SILVIS, Ill. — David Hearn and Mackenzie Hughes were the top Canadians, finishing T16 at the John Deere Classic on Sunday.

Brampton’s Hearn was one to watch this weekend. The 39-year-old recorded third place and second place performances during the first two rounds but finished tied for sixteenth alongside Hughes after a fourth round 1 under.

Hughes moved up 18 spots to end tied with Hearn and five other players after firing 6 under to finish at 14-under-par 270.

Michael Kim didn’t just win his first PGA Tour event on Sunday. He dominated in a fashion never seen at TPC Deere Run.

Kim’s prizes? A little over a million bucks, a two-year exemption on tour and a trip to the British Open.

Kim shot a final-round 66 on Sunday to win the John Deere Classic by a record-setting eight strokes. Kim, who turned 25 on Saturday, finished at 27-under 257 to break Steve Stricker’s tournament record from 2010 by one shot.

Kim also qualified for next week’s Open at Carnoustie _ an unexpected bonus for a player who had missed five of his last six cuts before his breakthrough in the Quad Cities.

Kim also made 30 birdies for the week, a season high on tour in 2018.

“To be able to finish out in style like this, it means a lot,” said Kim, who nearly quadrupled his season earnings with a winner’s share of $1.044 million. “To be sitting here with a trophy, I’m at a loss for words.”

Bronson Burgoon, Francesco Molinari, Joel Dahmen and Sam Ryder all finished at 19 under.

Kim took all the drama out of the final round with birdies on his first three holes and secured the largest margin of victory during the tournament’s stay at the course, which began in 2000. J.P. Hayes (2002) and Vijay Singh (2003) won the event by four strokes.

Kim, who had previously had just one top-10 finish in 84 career starts _ a third at the Safeway Open two years ago _ entered play with a five-shot lead. It was the biggest edge for a third-round leader at the John Deere Classic since Stricker’s six-stroke advantage eight years ago.

Kim, a former star at Cal who had struggled to find his footing as a pro, made it obvious from his first swing that he wasn’t about to let anyone catch him.

Kim knocked in a 13-foot birdie putt on the opening hole, and then holed two more from 15 and 24 feet to give him seven straight birdies dating back to the end of Saturday’s round _ and a seven-shot lead.

The field might have felt a glimmer of hope when Kim dumped his tee shot into the greenside bunker on the par-3 seventh hole.

But Kim got his bunker shot to within 7 feet and made the downhill par putt, and he walked to the next tee with an eight-shot edge.

“Even the last couple of weeks, I felt like my game was getting there,” Kim said. “I just felt like I needed just a couple of good starts to the rounds.”

Kim surpassed Stricker’s mark with a 21-foot putt on No. 16. The understated Kim finally let loose, holding his hand to his ear in a nod to a cheering gallery.

Kim’s day ended on No. 18 in emotional fashion when he saw his brother, father and mother _ all of whom had made a surprise trip in hopes of seeing him get his first win _ on a video screen.

“I teared up a little bit on the green,” Kim said. “To see my parents here … it made me even more nervous.”

SYLVANIA, Ohio — Canadian Brooke Henderson narrowly missed her seventh LPGA Tour victory Sunday, finishing third at the Marathon Classic.

The 20-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., had a one-shot lead heading into the final round and cruised through the first 14 holes of the day before running into trouble with bogeyes on Nos. 15 and 16.

Thidapa Suwannapura of Thailand beat American Brittany Lincicome in a playoff to win the tournament after both finished 72 holes tied at 14-under 270.

Henderson had four birdies, including three on the first six holes, finishing the round 2-under 69 for a 13 under total.

Henderson has six LPGA Tour wins, two shy of Sandra Post’s record for most by a Canadian woman.

Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., finished in a tie for 32nd place at 6 under. Hamilton’s Alena Sharp was 3 under for a share of 49th.

Wasn’t the finish she expected but @BrookeHenderson did amazing this weekend, finishing in third @MarathonLPGA and climbing to fourth in the Race to CME Globe!
Leave your supportive comments for her ⬇️❤️pic.twitter.com/octO3CRvxs

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) July 16, 2018

The best amateur golfers from Saskatchewan and beyond will converge on Dakota Dunes Golf Links next week and compete for the provincial men’s amateur and mid-amateur championships.

The 107^th edition of the Saskatchewan Men’s Amateur Championship and 32^nd Mid-Amateur Championship will take place July 17 – 19 at the Dunes. Previous champion and Saskatchewan Golf Hall of Fame member Colin Coben will be in the field of over 120 golfers. The Delisle product said the amateur event is a highlight on his summer schedule.

“It’s a blast, I get excited about it. That’s great for golf when you are 63-years-old, and you still get excited about the game,” Coben said.

The field will feature many of the Order of Merit Tour leaders including two-time winners this season David Stewart and Roman Timmerman. Carson Harcourt won the Publinx championship this season, the Kipling product sits behind Stewart and Timmerman in the overall standings. Coben said he watched Timmerman win the Lobstick Open in Waskesiu earlier this year and was impressed with the 19-year-old’s game.

“It’s amazing what those young guys can do,” Coben said. “That’s youth for you, the game has developed so much. Fitness is part of it, equipment is part of it, golf courses are almost obsolete for these guys.”

Coben has been a part of four Saskatchewan amateur teams and another 13 mid-amateur teams in his career. He also has a handful of senior championships in the province. He will compete in both the amateur and mid-amateur field. Players will tee off from the same box, participants over 25 years of age can enter both competitions. Saskatchewan golf pundits predict Coben to be among the leaders after the 54-hole event even at the age of 63. He said a high finish or championship is the goal but overall the event is about the comradery.

“I am going to enjoy it and hopefully I can play decent. When you do play well the young guys look over, that old bugger played good today, he shot 72 or whatever,” he laughed.

“These kids can shoot lights out when they get the ball in the hole, there’s a knack to that,” Coben said.

Phil and the breach of Rule 13-2 

Prior to teeing off Sunday at the Military Tribute at Greenbrier Country Club Phil Mickelson walked to the front of the teeing ground and moved some grass with a kicking motion. He then went back to tee off and started a conversation with his fellow competitor and caddie. “I’m not sure if that was legal,” explained Mickelson. He then teed off.

Walking up the fairway, he asked a referee and a short time later, it was confirmed, Phil had incurred a two-stroke penalty for breach of Rule 13-2. As this breach occurred on the teeing ground, all he had to do was move a few feet away and tee off from the new position and he wouldn’t have incurred a penalty, because it would not have been on his line of play.

To watch the video, click here.

Although the rules may seem complex, this one makes sense. Remember, the rules matter!

13-2/14 – Breaking Branch Interfering with Backswing on Teeing Ground

 QUESTION: On the teeing ground, a player broke off a branch of a tree which was interfering with his swing. The player maintained that such action was not a breach of Rule 13-2 because his ball was not yet in play. Was the player correct?

ANSWER: No. The player was in breach of Rule 13-2 for improving the area of his intended swing. Although Rule 13-2 allows a player to eliminate irregularities of surface on the teeing ground, it does not allow him to break a branch interfering with his swing. The penalty would apply even if the player, before playing his next stroke, re-teed elsewhere on the teeing ground – see Decision 13-2/24.  In the Phil situation on the teeing ground, as he did not break off any grass, if he simply moved over a couple of feet in either direction (abandoned his teeing area) for the shot he would have been ok to proceed without penalty.

Josh Nagy has been to the National Junior Men’s Golf Championship before but now he’s attending as a provincial champion.

The 16-year-old Saskatoon product outlasted 53 other under-19 golfers over 54-holes to claim the 92^nd Saskatchewan Junior Men’s Championship Wednesday at the Moon Lake Golf and Country Club. The Saskatoon Riverside Country Club member said he’s had good luck at the host course winning back-to-back events.

“It feels great, I won here a couple weeks ago on the Maple Leaf Junior Tour (MJT) and I really wanted to get this,” Nagy told reporters after the win.

Nagy had to come from behind for the victory. He trailed Saskatoon’s Connor Scissons by five strokes after round one. Nagy improved on his first round 76 by carding 68 during round two which vaulted him into the lead. Weather conditions heavily deteriorated during the final round leading to shifting of the leaderboard behind Nagy but his 79 held up enough for the win. He said playing well over all three days was key.

“I was pretty consistent, I kept the ball in play most of the time. I had one bad hole today, but the week was good,” he said.

Nagy will lead Team Saskatchewan into the National Junior Championship later this month in Medicine Hat, Alta. Nagy qualified for the event last year through the MJT. He said attending the tournament as a provincial champion has a special feel.

“To be on Team Saskatchewan is a big honour, it feels awesome,” he said.

Saskatoon’s Bradley Moser, also a Riverside member finished in second place, just a shot back of Nagy, Deer Valley golfer Cole Obrigewitsch finished in third place.

The tournament format does feature divisions broken down by age, you can see the complete results here.

The Junior Women’s Championship wasn’t as close as the men’s side, Shell Lake teenager Brooklin Fry tore past the field Wednesday running away with an 11-stroke victory over Ella Kozak.

Fry had a one-shot lead over Carey Mclean after round one, Mclean jumped over Fry during the middle round, but Fry wouldn’t be denied in the third round. The 13-year-old shot her third straight round of 83 to secure the provincial title with a total of 249. Fry said she couldn’t take a shot off throughout the tournament.

“I just had to make sure I was playing my best because we don’t play with everybody, so you don’t know what they shoot. I just tried my best to get to the top,” she said.

Saskatoon’s Sarah Grieve placed third after beating Mclean in a one-hole playoff, both finished with scores of 261.

Fry will also lead Team Saskatchewan into the National Championships; the women’s event is slated for July 31 to Aug. 3 in British Columbia. She said her expectation was to be on the team at the start of the season.

“I kind of thought I had a shot, I was thinking about it,” she said.

Full results for the women’s championship can be found here.

Carey Mclean was a stroke off the pace at the Saskatchewan Junior Women’s Championship on Monday, the Deer Valley golfer has swapped positions and leads the pack into Wednesday’s final round.

Mclean, 16, shot 84 during the opening round of the tournament at the Moon Lake Golf and Country Club, one more than Brooklin Fry of Shell Lake. On Tuesday during the second round, Mclean improved with an 81, Fry, 13, carded an 83 for the second straight day. Mclean’s card was tidy, four bogeys scatted the front nine, another four bogeys littered the back. She managed a birdie washing out a lone double-bogey on hole 11. Squeezed in the middle of the two is 12-year-old Ella Kozak, the Yorkton product posted the day’s low round at 78, ten strokes better than her opening round of 88.

Sarah Grieve of Saskatoon sits at 171 (87, 84) for the tournament, six strokes back of Mclean and four behind both Kozak and Fry.

Lauren Fox rounds out the top-five at plus-28, with back-to-back rounds of 86.

The complete championship results can be seen here.

The championship’s final round will begin at 7:30 a.m.

Saskatoon’s Josh Nagy started red-hot during round two of the Saskatchewan Junior Men’s Championship and never looked back taking over the top of the leaderboard through 36-holes at the Moon Lake Golf and Country Club.

Nagy, 16, improved heavily on his opening round of 76 with a stellar 68 during the second of three rounds in the championship. He birdied his first three holes and another trio of holes on the back nine before finishing with a double-bogey on hole 18. Nagy posted the lowest round of the day, Bradley Moser, also of Saskatoon carded the only other under-par round at 71. Moser jumps into second place, three strokes back of Nagy heading into Wednesday’s final round.

Edmonton’s Braden O’Grady, 14, used a hole-in-one on the 17^th hole (Moors #8) to his advantage shooting an even 72 to climb into a tie for third with round one leader Connor Scissons. Scissons followed his opening round of 71 with a six-over, 77.

Battleford’s Colby Friedrich rounds out the top five, the 16-year-old posted a one-over, 73, he sits five strokes back of Nagy.

Complete results can be seen here.

The championship round will get underway at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The Saskatchewan Golf Hall of Fame has announced their induction class for 2018.

Later this year, Regina professional Dean Brown, blind golf phenom Otto Huber, Royal Regina Golf Club member Kirk McGregor, and the 1985 Saskatchewan senior women’s team will be enshrined at a gala event. The group of four women including Barbara (Turnbull) Danaher, Pat Lawson, Joanne Goulet, and Vivian Holizki were the first national champion senior women’s team from the province.

The induction ceremony will take place at the Royal Regina on Sept. 22. Tickets will be available through the Golf Saskatchewan website beginning Aug. 1.

Golf Saskatchewan will have full features on all the inductees throughout the season leading up to the marquee event.

The Hall of Fame currently has 46 inductees and a pair of teams from 1964. The first ceremony was in 2010.

Saskatoon’s Connor Scissons carved his way to the top of the leaderboard Monday during the first round of the Saskatchewan Junior Men’s Championship at the Moon Lake Golf and Country Club.

Scissons is the only player in the 54-golfer field to shoot under par during the first of three 18-hole rounds. He fired a pair of bogeys on the front nine along with one birdie to sit at one-over at the turn. Scissons ran into trouble on hole 11 carding a triple-bogey on the par five before rattling off five straight birdies to end the round at one-under par.

Adam Husli of Regina is two strokes back at 73; Kindersley’s Connor Tate sits in third position at plus-3, with a 75. Five golfers are logjammed in fourth place tied at 76.

Complete results can be seen here.

The second round begins at 8 a.m. Tuesday at Moon Lake.

Shell Lake’s Brooklin Fry seared her way through round one of the 68^th Saskatchewan Junior Women’s Championship Monday posting an 83, one stroke better than Deer Valley’s Carey McLean.

Fry double-bogeyed hole three at the Moon Lake Golf and Country Club but still carded a six-over par 42 on the front nine. She was sitting at just one-over par on the back nine heading into hole 18 but got into trouble, eventually hitting 9 to finish the day at plus-11.

McLean shot an 84, Alexandra Schmidt sits in third place after shooting 85 on her 18^th birthday.

Lauren Fox is in fourth place at 14-over par; Sarah Grieve carded an 87; Ray-Lyn Schmidt is tied for fifth with Grieve at 87. Ella Kozak sits in seventh place at plus-16; Veronika Duchscherer shot 94; Autumn Neiszner sits in ninth at plus-28.

Tenesha Pompu withdrew during the opening round.

The junior women tee off for the second round of the 54-hole championship at 11 a.m. Tuesday.

Detailed results can be found here.