Jordan Spieth understands his meltdown at the end of the Masters will follow him. And three weeks later, Spieth’s not quite ready to say he’s over letting a five-shot lead in the final round morph into that awkward ceremony in the Butler Cabin that ended with him slipping the green jacket on Danny Willett following an ugly and very public collapse.

Still, let’s not get carried away.

“I’m not taking it very hard,” Spieth said Tuesday, while attending a FedEx event in suburban Pittsburgh ahead of practice at Oakmont, where he will try to defend his U.S. Open title next month.

“I’ve got ladies at the grocery stores putting their hand on me and going, ‘Really praying for you; how are you doing?’ I’m like, ‘My dog didn’t die. I’ll be OK. I’ll survive.’ It happens.”

It just hadn’t really happened to Spieth during the 22-year-old’s sprint to the top of the world rankings, a dash that included a pair of major championships and a reputation as one of the game’s steadiest players as the holes dwindled and the stakes rose. In the span of 30 minutes during the final round at Augusta, it disappeared. A bogey at 10. Another at 11. That seemingly endless sequence on 12 where he hit the ball into Rae’s Creek not once but twice on his way to a quadruple bogey 7 that cost him control of the tournament.

“It was just bad timing on the wrong hole,” Spieth said. “And you know, it is what it is, and I’ll move on. If you’re in contention at a major, hopefully 50-plus times in your career, something like that is bound to happen. Just don’t let it happen again.”

Spieth endured the uncomfortable post-round ceremony with Willett, whose brilliant closing 5-under-par 67 will be forever tied with the way Spieth let it slip away. Spieth admitted “this one will hurt” in the aftermath and he’s spent the last few weeks trying to decompress and get ready for the daunting test that awaits at Oakmont in June.

So Spieth did what most early 20-somethings with time to burn and money to spend did: he went on a well-appointed Spring Break. Spieth joined Rickie Fowler, Smylie Kaufman and Justin Thomas for a getaway at a tropical resort that Fowler chronicled via Snapchat, a vacation that included a little golf and a lot of unwinding.

“We were having fun, we were relaxed,” Spieth said. “We were able to play golf and golf was kind of secondary to the relaxation part of the trip.”

It will be back to work on Wednesday when Spieth takes a long look at Oakmont, which is prepping to host its ninth U.S. Open and first since 2007, before heading to Florida for next week’s Players Championship. Spieth plans to treat his preparation for the rugged test in the Western Pennsylvania hills much the same way he got ready for Chambers Bay last summer, when he edged Dustin Johnson and Louis Oosthuizen by a stroke. Spieth will try to get a feel for Oakmont this week then arrive early in June for a far different kind of test than the one found at the three other majors.

Angel Cabrera captured the Open in its last visit to Oakmont with a four-round total of 5 over par. Compare that to the 18 under par Spieth posted while winning at Augusta in 2015 or even the 5-under he put up at Chambers Bay. It will take nerves to survive and regardless of what that stretch at the Masters looked like, Spieth isn’t worried about his confidence being rattled should he be in the mix on Father’s Day.

“Our team can draw on the wins, and that’s what we’re going to do,” he said. “We’ve now had a chance to win coming down the stretch in six majors and we’ve won two of them, including the last five and 2014 Masters. So that’s still a pretty good percentage, if you’re in contention six times, you win two of them, a third of the time. Considering my age, and hopefully with continued good health and continued improved play, if we keep that percentage up, we’ll be all right.”

DULUTH, Ga. – Former British Open champion Stewart Cink says he is taking a break from golf after learning his wife has breast cancer.

Cink posted the news Tuesday on Twitter, saying the family is still in the process of figuring out “what she is fighting, and the uncertainty is difficult.”

He prefaced the short statement on Twitter by saying that his wife, Lisa, has been his biggest supporter since he was 15 and “it’s now time for me to return the favor.”

The statement says: “In order to assist Lisa in meeting the challenge, I will be stepping away from competitive golf until the circumstances improve for her. Hopefully that day will come quickly.”

Since I was 15 years old, @lisacink has been my biggest supporter. It’s now time for me to return the favor. pic.twitter.com/4mVRMsmfL4

— Stewart Cink (@stewartcink) May 3, 2016

Cink’s biggest victory was the 2009 British Open when he beat Tom Watson in a playoff at Turnberry.

Growing up in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., Brent McLaughlin never imagined he’d be the maestro behind Canada’s national championships. “It still doesn’t really compute in my brain that I’m doing it,” he admits. That’s because 20 years ago he walked onto the grounds of Glen Abbey and begged anybody he could find for a job. Ascending up through the maintenance staff, into the pro shop, and then the Golf Canada (nee RCGA) offices after a brief stop at the Golf Association of Ontario, the tournament director for the men’s and women’s national opens has made the most of his opportunity.

Golf Canada Magazine: What is the daily routine of a tournament director?

Brent McLaughlin: It’s so many things and yet, I don’t really do anything. All I do is answer questions. The real doers are the sales and marketing folks in our office and our operations team. I kind of sit there and I steer the ship. I try to make sure the people that are really doing the work have strong direction, can share ideas and feel supported when they make decisions. It is just such a great job because on top of it all, when you’re planning for a great party, I still get to have the conversations with player agents and players to entice them and their families. What do these players need when they get here? What type of car do they need? Are they bringing their family with them? What do their kids want to do? It’s just such a wide variety. To say there’s one thing I focus on each day is crazy and that’s what makes this job so great. There’s so many things every day that come up.

How does that change during tournament week?

Tournament week is actually the best week because hopefully you’ve planned everything correctly — if you screwed something up, it’s too late to fix it. So our stressful time, believe it or not, is the three months leading up to July. Once we’re into July we’re hopefully in a state where you’re just wishing for good weather and a great finish. Tournament week we’re there at 4:30 in the morning. We don’t usually leave the property until 11 o’clock at night. And our 1,500 volunteers, they’re doing the same hours and it’s amazing. You go into the volunteer centre at 5:30 in the morning and it’s jam-packed.

What’s your biggest challenge?

Space. To find space, not only on-site but off-site, to run these events is a huge challenge. When I look at parking, for example, how do we park so many cars? For the men, we have to park 10,000 vehicles in a town (Oakville, Ont., where Glen Abbey is located) that’s continually growing. I think on-site, golf continues to grow. It’s such a huge sport and our TV compound has changed drastically over the last couple years. The square-footage for our TV compound has basically quadrupled in size. Fitting all those little jigsaw pieces into the property at Glen Abbey or any golf course is a huge challenge. On top of that, what everybody talks about: the date. Especially this year, you’re sandwiched between the British Open and the PGA Championship so two majors. That’s a huge challenge, the field. But I always keep saying whenever I talk to the media or anybody, this event can’t be solely about the field and it can’t be about the date. This is a party. It was a party last year. I go to the Players Championship every year, as a rules official for 10 years and now as a tournament director to talk to players. I go to 16-17-18 and their hospitality areas. Rest assured, nobody is watching golf. It’s just like the Waste Management (Open in Phoenix) — no one is watching golf. They’re there because it’s the place to be. It’s a party, they’re socializing, they’re networking, they’re doing a million different things but they don’t know who’s on the tee necessarily or who’s hitting shots. That’s my vision for our Open.

Is there anything you really want to do but haven’t figured out how to pull off?

I would love to take the 14th hole down in the valley and on the far left side, where there’s a gravel access road, I’d love to pump in a bunch of sand and make that a beach. Have people go down and change into their bathing suits, grab a beach towel and lie in the sun. You’ve got your feet in the water, catching some rays watching the golfers play through. I’m also trying to get a five-kilometre race off the ground. The golf course is closed the week before. I’d love to do a road race through the golf course, a 5k where you come in and get a ticket to the Open the following week but now you get to run the golf course. There are so many runners in the community — in Oakville and across the Halton region — you call it the Par 5k and away you go. For a lot of people that may not be golfers and may not have seen what goes on in there, now you run the course and you’re connected to it and you realize this is a big thing, there is a lot of infrastructure.

What’s been your biggest surprise since taking on the job?

The spring of last year I visited four or five different events and started talking to players (about why they did or didn’t play the RBC Canadian Open) and the one thing that was the common theme I heard from every player was that when you come to Canada you never know you’re in Canada. They said it looks like every other PGA Tour event. When I came back I said we’re going to bring the Canadiana back to the Canadian Open. So when you stood on No. 18 tee and looked down, the only thing you could see was the Canadian flag. I think we need more than that.

How about the craziest problem you’ve had to navigate?

On Sunday last year, when David Hearn’s group came out of the valley off 15, I remember getting a call from Barry Hughes, who’s a sergeant with Halton Police and oversees our policing. He called me and said, ‘We got a lot of people coming up from the valley. There’s nowhere for them to go.’ There had to be nearly 5,000 people who couldn’t go down 16, they couldn’t go down 17, they couldn’t go down 18. So we brought everybody around the back of 17 and 18 tee and allowed them to walk the driving range for the first time ever just to get the flow going. So we had to re-rope basically the entire three holes on the fly. As everybody was watching play, we’re freaking out about re-roping people to get them out and back to the spectator village. So that was chaotic and quite a scene.

Biggest difference setting up the Men’s Open vs. Women’s Open?

There’s a few more moving parts on the Men’s Open. One notable difference is from a courtesy-car standpoint. Traditionally on the LPGA Tour we’ll dole out about 20 courtesy cars to the top players but for the RBC Canadian Open, through our relationship with BMW, every player gets a car. So that’s 156 moving parts right there off the top. From an infrastructure standpoint, the Men’s Open is just a bigger animal. It has more spectators on site, more corporate hospitality options so the footprint on site is larger, as far as your build goes. With the CP Women’s Open, we’re building around 16, 17 and 18 for our hospitality.

Fact or fiction: The LPGA Tour players are easier to deal with than the PGA Tour players.

That’s probably 90 per cent fact. The women are very engaging, they understand it’s a big deal. They all have their moments as professional athletes so I wouldn’t say easier but maybe a little more available.

What’s the best compliment you’ve received from a player regarding the CP Women’s Open?

I think every player that I’ve spoken to on the women’s side believes it’s a major. They treat it like a major even though it’s not a major in name. It’s the largest purse they play for outside of the majors so I think that has a lot to do with it. Last year, including the majors, we were the strongest event on tour. We had 96 of the top 100 players. We’re the event after the Olympics this year and every single person I talked to said, ‘We will not miss the Women’s Open. We don’t care when the Olympics is.’ So that’s a telling statement that they’ll turn out in Calgary and how important the event is.

What are your thoughts on the possible development of Glen Abbey?

From a personal standpoint, it’s a huge part of my life. I would be devastated. Devastated not to have that as a golf course and not to have it as a place to drive into every day. It’s much deeper than just the Open. It goes back to my days in the golf shop and riding the shuttle and picking the range. It’s also our office plus the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame & Museum. There’s a lot of things that go on outside of the RBC Canadian Open but from a purely personal standpoint, I want it to stay a golf course.

Some personal stuff: What inspired you to buy your ice fishing trailer?

I love my outdoors. I love my alone time. I love hunting. Fishing is one of my huge hobbies too but I hate being cold. So I started thinking what I could do to make this a more comfortable experience. I went on Kijiji and looked for a camper. I found an old, beat up 15-foot Prowler camper. I tore it apart inside, put a wood stove in it and it’s got room for five or six people pretty comfortably. It’s got three fishing holes and once you get the wood stove going, it is incredible how hot it is. You can fish in your underwear if you want.

What’s the biggest fish you’ve caught?

Biggest fish I’ve caught would be a halibut in B.C. It was a small halibut for its size but big for me, about 80 pounds. But the most prized fish I’ve caught is one just outside Sault Ste. Marie (Ontario) in Echo Bay. I caught an 11-pound walleye and as I reeled it in, I said to myself this is going to cost me money now. It goes from being a prized fish to being an expensive fish real quick. To get the taxidermy and put it on the wall was something else but it was a beautiful fish.

You drove your motorcycle cross-country last summer. What kind of bike is it and does it have a name?

(Laughs) It does not have a name although after we bonded coming back from Seattle after the CP Women’s Open at The Vancouver Golf Club it should have a name. I was telling my wife that I wanted to upgrade the bike and then I drove it back from out west and as soon as I got home I said I’ll never get rid of that bike. It’s a 2004 Dyna Low Rider. The bike’s originally from Texas and it’s in miles, which screws me up all the time.

How much golf do you play?

Last year I had the good fortune of playing in the RBC Heritage pro-am with Ian Poulter. That was my last round of golf. Never touched a club after April. Now, 80 per cent of that is my own fault because I have other interests outside of the game. But I need to get back in that mindset of playing more.

What would you be doing if you weren’t in golf?

Growing up I always wanted to be a fireman. I went to school at Seneca College for Fire Science and I think if I wasn’t a fireman, I really see myself in some other sport. Hockey’s my passion, I’m a huge Philadelphia Flyers fan. My bar downstairs is painted orange and black. It’s got all kinds of Flyers memorabilia. My dog’s named Philly. The dog before that was named Tocchet, after my favourite player Rick Tocchet. Anybody that knows me knows that I’m obsessed so it’d definitely be something in hockey.

The Party Planner This article was originally published in the April 2016 edition of Golf Canada Magazine. To view the full magazine, click the image to the left.

GASTONIA, NC – Canadian Mackenzie Hughes fired a 7-under 64 on Monday at the Gaston Country Club to nab one of four spots in the PGA TOUR’s Wells Fargo Championship this week.

Hughes, a 25-year-old Dundas, Ont., native, carded a bogey-free round to share a three-way tie of second place. The trio trailed medalist Corey Nagy of Charlotte, N.C., by one stroke.

The Young Pro Squad member has played seven times on the Web.Com Tour this year, making four cuts in total—he currently sits at No. 99 on the money list.

The Kent State alumnus is set to join fellow Canucks Graham DeLaet, David Hearn, Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor when play begins this Thursday at Quail Hollow.

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AVONDALE, La. – Brian Stuard a eu raison de Jamie Lovemark au deuxième trou de prolongation de la Classique Zurich pour mettre la main sur son premier titre sur le circuit de la PGA.

Stuard n’a pas commis de bogey tout au long du tournoi disputé sur le très long (7425 verges) parcours du TPC Louisiana, noyé par près de 115 millimètres de pluie au cours du tournoi. Des délais en raison des conditions météo jeudi, samedi et dimanche ont non seulement forcé les organisateurs à repousser la prolongation à lundi, mais également à raccourcir le tournoi à 54 trous.

Lovemark, Stuard et Byeong-Hun An ont tous trois amorcé la prolongation avec un pointage cumulatif de 15 coups sous la normale.

An a trébuché sur le premier trou de prolongation tandis que Lovemark est tombé au deuxième. pendant ce temps, Stuard a poursuivi son chemin, inébranlable, comme tout au long du tournoi. Il s’est pratiquement assuré de la victoire en en envoyant son coup d’approche sur 160 verges à environ deux pieds et demie de la coupe, pour un coup roulé facile et un birdie.

Stuard est ainsi devenu le septième joueur à signer sa première victoire en carrière au tournoi disputé en banlieue de La Nouvelle-Orléans au cours des 11 dernières années.

AVONDALE, La. – Brian Stuard beat Jamie Lovemark on the second hole of a playoff Monday to capture his first PGA Tour win at the water-logged Zurich Classic.

Stuard never bogeyed a hole throughout the tournament on the long (7,425-yard), par-72 TPC Louisiana course, which was drenched with more than 4 1/2 inches of rain during the tournament. Weather delays on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday not only forced a Monday finish but also led officials to shorten the tournament to 54 holes.

Lovemark, Stuard and Byeong-Hun An entered the playoff at 15 under par.

An unraveled on the first playoff hole and Lovemark on the second while Stuard remained steady, virtually clinching the win with a 160-yard approach to within 2 1/2 of the pin for an easy birdie putt.

Stuard is the seventh first-time winner at the New Orleans-area Tour stop in the past 11 years.

David Hearn had the best finish of the four Canadians in the field. The Brantford, Ont., native tied for 20th at 8-under par. Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor, both of Abbotsford, B.C., finished in a tie for 36th at 6-under. Mike Weir missed the cut at 8-over.

AVONDALE, La. – Jhonattan Vegas birdied two of five holes he was able to play in the rain-delayed third round of the Zurich Classic on Sunday, giving him a share of the lead with Brian Stuard.

Tournament officials cut the event to 54 holes in an attempt to finish play Monday.

Vegas made birdie putts from beyond 7 feet on the first two holes to reach 13 under, then parred three straight before steady rain, accompanied by intermittent thunder, forced organizers to clear the water-logged TPC Louisiana after little more than two hours of play.

Stuard, who has not made a bogey in the tournament, had one birdie Sunday. Like Vegas, he’ll resume play on the sixth hole.

Top-ranked Jason Day was in a five-way tie for fifth at 10 under through 44 holes.

Rain, which also delayed play Thursday and Saturday, is again forecast Monday.

The Zurich Classic is the first PGA Tour event to be shortened to 54 holes since the 2013 Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua. The last Monday finish was the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in early February.

Play was suspended a just after 10 a.m. time and tournament officials waited hopefully through a delay of more than six hours before finally calling off play for the day and shortening the tournament.

“I’m just trying to stay awake right now. It’s been a really long day,” Vegas, a Venezuelan with one career PGA Tour triumph, said during the delay. “Just got to find a way to relax and keep the mind calm.”

He said he was focused on “doing things simple” in conditions that were sloppy but hardly unfamiliar to him.

“I grew up in a place that rained a lot,” Vegas said. “The big thing here (is) just being able to hit the ball clean, especially when it’s muddy and so wet.

“It should be a fun finish,” he added.

The 33-year-old Stuard is trying to win a PGA Tour event for the first time, and the delays have given him plenty of time to sit around and think about the high stakes he now faces in his final round, although he’s trying not to do that.

“Just try not to get ahead of yourself,” Stuard said. “We just got to keep that right mind frame and just worry about the next shot.”

Bobby Wyatt, who has an eagle and four birdies in his third round, climbed from 22nd after two rounds to third at 12 under with nine holes to play. Jamie Lovemark was fourth at 11 under with 13 holes left.

Day birdied his last two holes before play was stopped. He was tied with Charley Hoffman, Scott Stallings, Chris Kirk and Charles Howell III. Hoffman and Stallings each have just four holes left, while Kirk has nine and Howell 12.

“I’m only three shots back, but anything can happen on the back side,” Day said. “We always say golf is a marathon, not a sprint, (but) this is kind of a sprint now.”

Canada’s David Hearn was 8-under thru 13-holes of his 3rd round.

AVONDALE, La. – Brian Stuard completed his second straight bogey-free round to take a one-shot lead in the waterlogged Zurich Classic.

Stuard played just six holes Saturday, completing his second round with a 4-under 68 to reach 12 under at TPC Louisiana. Jamie Landmark and Jhonattan Vegas were tied for second. They finished the second round Friday.

The 33-year-old Stuard, winless on the PGA Tour, continued his steady play with two birdies Some players were able to begin the third round on Saturday before thunderstorms swept through the area, but the leaders haven’t teed off.

Top-ranked Day was five strokes behind Stuard after shooting a 68 in the second round.

Rain delays have interrupted two out of three days of the tournament. More rain is forecast for Sunday.

David Hearn, of Brantford, Ont., was the top Canadian at 5 under. Hearn was 1 under through four holes in his third round.

Fellow Canadian Adam Hadwin, of Abbotsford, B.C., made it through just two holes and is currently 4 under for the tournament. Nick Taylor, also from Abbotsford, had yet to tee off his third round.

AVONDALE, La. – Jamie Lovemark and Jhonattan Vegas shared the Zurich Classic lead at 11 under Friday when second-round play was suspended because of darkness.

Lovemark had a 27-hole day at hot and humid TPC Louisiana, completing a 5-under 67 in the first round and adding a 66 in the second in the event that fell behind schedule Thursday with a long rain delay.

“Just happy to be alive,” said Lovemark, winless on the PGA Tour. “It was hot, humid. It’s a tough walk, just soft, so ate a ton, walked slow. Not too bad. …

“I’m going to go sleep, man, find some AC, chill a little bit. I’m staying in town, so get some good food and just kind of relax, watch some basketball.”

Vegas, from Venezuela, shot 64-69.

“Long day,” Vegas said. “I played 30 1/2 holes today. I knew it was going to be an extremely long day, so I just kind of kept the mentality and hit one shot at a time and just played as hard as I can. The course was a little easier this morning with the greens being soft, but the wind picked up in the afternoon, and this course was really hard.”

None of the players in the afternoon wave finished the round, with top-ranked Jason Day at 5 under and facing a 15-foot birdie putt on the par-5 11th when play resumes. The Australian is the first No. 1 player to play in the event since David Duval in 1999.

Brian Stuard, the overnight leader after a 64 on Thursday, was a stroke behind the leaders at 10 under with six holes left.

Harold Varner III was 8 under after a 67. He and Tiger Woods are the only players of black heritage with PGA Tour status this season.

“I just think I’m obviously putting better,” Varner said. “You get out of a few jams when you chip it bad and you hole a few putts you’re supposed to hole, it just makes it a lot easier.”

Patton Kizzire, Thomas Aiken, Daniel Bergerand Patrick Rodgers were 7 under. Kizzire (67-70) and Aiken (68-69) finished, while Bergerhad five holes left, and Rodgers 11 to play.

Canadians Adam Hadwin and David Hearn are both 3 under. Hadwin, of Abbotsford, B.C., finished his round with a 69. Hearn, of Brantford, Ont., is through seven holes and is currently even.

Nick Taylor, of Abbotsford, B.C., is even through 11 holes while Mike Weir of Bright’s Grove, Ont., shot a 3-over 75 in his second round and is currently slated to miss the cut.

Vegas won the 2011 Bob Hope Classic for his lone tour title. He made a double bogey on the par-5 11th – his second hole of the second round – after losing a ball on his second shot.

“I just hit a bad shot,” Vegas said. “I shouldn’t have really gone that close to that tree, but it’s part of the game. I was proud to kind of get my head on the next shot and the next hole and bounce back with birdies after that.”

AVONDALE, La. – Brian Stuard shot an 8-under 64 on Thursday to top the leaderboard in the suspended first round of the Zurich Classic.

The 33-year-old Stuard had only 21 putts in his bogey-free round at TPC Louisiana, finishing his final hole after a rain delay of nearly five hours.

“It was just one of those days where it seemed like I was really reading the putts well, and luckily they were going in,” Stuard said. “I picked this putter up last week in San Antonio and had a good feel for it. I putted well last week and it continued over to today.”

None of the afternoon starters were able to finish before darkness suspended play.

Top-ranked Jason Day bogeyed his final two holes after the delay for 69.

“It’s just the waiting part,” Day said. “Obviously, the weather hovering above us just wouldn’t go away. It had just been a very long wait, and you just want to get in and finish. I had two holes left. Yeah, I mean, clearly a little frustrated, but looking forward to tomorrow.”

The Australian is the first No. 1 player to play in the event since David Duval in 1999.

“I’ve just got to manage myself out there,” Day said. “Obviously, this is going to be bit of a tough week with these double start rounds. Some guys are going out to play 27 holes tomorrow, or some guys have got to play 36. With that said, I might be able to sneak in nine holes and play 27 on Saturday, but I’ve just got to stay positive, keep moving forward, and see how it goes from there.”

Retief Goosen was second after a 65. The 47-year-old South African is a two-time U.S. Open champion.

“I hit a couple of bad shots coming in, unfortunately, but I managed to save pars,” Goosen said. “It’ll be a long wait now until my next round.”

J.J. Henry, Geoff Ogilvy, Derek Ernst, Charles Howell III and Patrick Rodgers shot 67, and Rickie Fowler topped the group at 68.

“A lot of just sitting around, hanging out,” Fowler said. “Boo (Weekley) was in there sleeping at one point. There was people spread out all over, from player family dining to the locker room. There might have been some pictures posted on Snapchat. But no, it’s always fun to hang with the fellow players and families and just kind of relax.”

Stuard is winless on the PGA Tour. He’s making only his seventh start of the season.

“I haven’t been able to get in too many tournaments,” Stuard said. “I played last week and then this week, obviously, so playing two in a row is kind of nice to get a little momentum going. … It’s tough. I guess it’s just part of the deal. You’ve got to deal with it. But it’s definitely tough, not sure what your schedule is going to be even next week.”

David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., had a 69 and found himself tied for 12th at 3-under. Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., was in the following group tied for 26th place after a 2-under 70.

Adam Hadwin, also of Abbotsford, found himself at even-par thru three holes, while Mike Weir of Bright’s Grove, Ont., was 1-over after six holes.