Jordan Spieth is one round away from the third leg of the career Grand Slam, and one year removed from a reminder that it won’t be easy.
On the horizon is a chance to join Jack Nicklaus as the only players to win three different majors at age 23. In the past was his last time leading a major, when he let a five-shot lead get away from him on the back nine a year ago at Augusta National.
All that mattered to him was the present.
Spieth did his part on an extraordinary day of scoring in the British Open, capping off his 5-under 65 by seizing on a good break and making a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a three-shot lead over Matt Kuchar, who did his best to keep pace with a 66.
Spieth had one of seven rounds at 65 or lower at Royal Birkdale, which was never more vulnerable with a light breeze and a clear sky until the final hour. He was warming up on the range when Branden Grace shot 62, the lowest 18-hole score over 157 years of major championships. Spieth then delivered his second bogey-free round of the week in which he never came seriously close to a bogey.
“Pretty stress-free,” Spieth said. “On a Saturday with a lead in a major, that’s as good as I can ask for.”
He was at 11-under 199, breaking by six shots the 54-hole record at Royal Birkdale that Tom Watson set in 1983. Not only did that last birdie give him a three-shot lead, no one else was closer than six shots.
This will be Spieth’s third time taking the lead into the final round of a major. He led by four at the Masters two years ago and won by that margin. More recent was a one-shot lead at Augusta to start the final round, a five-shot lead at the turn and a quadruple-bogey on the 12th hole that cost him another green jacket.
Spieth was embracing both memories.
“I think I’m in a position where it can be very advantageous, just everything I’ve gone through – the good, the bad and everything in the middle,” he said. “I understand that leads can be squandered quickly. And I also understand how you can keep on rolling on one.”
He described the Masters last year as a humbling experience that he thought would serve him well down the road.
“If I don’t win tomorrow, it has nothing to do with that,” he said. “And if I win tomorrow, it has nothing to do with that, either.”
Kuchar never quite caught up to Spieth. He twice made birdies that momentarily tied him for the lead, only for Spieth to pour in birdie putts on top of him to stay in front. Kuchar’s one slip was a drive into the pot bunker on No. 16 when the rain finally arrived, and a three-putt that led to double bogey.
He will be playing in the final group of the fourth round at a major for the first time, and the 39-year-old Kuchar sounded up for the occasion.
“It’s not that I ever felt like I was playing Jordan today,” Kuchar said. “We certainly had a great round of golf. I never felt like I was out there trying to beat Jordan. It’s trying to go up against Royal Birkdale and put on the best show you can against the golf course.”
No one put on a show quite like Grace, the 29-year-old South African who had a chance to win the U.S. Open two years ago. He went out in 29, then added two long birdie putts on the 14th and 16th holes, and a two-putt birdie on the 17th to reach 8 under. From 60 feet behind the 18th green, he lagged it to 2 feet and tapped in for a 62.
“Look at that number! That is sweet,” Johnny Miller, now a golf analyst, said as NBC flashed a 62 on the screen. Miller was the first to shoot 63 in a major at the 1973 U.S. Open at Oakmont. It took 44 years for someone to top it.
Spieth and Kuchar lit it up, too. They combined for 12 birdies, such impressive golf that Kuchar said a couple of times they forgot who had honours on the tee box. Along the way, they created a little separation from the rest of the field.
Austin Connelly, a dual Canadian-American citizen who grew up in Dallas and shares a swing coach with Spieth, extended his remarkable run with birdies on his last two holes for a 66. The 20-year-old who plays under the Canadian flag was six shots behind at 5-under 205, tied with U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, who had a 68.
Grace wound up seven shots behind even after his 62.
Missing from the mix was Rory McIlroy, who looked to be a big threat when he began with three birdies in five holes, driving the green on the shortened par-4 fifth hole. He lost it around the turn, making back-to-back bogeys, and then a double bogey at No. 10 when he blasted out of one pot bunker left of the fairway and it spun toward another, resting in the thick collar.
McIlroy had a 69, rarely a bad score in the third round of a major. This one left him nine shots behind.
“If you keep it in play, it’s almost hard to make a bogey out there, you know?” McIlroy said. “I’ve always been good when I get off to fast starts, being able to keep it going, and I didn’t today. And I needed to – that’s the disappointing thing.”
Ian Poulter felt even worse. Still lurking, he ran off three straight bogeys early on the back nine and shot 71 to fall nine back.
The tone for Sunday was set over the final three holes, when Kuchar made his double bogey. Kuchar got one back with a birdie from the pot bunker short of the green at the par-5 17th. And then Spieth stole a birdie at the end when his approach narrowly missed the bunker right of the green and had enough spin to stay on the putting surface for his final birdie. Kuchar missed his birdie attempt from 12 feet.
“I played well today,” Kuchar said. “Certainly, I’m not out of it. I’m playing some good golf. I’m very excited for tomorrow.”
Both took time to stop and soak in the best walk in golf, a full grandstand surrounding both sides of the 18th. Kuchar stopped and said to Spieth, “This is pretty cool to be here, walking up the last hole of a British Open.”
They get to do it again Sunday, with a lot more at stake than warm applause.
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CHOW LOOKS TO CAPTURE HIS THIRD MID-AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
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Trevor Chow – photo credit – Ryan Talpin -Localxpress
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Shubenacadie, NS – Two time past Mid-Am champion, Trevor Chow from Ashburn fired a four under par 68 during today’s round of the 2017 MCT Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship at the Links at Penn Hills. Chow’s second round included a 1 eagle on the par 4 seventeenth, 5 birdies, one bogey and one double. Chow began the day tied for the lead. He now has a four-stroke lead heading into tomorrows final round and a two-day total of 137.
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| Jody Swin – photo credit Ryan Talpin Localxpress |
Jody Swim from the River Hills Golf Club was tied for third after yesterdays opening round. Swim, who won the 2008 Mid-Am the last time it was held at Penn Hills, now sits alone in second place heading into the final round. Swim carded a 70-71-141 and is currently three under par.
David Williamson from Ashburn sits in third place and is even par after the first two rounds. Williamson fired a 71-73-144.
Oakfield’s Matt Vaughan, who was tied for the lead with Trevor Chow after round one, fell back to fourth place during todays second round. Vaughan has carded a two round total of 69-77-146.
This competition will determine the provincial champion and select the team that will represent Nova Scotia at the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championships. The Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur will be held at The Wascana Golf Club, in Regina, SK from August 22-25.
The final round of the MCT Men’s Mid-Amateur will take place Sunday at the Links of Penn Hills. For a complete list of results and final round pairings please
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Jordan Spieth expected a rough time at the British Open before he even got to the golf course.
He spent Friday morning at his rented house in front of the television, watching players battle a relentless wind at Royal Birkdale, all the while checking a forecast that was even worse for when he played in the afternoon.
“It wasn’t a great feeling knowing we were coming into something harder than what we were watching,” he said.
Spieth did more than just survive.
With a short game as sharp as it has been all year, and a 3-wood that turned out a lot better than it looked and led to an eagle, Spieth seized control with a 1-under 69 that gave him a two-shot lead over Matt Kuchar going into the weekend.
Spieth turned a bogey or worse into an unlikely par by chipping in from just short of the 10th green. And he learned enough from watching TV to know that going a little long on the par-5 15th would give him a better birdie chance than playing short. So he switched from a 3-iron to a 3-wood, hit it a little off the neck and watched it run hot and fast some 100 yards along the wet turf to about 18 feet away.
“I mishit the shot, which is probably why it looked so gross,” Spieth said. “I hit it low off the heel, which is easy to do when you’re trying to carve a cut. And it just … one hop, scooted around the group of bunkers there, and then it was obviously fortunate to get all the way to the green.”
The flight of that 3-wood looked as ugly as the weather. The outcome was as bright as his chances of getting his name on another major championship trophy.
Spieth was at 6-under 134. It was the 12th time he has been atop the leaderboard at a major, including the fourth rounds of the Masters and U.S. Open that he won in 2015. Spieth is the sole leader at a major for the first time since the third round of the Masters last year, when he was runner-up to Danny Willett.
“Anytime you’re in the last group on a weekend in a major … you get nervous. And I’ll be feeling it this weekend a bit,” he said. “But I enjoy it. As long as I approach it positively and recognize that this is what you want to feel because you’re in the position you want to be in, then the easier it is to hit solid shots and to create solid rounds.”
Austin Connelly, a dual Canadian-American citizen who was born in Irving, Texas, is five shots back after a 72. He’s in a tie for sixth at 1 under. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., struggled in his second round and missed the cut at 13 over.
Kuchar played in the morning in steadily strong wind, but without rain, and pieced together a solid round until a few mistakes at the end for a 71. He was at 4-under 136, and it would have been a good bet that he would be leading with the nasty weather that arrived.
“I think that’s what people enjoy about the British Open is watching the hard wind, the rain, the guys just trying to survive out there,” Kuchar said. “Today is my day. I get to kick back in the afternoon and watch the guys just try to survive.”
He wound up watching another short-game clinic from Spieth.
The key to his round came in the middle, starting with a 10-foot par putt on No. 8 after he drove into a pot bunker. The biggest break came at No. 10, when the rain was pounding Royal Birkdale. Spieth hit into another pot bunker off the tee, could only advance it out sideways, and came up short of the green in light rough.
“Massive,” he said about the chip-in par. “Nothing said ‘4’ about this hole. I feel a little guilty about taking 4 on the card.”
And he wasn’t through just yet. Spieth rolled in a 35-foot birdie putt across the 11th green, and then after watching Henrik Stenson’s tee shot on the par-3 12th land softly, Spieth realized he could take on the flag. He hit 7-iron to 2 feet for another birdie, and followed that with a beautiful pitch to tap-in range for par on the 13th.
Even so, his work is far from over.
The chasing pack features U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, who failed to make a birdie but stayed in the hunt with 16 pars in a 72, and Ian Poulter with his newfound confidence, which is growing even higher with the support of the English crowd. Poulter shot 70.
Not to be overlooked was Rory McIlroy, who recovered from a horrific start Thursday to salvage a 71, and then kept right on rolling. McIlroy, who was 5 over through the opening six holes of the tournament, ran off three birdies with full control of every shot on the front nine.
And much like Spieth, he kept his round together with crucial par saves early on the back nine when the wind was at its worse. McIlroy posted a 68 and was at 1-under 139, only five shots behind with only five players in front of him.
“To be in after two days and be under par for this championship after the way I started, I’m ecstatic with that,” McIlroy said.
Not everyone got off so easy.
Justin Thomas, who started the second round just two shots behind, drove into the gorse on the first hole and took double bogey. That wasn’t nearly as bad as the sixth hole, where he tried three times to hammer out of the thick native grass well right of the fairway. He couldn’t find the ball after the third one, and he wound up taking a quintuple-bogey 9. Thomas made another double bogey on the 13th hole and shot 80.
Spieth never looked as if he was under any stress, except for his tee shot into the bunker on No. 8. A British writer suggested a lip-reader could have detected some choice words coming out of his mouth. Spieth smiled and replied, “I speak American. You probably didn’t understand me.”
The language of his clubs – especially the wedge and the putter – was all too familiar.
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TREVOR CHOW AND MATT VAUGHAN FIRE 3 UNDER PAR 69 TO LEAD THE 2017 MCT MID-AMATEUR AFTER ROUND ONE
LOMBARD ACES THE FIFTHTEENTH HOLE
Shubenacadie, NS – The first round of the MCT Men’s Mid Amateur took place today at the Links at Penn Hills. Trevor Chow from Ashburn and Matt Vaughn from Oakfield are tied for the lead after today’s first round. Chow who won the Mid-Am in 2013 and 2009 and Vaughan both carded scores of three under 69. Chow carded 4 birdies and one bogey while Vaughan carded 5 birdies and 2 bogies.
Sitting one shot behind the leaders are Marc Lombard from Clare Golf and Jody Swim from River Hills who each fired two under par 70. Shelburne native Jody Swim won the 2008 Mid-Am the last time it was hosted at Penn Hills. Lombard who lives in Saulnierville made the shot of the day when he aced the 163 yard fifteenth hole.
This competition will determine the provincial champion and select the team that will represent Nova Scotia at the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championships. The Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur will be held at The Wascana Golf Club, in Regina, SK from August 22-25.
Round two of the
MCT Men’s Mid-Amateur will take place Saturday at the Links of Penn Hills. For a complete list of results and day two pairings please
CLICK HERE
CHURCH POINT, N.S. – Calvin Ross defended his 2015 and 2016 title while Meghan McLean completed her wire-to-wire victory at the Future Links, driven by Acura Atlantic Championship at Clare Golf & Country Club on Thursday.
Ross shot a 3-under-par 68, his second sub-70 round of the competition. The 18-year-old from Fredericton, N.B., went bogey-free during his final round and finished with a two-stroke lead.
“The win feels great,” he said, after the award ceremony. “I didn’t get off to the best of starts this summer. I lost a few that could have had and it feels good to win here at the Atlantic championship again.”
Aubrey Farrell finished in second after starting the day tied with Ross at the top of the leaderboard. The 18-year-old from Sydney Forks, N.S., fell three strokes behind Ross by the sixth hole, and his two birdies the rest of the way were not enough to catch back up. He finished at 3 under for the tournament.
Finishing in third place, well back from the top two, was Andrew Bruce from Corner Brooke, N.L. The 18-year-old carded seven bogeys and just one birdie during his final round and finished the competition at 6 over par.
Rounding out the top six finishers in the boys division who earned exemptions into the 2017 Canadian Junior Boys Championship on July 31-Aug. 3 at Cataraqui Golf and Country Club in Kingston, Ont., are: Benjamin Chassé (Fall River, N.S.), Matthew Chandler (Chester, N.S.) and Jack Anderson (Halifax, N.S.).
In the girls division, McLean shot a 3-over-par 74 – the same score she shot in round one – to finish at 12 over par for the tournament. The 18-year-old from Port Williams, N.S., played a strong round throughout the day with the only troublesome spot coming on the par-5 13th hole where she registered a double bogey.
“It feels awesome to win,” said McLean. “I’ve never won this tournament before and it feels really good to say that I’m the Atlantic champion. It gives me a lot of confidence going into the next couple of weeks with Nationals and Canada Games coming up so I’m just hoping to carry the momentum over and continue to play well.”
Finishing in second place, five strokes behind McLean, was 18-year-old Laura Jones from Moncton, N.B. She earned solo-second place honours after recovering from a double bogey on hole 16 with a birdie on the following hole.
One stroke back from Jones was Toronto’s Catherine Zhang who carded a 74, her lowest round of the competition. The 15-year-old got off to good starts on the front and back nine with birdies to start them both off, but they were her only two holes under par during the final day.
Rounding out the top six earning exemptions to the 2017 Canadian Junior Girls Champions held Aug. 1-4 at Camelot Golf & Country Club in Cumberland, Ont., are: Kiley Rodrigues (Kingston, Ont.), Raesa Sheikh (Markham, Ont.) and Sandee Park (West Vancouver, B.C.).
Full results.
Jordan Spieth might be the most famous golfer from Texas right now, and a favourite to win the British Open, but he thinks another Texan has a chance at surprising some people at Royal Birkdale this week.
Austin Connelly, who is a dual Canadian-American citizen, has known Spieth for several years through swing Coach Cameron McCormick. Connelly, 20, will be making his major debut at the British Open this week. He and Spieth played a practice round on Monday.
“This is the type of golf where he (Austin) can really, really make a move and prevail. He really works the ball extremely well. He hits his long clubs dead straight,” Spieth told TSN’s Bob Weekes. “And he’s got a killer instinct on the greens.”
Connelly, a graduate of the Team Canada Amateur Squad, is playing on the European Tour this year and has already notched two top-10s in his rookie season on the circuit.
He qualified for the British Open by winning a four-man playoff at the Royal Cinque Ports Qualifier – demonstrating the killer instinct Spieth spoke about by sinking a 15-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole.
Adam Hadwin – the other Canadian in the field this week – is also making his British Open debut. Hadwin, 29, comes to Royal Birkdale ranked No. 54 in the world.
The Abbotsford, B.C., native notched his first career PGA TOUR win earlier this year at the Valspar Championship in March and shot a 59 at the CareerBuilder Challenge in January.
Hadwin will tee off Thursday with Andrew “Beef” Johnston and Todd Hamilton at 11:36 a.m. local time. Connelly will go at 12:09 p.m. with Matthew Griffin and Matthew Southgate.
Click here for the full Thursday tee times at the British Open.
THE LINKS AT PENN HILLS SET TO HOST THE
MCT INSURANCE MEN’S MID-AMATEUR
Defending champions Sean Stuart will defend title at the 2017 MCT Insurance Mid-Amateur Provincial Championship.
The Links at Penn Hills, in Shubenacadie, NS, is set to host the MCT Insurance Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship which will be held on July 21-23. The three day, 54 hole stoke play championship will crown 2017 the MCT Men’s Mid-Amateur Champion.
This competition will determine the provincial champion and select the team that will represent Nova Scotia at the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championships. The Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur will be held at The Wascana Golf Club, in Regina, SK from August 22-25.
The top three golfers will be selected to represent Nova Scotia at this prestigious event. In addition there will be also be 6 quota spots up for grabs to compete at the National Championship. These quota spots will be awarded based on results from the 2017 MCT Men’s Mid-Amateur.
For more information and round one pairings for the 2017 MCT Men’s Mid-Amateur please
CLICK HEREFor more information on the MCT Insurance:
CLICK HEREFor more information on The Links of Penn Hills:
CLICK HEREFor more information on the NSGA:
CHURCH POINT, N.S. – Meghan McLean extended her lead in the girls division while Aubrey Farrell caught up to Calvin Ross as the pair sit at the top of the boys division at the Future Links, driven by Acura Atlantic Championship on Wednesday.
Farrell shot an even-par 71 to close the round-one gap between him and Ross. Things didn’t look too great for the 18-year-old from Sydney Forks, N.S., as he carded three bogeys in his first six holes.
After calming his game down and making par on the next eight holes, Farrell knocked down three straight birdies on holes 15-17 to launch him to the top of the leaderboard with Ross at 2 under for the tournament.
“I got off to a bad start, I was three over after six,” he said, after his round. “After that I hit every green. I just had a lot of good looks and finally hit it to within a couple of inches on hole 15 and got going from there.”
Ross, the defending champion and round one leader, shot a 1-over-par 72. The 18-year-old from Fredericton, N.B., looked like he was going to extend his lead after carding a birdie on the par-5 16th hole, but he made bogey on the following par-3 hole.
“I missed a good opportunity on the third hole and I gave a few back where I didn’t need to,” said Ross. “I got off to a bad start on the back nine and couldn’t get anything rolling.”
Andrew Bruce, an 18-year-old from Corner Brook, N.L., shot his second consecutive even-par 71 to secure himself into third place, two strokes behind the co-leaders.
Bryson McCulloch, from Kingston, Ont., shot the low round of the day with a 1-under-par 70. He sits T12 at 8 over par for the competition.
In the girls division, McLean held on to her lead after posting a 6-over-par 77. The 18-year-old from Port Williams, N.S., was the only girl in the top five to fail to register a single birdie, but her 6 over par was still tied with the lowest score of the day.
“I didn’t hit as many greens as I was hoping to today,” she said. “My chipping really saved me. I could really visualize my shots and these greens work really well for the bump-and-run that I typically hit so feeling confident with the chipping definitely helped.”
Laura Jones, from Moncton, N.B., also carded a 6-over-par 77 to remain three strokes back of McLean in second place. The 18-year-old started her round off with a birdie – her only one of the day – but also added five bogeys and a double bogey to her scorecard by the end of the round.
Kiley Rodrigues from Kingston, Ont., dropped into solo-third after she shot a 79. The 17-year-old was 5 over par after the first six holes and turned things around with two birdies and four pars over the next six holes, but finished her round with three more bogeys and a double bogey to move her to 13 over for the tournament.
The top six finishers in the Boys Division will earn exemptions into the 2017 Canadian Junior Boys Championship on July 31-Aug. 3 at Cataraqui Golf and Country Club in Kingston, Ont. The top six including ties in the Girls Division will earn exemptions into the 2017 Canadian Junior Girls Championship on Aug. 1-4 at Camelot Golf & Country Club in Cumberland, Ont.
Full results can be found here.
CHURCH POINT, N.S. – Defending champion Calvin Ross shot a 3-under-par 68 and Meghan McLean carded a 3-over-par 74 to lead their respective divisions at the Future Links, driven by Acura Atlantic Championship at Clare Golf and Country Club on Tuesday.
Ross registered four birdies and a single bogey during his opening round. The 18-year-old from Fredericton, N.B., made his first birdie just before he made the turn and started to find his game down the stretch.
“I started getting it going on number nine,” he said, after his opening round. “I took a bogey on 12 but after that my putter was red hot and rolled in a few good putts. It saved me more than a few times and really helped me out near the end.”
Sitting one stroke behind Ross is Sydney Forks, Nova Scotia’s Aubrey Farrell who registered the only other round under par. The 18-year-old attacked the course right off the bat with back-to-back birdies to start the tournament. After a pair of bogeys left him at even par before heading to the back nine, he tightened up his game and made birdies on holes 14 and 16 to hold his spot in second.
Back in third place locked up in a three-way tie are: Jordan Guenette (Minesing, Ont.), Andrew Bruce (Corner Brooke, N.L.) and Jack Anderson (Hallifax, N.S.) who all shot even-par 71’s.
In the girls division, McLean carved herself out a two-shot lead after carding six bogeys and three birdies. The Port Williams, N.S., native was the only player to record more than one birdie in the girls division.
“The course was in really good shape so it definitely made it a lot of fun to play,” she said. “When you were on the fairway you knew you were going to have a good lie, but when you were in the rough anything could have happened. I was having trouble putting at first, it took my awhile to get used to the greens, but I settled down on the back nine and was happy with all the birdie putts I made.”
In second place, two strokes behind McLean, is Kiley Rodrigues from Kingston, Ont.. The 17-year-old got off to a solid start with six straight pars, but stumbled with three consecutive bogeys after that. She later added two more bogeys on the back nine and sits at 5 over for the tournament.
Raesa Sheikh, from Port Williams, N.S., and Laura Jones from Moncton, N.B., are both tied in third at 6 over par after they each shot a 77 for their opening round.
The top six finishers in the Boys Division will earn exemptions into the 2017 Canadian Junior Boys Championship on July 31-Aug. 3 at Cataraqui Golf and Country Club in Kingston, Ont. The top six in the Girls Division will earn exemptions into the 2017 Canadian Junior Girls Championship on Aug. 1-4 at Camelot Golf & Country Club in Cumberland, Ont.
Full results can be found here.
Golf Canada concludes its 2017 Future Links championship season as the Future Links, driven by Acura Atlantic Championship is ready to take place at Clare Golf and Country Club from July 17-20.
With support from the Nova Scotia Golf Association, the Future Links, driven by Acura Atlantic Championship is the final regional junior championship presented in partnership with Acura this season. The 54-hole stroke play tournament will begin with a practice round on July 17 before the tournament gets underway with round one on July 18.
Founded in 1967, Clare Golf and Country Club will be hosting its first ever Future Links Championship. Overlooking St. Mary’s Bay, the course offers a challenging layout for golfers of all abilities and possesses a full variety of holes with distinctive character and beauty.
“Golf Canada and the Nova Scotia Golf Association are excited to present the 2017 Future Links, driven by Acura Atlantic Championship in Church Point,” said David Campbell, Tournament Director. “The beautiful setting here at Clare Golf and Country Club will pose a tough test for Canada’s premier junior golfers and give them an opportunity to showcase their skills against the strongest junior golfers in Atlantic Canada.”
The field will consist of 76 junior golfers in the Junior Boys Division with the top six earning exemptions into the 2017 Canadian Junior Boys Championship on July 31-Aug. 3 at Cataraqui Golf & Country Club in Kingston, Ont. A tie for the sixth position will be decided by a playoff following the conclusion of play.
The Junior Girls Division will consist of 22 golfers with the top six (including ties) earning an exemption into the 2017 Canadian Junior Girls Championship on Aug. 1-4 at Camelot Golf & Country Club in Cumberland, Ont.
