Lewis snatches British Open...It was a Tiger clinic at Firestone...Final leaderboards,,

While Na Yeon Choi stumbled on the back nine at the Old Course, Stacy Lewis hit the shot of her life to within 3 feet at the Road hole (17th) and went on to a birdie, birdie finish to win the Women's British Open...

 

WOMEN'S BRITISH OPEN

Site: St. Andrews, Scotland.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: St. Andrews, Old Course (6,672 yards, par 72).
Purse: $2.75 million. Winner's share: $418,750.


Round 4 recap

All eyes were set on Inbee Park this week at St. Andrews hoping to catch a glimpse of history at the RICOH Women’s British Open. But it was the No. 2 player in the world who ended up stealing the headlines.

Stacy Lewis shot a final-round, even-par 72 at the famed Old Course to win her second-career major championship with a two-shot victory over South Koreans Na Yeon Choi and Hee Young Park. Lewis birdied the 71st and 72nd holes of the tournament to move her to 8-under par which proved to be the winning score as Choi lost her 3 shot lead on the back nine.

The victory is Lewis’ second major win and first since the 2011 Kraft Nabisco Championship which was also the last time an American claimed a major title. The win snapped a streak of 10 winless majors for the United States.

Inbee Park came into this week with high hopes of making history by becoming the first golfer – male or female – to win four professional majors in a season. That feat was not to be, as Park struggled over her final 32 holes on Sunday. She shot rounds of 74-78 to finish in a tie for 42nd at 6-over-par
.



Live leaderboard click http://www.lpgascoring.com/public/Leaderboard.aspx





WORLD GOLF CHAMPIONSHIPS
BRIDGESTONE INVITATIONAL
Site: Akron, Ohio.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Firestone Country Club, South Course (7,400 yards, par 70).
Purse: $8.75 million. Winner's share: $1,575,000.


Round 4 notes

Tiger Woods played safe and smart with a big lead, parring 16 holes in an even-par 70 Sunday to coast to a seven-shot victory at the World Golf Chapmionships-Bridgestone Invitational for his eighth win at the event -- matching the PGA TOUR record he shares for victories in a single tournament

After a second-round 61 in which he flirted with 59, Woods ended up at 15-under 265 to easily beat defending champ Keegan Bradley and Henrik Stenson.

Woods' mastery at Firestone Country Club allowed him to again match Sam Snead's PGA TOUR record for wins in an event. Snead won the Greater Greensboro Open eight times. Earlier this year, Woods won the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard for the eighth time





Live leaderboard click   http://www.worldgolfchampionships.com/bridgestone-invitational/leaderboard.html




PGA TOUR
RENO-TAHOE OPEN
Site: Reno.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Montreux Golf and Country Club (7,472 yards, par 72).
Purse: $3 million. Winner's share: $540,000.


Round 4 report 

Gary Woodland holed a 58-foot chip from the rough for one of his four birdies and got up-and-down to save par five times to win the Reno-Tahoe Open on Sunday for second PGA TOUR victory.

Woodland finished with 44 points in the Modified Stableford format that awards eight points for double eagle, five for eagle, two for birdie, zero for par, minus-one for bogey and minus-three for double bogey or worse.

Jonathan Byrd and Andres Romero tied for second with 35 points, and Brendan Steele had 33 at Montreux Golf Club on the edge of the Sierra



Live leaderboard click  http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/reno-tahoe-open/leaderboard.html





CHAMPIONS TOUR
3M CHAMPIONSHIP
Site: Blaine, Minn.
Schedule: Friday-Sunday.
Course: TPC Twin Cities (7,114 yards, par 72).
Purse: $1.75 million. Winner's share: $262,500.


Round 3 recap

Tom Pernice birdied the final two holes Sunday for a one-stroke victory over Jeff Sluman and Corey Pavin. He finished with a 4-under 68 and had a 17-under 199 total at the TPC Twin Cities for his second career Champions Tour victory.

Trailing Sluman by one shot at the par-3 17th, Pernice played it safe with his tee shot to the middle of the green. He then made about a 40-foot slightly downhill putt to move into a tie.

At the par-5 18th, Pernice hit his second shot from 200 yards to 8 feet and two-putted for the winning birdie. It was his first win in 51 events dating to the 2009 SAS Championship, his first event as a member of the Champions Tour.

Jay Haas, Bart Bryant and Rod Spittle tied for fourth at 14 under. Haas shot 65, Bryant 67 and Spittle 68

Live leaderboard http://www.pgatour.com/champions/tournaments/3m-championship/tee-times.html




WEB.COM TOUR
MYLAN CLASSIC
Site: Canonsburg, Pa.
Schedule: Thursday-Sunday.
Course: Southpointe Golf Club (6,951 yards, par 71).
Purse: $650,000. Winner's share: $117,000.

Round 4 report 

Ben Martin fired a 4-under 67 Sunday and won the Mylan Classic in suburban Pittsburgh by five shots, collecting his second win in six weeks.

Martin is the Tour’s hottest player, with five top-6 finishes in his last six starts. He has 13 top-30 finishes in 17 starts this year and has moved to No. 2 on the money list

Martin finished at 17-under 267, one shot off the tournament record, and collected a check for $121,500 while lapping the field.

Former U.S. Amateur champion Kelly Kraft was the only one within shouting distance after trailing by eight when the sun came up. Kraft tallied 10 birdies and vaulted up the board with a 7-under 64 to finish at 12-under par.

Nick Rousey (69), Chad Collins (70), Brad Elder (71), I.J. Jang (71), Ariel Canete (70) and Whee Kim (73) all finished tied for third at 7-under par but a distant 10 shots back of the winner’s total



Live leaderboard http://www.pgatour.com/webcom/leaderboard.html




EUROPEAN SENIOR TOUR
Berenberg Masters, Friday-Sunday,
Golf-und Land-Club,
Cologne, Germany.

Round 3 recap

Ironman Steen Tinning lasted the distance at the Berenberg Masters to secure his debut European Senior Tour title in only his sixth appearance.
The Dane signed for a flawless round of 69 for a nine under par aggregate total which was just enough to hold off a late surge from home hero Bernhard Langer, who delighted the locals at Golf- und Land-Club, in Cologne, with a blemish-free round of 68.

Having seen Langer fail to get up and down for birdie from the greenside bunker on the par five 18th hole, Tinning knew a closing par would be enough to secure victory and with it a cheque for €60,000, and he duly obliged to consign the German to the runner-up spot for the second weekend in a row.

Live leaderboard http://www.europeantour.com/seniortour/season=2013/tournamentid=2013862/teetimes/index.html




EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR
Finnish Challenge, Thursday-Sunday,
Kytaja Golf Club,
Hyvinkaa, Finland.

Round 4 recap

Stuart Manley marched to his maiden European Challenge Tour title at the Finnish Challenge as a clinical final day performance earned him a three under par round of 69 and a two-shot victory at Kytäjä Golf, in Hyvinkää near Helsinki.

The Welshman has been a regular on both The European Tour and Challenge Tour since 2004 and has let chances slip before to claim a first title, but he made no mistake this time after bouncing back from a bogey on the opening hole to produce a nerveless performance when it mattered most.



eGOLF PROFESSIONAL TOUR
River Run Classic, Wednesday-Friday,
River Run Country Club,
Davidson, N.C.

Round 3 recap  (final)

As one of the longest tenured players on the eGolf Tour, Frank Adams III of Laurinburg, NC is often in a sea of 20-somethings and post-college hot shots at most tournaments, serving as the proverbial elder statesmen to a collection of players more knowledgeable in Twitter than persimmon.

 On Friday at the tour’s River Run Classic, Adams put on a veritable clinic, posting five birdies in his first seven holes on his way to a final-round 69 and a 12-under 204 total, good for his seventh career eGolf Tour title


Live leaderboard  http://tarheel.bluegolf.com/bluegolf/tarheel13/event/tarheel134/contest/1/leaderboard.htm





BryanA  (files from pgatour.com lpga.com, europeantour.com )

Sunday at Glen Abbey....Snedeker wins Canadian Open......Live scoring links

Live leaderboard click here http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html
Sunday tee times click here http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/rbc-canadian-open/tee-times.html


1000am
Good morning from Glen Abbey where play got underway at 800am when Scott Brown of North Augusta, SC playing without a partner hit the first shot. In days gone by when this situation arose, the club would provide a low handicapper from it's ranks to partner the pro just to help pace him and in fact to give him some company..

The first thing I notice today apart from the Sunday morning traffic being ideal, is that it is cooler and much breezier than it has been all week..The breeze has already affected play as the early scores are not quite as deep into the red as they have been so far..

I still agree that it will take 20 under to win...

The leaders (see tee times link above) go out around 140pm (Snedeker and Lingmerth)

Canadians on course David Hearn E thru 1 -5,  Weir -1 thru 8 -4,  Roger Sloan +3 thru 9 +1

Live updates to follow all day..

1. 1130am  Hunter Mahan ‏@HunterMahan 1h
2. Both Baby and Mom are doing great. Thanks to all to my sponsors who appreciate what's important in life and all my fans for being Awesome!     

Hunter Mahan ‏@HunterMahan 1h

1. What a whirlwind of a day, but I'm happy to announce the birth of my daughter Zoe Olivia Mahan born at 3:26 am. Thanks for all the support!

updating 120pm***

Mike Weir has just finished with E 72 -3 for the tournament. So has Roger Sloan, he is -2 total..

David Hearn makes bogey on 18 to finish +1 73 -4..

The breeze I mentioned this morning has freshened in fact the lowest score of the day is by a South Korean Sang Moon Bae -4 thru 17...

I am now lowering my -20 prediction to -18...

Matt Kuchar and Jason Bohn have just strode onto the first tee, they are the second last group out Kuchar is my pick..now it's Snedeker and Lingmerth..

I watched Snedeker warm up and must say he looked relaxed and seemed happy with the way he was hitting it into a stiff breeze..


updating****

600pm...Snedeker and DJohnson were tied at -15 after Johnson had made birdie at 16, but Johnson  then drove out of bounds and hit the lip of a fairway bunker en route to a triple-bogey 7 on the par-4 17th. He finished with a 70.

*  Snedeker makes birdie at 16, now leads by 3 shots..

*  Brandt Snedeker wins the RBC Canadian Open for his second PGA TOUR title of the year, closing with 2-under 70 for a three-stroke victory

* I will always remember that Snedeker took the lead Saturday after second-round leader Hunter Mahan withdrew when his wife went into labor.
.
"Just ecstatic right now," Snedeker said. "This is a tournament I said early on in my career I wanted to win just because my caddie (Scott Vail) is actually from Canada and it's his national open. It meant a lot to him, meant a lot to me. Third-oldest tournament on TOUR and it's got some great history to it, and now to put my name on that trophy it means a lot."

Mahan's wife, Kandi, gave birth to daughter Zoe Olivia Mahan early Sunday in Texas.

"Zoey will be getting a very nice baby gift from me," Snedeker said. "I can't thank Kandi enough for going into labor early. I don't know if I'd be sitting here if she hadn't. But that is a way more important thing than a golf tournament. I missed a golf tournament when my first was born, and it was the best decision I ever made. I'm sure Hunter would say the same thing.

SUMMMARY

As always it was a long week back and forth out to the Abbey, but in looking back at so many I have covered since 1985, it was blessed with good weather apart from one downpour on Saturday, which by the way just helped Golf Canada drive up their concession sales !! It was great as always to see all of my colleagues in the media center, Weeksy, Hutch, Rube, even Jim Tatti showed up..

RBC made sure a bunch of stars made it here after the Open last week, and Ernie, GMac, etal all had their moments.

Mike Weir brought the Abbey alive on Friday getting to -7 T3 at one point but 3 bogey's in his last 4 holes spoiled a really special round..He proved to me he is on the way back..

Then the Mahan withdrawal on Saturday after his agent Chris Armstrong ran out onto the driving range with wife Kandi ( former Cowboy's cheerleader) pregnant and panting on the line from Texas threw the event wide open

Snedeker now another of the best players in the world without a major...

This week WGC at Firestone, then the PGA Championship..

Attendance figures for the week.... Monday, 9,210; Tuesday, 9,364; Wednesday, 11,579; Thursday, 15,591; Friday, 15,817; Saturday, 18,725; Sunday, 21,563. Total: 101,849.

BRITISH SENIOR OPEN

Live leaderboard click here  http://www.europeantour.com/seniortour/season=2013/tournamentid=2013858/leaderboard/index.html?showLeaderboard=Y

Bernard Langer and Mark Weibe will have a Monday playoff at Royal Birkdale.

Saturday wrap at Glen Abbey...Mahan withdraws...Snedeker takes the lead...Live leaderboard..

Although there is a chance of thunderstorms this evening it looks to be a another glorious day with play beginning at 730 this morning
Players are all off the first tee and are paired in two's..

Here is a live link to the leaderboard..and a list of tee times..
http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/rbc-canadian-open/leaderboard.html
http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/rbc-canadian-open/tee-times.html

Four Canadians made the cut, including Mike Weir of Bright’s Grove, Ont., who at one point during the day sat as high as a tie for third on the leaderboard. Weir posted a second round 5-under 67 and will play Glen Abbey this weekend alongside Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., Brad Fritsch of Ottawa, Ont., and David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., who birdied his last three holes to make the cut on the number

Weir is off at 11.17...Remember the early starts have posted the best scores taking advantage of fresh greens and still conditions..


updating *****140pm

The rain delay that was called at 1200pm was brief here at Glen Abbey, the field is back on the course as scheduled after 80-minutes ..The leaders. John Merrick and Hunter Mahan will now tee off at 2:50 p.m. ET. Barring another delay, it the field should easily complete the third round before darkness falls later Saturday

Scoring was already low from the the get go and the rain came down hard so I expect the greens to be softer and the course a little longer

Scores... Mike Weir was-2 thru 6 -7 total, David Hearn shot -4 68  -5 total.... Roger Sloan is -2 at 17 -6 total and Brad Fritsch has WD..

DJohnson -7 today thru 16 -9...Schwarzel and Chad Campbell both -6 66  -7... Ernie Els shot -5 67 -6..

As I said scoring is low, it looks like it's playing to par 70 instead of 72.... expect Mahan to take advantage this afternoon..


updating ****6pm

* Hunter Mahan has WD as his wife has pre maturely gone into labour...She was not due for a month and he was leading the tournament..

* golfcanada   Brandt Snedeker capitalized on Hunter Mahan’s surprise withdrawl from the RBC Canadian Open on Saturday, firing a third round 9-under 63 to head into Sunday’s final round with a one-stroke lead.

 

After an early weather delay at Glen Abbey Golf Club softened conditions and halted play on Saturday, the field opened up as Mahan withdrew to fly home to Texas to be with his wife for the birth of their child.

 

A 1-time winner on tour this season, Snedeker took advantage of the Abbey’s generous conditions and the leader’s withdrawl, running off nine birdies in his bogey-free 63 that was highlighted by a 29 on his opening nine.

B. Snedeker - 7.27.13.doc 139K   View   Download

As a 2-time runner-up already this season, David Lingmerth of Sweden, trails Mahan by a single stroke after making an eagle on the par-5 18^th to card a third round 7-under 65.  Sitting only two strokes behind in a tie for third are also, Matt Kuchar and Jason Bohn.

 

D. Lingmerth quotes - 7.27.13 (1).doc 128K   View   Download

 

M. Kuchar quotes - 7.27.13.doc 134K   View   Download

 

 

Leading the charge for the Canadians was David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., who carded a 4-under 68 to currently sit in a tie for 39^th at 5-under-par. Mike Weir (73)only trails Hearn by two at 3-under, while Merritt, B.C., native, Roger Sloan (72), sits in a tie for 62^nd at 2-under par.

 

Before play began on Saturday, Ottawa’s Brad Fritsch who was sitting at 2-under for the tournament, was forced to withdraw due to back pain.

 

Play begins at 800am with the leaders due to go out at 140pm... Weather forecast, cool, clear, breezy...no rain

Bryan

OTHER GOLF NEWS

Jim Nelford inducted to Canadian Golf Hall of Fame
It was great to sit and talk with Nelly, Jim Nelford, great guy whose career was shattered by a terrible boating accident that nearly severed his right arm..He was inducted in a ceremony last night with his family by his side

Here is the transcript of his interview with us at the Shaw Media Center...

J. Nelford - 7.26.13.doc 152K   View   Download

BRITISH SENIOR OPEN

For the second year running, Bernhard Langer leads going into the final round of The Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex after a masterful four under par 66 gave the German a three stroke advantage over David Frost at Royal Birkdale Golf Club.

Langer held a one shot advantage at the same stage last year at Turnberry, but closed with a 75 to finish in a share of sixth place as Fred Couples took the title

BryanA











in a share of 23^rd

Friday wrap at Glen Abbey Today's interviews ...Live scoring link

I got out here early, 630am to get set up in the media center and do a hit with Bill on our morning show.. Since I have always been an early bird, I always say I get more done by 10am than most people do all day, I like to see a big event like this waking up in the morning..

Overnight the property is left in the hands of security and the police, the first people to show up, and sometimes they don't go home if the weather is bad are the grounds crew, their job made more difficult by the players going off split tees on Thursday and Friday so all the tee boxes, greens, pins need to be done before play starts at 700am..

You will see the 700am guys on the practice range in the dark, they are here by 530am..

The early flight gets going then off 1 and 10 , for example this morning I followed Ernie Els, Scott Piercy and Luke Donald off 10 and down the valley, where it was stinking hot already, dead still and ideal for scoring... Ernie made a bogey at 10 after driving it under the trees on the left. but made a 35 footer for birdie at 11 after hitting it into the fairway bunker, had a birdie putt at the par 3 12th he missed, made a sandy at the par 5 13th for birdie, and made his 3rd birdie on the par 3 15th..... but then gave away all that good work with 7 and the par 5 18th...  Out in 37 which is E....He'll be disappointed

Mike Weir is -4 through 8 holes, he started on 10 and GMac who shot 76 yesterday is -5 through 9 holes today including an eagle at par 5  16th

Scott Piercy, the defending champion hits it a country mile, Jesper Parnevik still has all those nervous twitches, he hit a big fade into the credit river on 14, lost his ball, needed a rules official to figure out where his drop was..

Almost everyone out early is under par,  John Merrick is -5 through 10, he made an eagle on the par 5 2nd...


updating **** 605pm

* boy it's been a long day..up at 330am. long drive to and back from the Abbey

* the day is far from done, Mike Weir's euphoria was doused a bit with cold water with 3 bogey's in his last 4 holes..however he really gave the crowd something to cheer about

M. Weir quotes - 7.26.13.doc 135K   View   Download

* there were big names out there this afternoon and Hunter Mahan who was in the last pairing at Muirfield and at the US Open shot -8 64 and is the leader at -13...Remember his coach Sean Foley was born 10 mins from the Abbey and that is not lost on Hunter...

H. Mahan - 7.26.13.doc 135K   View   Download

* GOOD NEWS.BAD NEWS   

Good news...Mike Weir and Roger Sloan -4....

Bad News... Mahan is at -13...

Graham DeLaet and David Hearn had a tough day although Hearn had a big birdie birdie birdie finish to make the cut.

D. Hearn quotes - 7.26.13.doc 131K   View   Download

* If no Canadian can win the next best scenario for the tournament has Bubba, Matt, Ernie, someone like that to win..

B. Watson quotes - 7.26.13.doc 134K   View   Download

* John Merrick tied the course record of  -10 62 and he had this to say afterwards

J. Merrick - 7.26.13.doc 139K   View   Download

Live scoring link     http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html



Friday Wrap up

golfcanada..Hunter Mahan fired a second round 8-under 64 to grab the lead through 36 holes at the 2013 RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club.    Mahan heads into the weekend with a two-stroke lead over John Merrick who matched the course record at Glen Abbey with a 10-under 62 on Friday morning.

Four Canadians made the cut, including Mike Weir who at one point during the day sat as high as a tie for third on the leaderboard. Weir posted a second round 5-under 67 and will play Glen Abbey this weekend alongside Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., Brad Fritsch of Ottawa, Ont., and David Hearn who birdied his last three holes to make the cut on the number.





More to follow..

Thursday at Glen Abbey..Steele leads crowded leaderboard....Live scoring

The place to be early this morning is around the 10th tee as Graham DeLaet and David Hearn are paired together with Nathan Green at 720am, followed at 730 by Bubba Watson, Brandt Snedeker and Matt Kuchar

Click here for live scoring http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html

The weather forecast is perfect, and Glen Abbey is in the best condition I have ever seen it. There are 19 Canadians,.. which one will contend this year ??...


updating 1230pm****

* the weather may end up being the star out here today. cool, sunny, breezy... nice Thursday crowd, a real mixed bag...women always worth watching at big events and for golf there seems to be an etiquette they all get.. For example at the Honda Indy weekend in the heat earlier, there were bikini tops and short shorts everywhere, heels as well..

 At golf they are much more reserved,, sensible shoes for the walk on grass, tank tops galore, but the short shorts and skirts from the Indy are nowhere to be found...

* The afternoon flight are heading out now with Els, GMac, Furyk, Ames and Weir amongst the names I will be following

* The leader from the morning flight is a 2nd year PGA Tour pro Brendan Steele, a 6'2 string bean from California who has missed 7 of his last 10 cuts. He shot -7 65. He spent 3 years on the Canadian Tour as he worked his way up the ranks..I'm not saying these guys are loaded, but this guy isn't really a household name but get this.. His first car was a Mercury Cougar and now drives a Maserati.

* He just got caught on by a birdie 2 on 15 by Aussie Scott Gardiner who is at -7 with 3 to play. He ran off 6 straight birdies on the front 9.

* Matt Kuchar eagled 18 for a -6 66 , also on that number is American Scott Brown..

* Canadians out this morning.. Graham DeLaet E 72 with a triple bogey 7 on 14,..... David Hearn -2 70 5 birdies 3 bogey's....

* Notables...Mahan -5 67... BWatson -4 68....Snedeker -2 70...Vijay Singh -3 69


updating **** 515pm


* Canucks   Roger Sloan finished -1 71...Weir, Ames, Fritsch all on course   Hadwin +6 78.. Eric Banks +1 73...MacKenzie Hughes +2 74... the rest are still on course

* Woody Austin has a destructive side to his personality. He won last week on the PGA Tour event opposite the Open Championship.. Today he is dead last... +11 thru 15 with 7 bogey's and 2 doubles in his last 10 holes

* Brendan Steele's -7 65 will stand up as the leader going into Friday..

* What a glorious day in Toronto and at the Abbey, pity about the trek home for so many of us who don't live in the west end... Rush hour traffic in so many cities, this one included starts as early as 200pm on the DVP, 300pm on the 401...and the loop around the airport through Weston Rd getting on to the 400 N is a disaster from 6am- 7pm every day..

* Anne-Catherine Tanguay, 22, of Quebec City, Que., leads the 2013 Royale Cup Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship after the third round of competition at Club de golf Beloeil in Beloeil, Que.

Tanguay, a former member of Team Canada, leads by a single stroke over Team Canada’s, Brooke Henderson, 15, of Smiths Falls, Ont. Tanguay’s 2-under 69 round tied for best of the day – she currently sits at 5-under 208 for the tournament (71-68-69).

* American Gene Sauers, who three years ago was battling a potentially fatal skin condition, carded a three under par 67 to lead The Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex by one stroke, as Colin Montgomerie marked his debut with an opening round of 72.

Sauers, a three-time winner on the US PGA Tour, only returned to golf less than two years ago after suffering from the painful Stevens-Johnson Syndrome, which caused his skin to burn from the inside-out.

 

Making his maiden Senior Open appearance this week at Royal Birkdale, the 50 year old posted a hat-trick of birdies from the 15^th hole to open up a one shot advantage over a four strong group that included 2010 champion Bernhard Langer.

 

Also on 68 following a testing first day when only ten players broke par were 2012 MCB Tour Championship winner David Frost of South Africa, who eagled the 17^th, Australian Peter Senior and Frankie Minoza of the Philippines

 

 

* CHALLENGE TOUR 

Daan Huizing was the talk of the opening day at Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge as he flirted with history en route to a sumptuous round of 61 in France.

 

In just his sixth start on the Challenge Tour, the Dutchman was ten under par through 15 holes at Golf PGA France du Vaudreuil, as he attempted to become only the second man in Challenge Tour history to shoot 59.

 

A birdie at the seventh, his 16th, was the ideal start to the final trio of holes as he neared history, but a couple of pars to finish still saw him sign for the lowest round of the season so far, a new course record, and a two stroke advantage over Englishman Jason Barnes

 

 

* Brendan Steele fired a 7-under 65 to take the opening-round lead.   Steele, a 1-time winner on the PGA TOUR with his victory at the 2011 Valero Texas Open, carded eight birdies at Glen Abbey and closed with a 4-under 31 back nine. He currently leads by one-stroke over Matt Kuchar, Scott Brown and Scott Gardiner, who all sit in a tie for second at 6-under.

* Brad Fritsch of Ottawa, Ont., led the way for the 18-member Canadian contingent after closing his final nine with three straight birdies to post a 3-under 69. Fritsch currently sits in a tie for 16^th one stroke ahead of David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., who carded an opening round 2-under 70.

Hearn played alongside fellow Canadian Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., who carded an opening round even-par 72 after an early triple-bogey on the par-4 14^th hole.


Top Canucks...

Brad Fritsch	-3	F	-3							69
					Round complete

	T29		48		David Hearn	-2	F*								70
					Round complete

	T41				Roger Sloan	-1	F	-1							71
					Round complete

T69

27

Graham DeLaet

E

F*

72

Round complete

	T93		173		Mike Weir	1	F								73
					Round complete

	T117		167		Stephen Ames	2	F	2							74
					Round complete

T150

Adam Hadwin

6

F

6

78

* More great weather expected tomorrow and I will be back at the Abbey early to report on Mike Weir, Els etc who are up and at them early...




BryanA

 

More to follow on the afternoon action...


BryanA










I will be there all weekend, updating this blog so join me as always with your comments, questions, opinions..


Bryan

Wednesday at Glen Abbey.. Interviews with Els, Mahan and Donald...

Bright breezy day at Glen Abbey.. Pro Am day which if the truth were known the pros could do without, however they realize how much money the ams are paying.. $20,000 for a team of three this year, so they put on a brave face..

One year I played with Tim Petrovic and he told me ( I think to set us all at ease) that one cold windy Pro Am day he was paired with 3 rather elderly ladies. The first one whiffed, the second one whiffed then the third one declined...He said the best part of the whole day came on the 9th green when the decliner was appointed by the other two to approach Tim and said  " We ladies hope you don't mind but we'd rather not play the back nine"...

He suppressed his glee somehow or another, insisted that they were just rounding into form, and just as he sensed they were losing their resolve, he backed off and said "of course this back nine is much tougher" and was inwardly relieved to see them re group and stick to their original plan..

Of the pros playing today Luke Donald has the best score at -6 so far, although DJ is at -5 through 9.

I am happy to see the breeze blowing to dry this course out get it firm and running. Hamilton last year and St Georges in 2010 were soaked early in the week and the pros took very good courses apart, Carl Petterson 71 68 60 67 266 -14 at St Georges and Scott Piercy 62 67 67 67 263 -17 at Hamilton were not great scores for our National Championship.. I don't expect Merion or Muirfield tough but somewhere in between.

There are thunderstorms in the weekend forecast but nothing like a torrential rain that had the course under water when Chez Reavie won it in 2008..

We had a chance to interview Luke Donald and Hunter Mahan and Ernie Els... Donald is on his 4th straight week and looks like it, he says playing four straight weeks is never good, especially with the WGC at Firestone Aug 1-4 then the PGA Championship right after..

Undoubtedly his affiliation to RBC is the reason he is here.

Ernie looks relaxed and is certainly in better shape this year than he was last when he came to Hamilton after winning the Open.. Pretty big party on Sunday last year, into Hamilton Tuesday, big dinner Tuesday night, another function on Wednesday.. he laughed and said he never saw the course at all until Thursday !!!

Easy going, relaxed, what a great world wide ambassador he is for this game, watch out for him this week, he has his family with him..

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Bryan

Tuesday at Glen Abbey...Interview with David Hearn.. pairings released..

It was a bit of a dull increasingly humid day out here in Oakville, Ontario, beautiful Oakville I might add as a guy from the crowded east end.. Here, spacious, roads all beautifully paved with not only a bicycle lane but another inside it for ?? skateboarding ??  Must pay a whack of taxes out here.

Today most of the guys were getting some practice in... 9 holes, hit some balls then the Pro Am tomorrow.

Earlier Billy Hayes and I spoke with David Hearn. He sounds so much the PGA pro these days compared to the shy quiet Canadian kid I was interviewing as an amateur, then on the Canadian Tour before his first go round on the big loop... He certainly knows he belongs now, almost won 2 weeks ago at the John Deere where he had a chance to win it twice in the playoff, won eventually by Jordan Spieth..

He says he isn't sure what he will do now that the tour has banned anchoring the long putter, it has helped turn his game around, now ranked 134 in the world, with well over $1.2 in the bank this year.

He also said he PGA Tour has PED testing and does feel that the only way they might assist golf pros would be in helping them recover more quickly..He did say he doesn't believe golf has a drug problem.. this on a day when Ryan Braun has been suspended for that very thing for the rest of the year..

No rain today so far although t'showers are scheduled for this afternoon and tomorrow before nothing but sunshine for Thursday and Friday...

Here are the Pro Am tee times and a link to the pairings for Thursday and Friday..

RBC PRO-AM START TIMES

Wednesday, July 24th is the RBC Championship Pro-Am. In all, 52 professionals will entertain 156 amateurs as tournament week continues at the renowned Glen Abbey Golf Club. Among the 156 amateur participants and guests will be Phil Kessel and Nazem Kadri who will tee off in the afternoon draw.

 

Morning Tee Times

 

Tee #1                                  Starting Times                   Tee #10                                                                               

Brandt Snedeker                              7:00                        Bubba Watson

Hunter Mahan                                  7:10                        Luke Donald

Robert Garrigus                                7:20                        Scott Piercy

Ernie Els                                               7:30                        Graeme McDowell

Billy Andrade                                     7:40                        Justin Leonard

John Huh                                             7:50                        Kyle Stanley

Bud Cauley                                         8:00                        Ryan Palmer

John Rollins                                        8:10                        Tommy Gainey

Brian Davis                                          8:20                        Seung-Yul Noh

Mike Weir                                           8:30                        Camilo Villegas

Kevin Stadler                                     8:40                        Mark Wilson

John Senden                                      8:50                        Dustin Johnson

Vijay Singh                                          9:00                        Jim Furyk

                                                                               

Afternoon Tee Times    

                                                               

Tee #1                                  Starting Times                   Tee #10                                                                               

Matt Kuchar                                       12:00                     Johnson Wagner

Brad Fritsch                                        12:10                     Billy Horschel

Matt Every                                          12:20                     Charlie Wi

Ben Crane                                           12:30                     Jeff Overton

Trevor Immelman                            12:40                     Charl Schwartzel

J.J. Henry                                             12:50                     Scott Stallings

Charley Hoffman                              1:00                        Brian Harman

Nathan Green                                   1:10                        Chez Reavie

Geoff Ogilvy                                       1:20                        Tom Gillis

William McGirt                                  1:30                        Cameron Tringale

Aaron Baddeley                                1:40                        Troy Matteson

Chris Kirk                                             1:50                        Greg Chalmers

Sang-Moon Bae                                 2:00                        Greg Owen

 

 

PAIRINGS FOR ROUNDS 1 AND 2 NOW ONLINE

Pairings for Thursday, July 25th and Friday, July 26th at the RBC Canadian Open are now available online at www.rbccanadianopen.com and www.pgatour.com

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