Future is bright for Houston Open with Memorial Park move

It’s one of the most interesting days in golf. Each June, hundreds of players compete for spots in the U.S. Open. The participants range from PGA TOUR winners to club champions. They all start on equal footing. Only their score, not their resume or name recognition, will determine if they get a tee time at Pebble Beach. Nearly half of the U.S. Open field will be filled by qualifiers, giving the Cinderella stories plenty of opportunities to compete in the year’s third major championship. Qualifying started in May, but the bulk of the qualifiers will be held on June 3. Check back here for results from all 11 sites (Note: x-won playoff; (a) – amateur). JUNE 3 England: Walton Heath Canada: RattleSnake Point Florida: Streamsong (Black) Georgia: Hawks Ridge Maryland: Woodmont New York: Century/Old Oaks Ohio: Brookside/Scioto Ohio: Springfield Washington: Wine Valley MAY 27 Kuwana Country Club Kuwana, Japan Kodai Ichihara, a two-time winner on the Japan Tour last year, took medalist honors after making 16 birdies in 36 holes. Ichihara, 37, finished fourth on the Japan Tour money list last season after winning twice. His biggest victory came at the Dunlop Phoenix, where he beat a field that included Brooks Koepka and Hideki Matsuyama. Shugo Imahira, who won last year’s Japan Tour money list, took the second spot. Mikumu Horikawa, who finished second to Ichihara at last year’s Dunlop Phoenix, took the final spot in a playoff over Chan Kim. Qualifiers 1. Kodai Ichihara, 65-66 2. Shugo Imahira, 65-67 T3. x-Mikumu Horikawa, 67-66 1st alt. Chan Kim, 65-68 2nd alt. Hiroyuki Fujita, 67-69 MAY 20 Bent Tree CC/Northwood Club Dallas, Texas Two PGA TOUR winners shared medalist honors, while a former major champion also was among the qualifiers. Brendon Todd and Nick Taylor both won in 2014. Todd’s win came at the AT&T Byron Nelson, while Taylor won the Sanderson Farms Championship. Todd was in second place halfway through the 2014 U.S. Open, but shot 79-69 on the weekend to finish T17. He made his only other U.S. Open start the following year. He has made six starts this year as he tries to fight his way out of a slump. He has two top-25s this season, his first since 2015. He’s 189th in this season’s FedExCup. This will be Taylor’s first U.S. Open start as a pro. He played twice as an amateur, in 2008 (MC) and 2009 (T36). He shot a second-round 65 at Bethpage Black to set the record for lowest U.S. Open round as an amateur. Taylor is 111th in this season’s FedExCup. Last year, he shot a 63 in the final round before the FedExCup Playoffs to crack the top 125 in the FedExCup and keep his card. Mike Weir will play his first U.S. Open since 2013 after shooting 69-67 in the qualifier. The 2003 Masters champion made the cut in the two previous U.S. Opens at Pebble Beach. Scottie Scheffler, who is second on the Web.com Tour points list, also qualified. Scheffler, 22, has a win and two runners-up this season. He was the low amateur in the 2017 U.S. Open. Qualifiers T1. Brendon Todd, 65-66 T1. Nick Taylor, 66-65 3. Carlos Ortiz, 66-67 4. Julian Etulain, 71-64 T5. Scottie Scheffler, 68-68 T5. Mike Weir, 69-67 T5. Brian Davis, 69-67 T5. Matt Jones, 66-70 T9. x-Charlie Danielson, 67-70 T9. x-Austin Eckroat (a), 65-72 1st alt. Cody Gribble, 68-69 2nd alt. Jared Wolfe, 67-71 Notables MC. Brian Harman, 68-70 MC. Mackenzie Hughes, 70-68 MC. Shane Bacon, 73-77

Click here to read the full article…

How Payne brought Augusta National out of the past

Click here to read the full article…

ANCASTER, Ontario — Keegan Bradley had a 7-under 63 for a one-shot lead after the first round of the RBC Canadian Open on Thursday. “Today I was in complete control of my ball,” Bradley said. “Then when you couple that with feeling good on the greens, that’s when a 63 or a good, nice round happens.” Bradley was convinced that his clubhouse lead would not withstand the afternoon groups, but it did. Roberto Castro was the only player that teed off in the second wave to reach second, tying Nick Taylor, Shane Lowry, Sungjae Im and Erik van Rooyen. Taylor of Abbotsford, British Columbia, led the Canadian contingent, shooting a 6-under 64. Taylor, who started on hole No. 10, made four birdies in a row to open his back nine at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club. Mackenzie Hughes was one of five Canadians within three shots of Bradley. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford had a 5-under 65, while David Hearn of nearby Brantford, Ontario, and Drew Nesbitt of Shanty Bay, Ontario, both tied Hughes. As soon as Hughes’ partners were done teeing off at No. 13, he bent down, opened up a small bag and pulled out a jersey. It took a moment for fans to realize what he was doing, but as Hughes straightened out the familiar black and red of a Kawhi Leonard Toronto Raptors jersey, the cheers rose to a crescendo, with spectators pounding on the boards that surround the hockey-themed hole at the RBC Canadian Open known as The Rink. Like many Raptors fans, Hughes hopes that Toronto wins the NBA Finals against the Golden State Warriors and can re-sign Leonard, who will become a free agent this summer. “I don’t think my wearing the jersey influenced him at all, but I hope that he stays,” Hughes said. “I try to have some fun with that hole. Life’s short so, whatever, I’m just going to have some fun,” said Hughes, who donned a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey at last year’s version of the Rink at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ontario. “The crowd enjoys that stuff so it’s fun for me to do. “I love all these Toronto sports teams whether it’s Leafs, Raptors, Blue Jays. That was just a fun way to show my Toronto pride and Canada pride.” Hughes, from nearby Dundas, Ontario, walked up the fairway in the jersey to chants of “Let’s go Raptors” and went on to shoot a 4-under 66 to finish the first round in a tie for 15th. He would have been in an even better position if he hadn’t double-bogeyed the 18th hole, his only score worse than par. “Just spoiled it at the end there, but I was 6 under through 17 and it was pretty stress free for the most part,” Hughes said. “All in all it’s a great day score-wise, just not the way I wanted to finish.” There are 26 Canadians in the field at the national championship, and they’re all hoping to end a 65-year spell of futility. The previous Canadian to win the event was Pat Fletcher in 1954 at Vancouver’s Point Grey Golf and Country Club. “We all obviously want to be the first one to win this, but we all want each other to do well,” said Hadwin, who briefly delayed his post-round news conference so that Hughes could concentrate on teeing off nearby. “Any Canadian winner is good.”

Click here to read the full article…