Hataoka, 19, runs away with NW Arkansas title

THE OVERVIEW OAKVILLE, Ontario — Although Glen Abbey Golf Club is hosting this week’s RBC Canadian Open for the 29th time — and for the fourth time in five years – PGA TOUR pros think the venerable Jack Nicklaus design will offer a different challenge this time. “It’s a completely different golf course this year,â€� Canada native Graham DeLaet said. “The rough is thick, it’s not super long, but around the greens there’s kind of dodgy lies here and there.â€� The Greater Toronto Area experienced a drought a year ago, causing Glen Abbey to burn out in some places. That forced the players to adjust for how far their balls were running out on the fairways. This year, the Oakville area has experienced near-record rainfall totals in 2017, forcing the players to make a 180-degree adjustment. A year ago, DeLaet had a 346-yard drive on the par-4 10th in the second round, leaving him less than 100 yards to the pin. He doesn’t anticipate getting that close this week. During practice on Tuesday, he hit driver and then a full wedge with his second shot. Although the course is playing differently this year, fellow Canadian Nick Taylor says it’s in the best shape he’s ever seen it. Jhonattan Vegas, who won here in 2016 on the heels of an 8-under 64 on Sunday, acknowledged that the course is a lot softer than last year but is excited to get going again. He said Glen Abbey is a course where he feels comfortable. He also said golfers will have to adapt to the course conditions this week. “You’re going to have to fly things right next to the hole,â€� Vegas said. “Especially some of these holes around here, where some of those pin positions are so protected from bunkers and water … you’re going to have to hit your irons really well to score. But obviously that opens up a lot of opportunities, as well. So I think you’re going to see low scores again.â€�  THREE PLAYERS TO PONDER THE FLYOVER Last week, Royal Birkdale had two par 5s in its last four holes. This week, Glen Abbey offers two par 5s among its last three holes, including the finishing hole. The 524-yard 18th played to a stroke average of 4.585, just a shade tougher than the 516-yard 16th. Here’s a closer look at the 18th. THE LANDING ZONE The 457-yard par-4 14th was the most difficult hole on the course last year, playing to a stroke average of 4.422. That made it the ninth toughest par 4 on the PGA TOUR last season. Players have to navigate Sixteen Mile Creek that runs alongside the dogleg-right fairway, as well as try to avoid the bunkers on the far side, making it an especially tight landing zone. Check out where all tee shots landed last year. WEATHER CHECK It’s been a very wet year in the Oakville area, part of the Greater Toronto Area. No surprise that rain is in the forecast for at least one day this week. TEMPS: In the high 60s/low 70s, so expect pleasant temperatures this week. Humidity will be highest in the opening round RAIN: Expected to rain on Thursday, but the other three days might be relatively dry. WINDS: Shouldn’t be much of a factor, with the middle two rounds creeping over 10 mph speeds. For the latest weather news from Oakville, Ontario, check out PGATOUR.COM’s Weather Hub. SOUND CHECK If I’m ever going to win one of these, it better be soon, because obviously the times that I’m going to play are running out. But there’s obviously a lot of other great Canadians coming up. ODDS AND ENDS 1. CANADIAN HOPEFULS. There are 17 Canadians in the field this week – Adam Hadwin, Nick Taylor, Graham DeLaet, Mackenzie Hughes, Mike Weir, David Hearn, Daniel Kim, Jared du Toit, Brad Fritsch, Riley Wheeldon, Matt Hill, Bryn Parry, Ryan Williams, Drew Nesbitt, and amateurs Garrett Rank, Hugo Bernard and Austin James. These are the guys who hope to become the first Canadian winner of their national Open since Pat Fletcher in 1954. Hadwin and Hughes have already won on TOUR this season. 2. MACKENZIE TOUR EXEMPTIONS. The top-three players in the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada Order of Merit earned exemptions into this week’s event – Americans Robby Shelton ($55,473), Johnny Ruiz ($54,413) and Kramer Hickock ($47,719). Each has won on the Mackenzie Tour this season. Incidentally, Hickok is a roommate of Open Championship winner Jordan Spieth in Dallas. With Spieth not in the field, Hickok will represent the house. 3. 20-SOMETHINGS ON A ROLL. With Spieth and Grayson Murray (Barbasol Championship) winning last week, that means the last eight tournaments have been won by players in their 20s. That’s the longest streak by the 20-somethings ever on the PGA TOUR. 4. FURYK LOVES CANADA. Jim Furyk has played 31 of his last 34 rounds at the RBC Canadian Open in par or better, including his last 19 rounds. No player has won more money in this event that Furyk at $3,129,703 in 14 appearances. WATCH THE PREVIEW

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NORTON, Mass. – Those giant LED boards are all over the TPC Boston layout, the bright lights projecting everything from hometowns to the length of the putt a player is about to attempt. But Jonas Blixt doesn’t need to watch the FedExCup projections roll across the screen to know what he must do this week at the Dell Technologies Championship. The affable Swede came into the second Playoffs event ranked 84th with only the top 70 moving on to the BMW Championship in two weeks. So Blixt needs to play well to advance – and that’s exactly what he did in Friday’s first round. Blixt’s 3-under 68 left him in a tie for sixth and just two strokes off the lead held by Dustin Johnson. He likely needs to finish 24th or better to get to the BMW Championship for just the second time in his career. He currently projects to 49th. Solo second on Monday would probably get Blixt safely inside the top 30 so he could make his TOUR Championship debut. What about a win on Labor Day? “Then everything takes care of itself,� Blixt said. “But you’ve got to put yourself in that situation first. Coming down the stretch, you’ve got two things to play for. “You got the championship and (the FedExCup rank) and depending on where you are, you’ll play for one of them. The three-time PGA TOUR champ knows better than to get ahead of himself. “My back’s against the wall a little bit and I’m just trying to play good golf,� Blixt said. “I wouldn’t say push it a little bit but play aggressive and we’ll see what happens. “You never know. Golf is such a hard sport to predict.� Blixt, who teamed with Cameron Smith to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans earlier this year, had a solid round on Friday that included two birdies, one bogey and a 36-footer for eagle on the 18th hole. The round of 3 under was his lowest in relation to par since the second round of the Travelers Championship in June. Blixt, who has missed five straight cuts since that tournament in Hartford, brought his coach, Richard Lindberg, to Massachusetts this week. They’ve been working together at TPC Boston since last Saturday – it’s their second session in the last month. “We worked on a couple of things, small things, that could potentially help me a little bit,� Blixt said. “You never know. I had a good day today. It could be a worse day tomorrow. “But I’m swinging it well and a lot more confident today than I have been the last couple of weeks.� BUBBLE WATCH Here are the players who are projected to move inside and outside the top 70 that will advance to the third leg of the FedExCup Playoffs, the BMW Championship. QUOTE OF THE DAY I’m not trying to think about it, but yeah, it is there. It’s always nice to make a hole-in-one. They don’t come very often. TOP 5 WATCH The Top 5 players entering the TOUR Championship will control their own destiny at East Lake. Here’s a look at how the current top 5 fared Friday at the Dell Technologies Championship. 1. Dustin Johnson (66). Last week’s winner maintained his hot hand by grabbing the first-round lead. Projected to first. 2. Jordan Spieth (72). It wasn’t a great putting day, as Spieth missed four putts inside 10 feet. Projected to second. 3. Justin Thomas (71). Just one birdie and one bogey on a day that Thomas said he “fought for every stroke.� Projected to fourth. 4. Hideki Matsuyama (72). Had a double bogey early in his round and an eagle from 6 feet to finish it off. Projected to fifth. 5. Jon Rahm (67). Finished with a flourish – four birdies in his last five holes to move within one shot of Johnson. Projected to third. FEDEXCUP NOTES Ryan Moore and Kelly Kraft withdrew on Friday; Moore after his round and Kraft on his back nine after suffering a foot injury. Moore started the tournament ranked 61st and Kraft was 64th, so both are in jeopardy of falling outside the top 70. The projected total needed to make the BMW Championship is 723 points, and both players are below that number. But they will have to wait until the completion of play Monday for their fates to become official. For now, Moore is projected to stay inside the top 70 while Kraft is projected out. … Adam Scott fell outside the top 70 after not playing last week following the birth of his second child. His even-par 71 projects him back inside the top 70 after the first round. … This week’s bubble boy, Grayson Murray, started strong with a 3-under 68. But he’s downplaying the pressure of maintaining his position. “If my season ends right now, I’ve had a great year,� said Murray, who won the Barbasol Championship earlier this season. “I don’t put any pressure on me. But obviously the goal is to get to East Lake.� Murray currently projects to 44th.

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NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Unrelenting rain and a saturated Aronimink course has pushed back the final round of the BMW Championship to Monday. With the final 30 spots in the FedExCup Playoffs on the line, officials remain intent on completing 72 holes, even if it requires a Tuesday finish. But the possibility also exists that the tournament might be over, with 54-hole leader Justin Rose declared the winner and the current top 30 in projected points moving on to the TOUR Championship. Depending on how quickly the course can dry up, a window of weather opportunity exists Monday between approximately 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET. Even if the final round isn’t completed Monday, PGA TOUR regulations state that the tournament will extend to Tuesday if at least half the field can finish their rounds on Monday. “If we get in tomorrow and we get half the round completed, yes, we would be into Tuesday,â€� confirmed Slugger White, the PGA TOUR Vice President of Rules and Competitions. “If we don’t — it’s really too early to talk about that.â€� White did say the final round would not start on Monday if tournament officials don’t think half the field can finish. If that happens, then the tournament would revert to the 54-hole leaderboard for the final results. Play on Sunday had been scheduled to start at 7 a.m. ET but by the time White arrived at 4:45 a.m., a half-inch of rain already had fallen. Tee times were delayed several times in hopes of starting play. But light morning rains turned heavier in the afternoon, never allowing any opportunity to begin the round.  PGA TOUR meteorologist Joe Halvorson said the total rainfall by 2 p.m. ET when the final announcement was made was one inch. More rain was expected the rest of the day, preventing the course from drying out. “Overnight, for the rest of the day, we’ll still have rains from the system as the warm front is moving north of us,” Halvorson said. “Totals, I’m thinking from this point on we’ve got a half-inch to three-quarters of an inch overnight, but what I’m seeing, as this front lifts north of us during the morning hours tomorrow, I think the showers could become a bit more scattered.” More than 3 inches of rain has hit the area this week due to remnants of Tropical Storm Gordon “Obviously we’ve got kind of a mess out there,â€� White said during a mid-day press conference. “As of right now, the golf course is unplayable. … It’s pretty bad.â€� White said the greens and bunkers were fine, but that some teeing grounds and fairways were marginal. “The front nine holes are relatively good,â€� he added. “The back nine is our biggest concern.â€� Even if play is possible on Monday, it will likely end in the early afternoon when thunderstorms are expected to hit the area. “There is some potential that that thunderstorm threat could potentially hold off a little bit later and clouds in the area and may take a little bit longer to stabilize,” Halvorson said. “I wouldn’t think 2:00 as our end-all time; there’s some potential for that window to be extended a little bit later until the storms develop.” The sense of urgency to play all 72 holes is increased in FedExCup Playoffs events, since the progressive cut after each tournament determines the field for the next event. This week at the BMW Championship, a field of 69 players began the week, with just the top 30 in points moving on to the TOUR Championship and a chance to win the FedExCup. “You’ll see guys that are 30, 31, 32 on that list for two weeks from now that they all want to play in, and we want them to play,” White said. Making the East Lake field also comes with other perks, such as invitations to big events that allow a player to organize his playing schedule. Those benefits were not lost on Keegan Bradley when he rolled in a 7-foot putt to save par to end his third round Saturday. That kept him projected to 30th in the FedExCup standings after starting the week ranked 52nd. Making the TOUR Championship “is everything to me,â€� said Bradley, who would be guaranteed the final spot if the final round cannot be played. If that happens, then 2015 FedExCup champ Jordan Spieth would finish 31st in the points and miss the TOUR Championship for the first time in his TOUR career. He’s obviously hoping the final round can be played so he can jump back inside the top 30 after starting the week ranked 27th. “I’m dying to get there,â€� Spieth said. If the 54-hole leaderboard holds, then Rose would win for the third time this season and take over the No. 2 spot in the FedExCup standings behind Bryson DeChambeau, who won the first two Playoffs events. Rose would also move to world No. 1 for the first time in his career. “I’ll take the two-day washout, of course,â€� Rose said.

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