CALGARY, Alta.— Ryan Williams of Surrey, B.C.,, Jared du Toit of Kimberley, B.C., and Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., are all within striking distance after the first round of the ATB Financial Classic on Thursday.

Williams is currently the top Canadian at the tournament, tied for fifth and sitting only two strokes behind the three leaders. The 37-year-old made only a single bogey on his way to a 65, leading Taylor Pendrith and Jared du Toit by one in chase of the Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Week award – though none of the players would complain if the award was accompanied by a tournament victory.

A partial home game for Jared du Toit, who spent his later teen years in Calgary, shot his best number since the Staal Foundation Open, making seven birdies to card a 66.  Du Toit sits comfortably in a tie for 12^th  alongside fellow Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Taylor Pendrith, sitting three shots behind the lead heading into the third round.

If somebody called for a heat check on Thursday at Country Hills Golf Club, it was probably for Tyler McCumber, who finished the first round of the ATB Financial Classic tied for the lead after a course-record matching 63.

Though it’s doubtful that the feeling gets old, the number marked McCumber’s sixth round played in 65 strokes or better in his last nine Mackenzie Tour rounds.

Coming off back-to-back victories at the Osprey Valley Open and Syncrude Oil Country Championship presented by AECON, it would be difficult to find a course better suited for the Ponte Vedra, FL native to contend for the natural hat-trick. The past two seasons, McCumber has walked away from the tournament with T2 and T6 finishes.

“I always like coming here,” said the 25-year-old. “I played here two years prior and had two pretty solid finishes, so it fits my eye.”

Easy to say after carding nine birdies.

The number-one ranked player on the Order of Merit didn’t appear phased by the early-morning smoke that filled the Calgary air due to the recent British Columbia fires, nor the record-breaking heat wave, as McCumber carded three consecutives circles to begin his day.

Adding two more on the front side to make the turn in 31 strokes, the five-time winner of PGA TOUR sanctioned events made four more on the back, and, offset by a single bogey, carded a back-nine 32.

“It was nice to keep the momentum going,” said McCumber. “I think I’ve been working hard on my game and it’s finally clicking; the pieces are coming together at the same time, which is what I’ve been working on.”

On top of the game itself, McCumber notes another positive has been his health. After battling injuries for the better part of a year and a half, McCumber has been healthy since October, which has allowed him to focus on improving the weaknesses in his game that kept him from the winner’s circle in 2017.

So far, so good. Becoming the first player in the PGA TOUR era of the Mackenzie Tour to win back-to-back events last week in Edmonton, McCumber knows that it’s imperative to take advantage of the weeks where everything clicks.

“You can have a great week and not win. The amount of times you win in your career is a handful; if you’re one of the greats, you might win twenty times, and that’s a hall of fame career,” said McCumber. “It’s unlike other sports, so you have to judge yourself based on your own personal criteria.

“If you executed and did all the things leading up to the execution to the best of your ability, that’s how you judge your performance.”

While McCumber has threatened a spot in The Five all season long, he’s joined atop the leaderboard by a pair of golfers who appear to have found their A-game after grinding through the first half of the season.

Jonathan Garrick, who had two top-10 finishes in 2017, including a T2 in Montreal at the Mackenzie Investments Open presented by Jaguar Laval, matched McCumber’s 63 and even threatened a 59 after making birdie on 13 to move to 9-under on the day.

While Garrick sits at 72^nd on the Order of Merit, the 99^th ranked player, Chris Killmer, also fired a 63, including a stretch of five birdies in a row from holes 11-15 en-route to his lowest career Mackenzie Tour round.

THUNDER BAY, Ont. — Riley Wheeldon is the top Canadian at the Staal Foundation Open after three rounds, vying for his second Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Week award after finishing his round with five consecutive birdies, and six in his final seven holes, to shoot 30 on the back side. The Richmond, B.C., native heads into the final round T6 after his Sunday 67.

Fellow Canadian Jake Duvall continued his solid golf into the weekend. With just a single blemish on his card, the Victoria, B.C. native shot 69 and heads into Sunday T8, the first time he’s held a top-10 position heading into a Sunday in his Mackenzie Tour career.

Jared Du Toit of Calgary, Alta., and Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont., also head into the final round in the top-20 at 11 under.

For the second consecutive day, Blake Olson is at the top of the leaderboard at the Staal Foundation Open due to a Saturday 69 at Whitewater Golf Club. Olson’s 17-under total gives him a one-shot lead heading into the final round.

Despite giving a shot back on three out of four par-3s, Olson made six birdies on the day to shoot his third round in the 60s in a row.

“I wasn’t in any panic mode because it was playing tough this afternoon,” said Olson. “If you look at anybody in the last five groups, it was a grind, it wasn’t anywhere as easy as the morning. I know some guys shot some good early-day scores, but they’ll be playing more in the heat tomorrow, so we’ll see.”

The Pensacola, FL product has played each event on the Mackenzie Tour schedule this season and is currently the 32^nd ranked player on The Five leaderboard, with his best finish coming as a T10 at the Freedom 55 Financial Open in June.

Since he missed the cut at the Bayview Place DCBank Open presented by Times Colonist, Olson has played 15 consecutive rounds at even-par or better on Tour.

The 27-year-old noted four important points he will think about as he draws into a final pairing for the first time in a PGA TOUR sanctioned event.

“Playing solid, staying present, realizing it’s just golf and having fun,” said Olson. “My name was on the top yesterday, it’s on top today, I’m just going to look to have some fun tomorrow and see if we can keep it there.”

Meanwhile, drawing into the final pairing with Olson is Australian Brett Coletta after rounds of 66-64-69. Coletta has two top-25 finishes this year.

Windsor, Ontario, Canada — Placing in a tie for second is Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Week Michael Gligic with rounds of 64, 68, 64 and 66.

The Kitchener, Ontario native took sole possession of the lead after a birdie on the 13th, but bogeys on both of the par 3s on the back nine, including a 3 putt on the 16th, opened the door for Anguiano to be named champion on Sunday at the Windsor Championship.

“I got off to a rough start this year, missing the cut three events in a row, but I kept working hard and the past few weeks I’ve seen some good signs, so just keep going and next week is a course I really like so hopefully I can get myself in contention again.” said Gligic.

With a 65 on Sunday at Ambassador Golf Club, Mark Anguiano picked up his first career Mackenzie Tour victory.

While five birdies in his first seven holes put Anguiano in a good place, it was the birdies he made on 15 and 17 that sealed the deal for the 25-year-old to lift his first trophy on Tour.

“When I bogeyed 14 I knew I had to man up,” said Anguiano. “I birdied 15, made a clutch par on 16 and made another clutch putt on 17. After hitting it on the green on 18 I had a good feeling that I was going to pull it off.”

It came down to the last half-hour of play until it became clear who the winner was going to be. Throughout the day, Anguiano exchanged the lead with both Canadians near the top of the leaderboard; Anguiano’s playing partner, Taylor Pendrith, and Michael Gligic, playing in the group ahead.

“All the guys in front put a lot of pressure on us, but I was very at ease,” said Anguiano. “I didn’t put a lot of pressure on myself throughout the week, even today, I knew Michael and Taylor had a little more pressure being at the top and being Canadian.”

After making birdie on 17, Anguiano walked up the 18th green with a two-stroke lead after Gligic narrowly missed a 10-foot birdie chance.

“I wasn’t sure until I got up to the green where I was really on the leaderboard, I didn’t want to know,” said the Bellflower, California native. “My caddie knew, which was good, but it wasn’t until I got to my ball on the green that I knew, and it’s a great feeling.”

The large Windsor crowd surrounding the 18th green gave Anguiano a king’s welcoming as he approached his ball, 15-feet away from the hole.

“The fans were very respectful of me and the other players that were also contending,” said Anguiano. “I felt good out there all week, there’s some stretches where you won’t hit it great or feel good on the greens, but I stayed very patient during those times and that’s important to be on top.”

This time around, Anguiano followed up his first round 63 with two 66s and a 65 to claim the victory.

One bad swing may have been all that kept Pendrith from his first Mackenzie Tour victory. Beginning the day with an eagle on his third hole, the Richmond Hill, Ontario native shot 33 on the front to make the turn right on Anguiano’s heels. However, on the 14th hole Pendrith snap hooked his shot on the par 3 into the water hazard and made a double-bogey 5. While Pendrith followed the score up with a birdie on 15, he would have to settle for a T4 finish, his strongest of the year.

WINDSOR, Ont. — The third round of the inaugural Windsor Championship finished as it started; with Mark Anguiano and Taylor Pendrith the two names at the top of the leaderboard at Ambassador Golf Club.

Though, in the words of Mark Anguiano, the routes the two golfers took to get there were completely different.

“We have the complete opposite games, but we have the exact same mentality,” said the Bellflower, California native, who began the day with a one-stroke advantage over the Canadian Pendrith.

While Pendrith is known for his length off the tee, often registering ball speeds of up to 200 MPH, Anguiano’s graceful swing is built on finesse, similar to his aptitude around the greens.

Take for example, the par-5 third. Anguiano found himself nearby the 200-yard plate while Pendrith waited 50-yards ahead with a wedge in hand – both players made birdie on the hole.

Anguiano’s largest lead on Sunday came after birdie on the 11^th hole put him at 18-under for the event, three clear of his nearest competitor.

The back nine, though, was Pendrith’s to dominate. A monstrous drive on 13 set Pendrith up with a 7-iron into the par five. Leaving himself a 30-footer for eagle, the Richmond Hill, ONT native used the claw grip he implemented a few months prior and dropped his first eagle of the tournament to get within a single stroke of Anguiano.

After all was said and done, Pendrith made 5 birdies, an eagle and a bogey to shoot 65 compared to Anguiano’s six birdies and a bogey for 66, drawing the pair even and into the final grouping on Sunday.

“Me and Mark had a good battle today,” said Pendrith. “We were kind of going back and forth, and it was a little bit of a grind. I didn’t hit the driver as well as I did the first two days and was in the rough a bit, but my putter bailed me out and I made some birdies.”

Pendrith is well acclimated to the situation. In 2015, the then 24-year-old drew into three separate playoffs on the Mackenzie Tour. While he was unable to get the job done three years ago, he is looking forward to the chance to once again compete in the final round.

“It’s exciting, any time you have a chance to win on Sunday is a good thing,” said Pendrith. “I’m just going to do my thing and just play golf and see where I stack up at the end.”

Meanwhile Anguiano, who missed the cut by a single stroke in Lethbridge at the Tour’s last stop, has also been in the situation before, coming T6 at the GolfBC Championship last month following a first round 62.

“He’s Canadian, so I feel like I’m going to be the bad guy playing with him, but that’s good, I like that, I think it’s fun,” said Anguiano. “The crowds today were very nice to me, I can’t thank them enough and hopefully it’s like that tomorrow.”

The duo will head to the first tee on Sunday at 12:40 P.M.

Fellow Canadian Michael Gligic is on Pendrith and Anguiano’s heels, just one-stroke behind. Gligic made eight birdies and fired his second 64 of the week to draw into the second last pairing alongside Zach Foushee. Gligic, thanks to a suggestion by Pendrith, switched to the claw grip and has revitalized his game since, shooting 65 or lower in four out of his last seven tournament rounds since.

Note: Play was suspended due to adverse weather conditions at 7:30 P.M. local time with 18 golfers still on the course. Players will complete their rounds at 8:30 A.M. Friday morning.

WINDSOR, Ont.— Without a bogey on either card, Taylor Pendrith and Theo Humphrey each signed for a 9-under, 62 following the first round of the Windsor Championship at Ambassador Golf Club. The pair are positioned at the top of the leaderboard headed into Friday with a one-stroke lead over Carter Jenkins.

Pendrith, the Richmond Hill, Ontario native, was the first to sign for the new Ambassador Golf Club course record after knocking in an 8-foot birdie putt on the 9^th hole, his last of the day, to complete the nine-hole stretch in 29 shots.

“I’ve shot a few 29s, a couple competitive, but that was a pretty good back nine for me,” said the Team Canada Young Pro Squad member after the round. “I missed a relatively short one on one of the par 3s, too, so it could have been better, but I’m definitely not complaining.”

Early on in the round, it wasn’t Pendrith’s aptitude off the tee that got the job done – that would be saved for later – it was a hot putter that bailed the 27-year-old out.

“My putter got hot, and it was hot all day,” said Pendrith, who’s 62 is his lowest career round on the Mackenzie Tour. “I made a lot good putts, putts for par actually, on the front nine, then I just got hot on the back and went with it.”

Known for his length off the tee, Pendrith noted that scoring on the back nine was aided by a confident driver swing that put plenty of wedges in his hands.

Meanwhile, Theo Humphrey, who was recently ranked eighth on the World Amateur Golf Rankings before turning professional last month, played consistent golf all day en-route to his 62.

Humphrey’s first Mackenzie Tour event came at the Tour’s latest stop in Lethbridge. Prior to that, he was busy preparing and playing in a well-known golf tournament – the U.S. Open.

Despite missing the cut at the event, the Vanderbilt alum shot a spectacular second-round 72 at Shinnecock prior to beginning his professional career on the Mackenzie Tour.

Leaping out of the gate with a first hole birdie, Humphrey made eagle on the 3^rd and made two more birdies before making the turn. On the back, Humphrey birdied four of his last five to sign for matching front and back 31s.

“I feel great. You shoot a round like that the first round of a tournament and it makes the rest of the tournament a lot easier because you’re ahead,” said Humphrey. “I got off to a great start this morning and finished strong as well, so obviously overall it was an excellent day for me.”

After missing the cut in Lethbridge by one stroke, Humphrey flew to Florida to put some work in with his coach, Todd Anderson, at TPC Sawgrass. After dissecting his putting stroke, it appears that the team rectified any sort of putting woes.

“I was happy to see I was able to perform in a tournament after,” said Humphrey, who has been with Anderson since he was 15-years-old.

Behind the two leaders is Raleigh, North Carolina’s Carter Jenkins. The 22-year-old carded 8 birdies and trails the leaders by one after his first-round 63.

Canadian Michael Gligic overcame a double bogey on his 5^th hole of the day by making eight birdies and an eagle and is 7-under with one hole remaining in his first round. The Canadian is coming of a T34 finish in Lethbridge which included rounds of 65 and 63 the first two days.

Pendrith’s fellow Team Canada member Jared du Toit made only a single par on his back nine, making three bogeys and five birdies to go along with a trio of circles on his front side. The Canadian heads into Friday four strokes off the pace.

Team Canada Alum and NHL referee Garrett Rank held his own on Thursday at Ambassador Golf Club, making eagle on the 7^th hole to go along with 4 more birdies to put himself at 3-under with two holes remaining in his opening round.

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — Daniel Pow and Michael Gligic are the low Canadians, tied for sixth heading into Sunday’s final round at the Lethbridge Paradise Canyon Open.

The round of the day, and perhaps the tournament considering the conditions, belonged to Canadian Daniel Pow. The Monday qualifier rattled off five birdies in a row to polish off his round of 63, propelling him 53 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 6th with fellow Canadian Gligic.

Gligic, who fired an impressive ten birdies during the second round of the event, went into the day second. After moving his way up the leaderboard early with birdies on the 2^nd and 4^th hole, the 28-year-old made a double bogey on the 8^th before shooting even par on the back nine to put himself in a tie for 6^th going into Sunday.

While it looked like it could be a one-man show come Sunday, Paradise Canyon Golf Club showed its teeth on Saturday at the Lethbridge Paradise Canyon Open. Cold and rainy conditions kept second-round leader Zach Wright at bay, allowing Chris Williams to overtake Wright with a remarkable 65.

“The weather was always a challenge, we knew it was going to be going into the day because the forecast called for high winds and some rain,” said Williams. “I just rolled with the punches and hit some good shots when I needed to, made some big putts and it turned out to be a good day.”

Williams, the number-one ranked amateur golfer in the world in 2013, seems to have re-found his form in 2018. Saturday’s 6-under score is his 9^th round under 70 this season on the Mackenzie Tour.

Williams put himself in position to jump up the leaderboard after matching the Paradise Canyon Golf Club course record on Friday with a bogey-free 61.

The 27-year-old spread his birdies sporadically in the third round, making his first on the 3^rd hole before two straight on 7 and 8 had him at 3-under going into the back nine.

On the back, Williams birdied 13, 15 and 18 to sign his second consecutive bogey-free card.

“I knew it wasn’t playing super easy and I knew guys weren’t going super low,” said Williams. “I saw a leaderboard at 13 or 14 that had me at the top, so I had an idea, but I didn’t really know exactly what was happening behind me. Leaderboard watching isn’t something I usually do but walking up 18 and seeing my name at the top was nice.”

Going into the final round with a 3-stroke lead, Williams doesn’t expect to change how he plays heading into Sunday.

“Tomorrow is just another day,” said Williams. “That’s just how golf is. Each day, it’s a new day, and you never know what can happen and you have to prepare for everything.”

Meanwhile, second round leader Zach Wright struggled on Saturday, surrendering his lead after bogeys on the 12^th and 14^th holes.

The major blunder of the week for Wright came at an inopportune time, hitting his ball in the water on the par-3 17^th, where he would make double bogey. Wright isn’t out of the competition by any accounts. Thanks to the lead he built over the first two rounds, Wright finds himself tied with T.T. Crouch at 17-under.

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — A stellar 10-birdie effort catapulted Michael Gligic into a share of 2nd at 13 under par through 36 holes at the Lethbridge Open.

“I made a putter grip change this week. I went from the conventional to the claw and I’ve never really done it before, but I made a bunch today. My ball striking was pretty good, I didn’t get into too much trouble and was just fortunate to make a couple putts,” said Gligic, a Burlington, Ont., native.

With a stellar ten birdies in his second round, ?? @MGligicGolf is close to victory in a tie for second at @PGATOURCanada @LethPCOpen ???
pic.twitter.com/t3TUO2KJmX

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) June 23, 2018

As he has been doing all year, 36-hole leader Zach Wright tore up the course at Paradise Canyon Golf Club on a calm Friday morning, shooting 61 to put himself at 19-under-par at the Lethbridge Paradise Canyon Open.

The 61 comes with a trio of achievements for Wright: a five-stroke lead going into the weekend, a new course record and a Mackenzie Tour 36-hole scoring record.

The 62-61 start breaks the record previously held by current PGA TOUR player Aaron Wise, who shot 15-under through the first 36 holes at the 2016 Freedom 55 Financial Championship.

Wright, who started the day on the back nine, worked his way around the golf course without a blemish on the scorecard for the second consecutive day.

The Louisianan State University alum began the day rather inauspiciously by his standards, maneuvering the front nine with two birdies, but an eagle on the 18^th hole began Wright’s run.

The Phoenix, Arizona native played holes 9-17 in 8-under par, making three birdies in a row from 3-5 before jotting down back-to-back circles on 7 and 8. Narrowly missing a 25-foot birdie try on his last hole, Wright signed for a 61.

“So far it’s been easy for me,” said Wright. “I’ve just been hitting wedge shots that’ve been going close, driving it pretty well and just making putts when I can.”

Wright has been the most consistent golfer on the Mackenzie Tour this season, leading the Order of Merit by posting T2, T6 and T2 finishes through the first three events of the season. This week though, Wright has been able to separate himself from the field with his ability off the tee.

“I’m hitting the driver really far and it’s going relatively straight,” said Wright, who is playing his first full season on the Mackenzie Tour. “I’ve been leaving myself with short clubs into greens and I’ve been hitting those close. When I’ve had 15 footers I’ve been rolling some of those in too, so things seem to be going my way and I just have to keep going.”

Wright is trailed by five players at 14-under, including Canadian Michael Gligic. The Burlington, ON native had previously missed all three cuts on tour before the event, but 10 Friday birdies has him in position to attack Wright’s lead on the weekend.

Others at 14-under include Cody Blick, Danny Walker, Chris Williams and Jared Bettcher.

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — If it wasn’t a perfect day for scoring, it was about as close as you’ll ever see, as the first round of the inaugural Lethbridge Paradise Canyon Open saw the lowest scores of the season at Paradise Canyon Golf Resort.

The three at the top of the leaderboard, Paul McConnell, Cody Blick and Zach Wright, currently sit 15^th, 6^th and 1^st respectively on “The Five,” the season-long chase towards the top five spots on the Order of Merit and the Web.com Tour status that accompanies it.

Paul McConnell was the lone golfer of the three to head out in the morning wave, taking advantage of a rare windless morning at Paradise Canyon.

The Garland, Texas native, who at one point on the B.C. Golf Swing managed 74 consecutive holes without a bogey, began his round with a birdie on the 1st. Two more on the front, supplemented by an eagle on 8, set the stage for a five-birdie back nine to close in 30 and fire his lowest score of the year.

McConnell’s eagle chip on 18 was especially well executed. Playing the shot 25 feet left of the hole, the 27-year-old watched as the ball funneled down a slope and narrowly missed entering for an eagle, which would have set the new course record.

“I thought I popped it a little bit, hit it a little too hard, because it didn’t have any spin coming off,” said McConnell. “But I hit it where I wanted to. I thought it would be six feet past, but it ended up just being a foot.”

Blick’s ascent up the leaderboard can be attributed to a rare deuce on the par-4 16^th hole, Blick’s 7^th hole of the day.

“I couldn’t see it go in. I took a drop off the cart path and got a really bad lie. It was downwind to a front flag and I hammered a 9-iron,” recalled the San Jose State University alum. “Lee (Hodges), who I was playing with, said ‘I think that went in!’ I couldn’t see, but we went up and there was nothing around the hole, so it was a cool little moment.”

The eagle kickstarted Blick’s round as he made the turn with five consecutive birdies to start his back nine. After making his second eagle of the day on the par-5 8^th, Blick’s 8-foot course record attempt on the last hole slipped by as he is forced to settle for a share of the lead going into Friday.

With 2^nd, 6^th, and 2^nd place finishes through the first three tournaments of the year, it’s safe to say that Zach Wright has found his zone.

The Phoenix, Arizona native played a clean game of golf, two-putting both par-5s on the front for birdies and adding two more on the side to begin with a 32. Wright made eagle on the par-5 13^th, a hole he hit only a sand wedge into, and added three more circles on the side to sign for 62.

“I’ve been playing well this season,” said Wright. “I have enough confidence that I feel like I can just keep using that and building off it.”

With tee times flipping on Friday, Blick and Wright tee off in the morning wave while McConnell takes to the course later in the day.

Michael Gligic was the low Canadian in the field after the first day of action, making eagle on his 9^th hole and adding birdies on four of his final six to shoot a 65 and finish the day in a tie for 9^th.

KELOWNA, British Columbia, Canada—Jared du Toit was the low-Canadian this week, finishing fifth, at 16-under 268 at the GolfBC Championship.

“At the end of the day, I did a lot of good things. I hit the ball really well.” du Toit said. “Made a couple early, which I would’ve hoped got [Cunningham] thinking a little bit, but [it] turns out it didn’t. Not much you can do about that.”

The Kimberley, B.C. native started off strong firing 4 birdies in the front nine. In his back nine he fired one birdie and a bogey on hole 16 finishing 4-under 67 on Sunday.

“I was in the mix, seven of my last eight rounds. These guys are pretty good out here, so pretty happy with all that. Hopefully I can keep the trend going, get myself in the mix and keep knocking on the door for that elusive victory,” said du Toit.

With his dad on the bag, it was a special Father’s Day for George Cunningham as he picked up his maiden Mackenzie Tour – PGA Tour Canada victory. He carded a 5-under 66 to win by two shots.