Log Jam Sunday at Italian Open, Cockerill T17...Full scoreboard..

 DP World Tour : Italian Open..Leaderboard

 The Italian Open presented by Regione Emilia-Romagna is set for a grandstand finish with Sebastian Friedrichsen, Antoine Rozner, Shubhankar Sharma and Marcel Siem all sharing the lead after 54 holes at Adriatic Golf Club Cervia.

The leading foursome will enter the final round at -10  but with 16 players within three shots of the lead, it is all to play for in Ravenna.

Frenchman Rozner made the cut on the number with a birdie on the last on day two but made a stunning surge through the field as he posted a new course record and matched the lowest round of the his DP World Tour career with a 62 to take the lead.

He had finished long before the final groups got under way and while it took some time for anyone to reel him in, he ended the day as part of a leading logjam.

German Siem carded a 66 to join him before India's Sharma completed a bogey-free 67 and Dane Friedrichsen signed for a 68 to make it a four-way tie, one shot clear of Spaniard Adrian Otaegui.

Home favourite Gregorio De Leo, Swiss Joel Girrbach and England's Andrew Wilson were then two shots off the lead, with 12 countries represented in the top 16.

Siem is playing just his fourth event since over three months out following hip surgery and maintained momentum after making the cut last time out at the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed.

Otaegui was treading water as he played his first 14 holes in level par with two birdies and two bogeys but he birdied the 15th after laying up and put his tee-shot to ten feet at the 17th to sign for a 69 and get within one.

Local favourite De Leo carded a 66, Wilson signed for a 67 and Girrbach recorded a 68 as they all look for a maiden DP World Tour win.

American pair James Nicholas and Gunner Wiebe, German Jannik de Bruyn, Scot Ewen Ferguson, Swede Marcus Kinhult, Italy's Andrea Pavan, Finn Lauri Ruuska and Frenchman Adrien Saddier were three shots off the lead at -7.

>>>>edit Canada's Aaron Cockerill is in a group of 10,  T17 -6 after 3 rounds.

europeantour.com

Bryan Angus (edit)

Cockerill in contention for 1st DP World Tour victory....full scoreboard..

DP World Tour : Italian Open Leaderboard

Gunner Wiebe enjoyed a remarkable return to form to hold the halfway lead at the Italian Open presented by Regione Emilia-Romagna.

The 35-year-old American was a runner-up at the 2023 Betfred British Masters presented by Sir Nick Faldo but in 12 months since then had made only seven cuts on the DP World Tour with a best finish tied for 41st.

Three birdies and a single bogey saw Wiebe card a second round of 69 in Milano Marittima to reach nine under for the week.

That was one clear of German Jannik de Bruyn, who made the most of his late entrance into the field to card a second straight 67 to lie second.

Denmark's Sebastian Friedrichsen, Sweden's Marcus Kinhult, Spain's Adrian Otaegui and South African Brandon Stone were a shot further back on seven under.

We’re going to have to survive the heat, because it’s definitely warm. Coming off of where we’ve been where it seems like it has rained and been cold all year, it’s a nice reprieve. But it’s hot, it’s definitely hot.

“I think if you get off in the morning, some of the guys that have an earlier time tomorrow, with the wind down, there might some chances to get out and score. If the weather maintains and the wind stays up, I think you’ll see a pretty condensed leaderboard and probably a lot of guys who will have a chance.

“Whether it’s me or somebody else, someone is going to have to play very good the last two rounds to hold the trophy.”

Edit *** With 5 birdies, 3 bogey's and a double Aaron shot -1 70 on Saturday  -6 70 total 7th with the weekend ahead, 3 shots behind..

europentour.com

Bryan Angus ( edit)

Cockerill T6 at Italian Open...Full scoreboard

 DP World Tour: Italian Open Leaderboard

Andrea Pavan insisted local knowledge did not play a part as the home favourite shared the first-round lead at the 2024 Italian Open presented by Regione Emilia-Romagna.

Pavan’s bogey-free 64 left him level on -7 with Denmark’s Sebastian Friedrichsen and American Gunner Wiebe.

Malaysia’s Gavin Green made four birdies in the last six holes to sit one shot back at -6.  He was joined late in the day by Marcus Kinhult after the Swede birdied the last.

While Pavan had the backing of the Italian crowd at Adriatic Golf Club Cervia, he said: “The last time I played here was 20 years ago, so I wouldn’t consider having any knowledge around the place.”

“The course isn’t very long but you still have to play well. Very small greens, especially on the back nine. If you hit the green you’re quite close most of the time.

“There’s a bit of rough around the greens and a few trees off the tee. It’s the type of golf course where if you play well it feels like you can shoot a low score, but if you’re a little off it can still bite.”

Behind Green and Kinhult, Pavan’s compatriot Francesco Laporta was in the group at five under with Spaniards Adri Arnaus and Adrian Otaegui, Frenchman Ugo Coussaud, American Sean Crocker and Canada’s Aaron Cockerill.

Edit **** Cockerill who has been off for over 3 weeks was a very promising bogey free, 5 birdie 33, 33 -5 66.

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Bryan Angus (edit) 

Five Canucks at Rocket Mortgage include Angelo Giantsopoulos.. TEE TIMES

 PGA Tour  Rocket Mortgage Classic Tee Times

With most of the big boys on holiday before heading to Scotland for the Genesis in North Berwick and the Open Championship at Royal Troon, the rank and file that make up the body of regular PGA Tour events take center stage this week in Detroit at this event sponsored by Rocket Mortgage.

There are 5 Canadians, 4 you are familiar with, Adam Svensson, Roger Sloan, Taylor Pendrith and Ben Silverman, but who is Angelo Giantsopoulos ?

Photo by: Bennett Scarborough

Well, this is his first ever PGA Tour event, he has no status, is 24 from Holy Trinity High School. Richmond Hill who lists his home as Philadelphia where he graduated from Drexel University in 2022, and on June the 4th, 2024 he won the  Abacoa Summer Classic with a 66 at the Abacoa GC in Jupiter, Florida on the Minor League Golf Tour worth $1284 

He Monday qualified with a -7 65 and sunk a 40 foot birdie putt on the 8th playoff hole of a 5 for 4 playoff.

The Minor League Golf Tour was founded in 2004 by Jake Slazinski to give any player with a dream of playing pro golf a shot. His concept was and still is, you can work and still play 10-12 competitive rounds a month.

They play all year round with 2 weeks off in summer around the 4th of July and 2 weeks off at Christmas, mainly in Florida.

Jimmy Jones won 6 MLGT events and took over as Tournament Director in 2007-2014.

After several sponsors, 8 time winner Scott Turner took over as Tournament Director in 2015 and became the owner in September 2017.  

Bryan Angus

Now settled in Dubai, Aaron Cockerill returns at Italian Open..full tee times..

 DP World Tour : Italian Open Tee Times

In early March Aaron Cockerill was in South Africa where he T55 at the Jonsson Workwear Open. After a week off he travelled to Singapore, T37 at the Porsche Singapore Classic, then to India T55, and on to China where he MC. 

Andrew Lahodynskyj / THE CANADIAN PRESS files

Three weeks later he surfaced in Belgium at the Soudal Open where he T22 with 66,66,70,71 -11. A week later he was back in Toronto, Canada where he missed the cut at the RBC Canadian Open and now after nearly 3 weeks off with wife Chelsea and now 15 month old Addison, he is back in action in Italy in the Adriatic at the Italian Open.

He currently stands 29th in the Race to Dubai, 244th in the world and after a great start to the season highlighted by a T4 in Dubai he has earned approximately $750,000 Canadian.

All that travelling is part a parcel of the life of this 32 year old rank and file pro, now in his 6th season. 

The difference this year is he and Chelsea have moved to Dubai on January 3rd and after several rentals have purchased their own home. 

"It's going to be really good for my golf, seeing my family with it being so central where most of our tournaments are. Direct flights everywhere, access to 3 good courses, there are lots of pros here, so I get some really good games and practice."

He feels all the moving and all that come with it have affected his game recently but with the family now settled in and help tightening up his wedge game with direction from his Winnipeg coach Derek Ingram who also coaches Corey Conners and Taylor Pendrith, he is looking forward to the upcoming schedule including the Genesis Scottish Open.

His goal would be to return home and join his fellow Canucks on the PGA Tour where the big money is on offer.

For all the tee times click Tee Times

Bryan Angus

Tough luck costs Tom Kim Travelers title.. Canadian scores/money

 PGA Tour : Travelers Championship. Results

I've had about enough of Scottie Scheffler to be honest after he picked up his 6th title this year and another $3,600,000. He is the best player in the world right now, certainly not the most exciting, but certainly the best.

However I was more excited by the performance of the 22 year old South Korean sensation Tom Kim who led the whole shebang from the get go 62 65 65 turning TPPC River Highlands GC into a pitch and putt with superb shot making he only made 2 bogey's in 72 holes and after he holed a 15 footer for par at the 72nd to force a playoff with Scheffler, a win would have been more than deserving.

Then Lady Luck..After bombing another big drive well past the Texan, his approach drifted into the greenside bunker...and landed with a splash like a "fried egg"

Scheffler made the routine par, Kim did his best with the lie, but was left with a 20 footer for par, he missed and the Scheffler family were celebrating again. 

Kim was upbeat afterward, maybe $2,160,000 will put salve on the sting. I look forward to seeing him in Mike Weir's exciting Presidents Cup team in Montreal in late September.

Canadians

Adam Svensson -14  $310,000

Taylor Pendrith -12  $183,500

Corey Conners, Adam Hadwin  T27 -11  $144,000

Mac Hughes T36  -9 $97,333

Nick Taylor T42  -7  $75,000

Next

The rank and file will take over for the next fortnight with the Rocket Mortgage in Detroit then the John Deere in Illinois, but the big boys for the most part will take time off before heading for Scotland, Genesis Scottish Open in North Berwick, then the Open Championship across on the west coast at Royal Troon.

Bryan Angus

Weirsy 2nd again at Dick's Open

 PGA Tour : Dick's Open Results

• With his 2024 win at the DICK’S Open, Padraig Harrington becomes the first player in nearly 25 years to win a PGA TOUR Champions event each of the first three times competing in it
• While Harrington has won the DICK’S Open in his first three starts in it, Canada’s Mike Weir has now finished second in his first two starts in the event
• 
• In his second start at the DICK’S Open and first since finishing T2 in 2022, Canada’s Mike Weir improved on an opening-round 4-under 68 with back-to-back 67s to finish solo-second at 14-under 202; the finish comes three months shy of the 2024 Presidents Cup, for which he is serving as the International Team Captain; this week’s runner-up finish comes in his ninth start of the season and follows a T14 in his most recent start at the Senior PGA Championship
• 
  
• In his sixth DICK’S Open start, 36-hole co-leader and Charles Schwab Cup No. 1 Stephen Ames signed for a 1-under 71 to finish T6 at 12-under 204; the finish becomes his ninth top-10 of the season (13 starts) and first in the DICK’S Open; comes off a T4 finish in his most recent start at the American Family Insurance Championship

 

kLM Dutch Open...final results

DP World Tour : KLM Open Results

• 
  

Guido Migliozzi won his fourth DP World Tour title at the KLM Open with a sixth birdie of the week at the 18th seeing him prevail from a three-man play-off in the Netherlands.

How it Happened

The Italian entered the final day one shot off the lead at The International but found himself three clear in a tie for top spot at one point and led alone by one early on the back nine before a pair of bogeys left him two behind.

He then birdied the 16th and 18th to sign for a roller coaster 70 and finish at 11 under alongside Joe Dean and Marcus Kinhult.

The trio all made two-putt birdies on the first trip back up the par-five last and while Dean and Kinhult both made par at the second attempt despite the Englishman hitting a poor tee-shot and the Swede finding the water, Migliozzi found the green in two and left himself two feet for a sixth four on the closing hole and a dramatic win.

Migliozzi's victory sees him earn a place at The Open Championship next month alongside Dean, who edged out Kinhult for the second spot by virtue of the Official World Golf Ranking.

Migliozzi burst onto the DP World Tour scene in some style five years ago, winning twice in his debut season after coming through the Qualifying School.

He also won the Open de France in 2022, producing possibly the shot of the season to take the title on the last and once again he has won a prestigious national open after late drama.

"I never thought I was done," said Migliozzi, who moves up to eighth on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex and third on the European Swing.

"I've always been in position and tried to make birdies and come back and here it is now. It's an incredible feeling, it's been an incredible battle, well done to everybody.

"It's super, super nice to be here now."

Højgaard shared the lead on several occasions but his chances were gone when he found the water on the 16th in a 70 also containing a double-bogey and four birdies, while Pavan made six birdies in a bogey-free 65.

Northern Ireland's Tom McKibbin also carded a 65 to finish at nine under, one clear of South African Thomas Aiken, Italy's Matteo Manassero and Austrian Bernd Wiesberger, with Finn Korhonen finishing the week four shots out of the play-off.

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Bryan Angus (edit)

A Finn Korhonen leads the KLM Dutch Open...weekend Scoreboard

 DP World Tour...KLM Open Leaderboard

Mikko Korhonen took an unconventional route to a 68 as he moved into the solo lead heading into the weekend at the KLM Open.

The Finn made a hole-in-one en route to a share of the lead on day one and he added every score from two to seven in round two to move to ten under.

That left him one shot clear of American Sean Crocker, who carded a 67, and two ahead of English duo Ross Fisher and James Morrison.

Dane Rasmus Højgaard matched the lowest round of the day with a 65 to sit at seven under alongside England's Matthew Baldwin, Scot Ewen Ferguson, American Nicolo Galletti, Italian Matteo Manassero and German Matti Schmid.

Morrison birdied four of his first seven holes and while he added three more gains, he also dropped four shots in a 68.

Countryman Fisher won this event in 2007 for the first of his five DP World Tour titles and he birdied three of his last four holes in a second consecutive 67.

Højgaard was on course to go very low before a bogey-bogey finish, while Ferguson and Galletti carded rounds of 66, Baldwin and Schmid both signed for 67s and co overnight leader Manassero followed a 64 with a 71.

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Bryan Angus (edit

Pendrith, Hughes T6 at the low scoring Travelers

 PGA Tour : the Travelers Tee Times

After a long hot week getting beat up at Pinehurst #2 in the US Open, arriving at TPC River Highlands for the Travelers must be like arriving at an oasis after 5 days crossing the Sahara.

It's one of the lowest scoring events of the season, 22 year old Korean sensation Tom Kim just made it look like a pitch and putt out in 32, in at 30 with 8 birdies, all the rest pars -8 62.

Four guys you know called Bhatia, Fowler, Kitayama, Zalatoris -6 64

Seven more guys you know called Pendrith, Hughes along with Schauffele, Finau, Rogers, Davis, Scheffler are all happy T6 -5 65.

Canadians

Taylor Pendrith had a clean card with 5 birdies while Mac Hughes pitched 5 birdies and an eagle with just 2 bogey's for their 65's

Corey Conners T18 -3 67

Nick Taylor T26 -2 68

Adam Hadwin T33 -1 69

Adam Svensson T53 +1 71

Remember, these guys are in the last limited field, signature event worth $20,000,000 and only 19 players were over par. The fruit is very low lying, easy picking for what is some of the all time record breaking prize money in golf history. (LIV not included, nor recognized here)

The Masters, PGA Championship and US Open are already done.

Ahead we have the Open Championship at Royal Troon July 14-21, then the Olympics in Paris August 1-4.

The PGA Tour playoffs:

Fed Ex St Jude August 15-18 $20,000,000

BMW Championship August 22-25 $20,000,000

Tour Championship August 29- Sept 1 priceless !!

...and later I will be opining about the Race to Dubai, and the Presidents Cup September 24-29 at Royal Montreal.

Bryan Angus

Italian and a Finn lead Dutch Open..

 DP World Tour : KLM Open Leaderboard

Mikko Korhonen added a birdie-birdie finish to a hole-in-one to join Matteo Manassero at the top of the leaderboard after day one of the KLM Open.

Manassero had finished a bogey-free 64 with two birdies of his own to set the target at -7 at The International just days after teeing it up in the U.S. Open as his remarkable renaissance continues.

But Korhonen - making just his third start of the season - joined him at the summit, one shot clear of Japan's Rikuya Hoshino 65 -6

American Sean Crocker, Italian Edoardo Molinari, England's James Morrison and Swede Henrik Norlander were then two shots off the lead with 66 -5

Italian Manassero won his fifth DP World Tour title earlier this season at the Jonsson Workwear Open, nearly 14 years after becoming the youngest winner in DP World Tour history.

Last week he was back on the biggest stage at the U.S. Open and while he missed the cut at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club, he bounced back in fine style in the Netherlands.

"Very satisfying," he said. "It is a tough course so you need to earn a round like this around here and the conditions obviously helped us, the course is firming up so it is playing a little shorter and the wind never really pumped. So, it was a good day to play some good golf and have a good round but never easy.

“On the weekend I was tired. I didn’t play but it is kind of stressful, and stressful in a good way, because you put all your energy into preparing for the U.S. Open and it beats you up and then you have a drop in adrenalin, so I was a little bit tired, but I am really happy to be playing. The U.S. Open was a really tough experience, but I want to take it for what it is and reset."

Korhonen is a two-time DP World Tour winner, but his appearance at last month's Soudal Open was his first in over 12 months.

"Speechless," he said. "The hole-in-one was a nice little extra there but it was a solid round, everything was pretty solid. Putted well, hit it well off the tee, no complaints.

"I was pretty good off the tee today. I didn’t hit it into the long stuff which was key today."

Hoshino - playing just his second event since March after suffering a collapsed lung - bogeyed the second and ninth but between made four birdies, the highlight being a tee-shot to tap-in range at the fourth.

He then made four in a row from the 11th with an excellent putting display and added another birdie on the 16th before three-putting the next.

Morrison birdied four of his last five in a bogey-free round, while Molinari paired a single bogey with six birdies.

Norlander also recorded a single bogey in his 66, with playing partner Crocker recording an eagle, five birdies and two bogeys.

English duo Ross Fisher and Callum Shinkwin, Italian Filippo Celli and Swede Espen Kofstad were all at -4

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Bryan Angus (edit)

2024 Olympic Games Golf Teams

 

Nick Taylor, Corey Conners Team Canada August 1-4 Le Golf National

Teams for 2024 Olympic Games

COUNTRY	PLAYERS
United States	Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Wyndham Clark, Collin Morikawa
Ireland	Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry
Sweden	Ludvig Åberg, Alex Noren
Norway	Viktor Hovland, Kris Ventura
Spain	Jon Rahm, David Puig
Japan	Hideki Matsuyama, Keita Nakajima
Great Britain	Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick
France	Matthieu Pavon, Victor Perez
Austria	Sepp Straka
Australia	Jason Day, Min Woo Lee
Canada	Nick Taylor, Corey Conners
South Africa	Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Erik van Rooyen
Germany	Stephan Jaeger, Matti Schmid
Denmark	Nicolai Hojgaard, Thorbjorn Olesen
Belgium	Thomas Detry, Adrien Dumont De Chassart
Argentina	Emiliano Grillo, Alejandro Tosti
New Zealand	Ryan Fox, Daniel Hillier
Poland	Adrian Meronk
Chile	Joaquin Niemann, Cristobal del Solar
Finland	Sami Valimaki
Taiwan	C.T. Pan, Kevin Yu
Netherlands	Joost Luiten, Darius van Driel
China	Carl Yuan, Zecheng Dou
Colombia	Camilo Villegas, Nico Echavarria
Italy	Matteo Manassero, Guido Migliozzi
India	Shubhankar Sharma, Gaganjeet Bhullar
Puerto Rico	Rafael Campos
Mexico	Carlos Ortiz, Abraham Ancer
Thailand	Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Phachara Khongwatmai
Malaysia	Gavin Green
Paraguay	Fabrizio Zanotti

Six Canadians join elite field at the Travelers....TEE TIMES

 PGA Tour : Travelers Championship Tee Times

It may seem like overkill, but the top 71 guys, minus Rory are back at it for the last $20,000,000 dollar signature event of 2024, this time in Connecticut at the Travelers Championships.

Scheffler, Schauffelle, Morikawa, Cantlay, these are your top guys with tons of supporting cast, some new guns like Aberg #4, Tom Kim at #26, Theegala at #14 then Clark at #5, Hovland at #6, Hideki at #12, Tommy at #13, Max at #15.

Bigger fish like DeChambeau, Rahm, Brooks,Sergio show up for the majors then disappear into the obscurity of LIV, never to be seen or heard from unless they come to your town.

Such is golf these days. Great journalists like my pal in Scotland, Alistair Tait who has covered every quarter of this game from the youngest amateur to the icons of the sport can barely bother to watch the regular rank and file events anymore, no matter how big or small the purse. 

Remember when there were 108 qualifying tournaments for just 5 spots at the first $20,000,000 event in Phoenix at the WM, it was such big news now it's just meh.  

Just like winning $10,000,000 for the Fed Ex Cup was huge news over 2 decades ago, now it's more meh.

"I don't care too much for money, money can't buy you love" John Lennon or McCartney penned and sang when the Beatles certainly weren't meh and they never knew it would describe the world of golf and pro sports today.

Canadians

Nick Taylor one of 6 Canadians in the field this week, lost that first nail biter to Scheffler but still won over a record $2,000,000, went on to win our National Championship in the most dramatic fashion all leading to him playing with Corey Conners at the Olympics this summer in Paris.

Those two and Mac Hughes (82 in his last round at Pinehurst), Taylor Pendrith, Adam Svensson and Adam Hadwin are all qualified to play. Tee Times

They are amongst the guys at TPC Highlands this week for whom all the money is what they play for, although the titles are what they cherish.

For those of us who cover the game and all the fans who support it, the money is now meh again, entertainment is everything, as Rory aptly put it " Congratulations to Bryson he's a worthy champion and I think we all agree is what the game needs today"

Bryan Angus

Rory takes a month off after devastating US Open loss

 Rory McIlroy is to take a “few weeks away from the game” and will return to action for his Genesis Scottish Open title defence next month on the DP World Tour.

The Northern Irishman missed out on claiming his fifth Major Championship title at the U.S. Open on Sunday as he finished runner-up to Bryson DeChambeau at Pinehurst's No. 2 Course.

It was his 11th top-five finish at a Major since he won the US PGA Championship in 2014, and second consecutive runner-up finish at the U.S. Open.

McIlroy, 35, was set to feature this week at the Travelers Championship, a Signature Event on the PGA TOUR.

But he will now not tee it up again until the second Rolex Series event of the DP World Tour campaign at The Renaissance Club from July 11-14, before The Open at Royal Troon presents another chance to end his near decade-long wait for Major glory.

In a statement released on X on Monday, he said: "Yesterday [Sunday] was a tough day, probably the toughest I've had in my nearly 17 years as a professional golfer.

"Firstly, I'd like to congratulate Bryson. He is a worthy champion and exactly what professional golf needs right now. I think we can all agree on that.

"As I reflect on my week, I'll rue a few things over the course of the tournament, mostly the two missed putts on 16 and 18 on the final day.

"But, as I always try to do, I'll look at the positives of the week that far outweigh the negatives.

"As I said at the start of the tournament, I feel closer to winning my next major championship than I ever have.

"The one word that I would describe my career as is resilient. I've shown my resilience over and over again in the last 17 years and I will again.

"I'm going to take a few weeks away from the game to process everything and build myself back up for my defence of the Genesis Scottish Open and The Open at Royal Troon.

"See you in Scotland."

europeantour.com

Bryan Angus (edit)

DeChambeau continues major form to edge McIlroy for US Open title...final results..

 USGA : US Open Results

Bryson DeChambeau won his second U.S. Open title as he overcame the challenge of Rory McIlroy on a dramatic afternoon at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club.

The home favourite entered the final day with a three-shot lead but found himself two behind as McIlroy made three birdies in four holes after the turn before the Northern Irishman gave them back, making a bogey on the last in a 69.

That meant DeChambeau needed a par up the last and despite hitting a ragged drive and finding sand with his second, he completed a stunning up-and-down to sign for a 71 and finish at six under, one clear of McIlroy.

American duo Patrick Cantlay and Tony Finau were then at four under, one clear of Frenchman Matthieu Pavon.

DeChambeau won his first Major at this event in 2020 and doubles his tally having finished sixth at the Masters Tournament and second at the US PGA Championship this season.

“I want to say happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there," said DeChambeau. “Unfortunately my dad passed a couple of years ago and this one is for him.

"Also to Payne Stewart, he was the reason why I went to SMU. He's the reason why I wore the cap.

“I can’t believe that up-and-down on the last, that was probably the best shot of my life. That’s huge to get up and down and win this prestigious championship – that will be the highlight of my life.”

"I'm so happy I got that shot up-and-down on 18. Oh, man, I didn't want to finish second again. PGA really stung. Xander played magnificent.

"I wanted to get this one done, especially at such a special place that means so much to me, SMU, my dad, what Payne meant to him, 1000th USGA championship. Stack them on top.

"That bunker shot was the shot of my life. I'll forever be thankful that I've got longer wedges so I can hit it farther, get it up there next to the hole (smiling).

"I don't know what to think. It fully hasn't sunk in yet. I just want everybody to enjoy it, as well. As much as it is heartbreaking for some people, it was heartbreak for me at the PGA. I really wanted this one.

"I was a little lucky. Rory didn't make a couple putts that he could have coming in. I had an amazing up-and-down on the last. I don't know what else to say.

"It's a dream come true."

edit *** The look on McIlroy's face in the scorers room as he sat and watched the DeChambeau celebrations, told us all how much this one will sting, especially missing putts of two and four feet coming down the stretch, after so much brilliant play.

Cantlay made three birdies and three bogeys in a 70, while Finau recovered from two early bogeys with an eagle and three birdies to match the low round of the day with a 67.

Pavon carded a 71 to sit a shot ahead of Japan's Hideki Matsuyama and two clear of American duo Russell Henley and Xander Schauffele, with just eight players under par after 72 holes over the fearsome No. 2 Course.

edit ***** Three Canadians made the cut on Friday. Corey Conners was in contention, finishing T9 E 280, while big hitting Taylor Pendrith T16 +3 283 and Adam Svensson T56 +12 292.

For all the scores and prize money click Results

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Bryan Angus (edit)