winning the Canadian Junior Boys title, Austin headed down south with Augusta to help her prepare for the U.S. Women’s Amateur in Glencove, N.Y.

Taking nothing away, Austin James is a talent in his own right – although he is still modest enough to admit his older sister holds the upper hand.

“She was always better than me, and she still is,” laughed James of a match with Augusta. “I think that has helped me be more competitive and it gives me someone to look up to and compare myself to.”

Augusta, 21, won the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship in July, giving younger brother Austin an extra boost of motivation leading up to his Canadian Junior Boys win.

“It was great to see her win that title, especially battling the world’s no. 2 (Canada’s Brooke Henderson) and no. 6 (Autralia’s Su-Hyun Oh) ranked amateurs in the world,” said Austin. “It gave me a lot of confidence to see all the work she has put in pay off.”

Looking to the future, Austin plans to improve on consistency and continue learning in college competitions at Charleston Southern. Meanwhile, sister Augusta will look to close out her career at N.C. State in memorable fashion.

The future is never a sure thing, but don’t be surprised if you see the name ‘James’ atop golf leaderboards for many years to come.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysian golfer Mohd Nazri Zain had a rare hole-in-one on a par-4 during the SapuraKencana National Qualifier tournament on Wednesday.

He holed out on the water-lined 289-yard 16th on the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club’s west course.

“I saw the ball rolling into the hole and I started celebrating with my caddie,” Zain said. “It was unbelievable. This is definitely a huge achievement for me and I’ll keep the ball as a memory.”

Zain finished with a 2-over 73 and in 20th place, 15 strokes behind playoff winner Danny Chia of Malaysia. By winning, Chia earned a place in the $7 million CIMB Classic, a PGA Tour and Asian Tour event in late October.

The 30-year-old Zain already had a hole-in-one – on a par-3 hole – in 2012.

There has been only one hole-in-one on a par-4 on the PGA Tour, by American golfer Andrew Magee at the TPC Scottsdale during the FBR Open, now Phoenix Open, in 2001. Asian Tour officials said Wednesday that Zain’s ace was the first on a par-4 on their tour.

Magee’s hole-in-one came with a driver on the 332-yard 17th. His tee shot ran up onto the green while the group of Steve Pate, Gary Nicklaus (Jack Nicklaus’ son) and Tom Byrum were putting. Magee’s ball bounced on to the green, ran through Byrum’s legs and struck Byrum’s putter and deflected about eight feet into the hole.

The most recent par-4 hole-in-one came in July when Tyler Raber aced the 279-yard 17th hole on the developmental eGolf Pro Tour’s ArrowCreek Open in Reno, Nevada.

Raber, who at first thought he had lost his ball with his tee shot before discovering it in the hole, lost the ArrowCreek Open in a three-man playoff.