Dutch amateur Rowin Caron thrills home fans at KLM Open

European Tour KLM Open leaderboard
http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2016/tournamentid=2016070/leaderboard/index.html

This is the Dutch national championship and the first news to report is that the defending champion and hottest player in the world right now, Thomas Pieters has withdrawn because he has suffered an allergic reaction to a bee sting during an exhibition match on Monday afternoon.

Young Englishman, Ben Evans set the pace for the morning starts with a -6 65, and that held up for the lead throughout the day.however there are over 20 players within 2 shots of him.

Ben's story goes like this. In 2015 he played in 21 events despite not having a full exemption category and he secured his card in dramatic fashion at the UBS Hong Kong Open with a closing 65 which moved him to the final 111th spot in the Race to Dubai, and when Brooks Koepka was taken out of the rankings the following day, Evans had earned a full rookie season. He will need a strong finish to keep his card as he has only made 3 cuts in his last 13 starts.

The story of the day however is Dutch amateur Rowin Caron who is one of 8 players who finished at -5 66. The 23 year old has made five European Tour appearances, all of them in this event, and he was not scared to talk about the possibility of winning his home Open

"I am really happy," he said. "I hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens so in some ways it was a pretty easy round. The wind got up a little bit later in the round but I was playing well so it was a solid round."

Dutch veteran, Joost Luiten is in at -2 69.

 

 Bryan Angus

Weather threatens the FedEx Cup playoffs today at Crooked Stick

PGA Tour BMW Championship leaderboard http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/bmw-championship/leaderboard.html

David Hearn, Hudson Swafford and Luke Donald will be playing in front of a huge gallery when they tee off at 2.04pm today at this 3rd leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs at Crooked Stick in Carmel, Indiana.

All are playing well, Hearn T8 last week at the Deutsche Bank, but the real reason is the group just ahead of them, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Adam Scott.

It is an incredibly muggy, rainy, thunder and lightning system that has settled over the NE and sadly I think this may well end up being the story of this BMW Championship today, for the 69 players and fans.

On a week when Tiger has announced his return to the game, as you go through this leaderboard, look at all the young guys I have been reporting on and writing about who have arrived since his departure who are now established regulars,

Tony Finau, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Daniel Berger, James Hahn, Emiliano Grillo, Smylie Kaufman.. the list goes on and on as these young guys join Rory, Jordan and Jason, all in their twenties, and all making a boat load of money, thanks in large part by the aforementioned Mr. Woods who will be teeing it up Oct.,13-16 at the Safeway Open on the Silverado course in the Napa Valley before flying to the Turkish Open at a ridiculously high end Turkish resort on the Mediterranean, where the starting price for a home is a mere $5m US or just $2500.00 per night.

On a personal note, be careful out there today if you are part of this weather system, it got up to over 40*c yesterday where I was signed up to do yard work, and despite drinking gallons of water I stilled nearly passed out later in the afternoon.

Best just stay close to the A/C until this muggy mess blows out to the Atlantic. However the guys who are playing today don't have that option, and if the weatherman is right it's going to be a long day.

Bryan Angus

Noren wins Omega European Masters in a playoff

European Tour Omega European Masters final leaderboard http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2016/tournamentid=2016068/leaderboard/index.html

Alex Noren overcame Scott Hend on the first play-off hole to win the Omega European Masters for the second time at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club.

The Swede won his maiden title in the Alps in 2009 and his victory on Sunday was his sixth overall and second of the season after his triumph at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open in July.

Noren also finished in the top ten at the 100th Open de France and reached the final of the Aberdeen Asset Management Paul Lawrie Match Play as he enjoys a brilliant summer.

Chappell and Ko move into contention

Saturday is call moving day and yesterday both Kevin Chappell -8 64 at the Deutsche Bank and Lydia Ko 64 at the Manulife Classic lived right up to that billing.

I would have Brooke Henderson in that category as well as she had it to -8 standing on the 17th tee, sadly she made bogey there and on 18 to fall back to -6 after a 69. Anne Catherine Tanguay 68 is at -7 as is Alena Sharp 70. Maude Aimee LeBlanc shot 72 to sit at -6.

Manulife Classic leaderboard http://www.lpga.com/tournaments/manulife-lpga-classic/leaderboard

Ko had 8 birdies, went out in 32 and equalled that number coming in to get to -10, now just 4 shots behind the leader Mi Hyang Lee 66, -14.

Chappell's -7 64 gives him a one-shot lead and another chance at his first PGA Tour victory. He goes into today's 3rd round at -11, 131, one shot ahead of PGA champion Jimmy Walker (64) and Paul Casey (66).

David Hearn has a pair of 68s -6 and he is T13. Adam Hadwin shot a 72 and is +2

Deutsche Bank leaderboard http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/deutsche-bank-championship/leaderboard.html

Bryan Angus

The Saturday story.. live leaderboards, top stories..

Here is the Saturday story on this beautiful Labour Day weekend, full of a lot of golfing news and storylines as usual. there are two events in Canada, the LPGA in Cambridge and the Champions in Calgary.

Here are the live leaderboards and  top story's, with scores for all the Canadians included.

PGA Tour Deutsche Bank Championship leaderboard http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/deutsche-bank-championship/leaderboard.html

Play is underway in round 2 and this morning Smylie Kaufman was on a tear, with 5 birdies and an eagle in his first 7 holes on TPC Boston to lead the field at -10. He fell back a bit with bogey's at 8 and 9 but still went out in 31 and is currently T2 -8

The early wave has ideal weather, little lefty Brian Harmon leads at -9 and is -6 today thru 14 holes.

David Hearn and Adam Hadwin opened with -3 68s and this morning David is -2 thru 5, -5 total T6, while Adam is +3 thru 7 including a double bogey 7 on the par 5 2nd.

The day started with Ryan Moore and James Hahn in the lead after opening rounds of -6 65. After one round at the TPC Boston, 37 players were separated by only three shots. Remember this event ends on Monday.


LPGA Tour Manulife Classic leaderboard http://www.lpga.com/tournaments/manulife-lpga-classic/leaderboard

It's going to take some good scoring from one of the four Canadians who made the cut to catch leader, American Marina Alex who is at -10 after she eagled her final hole for an -8 64 for the halfway lead of the LPGA Manulife Classic.

Brooke Henderson shot 71 and is T46 at -3 alongside Anne Catherine Tanguay (69) and she summed up her day like this: “Not exactly what I was looking for, but that birdie on my last hole kind of made me feel a lot better about the day, which is always nice, and -3 I can’t complain too much.”

Alena Sharp shot 70 -5 total T12 as she continues to play her best golf, while Maude-Aimée Leblanc shot 71 T22nd at -4.

By the way, another news worthy story, and not a good one is that Michelle Wie missed the cut by a stroke and this former superstar has missed 12 of 20 cuts this season and has fallen all the way to 112th on the money list.


PGA Tour Champions Shaw Charity Classic leaderboard http://www.pgatour.com/champions/tournaments/shaw-charity-classic/leaderboard.html

Opening day in Calgary was interrupted by heavy rain, thunder, and lightning and Canyon Meadows GC was turned into a dart board.

When they added them all up it was " Frosty," David Frost who made two eagles on his way to -8 62 to take the first-round lead in the PGA Tour Champions’ Shaw Charity Classic. The tournament record is 61 set by Fred Couples and Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Defending champion Jeff Maggert and Argentina’s Jose Coceres shot -7 63s while
Tom Byrum had a 64, and Tom Watson, Bernhard Langer, Mark Calcavecchia, Mark Brooks, Fred Funk and Kirk Triplett shot 65, amazingly Watson turns 67 this weekend.

Canadians : Rod Spittle had a -2 68 T34, Jim Rutledge -1 69 T48th, and Stephen Ames at 70 is well back T59.


European Tour Omega European Masters leaderboard http://www.europeantour.com/europeantour/season=2016/tournamentid=2016068/leaderboard/index.html

There aren't many more beautiful places in the world than Crans Montana in the Swiss Alps and round 3 of the European Masters is already in the books with Scott Hend in the lead after an impressive 65 got him to -13 for a one shot lead over Alex Noren who fired a 66 to get to -12.

Richard Bland is next at -10 after his 69, and at -9 are Alejandro Cañizares, Mikko Ilonen, Andrew Johnston and Romain Langasque.

Aussie veteran Hend is enjoying a renaissance in 2016 so far, winning the True Thailand Classic earlier and then representing his country at the Men's Olympic Golf Competition.

Hearn and Hadwin continue Fed Ex Cup playoffs at Deutsche Bank Championship

Deutsche Bank Championship leaderboard http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/deutsche-bank-championship/leaderboard.html

First our congratulations to MacKenzie Hughes and Brad Fritsch who will swell the ranks of our Canadian contingent on the PGA Tour for the 2017 season as they have graduated from the Web.com.

Today is the start of leg two of the FedEx Cup playoffs, they play Friday - Monday for the Memorial Day long weekend.

The field has been reduced to 100 and there are two Canadians, David Hearn and Adam Hadwin who survived last week's cut at Bethpage Black.

All the big names are in play on this TPC Boston as they all continue to position themselves for the final 30 who will play the Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta for the Fed Ex Cup and the $10m prize that comes with it.

Scoring is low in this morning's early going, as you can see from the leaderboard link, Kevin Chappell is the leader at -4 through nine holes.

Bryan Angus

Henderson pleased with opening 70 at the windy Manulife Classic

LPGA Tour Manulife Classic leaderboard http://www.lpga.com/tournaments/manulife-lpga-classic/leaderboard

There are13 Canadians in the field for the 2016 Manulife LPGA Classic and the best of the bunch were at -3 69, Alena Sharp and Maude Aimee LeBlanc.

The one getting all the attention was as always world #3 Brooke Henderson who was at -4 until she dropped a couple of shots on her back nine to end up at -2 70.

" All in all I'm happy with -2 on my opening round although disappointed to drop a couple of shots late in my round for these amazing fans, whose support I fed off of all day. The wind really picked up on the back nine. It was kind of difficult. You could see all three of us not really playing exactly the way we wanted just because of the wind and the conditions"

Until her 18th hole, the leader who is heralded as one of the most beautiful women on tour,  Belen Mozo, a very fit little Spaniard, was playing the 18th at -7, but took a triple bogey to fall to -4, leaving the lead to South Korean Chella Choi at -6 after her 66..

On a windy day on this Whistle Bear course, U.S. Open champion Brittany Lang who was second here last year and remember she won on Grey Silo in 2012, is T2 -5, 67 as are South Korea’s In Gee Chun, Spain’s Azahara Munoz and Sweden’s Dani Holmqvist.

Other Canadian scores :  Lorie Kane had a 70, one week after she was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame.

Jennifer Ha of Calgary opened with a 71, T53,  Anne Catherine Tanguay (Québec City) and Josée Doyon (St-Georges-de-Beauce, Que.) sit T70, 72.  London, Ont., native Maddie Szeryk  is T97, 73.

Vivian Tsui from Markham, Ont., shot 74, while Samantha Richdale (Kelowna, B.C.) and Jennifer Kirby (Paris, Ont.) carded 75s. Nicole Vandermade (Brantford, Ont.), 76 and Selena Costabile (Thornhill, Ont.) 81.

Bryan Angus