PGA TOUR

PGA TOUR

J.T. Poston made a 20-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole when he returned to finish his third round Sunday and he never relinquished the lead on his way to winning the Shriners Children’s Open by one shot. It is his third career PGA title but first in two years. Poston made three birdies in a four-hole stretch on the back nine and led by four shots with three to play. But he still needed a four-foot par putt on the final hole to secure the win after Doug Ghim made a late charge, closing with a six-foot birdie putt to bring him to within a shot of Poston. For Ghim it’s his best career result and second top-10 finish of the season, moving him up to No. 70 in the FedExCup Fall standings. He needs to get inside the top 60 to qualify for two Signature Events next year. …Taylor Pendrith picked up his seventh top-10 finish of the year. His opening round 61 equalled a career-low which he set three years ago and was one stroke shy of the best opening-round score in tournament history. …Despite his sixth finish outside the top 50, Nick Taylor remains 58th in the FedExCup Fall standings.

NEXT EVENT: ZOZO Championship (Oct 24)

CANADIANS ENTERED: Ben Silverman, Adam Svensson, Nick Taylor

PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS

Tim O’Neal birdied six of his first 10 holes which helped him erase a three-stroke deficit and go on to win the Dominion Energy Charity Classic by two shots. It is his first career Champions Tour title and more importantly, it qualified him for the second of three

Charles Schwab Cup playoff events. O’Neal started the week as the No. 55-ranked player in the post-season and he needed to get inside the top 54 to advance to the next event. The win moves him up to 13th in the standings. Ricardo Gonzalez finished runner-up, his fifth top-10 result of the season and second in as many starts. David Bransdon was another golfer who started the week outside the top 54 but birdies on his last three holes left him third and lifted him to No. 35. Chris DiMarco, Kirk Triplett and Angel Cabrera all dropped outside the top 54 and have been eliminated from the playoffs. … Only the fifth time in 15 starts Mike Weir has finished outside the top 40. He advances to the next round of the playoffs at No. 30… Stephen Ames recorded his lowest finish since March. He remains No. 3 in the Schwab Cup standings.

NEXT EVENT: Simmons Bank Championship (Oct 25)
CANADIANS ENTERED: Stephen Ames, Mike Weir

EUROPEAN TOUR

Julien Guerrier made an eight-foot par putt on the record-tying ninth playoff hole to defeat Jorge Campillo and win the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters. It is his first European title in his 230th career start. It was the first nine-hole playoff since the 2013 Spanish Open which was won by Guerrier’s coach Raphael Jacquelin. Jose Maria Olazabal also needed nine extra holes to win the 1989 Dutch Open. Guerrier made a 16-foot par putt on the final regulation hole to force the playoff after Campillo, who struggled down the stretch with three bogeys on his final seven holes including on 18. Jon Rahm, who now plays on the LIV Golf Tour, finished sixth in his third European Tour event in the last four weeks. …Aaron Cockerill has played par or better in 13 of his last 14 rounds. With one tournament remaining, he currently sits 46th on Race to Dubai rankings which sees the top 70 qualify for the two-tournament DP World Tour Playoffs

NEXT EVENT: Genesis Championship (Oct 24)

CANADIANS ENTERED: Aaron Cockerill

LPGA TOUR

Hannah Green went wire-to-wire to defeat a stacked field at the BMW Ladies Championship, claiming the title by one stroke. It is her sixth career LPGA win and third this season, joining Nelly Korda and Lydia Ko as the only three-time winners this season. Green is the first Australian to win three times in a single season since 2006. Celine Boutier of France birdied five of her last seven holes and was the clubhouse leader at 18-under, tied with Green who birdied the penultimate hole to win. It is her second runner-up finish of the season and the second time this year she has lost to Green. Thailand’s Chanettee Wannasaen finished third, two shots back. The tournament featured eight of the top 10 LPGA players and 17 of 18 winners this season. …Brooke Henderson was making her first start in eight weeks since missing the cut at the Women’s British Open.

NEXT EVENT: Maybank Championship (October 24)

CANADIANS ENTERED: Brooke Henderson, Savannah Grewal (reserve), Alena Sharp (reserve), Maude-Aimee Leblanc (reserve), Maddie Szeryk (reserve)

ASIAN TOUR

Michael Maguire made par on the second playoff hole to win the Black Mountain Championship over John Catlin. It is the first career win for Maguire who is in his second season on the Asian Tour. Maguire birdied four of his final eight holes including on the last hole where he nearly holed his bunker shot for eagle. Catlin, who was looking for his third win of the year, missed a 12-footer for birdie, forcing a playoff. On the first playoff hole, Catlin appeared to have won with a short birdie putt before Maguire extended the playoff by sinking a 20-footer from the fringe. Maguire won the second extra hole after Catlin missed a 15-footer for par.

…Richard T. Lee notched his fourth top-10 finish of the season and second in as many starts.

NEXT EVENT: International Series Thailand (Oct 24)

CANADIANS ENTERED: Mac Boucher, Richard T. Lee, Jared du Toit, Daniel Core (reserve), Richard Dou

St Andrews, Scotland: The ticket ballot for The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush is now open. Fans can submit ticket applications from today until 3pm BST on Wednesday 31 July 2024, with the results being announced in stages during August and September.

Apply for tickets to TheOpen

The ballot approach ensures all fans will have a fair opportunity to attend the Championship, which is taking place in Northern Ireland from 13-20 July 2025.

The ticket ballot is available exclusively to members of One Club, the free-to-join digital membership platform, designed to bring golf fans closer to the game. Fans can also upgrade to One Club Advantage, presented by Mastercard, for an enhanced chance of success in the ticket ballot.

Ticket prices for The 153rd Open will start from £100 for an adult on Championship Days and from £25 on Practice Days. The R&A is fully committed to encouraging more children and young adults to attend The Open and free tickets will be available to children through the successful “Kids go Free” programme, while half-price youth tickets are available for 16-24-year-olds. These tickets must also be applied for using the ticket ballot.

A range of premium hospitality experiences are available to purchase now when fans can guarantee their place at the Championship in luxurious surroundings with a fully inclusive dining and drinks package. Premium Experiences are selling fast, with some already sold out. A Ticket Plus option is also available, offering fans an elevated experience in which they can enjoy The Open in a relaxed environment with access to a private bar and gourmet food trucks.

The Open is returning to Royal Portrush for the first time since 2019, when Irishman Shane Lowry lifted the famous Claret Jug to the delight of a jubilant home crowd. Tickets for the 2019 Championship sold out in record-breaking fashion and, at the time, set a record attendance for The Open outside of St Andrews with 237,750 fans attending throughout the week. It generated more than £100 million for the economy of Northern Ireland.

Visit TheOpen.com for further information or to enter the ticket ballot.

Pro-am rounds can be a fun opportunity for serious golf fans to meet their favourite players and for the golfers to get some extra practice in ahead of that week’s tournament.

But for Canadian golfer Selena Costabile and former NFL players Josh Scobee and Marcus Pollard it was a chance to get into the intricacies of the athlete’s mindset. The trio were grouped together for the pro-am on Tuesday ahead of the Epson Tour’s Atlantic Beach Classic and got into a lengthy discussion as they made their way around the course. 

Costabile, who is from Thornhill, Ont., and Scobee bonded over the similarities between being a golfer and a placekicker.

“Because you really just have one shot to perform,” said Costabile. “He was giving me a lot of insights about how you have to have two different mindsets. One is in practice, and then once you get in to a competition or the tournament, on the course or on the football field, whatever that may be, you have to almost switch to more of a performance mindset.

“Trying to just get the ball between the posts is similar to trying to get the ball in the hole and do that as best as you can while not really thinking about the mechanical side of it.”

Scobee was a kicker on the Jacksonville Jaguars for 11 seasons before being traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2015 and then spending a couple of months with the New Orleans Saints in 2016 before retiring the next year. He connected on 80.1 per cent of his field-goal attempts and 98.2 per cent of his extra-point attempts for a total of 1,046 points.

He said that he developed his “how and where” approach about six years into his career.

“I told her what I’ve always tried to do — and it’s not always easy — but what I tried to do was to separate practice from the games,” said Scobee. “Practice is where you’re trying to figure out how to do it. You’re working on your technique, and little things that you practice to be ready for the game or a tournament or whatever. 

“Then separating that from where to hit it, or where to kick it whenever I was playing. So I told her it’s the how versus the where, how to do it versus where to hit it.”

Pollard was a tight end with the Indianapolis Colts, Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons over 14 seasons, catching 40 touchdowns and over 4,280 receiving yards. Although Pollard didn’t have much to add to Scobee and Costabile’s conversation on mechanics, the kicker said he had a lot to say about mindset in general.

“It’s fun to get in front of other athletes that play different sports and go around the table and talk about what we all thought about or how we prepared,” said Scobee, “It all basically comes back to the same things and that’s the beauty of sports.”

Costabile said the conversation came at a good time for her because she has missed two cuts to start the Epson Tour season.

“I’m trying to work on leaving all the work of the off-season in the off-season and trusting that I did the work and now I just have to go out to play,” said Costabile. 

She’ll be joined by Kate Johnston of Ayr, Ont., and Brigitte Thibault of Rosemere, Que., in the field at Atlantic Beach Country Club. 

Thibault, in her first full season on the Epson Tour, made the cut at the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic on March 8 and again at the IOA Golf Classic on March 15. She said she was happy with those results because her ball striking has not been up to its usual standard.

“To be honest, the focus hasn’t been on cuts because you’re trying to win it so it’s been more annoying in that sense,” said Thibault. “But I’m still excited because to start the season the top 50 women’s golfers in the world were in Asia so the first three Epson Tour events were probably the strongest fields we’re getting the whole year. 

“To be able to really not feel like you have your game and still fight and put those scores up, I’m extremely proud of that.”

The 25-year-old said that her focus this off-season has been to focus on the natural motion of her swing.

“I’m diving more into my creative side and more into my given talent and working with that instead of trying to fit into a box,” said Thibault. “I’ve been more of a sponge, going into tournaments and seeing what tendencies show up with adrenalin instead of being so technical, because I had really tried to fit into a box with a certain swing and it looked better but then I kind of lost a bit of lag there.”

LPGA TOUR — Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., is the top-ranked Canadian heading into this week’s Fir Hills Seri Pak Championship. She is fifth on the Race to CME Globe season standings, having finished in the top 10 in three of her first four tournaments of the year. Rookie Savannah Grewal (29th) of Mississauga, Ont., Hamilton’s Alena Sharp, and Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., are also in the field at Palos Verdes Golf Club in Palos Verdes Estates, Calif.

CPKC WOMEN’S OPEN — Golf Canada announced on Wednesday afternoon that Mississauga Golf and Country Club would host the CPKC Women’s Open Aug. 18-24, 2025. It’s the first time the national women’s championship has been in the Greater Toronto Area since 2019 when Magna Golf Club hosted it in Aurora, Ont.

PGA TOUR — Nick Taylor is 11th in the FedEx Cup standings heading into this week’s Valspar Championship. Adam Hadwin, who is also from Abbotsford, B.C., won the Valspar in 2017 and is No. 30 in the points list. Five other Canadians are in the field at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor, Fla., including Mackenzie Hughes (71st) of Dundas, Ont., Adam Svensson (72nd) of Surrey, B.C., Ben Silverman (88th) of Thornhill, Ont., Taylor Pendrith (93rd) of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Roger Sloan (201st) of Merritt, B.C.

PGA TOUR AMERICAS — The PGA Tour Americas begins its inaugural season on Thursday with the Bupa Championship. The third-tier tour is a combination of the PGA Tour Latinoamerica and PGA Tour Canada, that ended last year. Twelve Canadians will tee it up at PGA Riviera Maya in Tulum, Mexico.

DP WORLD TOUR — Aaron Cockerill of Stony Mountain, Man., is 15th on the Road to Dubai standings, the European-based DP World Tour’s points list. He’s the lone Canadian in the field at this week’s Porsche Singapore Classic at Laguna National Golf Resort Club.

Sebastian Szirmak won’t be coming home to Toronto this summer for the best possible reason — he’ll be playing golf in Europe.

Szirmak won the Wipa’s Open in a three-way playoff on Sunday for his first victory on the Gira de Golf Professional Mexicana. That victory helps set him up on the Challenge Tour, the second-tier circuit for the European-based DP World Tour, by earning him valuable points on the Official World Golf Ranking and gaining experience at the professional level.

“This is likely going to be the first summer I don’t come back to play in Canada,” said Szirmak between practice rounds in Mexico. “It’s kind of exciting and kind of sad. 

“But to me, it really feels like I’m progressing in my career to not be playing mini tour stuff during the summer and be on a bigger tour with world rankings.”

Szirmak was tied with Venezuela’s Manuel Torres and Mexico’s Jose de Jesus Rodriguez at 15-under par after Sunday’s third round. He was the only one who parred the playoff on the 18th hole at the Los Tabachines Golf Club in Cuernavaca, Mexico to earn 300,000 Mexican pesos, the equivalent of about $24,000.

The 33-year-old said that he felt more confident heading into the playoff.

“My mentality kind of relaxes in the playoffs, because you don’t have to think about the results as much, it’s gonna be something good,” said Szirmak. “You just put your head down and put all your heart and soul into getting that best result possible.

“It’s sometimes easier in a head-to-head scenario, when you just have to beat the other guy, just hit a better shot than him all the way into the hole and hope that you’re one stroke lower than him at the end.”

Szirmak moved to Mexico to lower the financial overhead of playing that tour and immerse himself in the country’s culture.

“As a smaller tour, it’s really great for world ranking,” said Szirmak, who is already working with brands like Foresight Sports Canada, Primo Golf Apparel, G/FORE, and TaylorMade. “It’s really great for practising travelling and for me, when I had my PGA Tour Latinoamerica status, I really wanted to feel more comfortable in the Latin American culture so moving down to Mexico made sense.”

Playing on the Mexican Tour has also given Szirmak a second chance at reaching the DP World Tour. He missed out on earning a card on the top circuit in Europe by just one stroke at its Q School this past November.

“It was absolutely heartbreaking and it definitely took a while to get over since I was inside the number going through the back nine and it just slipped away for me,” said Szirmak, who missed the fourth-round cut at the DP World Tour’s final stage of qualifying on Nov. 13. “Unfortunately, missing that I did get Challenge Tour status, but I don’t get starts until their schedule returns to Europe, which is at the end of May. 

“So really, I’m using these Mexican Tour events to just see where my game is at, (…) really just trying to gear my game up for the Challenge Tour season for me to start and hopefully hit the ground running and take really good advantage of the starts I get.”

The Challenge Tour begins its European swing on May 9 with the Challenge de Espana at Real Club Sevilla Golf in Seville, Spain.

PGA TOUR — Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., is the highest-ranked of seven Canadians entering the field at The Players Championship this week. He’s No. 11 on the FedEx Cup standings heading into play at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. He’ll be joined by Adam Hadwin (25th) of Abbotsford, Corey Conners (52nd) of Listowel, Ont., Adam Svensson (62nd) of Surrey, B.C., Ben Silverman (79th) of Thornhill, Ont., Mackenzie Hughes (84th) of Dundas, Ont., and Taylor Pendrith (90th) of Richmond Hill, Ont.

EPSON TOUR — Selena Costabile of Thornhill, Ont., Kate Johnston of Ayr, Ont., and Brigitte Thibault of Rosemere, Que., are all in the field at this week’s IOA Golf Classic presented by LPT Realty at Alaqua Country Club in Longwood, Fla.

Jared Du Toit was planning the next phase of his golfing career last summer, casting a wide net by entering qualifying for the Korn Ferry Tour, the DP World Tour, and anything else he could think of. 

But a friend from his days playing at Arizona State University nudged him toward the Asian Tour.

Fast forward to now and Du Toit, from Kimberley, B.C., sits seventh on the Asian Tour’s order of merit after earning a top-10 finish in his first-ever tournament on the men’s golf circuit.

“I was talking to him a little bit in the summer and he just said ‘you’re crazy if you’re not giving Asia a try. The competition is solid, the events are great, and the money is pretty good,'” said Du Toit. “That sparked some interest so I gave it a try, not thinking much of it. 

“But (the DP World Tour and Korn Ferry Tour) didn’t work out so I went to Asia, got status that way. Now we’re here and enjoying it, enjoying it a lot so far.”

The 28-year-old Du Toit tied for seventh at 17 under on Sunday at the IRS Prima Malaysian Open at The Mines Resort & Golf Club, six shots back of winner David Puig of Spain. 

Du Toit was in a position to miss the cut halfway through his second round but rallied to shoot a 64 and see the weekend. He then fired a 62 in the third round to rocket up the leaderboard before a 71 settled him into seventh.

“Going from basically the cutline to three or four inside the number and in the thick of it a little bit I felt like I was on the house money bit and just had a great round three, which got me right into it,” said Du Toit. “Unfortunately, I didn’t play my best on the last round, but all things considered going from the cutline to contention to finishing top 10 was a solid start to the year and I’m excited to get going over here.”

His next target is to earn his way into some of the co-sanctioned events like next week’s New Zealand Open or one of men’s golf’s majors, like the British Open.

“I was pretty close last week being in contention in Malaysia. There was three spots for the Open,” said Du Toit. “It might be a little tougher to do that, don’t think they just give away spots so I definitely lost a bit of an opportunity last week, but I’d love to do that.

“I just still try and play my best, make as many cuts as I can.”

Du Toit has his next chance to do just that this week at the International Series Oman at Al Mouj Golf in Muscat, Oman. Toronto’s Richard T. Lee is also in the tournament.

PGA TOUR — Five Canadians are in the field at this week’s Mexico Open at Vidanta Vallarta in Vallarta, Mexico. Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., is the top-ranked member of the Canadian contingent, entering the week at 62nd in the FedEx Cup standings. Mackenzie Hughes (72) of Dundas, Ont., and Ben Silverman (99) of Thornhill, Ont., are also in the field, as are unranked players Stuart Macdonald of Vancouver and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C.

OUTSPOKEN HUGHES — Hughes, who is on the PGA Tour’s player advisory council for another year, remains outspoken about the upstart LIV Golf circuit. He spoke to CBS while on the course of last week’s Genesis Invitational about the ongoing rivalry.

“Now we’re in a place where I think fans are just generally a little bit fed up with it, to be honest,” said Hughes. “Those are the people that drive our sport so I’d love to appeal to the masses a lot more.

“Certainly, the way we’re going right now, to me, isn’t quite it.”

DP WORLD TOUR — Aaron Cockerill of Stony Mountain, Man., is the lone Canadian in this week’s Kenya Open at Muthaiga Golf Club in Nairobi. He finished second at the event in 2022.

LPGA TOUR — Brooke Henderson of Smiths Fall, Ont., is the lone Canadian in the field at Honda LPGA Thailand at Siam Country Club’s Old Course in Chonburi. She sits sixth in the Race to CME Globe standings after placing third at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions on Jan. 18 and tying for 16th at the LPGA Drive On Championship.

MEN’S NCAA — Calgary’s Hunter Thomson won his season opener with eight birdies in the final round of the Palmas del Mar Collegiate tournament in Humacao, Puerto Rico. He won the event by two strokes on Feb. 13, helping the University of Michigan to a fourth-place finish. 

Just nine tournaments into the DP World Tour season, Canada’s Aaron Cockerill is already in the best position of his career.

Cockerill, from Stony Mountain, Man., tied for fourth at the Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday, firing a 4-under fourth round to finish at 10 under, just four shots back of Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy. That performance moved Cockerill 33 points up the Race to Dubai rankings to ninth overall.

“There’s still a long way to go but it’s obviously better to start in a good position than be behind the 8-ball,” said Cockerill, who played in his fourth tournament of the season but first of 2024.

Cockerill is the eighth highest-ranked Canadian on the official world golf rankings, sitting 219th overall. Keeping pace with high-profile players like McIlroy and Chile’s Joaquin Niemann, who also tied for fourth, at the Dubai Desert Classic was encouraging.

“I only lost to three other guys and a couple of them are really, really highly ranked golfers,” said Cockerill. “I mean, those guys are all within the top 30 in the world, I think so, it’s exciting.”

The 32-year-old Cockerill had some strong performances last season on the European-based DP World Tour, with a tie for fourth at the Alfred Dunhill Championship on Dec. 12, 2022, and a second-place finish at the ISPS HANDA — Championship on April 22, but then he struggled through the summer. 

He said he’s learned from that experience and plans to do things differently in 2024.

“I think a lot of that has to do with my habits away from the golf course,” said Cockerill from his home in Dubai. “When we’re over here at the start of the season I’m kind of secluded, in terms of what my normal day to day would be at home. 

“Here it’s: golf course, practice, gym, work hard. I’m going pretty hard and not really doing a lot in between. Not that I want to be a drill sergeant to myself the whole season, but I also need to know that I need to stay pretty disciplined and keep up with my practice habits.”

TORONTO — Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment has confirmed Keith Pelley, a veteran sports and broadcasting executive, as its new president and CEO.

Pelley, who has been CEO of golf’s European Tour Group since the summer of 2015, starts his new job on April 2.

He previously served as president of Rogers Media, the Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium, TSN and the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts.

Pelley succeeds Michael Friisdahl, who left MLSE in February 2022 to take over as executive chairman of Signature Aviation, a British-based multinational aviation services company. Friisdahl had been in charge since December 2015.

Chief financial officer Cynthia Devine served as MLSE’s interim president and CEO during the search for Friisdahl’s successor.

MLSE says Devine plans to retire once Pelley starts with the company but will stay on until June as an adviser to the board to assist with the transition.

MLSE owns the NHL Leafs, NBA Raptors, AHL Marlies, Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC and the Argonauts.

A near-win at the ISPS Handa Championship has Canada’s Aaron Cockerill dreaming of the first major of his career.

Cockerill lost to Australia’s Lucas Herbert in a two-hole playoff at PGM Ishioka Golf Club in Omitama, Japan, on Sunday. That second-place finish moved Cockerill up to 25th on the DP World Tour’s points list and within range of a berth at the upcoming British Open.

“If I keep moving up and stay high on the Race to Dubai standings, there’s a chance that I could play in maybe a couple of majors this year, which would be a first for me,” said Cockerill, who is based in Dubai and is a regular on the Europe-based DP World Tour.

Cockerill, who is from Stony Mountain, Man., has until June 28 to qualify himself for the British Open at Royal Liverpool Golf Club on July 16. His clearest route is to be one of the top five players, not already exempt for the Open, within the top 20 of the Race to Dubai Rankings through the BMW International Open in Munich.

Currently sitting 25th on that list has him within an iron’s distance of that goal, especially as several players ahead of him in the DP World Tour rankings – like former British Open champion Rory McIlroy and world No. 1 Jon Rahm – already have spots at the prestigious event based on other qualifications.

Cockerill also moved up to 250th in the men’s world golf rankings, the highest Canadian not on the PGA Tour. Golf Canada recognized him as its player of the week for the strong showing in Japan.

He said it was “pretty cool” to be recognized by the national sport organization.

“I feel like sometimes it’s harder to keep track of golf over on the European Tour with the time zones and everything like that,” said Cockerill from Incheon, South Korea, where he will play in this week’s Korea Championship presented by Genesis. “It’s a little bit of an acknowledgment and some people who may forget about (the tour) will maybe tune in and pay attention to the golf on our tour as well.”

The 31-year-old Cockerill said that his game has been rounding into form this season because he’s more mature and that “all the boring stuff” is adding up.

“I take care of myself, I don’t really go out, I’m not drinking a whole lot,” said Cockerill. “I’m pretty disciplined with my practice. I set up a schedule of what I want to do every single week on tour, and I just tick them off, tick off the boxes and make sure I complete all my drills and games and maintenance things that I need to do throughout the week.”

OMITAMA, Japan – Australian Lucas Herbert outlasted Canada’s Aaron Cockerill to win the Handa Championship on the second extra hole Sunday for his third world tour title.

The pair finished the final round tied on 15-under 265 after Herbert just missed a birdie putt from 20 feet on the 18th for a 67. Cockerill had a chance to take advantage but saw his second shot on the last find a bunker and was lucky to save his par and force the playoff after a closing-round 68.

? Play-off ?@A_Cockerill recovers in superb fashion on 18 to force a play-off with @lhgolf5 ?

Back to 18 we go…#ISPSHandaChampionship pic.twitter.com/9mW3Vw764x

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) April 23, 2023

After both players made par at the first extra hole, Herbert did well to recover from a wayward tee shot on the second extra to secure his first win since the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open title in 2021.

Cockerill, a 31-year old Manitoba native, was looking for his first victory on the DP World Tour. The runner-up finish ties he best result, as he also finished second at the 2022 Magical Kenya Open presented by Absa.

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Scotland’s Calum Hill took sole third place with a 14-under 266 despite shooting a tidy 5-under 65 in the final round.

Canada’s Aaron Cockerill heads into the final round of the 2023 ISPS HANDA – CHAMPIONSHIP with a one-shot lead after a terrific start on Saturday.

The 31-year-old Manitoba native began his third-round 64 with a hat-trick of birdies before making four more and a single bogey to reach 13 under par.

But if Cockerill is to secure his maiden DP World Tour title at PGM Ishioka Golf Club on Sunday, he will have to fight off a stellar chasing pack.

Australian Lucas Herbert and Scotland’s David Law were just a shot back on 12 under after posting rounds of 68 and 64 respectively on Moving Day.

Japanese duo Rikuya Hoshino and Takumi Kanaya shared fourth place with Scot Grant Forrest on 11 under, one stroke clear of Jazz Janewattananond and Rafa Cabrera Bello.