GREENSBORO, N.C. — With a lot on the line at the Wyndham Championship, David Hearn of Brampton, Ont., was the top Canadian after round one. The 39 year-old fired a 64 to sit in a tie for fourth place.

Fellow Canadians Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C. carded matching 65s to share a piece of 11th. Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont. and Ben Silverman of Toronto are at 2 under and one over, respectively.

This is the last chance for Silverman, Conners, Taylor and Hearn to get inside the top 125 on the FedEx Cup standings at this event, which is the final championship of the PGA Tour’s 2017-18 regular season.

Brandt Snedeker predicted low scores at the Wyndham Championship — but not this low.

Snedeker shot an 11-under 59 on Thursday, falling one shot shy of matching the PGA Tour record.

He made a 20-foot putt on his final hole to become the 10th player in tour history to break 60. Jim Furyk set the record with a 58 in the final round of the Travelers Championship in 2016.

“I better be smiling,” Snedeker said. “I don’t do this every day.”

This is the third consecutive year the PGA Tour has had a sub-60 round. Snedeker is the first to shoot 59 since Adam Hadwin in the third round of the 2017 Careerbuilder Challenge.

It gave him a four-stroke lead after one round. Ryan Moore and John Oda shot 63s, and Martin Flores, D.A. Points, Brett Stegmaier, David Hearn, Abraham Ancer, Ollie Schniederjans and Jonathan Byrd had 64s.

Snedeker — who said a day earlier that the tournament would turn into a “birdie-fest” — began the round at par-70 Sedgefield Country Club with a bogey at No. 10, and took off from there. He played the front nine in 27, including an eagle 2 on the par-4 sixth hole when he holed out from 176 yards.

After that shot, Snedeker said a 59 felt like a real possibility. He remembered a non-tour event he played in China in which he was one putt from that score, but those thoughts “got in the way.”

“To know what you’re trying to do and step up and have a 20-footer (on the final hole) and know what it means, I was very aware of what was going on, and to knock that putt in was really special,” Snedeker said. “To know I’m a part of a small club on tour and not very many people have done this, really cool feeling right now.”

Snedeker, the 2012 FedEx Cup champion, won the Wyndham in 2007. He broke Si Woo Kim’s 2-year-old Wyndham record of 60 and had the best opening round in this event’s history. Arjun Atwal had a 61 in 2010.

“The trick for him is, he’s playing great. Now he’s just got to rest, relax and start over tomorrow from scratch and go play three more good rounds,” said Furyk, who also shot a 59 at the BMW Championship in 2013. “It’s awesome to see.”

It’s been a somewhat frustrating, turbulent year for Snedeker. He has three top-10 finishes and two missed cuts in his last seven events and has not won on tour since 2016. During his first 16 tournaments of the season, he finished in the top 10 just once.

“Nobody could see this coming — trust me,” Snedeker said. “As much as I tried to positive self-talk myself into playing good, I didn’t see 59 coming today, to be honest with you. … Luckily, it kind of clicked all day today, and hopefully it will keep clicking for the next three days.”

At No. 80 on the points list entering the final event of the tour’s regular season, he’s nowhere near the playoff bubble and his spot at The Northern Trust next week in New Jersey seems safe. But that ranking is his lowest since the tour’s post-season format debuted in 2007.

During his tie for 42nd at the PGA Championship last week in St. Louis, Snedeker says he “kind of found something” when he simplified some swing fundamentals and began to feel better about that part of his game.

Then, he spent the first round showing it off.

Snedeker, who began his round on the back nine, reeled off four consecutive birdies on Nos. 13-16. He then got even hotter on his final nine holes, with six birdies in addition to the shot of the day on No. 6. But he missed a 3-foot birdie putt on No. 8 that would have made a 58 possible.

“Could have been even more special,” he said, “but happy with the way everything turned out.”

Moore, who won here in 2009, made a move up the leaderboard in the afternoon with five birdies in a six-hole span on the front nine. Oda, a second-year pro coming off a tie for third earlier this month in the Barracuda Championship, had three consecutive birdies on the back nine to pull even with Moore.

“You see a round like (Snedeker’s) and maybe kind of encourage you there’s birdies out there, that the course is playing scorable and there’s rounds to be had,” Moore said. “I kind of took that mindset of, well, better get out there and make some birdies if you don’t want to be 10, 11 shots behind by the end of this day. Like, let’s try and close that gap a little bit.”

After a relaxing week off, four Canadian golfers enter the pressure cooker on Thursday.

Ben Silverman, Corey Conners, Nick Taylor and David Hearn have one last chance to get inside the top 125 on the FedEx Cup standings at the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C., the final event of the PGA Tour’s 2017-18 regular season.

Finishing inside the top 125 means a golfer is fully exempt on the PGA Tour for the following season, giving them the opportunity to choose their schedule.

Silverman, of Thornhill, Ont, spent most of PGA Championship week last week with his young family, going to Florida to register a car he won after a closest-to-the-pin contest at the Waste Management Phoenix Open earlier this year. However, his focus changes this week.

“I’ve been keeping an eye on (the standings) throughout the year,” said Silverman. “I probably need a top 10 ? but I’m aiming to win.”

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., is exempt next year thanks to his win at the Valspar Championship in 2017, and sits 68th on the FedEx Cup. Hadwin was the only Canadian to play in the PGA Championship, but missed the cut at the final major of the year.

Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., sits 159th on the Cup list, but is good for next season as well thanks to his win at The RSM Classic in 2016.

But for Silverman (134), Corey Conners (128) of Listowel, Ont., Nick Taylor (129) of Abbotsford and David Hearn (156) of Brantford, Ont., this week should be a stressful one, based on what’s at stake.

Silverman and Conners, both PGA Tour rookies, are trying to look at the bright side.

“(It) should be a fun event. Obviously I’d like to be in a slightly different position ideally, but still have a good chance,” said Conners, who spent last week at home visiting friends and enjoying a rare week off.

“I feel like I don’t have any pressure on me right now,” echoed Silverman.

Conners played in the final group on Sunday in back-to-back events in March before fading in the final round both times.

He said having those results at the beginning of the season helped with his confidence.

Conners feels he has been playing good golf, but just hasn’t been able to score well. He missed the cut at the RBC Canadian Open three weeks ago.

“I knew one good week could lock up my card and I haven’t been able to do that. It’s still alright, and I still feel good about things,” said Conners. “Overall, it’s been a successful year and hopefully I have one more good week.”

Both Silverman and Conners said if they finish outside the top 125, they still have a chance to play upwards of 15 events on the PGA Tour next season via a special membership category for golfers who finish 126-150th on the FedEx Cup standings.

Hearn was in that same category this year, and the Wyndham Championship will mark his 21st event of the year.

The rookies said they learned a lot this season.

Silverman had a noticeable improvement in his second year on the Web.com Tour _ including a victory _ and said he expects the same kind of improvement next season on the PGA Tour, although it remains to be seen what his schedule will be.

“Every first year on a tour has been a learning experience for me and I feel like I’ve got a little better with each one,” said Silverman. “I’ve had to learn a lot this year but I feel like I’ve been handling it alright.”

Conners, meanwhile, has another big life event to focus on after next week _ he’s marrying his longtime girlfriend Malory on Oct. 20.

He said he’s hopeful to “follow in the footsteps” of his fellow Canadians.

Hughes got married in October 2016 and won his first PGA Tour event the following month, while Hadwin won his first PGA event just two weeks prior to getting married.

“It’ll be a special end to the year and I’ll have some fresh mojo for the beginning of the next wraparound season,” Conners said.

If Silverman, Conners, Hearn and Taylor don’t get into the top 125 this week, they’ll presumably enter the four-event Web.com Tour finals _ where another 25 PGA Tour cards are up for grabs _ starting next week.

Entering the final week of the Web.com Tour regular season, Adam Svensson has all but locked up his PGA card for next season. The Surrey, B.C., golfer is 12th on the Web.com money list, with the top 25 graduating to the PGA after the regular season.

ST. LOUIS – The roars were unlike anything Brooks Koepka had ever heard, and he knew exactly what they meant.

They got louder for each birdie by Tiger Woods that moved him closer to the lead Sunday in the PGA Championship, and Koepka could hear a ripple effect of noise. First, real time. Seconds later, another burst from patrons watching on TV in chalets. Then, distant cheers from every corner of Bellerive when the score was posted.

“We knew what was going on,” he said. “It’s pretty obvious when Tiger makes a birdie. Everybody on the golf course cheers for him.”

Koepka knew exactly what to do.

Amid relentless pandemonium, Koepka ran off three straight birdies to end the front nine and seize control. When he was tied with Adam Scott through 14 holes, with Woods one shot behind, he delivered back-to-back birdies.

The last one was a laser of a 4-iron from 248 yards that settled 6 feet away, sending him to a dream finish of a year that began with the 28-year-old Floridian wondering if a wrist injury that kept him out four months would ever allow him to compete again.

“That will probably go down as probably one of the best shots I’ve ever hit under pressure,” he said.

He closed with a 4-under 66 for a two-shot victory over Woods and took his place among the elite in golf. Koepka became the fifth player to win the U.S. Open and PGA Championship in the same year, joining Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen.

It will be impossible to overlook him now, not with the Wanamaker Trophy to go with his back-to-back U.S. Open titles. Koepka won two of the three majors he played this year, and three of his last six. Not since Woods won four in a row through the 2001 Masters has anyone won majors at such an alarming rate.

And yet it still felt _ and certainly sounded _ as though he played second billing to Woods.

The crowd was enormous, louder than anything in golf this side of Augusta National or a Ryder Cup, and Woods looked closer than ever to capping his comeback from four back surgeries with another major.

Even with two bogeys, Woods shot 64 for his lowest final round in a major. He finished at 266, beating by three shots his best 72-hole score in a major.

At this major, it wasn’t enough.

“I played hard,” Woods said. “I made a bit of a run. It looks like I’m going to come up a little short.”

Koepka was responsible for that.

After wasting one chance to put it away by missing consecutive birdie chances from 7 feet, Koepka kept attacking flags and ran in birdie putts of 10 feet on No. 15 and 7 feet on No. 16 to end the drama. He tapped in for par on the final hole to set the PGA Championship scoring record at 264. It also tied the major championship record that Henrik Stenson set at Royal Troon two years ago in the British Open.

He also joined Jordan Spieth, Woods, Nicklaus and Tom Watson as the only players with three majors before turning 30 since World War II.

“Three majors at 28 _ it’s a cool feeling,” said Koepka, who five years ago was toiling in Europe’s minor leagues.

Scott hung around by making big putts, just like he hoped, and was tied for the lead until Koepka’s birdies. Scott missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-5 17th that would have pulled him to within one shot _ right after Koepka missed from the same range _ and then made bogey on the 18th for a 67 to finish alone in third.

The only knock on Koepka is that he doesn’t win enough elsewhere _ the Phoenix Open on the PGA Tour, the Turkish Airlines Open on the European Tour, and two victories at the Dunlop Phoenix on the JapanGolf Tour.

“He’s won three majors now, so he’s definitely winning the right ones,” Scott said. “If I was him, I wouldn’t change much at the moment. I’d just keep doing what he’s doing because he’s showing up at the right moments in the biggest events. There’s something inside his brain that makes him believe that that’s what he’s destined to do.”

The St. Louis fans waited 17 years to see Woods _ he last was at Bellerive when the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks cancelled a World Golf Championship _ and he delivered a performance that took golf back in time.

Thomas Bjorn might have seen it coming. Earlier in the week, as he was cleaning out his locker after withdrawing with an injury, he thought back to Woods getting into contention at Carnoustie last month at the British Open. “He recognized who that guy was that day,” Bjorn said.

Woods was relentless, pumping fists, raising the putter in his left hand, making birdies and charging toward a finish that caused pure pandemonium among one of the largest and noisiest crowds at a major.

Without hitting a fairway on the front nine, Woods cut the four-shot deficit to two.

Dialed in on the back nine, he dropped an approach into 4 feet on No. 12, got within one shot with a 10-foot birdie on the par-3 13th and, after a bad drive led to bogey, he answered with another approach that hit a foot from the hole.

That was as good as it got.

Facing the most important drive of the day on the par-5 17th, Woods sent it sailing to the right and it embedded in a hazard along the banks of a creek. He did well to advance it, but had to save par from a bunker. Behind him, Koepka holed his two birdie putts.

Woods and Koepka played nine holes of a practice round Wednesday, and the 14-time major champion knew what he was up against.

“It’s tough to beat when the guy hits it 340 down the middle,” Woods said. “What he did at Shinnecock, just bombing it, and then he’s doing the same thing here. … And when a guy’s doing that and hitting it straight, and as good a putter as he is, it’s tough to beat.”

Koepka never imagined a year like this. He missed four months at the start of the year when a partially torn tendon in his left wrist, causing him to sit out the Masters. He outlasted good friend Dustin Johnson at Shinnecock Hills to become the first back-to-back U.S. Open champion in 29 years.

And now this.

The only downer is having to wait eight months for the Masters.

RENO, Nev. — Ben Silverman, is the low Canadian heading into the weekend at the Barracuda Championship. The Thornhill, Ont., native is +19 points after his round on Friday, carding two bogeys and five birdies.

As a resident of Colorado for roughly six years, Sam Saunders is at home in the mountains. Maybe that’s why it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Saunders has fared well at the Barracuda Championship in recent years, logging consecutive top 10s in his last two starts at Montreux Golf & Country Club, where the course sits at 5,476 to 5,952 feet above sea level.

His run of good form in Reno continued on Friday with a 13-point output that vaulted him into a share of second place with Andrew Putnam with 23 points. A bogey on the 12th – his third hole of the day — was his lone blemish on the card as Saunders piled up seven birdies in a 12-hole stretch, starting on the 13th, to move up the leaderboard.

“It was a good solid day out there,” Saunders said. “Drove the ball really well and made a few more putts today than I did yesterday. Still left a few out there. But it’s a fun format and enjoy giving myself as many birdie chances as possible.”

Sitting at No. 124 in the FedExCup standings, it might be difficult to have fun at this point in the season, but Saunders isn’t putting additional pressure on himself this week. Instead, he’s staying focused on winning a tournament, realizing his maiden TOUR victory would alleviate any pressure at the Wyndham Championship.

“My goal is to try and win this tournament this weekend,” Saunders said. That’s kind of it. Making the playoffs will be a byproduct of that.”

Saunders has given himself chances to win this season, finishing T5 most recently at the Greenbrier Classic where he entered the final round two shots back of the lead.

As for what’s working this week at Barracuda, Saunders pointed to his time spent playing mountain golf as a reason for his success.

In the same way it takes a runner time to get acclimated to the thin mountain air, players need to get used to taking a club or two less on certain shots. There’s also the swirling winds and temperature changes that can alter club selection.

Simply put, choosing a club can be cumbersome during the tournament week.

But not for Saunders, who all but throws the calculator out the wind and places more of an emphasis on feel.

“I really enjoy thinking about the shots out here and having to feel them out,” he said. “You are just not going to get the number right. It’s not math out here. You can do a lot of math and try to have your best guess, but so much of it is feeling out the shot . So I think my experience living [in Colorado] and playing at altitude helps a lot.”

Depending on how things go the next few days, his experience in the mountains could lead him to his first TOUR title.

RENO, Nev. – Low Canadian sits T7 with 11 points after the first round on Thursday in the Barracuda Championship, the PGA Tour’s only modified Stableford scoring event.

He carded only one bogey and fired six birdies, two on the front nine and four on the back.

Ollie Schniederjans scored five points with a closing eagle to take a three-point lead.

Schniederjans hit a 5-iron approach from 275 yards to 3 feet to set up the eagle on the par-5 18th at Montreux Golf and Country Club.

“Eagles are huge in this format,” Schniederjans said. “So, it’s a little more nerve-wracking, 3-footer being three more points. It’s interesting you have putts that are worth more than others.”

He finished with 17 points, also making six birdies. Players receive eight points for an albatross, five for eagle, two for birdie and zero for par. A point is subtracted for bogey, and three points are subtracted for double bogey or worse.

Denny McCarthy was tied for the lead with a hole to play just before sunset, but lost three points with a double bogey on the par-4 ninth to drop into a tie for second with Aaron Baddeley.

“This golf course isn’t easy,” McCarthy said. “If you get out of position, it’s tough. That’s how you can make scores. Like at home, on the last hole, minus-three, double. But for the most part I was putting it in play. I was giving myself really good looks on the greens.”

Robert Streb was fourth at 13 points, followed by Ryan Palmer and Hudson Swafford at 12, and John Merrick and Tyrone Van Aswegen at 11.

The winner will earn a spot in the PGA Championship next week at Bellerive, if not already eligible. Schniederjans is using the event to stay sharp for the PGA.

“Just my game is finally coming around,” Schniederjans said. “I really feel in control of my swing for the first time in a while. So, I felt really good coming in. And I kind of wanted to just get playing, because I felt like my stuff was finally in a place. Instead of taking a week off, I kind of wanted to get on a roll, play a little bit before the PGA and roll into next week with some rounds.”

Chasing his first tour victory, he’s using his Georgia Tech education to crunch numbers on the high-altitude course.

“It’s pretty simple math, but I think it helps,” Schniederjans said. “The wind makes it really tough. I factor in the flight that I’m going to hit, and I do the elevation first. And then I factor in the wind.”

McCarthy, playing in the final group of the day off the 10th tee, eagled the par-5 13th and made five more birdies – three on par-5 holes. The former Virginia player is 149th in the FedEx Cup standings in his first PGA Tour season, with the top 125 advancing to the playoffs and keeping their tour cards.

“There’s a lot of really, really good players out here that are playing really, really well most of the time,” McCarthy said. So, if you’re not on your game mentally and physically, you’re going to get lapped out here, I promise you.“

Baddeley is 135th in the FedEx Cup race.

“I’m not stressed, to be honest,” Baddeley said. “Whether you go to Web finals or whether you finish in the 126 to 150 category, you’re going to get starts and my game’s in a good spot. I’m not stressed. I’m at ease with whatever happens. Just got to go out and play and try and win a golf tournament.”

Rod Pampling holed out for eagle from 123 yards on the par-4 14th to get to 15 points, then dropped six points on the final four holes with three bogeys and a closing triple bogey.

Norman Xiong, the Nicklaus Award winner at the University of Oregon, scored eight points playing on a sponsor’s exemption. He missed the cuts in his other three PGA Tour starts since turning pro.

Defending champion Chris Stroud had seven points. Geoff Ogilvy, the 2014 winner, also was at seven points along with Hunter Mahan. David Duval, playing on a sponsor’s exemption, scored three points.

Adam Hadwin is optimistic he’ll return for the PGA Championship next week after dropping out of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational with a hip injury.

The top-ranked Canadian golfer made the call to bow out of this week’s event in Akron, Ohio on Wednesday, deciding that rest is best heading into the final major of the year next week in St. Louis.

Hadwin’s agent, George Sourlis, told The Canadian Press that the injury was due to femoroacetabular impingement, a condition that causes bones to rub together and something the Abbotsford, B.C., golfer has been dealing with since he was young. It flared up again early this week in Ohio following a missed cut at the Canadian Open.

The pain was intense enough that Hadwin couldn’t hit all the shots needed to compete in a tournament. For example, the 30-year-old couldn’t hit balls out of a bunker because of the way his hips are positioned.

Hadwin plans to work with his doctor to prepare for the PGA Championship next week.

Historically, when Hadwin has dealt with hip problems, he has been back to normal within a week after rest.

Hadwin is coming off a disappointing Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont. He missed the cut by one stroke and described his frustration level afterward as “100 out of 10.”

Hadwin is the only Canadian scheduled to play in the PGA Championship.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – No. 7 at Glen Abbey Golf Club has become the featured hole at the RBC Canadian Open the past two years. With hockey boards surrounding the tee, goalie masks being used as tee blocks, and officials wearing referees’ stripes, it’s a distinctly Canadian experience.

But with the RBC Canadian Open moving to Hamilton Golf and Country Club in 2019 and Glen Abbey possibly slated for redevelopment by course owner ClubLink, there were questions about the fate of the so-called Rink.

“The rink is on wheels, the rink’s going to go where we go,” said Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum on Sunday. “The rink’s going to move with us. We’ve already got those officials from that hole, they want to go with it. The players love it.”

In particular, Applebaum loves how fans pound their fists on the boards after players tee off. Although it caused some confusion among players in 2017 when the Rink was first unveiled, they’re now on board with it too.

“Bring the noise, bring the thunder,” said Applebaum from the media centre in the bowels of Glen Abbey’s clubhouse.

Glen Abbey was the first course designed solely by golf legend Jack Nicklaus and was completed in 1976. It’s become the home of Golf Canada and the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame, which holds its induction ceremony the same week as the Canadian Open, as long as the tournament is being held at Glen Abbey that year.

Applebaum thinks this year’s RBC Canadian Open – which saw a four-way tie atop the leaderboard between world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, Whee Kim, Byeong Hun An and Kevin Tway heading into the fourth round – is the perfect sendoff for the storied course.

“Beer sales are up, food sales are up, merchandise sales are up and attendance will be up,” said Applebaum, who predicted that total attendance for the week would be over 80,000. “For me, it’s a win across the board. Spectacular.”

Hamilton will host the 2019 and 2023 events, with Applebaum believing the host for 2020 will be announced within the next two or three months. His intention is to keep the men’s national championship in the Greater Toronto Area, while the CP Women’s Open will continue to move back and forth across the country.

In addition to changing locations, the RBC Canadian Open will occupy a new spot on the PGA TOUR’s calendar beginning in 2019.

Historically, the RBC Canadian Open was held in September, but starting in 2007 it was played in late July, the prime golf season. But starting in 2019 it will be held in early June, the week before the U.S. Open, essentially turning it into a tune-up event for some of the biggest names in golf.

“The guys that have traditionally played our event seem like they will continue, but all the new people that haven’t played in the past, are talking about it,” said Applebaum. “The Phil Mickelsons, the Rory McIlroys, the Rickie Fowlers, it’s great to have that grouping of players who haven’t played it.”

Golf Canada is pleased to announce that Bryan Crawford of Ancaster, Ont. has been named the new Tournament Director of the RBC Canadian Open. The appointment was officially announced by Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum during a press conference held on the final Sunday of Canada’s national men’s golf championship.

Crawford served the past three years on the Leadership Team of Canada Basketball in the role of Senior Director, Operations. He led several of the organization’s strategic business functions including overseeing the development, implementation and operations of all Canada Basketball hosting and revenue generating activities. Bryan also developed and drove the long term, multi-event hosting strategy for major FIBA international events including athlete relations, volunteer management, community engagement, government relations, corporate partnerships and event execution.

Prior to that, he honed his executive management skills in the role of Interim Executive Director / Director of Operations with Ontario University Athletics (OUA), leading the operational, commercial and promotional activities as well as strategic planning for the governing body of interuniversity sport in Ontario.

Crawford is a former professional athlete, having spent seven seasons as a member of the Toronto Argonauts Football Club where he served as a Special Teams Captain and CFL Players’ Association Representative. A native of Ancaster, Ont., Bryan holds a B.A. in Political Studies and Development from Queens University where he was a two-sport athlete in football and track and field. He has been selected by the Canadian Olympic Committee as a COC Emerging Leader and has been a community ambassador for the ALS Society of Ontario, Right to Play, Climb for Cancer and the Argonauts’ Huddle Up Against Bullying Program.

Crawford will report directly to Golf Canada Chief Championship Officer Bill Paul. He will work collaboratively with Golf Canada’s sales, partnership, marketing and commercial teams and will be a key contact and central hub of the organization’s relationship with the PGA TOUR.

He began his new role on July 18, spending advance and tournament week getting oriented during the 2018 event in order to hit the ground running to lead the 2019 RBC Canadian Open in its new date, June 3-9 at Hamilton Golf and Country Club.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – A small boy followed Mackenzie Hughes around the final 11 holes Saturday at the RBC Canadian Open, easy to spot in a huge Toronto Maple Leafs jersey that hung down to his knees.

Hughes had delighted the boy – and the crowd gathered at the seventh hole at Glen Abbey, know as “The Rink” – when he walked up to the green wearing the Leafs jersey he’d autographed. Spotting the boy in the crowd, he tugged off the sweater, reached across the rope and handed it to him.

Priceless.@MacHughesGolf making this junior’s day with a @MapleLeafs jersey at #TheRink ?? pic.twitter.com/yfwbrC5eT7

— RBC Canadian Open (@RBCCanadianOpen) July 28, 2018

The lone PGA Tour stop north of the border wears its Canadian pride on its sleeve, and Hughes was happy to play his part.

“I signed it before the round, and after I was on the green, I tried to find a young Leafs fan in the crowd,” Hughes said. “(I’m a) big Leafs fan.”

The 27-year-old from Dundas, Ont., just outside Hamilton, had plenty of fans himself Saturday as he climbed 24 spots up the leaderboard with his 5-under 67 in the third round. Hughes is in a group of eight tied for 13th at 11 under, six shots behind the four leaders.

Hughes opened with four birdies on his first five holes. On No. 5, he hit a phenomenal recovery shot from under the trees to get onto the green, then finished with a long putt for birdie. He double-bogeyed on No. 11, but finished strong with five birdies on the final six holes.

“I was playing well today and I got a tough break on 11,” Hughes said. “Hit a great drive, middle of the fairway, and had the worst divot I’ve ever been in in my life. And I normally don’t skull over the green, and I skulled over the green, made a 6 there, and I was 2-under in a good spot going into the back nine.”

“But, unlike maybe (Friday) where I was probably a bit impatient at times, I just told myself I was playing well and had some chances coming in and kind of got hot there.”

Dustin Johnson, Kevin Tway, Byeong Hun An and Whee Kim shared the lead at 17 under.

Calgary’s Ryan Yip shot a 66 to climb 40 spots into a tie for 21st, seven shots off the pace. Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., shot 72 and dropped 19 spots to a tie for 29th, David Hearn (69) of Brantford, Ont., and Ben Silverman (73) of Thornhill, Ont., are 10 shots back and tied for 43rd. Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., and Chris Crisologo of Richmond, B.C., Canada’s only amateur to make the cut, are tied for 53rd, 11 shots back.

Glen Abbey first dressed up its par-3 seventh hole last summer in celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday last year. “The Rink” resembles an arena, with hockey boards replacing the rope lines. Officials wear referees’ jerseys.

A day earlier, Hughes took a shot with the Leafs sweater on, charming the crowd when his chip from just off the green went in.

“I was trying to figure out if I could hit a chip without the sleeves getting in the way and the Leafs emblem all over my chest getting a little bunched up,” Hughes told reporters. “But I was, like, ‘This is very chip-in-able and if I do it with the jersey on, it’s way cooler.”’

Moments after Saturday’s round, talk turned to the Maple Leafs’ major off-season acquisition John Tavares.

“Very excited,” Hughes said of the former New York Islanders star. “He’s coming to an already very talented roster, so I think the next three, four years with him will help us out.”

Hughes had a breakthrough in the fall of 2016, when he won the RSM Classic in his fifth PGA Tour start as a member. He went wire-to-wire for the win and became the first Canadian-born golfer to win on the tour since Taylor at 2014.

Taylor had a disappointing Saturday, salvaged slightly by an eagle on the 18th hole.

“I couldn’t buy a putt the whole day, it was nice to finally make one on 18 there. Yeah, just couldn’t make a putt. Just couldn’t get it going,” said Taylor, who heads into the fourth round nine shots back of the leaders. “It was nice to finish that way, get a little momentum going into tomorrow, and getting back to even was big.”

The 30-year-old, who’s 127th on the FedExCup rankings, needs a solid result Sunday, and down the stretch of the season, to climb to into the top 125 and keep his PGA Tour card.

“It’s important on a lot of levels, it’s so bunched that a great round would go a long way,” said Taylor, who played Saturday with world No. 1 Johnson. “Again, it was huge to make that eagle to get back to even, I feel like I salvaged something on the last hole. … I would’ve like to play better, but I’m still in a good spot.”

One of Taylor’s highlights of the day also came on No. 7, birdying to a loud round of applause.

“It was awesome, that’s a moment you’ll remember for a long time, it’s pretty fun to do it on that hole,” he said. “I’ve birdied that hole every day this week, it’s been good to me.”

The 27-year-old from Dundas, Ont., just outside Hamilton, had plenty of fans himself Saturday as he climbed 24 spots up the leaderboard with his 5-under 67 in the third round. Hughes is in a group of eight tied for 13th at 11 under, six shots behind the four leaders.

Hughes opened with four birdies on his first five holes. On No. 5, he hit a phenomenal recovery shot from under the trees to get onto the green, then finished with a long putt for birdie. He double-bogeyed on No. 11, but finished strong with five birdies on the final six holes.

“I was playing well today and I got a tough break on 11,” Hughes said. “Hit a great drive, middle of the fairway, and had the worst divot I’ve ever been in in my life. And I normally don’t skull over the green, and I skulled over the green, made a 6 there, and I was 2-under in a good spot going into the back nine.”

“But, unlike maybe (Friday) where I was probably a bit impatient at times, I just told myself I was playing well and had some chances coming in and kind of got hot there.”

Dustin Johnson, Kevin Tway, Byeong Hun An and Whee Kim shared the lead at 17 under.

Calgary’s Ryan Yip shot a 66 to climb 40 spots into a tie for 21st, seven shots off the pace. Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., shot 72 and dropped 19 spots to a tie for 29th, David Hearn (69) of Brantford, Ont., and Ben Silverman (73) of Thornhill, Ont., are 10 shots back and tied for 43rd. Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., and Chris Crisologo of Richmond, B.C., Canada’s only amateur to make the cut, are tied for 53rd, 11 shots back.

Glen Abbey first dressed up its par-3 seventh hole last summer in celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday last year. “The Rink” resembles an arena, with hockey boards replacing the rope lines. Officials wear referees’ jerseys.

A day earlier, Hughes took a shot with the Leafs sweater on, charming the crowd when his chip from just off the green went in.

“I was trying to figure out if I could hit a chip without the sleeves getting in the way and the Leafs emblem all over my chest getting a little bunched up,” Hughes told reporters. “But I was, like, ‘This is very chip-in-able and if I do it with the jersey on, it’s way cooler.”’

Moments after Saturday’s round, talk turned to the Maple Leafs’ major off-season acquisition John Tavares.

“Very excited,” Hughes said of the former New York Islanders star. “He’s coming to an already very talented roster, so I think the next three, four years with him will help us out.”

Hughes had a breakthrough in the fall of 2016, when he won the RSM Classic in his fifth PGA Tour start as a member. He went wire-to-wire for the win and became the first Canadian-born golfer to win on the tour since Taylor at 2014.

Taylor had a disappointing Saturday, salvaged slightly by an eagle on the 18th hole.

“I couldn’t buy a putt the whole day, it was nice to finally make one on 18 there. Yeah, just couldn’t make a putt. Just couldn’t get it going,” said Taylor, who heads into the fourth round nine shots back of the leaders. “It was nice to finish that way, get a little momentum going into tomorrow, and getting back to even was big.”

The 30-year-old, who’s 127th on the FedExCup rankings, needs a solid result Sunday, and down the stretch of the season, to climb to into the top 125 and keep his PGA Tour card.

“It’s important on a lot of levels, it’s so bunched that a great round would go a long way,” said Taylor, who played Saturday with world No. 1 Johnson. “Again, it was huge to make that eagle to get back to even, I feel like I salvaged something on the last hole. … I would’ve like to play better, but I’m still in a good spot.”

One of Taylor’s highlights of the day also came on No. 7, birdying to a loud round of applause.

“It was awesome, that’s a moment you’ll remember for a long time, it’s pretty fun to do it on that hole,” he said. “I’ve birdied that hole every day this week, it’s been good to me.”

ATHENS, Texas – Bruce Lietzke, the fun-loving, fade-hitting 2-time RBC Canadian Open (1978, 1982) winner whose practice regime – or lack of one – spawned an often-told spoiled banana story, died Saturday of brain cancer. He was 67.

Lietzke’s family said he died at his Athens ranch.

“Our PGA Tour family lost a treasured member with the death of Bruce Lietzke,” PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan said in a statement. “He touched on parts of five decades as a player, competed in 700 tournaments as a member of the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions, and recorded a total of 20 victories.

“But to celebrate Bruce Lietzke’s life properly, we offer praise to the great family man and the cherished friend to many.”

With family, fishing and a large muscle car collection to tend to, the 13-time PGA Tour winner had little time or desire to tinker with a trusted swing that didn’t need tinkering – as the banana story hilariously illustrates. It started at the final event in 1984 when Lietzke told caddie Al Hansen that he wouldn’t touch his clubs again until the 1985 opener. The unbelieving Hansen put the banana in Lietzke’s golf bag as a test, only to discover the rotten fruit still there in January.

Lietzke was introduced to golf in his native Kansas City, Missouri, and starred at Forest Park High School in Beaumont, Texas, before moving on to the University of Houston.

Lietzke played in the United States’ 1981 Ryder Cup victory in England, and finished second to John Daly in the 1991 PGA Championship. He won seven times on the senior tour, the last victory coming in the 2003 U.S. Senior Open.

Lietzke is survived by wife Rose, son Stephen and daughter Christine.