Final field released for the 2022 RBC Canadian Open
Golf Canada and RBC are pleased to announce the final field vying for the US$8.7 million purse at the 2022 RBC Canadian Open, June 6-12 at St. George’s Golf and Country Club in partnership with nearby Islington Golf Club as the official practice facility.
After a wait of 1,093 days and two years of cancellation due to the global pandemic, 2019 champion and world no. 7 Rory McIlroy returns to Canada looking to defend his title against a stellar field of PGA TOUR stars led by world no. 1 and 2022 Master champion Scottie Scheffler, world no. 3 and 2022 The Players champion Cam Smith, world no. 4 and 2022 PGA champion Justin Thomas and world no. 9 Sam Burns, a 3-time PGA TOUR winner in 2022.
Other notable additions to the field for the 111th playing of Canada’s National Open Championship include world no. 15 Matthew Fitzpatrick, world no. 16 Tony Finau, world no. 23 Tyrell Hatton and big-hitter Cameron Champ along with past Major winners, Shane Lowry, Patrick Reed, Justin Rose, Jason Dufner and Danny Willet.
Team RBC will be represented at St. George’s by a collection of international and Canadian talents including world no. 38 Harold Varner III and 2013 RBC Canadian Open champion Brandt Snedeker along with world no. 34 Corey Conners and fellow Canadian PGA TOUR players Mackenzie Hughes, Adam Hadwin, Nick Taylor, Roger Sloan, Michael Gligic, Adam Svensson, and Taylor Pendrith.
The field for the celebrated return of the 2022 RBC Canadian Open includes five of the top-10 players in the world (Scheffler, Smith, Thomas, McIlroy, and Burns) and the top-four players on the current FedEx Cup ranking. Seven major championship winners (accounting for 11 titles) will compete along with eight 2021-22 PGA TOUR in-year winners, six past champions of the RBC Canadian Open, and 21 Canadians.
“We are extremely pleased with the field of world-class competitors that make their way to Canada to join us in the celebrated return of the RBC Canadian Open and challenge for the 111th playing of Canada’s National Men’s Open Championship,” said RBC Canadian Open Tournament Director Bryan Crawford. “Led by our defending champion Rory McIlroy, this year’s championship features a strong mix of stars from all around the world and the deepest field of Canadian talent ever to challenge for our National Men’s Open title. Along with great golf, fans will be treated to an incredible festival environment with terrific on-site activities including the Recipe Unlimited Fareway food and beverage experience and the RBCxMusic Concert series featuring Flo Rida (June 10) and Maroon 5 (June 11). It is the return that Canadian golf fans deserve as we get set to kick off summer.”
In total, 156 players will compete for the US$8.7 million purse next week in Toronto when the RBC Canadian Open returns to the storied Stanley Thompson design for the sixth time and first since 2010.
Due to current Government of Canada travel restrictions extending beyond June 1, Team RBC ambassadors Webb Simpson and Matt Kuchar are not able to participate in the championship and have officially withdrawn from the 2022 RBC Canadian Open. Golf Canada and RBC look forward welcoming Simpson and Kuchar back to Canada for the 2023 RBC Canadian Open at Oakdale Golf & Country Club.
Click here for a full field list for the 2022 RBC Canadian Open.
PGA TOUR Season Winners…
A total of eight in-year PGA TOUR winners accounting for 14 PGA TOUR titles in 2021-22 will compete at St. George’s led by 4-time winner Scottie Scheffler, 3-time winner Sam Burns, and 2-time winner Cam Smith. Other in-year PGA TOUR winners in the field include Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Luke List, JJ Spaun, and Chad Ramey.
Past Champions…
Six past RBC Canadian Open champions will compete at St. George’s including Chez Reavie (2008), Sean O’Hair (2011), Scott Piercy (2012) Brandt Snedeker (2013), Jhonattan Vegas (2016-17) and defending champion Rory McIlroy (2019).
Twenty-one Canadians to compete for their National Men’s Open Title…
Current PGA TOUR players Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes, Adam Hadwin, Nick Taylor, Adam Svensson, Michael Gligic, Taylor Pendrith and Roger Sloan will lead a talented roster of 21 Canadians competing in the RBC Canadian Open. The 2022 event welcomes home a legend as 8-time PGA TOUR and Canadian Golf Hall of Famer Mike Weir will make his 29th start in the RBC Canadian Open. Other Canadians competing on exemption include David Hearn, Aaron Cockerill, Stuart MacDonald, Albin Choi, Myles Creighton, Jared du Toit, Brendan Leonard, Wes Heffernan, Callum Davison, and Max Sekulic along with Team Canada amateurs AJ Ewart and Johnny Travale.
Final Tournament Exemptions to be Named…
The final four exemptions into the field for the 2022 RBC Canadian Open will be handed out at the Monday Qualifier on Monday June 6, to be played at Oakdale Golf and Country in Toronto, host site of the 2023 and 2026 RBC Canadian Open.
Click here for the full current list of competitors competing in the 2022 RBC Canadian Open, June 6-12 at St. George’s Golf and Country Club in partnership with nearby Islington Golf Club as the official practice facility.
Tickets for the 2022 RBC Canadian Open are available here.
Mike Weir to compete in 29th RBC Canadian Open
Golf Canada and RBC confirmed today that 8-time PGA TOUR winner and Canadian Golf Hall of Famer Mike Weir has accepted an exemption to compete in the 2022 RBC Canadian Open, June 6-12 at St. George’s Golf and Country Club in Toronto.
With the appearance, Weir, the 2003 Master champion and past winner on PGA TOUR Champions who recently finished T4 at the 2022 Senior PGA Championship, will be making his 29th start in the RBC Canadian Open, third-most in tournament history behind fellow Canadian Golf Hall of Famers George Cumming (32) and Gordon Brydson (30).
Also accepting an exemption to compete in the 111th playing of the Canada’s National Men’s Open Championship are PGA TOUR veteran David Hearn of Brantford, Ont. as well as Winnipeg, Man. native Aaron Cockerill who currently sits 40th on the DP World Tour ranking. Hearn will be competing in his 18th RBC Canadian Open while Cockerill will make his first appearance.
A pair of Canadians currently competing on the Korn Ferry Tour – Stuart MacDonald of Vancouver and Albin Choi of Toronto – have also been extended exemption to compete at St. George’s. Choi, who is currently ranked no. 93 on the Korn Ferry Tour money list will compete in his sixth RBC Canadian while MacDonald, a member of Golf Canada’s Young Pro Squad who is currently ranked no. 111 on the Korn Ferry money list will play in his first RBC Canadian Open.
Two other members of Golf Canada’s Young Pro Squad – Miles Creighton of Digby, N.S. and Jared du Toit of Kimberly, B.C. – have also been extended exemptions. Creighton will make his first-ever start in Canada’s National Men’s Open Championship while du Toit, who made a magical run in 2016 to finish T9 as an amateur, will make his fourth appearance.
Team Canada Amateur Squad member AJ Ewart of Coquitlam, B.C. will also compete in his first RBC Canadian Open. The 23-year-old sophomore at Barry University has earned seven career NCAA Division II victories including four this season. Ewart’s Team Canada teammate, 21-year-old Johnny Travale of Stoney Creek, Ont., has also accepted an exemption.
A third member of the Team Canada Amateur Squad—Max Sekulic of Rycroft, Alta. will also compete in his first RBC Canadian Open, an exemption he earned by winning the 2021 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship. Sekulic will compete in the RBC Canadian Open as a professional.
Calgary native Wes Heffernan will compete in his seventh RBC Canadian Open, earning his exemption as the top finisher of on the 2021 PGA of Canada player rankings.
Canadian Callum Davison of Duncan, B.C. (2021 PGA TOUR Canada season winner) will compete on an exemption previously earned through PGA TOUR Canada and will be joined by Delta, B.C. resident Yi Cao (2020 Canada Life Series winner).
Brendan Leonard of Cambridge, Ont. recently earned a spot in the field by winning the RBC Canadian Open Ontario Regional Qualifier at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley. The next 20 finishers from the Ontario Reginal Qualifier will join 11 players from the Quebec Qualifier (May 9 at Club do Golf Le Blainvillier in Blainville, Que.) nine players from the BC Qualifier (May 17 at Meadow Gardens Golf Club in Pitt Meadows, B.C.), and six from the Alberta Qualifier (May 30 at Mickelson National Golf Club in Calgary, Alta.) in the Final Monday Qualifier on June 6 at Oakdale Golf and Country Club. Four exemptions from the Final Qualifier on Monday, June 6 will be available into the field of the RBC Canadian Open.
A full Canadian contingent will also celebrate the return of the RBC Canadian Open led by world no. 34 Corey Conners, past PGA TOUR winners Mackenzie Hughes, Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor as well as fellow PGA TOUR members Taylor Pendrith, Adam Svensson, Michael Gligic and Roger Sloan.
Tickets for the 2022 RBC Canadian Open are available here.
Hughes finishes top 10 at the Wells Fargo Championship
Mackenzie Hughes withstood windy, wet and cold conditions to finish 2-under par and tied for 9th at the Wells Fargo Championship in Potomac, Maryland over the weekend.
After an opening round 4-under 66, Hughes, paired with fellow Canadian Corey Conners who finished two back at even par, carded a final round bogey-free 67 to move into the top 10 at TPC Potomac at Avenel Farm – his third finish of that nature this season.
Nick Taylor put in a gutsy performance facing inclement weather conditions and finished in a tie for 15th, while Michael Gligic managed a T37 result.
Traditionally hosted by the Quail Hollow Club, the event was moved this year as the course in Charlotte, North Carolina undergoes preparations for the 2022 President’s Cup in September.
For Max Homa, it didn’t matter where the tournament was happening. For the second time since 2019 (the event was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19), Homa was crowned champion of the Wells Fargo Championship, finishing at 8-under par, two strokes ahead of runners-up Matt Fitzpatrick, Cameron Young and Keegan Bradley.
As the final pairing on Sunday, Homa and Bradley seesawed through the closing round, with lead changes throughout the front nine before Homa seized control down the stretch en route to his fourth career PGA TOUR victory and third in the last 15 months.
Drew Nesbitt, Adam Svensson and Roger Sloan were also in the field at TPC Potomac but did not make the cut.
For the full leaderboard click here.
Next up: The TOUR heads south to Texas for the AT&T Byron Nelson at TPC Craig Ranch from May 12-16. Hughes, Gligic, Sloan, Svensson, Taylor and Adam Hadwin are slated to tee it up for Canada.
World no. 4 Cam Smith joins field for 2022 RBC Canadian Open
One of the hottest golfers on the planet is sure to be a fan-favourite at St. George’s Golf and Country Club in Toronto as world no. 4 Cameron Smith will compete in the 2022 RBC Canadian Open.
Competing in his third RBC Canadian Open, the 28-year-old Aussie is having a stellar season with five top-10 finishes including victories at The Players Championship and the Sentry Tournament of Champions in addition to a T3 finish at the Masters. Currently ranked no. 3 on the 2022 FedEx Cup, Smith is a 5-time winner on the PGA TOUR.
“I’ve heard how much positive momentum there is for the return of the RBC Canadian Open. I’m actually pretty excited to get back to Canada for the first time since 2017 and keen to play St. George’s, which I hear is one of the top courses in the country,” said Smith. “Similar to back home in Australia, Canada’s golf fans seem really passionate and I’m looking forward to heading up Toronto in June to compete in their National Open.”
Internationally, Smith is a two-time winner of the Australian PGA Championship, was a member of the International Team at the 2019 President’s Cup and competed for Australia at the 2020 Olympic Games.
Smith joins a strong field that includes defending champion and world no. 7 Rory McIlroy, world no. 1 and reigning Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, and world no. 11 Dustin Johnson along with other members of Team RBC.
After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the RBC Canadian Open is set to return June 6-12 with an exciting field expected at St. George’s Golf and Country Club this summer. Nearby Islington Golf Club will serve as the official practice facility for the championship.
A full Canadian contingent will also celebrate the return of the RBC Canadian Open led by world no. 32 Corey Conners, past PGA TOUR winners Mackenzie Hughes, Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor as well as fellow PGA TOUR members Taylor Pendrith, Adam Svensson, Michael Gligic and Roger Sloan.
Winnipeg native Aaron Cockerill, currently ranked no. 32 on the DP World Tour, has been given a tournament exemption to compete in the 2022 RBC Canadian Open. Additional Canadian player exemptions will be named in the coming weeks.
More field announcements are set for the coming weeks, along with the return of the RBCxMusic Concert Series on both Friday and Saturday nights featuring Flo Rida (June 10) and Maroon 5 (June 11).
Tickets for the 2022 RBC Canadian Open are available here.
Canadians could make history at Presidents Cup by having two or three players on team
There could be a slightly different flavour to the International team at this year’s Presidents Cup. A hint of maple.
Canadian golfing great Mike Weir will be a captain’s assistant for the International team at the Presidents Cup for a third time this September. But for the first time ever there’s a strong possibility that up to three Canadian players will be joining Weir at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C.
There has never been more than one Canadian player competing in a Presidents Cup.
“I played in five President Cups, and I was the only one on the team,” said Weir, who is 13-9-2 all-time at the event. “When (Adam Hadwin) made the team, he was the only one and when Graham DeLaet made the team he was the only one.
“In the past, there’s been two or three Australians who’ve been, two or three South Africans. It’ll be great to have two or three Canadians now.”
The International team will consist of the top eight players from the Presidents Cup International team points list, followed by four selections made by captain Trevor Immelman.
Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., is currently seventh on that list, making him an automatic selection. Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., is 10th and Hadwin, of Abbotsford, B.C., is 13th, making them strong options as captain’s selections.
The team will be finalized after the BMW Championship, which finishes on Aug. 21. Points earned from the PGA Championship, which ends May 22, through to the BMW Championship will be given a 25 per cent premium.
The final rankings will be determined by the average points awarded in the qualifying period.
“Those points really go up at the PGA Championship so there’s an opportunity to move up,” said Weir. “It’d be great, you know, as a Canadian to have a couple of guys on the team.”
He added that part of the reasoning behind a captain’s selection is to consider which players will pair well together. The Canadians on the PGA Tour are known for practicing together before events and Conners and Hughes were teammates at Kent State and at the Tokyo Olympics.
“Not that they’d be an automatic pairing, but just even in the team room to have another familiar face would be would be good for Corey or Mac or Adam,” said Weir. “Let’s root them on and hopefully they finish the year strong and all three of them make it, hopefully.”
Kevin Blue, the chief sport officer for Golf Canada, is pulling for more than one Canadian to play at the Presidents Cup.
“We have a point of view that the players have achieved a lot as a group and we actually think that it’s going to serve as a springboard for even more significant achievement down the road,” said Blue. “It’s not to take anything away from the trail that these players have been blazing.
“We’re certainly excited about the direction that things are headed and eager for even more in the future, as we continue to invest in the development of top level players from Canada.”
Kevin Blue
Golf Canada has the stated goal of having 30 players at the top levels of professional golf by 2032. There are a total of 12 Canadians that are regulars on the PGA or LPGA in the 2022 season. Read more here.
Mike Weir named captain’s assistant for 2022 Presidents Cup
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina – Today, International Team Captain Trevor Immelman announced his four captain’s assistants for the 2022 Presidents Cup: Canada’s Mike Weir, Korea’s K.J. Choi, Australia’s Geoff Ogilvy, and Colombia’s Camilo Villegas. The foursome will join Immelman at Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, Sept. 20-25.
Weir will make his third appearance as captain’s assistant after serving for Price at the 2017 Presidents Cup and in 2019 for Els. The Canadian has competed in five Presidents Cups (2000, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009) and was teammates with Immelman in 2005 and 2007. An eight-time PGA TOUR winner, Weir is 13-9-2 all-time at the Presidents Cup and one of five International Team members with 10 or more match wins in competition.
“In addition to being captain’s assistants together in 2019 at Royal Melbourne, I have had the pleasure of being teammates with Mike on two occasions, as well as playing together on TOUR for many years,” Immelman said.
“The history we share gives me complete confidence in stating that few people work harder than Mike. I can’t wait to see the impact he makes in those pivotal moments when leadership and tenacity are needed during the week.”
Trevor Immelman
In 2007, the Presidents Cup was staged in Canada for the first time, with Weir delivering a 3-1-1 record highlighted by a 1-up victory over Tiger Woods in Singles. Weir won eight times on the PGA TOUR, including the 2003 Masters – one of three victories collected that season. The 51-year-old currently competes on PGA TOUR Champions, where he notched his first victory at the 2021 Insperity Invitational.
“When I think of highlights in my career that really stand out to me, the Presidents Cup always makes the top of the list,” Weir said. “The comradery that continues to grow within this team is irreplaceable. We can all sense the momentum that is building, and it’s been exciting to see Trevor’s incredible dedication and focus on his role. I can’t wait to see what tournament week holds for us and to be a part of the 2022 team.”
The 2022 Presidents Cup will be held at Quail Hollow Club, September 20-25. For more information about the Presidents Cup, or to purchase tickets, please visit PresidentsCup.com.
Words from Masters Champion Scheffler resonate with Henderson
Following his victory at Augusta on Sunday, 2022 Masters Champion Scottie Scheffler said a few words that have hit a chord with many people around the world, including Canadian star Brooke Henderson.
“We talked about that God is in control and that the Lord is leading me. And if today is my time, then it’s my time,” said the 25 year old.
While Henderson couldn’t watch the final moments at Augusta National on Sunday, she was able to catch Scheffler’s post-win press conference and was taken with his eloquent words about how a big win will – or won’t – affect you as a human being.
“What an amazing champion and what a year he’s had so far,” said Henderson. “I just really loved a lot of the things he had to say and how he approached the Sunday after feeling not his best in the morning time. I really learned a lot actually, so that was pretty cool.”
Henderson certainly knows victory. The 24-year-old has 10 LPGA Tour wins, making her the winningest professional golfer, male or female, in Canadian history. Two of her victories came in Hawaii, with Henderson taking consecutive LOTTE titles in 2018 and 2019. Henderson has never finished worse than 27th at the LOTTE Championship and the mere mention of Hawaii brought a big smile to her face.
“I love coming back to Hawaii. It’s just beautiful everywhere. The surroundings, the ocean, the mountains, the flowers, people are so kind and nice,” said Henderson. “It’s just a great atmosphere and I just always enjoy spending time here. Obviously won here twice, so many great memories. I love that trophy.”
Henderson’s recent play certainly makes her a contender for a third LOTTE title this week. Since missing the cut at the Meijer LPGA Classic in June 2021, she has finished in the top 40 for 18 straight tournaments. Her 2022 schedule features six starts with six top-15 finishes, highlighted by a solo second at the season-opening Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.
Both Henderson and Scheffler are scheduled to play on Canadian soil this summer at Golf Canada’s National Open Championships. Henderson will compete in the CP Women’s Open taking place August 22-28, 2022 (tickets here), and Scheffler will participate in the RBC Canadian Open from June 6-12, 2022 (tickets here).
Scheffler gets Masters green jacket to go with No. 1 ranking
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) – That new No. 1 ranking for Scottie Scheffler looks even better in a Masters green jacket.
Two months after Scheffler finally broke through for his first PGA Tour victory, he capped off a most incredible 56-day stretch by making his fourth win the biggest of them all, the Masters by three shots over Rory McIlroy for his first major.
Even as a junior, he was wearing long pants in stifling Texas heat because he wanted to look the part of a tour pro he always wanted to be. Winning the Masters was beyond his hopes.
“I never made it this far. It was just a dream of being here and competing,” Scheffler said in Butler Cabin, moments before Hideki Matsuyama helped him into the green jacket. “I can’t put into words what it means that I’ll be able to come back here for a lifetime.”
The only stumble came at the end when Scheffler needed four putts from 40 feet before he could claim his first major, and that only mattered in the record book.
He closed with a 1-under 71 for a three-shot victory over McIlroy, who holed out from the bunker on the final hole for a record-tying final round of 64. McIlroy could only hope that Sunday pressure at Augusta National might get to Scheffler.
No chance. Not on Sunday. Not the last four days. Not the last two months.
“You get on those hot streaks, and you just got to ride them out because they, unfortunately, don’t last forever,” Justin Thomas said. “But he is doing it in the biggest tournaments. … It’s really, really impressive to see someone that young handle a moment this big so easily.”
The Sunday theater, thrilling and tragic, belonged to everyone else. Scheffler overcame a nervy moment early in the round by chipping in for birdie. He delivered key putts to keep Cameron Smith at bay and never looked rattled, even as he was swatting at short putts at the end.
McIlroy was the runner-up. It was Smith who felt as though he let one get away. The Aussie was still in the game, three shots out of the lead, when he dumped his 9-iron in Rae’s Creek on the par-3 12th hole for triple bogey and ended his hopes.
“Just a really bad swing at the wrong time,” Smith said.
Smith closed with a 73 and tied for third with Shane Lowry, who birdied the 18th for a 69.
Scheffler joined Ian Woosnam in 1991 as the only players to win a major – the Masters in both cases – in their debut at No. 1 in the world.
Everyone should have seen this coming. He won the Phoenix Open in a playoff on Super Bowl Sunday. He followed that with a comeback win at Bay Hill to win the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He rose to No. 1 in the world by winning the Match Play two weeks ago in Texas.
And now this.
Scheffler, who finished at 10-under 278, won $2.7 million from the $15 million prize fund. That brings his total to $8,872,200 over his last six starts.
Scheffler’s big moment came early in the round, and it was no less significant.
Starting the final round with a three-shot lead, he watched Smith open with two straight birdies to the cut the deficit to one, and then Scheffler’s approach from the pine needles left of the third fairway came up short and rolled back down the slope.
His pitch was racing toward the hole when it banged into the pin and dropped for an unlikely birdie, and a two-shot swing when Smith from the same position made bogey.
No one got closer than three the rest of the way. Only the contenders changed.
The 12th hole remains the most riveting par 3 in golf, the scene of more collapses than comebacks. Smith became the latest victim.
Coming off birdie at No. 11, his shot was still in the air when he let his club slip through his hands and he slowly closed his eyes twice as it splashed into Rae’s Creek. The next shot wasn’t much better, but at least dry, and Smith’s hopes ended there with a triple bogey.
He was three behind standing on the 12th tee. Three holes later, he was eight back.
From there, any hope resided with McIlroy. All he needed to complete the career Grand Slam was to match the best final round in Masters history and get some help from Scheffler. He only got one of those and had to settle for his first silver medal from Augusta.
Not that he didn’t create some Sunday magic. McIlroy went bunker-to-bunker on the 18th hole, leaving himself right of the green and aiming some 25 feet right of the flag. It rode the slope all the way into the hole, setting off one of the loudest roars of the week.
Morikawa followed him in from the same bunker, different angle, and McIlroy could only laugh.
“This tournament never ceases to amaze,” McIlroy said. “That’s as happy as I’ve ever been on a golf course right there. Just having a chance – and then with Collin, we both played so well all day – and for both of us to finish like this, I was just so happy for him, too.
“I’ve never heard roars like on the 18th green.”
The best ones were saved for Scheffler.
Scheffler still had five holes in front of him, with no evidence he was going to be anything but the smooth, smart operator who seized control on Friday in the toughest conditions to build a five-shot lead and never lost it–
Scheffler has the lead and the back nine awaits
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Tiger Woods still held out a faint ray of hope as he peered into the future after his second round and reminded everyone that the old adage is true – the Masters really doesn’t start until the back nine on Sunday.
Unfortunately for Woods, his Masters chances ended on a Saturday when his putter went cold and he shot his worst score ever in a tournament he’s won five times. Woods will tee off in the final round with no shot of winning, though just making an appearance this week might have been his biggest win of all.
With Scottie Scheffler, the hottest player in golf, carrying a three-shot lead into the final round, the question now becomes this: Will the back nine even matter on Sunday?
History suggests it will, largely because the ghosts of Masters past tend to always show up at the wrong time. The tournament is littered with guys who have failed on the final nine, with collapses so great some never really recovered.
If Scheffler needed any reminder, he found it about the same time he found his Titleist buried deep under a tree on the 18th hole Saturday.
What was a comfortable four-shot lead became three, just like that. It could have been even worse – should have been even worse – but Scheffler somehow found a way to make a bogey for a 1-under 71 that still left him in command.
It’s a lead that could hold. It’s a lead that should hold.
At least until the back nine on Sunday, of course. Then all bets are off.
Just ask Cameron Smith, the young Australian he’ll be playing alongside who can’t wait to get the match going.
“I think the back nine tomorrow is obviously where the tournament will be decided,” Smith said. “Typically, there’s plenty of pins in bowls, and, yeah, you can give yourself plenty of looks if you’re hitting it good.”
On the flip side, you can find plenty of trouble if you’re not. Rory McIlroy kicked away a Masters he was leading in 2011 when he yanked his tee shot on No. 10 into the cabins left of the trees and made triple bogey. He went on to four-putt the 12th hole and shoot an 80 that still seems to haunt him after all these years.
Jordan Spieth had a five-shot lead entering the back nine in 2016 and seemed on his way to a second straight green jacket before opening with consecutive bogeys and then hitting two balls into Rae’s creek on his way to a quadruple bogey on No. 12 that opened the way for little known Englishman Danny Willett to win.
Even Arnold Palmer wasn’t exempt from back nine misery, making double bogey on the 18th hole to lose the lead and the tournament to Gary Player in 1961.
And it doesn’t take a golf historian to remember Greg Norman’s epic meltdown in 1996 that was so bad he refused to talk about it for years.
“I am a winner at life, I’m not a loser,” Norman said afterward. “And I’ll wake up tomorrow. Still breathing I hope.”
The magnitude of the Masters sometimes overwhelms even the best. Thoughts wander to how winning the green jacket will feel, before the green jacket is won.
And while Scheffler seems unflappable, he’s never slept Saturday night with a Masters lead.
“Probably the most nervous nights I’ve had and the most nervous rounds I’ve had are on leads,” Justin Thomas said.
What looked like a runaway for the world’s No. 1 player most of the day Saturday became more of a two-man race when Smith shot the best round of the day, a 4-under 68, then waited to see how high of a mountain he still needed to climb. Scheffler responded with a good score of his own on a cold and windy day, but he won’t go into Sunday with the same five-shot lead he began the weekend with.
His plan for the evening at home before the biggest day of his 25-year-old life? Watching some old episodes of “The Office” with his wife, laughing a bit and having a good dinner.
Nothing complicated, but so far it’s worked. Scheffler won for the first time in Phoenix this year and has won twice since, giving him a three wins in just his last five starts.
“Being in contention is what’s fun, so being in the lead is fun,” he said. “When I’m in the lead, I’m trying to stay in the lead and not really overthink things; just go out there and play golf.”
That might be good enough to give Scheffler the green jacket and cap a remarkable streak that golf hasn’t seen in a long time. It might be enough to make things easier as he stands on the tenth tee with all the history that surrounds it.
Corey Conners leads the way for the Canadians in a tie for sixth at 1 under par, eight strokes back of Scheffler.
Tune in Sunday to find out on the back nine, where the Masters really begins.
Canada’s Conners collects third straight top 10 finish at Masters
Corey Conners has been in contention at the Masters for the past three years now.
Conners, from Listowel, Ont., was one of three Canadians competing at Augusta National Golf Club starting on Thursday. He tied for 10th at the event in 2020 and then tied for eighth last year.
In 2022, Conners closed in a tie for sixth at 3 under par overall. He finished seven strokes behind champion Scottie Scheffler, who has committed to play in this year’s RBC Canadian Open in June.
Conners finished in a tie for 46th in 2019, his first time playing at the Masters as a professional, his rookie season on the PGA Tour.
He’s come a long way since then.
A 5-under 67 on Sunday helped Conners tie for 35th the Valero Texas Open and hold on to the 32nd spot on the world golf rankings for a second straight week, matching a career best.
It was the latest in a month of solid play on the PGA Tour, including a tie for 11th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational on March 6, a tie for 26th at the Players’ Championship on March 13 and a third-place finish at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play on March 27.
His “worst” performance this season was a tie for 40th at the Shriners Children’s Open on Oct. 10, when he was 10-under par overall.
“I am just a regular guy from a small town in Canada,” said Conners. “I have had some good results, but I feel like there’s still a lot more that I’m able to achieve or that I can achieve.
“So I’m going to keep working hard and see where it takes me but never get too far ahead of myself and try not to let my head swell up too big.”
Conners played a practice round with Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., at Augusta on Tuesday.
The 30-year-old Conners said that watching Weir’s win nearly two decades ago is one of his favourite memories as a fan of the sport.
“I was so nervous watching, (Weir) probably felt more comfortable than I did,” said Conners. “I always remember back to that moment, seeing him win, and watching every single year from then on.
“When the Masters is on it also kind of signalled that Canadian golf season was about to get started pretty soon.”