Jackie Little of Port Alberni, B.C. won her second consecutive Alberta Senior Ladies Championship, facing winds up to 60km/h in the final round.

“Conditions were challenging, and that makes you focus in a little bit harder,” said Little, following her final round 75 which gave the BC Public Player her second consecutive Alberta Senior Ladies Championship title.

Following her victory, Little explained that although winning is important, even more so is the camaraderie she shares with her competitors.

“Everyone is trying to compete and win, but championship is secondary; it is more about seeing everyone and enjoying the company of the ladies,” said the two-time Canadian Women’s Senior Champion.

Growing up in Edmonton and playing at the Glendale Golf Course, Little has a long history of playing golf in Alberta.

Click here for the full leaderboard.

MOSCOW — David Horsey shot a 4-under 68 Friday for a two-stroke lead at the halfway mark of the Russian Open.

The 29-year-old Englishman dropped two shots in his first four holes of the second round but then birdied four of the last six for an overall 11-under 133.

Double European Tour winner Horsey is just one of three players in the world’s top 200 competing at the Tseleevo Golf and Polo Club course near Moscow.

Belgium rookie Thomas Pieters is second on 9 under after also shooting 68.

Scotland’s Peter Whiteford, looking for his first Tour success in his 181st tournament, shot a 1-under 71 and is third at 7 under.

Horsey last won in 2011 at the Trophee Hassan II in Morocco but made major changes to his swing at the start of the year.

“Dropping a couple of shots early on as I did is always disappointing … I just needed to stay patient and keep giving myself birdie putts,” Horsey said.

The 22-year-old Pieters turned professional 13 months ago but has only managed to make the halfway cut in five events this year with his best finish being second in May’s Spanish Open.

Whiteford went close to a maiden Tour win last year, losing a playoff for the Ballantine’s Championship in South Korea.

Now the 33-year old Scot has put himself into contention again for a breakthrough success on the European Tour.

“My start today was shocking as my first tee shot went straight into the rubbish, and I was four over par after five holes,” he said. “But it was a good fightback.”

Since 1938, the Canadian Junior Boys Championship has stood as a proving ground for young male golfers under the age of eighteen. This tournament has seen the likes of Web.com Tour player Nick Taylor, Champions Tour player Jim Rutledge, and various Canadian Golf Hall of Famers including George Knudson, Gary Cowan, and more.

Previously hosted at Timberwolf Golf Club in Sudbury, Ont. (2013), and Osprey Ridge Golf Club in Bridgewater, N.S. (2012), this year’s national championship will be played at The Niagara Parks Commission’s (NPC) Legends on the Niagara Golf Complex Battlefield Course, located in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

Doug Carrick was responsible for the design of Legends’ Battlefield Course, which is situated next to the historic site of the War of 1812’s Battle of Chippawa. It includes four signature holes, all wrapped around a beautiful 7 hectares (19 acre) man-made lake. The centrepiece of the facility, which links everything together, is a spectacular clubhouse designed by Canadian Architect Peter Berton. This building truly captures the spirit of the Niagara area and it embodies NPC’s vision of a world-class golfing venue that exists in concert with Niagara’s natural and historic setting.

In July of 2004, the Battlefield Course played host to the best women golfers in the world when the Canadian Women’s Open was held at Legends. The course continues to host prestigious golf championships, including the Canadian Women’s Tour Ontario stop in both 2012 and 2014. The Canadian Junior Boys Championship will run from July 29 – August 1, 2014, with a practice round being staged on July 28.

“Niagara Parks believes that hosting national championships of this caliber demonstrates our efforts to help grow the game of golf across the country,” stated Janice Thomson, Chair of The Niagara Parks Commission. “We look forward to hosting this prestigious tournament and to working with Golf Canada to ensure our competitors and their families have the most memorable of experiences when they visit Niagara and Niagara Parks.

According to NPC’s Head Golf Professional, Curtis Labelle, “Legends on the Niagara Golf Complex offers a championship-caliber facility with all of the amenities required to host a national championship. On the Battlefield Course the greens are elevated, undulating and have subtle breaks. This combined with the length of the golf course, well-guarded bunkers and water hazards will provide the challenge our championship competitors are looking for.”

For more information about the Canadian Junior Boys championship, including: starting times, post-round results, and full tournament details, click here.

MONTREAL – Canadian amateur golfers came close to making a splash at the RBC Canadian Open on Friday.

Ultimately, of the five Canadian amateurs competing in the second round, only 23-year-old Taylor Pendrith made the cut.

Despite shooting a 5-over 75 in the second round to erase the stellar 5-under 65 he shot on Thursday, Pendrith squeaked into the next round at even par, 10 strokes behind leaders Jim Furyk and Tim Petrovic.

“It was a disappointing round today,” said Pendrith, who finished one stroke off the lead after the first round of play. “To play well yesterday and come out and not play my best (today) … I didn’t hit many greens and didn’t give myself too many chances for birdies. That’s the main thing. My ball striking was off today.”

Meanwhile, amateur Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., narrowly missed the opportunity to golf throughout the weekend.

The 20-year-old had a birdie on 16, and another on 18, to finish at 1-over 171 after two days, missing the cut by one stroke.

“I’m a little rattled right now,” said Svensson. “I’m pretty disappointed. I know I can make the cut easily if I play well. My putting wasn’t there this week. It happens. My game can beat a lot of pros, and I can definitely make the cut at the Canadian Open.

“It’s always good experience. But I don’t need experience anymore, I just need to go out there and play my game.”

Corey Conners and Kevin Carrigan finished 5-over after 36 holes, while Chris Hemmerich, after a tough first round on Thursday, finished 8-over 148 overall.

Pendrith, at No. 18 in the World Amateur Golf rankings, is Canada’s top male amateur. A recent graduate from Kent State University in Ohio, Pendrith is a hard-hitting golfer who could make the move from amateur to professional as early as this fall.

Since 1984, only six amateur Canadian golfers had made the cut at the Canadian Open: Chris Baryla in 2003; Richard Scott and Victor Ciesielski in 2006; Nick Taylor in 2008; and Albin Choi in 2012.

“It’s a great experience,” said Pendrith of his first tournament playing versus the pros. “I’m having a great time out here. To get a round of 65 in my first PGA Tour is pretty awesome. The whole atmosphere was amazing. I’m hoping to be back here in a couple of years.”

Making the cut alongside Pendrith were five other Canadians – David Hearn (3-under 137), Adam Hadwin (1-under 139), Brad Fritsch (even par), veteran Mike Weir (even par), and Graham DeLaet (8-under 132).

On the heels of an impressive first-round performance in which he sunk five birdies, Hearn finished the day at even-par thanks, in part, to an eight-foot putt for birdie on the eighth hole.

“If you look at the card, that’s kind of the way I played,” said Hearn, who finished 32nd in last week’s British Open. “I made some good saves when I needed to, and I just never really got the ball quite as close as I did yesterday. But I hit the ball great from tee to green. If I can continue to do that for the rest of the week, I know I’m going to play well.”

Hadwin sunk three birdies on Friday to finish at 1-under 69 on the day, while Fritsch’s birdie on 18 gave him a 2-under 68, good for even par after two rounds.

Weir, the 2003 Masters champion, came close to bettering his score from the green on several occasions. The crowd favourite two-putted for par on the par-4 fourth hole, and again on the par-5 sixth hole, narrowly missed the cup with his first putt both times.

“They call it a game of inches, right?” said Weir, who is playing in his 24th Canadian Open. “There were a lot of things that, if they fall the other way, it could have been a good score. It just didn’t happen today. A lot of really good putts with nice speed on the correct side of the hole looked like they were going to go in, but for whatever reason they just didn’t.

“I had great crowd support out there and I was hoping to just make a few birdies and get some momentum going and get some roars going, but it just didn’t happen today.”

Four-time PGA Tour-winner Stephen Ames of Calgary finished at the bottom of the pack, shooting 10-over 150 for the tournament’s fourth-worst result.

Going into the weekend, Canadian hopes now rest on Graham DeLaet, who moved into third at 8-under after two rounds. DeLaet, ranked 38th in the world, tied the Royal Montreal course record on Friday after sinking nine birdies for 7-under 63. He also became the first Canadian since Weir in 2004 to finish in the top-3 after 36 holes.

Canadians Robbie Greenwell (2-over 142), Eugene Wong (2-over 142), Dave Levesque (3-over 173), Benjamin Silverman (4-over 144), Michael Gligic (4-over 144), Beon Yeong Lee (5-over 145), Bill Walsh (7-over 147) and Kevin Stinson (13-over 153) did not make the cut.

MONTREAL – Michael Putnam and Tim Petrovic mastered the afternoon winds to shoot six-under-par 64s and take a share of the first-round lead at the US$5.7 million RBC Canadian Open on Thursday.

But the surprise of the day was big-hitting amateur Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., who shot five-under 65 for a share of third place with Kyle Stanley.

Putnam and Petrovic played bogey-free golf at the 7,153-yard par-70 Blue Course at Royal Montreal on a near perfect day for scoring, with sunny weather and soft greens from heavy rains the previous day.

A gust wind came in for the those with afternoon starts, but it didn’t stop Putnam or Petrovic from shooting the low scores of the day, which set the course record for an opening round.

“It was tough ball-striking, but somehow I was able to keep it in the fairway and take advantage of the soft greens to hit a couple of shots close and make a couple of five-to-ten-foot putts,” said Putnam, who has been playing his best golf of the season of late with top-35 finishes in his last three outings.

The 47-year-old Petrovic didn’t know he would play until he got a call on Tuesday saying he was in as the seventh alternate. The former PGA Tour regular, playing only his eighth Tour event this season, didn’t even have his name on the program.

There was no rust in his game, however.

“I didn’t set my expectations high because I got in late, so this was kind of my practice round,” said Petrovic. “I walked the back nine (Wednesday).

“It wasn’t that I played conservative. I was just trying to hit fairways and greens, trying to see the golf course and see if I could make a few putts. I drove the ball pretty good overall.”

There were 11 players tied at 4-under 66, including Nick Watney and Charl Schwartzel, and another 16 at 3-under 67, including David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., and two-time Canadian Open champion Jim Furyk.

Another dozen were at 2-under 68 and there were 23 at 1-under 69, including top-ranked Canadian Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., and defending champion Brandt Snedeker.

Another sunny day is forecast for the second round on Friday, with a possibility of wet weather on the weekend.

The 23-year-old Pendrith, Canada’s top amateur, had a dream day in his first round of his first Canadian Open. He recently graduated from Kent State University and hopes to play in the world amateur championships this summer before likely turning pro in the fall.

Although it’s early, he’s one stroke off the lead of a tournament no Canadian has won since Pat Fletcher in 1954.

“I never expected that,” said Pendrith. “I was playing good golf coming in here, so I just played golf.

“Five-under is pretty nice. Everybody has some nerves. If you didn’t have nerves on the first tee something would be wrong with you. But after I played the first hole, I felt calm and felt I should be here.”

He played in the last threesome to tee off in the afternoon, when the worst of the wind was up, but used his long drives to cut through the tree-lined fairways and get close to the greens. He had seven birdies, including one on a putt that trickled in on the 18th, and two bogeys.

“The front nine suits my game a lot,” he said. “I can shoot driver nearly every hole.

“I had four birdies on the front nine, all with wedges.”

Pendrith is 18th in world amateur rankings, tops among Canadians. He and fellow national team members Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., who shot even-par 70, and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., who was at 4-over 74, were given entries into the Open.

Stanley’s 5-under was the best among the early tee times.

“I love this golf course,” the Gig Harbor, Wash., native said. “It’s similar to the one I grew up with in Washington, so I felt pretty comfortable.

“I hit the ball well on my first nine today. I was able to make a few of the long range putts that got the round going for me.”

The soft greens made for ideal scoring conditions, but Stanley said the course is still a challenge.

“That front nine is pretty difficult,” he said. “There’s a couple of mid-irons into the par-3s and a 500-yard par-4 (the fourth), so it’s a kind of sneaky-demanding course.”

Stanley is best known for posting his only PGA Tour win a week after a memorable collapse.

In 2012, he blew a six-shot lead in the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open and lost in a playoff to Snedeker, then bounced back with a victory at the Phoenix Open.

This season has been trying for the 26-year-old. He sits 164th in FedEx Cup standings with only one top-25 finish, which was in October.

He said it was premature to think about turning the season around after one good round.

“There’s a ton of golf left,” he said. “It’s nice to get a round like this because it shows I’m working on the right things.”

Hearn had a great round going until he bogeyed the 14th and 15th on his back nine. He recovered with a birdie at the 16th.

“Any day you come off the course and shoot 3-under and feel you left a few out there, you feel it’s a good day,” said Hearn. “I’m not overly disappointed with the way I played.

“I hit the ball great from tee to green. If I can continue to do that for the rest of the week I know I’m going to play well.”

It was a rough opening round for some. Both Stephen Ames of Calgary and one of the tournament favourites, Dustin Johnson, shot 4-over 74. John Daly had 6-over 76, Scott McCarron turned in a 78 and Erik Compton shot 79.

OWINGS MILLS, Md.– Yani Tseng made a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to give Taiwan a sweep of the top-seeded United States team Thursday in the opening round of the International Crown.

Tseng and Phoebe Yao never trailed in a 1-up win over Stacy Lewis and Lexi Thompson. Earlier, Candie Kung and Teresa Lu beat Paula Creamer and Cristie Kerr 4 and 3.

The inaugural International Crown features 32 players from eight countries.

Each team receives two points for a win and one for a tie. The U.S. was the only team that failed to secure a point on the first day.

On Friday, the United States (0 points) will face Spain (3) in Pool A, and Taiwan (4) will take on Thailand (1). Pool B matchups are Japan (3) against South Korea (2), and Australia (2) versus Sweden (1).

Japan took the lead in Pool B with a strong performance against Sweden. Although the Japanese team of Ai Miyazato and Sakura Yokomine led from start to finish, it took a birdie on No. 18 by Yokomine to secure a 2-up win over Pernilla Lindberg and Mikaela Parmlid.

“That was a great start, for sure,” Miyazato said. “But still a long way to go. I’m exhausted already, because I used so much energy on the golf course.”

In Japan’s other match, Mamilo Higa and Mika Miyazato halved with Caroline Hedwall and Anna Nordqvist, who trailed by two strokes with seven holes left.

“We played really well, both of us, and just gave ourselves a lot of chances,” Hedwall said. “Then they managed to hole a couple more putts than we did. But I think we fought back really nice, and it’s good to get one point at least.”

The first points of the tournament were secured by Spain against Thailand in Pool A. The duo of Carlotta Ciganda and Azahara Munoz won 3 and 2 over Pornanong Phatlum and Onnarin Sattayabanphot, and Spain’s Belen Mozo and Beatriz Recari halved with sisters Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn.

That provided the elated Spaniards with three points.

“From the beginning we started playing really well and kept hitting fairways and greens,” Munoz said. “We had many chances. We’re extremely happy to get those two points.”

Ciganda and Munoz were no strangers on the golf course.

“I played with Azahara lots of years when we were amateurs, then we went to school together and we played last year at the Solheim Cup,” Ciganda said. “Playing today with her, we were so comfortable out there, just having fun, laughing and making birdies.”

South Korea split with Australia, leaving each country with two points in Pool B. After Inbee Park and So Yeon Ryu forged a 3-and-2 win over Katherine Kirk and Lindsey Wright of Australia, Karie Webb and Minjee Lee beat I.K. Kim and Na Yeon Choi 2 up.

Park and Ryu both eagled the par-5 12th hole for a three-hole lead and coasted to finish.

The Webb-Lee tandem didn’t lead by more than one stroke until Lee sank her fourth birdie putt on the 18th hole.

OWINGS MILLS, Md.– Yani Tseng made a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to give Taiwan a sweep of the top-seeded United States team Thursday in the opening round of the International Crown.

Tseng and Phoebe Yao never trailed in a 1-up win over Stacy Lewis and Lexi Thompson. Earlier, Candie Kung and Teresa Lu beat Paula Creamer and Cristie Kerr 4 and 3.

The inaugural International Crown features 32 players from eight countries.

Each team receives two points for a win and one for a tie. The U.S. was the only team that failed to secure a point on the first day.

On Friday, the United States (0 points) will face Spain (3) in Pool A, and Taiwan (4) will take on Thailand (1). Pool B matchups are Japan (3) against South Korea (2), and Australia (2) versus Sweden (1).

Japan took the lead in Pool B with a strong performance against Sweden. Although the Japanese team of Ai Miyazato and Sakura Yokomine led from start to finish, it took a birdie on No. 18 by Yokomine to secure a 2-up win over Pernilla Lindberg and Mikaela Parmlid.

“That was a great start, for sure,” Miyazato said. “But still a long way to go. I’m exhausted already, because I used so much energy on the golf course.”

In Japan’s other match, Mamilo Higa and Mika Miyazato halved with Caroline Hedwall and Anna Nordqvist, who trailed by two strokes with seven holes left.

“We played really well, both of us, and just gave ourselves a lot of chances,” Hedwall said. “Then they managed to hole a couple more putts than we did. But I think we fought back really nice, and it’s good to get one point at least.”

The first points of the tournament were secured by Spain against Thailand in Pool A. The duo of Carlotta Ciganda and Azahara Munoz won 3 and 2 over Pornanong Phatlum and Onnarin Sattayabanphot, and Spain’s Belen Mozo and Beatriz Recari halved with sisters Ariya and Moriya Jutanugarn.

That provided the elated Spaniards with three points.

“From the beginning we started playing really well and kept hitting fairways and greens,” Munoz said. “We had many chances. We’re extremely happy to get those two points.”

Ciganda and Munoz were no strangers on the golf course.

“I played with Azahara lots of years when we were amateurs, then we went to school together and we played last year at the Solheim Cup,” Ciganda said. “Playing today with her, we were so comfortable out there, just having fun, laughing and making birdies.”

South Korea split with Australia, leaving each country with two points in Pool B. After Inbee Park and So Yeon Ryu forged a 3-and-2 win over Katherine Kirk and Lindsey Wright of Australia, Karie Webb and Minjee Lee beat I.K. Kim and Na Yeon Choi 2 up.

Park and Ryu both eagled the par-5 12th hole for a three-hole lead and coasted to finish.

The Webb-Lee tandem didn’t lead by more than one stroke until Lee sank her fourth birdie putt on the 18th hole.

Woodstock, Ont. – Team Canada’s Augusta James set records with an 8-under 63 on Thursday at the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship.

James’ bogey-free 63 set a new women’s course record at Craigowan Golf and Country Club and also became the lowest 18-hole score ever recorded in the history of the 101-year-old championship. 

“It’s maybe my second or third bogey-free round ever, I think it might be my first one in a tournament,” James said. “It’s always good to have one of those, you come so close sometimes and I’m happy that I could eliminate the big mistakes that would turn into bogeys or doubles.” 

The Bath, Ont. native opened with a 5-under 30 on the front-nine that was highlighted by four straight birdies over the 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th holes at Craigowan. 

“I putted well but I hit the ball pretty close too which made it a lot easier, I made a few putts that you don’t expect to make everyday,” she continued.

The 21-year-old currently holds a six-stroke lead heading into the final round over Team Canada’s Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont. and Australia’s Su-Hyun Oh. Sitting at 12-under 201 for the championship a win on Friday would be the biggest title of her career.

“It’s been a few years since I’ve held a trophy for first place and it would be a great honour to have competed with this field and won,” the N.C. State Wolfpack senior said.  “That is a long way away still, lots of work left to do tomorrow for that.”

Henderson, the defending champion, posted a 1-under 70 playing alongside her Team Canada teammate in the final pairing to finish 54-holes in a tie for second place alongside Oh who fired a 4-under 67 on Thursday. 

In the Mid-Amateur division (25+), Christina Proteau, the defending champion, carded a 1-under 70 to open a large gap in the race for her fourth consecutive title. The Port Alberni, B.C. native currently sits eight strokes ahead of Helene Chartrand of Pincourt, Que. Chartrand leads the Mid-Master division (40+) by nine strokes over Marion Reid of Etobicoke, Ont. 

The champion of the 101st Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship receives an exemption into the 2014 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open and also the 2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur. 

Starting times, post-round results, full field list, and live scoring are available here.

MONTREAL – Kyle Stanley took advantage of sunny weather and soft greens to take the early clubhouse lead with an opening round of 5-under 65 at the US$5.7 million RBC Canadian Open on Thursday.

Stanley was 5-under over his first nine holes, which was the back nine at Royal Montreal’s par-70 Blue Course, and held that score to take the lead with half the field still on the course.

“I love this golf course,” the Gig Harbor, Wash., native said. “It’s similar to the one I grew up with in Washington, so I felt pretty comfortable.

“I hit the ball well on my first nine today. I was able to make a few of the long range putts that got the round going for me.”

Six players were tied at 4-under 66, including Justin Hicks, Charlie Wi, Greg Chalmers, Nick Watney, Robert Allenby and Troy Merritt. Another 10 were at 3-under.

Heavy rains the previous day made for ideal scoring conditions, but Stanley said the 7,153-yard layout is still a challenge.

“I’m surprised that 5-under is leading right now,” he said. “But you can take advantage of a lot of these holes if you drive it in the fairway.

“That front nine is pretty difficult. There’s a couple of mid-irons into the greens and a 500-yard par-4, so it’s a kind of sneaky-demanding course.”

Stanley is best known for posting his only PGA Tour win a week after a memorable collapse.

In 2012, he blew a six-shot lead in the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open and lost in a playoff to Brandt Snedeker, then bounced back with a victory at the Phoenix Open.

This season has been trying for the 26-year-old. He sits 164th in FedEx Cup standings with only one top-25 finish, which was in October.

He said it was premature to think about turning the season around after one good round.

“There’s a ton of golf left,” he said. “It’s nice to get a round like this because it shows I’m working on the right things.

“It hasn’t been my best year by any means but I’m starting to play a little bit better and that’s nice.”

Watney, who has also had a trying season, was glad to get in a solid opening round.

“You’re not playing behind the 8-ball to make the cut,” the 33-year-old said. “It’s only one round, but I’d much rather play well in the first round than not.”

It was a rough opening round for some. Both Stephen Ames of Calgary and one of the tournament favourites, Dustin Johnson, shot 4-over 74. John Daly had 6-over 76 and Scott McCarron turned in a 78.