Meronk cards six birdies to lead Alfred Dunhill

Europe takes early 1-point lead at Solheim Cup

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TORONTO, Ont. – Bobby Jones said that a great career was not complete without winning The Open at St. Andrews. Jones did it in 1927. Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods and so many of the game’s greats have followed in his footsteps. Another player will have an opportunity this year as The 150th Open returns to St. Andrews after a one-year delay because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Record crowds will be on-site to witness history, and players can earn the opportunity to compete in this important championship in several upcoming PGA TOUR events. The Open Qualifying Series, which offers Open berths to top finishers in various events around the world, includes several upcoming PGA TOUR events, starting with this week’s RBC Canadian Open. Two Open spots are available this week to the two highest finishers who are not yet exempt to St. Andrews, as long as they also finish in the top eight on the leaderboard. The John Deere Classic, Barbasol Championship and Genesis Scottish Open also are part of the Open Qualifying Series. Three spots apiece will be available at both the Deere and Scottish Open, while the Barbasol will offer the final spot in The Open. Several big names are still vying for their spot in The Open, including former world No. 1 Jason Day, who finished a shot out of a playoff in the 2015 Open at St. Andrews, 2017 Open runner-up Matt Kuchar, Matthew Wolff, Maverick McNealy and Davis Riley. Among the players in the field this week who are looking to lock up a spot at St. Andrews are Jason Dufner, Sebastian Munoz, Cameron Champ and Luke List, winner of this season’s Farmers Insurance Open. Seventeen players who are teeing it up this week have already booked their spot to St Andrews. That group includes defending champion Rory McIlroy, winner of the 2014 Open Championship, and Justin Thomas, winner of this year’s PGA Championship. The top two players in the FedExCup, Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns, also have Open spots locked up, as do Canadians Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes. Adam Hadwin, who earned a berth in the 2019 Open via his finish at that year’s RBC Canadian Open, is again looking to punch his ticket to The Open. Past Canadian Open champions still seeking their spot at St. Andrews include Jhonattan Vegas, Brandt Snedeker, Scott Piercy, and Sean O’Hair. Harry Higgs, Carlos Ortiz, J.J. Spaun, Sahith Theegala and Keith Mitchell are among the other names seeking Open spots this week. Graeme McDowell and Adam Hadwin earned berths via their position on the leaderboard at the Canadian Open in 2019. “It’s always nice to have a chance to get into The Open Championship field,” says Hadwin, who is one of 20 Canadians in the field at St. George’s Golf and Country Club. Hadwin, who finished T57 at The Open that year, says earning a spot in the major is something that became a surprising reward as he was coming down the stretch that Sunday in Hamilton three years ago. There were two other Canadians – Mackenzie Hughes and Ben Silverman – who were in the mix to earn a spot in The Open, but also win the golf tournament. Thirteen golfers have won both the Canadian Open and Open Championship, McIlroy being the most recent addition to that list after his 2019 victory in Hamilton. Lee Trevino and Tiger Woods are the only golfers to have won the Canadian Open, The Open, and the U.S. Open in the same season – golf’s coveted Triple Crown. That feat is another on the table for 2022 with the U.S. Open and, of course, The Open Championship, yet to be contested. There are six more events to come as part of the Open Qualifying Series. Chris Kirk and Talor Gooch earned their spot at St. Andrews earlier this year at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, which also was part of the Open Qualifying Series.

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Hideki Matsuyama shot 63 on Thursday to tie the course record at TPC Sawgrass. He finished his round by making a 25-foot eagle putt on the ninth green of THE PLAYERS Stadium Course. He is the ninth player to shoot 63 at TPC Sawgrass, and the fifth to do so in the first round. RELATED: Leaderboard | Featured Groups, tee times Three of the previous four players to shoot a first-round 63 went on to win THE PLAYERS: Greg Norman (1994), Martin Kaymer (2014) and Jason Day (2016). Matsuyama got out of the gates quickly despite a poor warmup. “I didn’t have the greatest warm-up this morning, but once play started I got into it, I got into a good groove,â€� he said.  Matsuyama, who teed off on No. 10, started his round with four consecutive birdies before hitting his second shot into the water and making bogey on the par-5 16th hole. He made birdie on the par-5 second hole, then birdies Nos. 5-7 before making eagle on his final hole. He gained more than four strokes on the greens Thursday, making every putt he faced from inside 15 feet. “I’ve been working hard and have a lot of confidence now in my swing,â€� Matsuyama said. “Today I made some putts and that seems to be the difference of late. That was really the catapult to me to have a good round today.â€� Matsuyama has not won since 2017 but is 10th in the FedExCup thanks to four top-10s this season, including two top-3 finishes in Asia.

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