Feng takes 1-shot lead at U.S. Women’s Open

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OAKVILLE, Ontario – Golf Canada CEO Laurence Applebaum said the 2018 RBC Canadian Open would return to Glen Abbey Golf Club at a news conference Saturday morning. “Together with our partners at RBC, we are excited to announce the RBC Canadian Open will be contested at Glen Abbey Golf Club again in 2018,â€� Applebaum said. The course first hosted the Canadian Open in 1977. Canada’s national open will return to the Jack Nicklaus-designed course for the 30th time next year. “I’m very proud of Glen Abbey,â€� Nicklaus said on Tuesday. “I think it’s contributed a lot to the game of golf in Canada.â€� Although developers are poised to convert Glen Abbey into real estate, that process is unlikely to begin for another five years or so as the Town of Oakville – about 35 minutes from downtown Toronto – continues with legal deliberations. 2018 will mark the fifth time in six years that Glen Abbey will play host to the Canadian Open – Royal Montreal Golf Course hosted the 2014 event, won by Tim Clark – while from 2010-2012 the Canadian Open visited three different courses: St. George’s Golf and Country Club (2010), Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club (2011), and Hamilton Golf and Country Club (2012). One of the hot topics of late is whether a national open should move around the country, not unlike the U.S. Open, with a rotation of courses all playing host. But Glen Abbey remains the only course in Canada that was built with the main objective of hosting the Canadian Open. “Glen Abbey has proven to be one of the world’s premier stadium courses for spectators and fan engagement,â€� explained Applebaum, who continued to say Golf Canada would be looking at a permanent site in the Greater Toronto Area to not only host future RBC Canadian Opens, but also Golf Canada’s offices and the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. Nicklaus also believes the event should have a permanent home. “I think if you look at Augusta (National) and what’s happened at Augusta (National) and have one location that’s helped grow it. I think the other tournaments struggle a little bit from time to time moving from site to site,â€� he said. “I can understand it’s your national championship and wanting to move from site to site, but if you really want to grow something into something significant, I think probably the best you can do is be at one place.“

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KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Buckle up. This could be a wild ride. The PGA Championship returns to Kiawah Island this week but there’s one big difference from 2012. Nine years ago, this event was held in August. That means a much different challenge awaits this year’s field. RELATED: Nine things to know about Kiawah Island | Morikawa’s shot ‘heard round the world’ | Spieth eyes career Grand Slam When Rory McIlroy destroyed the field with his eight-shot win in 2012 he was aided by summer storms that softened up the Ocean Course significantly over the weekend. There was also a searing swampy heat well into the 90s that felt like triple digits. And the winds never blew at full strength. Weather forecasts are fickle, of course, but on the eve of this PGA Championship there is a 0% percent chance of rain, the temperatures are expected to be in the high 70s most of the week and the wind is due to sit around 15 mph with gusts towards the mid 20s. The wind will start the tournament out of the east and move to the northeast before flipping for the final round. The Ocean Course is laid out in two nine-hole loops like a figure-eight. The first four holes head east before turning back toward the clubhouse. On the back nine, Nos. 10-13 continue west before turning back toward the clubhouse for the final five holes. The par-3 fifth is the only hole that moves south. The forecast for the first three days predicts players will have a tough start and finish to their rounds. Nos. 1-4 and 14-18 play predominantly into the wind. The eight holes in the middle will be downwind. But that will flip around come Sunday. At 7,867 yards, the course is the longest in major history but it won’t play to that yardage. Each hole’s yardage can change dramatically from day to day. Because of the high winds and their changing direction, Pete Dye built a variety of tees on each hole. “It’ll totally depend on Mother Nature. We’ll make that decision each morning as we set it up. Hopefully, it’ll be fun and fair,” setup guru Kerry Haigh said. Current PLAYERS champion and 2017 PGA Championship winner Justin Thomas says there’s no chance they can see the yardage top out with the wind forecast. “I noticed it last week when someone sent me a scorecard and I saw that the back nine was 4,000 yards, and I think I actually laughed out loud when I saw it because I was looking at the numbers,” Thomas said. Because there is no prevailing wind at Kiawah Island, a downwind hole can play into the wind the next day. During a practice round, Thomas hit 8-iron for his second shot on the 590-yard, par-5 seventh hole when it played downwind. “The 590 yards can play 500 or 490 yards when you get that much wind,” Thomas said. “They can’t play 14, that par-3, from the back (tees) if you have this wind. … Guys are going to be literally hitting driver on that hole. Unless the PGA wants seven-hour rounds, I wouldn’t advise it.” Jon Rahm played a practice round with two-time major winner Zach Johnson and said the American pulled headcover for almost every approach shot that played into the wind. Rahm called Kiawah’s breezes a “heavy wind,” one that plays more severe than the speed might suggest. The par-3 17th, at 223 yards, is another brute if the wind is up. Cameron Champ, a known long-ball hitter, tried unsuccessfully to get his 4-iron and 3-hybrid to the green in Tuesday practice, instead ending up in water. He will look to add a 2-iron to his bag now. Dye’s design is, as usual, one that gives the player who figures out the optimum strategy, and is able to execute that strategy, the advantage. While length is always an advantage, much like Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, it isn’t the overriding factor. You have to miss in the right spots or face terror. “There’s plenty of room, it’s very fair, but the consequence of a miss is huge around here, especially when you get into these outer sandy areas where the lies are very unpredictable,” Adam Scott says. “Just getting it back in play, … sometimes you can’t even manage to do that. If the wind blows this way for the rest of the week, it’s going to be a battle to just get in the clubhouse.” The new date also will impact the paspalum grass and what players do face when they miss greens. Because of the wind, Dye built large greens at Kiawah Island but the field hit just 56% of them in 2012. They were the fifth-hardest greens to hit that season. “It’s not going to be as easy around the greens,” McIlroy said. “Last time in August it was hot, humid, the paspalum was … really strong and dense and lush. The ball would just sit right up on top and it was so easy to just get your lob wedge out, clip it, spin it. “This year they’re a little more bare, a touch links-y in places, especially with the wind and the dry weather. I don’t think it’s going to be quite as simple as it was around the greens like last time. That’s what I did so well. I chipped and putted so well that week. That’s what won me the tournament. I scrambled well, and if the wind keeps up like this again this week, that’s what you’re going to have do well.” Being beachside also means plenty of sand. The PGA of America had decided that all of those sandy areas at the Ocean Course are not being treated as bunkers. They are waste areas, instead, so players can take practice swings and ground their club. A day at the beach is normally a reason to smile. That may not be the case at Kiawah Island.

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