Woods wins the AT&T, Donaldson breaks the Irish hearts at Portrush...Live scoreboards, ALL tours, All Canadians,,,

PGA Tour

AT&T National

Thursday Jun 28 – Sunday Jul 1, 2012

Congressional Country Club · Bethesda, Maryland

Canadian    Graham Delaet T49 +8 74 74 71 73

Round 4 notes...Wrap up..

Tiger Woods won for the third time this year, the most of anyone on the PGA TOUR, and it was the 74th win of his career. That moved him past Jack Nicklaus into second place on the TOUR list, eight short of the record set by Sam Snead.

Caught in a tense duel with Bo Van Pelt on another sweltering day, it looked as though Woods blinked first until Van Pelt matched him with mistakes of his own. Woods closed with a 2-under 69 and won by two shots when Van Pelt finished with his third straight bogey and had to settle for a 71.

Woods, who finished at 8-under 276, moved to the top of the FedExCup standings for the first time since September 2009.

He effectively clinched the win with a 9-iron down the hill toward the peninsula green on the 18th, a shot so pure that Woods started walking and twirled the club moments after he made contact.
And so ended a wild week in Washington -- record heat Friday, followed by a wind storm that topped dozens of trees at Congressional and forced the tournament to keep spectators out Saturday

Graham DeLaet T49 +8  74 74 71 73 292

Tee times and leaderboard  http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboards/current/r471/

European Tour

The Irsh Open

Royal Portrush

County Antrim, NIreland

Round 4 notes.. wrap up

At the 255th time of trying, Wales’ Jamie Donaldson finally captured his debut European Tour title in a stylish manner befitting of the Irish Open.

As the sun belatedly came out at Royal Portrush Golf Club, where a record 112,280 fans enjoyed the Irish Open’s first appearance in Northern Ireland since 1953, Donaldson capped off a superb final round of 66 with a closing birdie for a -18  aggregate winning total.

Second place was shared between Spaniard Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti (both 66) and England’s Anthony Wall, who recovered bravely from a triple bogey eight at the second hole to sign for a round of 69 and join the duo on -14

Ireland’s Padraig Harrington could not quite deliver an emotional home triumph, as the Dubliner struggled on the greens en route to posting a round of 70 for a share of seventh place on -12

Earlier in the day, friends and compatriots Graeme McDowell (-10) and Rory McIlroy (-11) had thrilled the vast galleries with respective rounds of 66 and 67


live scoring click http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012046/leaderboard/index.html?showLeaderboard=Y

LPGA

Walmart NW Arkansas Championship

Pinnacle GC 

Rogers Arkansas

Canadians  Jessica Shepley MC 71,72 Stephanie Sherlock MC 74,74 Rebecca Lee Bentham MC 73, 74 Samantha Richdale MC 74,72 Lorie Kane T55 +1 71,69,73 Maude Aimee LeBlanc T36 -1 73,70,69 Alena Sharp T66 +3 76,67,73


Round 3 Notes..wrap up

Ai Miyazato -12, Rolex Rankings No. 6
Azahara Munoz -11, Rolex Rankings No. 18
Mika Miyazato -11, Rolex Rankings No. 22
Veronica Felibert -10, Rolex Rankings No. 723
Stacy Lewis -4, Rolex Rankings No. 2


Ai Miyazato captured her second victory of the 2012 LPGA season, making birdie on the 18^th hole to take home the title at the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship Presented by P&G. Miyazato fired a 6-under 65 to give her a one-shot victory over fellow Japan native Mika Miyazato and 2012 Sybase Match Play champion Azahara Munoz.

Canadian scores above..

. live scoring click  http://www.lpgascoring.com/public/Leaderboard.aspx

Champions Tour

Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship

Thursday Jun 28 – Sunday Jul 1, 2012

Fox Chapel Golf Club · Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Canadians  Rod Spittle T38 68 74 68, 70 E , Jim Rutledge T14 74 69 67 66 -4

Round 4 Notes  wrap up

live scoring click here http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboards/current/s507/

Joe Daley, a non-exempt player on the Champions Tour, held off a trio of former major championship winners on the PGA TOUR, to claim his first win on the Tour, the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship. Buoyed by a tournament-best 24 birdies, Daley started the day tied with Mark Calcavecchia 72, with Fred Couples 71 and Tom Lehman 69 one stroke behind  before finishing with a 21-foot birdie at No. 18,  68 -14 total to win by two.
   
 With his win at the Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS, Joe Daley earns fully-exempt status thru July 1, 2013 as well as a spot in next year’s THE PLAYERS Championship and a five-year exemption into the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai. He also earns a check for $405,000, the largest of his professional career as well as 810 points in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup race and moves into fourth place on the 2012 points list with 958 points.

Jim Rutledge had a fine closing 66 to finish T14 at -4.






Nationwide Tour

United Leasing Championship at Victoria National Golf Club

Thursday Jun 28 – Sunday Jul 1, 2012
Victoria National Golf Club · Newburgh, Indiana
Canadians  Adam Hadwin MC 72 72 Stuart Anderson MC 70 75, Brad Fritsch MC 74 74, Richard Scott T2 70 72,65 -9 Bryan DeCorso T32 70 72 71 -3


Round 4 Notes  wrap up

Peter Tomasulo two-putted for par on the fourth hole of a weather-delayed playoff to beat David Lingmerth and win the United Leasing Championship, the first event on the newly-named Web.com Tour
The win for the 30-year old Californian is the third of his career and caps a 21-month long comeback from a litany of injuries that include a broken bone in his foot, stress fractures in his ribs and a pair of surgeries earlier this year.

Canucks Bryan DeCorso T61 70 72 71,86  and Richard Scott 3, 70 72 65 71 -10 


live scoring click  http://www.pgatour.com/h/leaderboard/






Canadian Tour
The Syncrude Boreal Open Pres. By AECON
Host Course: Fort McMurray Golf Club
Location: Ft. McMurray, Alberta
Purse: $150,000 CAD


Final Results (bold denotes Canadian)

Cory Renfrew, Victoria, BC 71-64-73-63 = 271 (-17) - $24,000.00
Matt Hill, Sarnia, ON - 72-66-66-67 = 271 (-17) - $14,400.00
Nate McCoy, Des Moines, IA - 67-65-71-71 = 274 (-14) - $9,000.00
Daniel Im, La Mirada, Ca - 72-66-70-69 = 277 (-11) - $6,600.00
Roger Sloan, Merritt, BC - 69-68-69-71 = 277 (-11) - $6,600.00
Andrew Roque, Monterey Park, CA - 69-69-73-68 = 279 (-9) - $4,837.50
Kent Eger, Regina, SK - 69-70-69-71 = 279 (-9) - $4,837.50
Tyler Aldridge, Nampa, ID 71-69-67-72 = 279 (-9) - $4,837.50
Sebastian Saavedra, Buenos Aires, Argentina - 70-70-67-72 = 279 (-9) - $4,837.50

(July 1, 2012 - Fort McMurray, AB) - Cory Renfrew of Victoria, BC earned his first Canadian Tour victory in thrilling fashion Sunday, defeating Matt Hill of Sarnia, ON in a four-hole playoff to capture the Syncrude Boreal Open presented by AECON.

Renfrew carded a course record 63 (-9) in the final round, then won the all-Canadian playoff on Canada Day by converting a five-foot birdie putt on the fourth extra hole



live scoring click here
http://www.cantour.com/leagues/cantour_leaderboard4.cfm?clientid=3776&leagueid=15918&seasonnum=2012

Ladies European Amateur MatchPlay

Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship - Matchplay Stages

Carnoustie Links
28^th - 30^th June 2012

FINAL RESULT
Rocio Sanchez Lobata (Sp) lost to Stephanie Meadow (Ire) 5&4  ( Meadow is out of Royal Portrush)

Canada's Augusta James beat Scotland's Sally Watson 2up to move into the 3rd round. In the first round of match play Wednesday, James handled Germany’s Ann-Kathrin Lindner 3&1 over 17 holes to advance to the second round.

James lost in the round of 16 to Laetitia Beck.. Here is the box score..

Augusta James (CAN) (33)

Canada

14

5&4

Laetitia Beck (ISR) (48)

Israel

James is in college at NC State, was born in Bath, Ontario and went to high school in Napanee.

live scoring click  http://info.lgu.org/tic/tmscores.cgi?tourn=BM12~params=P*6ESC06~alphaorder=n~natorder=n~cardlink=Y~~season=2012~style=00~groupties=Y~pr=Y~textout=N~bordersize=1~fontsize=*~winfocus=Y~

Georgia Jr Amateur Championship

The Dogwood Invitational

live scores click here http://www.thedogwood.com/scores




CN Future Links Prairie Championship
Minnewasta G&CC

Morden, Man. (Golf Canada) – Gajan Sivabalasingham of Ballantrae, Ont. and Ally Shin of Coquitlam, B.C. have won their respective divisions at the CN Future Links Prairie Championship at Minnewasta Golf & Country Club in Morden, Man.

In the Junior Boys division, Sivabalasingham, 18, won by a single shot over runner-up Tae Won Kim, 17, of Richmond Hill, Ont. Sivabalasingham converted an eagle on No. 15 along with two birdies on the day for a final round tally of 3-over par 75 and a tournament total of even par 216. Kim led after both the first and second round, but bogeys on No. 16 and No. 18 and a double bogey on No. 17 cost him, giving him a final day total of 7-over par 79 and a three-day score of 1-over par 217

On the Junior Girls side, Shin, 16, managed to hold off the field with three birdies today for a three-day total of 17-over par 233 and a 10-over par 82 in the final round. A leader after the first and second round, she held off second place finisher Winnie Hyun, 17, of Langley, B.C., to win by three shots.  Hyun scored 8-over par 80 on the day, giving her a tournament total of 20-over par 236. This is Shin’s first win of the 2012 season, with her highest finish this year being a second place at the CJGA – Nike Junior Series Stephen Ames Cup Qualifier in March.


live scores click  http://golfcanada.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/rcga12/event/rcga129/contest/1/leaderboard.htm



European Senior Tour
Berenberg Bank Masters
Worthsee GC
Munich, Germany
Canadians  Rick Gibson T6 -9 71,70,66

Round 3 Notes  wrap up

Tim Thelen secured his maiden Senior Tour victory in the most thrilling fashion with a final round that included an albatross and a rampaging finish to hold of the challenges of some of the senior game’s biggest names at the Berenberg Bank Masters.

With 2011 Senior Tour Numbers One and Two Peter Fowler and Barry Lane, Mark Mouland and the legendary Bernhard Langer piling on the back nine pressure, Thelen produced three birdies in his closing four holes to card a  -4 68 and slam the door closed on his first victory to secure the €60,000 first prize at the Golfclub Wörthsee in Munich

live scoring click http://www.europeantour.com/seniortour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012852/leaderboard/index.html?showLeaderboard=Y

 

Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles and on www.isr1050.com and on www.NextSportStar.com

Final results all tours..scoreboards, stories..

LPGA
Manulife Financial LPGA Classic
Grey Silo Golf Course
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada

Round 3 Notes..

These Canadians made the cut..
Maude-Aimee LeBlanc T50  73 68 68 72 -3
Izzy Bieseigel T59  71 70,73 70 E
Rebecca Lee Bentham T68 72 71 73 71 +3
Lorie Kane  79th 71 72 75,75 +9
Alena Sharp T50 73 70 7168 -2

FINAL...

Brittany Lang won the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic on Sunday for her first LPGA Tour title, birdieing the par-5 18th three straight times in a playoff.
Lang missed a birdie try on the hole in regulation, leaving her tied with Hee Kyung Seo, Inbee Park and Chella Choi at 16-under 286. Choi was eliminated on the first extra hole, and Park dropped out on the second

Lang closed with her second straight 67, Choi had a 63, Seo a 67, and Park a 69.
Lang, Seo and Park, playing together in the final threesome at Grey Silo, all had a chance to win in regulation, but settled for pars on the finishing hole to set up the playoff.
Stacy Lewis, a two-time winner this year, and U.S. Women's Open champion So Yeon Ryu shot 64 to tie for fifth at 15 under. Lewis opened with a 72, then shot 64-69-64.

China's Shanshan Feng, coming off a major victory two weeks ago in the LPGA Championship, was another stroke back along with Anna Nordqvist. Feng had a 66, and Nordqvist a 67.
Michelle Wie tied for 68th at 3 over. She shot a 74

for live scoring and tee times click  http://www.lpgascoring.com/public/Leaderboard.aspx



Meanwhile we have 6 Canucks in this strong field in Montreal including regulars Rod Spittle and Jim Rutledge..

Champions Tour
Montreal Championship

Friday Jun 22 – Sunday Jun 24, 2012

Vallee du Richelieu Vercheres · Sainte-Julie (Quebec), Canada

FINAL

Calcavecchia wins by 4 shots
Mark Calcavecchia won the Montreal Championship on Sunday for his second Champions Tour title, matching the course record with an 8-under 64 for a four-stroke victory.
The 52-year-old Calcavecchia had six birdies and chipped in for eagle on the par-5 16th hole on Richelieu Valley's Vercheres Course. He finished at 16-under 200.
"I made some nice 4-footers for pars, which were nice," Calcavecchia said. "I get a little shaky on those on occasion and for some reason today I just felt good on them, and then that 16th happened and I figured that even if I bogeyed the last two holes, I'd be fine, which I was.
"Actually, at 17 I hit a bad iron into the green and then I had a Tiger Woods thought. I didn't want to make any bogeys. It would have been easy to just kind of go ahead and miss that putt, make a bogey and who knows what on the last hole, but I really wanted to keep the round clean. I only made two bogeys all week so I thought that playing this golf course all weekend without a bogey was pretty good."

Brad Bryant shot a 65 to finish second.
"Calc is such a great front-runner that you kind of know, he gets his momentum going and he's really hard to catch," Bryant said. "I made nine birdies today and I'll bet he made more than I did, so it's hard to know. He's amazing that way."
Second-round leader Bob Tway and first-round leader Russ Cochran tied for third at 11 under. Cochran closed with a 68, and Tway had a 70.

Jim Rutledge was the best Canuck at T20 76 68 69 -3


live scoring click here    http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboards/current/s013/

PGA Tour

Travelers Championship

Thursday Jun 21 – Sunday Jun 24, 2012

TPC River Highlands · Cromwell, Connecticut

Canadians..Graham DeLaet T68  +1 68,68 70 75  Matt McQuillan T149 +8 78 70 MC

FINAL

Marc Leishman shot an early 8-under 62 and won the Travelers Championship for his first PGA TOUR title Sunday when Charley Hoffman surrendered a two-stroke lead...
The 28-year-old Australian began the day six strokes behind the leaders, but made eight birdies and no bogeys, then sat in the clubhouse for more than two hours and watched. He finished at 14-under 266.
Hoffman was 16 under heading to the 17th hole, but pushed his tee shot right and into the water. He made a double bogey, and bogeyed the 18th after failing to get up and down from a greenside bunker.
Hoffman closed with a 66 to tie for second with Masters champion Bubba Watson, who shot a 65.
Leishman became the fifth player in seven years to break through with their first TOUR win at TPC River Highlands, joining Fredrik Jacobson last year, Watson in 2010, Hunter Mahan in 2007 and J.J. Henry in 2006.
Leishman's 62 was the lowest score in a final round by a champion on TOUR this season.

live scoring click  http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboards/current/r034/

European Tour
BMW International Open
Golf Club Gut Lärchenhof
21 Jun 2012 - 24 Jun 2012

FINAL

Danny Willett is the winner

Danny Willet 73, has just missed a 5 footer on the 2nd playoff hole against Marcus Fraser 71, a guilt edged opportunity to win his first European Tour title.. Both guys ended up on -18.

3rd playoff hole ..still the 18th, Willett is on the green but 50 feet away and Fraser is short and right with a decent lie in the rough.  Willet down in 2 putts and Fraser after a beautiful chip and run made his 3 footer to half..

4th playoff hole... Willet's approach was nearly in the grandstand, but he hit a great pitch. to 3 feet. Fraser meanwhile just missed a 20 footer to win, then he missed the 2 footer for par. Willet made his and is your winner

Would you believe this ??

Also, Jose Manuel Lara has been disqualified from the BMW International Open after the Spaniard's caddie attempted to hide having an extra club in his bag for the first round.
Realizing on the second hole that Lara was using 15 clubs for Thursday's round at the Gut Larcenhof course in Pulheim, the caddie, Mathias Vinson, tried to hide the extra club in some bushes.
Lara thought the caddie had taken a diversion for a "call of nature," but his playing partners, Damien McGrane and Peter Hedblom, became suspicious. The caddie then admitted to Lara that there had been 15 clubs in the bag.
John Paramor, chief referee of the European Tour, told Lara he was disqualified from the $2.5 million tournament because a player is responsible for his caddie's actions

Vinson who had to run 3k to the course with the clubs over his shoulder because he was stuck in traffic, was banned from caddying "indefinitely," the Tour said in a statement released Friday.

Martin Kaymer had  his shoes nicked from the storage area. It wasn't the shoes but the special insoles he wears that he missed


live scoring click here  http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012044/leaderboard/index.html?showLeaderboard=Y





European Senior Tour
Van Lanschot Senior Open
The Royal Haagsche Golf & Country Club
 22 Jun 2012 - 24 Jun 2012
Canadians  Rick Gibson T50  77,76,83 +20

FINAL     Japan’s Massy Kuramoto called on his love of links golf to claim his second European Senior Tour victory in the Van Lanschot Senior Open, finishing two shots clear of Andrew Oldcorn in The Netherlands.

The diminutive 56 year old, who is 5ft 4inches tall, carded the lowest round of the week, a superb closing 69, as the wind made playing conditions difficult for a third consecutive day at Royal Haagsche Golf & Country Club.

live scoring click here http://www.europeantour.com/seniortour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012850/leaderboard/index.html




EuropeanChallenge Tour
Scottish Hydro Challenge hosted by Macdonald Hotels and Resorts
Macdonald Spey Valley GC
21 Jun 2012 - 24 Jun 2012
Canadians  Andrew Parr +3 78,67  MC


FINAL FINAL..

Sam Walker became the first player to claim two Scottish Hydro Challenge hosted by Macdonald Hotels and Resorts titles after he beat Simon Wakefield at the third play-off hole following the cancellation of the final day's play due to course conditions.
After heavy overnight rain, the tournament was forced to be reduced to 54 holes and joint overnight leaders Wakefield and Walker played out a play-off to decide the winner

live scoring click here http://www.europeantour.com/challengetour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012744/leaderboard/index.html?showLeaderboard=Y





Nationwide Tour

Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open

Thursday Jun 21 – Sunday Jun 24, 2012

Crestview CC · Wichita, Kansas

Canadians  Richard Scott T9 -11 68,68,70 67 Stuart Anderson 69,74 MC Ryan Yip T40 -6  69,68,74 67  Brad Fritsch 72,72 MC  Bryan DeCorso T22 68 68 70 69 -9


FINAL
pgatour.com After finishing tied for 10th at last week's U.S. Open, Casey Wittenberg knew he was playing well when he came to Wichita. Despite making an unusual bogey early in the round, the Oklahoma State product stayed patient and birdied four of his last nine holes to rally past a faltering Jim Herman in searing 100-degree heat and win the 23rd Preferred Health Systems Wichita Open.

The victory allowed Wittenberg to become the first player this year to claim multiple titles on the Nationwide Tour and he is now poised to earn a "battlefield" promotion to the PGA TOUR should he win a third title later this year.
The Oklahoma State product's second title in almost three months didn't come nearly as easy as his record-setting eight-stroke triumph at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open in late March

Canadian scores listed above led by Richard Scott who T9 68 68 70 67 -11..



Live scoring click here   http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboards/current/h023/

Canadian Tour
2012 ATB Financial Classic presented by TELUS
June 21-24, 2012
Windermere Golf & Country Club (35-36) Par 71
Purse: $175,000
Winner's share: $28,000

Final Leaderboard (bold denotes Canadian)
Michael Gligic, Burlington, ON 65-70-68-67 = 270 (-14)
Matt Marshall, Scottsdale, AZ 69-71-62-68 = 270 (-14)
Joe Panzeri, Meridian, ID 67-62-72-71 = 272 (-12)
Dodge Kemmer, Mountain View, CA 67-68-67-70 = 272 (-12)
Nick Taylor, Abbotsford, BC 69-65-71-67 = 272 (-12)
Ryan Williams, Vancouver, BC 64-70-70-68 = 272 (-12)

Hugo Leon, Tequesta, FL 65-72-69-67 =  273 (-11)
Matt Hill, Sarnia, ON, 68-71-65-70 = 274 (-10)
Scott Harrington, Scottsdale, AZ 64-71-69-71 = 274 (-10)

Wilson Bateman, Edmonton, AB 69-72-65-68 = 274 (-10)
Garrett Sapp, Cerritas, CA 68-69-66-71 = 274 (-10)

FINAL
(June 24, 2012 - Edmonton, AB) - Michael Gligic of Burlington, ON defeated Matt Marshall of Scottsdale, AZ in a sudden death playoff at Windermere Golf & Country Club in Edmonton to earn his first Canadian Tour victory at the 2012 ATB Financial Classic presented by TELUS.

With the victory Gligic becomes the second straight Q-School medalist to win on the Canadian Tour after Andrew Roque's win at the Times Colonist Island Savings Open. Gligic was the medalist at the 2011 Fall Qualifying School at Hidden Lake Golf Club, his home course in Burlington, ON.



click here for live scoring  http://www.cantour.com/leagues/cantour_leaderboard4.cfm?clientid=3776&leagueid=11755&seasonnum=2012




Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles and at www.isr1050.com and on www.nextsportsstar.com

PGA Championship of Canada.. Wednesday Results..

golfcanada.com  Three of the top four seeded players were ousted Wednesday at the PGA Championship of Canada at Country Hills Golf Club's Talons Course.

Brian McCann, the No. 1-ranked player from the PGA of Canada Player Rankings, lost 2 & 1 to Eddward Boudreau. The No. 2-ranked Danny King fell 5 & 4 to Eric Laporte while Lindsay Bernakevitch took down host head professional Brett Burgeson 3 & 2.

"The seeding in this event is just a number,” Bernakevitch said after his match Wednesday afternoon. "We're all evenly matched in my opinion; we're all great players and it just matters how you play on the day.”

Boudreau, who made six birdies in his match against McCann on a Talons Course that saw less wind than Tuesday, agreed with Bernakevitch, saying the talent level amongst PGA of Canada professionals is impressive.

"We've got some really good players and there's a lot of talent and there's a lot of people here with a lot of history in this game, so whether you're playing a very good veteran or one of the younger guys with talent you know you' re going to have to play very well to win.”

Bryn Parry is the highest seeded player at No. 3 remaining after his 3 & 2 victory of Keir Smith.

Other top-10 seeded players advancing to Thursday morning's third round include No. 5 Dave Levesque and No. 7 Mike Belbin.

Jacklyn Miller, who became the first female participant in the championship’s 91-year history, lost 5 & 4 to No. 4 Brett Burgeson.

Coincidentally, with McCann, King and Burgeson all losing Tuesday; Parry, Levesque and Belbin all still have a chance to earn an exemption into next month's RBC Canadian Open.

The player who sits atop the PGA of Canada Player Rankings at the conclusion of the PGA Championship of Canada earns an exemption into the RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf & Country Club in Hamilton, Ont., July 23-29.
McCann currently sits atop the Player Rankings with 160 points. Should Parry, Levesque and Belbin not advance at least to the championship's semi-final matches, McCann would maintain his spot at the top and earn the exemption.

Other winners from Tuesday's action include Ron Kenesky; Conor O'Shea; Dean Brown; Kevin Black; Roger Beale; Bill Walsh; John McCann; Brad Clapp; Bruce Rogerson and Phil Jonas.

As was the case in 2011, this year's championship is contested as a match play event with players from four brackets—Stan Leonard, George Knudson, Al Balding and Moe Norman—looking to advance through the six rounds to the final championship match Friday at 1:30 p.m. at the Talons Course at Country Hills Golf Club.

The eventual champion will not only earn a share of the $100,000 purse, but will also capture the historic P.D. Ross Trophy.
Third round matches take place Thursday morning, while the quarter-finals go down on Thursday afternoon.

Golf news from Canada

2 events, LPGA in Waterloo and Champions Tour in Montreal join new info from the RBC Canadian Open to make up Golf News from Canada... Here are the reports..

Watch for my interview at 740am Wednesday on www.NextSportsStar.com with RBC Canadian Open Tournament Director Bill Paul..

RBC CANADIAN OPEN TO BOAST STAR POWER OF 2012 US OPEN CHAMPION AND PLAYERS CHAMPION
AMONG HIGH PROFILE FIELD COMPETING AT HAMILTON GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB, JULY 26 - 29, 2012

US Open Champion Webb Simpson and Top Finishers Jim Furyk, Michael Thompson, Ernie Els, Fredrik Jacobsen and Retief Goosen Commit to Play

2012 PLAYERS Champion Matt Kuchar and World #10 Hunter Mahan Join Strong Field for National Open Championship

Oakville, Ont. (Golf Canada) – The forthcoming RBC Canadian Open is building momentum. This year’s field will boast some of the best players in the world, bolstered by freshly minted US Open Champion Webb Simpson among other high profile players who challenged this past weekend at Olympic Club in San Francisco. In addition to Simpson, who is currently the 5th ranked player in the world on the heels of his Major Championship win, Golf Canada and RBC are pleased to report that a number of great names have indicated their intent to play the 2012 RBC Canadian Open.

RBC Canadian Open Tournament Director Bill Paul today released an interim list that currently boasts names featured within the top echelon of the Official World Golf Rankings and the season long FedEx Cup point race. While this year’s host venue has many players excited about playing in Canada, Paul credits the strength of this year’s venue and the support of title sponsor RBC as major factors in the interest being shown for Canada’s National Open Championship.  In addition to today’s announcement, Golf Canada is very pleased with the dialogue among high profile players and promises additional names will be released over the next few weeks.

“Five weeks out from the RBC Canadian Open, we are very pleased with how the field is coming together,” said Paul. “Hamilton Golf and Country Club has been one of the most talked about venues on Tour this year and has been a drawing feature for many of the players announced today. The strength of our field is also a testament to the commitment of our partners at RBC in delivering a world-class event experience to Canadian golf fans.”

In addition to the names released today, defending champion Sean O’Hair will be in Hamilton, joined by Canadians Mike Weir, Stephen Ames, Graham DeLaet and David Hearn when the 103rd playing of Canada’s National Open championship kicks off July 23-29. Confirmed players include:

Webb Simpson
-              3-time PGA Tour winner, 1-time major winner (2012 U.S. Open)
-              Currently ranked No. 5 in the world and No. 9 on the FedEx Cup points chase

Matt Kuchar
-              4-time PGA Tour winner including 2012 The Players Championship
-              Currently ranked No. 7 in the world and No. 7 on the FedEx Cup points chase

Hunter Mahan
-              5-time PGA Tour winner including the 2012 World Golf Championships - Accenture Match Play Championship
-              Currently ranked No. 10 in the world and No. 2 on the FedEx Cup points chase

Jim Furyk
-              16-time PGA TOUR winner, and 1-time major winner (2003 U.S. Open)
-              2-time Canadian Open champion (2006 and 2007)

Ernie Els
-              18-time PGA Tour winner and 3-time major winner (1994 and 1997 U.S. Open, 2002 Open Championship)
-              Currently ranked No. 39 in the world and No. 27 on the FedEx Cup points chase

Michael Thompson
-              Finished T2 at the 2012 U.S. Open
-              Currently ranked No. 52 in the world and No. 39 on the FedEx Cup points chase

Fredrik Jacobsen
-              1-time PGA Tour winner (2011 Travelers Championship)
-              Currently ranked No. 44 in the world and No. 94 on the FedEx Cup points chase

Retief Goosen
-              7-time PGA Tour winner, and 2-time major winner (2001 and 2004 U.S. Open)
-              Currently ranked No. 61 in the world and No. 137 on the FedEx Cup points chase

Canadians Earn Their Way to Hamilton
In addition to those qualifying regionally and players ranked at the top of the Canadian TOUR Order of Merit and Nationwide Tour, a number Canadian hopefuls will look to challenge for the 2012 Championship. Two Canadian amateur golfers have qualified for the field – Team Canada National Squad member Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont. who earned a spot by winning the 2011 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship and Rob Couture of Trenton, Ont., who secured a spot thanks to his win at the 2011 Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship. Look for a complete overview of Canadians in the Field in forthcoming Golf Canada announcements


CHAMPIONS TOUR

The Montreal Championship, in its third year, will have a new venue in 2012. After two years at Club de Golf Fontainebleau, the tournament will be played at La Vallee du Richelieu Golf Club (Vercheres Course), June 18-24. The Champions Tour played the 1999 AT&T Canada Senior Open Championship at the site, but it was contested on the Rouville Course. Jim Ahern won that tournament in a two-hole playoff with Hale Irwin.
 
 Defending champion John Cook is no stranger to defending a title on the Champions Tour. Cook has done it twice, defending his 2007 AT&T Championship in San Antonio a year later and then claiming a second consecutive Charles Schwab Cup Championship in 2010. In addition to his Montreal Championship title in 2011, he was also second to Larry Mize in 2010 and has posted six straight rounds in the 60s.
 
 The Champions Tour currently has two full-time native Canadians on Tour—Rod Spittle and Jim Rutledge. Spittle has a pair of T9 finishes to his credit this year (The ACE Group Classic and the Insperity Championship). Rutledge is currently 50th on the money list, with $105,558. His best showing to date is a T13 at the Insperity Championship. Spittle was T7 in this tournament last year, while Rutledge finished T35 in 2011 and T38 in 2010.
 
Brad Bryant comes into the Montreal Championship with five top-10 finishes in his last six starts on the Champions Tour, despite battling recent foot problems. Bryant has already earned $472,043 and is likely to surpass his 2011 total ($590,087) sometime this summer.
 
The PGA TOUR’s Canadian Open has been played at Royal Montreal Golf Club several times over the years, and its list of winners includes some current members of the Champions Tour: Jerry Pate (1976), Bob Gilder (1980) and Steve Jones (1997). In addition to Pate, Gilder and Jones, other former champions in the field include John Cook (1983), Wayne Levi (1990), David Frost (1993), Mark O’Meara (1995), Hal Sutton 1999), Bob Tway (2003) and Mark Calcavecchia (2005).


LPGA

Yani Tseng has decided to skip the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic in Waterloo, Ont., leaving the inaugural tournament without the top player in the women's game.

The Taiwanese star's agent, Ernie Huang, and tournament director Richard Kuypers confirmed Friday that she will not be in the field at Grey Silo Golf Club. The tournament begins June 21.

Huang said Tseng will play in the CVS Caremark Charity Classic on June 18 and 19, then take the rest of the week off. Organized by PGA Tour veterans Brad Faxon and Billy Andrade, the CVS is an exhibition event in Rhode Island that features competitors from the PGA, LPGA and Champions tours.

The 23-year-old Tseng will then begin preparations for the U.S. Women's Open, which begins July 5.

Despite Tseng's absence at the new LPGA tournament in Waterloo, the field is expected to be strong. Six women inside the top 25 of the world ranking -- Ai Miyazato, Suzann Pettersen, Cristie Kerr, Azahara Munoz, Lexi Thompson and Karrie Webb -- committed to play this week, adding to the list of stars that already included Stacy Lewis, Paula Creamer, Michelle Wie and Canadian veteran Lorie Kane. Canada's top-ranked female amateur, Jennifer Kirby of Paris, Ont., said this week she's been invited to play, too.

World No. 2 Na Yeon Choi has not said whether she'll be in Waterloo. Kuypers said the field will be finalized next Tuesday afternoon.

Tseng is a 15-time LPGA Tour winner who has held the world No. 1 ranking for more than a year. She's won three times this year and posted five other top-10 finishes, amassing just shy of a tour-leading $1-million (U.S.).
But her performance of late has been below her lofty standards. She finished outside the top 10 for the first time in 2012 at the ShopRite LPGA Classic last Sunday and opened the Wegmans LPGA Championship, a major, with a four-over-par 76 on Thursday and a 75 Friday to just barely make the cut.



Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles and at www.isr1050.com

Webb Simpson..last man standing at the Olympic Club

In the end nobody could better par at the Olympic Club, but the guy who came closest with a pair of 68's on the weekend was Webb Simpson, who finished at +1 281 good for a 1 shot lead over Graeme McDowell 73, who kepthttp://www.majorschampionships.com/usopen/2012/scoring/index.cfm# the drama going until the 72nd hole when he misread a 25 footer to tie, and force the playoff that seemed to be looming most of the day, Micheal Thompson 67 also finished at +2 T2

FINAL LEADERBOARD CLICK HERE  http://www.majorschampionships.com/usopen/2012/scoring/index.cfm#

Simpson,the man who went to Wake Forest on the Arnold Palmer scholarship was wearing the newly-named Jack Nicklaus medal around his neck and hoisting a big silver loving cup that has no name but carries considerable cachet. Simpson continued Olympic's tradition of come-from-behind victories, too, making up four shots on two former U.S. Open champions in Jim Furyk and Graeme McDowell to seal his first major win.

"I got here Monday, and I think every day my game got a little better," Simpson said. "I hit it really well yesterday. The first few days I putted well and hung in there. Yesterday I hit it well and made me get excited for today.
"Today I had the best warm-up I had the whole week before the round. You know, this is only my second U.S. Open and so I told myself don't get too excited, don't try to win. You've got to go out there and try to make pars, and that's what I did."

More to follow...



Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles and at www.isr1050.com

Now we have ourselves a horse race !! and it could be a photo-finish..

Sunday tee times click here  http://www.majorschampionships.com/usopen/2012/scoring/tee_times.cfm


It was as foolish yesterday (foolhardy was the word I used in the previous missive) for the over anxious Tiger cheerleaders that populate the media these days, to suggest Tiger's win at the Olympic Club was inevitable, as it is to suggest he is out of it today..

By now you know he and many others struggled on this tough tough test of golf at the Olympic Club with a +75 which puts him in a group at 214 +4, just 5 shots behind the leaders  Graeme McDowell 68 -1 209 and Jim Furyk 70 -1 209, the only 2 left under par.

So now we have ourselves a horse race folks, with as many as 20 odd players with a realistic chance of winning, so it could well be a photo-finish.

click here for live scoring  http://www.majorschampionships.com/usopen/2012/scoring/index.cfm

Freddie Jacobsen 68, the Swedish Seve is just 2 shots back at 211 +1 and don't count him out, nobody in this field has more imagination around the greens.

Ernie Els, a two-time U.S. Open winner, is three shots back. He's tied for the fewest putts of any player in the field this week and feels like he's back in major championship form, 15 years after his last U.S. Open win.

"For some reason, I'm patient again this week and that's been kind of my virtue in major championship golf," Els said.

Lee Westwood is also three shots back. Arguably the best and perhaps less arguably, the most established player without a major title, Westwood continues to put himself in breakthrough position. He hasn't delivered yet, but why not on Sunday?

"The main thing is just to go out there and believe that I'm good enough," Westwood said. "I must be. I keep getting myself in contention often enough."

There's Jason Dufner, the hottest player in golf in recent weeks with two wins in his last three starts. Dufner is four shots off the lead, in a six-man pack that also includes, gulp, 17-year-old Beau Hossler. The precocious youngster has gone from wanting to be low amateur to wanting to make history as the youngest player to win the U.S. Open.

There's Retief Goosen, another two-time U.S. Open winner, just five shots back. "You never know," Goosen said about his chances.

Goosen is in a pack at 4 over that also includes Martin Kaymer, Matt Kuchar and Woods. Despite a round that started badly (four bogeys in his first eight holes) and finished nearly as worse (two more in last three), Woods isn't about to give up the fight. With seven twosomes between him and the lead group, Woods hopes to make some early noise and post a number.

"I'm definitely still in the ballgame," he said. "I'm only five back and that's certainly doable on this golf course."

McDowell agreed. He considers anybody at 4 over or better as a threat. Although there are not super-low scores out there, anybody in red numbers can make a big move. Thirteen players shot sub-par rounds on Saturday; 10 of those players are in the final eight groups going into Sunday.

"There's a fine line in this golf course between 67, 68 and 75, 76," McDowell said. "Myself and Jimmy are tied up, but there's a lot of guys who can still win this tournament."
But at the end, it will be the golf course itself, the weather conditions and the USGA's set-up that may very well dictate who will contend and who will fall back. The course was a tad easier yesterday playing to a stroke average of 74.09.

The weather forecast is for partly sunny skies, cool 22*c (71*f) with the wind from the SW at 20mph by this afternoon when the leaders go out.

I won't be surprised if two or more of these guys are back to settle this US Open on Monday..

Listen for my report on the International Sports Report on TSN1050 at 9.45am and all week between 7-9am on www.NextSportsStar.com


Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles and at www.isr1050.com
(notes from pgatour.com were used in this blog)

Donald and McIlroy crash out of US Open, Furyk, Toms and Tiger lead

Saturday tee times click here  http://www.majorschampionships.com/usopen/2012/scoring/tee_times.cfm
Live scoring click here   http://www.majorschampionships.com/usopen/2012/scoring/index.cfm

Going into this weekend there are 17 players within 4 shots of the lead, and 28 within 5.

The world's #1 and 2 are out. Luke Donald 79, 72 and Rory McIlroy 77 73 have missed the cut which fell at +8. They are not alone, not nearly.. Bubba, Louis, Dustin, Ryo, Thomas and many other household names are off to their next stop.

Olympic Club has now played to a stroke average of 74.47 over the first 2 days.

Fittingly 3 of golf's most experienced veterans are the only ones under par. Jim Furyk 70 69, David Toms 69 70 and Tiger Woods 69 70 are at -1, 139 and share the lead.

There were no fist pumps for Tiger , just a deep breath and a slow exhale. Jim Furyk walked most of the 7,170 yards at Olympic with his head down. David Toms couldn't think of a single shot he hit without his full attention and it's no coincidence that all of them have been tested in the majors, none more often than Woods, who survived a patch of bogeys early in his round for that 70 that took him another round closer to a 15th major title.

Woods overcame three straight bogeys on the front nine, . Furyk, nine years removed from his U.S. Open title outside Chicago, said he plodded his way around  and former PGA Champion Toms kept a steady presence in his round of 70.

And they restored some sanity to the toughest test in golf after a brief, stunning moment when 17-year-old Beau Hossler found himself alone in the lead. He went 11 holes without making a bogey until he got lost in the thick rough and the trees on the brutal front nine of Olympic and had to settle for a 73.

Rory, obviously disappointed said "It wasn't the way I wanted to play," and Luke said " Honestly I was as prepared as I could be, I don't regret the way I prepared, they have a way at the US Open of changing the set up we practice on during Tuesday and Wednesday that makes me throw out all the yardages I'd planned on."
It doesn't take much at this U.S. Open to swallow up even the best players.

Woods had to be close to his best simply to break par."That was not easy," Woods said. "That golf course was some kind of quick. ... You had to stay as patient as possible."

Now many are going to tell you that Tiger has this in the bag, his 15th major is just a formality, and that my friends is simply foolhardy. Yes he has his ball flight under control for the most part, yes he is sticking to his patient game play, yes he s vastly experienced, but I caution you, this Olympic Club will be played in 80 degrees of heat on Saturday which will make it even tougher, and if the USGA decides to tuck a few pins, the winner will need the biggest share of golfing luck to go with their play, and finally Tiger missed a bunch of shots and putts on Friday, despite getting in at 70.

Remember Arnie led by 7 shots going into the back nine in 1966, lost them all to Billy Casper, who then beat him in a playoff. Further don't tell me in this day and age of parity that GMac, Furyk, Toms, Dufner, Kuchar, Mahan, Colsaerts or Schwartzel to name a few, do not need to get your full attention.

McDowell, dropped three shots on his last four holes for a 72. Even so, he is very much in the hunt two shots behind at 141, along with American John Peterson (70), big-hitting Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium (69) and Michael Thompson of the United States, the first-round leader whose 75 was nine shots worse.

Tiger drew level with Furyk on the 13th with a 4-foot birdie putt, and was coming up on a series of holes that allowed players to at least think of making birdie. However as I said he missed a bunch of shots on Friday.In a greenside bunker in two on the par-5 16th, shortened to 609 yards Friday, Woods blasted out weakly and missed a 12-foot putt. With a mid-iron in his hand in the fairway on the par-5 17th, he went over the green and down a deep slope. Despite a superb pitch to 8 feet, he missed the putt.

And with a wedge from the fairway on the 18th, he came up well short and into a bunker, having to settle for par.

Furyk rolled in a 40-foot birdie putt from off the third green in the morning, the highlight of his 69."Plod is a good word," Furyk said. "You take what the course gives you and play the best you can from there."

"Whoever wins this golf tournament is going to be a great champion, somebody that's probably won events before, that can handle the emotions and can handle the adversity in a U.S. Open, and somebody with experience," Toms said. "Strange things can happen, but I would think that you would see a lot of that on the leaderboard come late Sunday."

And a stern test waits on the weekend. Asked for the likely winning score, McDowell deferred to the USGA."They can have whatever they want," McDowell said. "If they want 5 over to win, 10 over to win it ... they can hide these pins away. I would have to imagine around level par."
Before Woods moved to the top of the leaderboard, the cheers,mainly of disbelief ,were for 17 year old amateur Hossler.
The kid in braces, who didn't even win his state high school championship, rolled in a 6-foot birdie putt on the 520-yard first hole, putting him alone in the lead at 2 under.

"Unfortunately," he said, "I kind of lost it coming in."

Hossler dropped a shot on the next hole, though the real trouble came when he pulled his tee shot on the fourth into the hay and made double bogey. Then, he hit into a bunker on the adjacent hole for another bogey, lost another shot on the sixth and only slowed the damage with a chip-in behind the seventh green for birdie. 70 73 +3 T9. Not bad eh !!

The other teenager Andy Zhang, only 14, followed up his brave 79 with 77 to miss the cut and will go back to grade 9 with memories his school mates can only dream of.

Phil Mickelson, remember all the nonsense when his pairing with Tiger was announced, 76 71 +7 and 8 behind Tiger.

Stephen Ames will be around for the weekend 74 73 +7..

Lee Westwood 72 73 is in a big group including Poulter, Kaymer, Manassero at +5. They are not out of it..

Someone today is going to get the right bounces, make a couple of monster putts, and put together an improbable 66 or 65 and with Olympic playing at nearly 5 shots over par, that will put them right in the mix.

Join me later as we watch it all unfold..


Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles and at www.isr1050.com
(notes from AP were used in this blog)

Olympic Club the clear leader.. Only 6 players, including Woods, break par..

for the leaderboard click here  http://www.majorschampionships.com/usopen/2012/scoring/index.cfm
round 2 tee times click here  http://www.majorschampionships.com/usopen/2012/scoring/tee_times.cfm

****Congrats to 14 yr old Andy Zhang who was +8 through his first 5 holes and steadied himself to come in at only +9

AP...The vaunted Olympic Club and it's reverse cambered fairways was as tough as ever, playing to a stroke average of 74.9 or nearly 5 over par, and indeed only 6 of the world's best beat par on a breezy opening day in San Francisco and while the lead at the U.S. Open belonged to Michael Thompson. The buzz came from Tiger Woods.

And the struggles came from the three players in the world ranking.

Thompson strung together four birdies on the back nine at The Olympic Club that carried him to a 4-under 66, while Woods put on a clinic on the other side of the course on how to handle the toughest test in golf.

He has never out of position. None of his tee shots found the deep, nasty rough lining the fairways. There was little stress for such a demanding major.

With consecutive birdies late in his round, including a 35-foot putt that banged into the back of the cup on No. 5, Woods opened with a 1-under 69 to raise hopes that he can finally end that four-year drought in the majors.

"I felt like I had control of my game all day," Woods said. "Just stuck to my game plan -- and executed my game plan."

Phil Mickelson hit a wild hook for his opening tee shot that was never found, presumably lost in a cypress tree, and he matched his worst opening round in a U.S. Open at 76. Bubba Watson chopped his way through the rough to a 78, showing that "Bubba Golf" works better at Augusta National than at Olympic Club.

They weren't the only ones to suffer.

Luke Donald, the No. 1 player in the world, is trying to capture his first major. It most likely won't be this one. He failed to make a single birdie and shot 79. He played with Rory McIlroy, the defending champion and No. 2 in the world, who shot a 77. Lee Westwood, No. 3 in the world and the other member of the top-ranked group, was 4 over through six holes and rallied for a 73.

Nick Watney holed out from the fairway for an albatross 2 on the par-5 17th hole, sending him to a 69. Graeme McDowell, who won the U.S. Open two years ago down the coast at Pebble Beach, and Justin Rose also had 69 in the faster conditions of afternoon. David Toms shot his 69 in the morning, relying on a solid short game and a good attitude.

Thompson's game seems to work on this quirky, tree-lined course built on the side of a giant dune that separates the Pacific Ocean from Lake Merced.

He was runner-up in the 2007 U.S. Amateur at The Olympic Club and couldn't wait to get back.

After a roller coaster of a front nine that featured consecutive bogeys and holing a bunker shot for birdie on the downhill par-3 third hole, Thompson hit his stride on the back nine, even if hardly anyone was watching.

He made five consecutive 3s -- three of them birdies -- and closed his dream round with a 10-foot birdie putt on the short, tough 18th for the lead. Thompson took only 22 putts.

"On the back side, the putter ... seems like every putt went in the hole," said Thompson, a 27-year-old playing his first U.S. Open as a pro. "Got a little nervous there once all those cameras showed up. It's always a little bit of an adjustment. In that sense, I kind of wish I was Phil or Tiger, because you get the cameras from the beginning."
There weren't enough cameras or fans to find Mickelson's opening tee shot, but it was easy to find Woods.

He missed only four fairways -- three of them that ran off the severe slopes and into the first cut, the other into a bunker on the 256-yard seventh hole, which is where he was aiming. The only glitch was failing to get the ball closer to the hole with short irons, including the 14th when it landed on the back of the green and bounced off the base of the grandstand.

That led to one of his two bogeys, the other at No. 6 with a poor bunker shot. The only surprise was a good one -- the 35-foot birdie putt on the fifth that he struck too hard and worried it might lead to a three-putt until the hole got in the way.

"Five was a fluke," Woods said. "That putt was off the green."

Olympic wasn't that simple for most everyone else.

Watson was asked about his strategy of hitting his pink-painted driver. "I shot 8 over, so not very good," he said. The next question was how he played out of the rough with short irons in his hand. "I shot 8 over, so not very good," he said.

"You could answer these yourself," he said.

A marine layer in the morning allowed for cool, overcast conditions that eventually gave way to sunshine. That didn't help. Steve Marino opened with an 84. Zach Johnson didn't feel as though he played all that badly until he signed for a 77. Padraig Harrington thought the course was fair, and allowed for good scores. But he had two four-putts and a three-putt that ruined a reasonable day and gave him a 74.

"It just goes to show that firm greens scare the life out of professional golfers," Harrington said.

Mickelson was looking forward to playing with Woods -- the last time they were together, Lefty closed with a 64 and buried him at Pebble Beach in February -- but he could not have envisioned a worse start. The hook was bad enough. But as Mickelson approached the gallery and looked for a crowd surrounding his ball, his eyes widened when a marshal told him, "No one heard it come down."

Five minutes later, he was on his way back to the tee.

Mickelson made an unlikely bogey on the hole, added two more bogeys and was fighting the rest of the day. A three-putt late in the round cost him dearly, and now Mickelson can only hope he's around for the weekend.

"I can't really think about the lead or anything," said Mickelson, who was 10 shots behind. "I've just got to make the cut right now, and to do that I've got to shoot something under par."
Woods is coming off his second win of the year at Memorial, and while that made him the favorite at the U.S. Open, recent history left some questions.

He won Bay Hill by five shots going into the Masters, and then had his worst performance as a pro at Augusta National. Woods said he wasn't hitting the ball as consistently well in the spring, not like he is now. And it showed.

"That was the old Tiger," Watson said. "That was beautiful to watch. That's what we all come to see. That's what we all want to watch, and that was awesome to see him strike the ball good."

It wasn't enough for the lead, but it was enough to break par, which is never bad at Olympic Club.

Thompson, who said he had only a few hundred people following his group, understands all the fuss over a 14-time major champion who is showing signs of returning to the top of his game. He was more than happy with a 66 and his name atop the leaderboard, and he made it clear he wasn't going to settle for one good round.

"A lot of people don't know who I am, and I'm totally OK with that because I've always been a player that just kind of hangs around," Thompson said. "I don't give up very easily and I'm very proud of that. Give Tiger the spotlight. I don't care. I'm going to go out and play my game. If I go out and putt the way I did today, I'll be contention."



Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles and on www.isr.1050.com

US Open Preview..Tee times, live scoring..

Thursday tee times click here http://www.majorschampionships.com/usopen/2012/scoring/tee_times.cfm
For a live scoreboard click here http://www.majorschampionships.com/usopen/2012/scoring/index.cfm


This US Open as always has as many story lines as it does possible winners. With "parity" being so prevalent in today's game (26 first time winners last year)  this year is wide open.

I will be interested to see if the USGA has set the course up fairly. Reports are that the fairways are already running fast, and at Olympic that is more crucial than at other US Open courses because at least 6 of them are cambered against the direction of the dogleg. Many decent drives are going to end up rolling down the camber into the branca at the bottom.

The first 6 holes are the key to this course, #1 now a 520yd par 4, #3 a 250yd par3 with nothing but trouble between the tee and the green. #4 a big dogleg left par4 with a cambered fairway and #5 is the reverse of 4, then at 6 a 500yd par 4, they are hitting anything from 6 iron down to rescue clubs into a green with 2 bunkers protecting the approach. In addition they have shaved off the rough around the greens at the 210yd par3 13th for example..

Jack Fleck won in +7 back in 1955, Casper at -2 in 66, Simpson at -3 in 87 and Janzen at E in 98..For sure Rory's -16 at Congressional last year didn't go down well with the USGA.

Despite all the media reports about Tiger and Phil and Bubba being paired together, Tiger and Phil, Phil and Tiger as if it were match play.. It's an exciting grouping for sure, but again folks.. this is not all about Tiger and Phil.. For example the defending champion and world #2 is paired with the world's #1 and 3.. remember them Rory, Luke and Lee ??

So how will 14 yr old Andy Zhang do, will someone win his first major ( see Luke Donald or Lee Westwood ), can Rory repeat, can Bubba do without his baby for 4 days...Jason Dufner the hottest golfer on tour right now...Rickie Fowler, Dustin Johnson, both in form..on and on the possibilities are endless this year.

I'll be writing here all week as always and am hosting the Morning Show all week and next at www.thenextsportstar.com

Notables
Donald, McIlroy, Westwood  1.20  #1
Watson, Mickelson, Woods  7.33 #10

Here are the pgatour.com picks..

Expert Pick order Player selected Bill Cooney LEE WESTWOOD. Eventually Westwood has to win a major, right? In six of his past 10 majors, he's finished top 5. Been in the top 16 in nine of the past 10. Was T7 at the 1998 U.S. Open at Olympic. No. 1 on TOUR in GIR, No. 15 in Total Driving. It's his time to shine. Mike McAllister TIGER WOODS. Four years. That's how long it has been since Tiger last won a major -- in California, at the U.S. Open. How fitting it would be to resume his chase of Jack Nicklaus in his native state. Even if Tiger doesn't win, hard to imagine he won't be in the top 10. If McAllister had the top pick ... Woods John Schwarb PHIL MICKELSON. The Hall of Famer got in early to Olympic for some work with Dave Pelz, who said Mickelson is sharp and ready. The draw is excellent -- Tiger has brought out the best in Phil in recent years. I'm ready to see Phil's best, too. If Schwarb had the top pick ... Mickelson Helen Ross LUKE DONALD. He's had six top-10s in majors -- but never at the U.S. Open. Not to worry. The world No. 1 is solid tee to green, ranks first in scrambling and is third in Strokes Gained-Putting, all of which is a recipe for success at Olympic. If Ross had the top pick ... Donald Brian Wacker RORY MCILROY. I'm baffled trying to dissect who's going to win this year, so I'm going with the best available player. No one has repeated since Curtis Strange in 1989, but I like the work McIlroy has done on his game and how he put himself in contention in Memphis. If Wacker had the top pick ... Woods Anne Szeker MATT KUCHAR. The last time Kuchar came to Olympic at the U.S. Open (1998) he tied for 14th as an amateur. He's playing great again (top scoring average on TOUR at 69.80, 10th in GIR) and he plays tough golf courses just as well (T3 at the Masters). If Szeker had the top pick ... Kuchar Chris Dunham MARTIN KAYMER. This streak of 14 different winners in 14 majors has to end sooner or later. Oft overlooked because of limited U.S. starts, Kaymer displayed the grit it takes to win the world's toughest tournament when he won the PGA at Whistling Straits in 2010. If Dunham had the top pick ... Kaymer Amanda Balionis DUSTIN JOHNSON. Yes, you're saying, "No one has ever won the week before U.S. Open and then gone on to win the U.S. Open." Well, since returning from his back injury, he has a top-20 finish and a win on one of the toughest courses on TOUR. If Balionis had the top pick ... D. Johnson Lauren Deason HUNTER MAHAN. Hard decision between Mahan and Jason Dufner, two of the hottest players on TOUR right now. Mahan, a two-time winner this year, has more experience playing in big events and has finished T12 and T19 in his last two major starts. If Deason had the top pick ... Woods Ryan Smithson STEVE STRICKER. At the very last minute, I switched my pick from Graeme McDowell to Stricker. The winner this week has to be a short game demon, and Stricker fits the bill. He's also the best player available. If Smithson had the top pick ... Woods John Swantek LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN. Can't think of any course where the sweet-swinging South African wouldn't be able to compete. His calm, patient demeanor is ideal for the relentless test of a U.S. Open and he owns a Claret Jug and nearly had a Green Jacket. If Swantek had the top pick ... Donald

Westwood wins in Sweden, Johnson wins St Jude..live scoreboards, tee times, All Canadians

Next week all eyes will be on the Olympic Club in SanFrancisco for the US Open, but there is another full slate of golf this week including the 2nd majors of the year on the LPGA and Champions tours, and as always you can get live scoring on all tours including every Canadian that is playing right here.

for a full PGA Tour schedule and results click here  http://www.pgatour.com/r/schedule/?navid=nav:tournaments_complete_schedule

for the latest world rankings click here  http://www.officialworldgolfranking.com/rankings/default.sps?region=world



PGA TOUR - ST. JUDE CLASSIC
COURSE: TPC Southwind (7,239 yards, par 70).
TELEVISION: Golf Channel (Thursday-Friday, 3-6 p.m., 8:30-11:30 p.m.) and CBS (Saturday-Sunday, 3-6 p.m.).
CANADIANS : Matt McQuillan+9 T72 71,69 76 73 David Hearn T41  72,69 70 71   Stephen Ames 73 70 MC

for tee times and live scoring click http://www.pgatour.com/r/leaderboard/?navid=nav:live_scoring_leaderboard

WINNER DUSTIN JOHNSON


NOTES: Dustin Johnson won the FedEx St. Jude Classic on Sunday in his second event after a back injury cost him nearly three months away from the PGA TOUR, shooting a 4-under 66 that held off John Merrick by a stroke
Johnson pulled a muscle in his lower right back in early March lifting a jet ski at his home, and rest was the biggest part of his prescription for healing. He didn't return to the TOUR until last week at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide Insurance, where he tied for 19th.
He began the final round two strokes back and held a piece of the lead three different times. He won his sixth career title with consecutive birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 and finished 9-under 271. Johnson said he didn't look at the leaderboard, trying to stay focused on himself.

Rory McIlroy had a two-stroke lead all to himself after four birdies through 11 holes and appeared headed to the win. But he finished with two bogeys then his first double bogey in two trips to Memphis on No. 18 after hooking his 3-wood off the tee just a bit too much.
For a man who had missed three straight cuts coming to Memphis, McIlroy said he feels well prepared going into the U.S. Open after playing four straight rounds.
"Looking forward to getting to San Francisco, and I can take a lot from this week into next week," McIlroy said




LPGA TOUR - WEGMANS LPGA CHAMPIONSHIP
COURSE: Locust Hill Country Club (6,506 yards, par 72).
TELEVISION: Golf Channel (Thursday, noon-2:30 p.m.; Friday, 2:30-4:30 a.m., noon-2:30 p.m.; Saturday, 2:30-4:30 a.m., 2-7 p.m., 9:30-12:30 a.m.; Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., 2-7 p.m., 9:30-12:30 a.m.).

CANADIANS: Maude-Aimee Leblanc T36 +7 72,73 75 75 Rebecca Lee-Bentham 77,76 MC Alena Sharp T62 +17 77, 71,78 76  Stephanie Sherlock 77,75 MC Lorie Kane 71,81 MC Jessica Shepley82,81 MC

for live scoring and tee times click here http://www.lpgascoring.com/public/Leaderboard.aspx

WINNER  SHANSHAN FENG
NOTES: Shanshan Feng inched her way up the leader board on Sunday to become the first-ever player from mainland China to win an LPGA event. The 22-year-old birdied the 17th hole to give her a two-stroke lead over Mika Miyazato, Suzann Pettersen, Mika Miyazato, Stacy Lewis and and Eun-Hee Ji, claiming the $375,000 prize. She also becomes the third Rolex First-Time Winner of 2012, joining Rolex Rankings No. 18 Azahara Munoz (Sybase Match Play) and No. 81 Jessica Korda (Honda LPGA Thailand), and is the seventh player to record her first LPGA victory at the LPGA Championship.

Feng entered the final round just three strokes off leader Eun-Hee Ji’s pace with 1-under, sharing seventh place with seven others. She slowly inched her way up the leader board, posting five birdies and no bogeys on Sunday. The four-year veteran on tour is projected to jump from No. 10 to No. 4 in the Rolex Women’s World Golf Rankings (lpgatour.com)






EUROPEAN TOUR - NORDEA MASTERS
COURSE: Bro Hof Slott Golf Club (7,607 yards, par 72). Stockholm, Sweden
DATE   Wednesday June 6 - Saturday June 9
TELEVISION: Golf Channel TBA
CANAD1ANS: No Canadians entered

for live scoring click here http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012038/leaderboard/index.html?showLeaderboard=Y


NOTES: WESTWOOD WINS

europeantour.com Lee Westwood won his third Nordea Masters title in resounding fashion with a five shot triumph at Bro Hof Slott.

The World Number Three was simply irresistible from tee to green all week, and could even afford to miss five putts from inside six feet over the first ten holes of his closing 69.

That only one of those led to a bogey said everything about Westwood’s sumptuous approach play – the Englishman looking in commanding form as he prepares to make his 57th attempt at a first Major Championship victory at next week’s US Open.




CHAMPIONS TOUR - REGIONS TRADITION
COURSE: Shoal Creek (7,197 yards, par 72).
TELEVISION: Golf Channel (Thursday, 6:30-8:30 p.m.; Friday, 12:30-2:30 a.m., 6:30-8:30 p.m.; Saturday, 12:30-2:30 a.m., 7:30-9:30 p.m.; Sunday, 1-3 a.m., 7:30-9:30 p.m.; Monday, 1-3 a.m.).

CANADIANS: Rod Spittle T21 73 70 70 73 -2

for tee times and live scoring click here http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/s558/tee-times.html

WINNER  TOM LEHMAN
NOTES: The rain wouldn't go away, and neither would a couple of Tom Lehman's challengers.
Lehman withstood both to win his second straight Regions Tradition, finishing the Champions Tour major with a 4-under 68 on Sunday to take a two-stroke victory
Lehman overcame a near-constant drizzle and occasional heavy rain at Shoal Creek -- plus hard charges by Bernhard Langer and Chien Soon Lu -- for his sixth Champions Tour victory. He finished at 14-under 274. Langer and Lu shot 66 to tie for second (pgatour.com)




NATIONWIDE TOUR - MEXICO OPEN
COURSE: El Bosque Country Club (7,701 yards, par 72).
TELEVISION: None.

CANADIANS: Chris Baryla 71,75 MC. Bryan DeCorso T50 +1 71,74.72 Brad Fritsch T53 +3 74,70,75 72 Adam Hadwin T17 -2 68,71,70 77 James Love T353-2 66,76,73 71 Jon Mills,  T53 +3 66,71,78 76 Richard Scott 73,73 MC Ryan Yip 72,73 MC

for live scoring and tee times click here http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboards/current/h095/

WINNER LEE WILLIAMS..
NOTES: Lee Williams 70 -14 274 has just won over Paul Haley 68 273 -13


CANADIAN TOUR - TIMES COLONIS ISLAND SAVINGS OPEN
COURSE: Uplands Golf Club, Victoria, BC

CANADIAN NOTABLES: Stuart Anderson, Yohann Benson, David Byrne, Mitch Evanecz, Derek Gillespie 67,66,71-6, Wes Heffernan, Cory Renfrew, Brad Revell, Dustin Risdon, Danny Sahl, Roger Sloan, Nick Taylor 67,70,69 -4

for live scoring and tee times click here  http://www.cantour.com/leagues/cantour_teetimes_groupings.cfm?clientid=3776&leagueid=11753&seasonnum=2012


NOTES:  Third Round Leaderboard (Bold denotes Canadian)

Cory Renfrew, Victoria, BC 68-67-66 (-9)
Jeff Rengel, Martinez, CA 70-68-66 (-6)
Lucas Lee, Brazil 65-69-70 (-6)
Derek Gillespie, Oshawa, ON 67-66-71 (-6)
Andrew Roque, Monterey Park, CA 64-70-71 (-5)
Matt Jager, Australia 72-69-65 (-4)
Chris Cunningham, Rancho Santa Fe 69-70-67 (-4)
Jaime Gomez, McAllen, TX 69-70-67 (-4)
Jeff Burton, Scottsdale, AZ 67-71-68 (-4)
Brad Tilley, White Plains, NY 68-69-69 (-4)
Paul Peterson, Salem, OR 67-68-71 (-4)
Matt Marshall, Marana, AZ 67-69 (-4)
Nick Taylor, Abbotsford, BC 67-70-69 (-4)


Round 4 underway..

(June 9, 2012 - Victoria, BC) - Cory Renfrew is on his way to becoming the next hometown golf hero in Victoria joining the likes of Jim Rutledge and Rick Gibson as hometown stars. The UBC graduate shot a third round four-under 66 in what Derek Gillespie referred to as "extremely difficult" conditions to hold a three shot lead over three players heading into the final round.


Renfrew and the 67 other players to make the cut battled windy conditions all day on the par 70, 6,500-yard Uplands Golf Course. Winds gusted up to 40 km/h according to Environment Canada in Victoria which didn't seem to bother Renfrew. (cantour.com)


SYMETRA TOUR - LADIES TITAN TIRE CHALLENGE
COURSE: Hunters Ridge Golf Course, Marion, Iowa

CANADIANS: Izzy Beisiegel T34 72 77 73 +6, Angela Buzminski T26 +1 73, Kirby Dreher T4 E 75 71,70 Sara Maude Juneau T57 72 76 77 +9, Sue Kim T8 72 70 75 +1, Lisa MeldrumT68 +13 75 75,79  Danielle Mills T95 +5 77, Samantha Richdale T10 +2 73 70 75

Final round underway..Playoff Lauren Doughtie and Melissa Steen both US

for tee times and live scoring click here http://www.symetratour.com/content_1.aspx?mid=1&pid=30443






EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR - KAMTEN GOLF OPEN
COURSE: Klagenfurt-Seltenheim Golf Club, Klagenfurt, Austria
CANADIAN: Andrew Parr 77,69 MC

for live scoring and tee times click here http://www.europeantour.com/challengetour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012740/leaderboard/index.html

NOTES  STAL WINS EPIC DUEL TO DRIVE HOME WITH KÄRNTEN GOLF OPEN PRESENTED BY MAZDA

Frenchman Gary Stal emerged victorious at the Kärnten Golf Open presented by Mazda after an epic final round duel with England’s Daniel Brooks.

The two main protagonists in a thrilling battle went head to head in the final group of the day at the Golf Club Klagenfurt-Seltenheim, with Stal eventually putting the seal on his maiden Challenge Tour victory with a tap-in par on the 18th green.

Stal’s final round 68 helped the Frenchman to a 20 under par winning total, one better than Brooks who pushed his rival every inch of the way to the finishing line. (europeantour.com)





EUROPEAN SENIOR TOUR - PGA SENIORS CHAMPIONSHIP
COURSE: De Vere Slaley Hall, Hexham, England

CANADIANS: Bill Hardwick T57 +13 75 77 77 , Ken Tarling T47 +9 75,74 76 Rick Gibson T29 +5 70,77 74 Dave Wettlaufer T82 +6 78,80 MC

for live scoring and tee times click here http://www.europeantour.com/seniortour/season=2012/tournamentid=2012846/leaderboard/index.html


NOTES  Englishman Paul Wesselingh produced a stunning stretch of four consecutive birdies to claim his maiden European Senior Tour title in the ISPS Handa PGA Seniors Championship, as Andrew Oldcorn’s battling defence came up just short.

Wesselingh, who gained his Senior Tour card by finishing second at Qualifying School in February, started the day four shots behind second round leader Mark James at De Vere Slaley Hall, but produced a superb back nine en route to a closing five under par 67 to finish on six under par 210. 

With former Ryder Cup Captain James only able to manage a two over par 74 to finish three shots back in fourth place, Wesselingh’s main threat came from James’ playing partners, defending champion Oldcorn, who won by nine shots last year, and Swede Anders Forsbrand (europeantour.com)



Bryan Angus also on twitter@mummmbles and at www.isr1050.com

Congrats to Stephen Ames..

Lorne Rubenstein reports that Stephen Ames qualified Tuesday for next week's U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. The 48-year-old Calgarian tied for first in the 36-hole sectional qualifier at the Germantown Country Club in Memphis, Tenn.

He shot 65-69 for a total of eight-under-par 134 to get into his 10th US Open. His best finish is a T-9 in the 2004 tournament at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, N.Y.

Ames will be the lone Canadian at Olympic. He qualified recently for next month's British Open at Royal Lytham & St. Annes in England. He will be the only Canadian entrant there as well.

The Memphis events completes the qualifying tournaments. Originally scheduled for Monday, it was postponed until Tuesday because storms made the course unplayable.

Ames the last hope for Canadian qualifiers for US Open

here is a report compiled by Jeff Brooke with notes from AP..

Canadians were shut out Monday in their bids for spots in the U.S. Open field.

More than 20 Canucks teed it up at 10 qualifying tournaments across the United States with hopes of grabbing one of the remaining berths in the U.S. national championship this month at Olympic Club in San Francisco. All came up short.
One other qualifying tournament, in Tennessee, was rained out and is to be contested Tuesday. Stephen Ames of Calgary is among the entrants and represents the last hope for a Canadian entrant at the U.S. Open.

In total, more than 770 competitors entered the 11 qualifiers this week. Just 58 berths were up for grabs.

James Love of Calgary came the closest to advancing Monday. The Nationwide Tour and Canadian Tour player placed fourth at a qualifier in Suwanee, Ga., but just the top three punched tickets to Olympic Club. Love was one shot behind the third-place finisher.

Amateur Garrett Rank of Elmira, Ont., tied for sixth place at a qualifier in Springfield, Ohio, to narrowly miss out on a berth, too. Rank, a member of Canada's national amateur team, was coming off a victory last weekend in the men's division at the Canadian University/College Championship in Victoria.

Among other prominent Canadians who missed the mark Monday were amateur Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., Nationwide players Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., Brad Fritsch of Ottawa and Ryan Yip of Calgary, and Canadian Tour regulars Derek Gillespie of Oshawa, Ont., and Kent Eger of Regina.

David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., and Mike Weir of Bright's Grove, Ont., withdrew from a Columbus, Ohio, qualifier before play began. That qualifier was laden with PGA Tour players, many of whom had played last week at the Memorial Tournament in nearby Dublin, Ohio.

Among those advancing from Columbus Monday were Charlie Wi, who won the qualifier by three shots, D.A. Points and 48-year-old Davis Love III. Love, also the U.S. Ryder Cup captain this year, will be making his 23rd Open start.
Andy Zhang, 14, came up short in his bid to make history. The Chinese teenager got into a sudden-death playoff for the last remaining spot at a qualifier in Lecanto, Fla., but lost to fellow amateur Brooks Koepka.

In other qualifiers Monday:
— At Rockville, Md., Shane Bertsch was medallist and received one of seven spots at Woodmont Country Club. Bertsch has played only one other U.S. Open in his career, which also was at Olympic Club in 1998 when he missed the cut. Also qualifying were Michael Thompson (142), Paul Claxton (143), Cole Howard (143), Darron Stiles (143), Nicholas Thompson (143) and Jeff Curl (143). Howard and Thompson were alternates out of 18-hole local qualifying last month.
Curl is the son of Rod Curl, the first full-blooded Native American to win a PGA Tour event.

— At Glen Ellyn, Ill., Tim Herron grabbed one of two spots available at Village Links. Herron tied for 53rd in the ‘98 U.S. Open the last time it was played at Olympic.

— At Springfield, Ohio, Brice Garnett was medallist and earned one of two spots from Springfield Country Club. It will be his first PGA Tour-sanctioned event.

— At Canoe Brook in New Jersey, all four spots went to players who had to make it through 18-hole local qualifying and 36-hole sectional qualifying. Leading the way was Cameron Wilson, an amateur shot 65 on the North course in the afternoon.

— At Houston, Bob Estes returns to the U.S. Open for only the second time in the last five years. Estes shot 138 at Lakeside Country Club to get one of three spots. Alistair Presnell of Australia and Brian Rowell earned the last two spots in a 4-for-2 playoff. Jordan Spieth, whose Texas Longhorns won the NCAA title on Sunday in Los Angeles, missed a 5-foot birdie putt in the playoff and was eliminated.

— In Suwanee, Ga., Jason Bohn was the medallist and got one of three spots. One of others went to Casey Wittenberg, a former U.S. Amateur runner-up still trying to reach the PGA Tour.