The road to The 152^nd Open Championship will stop in Canada once again, as the 2024 RBC Canadian Open contested May 30 to June 2 at Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Hamilton, Ont. will be among 16 events in 11 countries to make up The Open Qualifying Series for 2024.

The 2024 RBC Canadian Open will offer up three qualifying places to the leading three players, not already exempt, who make the cut at the 113^th playing of Canada’s National Open Championship.

The race to qualify for The 152^nd Open at Royal Troon gets under way this week with three places on offer through the Joburg Open in South Africa.

The Joburg Open is the first event in The Open Qualifying Series for 2024 which offers golfers around the world opportunities to book their place in golf’s original championship.

Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, Executive Director – Championships at The R&A, said: “The race to qualify for The 152^nd Open at Royal Troon is now under way and offers golfers all over the world a range of opportunities to secure a coveted place in the Championship.

“We look forward to seeing the drama unfold in the coming months as golfers emerge from tour events or Final Qualifying to book their place at Royal Troon next year.”

The ISPS HANDA Australian Open, which is co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour of Australasia and DP World Tour and being played at The Lakes and The Australian from 30 November – 3 December, will offer three places.

The Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday, the RBC Canadian Open and the John Deere Classic will offer golfers on the PGA Tour opportunities to qualify.

On the DP World Tour, places will be awarded at the KLM Open, Italian Open and Genesis Scottish Open, which is co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour.

Three events in Asia will be added to The Open Qualifying Series after the Asian Tour, Japan Golf Tour and KPGA Korean Tour have announced their schedules for 2024.

Final Qualifying events will be held at Burnham & Berrow, Dundonald Links, Royal Cinque Ports and West Lancashire on 2 July with a minimum of 16 places available. This will follow 14 Regional Qualifying events taking place on 24 June. Fulford and Bearwood Lakes have been added to the list of venues hosting Regional Qualifying.

Where any golfer who earns a qualifying place through an Open Qualifying Series event before the closing date for entries then becomes exempt under one or more other categories, that qualifying place will be awarded to the next best placed non-exempt golfer at that qualifying event.

The R&A will confirm the exemptions for The 152^nd Open at Royal Troon early in the new year.

The 152^nd Open will be played at Royal Troon from 18-21 July 2024.

The Open Qualifying Series will offer the following qualification places in The 152^nd Open:
 

NB. Three events in Asia will also be added to the Open Qualifying Series after the Asian Tour, Japan Golf Tour and KPGA Korean Tour have announced their schedules for 2024.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Ludvig Aberg added to his astonishing second half of the year when he closed with a second straight 9-under 61 on Sunday to win the RSM Classic, his first PGA Tour title to go along with a European tour victory and a winning debut in the Ryder Cup.

And to think the 24-year-old Swede was still at Texas Tech six months ago.

“Beyond my dreams,” Aberg said. “It’s been six months I’ll never forget.”

Not only did he win the final event of the PGA Tour season, he did it in record fashion. His final birdie allowed Aberg to tie the 72-hole scoring record on the PGA Tour, matching the 253 of Justin Thomas at the 2017 Sony Open.

His 61-61 finish set the tour record for lowest closing 36 holes, beating by one the mark shared by Matt Jones at Kapalua in 2022 and Patrick Rodgers at Sea Island in 2019.

“I think the sky’s the limit,” said Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., who gave Aberg a spirited battle with a 63 and couldn’t keep up. “He’s got the whole package. Got a good demeanor, doesn’t get too up or down. I’m sure we’re going to see a lot of him for the next few years.”

61-61 weekend for the win?

Pretty good, Ludvig Åberg. pic.twitter.com/2GZAlCp3FI

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 19, 2023

Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., had a stellar final round of 62 to finish tied for fifth at 19 under. Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., (69) tied for 44th at 11 under.

Aberg seized control with three straight birdies, one of them when he fearlessly drove over the marsh on the 407-yard fifth hole to 30 feet, and then held off Hughes, a hard-luck victim. Hughes shot 60-63 on the weekend and finished four shots behind.

Even after making his only bogey of the week, on the 12th hole of the Seaside course at Sea Island, Aberg answered every challenge.

He was two shots ahead when Hughes hit a nifty pitch to tap-in range for birdie on the 15th. Aberg was in the middle of a deep bunker with a tight pin and splashed that out to 4 feet for a matching birdie.

He all but clinched it with a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th, and for good measure he rolled in a 20-foot birdie putt at the end to put his name in the record book.

Aberg gave a brief, sweeping fist pump when the last birdie putt fell, a rare display of emotion. He said he considers being in contention a privilege, and he looks the part with a sweet smile and a killer instinct.

“This is what you dream of as a kid,” Aberg said. “This is the sport I love and am going to love for a long time. If you told me this a couple of months ago, I would not believe you. To be in this position, I need to pinch myself in the arm.”

It was the shot on the par-4 fifth, which bends hard to the right around the marsh, that stuck with Hughes.

“He’s kind of the modern-day player. I mean, No. 5 is probably the prime example of that,” Hughes said. “I’m playing left of that bunker and he flies it on the green and two-putts for birdie. So super impressive shot to not only hit it long but to hit that straight.”

Aberg was assured of a PGA Tour card for 2024 as the No. 1 player from the PGA Tour University ranking after his senior year at Texas Tech. 

In the 14 tournaments he played since June — three on the European tour — he won on the PGA Tour and had three other top 10s, including a playoff loss. He didn’t finish worse than a tie for 10th on the European tour, winning the European Masters in Switzerland to all but seal his spot on the Ryder Cup team.

Aberg and Viktor Hovland teamed at Marco Simone for a 9-and-7 foursomes win over Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka, a Ryder Cup record for margin of victory.

The victory at Sea Island moves him to No. 32 in the world. He earned a spot at the Masters, along with a spot at Kapalua in The Sentry to start the year. He also would appear to be a shoo-in for PGA Tour rookie of the year. The other top candidate, Eric Cole, played in the final group with Aberg and shot 67 to tie for third with Tyler Duncan (65).

“When he was playing as well as he was, it’s going to be hard to catch him,” Cole said.

Aberg finished at 29-under 253, breaking by seven shots the tournament record since it moved to two courses, the par-72 Plantation and the par-70 Seaside.

Ryan Moore picked up a substantial consolation prize. He birdied the 17th and closed with a 65 to tie for eighth, easily enough for him to finish in the top 125 in the FedEx Cup and keep his full card for 2024. He said the nerves were “close to what I felt trying to win a golf tournament coming down the stretch.”

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – The PGA TOUR announced the 2024 PGA TOUR Americas schedule, which features 16 tournaments spanning eight countries, beginning in March and concluding in September with the Fortinet Cup Championship. PGA TOUR Americas, which was introduced in April 2023, is the merger of PGA TOUR Latinoamérica and PGA TOUR Canada into a singular Tour.

“We are thrilled to announce the schedule for the inaugural PGA TOUR Americas season in 2024,” said Korn Ferry Tour President Alex Baldwin, who also oversees PGA TOUR Americas. “We are extremely grateful for our partners in their support of our members, our tournaments and our communities, and I’m confident our 16-event schedule will prepare our members for the next step in their professional golf journey.”

Fortinet is expanding its relationship with the PGA TOUR and sponsoring the season-long points race for PGA TOUR Americas, which will be referred to as the Fortinet Cup Standings. The top 10 players from the final 2024 Fortinet Cup Standings will earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for the 2025 season, as well as a share of a $100,000 USD bonus pool, with the No. 1 player earning $25,000 USD. In addition to the $100,000 USD bonus, players will compete for $3.6 Million USD in prize money across the 16 events ($225,000 USD purse for all 16 events).

The 2024 PGA TOUR Americas season opens with the Bupa Championship in Tulum, Mexico, at PGA Riviera Maya from March 21-24, which moves from its previous position at the end of the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica season to become the season-opening event.

Following a two-week break, the Tour will resume with the 69th Brazil Open at Rio Olympic Golf Course, which will mark the first time since 2017 a PGA TOUR-sanctioned event will be held at the course which famously hosted the 2016 Olympics. Over the subsequent three weeks, PGA TOUR Americas will travel to Santiago del Estero, Argentina, for the Termas de Rio Hondo Invitational presentado por Zurich (April 18-21), followed by the Diners Club Peru Open at Lima’s Los Inkas Golf Club (April 25-28), and the KIA Open at Quito Tenis y Golf Club in Quito, Ecuador (May 2-5).

The Inter Rapidisimo Golf Championship in Bogota, Colombia (May 16-19) will mark the conclusion of the six-event Latin America Swing, at which time the top 60 players from the Fortinet Cup Standings will earn access into the 10-event North America Swing. Additionally, the No. 1 and No. 2 finishers from the Fortinet Cup Standings at the conclusion of the Latin America Swing will earn conditional membership for the 2025 Korn Ferry Tour season, though those players can improve their status through the season-long standings.

During the four-week break between the Latin America and North America swings, PGA TOUR Americas will host six Qualifying Tournaments throughout North America, allowing players opportunities to earn access into the final 10 events of the PGA TOUR Americas season. Also taking place during the midseason break, players who finish Nos. 6-25 in the final 2024 PGA TOUR University Ranking will earn access to the North America Swing, which will see fields increase from 144 to 156 until the Fortinet Cup Championship.

The North America Swing, which features nine events in Canada and one in the United States, opens June 20-23 with The Beachlands Victoria Open presented by Times Colonist, at the Uplands Golf Course in Victoria, British Columbia, immediately followed by a trip east to Strathcona County, near Edmonton, Alberta, for the ATB Classic at Northern Bear Golf Course.

Following a one-week break in play, PGA TOUR Americas resumes with the inaugural playing of the Explore NB Open, which will be played at Mactaquac Golf Course in New Brunswick from July 11-14. This marks the first time PGA TOUR-sanctioned golf will be contested in the province of New Brunswick. The Tour then heads to the province of Quebec, for the Quebec Open at Golf Chateau-Bromont (July 18-21), followed by back-to-back weeks in Ontario with the Commissionaires Ottawa Open at Eagle Creek Golf Club and the Windsor Championship at Ambassador Golf Club.

The season resumes after an off week with the Elk Ridge Saskatchewan Open presented by Brandt (Aug. 15-18) in Waskesiu Lake, Saskatchewan, immediately followed by the CentrePort Canada Rail Park Manitoba Open at the Southwood Golf & Country Club in Winnipeg (Aug. 22-25).

The season’s penultimate event – the CRMC Championship presented by Gertens – will be contested in Brainerd, Minnesota from Aug. 29-Sept. 1. At the conclusion of the CRMC Championship, the top 120 players from the Fortinet Cup Standings will earn access to the season-ending Fortinet Cup Championship at TPC Toronto’s newly renovated North course, where the top 10 players on the final Fortinet Cup Standings will earn 2025 Korn Ferry Tour membership.

2024 PGA TOUR Americas Schedule

Montréal – The Presidents Cup and American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) announced that the 2024 Junior Presidents Cup will feature Canada’s Graham DeLaet and the United States’ Charley Hoffman as captains of the International and U.S. Teams, respectively, when the event is contested on the Blue Course at Le Club Laval-sur-le-Lac in Montréal, Québec, Canada on Monday, Sept. 23 and Tuesday, Sept. 24. The 2024 Presidents Cup will tee off two days later at The Royal Montréal Golf Club.

The Junior Presidents Cup is a two-day, team match-play competition featuring 24 of the world’s top junior boys 19 years old and younger – 12 from the United States and 12 from around the world, excluding Europe – that takes place just days before the start of the biennial Presidents Cup. The Junior Presidents Cup was developed to give the world’s best non-European juniors a unique playing opportunity to compete in an international team match-play competition and showcase the global reach of junior golf.

“In what has quickly become a beloved tradition of Presidents Cup week, we are honored to once again partner with the AJGA to contest the Junior Presidents Cup and set the stage for what will be another exciting competition at nearby Royal Montréal for the Presidents Cup,” said 2024 Presidents Cup Executive Director Ryan Hart. “As we’ve seen with each playing, the Junior Presidents Cup is a preview of the talent that will one day take the spotlight in the main event, and we’re grateful to the prestigious Le Club Laval-sur-le-Lac for opening their doors to this unique competition.”

The teams will compete in six Four-ball and Foursomes matches on Monday, Sept. 23, followed by 12 Singles matches on Tuesday, Sept. 24. 

“Partnering with the Presidents Cup and the PGA TOUR to bring the Junior Presidents Cup to Le Club Laval-sur-le-Lac in Montréal, is a remarkable opportunity to showcase these junior golfers to the world,” said AJGA Executive Director Stephen Hamblin. “Having two captains who are so involved with the Presidents Cup as well as AJGA alumni is a dream come true and we are excited for this event to help us further our mission of developing golf’s next generation.”

DeLaet, a proud Canadian who represented his country at the 2013 Presidents Cup, put on a show in front of the crowds at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, earning a 3-1-1 record. He opened with a victory in the first match of the event, partnering with Jason Day to defeat Hunter Mahan and Brandt Snedeker, 1-up, in Four-ball. 

But DeLaet’s indelible moment at the Presidents Cup came on Saturday morning, when he holed a bunker shot at the 18^th hole for birdie to claim a 2-up victory against Jordan Spieth and Steve Stricker. The next day, DeLaet defeated Spieth in Singles, 1-up.

Three years later, DeLaet represented Canada again, this time in golf’s return to the Olympics at the 2016 Games in Rio. 

Off the course, DeLaet and his wife, Ruby, started the Graham and Ruby DeLaet Foundation to provide support for children and junior golfers in his home province of Saskatchewan. During his own junior golf days, DeLaet played in the 1999 AJGA Lucent Western Canadian Jr.

“It was a total honor to get the call, and I was honestly taken aback at the opportunity, but it’s going to be a lot of fun to see these kids make memories for a lifetime in a city as special as Montréal,” DeLaet said. “A lot of these kids on both teams will end up playing on the PGA TOUR at some point in time, so I’m looking forward to getting them together to have fun and hopefully play their best golf.”

Hoffman, a Rancho Santa Fe, California native, has competed on the PGA TOUR since 2006 and owns four career victories and nine runner-up finishes. Known for his consistency and longevity, Hoffman advanced to the FedExCup Playoffs in 15 consecutive seasons from 2007-2021.

In 2017, Hoffman qualified for the United States Team at the Presidents Cup, where he compiled a 1-2-0 record in his debut at Liberty National Golf Club, highlighted by a dominant 6-and-5 victory in Four-ball over Charl Schwartzel and Anirban Lahiri.

As a junior golfer, Hoffman competed in 13 AJGA events, including a victory at the 1994 PING Phoenix Junior Championship. He also went on to win the California high school state championship in 1994 and 1995, becoming the first two-time winner at the time. 

“My first reaction was complete honor that I was even considered,” Hoffman said. “The relationships that are formed through these AJGA team events are special, and to represent your country on top of that is second to none. This experience will no doubt prepare them for future Presidents Cups, but at the end of the day my job is to make sure they have fun and enjoy the experience.”

Founded in 1917, Le Club Laval-sur-le-Lac is considered as one of Canada’s most prestigious clubs, with both of their courses – the Green and Blue – being named among the Top 100 golf courses in Canada. The Junior Presidents Cup will be played on the Blue Course, which was redesigned in 2013 by 2024 International Presidents Cup Captain Mike Weir and Ian Andrew.

“We are very excited to host this event,” said Le Club Laval-sur-le-Lac President of the Board, Christian Leblanc. “For us it is very important to help the juniors from Canada see what a great club this is and to help develop junior golf not just in Canada, but around the world. The club and the members are very excited to show what Laval sur-le-Lac is all about.”

The U.S. Team defeated the International Team by a score of 13-11 in the third edition of the Junior Presidents Cup in 2022 at Myers Park Country Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, where a Notah Begay III-led U.S. Team mounted an improbable comeback in Singles against South Africa’s Tim Clark and the International Team.

Le Club Laval-sur-le-Lac

Junior Presidents Cup Eligibility

Teams will consist of the top 24 junior boys from the United States and around the world, excluding Europe, split up into teams of 12. Participants for both teams must be at least 12 years old by the start of the tournament and must have not reached their 19th birthday or have yet graduated high school as of January 1, 2024*.

Additionally, participants must be amateurs who have not yet started college and are not members of a competitive collegiate golf program in order to be eligible to play in the Junior Presidents Cup.

*Players graduating in the final four months (Sept. – Dec.) of the year will be considered part of the following year’s graduating class.

U.S. Team Selection / Eligibility Criteria

• On August 8, 2024, the leading 10 qualified players based on the Rolex AJGA Rankings will be selected along with the 11th player, who will be selected by the U.S. Team Captain.
• The 12th and final spot will be awarded to the leading player based on the Rolex AJGA Rankings as of September 5, 2024, who is not otherwise qualified.
• In the event of a tie, the selection will be decided by the individual ranked highest on the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®) list at that time.
• For the August 8, 2024, selection date, the 52-week rankings window will include ranked events with an end date of August 8, 2023 – August 5, 2024, while the September 5, 2024, selection date 52-week rankings window will include ranked events with an end date of September 5, 2023 – September 2, 2024.
• Each U.S. Team participant must also be a citizen of the United States and must be a current AJGA member in good standing.

International Team Selection / Eligibility Criteria

• On August 8, 2024, the leading 10 qualified players based on the World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®) will be selected along with the 11th player, who will be selected by the International Team Captain.
• The host country is guaranteed at least one spot on the International Team. If no players from the host country are ranked as part of the leading 10 qualified players, the 10th spot will go to the top-ranked qualified player from the host country.
• The 12th and final spot will be awarded to the leading player on the WAGR® list as of September 5, 2024, who is not otherwise qualified.
• In the event of a tie, the selection will be decided by the individual ranked highest on the most recent previous World Amateur Golf Ranking® (WAGR®) revision.
• Each International Team participant must be a citizen of an eligible international Presidents Cup country (excludes European Ryder Cup countries).
• To be eligible to appear on the International Team standings, players MUST have their birthdate on file with WAGR®. Once a WAGR® Ranking is established, submit the WAGR® Player Submission Form.

The 2024 Presidents Cup will be held at The Royal Montréal Golf Club, September 24-29. For more information about the Presidents Cup, or to purchase tickets, please visit PresidentsCup.com. 

Canadians Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith both finished near the top of the leaderboard at the Shriners Children’s Open and are resting this week as they consider what to do next.

Hadwin finished second at TPC Summerlin on Sunday, one shot behind eventual winner Tom Kim of South Korea. Pendrith was in a group tied for third, a shot back of his fellow Canadian. 

“It was a good week. I didn’t know what to expect coming in,” said Hadwin, who had last played in a PGA Tour event on Aug. 20 at the BMW Championship. “I hadn’t played since the playoff event in Chicago, about seven weeks ago, so it was nice to play. 

“I was really ready to compete. I was missing the competition of things.”

Pendrith hadn’t played for a month, missing the cut at the Fortinet Championship in mid-September. The native of Richmond Hill, Ont., returned to Canada to see family before heading to Las Vegas for the Shriners Children’s Open.

“Kind of a blur, but I took the red eye home Sunday night from Vegas and got here about noon on Monday,” said Pendrith from his residence in Florida. “It’s nice to be home. We haven’t been here in probably five weeks.”

Hadwin and Pendrith’s stop-and-start schedule is partly thanks to the PGA Tour’s new calendar, as the top men’s golf tour in the world transitions to a regular season that starts in January instead of straddling two years.

Hadwin, who is from Abbotsford, B.C., said that because he’s 45th in the FedEx Cup Fall standings, he might not play again in 2023.

“I’m going to probably speak with some of those statisticians and analysts and see whether or not I may be able to maintain my top 50 ranking without playing,” said Hadwin, who wants to finish the year within the top 50 to qualify for the 2024 Masters. “I know that sometimes, depending on how the points shake out, you’re better off not playing than playing.”

Hadwin said that he would consider his options and possibly play in one of November’s tournaments. Pendrith, on the other hand, said he intends to keep playing, likely at the World Wide Technology Championship in Los Cabos, Mexico, on Nov. 2, Butterfield Bermuda Championship on Nov. 9, and the RSM Classic in St. Simons Island, Ga., on Nov. 16.

“A win now has the same perks as a win in the regular season. I can still play my way into the elevated events at the start of the year with some good finishes in the next three weeks,” said Pendrith, who earned a PGA Tour card for next season with his tie for third on Sunday. “There’s still lots to play for. 

“I feel like my game’s good right now and my body feels good. Why not play is kind of what I’m thinking.”

Regardless of whether or not they play in November, both Canadians are looking forward to a six-week break through December and into January. They said they want to spend time with their young families.

“I do like the idea of having three, four months to work on a few things, maybe add a few pounds, work on getting faster and stronger and all those sorts of things without having golf matter,” said Hadwin, who will also participate in some fundraising events for the Hadwin Family Foundation during his break. “It’s nice to be able to work without chasing FedEx points or wanting to get the year off started on a good note.”

Pendrith said he’s eager to spend time in his new house in Florida. He has also got into the wine business, launching the Taylor Pendrith Wine Collection through Pillitteri Estates in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.

“I’ve liked wine for a number of years and we thought it’d be a cool thing to get this going,” said Pendrith. “I was there two weeks ago to taste it for the first time, which was really cool. Got a tour of the whole place and saw where the wine was made and it’s pretty neat.

“I think it’s great that it’s a Canadian winery, and they’ve won tons of awards for their wines.”

LAS VEGAS — Tom Kim now has something in common with Byron Nelson as the only players to have won the same PGA Tour event twice in the same season.

Kim successfully defended his title Sunday in the Shriners Children’s Open when he closed with a 5-under 66 to emerge from a pack of a dozen players who had a chance in the final hour. Kim wound up winning by one shot over runner-up Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., who birdied the final hole for a 67.

A $404,200 putt ?@AHadwinGolf’s 25-foot birdie on No. 18 earned him solo second place @ShrinersOpen.

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) October 16, 2023

Kim now has three PGA Tour titles in the last 15 months, at 21 the youngest player since Tiger Woods in 1997 to have three tour wins.

He won in Las Vegas a year ago, beating Patrick Cantlay in a playoff at the TPC Summerlin, when the Shiners Children’s Open was early in the season. Now, the Las Vegas event is still part of the same season because the PGA Tour goes to a calendar season starting in 2024.

Nelson won the San Francisco Open in January 1944, and the same tournament in December of 1994, both times at Harding Park.

This one was up for grabs until Kim seized control on the par-5 16th.

With an hour left in the tournament, there was a six-way tie for the lead and 12 players were separated by a single shot. The key stretch at the TPC Summerlin was holes No. 13 through No. 16, which ranked as four of the five easiest holes in the final round.

Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., was tied for the lead with a birdie on the 13th, but had to settle for pars the rest of that stretch. He ended up T3 at -18.

Then, it became a two-man race between Kim and Hadwin, playing in the final group with Kim holding a one-shot advantage.

Both birdied the 13th, Hadwin with a 35-foot birdie putt that rimmed all the way around the cup before dropping. Both birdied the reachable par-4 15th, Kim with a tough up-and-down and birdie putt from 12 feet, Hadwin narrowly missing a 25-foot eagle attempt.

It turned on the par-5 16th. Kim hit to the fat of the green in two, 50 feet away for eagle. Hadwin knew he missed his shot right after contact and it came up well short and into the water. Hadwin missed a six-foot par putt after his penalty drop, and Kim three-putted — he had to make a five-footer on his third one — for par.

“I completely whiffed it, up and out of it, and unfortunately one of my worst swings of the day at the least opportune time,” Hadwin said.

“I feel like you dump it in the water there on 16, and I certainly by no means gave the tournament away, but I would have liked to have hit a more quality golf shot and put a little bit more pressure on Tom coming down the stretch.”

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C.finished T13 at -16, while Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., tied for 18th at -12.

LAS VEGAS — Defending champion Tom Kim felt the vibes and found his groove Saturday in Las Vegas with a 9-under 62 that gave him a three-way share of the lead in the Shriners Children’s Open and a chance to win the same tournament twice in one season.

It was the second straight year Kim had a 62 in the third round at the TPC Summerlin. It led to a playoff victory over Patrick Cantlay last year in what was the early part of the season. Now it’s technically the same season before the PGA Tour goes back to a calendar year.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., played bogey-free — he had more birdies on the par 3s than the par 5s — for a 63 to catch Kim. Joining them was a late arrival in so many ways — Lanto Griffin, who was tied for the 36-hole lead and didn’t make a birdie until the 13th hole.

That was the start of three birdies in a four-hole stretch that led to a 68 and allowed Griffin to share the lead at 15-under 198.

This was hardly a three-man race going into the final round. K.H. Lee (66) was among three players on shot back. It all, 14 players were within three shots of the lead. That includes J.T. Poston and RBC Canadian Open champion Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, small consolation to both of them.

Poston hit a superb bunker shot on the 15th to five feet for birdie that allowed him to tie for the lead. He was 209 yards away on the par-5 16th, poised for birdie at worst. And then it all fell apart with one swing and one decision.

His shot landed on the bank of the green and hopped back into the water. Instead of going to the drop zone some 95 yards away in the fairway, Poston chose to drop in the right rough for a better angle at the bank left pin. But then his wedge came out heavy, caromed twice off the rocks framing the green and back into the water.

This time, he went to the drop zone and hit it to 15 feet. 

“Should have done that the first (expletive) time,” Poston could be heard saying. He missed the putt, giving it a sarcastic thumbs-up as it was drifting right of the hole, and took triple bogey.

He closed with a birdie for a 68 and was in the large group at 13-under.

Taylor was within one shot of the lead when he failed to birdie the par-5 16th. On the par-3 17th, he hung his head when his tee shot was in the air, knowing anything too far left would catch a slope and roll into the water, and that’s what it did. He took double bogey, had to settle for a 69 and was among those at 12-under 201.

Other Canadians in the hunt include Taylor Pendrith of Thornhill, Ont., who is one shot back of the leaders and Surrey’s Adam Svensson, who is two back.

Hadwin had one of only seven birdies on the 17th, holing a 30-footer that capped off a 63. The Canadian is playing for the first time since the BMW Championship in August, and said he felt more rejuvenated than rusty. He finished among the top 50 in the FedEx Cup and is already in all the $20 million events next year.

But he is No. 56 in the world ranking. The top 50 at the end of the year get into the Masters.

A birdie on the second playoff hole of last year’s Sanderson Farms Championship put Mackenzie Hughes in a solid position for the rest of the PGA Tour season. 

As much as he’d like to repeat as champion, things have changed in the past 12 months.

Hughes, from Dundas, Ont., still wants to win it for a second consecutive year, but now it’s more about keeping his game in good shape than it is climbing the FedEx Cup standings. The shifting goals are largely because the PGA Tour’s points list resets on New Year’s Day instead of straddling two calendar years as it did last season.

“When I won last year I was the top of the FedEx Cup and I was set up for a great year, right from the get go,” said Hughes, No. 51 on the FedEx Cup standings, on a video call from Country Club of Jackson in Mississippi. “If I’m to win this week it doesn’t necessarily give me a head start on next year’s FedEx Cup. 

“January 1st, everyone’s starting from scratch, starting fresh.”

Instead, Hughes is trying to earn entry into more tournaments this fall and make sure he’s finely tuned for the 2023 golf season, which will have a different format following the PGA Tour’s merger with the Europe-based DP World Tour and Saudi-owned LIV Golf circuit.

He said that the schedule and format changes have impacted the entire field at the Sanderson Farms Championship, including fellow Canadians Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., and Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont.

“No one’s looking at it as if you’re getting ahead of the guys that aren’t playing,” said Hughes. “Everyone out here is playing for something a little bit different, whether it’s a guy that’s 150th in the FedEx Cup and is playing for his card, or a guy like me who’s trying to just maintain where he’s at, and hopefully win and play my way into some of those other tournaments.”
Hughes has been clear about his goals for the 2024 season for months now. 

He wants to play for the International team in the Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal Golf Club. It’s not just an opportunity to represent Canada on one of the biggest stages in men’s golf, but a chance to play for golfing legend Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., who is the first Canadian to captain a team at the international event.

“Obviously, my goals are to play for Mike at Royal Montreal and be on that Presidents Cup team and really just kind of get back to playing some good consistent golf,” said Hughes. “I feel like I have a great understanding of what I need to do now. 

“I think that despite what I’ve gone through the last like six months or so I feel like I’ve actually never felt better about what what’s to come. I’m really bullish on my season next year and beyond.”

PONTE VEDRE – The PGA TOUR has released its nominees for their 2022-23 PGA TOUR Tournament Awards, with the 2023 RBC Canadian Open picking up four nominations.

In June, Nick Taylor became the first Canadian in 69 years to win his national open, holing a 72-foot eagle putt on the fourth playoff hole to beat Tommy Fleetwood at Oakdale Golf and Country Club in Toronto.

“We are honoured and humbled to be nominated for these prestigious awards by the PGA TOUR,” said Bryan Crawford, RBC Canadian Open tournament director. “It is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team, including staff, partners, fans and volunteers, who are committed to delivering excellence in everything we do. This is a moment of pride for us, and we are grateful to be recognized in this way.”

The 2023 RBC Canadian Open picked up nominations in the following four categories:

• Best Marketing Initiative: Criteria include the development and execution of a marketing campaign designed to increase ticket sales and attendance.
• Most Engaged Community: Attendance, volunteer support, year-round community involvement, new community engagement program, media participation, community woven in to the “fabric” of the tournament and charity partners.
• Best Special Event: Development of an actionable plan with clear objectives, creative elements and measurable results which drove attendance, social media attention, local PR, ticket sales, charity donations or media value. Examples: luncheon, special dinner, concert/concert series, 5K run, sales event, celebrity shootout, etc.)
• Sustainability Award: Designed to recognize engagement in sustainability and commitment to reducing the tournament’s environmental impact, which will help protect the game for future generations.

Winners will be announced at the 2023 PGA TOUR Tournament Awards Celebration, which take place Thursday, December 7 in La Quinta, CA. 

Canadian golfing legend Mike Weir is counting the days until he can again hear the roar of a Presidents Cup crowd.

Weir, from Brights Grove, Ont., was doing site inspections and meeting key organizers of the 2024 Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal Golf Club on Tuesday. He said that although the 12-on-12 tournament will feature some of the best players on the PGA Tour, the atmosphere is on an entirely different level than the top men’s circuit.

“There’s roars, there’s not just pops,” said Weir, who is the first Canadian to captain the International team. “It’s a whole different experience, not only for the players, but the fans, the fans are more engaged.”

“It becomes more like a hockey game. There’s chanting, there’s songs being sung out there.”

The Presidents Cup sees 12 players from the United States face 12 players from around the world, excluding Europe. Because the team-based event has significantly fewer groups on the course at any given time, the crowds follow players from hole to hole, creating a lively atmosphere with thousands of people surrounding every tee box and green.

The first hole at a Presidents Cup is especially impressive, with players arriving at the tee through a tunnel with an announcer and video packages heralding their arrival.

“The first tee experience is incredible,” said Weir. “There’s music playing as players come out through the tunnel, there’s a big screen up on the first tee, and you can see the opening tee shots go down and the camera pans with it.”

“People cheer when the home team hits the fairway and people jeer when the ball goes in the rough and it’s a totally different experience for the fans and the players in a team competition.”

Weir and Jim Furyk, as the non-playing captains of the International and American teams, are responsible for almost every detail for their squads.

Although the first eight players selected to each team are taken automatically based on their PGA Tour rankings, Weir and Furyk will get to choose the remaining four players themselves. They’re also responsible for decking out the team cabins where the players and their spouses prepare for their matches, the design of the team uniforms and bags, as well as when and how their teams practice.

Weir and Furyk have to balance these responsibilities with playing on the PGA Tour Champions, the senior circuit for men’s golf.

“As soon as I accepted the position I knew my own game would go on the back burner for a couple of years,” said Weir, who missed Champions Tour events last week and this week so he could focus on preparing for the Presidents Cup. “This team and the Presidents Cup, for me have always been a huge part of my career.”

“Being the captain is priority No. 1 in the golf world for me, and my own game is second.”

Royal Montreal Golf Club is hosting the Presidents Cup from Sept. 24 to 29, 2024. It’s the second time the oldest golf club in North America will host the event. Both Weir and Furyk played in the 2007 edition of the tournament.

“The golf course really hasn’t changed that much since ’07,” said Furyk in the midst of his day in Montreal. “They’re going to add a little yardage to it, but it still looks very similar. It’s withstood the test of time, for sure.”

“The event’s grown in stature, as far as the number of eyes, the television outlets, the worldwide appeal. I think the game of golf has kind of grown worldwide as well.”

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., were on the International team at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C., last year, the first time two Canadians played in the event. The United States beat the Internationals 17.5-12.5 and Furyk said that his team will be ready to play in hostile territory when the tournament heads north of the border.

“We’re the away team so a lot of fans will be pulling for the International team,” said Furyk. “I think as a player, you enjoy both scenarios, right?”

“You enjoy being the home team, you enjoy support, but it’s nice to have an away game once in a while and play the villain role.”