The women’s NCAA golf championship wrapped up in Tulsa, Okla., on Friday with the University of Southern California’s Doris Chen taking home medalist honours at 6-under par.

Individually, Team Canada’s Augusta James finished as the low Canadian. James, a junior at North Carolina State University ended the championship at 4-over 284 after rounds of 74-70-67-73.

SooBin Kim of Coquitlam, B.C. followed closely behind James, finishing in a tie for 16^th at 5-over par. The Washington University junior recently finished in a tie for fourth at the Canadian Women’s Tour stop in Parksville, B.C.

Team Canada’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay of Quebec and Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., both ended their NCAA careers in a tie for 43^rd at 11-over par. The seniors will both tee-it-up together next for Team Canada on the Canadian Women’s Tour in June.

Kim’s Washington Huskie teammate Jennifer Yang of Coquitlam, B.C., finished in a tie for 59^th.

In the team division, Duke finished in the top spot edging out the University of Southern California by two strokes at 10-over par. Tanguay’s Oklahoma Sooner squad finished in fourth place, while N.C. State took home tenth place. The Washington Huskies closed the championship in 17^th.

For complete scoring and results from the NCAA Women’s Golf Championship click here.

FORT WORTH, Texas – PGA Tour rookie Brice Garnett grew up in a small Missouri town where his home course is a nine-hole layout.

Garnett has gone from Daviess County Country Club and then Missouri Western State to leading at Hogan’s Alley after two rounds at Colonial.

After starting with an eagle, Garnett shot a 4-under 66 on Friday and moved to 7-under 133. He had a one-stroke lead over long-putting Chris Stroud (64) and Robert Streb (68).

“I’m just keeping my head down and trying to make as many birdies as possible,” Garnett said. “I’m going to try to embrace it this weekend and have fun, and we’ll see where we stand come Sunday.”

Adam Scott, playing as No. 1 in the world for the first time, had birdies on three of his last seven holes for a 68 to get to 1 under. He has made the cut in his last 34 PGA Tour events, the longest active streak.

Matt Kuchar, ranked No. 4 in the world, had a chance to move to the top with a victory. But he missed the cut by a stroke at 2-over 142 after a 70.

The 30-year-old Garnett is from Gallatin, Missouri, a town of about 1,800 people. He has only one top-10 finish in his 18 previous starts on the PGA Tour, and has never won on the Web.com Tour. This is the first time he has even been in the top 10 after the second or third round on the PGA Tour.

“I think each and every week the rookies feel more comfortable. I know I have,” Garnett said. `You can’t get down on yourself being a rookie. … It’s been fun, and I’m learning each and every day.”

First-round leader Dustin Johnson (70) dropped into a seven-way tie for fourth at 5 under. That group also included Texas resident Jimmy Walker (68), a three-time winner this season and No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings.

Walker had a strange occurrence when his tee shot at the 17th hole appeared to nick a bird in flight – though the bird kept flying before Walker made another par.

“We saw (the ball) fly the whole way and then it kind of disappeared over the trees,” said Walker, the only player still without a bogey this week. “I didn’t see it.”

Stroud made five putts from over 20 feet, all coming in his last 12 holes. His made putts in the round combined for just under 221 feet, the most on the PGA Tour since Brent Geiberger covered 240 feet during the first round at Booz Allen in 2006.

And Stroud did that using a new putter he picked up this week.

“It has no lines on it. … I’ve been using another, but it had a bunch of lines on it,” Stroud said. “I simplified my putting. Get over it, line up and try to bring the putter back square and back to the ball square at impact. I’ve just been rolling it beautifully.”

Stroud drained a 16-footer on the 193-yard 13th hole, his third birdie of the day coming on his fourth hole. The Texas native was just getting started, with his first 20-footer coming at the par-3 16th when he made birdie from 23 1/2 feet.

There was a 22-footer for birdie at the par-5 No. 1 hole, and he rolled in a 56-footer across the green at No. 4, the difficult 211-yard par 3. There was a 26-footer at No. 6 and yet another long birdie putt at his last par 3, a 34-footer at No. 8.

“My driver has been bad. … I’ve hit it terrible the last two days. Really, really bad. But putted awesome,” he said. “So I don’t have to worry about the greens. I just need to get the ball on the greens. Usually it’s the opposite. I usually hit the ball really well and struggle to get the ball in the hole.”

On his final hole, the 406-yard dogleg-right ninth, Stroud’s approach was well left into a bleacher area near a concession stand. After a free drop and pitching to about 26 feet on the fringe, he two-putted from 26 feet for bogey.

Tim Clark was 7 under and tied for the lead after four consecutive birdies only six holes into his round of 68. But he three-putted at the par-3 16th and didn’t have another birdie until No. 9, his last hole, to get to 5 under and tied for fourth.

Canada’s David Hearn shot 69 in round 2 and moved into the group currently tied for 11th. Graham DeLaet scored 70 on Friday to move into 36th.

VIRGINIA WATER, England  – Shane Lowry birdied his closing two holes for a 2-under 70 Friday to join Thomas Bjorn in the lead after the second round of the BMW PGA Championship.

Lowry overcame a double bogey on the ninth hole by making four birdies on his back nine to erase a two-shot deficit to Bjorn, who carded a 72 on a day of intermittent rain showers. The duo was four shots clear of the field with 10-under totals of 134.

Spain’s Rafa Cabrera-Bello (73) and former BMW PGA winner Luke Donald (67) were tied for third. Rory McIlroy was another shot back along with Swedish duo Jonas Blixt and Henrik Stenson after all three carded 71.

The 27-year old Lowry won the 2009 Irish Open in a playoff as an amateur, and then added the 2012 Portugal Masters title after turning professional. This, though, would be by far the biggest win of his career.

“I just have to go out and keep doing what I have been doing,” the 142nd-ranked Irishman said. “I’ve got my coach with me this week, so he’s quite good at getting me ready to play no matter what situation I’m in. And it will be good to go out with Thomas tomorrow and see how I get on.”

Bjorn led by two shots after the first round of the European Tour’s flagship event, but found that advantage gone with bogeys at the first and seventh holes.

But Bjorn birdied his 15th and final holes minutes before Lowry birdied 17 and the last to finish tied for the lead with the Dane.

“We’ll go out and work hard on the weekend and see what the conditions are like and try and play the golf course and not the opponents,” Bjorn said. “There’s two very hard days ahead of us, so we know what this championship is all about. “

Defending champion Matteo Manassero missed the cut after following up an 80 with a 71.

McIlroy fought back from double bogey on the seventh hole, which he eagled the day before, to stay in contention.

McIlroy finished much better than he started, as he eagled the par-five 12th for a second straight day, and birdied three of his last four holes.

“The way the conditions were this morning, being 3-over par after seven wasn’t all that bad, and it wasn’t disastrous,” he said.

Blixt, the Masters runner-up, is eyeing his maiden European Tour victory.

“My golf hasn’t been too great but I kind of saved myself a couple of times, hitting some really good shots,” Blixt said. “I don’t think now with the rain settling in that anyone is going to run away with it.

“But I can’t remember the last time I played wearing so much clothing. It became really cold out there.”

ALLENDALE, Mich. – The No.1 ranked Barry Buccaneers took home the NCAA Men’s Div II title on Friday, their second in as many years.

The NCAA championship format begins with three stroke play rounds. Each team has five players, with the best four scores counting towards each daily total. The top eight teams advance on to elimination match play.

Barry University held their spot at the top of the stroke play leaderboard, thanks in part to their tournament-low 280 on Wednesday’s final round. The Bucs came in at 25-over par, advancing to match play as the No.2 seed. They were led by Surrey B.C., native and Team Canada member, Adam Svensson.

The 20-year-old sophomore finished as runner-up at 1-over 214 (71-75-68) behind medalist Tim Crouch of Florida Southern. Svensson made a run on Wednesday with a four-birdie 68, but was matched by Crouch to fall shy by just one stroke for an exciting finish at the Meadows.

Svensson’s season has been a memorable one. The Sport Management major has won seven individual NCAA titles, and looks poised to be a leading candidate for the Jack Nicklaus award, given to the most outstanding golfer in the division.

In quarterfinal match play, the Bucs defeated No.7 seed Cal State Monterey Bay, 3-2. They advanced to the semi-finals, where they defeated Chicago State 3-2 to move on to the finals against Nova Southeastern, eventually defeating them 3-1 to take home the trophy once more.

For the full leaderboard, click here

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – Joe Durant birdied his final hole Thursday for a 6-under 65 and a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Senior PGA Championship.

Making his third Champions Tour start after turning 50 in April 7, the four-time PGA Tour winner had seven birdies and a bogey at Harbor Shores.

Dan Forsman, fighting an arthritic left hip, opened with a 66, and Brad Faxon had a 67. Mark Brooks and P.H. Horgan III shot 68, and two-time Senior PGA winner Jay Haas and Colin Montgomerie were in the group at 69.

Kenny Perry, the Regions Tradition winner last week in Alabama, topped the group at 70 along with Bernhard Langer, Tom Lehman, John Cook and Tom Watson.

Durant, coming off a ninth-place tie Sunday at Shoal Creek in the first major of the year, missed only one fairway and birdied all the par 5s. He and also birdied the par-4 seventh hole that plays up a sand dune and usually into the wind off Lake Michigan.

Forsman, a three-time winner on the Champions Tour after winning five times on the PGA Tour, had four birdies and a bogey – on the seventh – in his final nine holes.

Faxon made two 35-foot birdie putts early in his round. He has only one top-40 finish in eight tournaments this year and missed the cuts in his two previous Senior PGA appearances.

Perry is trying to win his fourth consecutive Champions Tour major. He won the Senior Players Championship and U.S. Senior Open in consecutive tour starts last year, then skipped the Senior British Open.

Lee Rinker, who played the PGA Tour fulltime from 1984 to 1999, was the top club pro with a 69. He’s the director of golf at Emerald Dunes Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida

Roger Chapman, the 2012 winner at Harbor Shores, opened with a 71.

Japan’s Kohki Idoki, the winner last year at Bellerive in St. Louis, had a 76.

Stephen Ames, a rookie on the Champions tour, shot 71 on the first day to tie him for 31st.

VIRGINIA WATER, England – Thomas Bjorn set a course record at Wentworth with a 10-under-par 62 on the opening day of the BMW PGA Championship on Thursday.

Bjorn grabbed an eagle and eight birdies to end his round two shots clear of Shane Lowry of Ireland, who shot 64 on the West Course.

However, poor weather forced two separate delays totaling nearly two hours in the European Tour’s flagship event, and darkness halted play with 33 in the 150-man field yet to complete their first round.

It is the third occasion in Bjorn’s 21-year European Tour career he’s shot a round of 62, and the Dane rated it the best in his 434 tournaments.

“Absolutely,” he said. “You can’t ask for much more.”

Bjorn is contesting his 17th BMW PGA, with his best finish being a share of fifth in 1988, and comes after he missed the cut in the Spanish Open last week with 75-78.

“Last week was awful, and I was starting to feel a bit frustrated with things, and to be honest in practice, it hasn’t been great, either,” he said. “So … today is a little bit surprising.

“I haven’t had the best record here. I haven’t had the best round here. It’s been a long time since I’ve actually had any sort of result on this golf course. It’s not a place when I come in here, I think, `Oh, this is going to be a great week.’ I guess I’ve got to start sticking my head down for the rest of the week.”

Lowry produced his best round since a Carnoustie course-record 64 last October in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. He made only 25 putts with an old putter he found in his Dublin apartment.

“I have been messing about here and there with putters, and pulled this one out, got the cobwebs off it,” he said.

Rafa Cabrera-Bello of Spain was alone in third place with a 65, and Gary Stal of France made the most of his last minute call-up by shooting a 66.

Stal was first reserve for the event, and took the place of countryman Victor Dubuisson, who pulled out injured.

Rory McIlroy’s 4-under 68 included holing his second shot for eagle at the par-four seventh hole, and landing his second shot to within six inches for eagle at the par-five 12th.

“The two eagles helped, and it’s a good round for me around this place,” he said. “It’s a place I’ve notoriously struggled on, but it was good to shoot something in the sixties.”

Henrik Stenson, who can become the new world No. 1 with a good result, also carded 68.

However, defending champion Matteo Manassero of Italy slumped to an 8-over 80 that included a quadruple-bogey nine at the 17th.

MOBILE, Ala. – Catriona Matthew took the first-round lead Thursday in the Airbus LPGA Classic, holing a bunker shot for an eagle and finishing with an 8-under 64.

The 44-year-old Scot rebounded from a bogey on the par-4 12th – her third hole in the morning round – with the eagle on the par-5 13th and birdied seven of her final 11 holes.

“That kind of kick-started my round,” Matthew said about the eagle.

She won the last of her four LPGA Tour titles in 2011.

“Obviously, really pleased,” Matthew said. “Just had two weeks at home, so never quite know what you’re going to come out and play like. So, yeah, delighted. Got the putter going and holed some putts.”

Charley Hull had a bogey-free 65 in the afternoon. The 18-year-old English player birdied the final two holes on the Crossings Course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail’s Magnolia Grove complex.

“I putted quite well, hit it quite solid, and hit, I think, every green,” said Hull, playing on a sponsor exemption. “I still left a few shots out there. I missed a 3- or 4-footer, but hey, another day tomorrow and hopefully I can go low.”

Second-ranked Stacy Lewis, No. 4 Suzann Pettersen and South Korea’s Eun-Hee Ji shot 66.

Lewis, the 2012 winner, finished her first nine with birdies on Nos. 15-18. She hit a 7-iron to 15 feet on the par-4 15, got up-and-down from over the back of the green on the par-5 16th, hit a 6-iron to 15 feet on the par-3 17th and hit a 6-iron to 12 feet on the par-4 18th.

“The scores are so low that if you don’t go pretty low the first day, you’re kind of behind the 8-ball,” Lewis said. So, it was really nice to get off to a good start.”

The Texan won the North Texas LPGA Shootout three weeks ago for her ninth tour title. Last week in Virginia, she closed with a 74 to tie for 12th in the Kingsmill Championship.

“Coming off of last week where I didn’t hit the ball well, I was happy with the way I drove it today,” Lewis said. “I hit it solid and made some putts. Figured something little out in my putting and I think that might help the rest of the week.”

Pettersen, playing her fourth event since returning from a back injury, had a bogey-free round.

“I’m feeling pretty good, felt pretty calm,” Pettersen said. “I feel like my game is right there, trying to be patiently aggressive. Playing smart on the hole locations that aren’t quite set up for being aggressive and then trying to take advantage. But the greens are fairly receptive, so it feels like you can kind of fire at the pin and not have to worry about too much spin, which makes this course a little bit easier.”

Ji, the 2009 U.S. Women’s Open champion, birdied four of the five holes in a bogey-free round.

“I felt good this morning when I was warming up,” Ji said. “Feel good with my swing and with my putter. Was out there like, `I can see the green. I can see the line.’ So I just made a lot of putts.”

Bahamas winner Jessica Korda was three strokes back at 67 along with 2010 champion Se Ri Pak, Nicole Castrale, Julieta Granada, Moira Dunn and Jenny Shin. Pak also won the Tournament of Champions on the course in 2001 and 2002.

Anna Nordqvist, a two-time winner this year, had a 68, and Kraft Nabisco winner Lexi Thompson opened with a 70. Michelle Wie, the winner in Hawaii, and defending champion Jennifer Johnson shot 71.

Top-ranked Inbee Park had a 74. She’s winless in eight tour starts this season after sweeping the first three majors last year and finishing the season with six victories.

Jennifer Kirby of Paris, Ont., shot a 3-under 69 in the first round to place herself among the top-20 scores of the day. She will head into the second round as part of the group tied for 18th.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Dustin Johnson had played Colonial only once before, six years ago when he didn’t even make it to the final round.

In his return to Hogan’s Alley, Johnson took a one-stroke lead after the first round.

Johnson shot a bogey-free 5-under 65 on Thursday, driving a lot of 3-irons off the tees into the fairways and hitting 16 of 18 greens in regulation.

“I’ve got to keep doing what I’m doing,” Johnson said. “I’ve got a pretty good game plan for the golf course off the tee. So I’m going to stick to that, just trying to keep getting birdie looks on every hole.”

His only birdie on the back nine was a 2-footer at the 177-yard 16th hole. That was enough to lead after his front-side 31 that included a 45-foot birdie putt on the difficult par-4 fifth hole.

Hunter Mahan, playing in the group ahead of Johnson, led before a double-bogey 6 at the 433-yard 18th hole for a 66. He was tied for second with Harris English, Tim Wilkinson and Robert Streb.

Jimmy Walker, a three-time winner this season, and 20-year-old Dallas native Jordan Spieth were in the group of 10 players at 67.

Mahan started eagle-birdie and was already 6 under after a 3-foot birdie on the 178-yard eighth hole. He had two bogeys and two more birdies before his drive at the 18th hole into the right rough, with trees blocking a clear shot to the green. After punching the ball back into the fairway, his approach came settled on the edge of the fringe and he eventually two-putted from 7 feet.

“You have to get over it,” Mahan said about the disappointing 18th. “It’s all about the drive there.”

Adam Scott, playing as the No. 1 player in the world for the first time, shot 71 after playing his first nine holes at 4-over 39.

Scott had bogey-6 on the straight 631-yard 11th hole, his second of the day, when he hit twice from fairway bunkers. After a two-putt from 11 feet at the 433-yard 18th hole, Scott was bogey-free the rest of the way, with consecutive short birdies after making the turn.

“I thought I actually hit plenty of good shots,” Scott said. “All of a sudden, I had the momentum going the way I wanted and managed to hang on for the next few holes.”

The Australian said he felt the same as he did before this week when he overtook injured Tiger Woods for the top spot in the world ranking.

“There’s not a big difference,” Scott said. “It’s always the first tee nerves of starting a tournament out, but I certainly didn’t feel that much different.”

Johnson’s 65 was the highest score to lead after the first round at Hogan’s Alley since another 65 in 2002. There were opening 62s in two of the previous three Colonials.

When he first played at Colonial in 2008, Johnson made the initial cut. But after a 72 in the third round, he was among six more players trimmed to reduce the field to 73 for the final day.

Walker, the FedEx Cup points leader, also played a bogey-free round with a tremendous par-saver at the 470-yard fifth hole after hitting his drive left into the rough under trees. With the ball on a hill several inches below his feet, he hit an off-balance shot to the left of the green. He then chipped up over the bunker, and the ball rolled to inside 4 feet of the cup.

“I kind of had a shot, and I went for it,’ he said. “I had a big high cut over the trees, and didn’t hit a very good shot, but it came up just short of the green, and made a great up and down there.”

Matt Kuchar, ranked No. 4 in the world and with a chance to move to the top with a victory, had birdies at Nos. 11 and 12 early in his round. He then had five bogeys before finally getting his only other birdie on his 16th hole, an 11-foot putt on the 437-yard seventh hole, in a 72. That matched his highest score in his 29 career rounds at Colonial, where he finished second last year.

Rickie Fowler, who stars in a series of funny commercials for tournament sponsor Crowne Plaza, played with flu-like symptoms and had two triple bogeys in an 80, the worst score in the 123-player invitational field.

 Canada’s David Hearn ended the day tied for 6th after a 3-under 67. Graeme DeLaet carded a 1-under 69 and will be heading into the second round tied for 24th.

GC:       What prompted The Rock to host the CN Future Links Ontario
Championship?

SM:      The Rock takes pride in helping to build the game of golf in Canada, and in doing so we recognize that assisting Junior Golf in Canada is imperative to that. We had a wonderful experience hosting the GAO Ontario Junior Girls Championship in 2013 as well.

GC:      What can players expect when they arrive at your club?

SM:      Players can expect a warm reception with attentive staff in a very relaxed atmosphere. We will be able to provide insight for all competitors regarding any questions they may have.

GC:      What preparations have went into hosting this championship?

SM:       Working with CN Future Links staff, we are setting up the course in a fair but challenging way. We have planned a logistically sound staging area, reached out to locals in the community for volunteers, and reviewed all aspects of the CN Future Links manual in preparation for the event.

GC:      What do you think will challenge competitors the most?

SM:       The Rock is a very difficult course at only 6600 yards from the tips. The important aspect is certainly course management – placement off the tee is crucial for providing the opportunity for an aggressive approach shot to our well guarded greens.

GC:      Are there any significant holes or sections of the golf course that should provide excitement for the tournament?  

SM:       I believe holes 16 and 18 will be exciting and pivotal holes for the event. With the risk reward aspect of these two par 5’s it certainly could be the “make or break” for players in contention.

GC:     Why is hosting this championship important to the club?

SM:       The Rock prides itself on being family-friendly and a great home for junior golfers. There is nothing better than hosting competitive junior events to carry on this tradition.

GC:      What does hosting an event like this do for your local community?

SM:       I feel like it will bring the community together. This area of Muskoka is a wonderful family getaway location and hosting an event like this will only add to that.

GC:      What does your club do to encourage and engage your junior membership each season?

SM:       We provide a highly discounted season pass for junior golfers, and we also host a family night where any parent can pay a $30 green fee and their kids will play for free! We have a lineup of age appropriate junior camps during July and August as well.

GC:      What sets your club apart from others in the area, in terms of both the
course and/or its membership?

SM:       Certainly the relaxed family oriented atmosphere sets us apart from other Muskoka courses. Although we don’t have a large membership group we have a very tight-knit group of pass-holders.

GC:      What is your club looking forward to the most in hosting this
championship?

SM:       We are excited to show off our beautiful Faldo design to young competitors who play great tracks all season long.

—

Spencer Morland is the Director of Instruction and Associate Golf Professional at The Rock Golf Club

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – Colin Montgomerie had a one-liner ready to go when asked his winless first year on the Champions Tour.

“I haven’t won yet and I would love to win, obviously, a senior event somewhere, whether it be in this decade or not,” Montgomerie said Wednesday at Harbor Shores on the eve of the Senior PGA Championship.

Montgomerie, who will be 51 on June 23, is in the marquee group Thursday with Ryder Cup Captain Tom Watson and Bernhard Langer, a two-time winner this year and the money champion five of the last six years.

Watson said Montgomerie’s ability to hit high fade shots fits the design of Harbor Shores, the Jack Nicklaus-designed resort layout that opened in 2010. England’s Roger Chapman won the 2012 Senior PGA at Harbor Shores and the course also will be the tournament site in 2016 and 2018.

“Monty’s starting to play well out here,” Watson said. “Jack likes to build his greens where cut shots are the iron shots of choice, so that will be an advantage for (Montgomerie).”

Montgomerie admitted iron play has always been his strength, and called the course unique.

“I look forward to trying to attack certain pins and not the others you have to be very careful with,” said Montgomerie, who has six top-10 finishes and a tie for 16th so far this year on the Champions Tour. “You have to be very careful here and use the head an awful lot of the time. I see what the designer was trying to do. There are pockets in the greens where you have to hit (the ball). What you must not do is miss those pockets.”

The Scot said he has enjoyed playing on the Champions Tour more than he was anticipating.

“The competition is very high, extremely high,” he said. “I wish it was lower, but it’s not. And it’s good that it is that good. That means that when you do well it’s actually meaningful.”

Last year, Japan’s Kohki Idoki rallied to win at Bellerive in St. Louis. Jay Haas and Kenny Perry tied for second, two strokes back. Last week, Perry won his third straight Champions Tour major, beating Mark Calcavecchia by a stroke in the Regions Tradition at Shoal Creek in Alabama. Perry won the Senior Players Championship and U.S. Senior Open in consecutive tour starts last year.

Perry’s last round at Harbor Shores was a Senior PGA record 9-under 62 in the final round of the 2012 Senior PGA. He couldn’t catch winner Roger Chapman, but he remembers his round and feels he knows the secret to the sometimes dramatic undulating greens.

“I had great control of the ball with my irons,” he said. “I drove it beautifully that day, and I was able to keep the ball in the right plateau to give myself realistic birdie putts on these greens.”

Perry, who splits time between the PGA Tour and the Champions Tour, covets a spot in the PGA Championship later this summer in his home state at Valhalla in Louisville. The winner Sunday earns an exemption.

“I’ve given 30 years of my life to the PGA Tour and it would be a great way to kind of end my chapter on the PGA Tour out there,” he said.

Fred Couples is skipping the tournament because of back troubles.

Canada’s Stephen Ames will make his Champions Tour debut this week. He’ll be joined by fellow Canadians Rod Spittle and Jim Rutledge.