News

Singh Leads Canadian Open

Vijay Singh grabbed the third round lead of the Canadian Open at 12 under par after an up and down round of 68. Friday’s co-leaders Steve Allan and John Mallinger both shot 70 and share second at 11 under par, followed closely by Hunter Mahan whose 67 rebounded nicely from Friday’s 74 and left him alone in third place at 10 under par. Jim Furyk and Pat Perez are another stroke back at 9 under par.
Steven Ames criticized the greens as being to soft and slow for a national championship, while Mr. Singh summed it up nicely saying that the pin placements had to be on slopes instead of the normal flat spots or scoring would be ridiculously low.

Published

19 years ago

Jul 29, 2007

Eric Schuster

Golf is indeed a fickle game as anyone who watched Vijay Singh’s back nine during Saturday’s third round of the Canadian Open. Mr. Singh was openly disgusted after his drive on the 11th hole appeared headed into the water. Instead the ball skipped along the bank allowing him to walk off with an easy two putt birdie. On the 16th hole the man whose practice habits are legendary, hit the worst shot I can remember seeing from him, an approach shot twenty five yards right of the green, leading to a bogey. Weird shot. Weird game.

Despite the shakiness at the end of the round Mr. Singh finds himself with a single shot lead heading into Sunday’s final round. "I’m kind of disappointed with the way I finished," Singh said. "I thought I played better than a 68. I made a lot of mistakes that I normally wouldn’t, but that’s the way golf is. You know, you get good breaks out there as well. I got up and down a few times … and got away with a bad tee shot on 11." Of the twenty seven times Mr. Singh has held or shared the 54 hole lead he’s finished on top 17 times. "Hopefully, I can limit those mistakes tomorrow and finish the job," Singh said.

Second round leaders Steve Allan and John Mallinger finished the day in second place at 10 under par, while first round leader Hunter Mahan rebounded nicely from Friday’s 74 with a 67 to claim third place alone at 10 under par. Another stroke back was last years champion Jim Furyk after a round of 69 along with Pat Perez who shot 66.

Mr. Allan had a share of the lead on the 18th tee but a bogey dropped him into a tie for second. The 33-year-old Australian is seeking his first PGA Tour victory after winning the 1998 German Open and 2002 Australian Open. "Overall, I played well, but didn’t hole enough putts," Allan said. "You know, I made a couple nice little par putts, but that’s about it. That’s my deal for tomorrow. Hopefully, I can keep hitting the ball well and hole some more putts."

Steven Ames, who is at 5 under par, criticized the greens as being to soft and slow for a national championship. "They are just exceptionally slow, very soft," said Ames, a naturalized citizen from Trinidad and Tobago. "I think they’re trying to protect the golf course from something. But for a national open, I don’t think it’s the right spot."

Mike Weir also commented on the greens. "The greens are very difficult, there’s no question," Weir said. "There’s not many pin placements out here, so many little rolls and bumps for a public-play golf course. No. 6 was unbelievable, and 12 and 14 were incredible pins today."

But it was Mr. Singh who summed up the whys of the setup. "I’ve never seen pins on those slopey parts. Normally it’s pretty flat," Singh said. "But this week they have managed to find some really difficult ones. … They need to do that, otherwise scoring would be really, really low."

I am a fan of protecting a course that has rolling, humpy greens by slowing them down from tour standard speeds and putting the pins in locations on or around the slopes rather than the typical flat areas. Makes putting a little more interesting. Sunday should be fun as usual, quirky greens and all.

News

5 Things we Learned: Thursday at the U.S.. Women’s Open

Published

3 hours ago

Jun 5, 2026

Ronald Montesano

Gone are the days when the U.S. Women’s Open was held at Scenic Hills or Churchill Valley. Fine courses that they are (or were, as Churchill Valley went bankrupt a decade ago) there is something to be said for the venue. Not all Women’s Open playings need to take place on Men’s Open venues, but some should. This week in Los Angeles, the Women’s Open visits Riviera Country Club for the first time. Down the road, we will visit Inverness, Oakmont, Interlachen, Oak Hill, Chicago Golf, and Merion. That is quite the murderer’s row (1927 Yankees reference) of golf clubs.

What can we expect from the 2026 tournament? Greatness and uncertainty. Unlike the PGA Tour, which visits Riviera each February, the LPGA does not, so the women will not have nearly the body of work over the George C. Thomas layout. Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe they’ll play #10 smarter than the men do. Maybe they’ll figure some things out that their male counterparts can not. For today, we’ll try to find five things to learn, and share them with you.

First, this ain’t your momma’s U.S. Open course

How do we know? Well, so far, only one previous champion currently sits inside the top thirty. That would be Minjee Lee, the 2022 winner at Southern (NC) Pines. Lee made par on her first nine holes, the inward side at Riviera. She dropped birdie putts on the first and ninth holes (ten and eighteen for her day) and tallied another seven pars, for 69. She sits three shots off Jennifer Kupcho’s opening 66. Don’t worry about Kupcho; we’ll get to her. After Lee, defending champion Maja Stark ranks T30 at even par, joined by three other, former winners.

What Minjee did, is the sort of thing that wins U.S. Open titles. She guided her ship safely past swells, and made a move when the waters calmed. The fewer the bogeys, the more likely Minjee figures in the outcome on Sunday evening in Pacific Palisades. Off the tee, Lee was unmatched. She hit 14 of 14 fairways. Her iron play was a bit loose in comparison. She putted for birdie on 12 of 18 holes, which meant that her recovery short game was on point. Lee was ten yards longer on measured driving holes than the field average, and was below the field average (a good thing) in putting.

Second, the amateurs beat a loud drum

Three of the world’s top amateur golfer posted 70, placing them four off the lead, in a tie for 14th place. Canada’s Aphrodite Deng, Spain’s Paula Francisco Llaño, and Colombia’s Maria José Marin, showed the professional world that their game is strong. Both Deng and Francisco Llaño collected five birdies on the day. Should they match that output on day two, and minimize the foozles, they’ll be the topic of conversation on Saturday morning. Marin, the 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion and an NCAA team semifinalist last week, played a game similar to Minjee Lee: few mistakes and few taken risks.

The last amateur to post the low medal score for 72 holes was Jenny Chuasiriporn in 1998. She lost a playoff to Se Ri Pak, who matched her plus-six effort at Blackwolf Run. The last amateur to win the U.S. Women’s Open was Catherine Lacoste in 1967. The amateurs are stronger than they’ve ever been, but the professionals have not allowed them to close the gap. A victory by one of the college set would be a cannon shot heard round the world. Could it happen? Absolutely. Is it likely? Not at all.

Third, let’s talk Kupcho

Jennifer Kupcho won the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur. She won three times on tour in 2022, including the Chevron, a major title. She won a fourth event in 2025, but has not established the winning credentials projected on her after 2022’s marvelous coming-out.

Kupcho hails from Colorado, and spent four years in the Carolina Piedmont, at Wake Forest Universtiy. Neither of those locales cries out I’ll be at home at Riviera, but here we are, after a seven-birdie performance. Kupcho posted birdie on each of her first three holes, and added four more (against two bogeys) to assume a one-shot advantage over Korea’s Sei Young Kim.

Kupcho drove the ball decently, approached moderately well, but putted lights out on Thursday. Her 26 putts were tied for best in show on day one. There might just be something about the putting surfaces at Riviera that aligns with Kupcho’s vibe. If that is the case, just get the ball on the green, anywhere, and let the flatstick do the lifting.

Fourth, how young is Sei Young?

Sei (pronounced “So”) Young Kim won a dozen times from 2015 to 2020. She took time off from winning until 2025, shen she captured a thirteenth LPGA title. Like Kupcho, Kim has hardware from one major event, the 2020 Women’s PGA Championship. How to explain the five years away from victory? No idea. When Sei Young was in contention during the prime of her career, the outcome was a foregone conclusion.

What to expect over the next three days at Riviera? Anyone’s guess. It might be the 2015-2020 Sei Young, or it could be the 2021-2025 version. Kim began her day with birdies at 10 and 11, then settled into a stretch of pars before her solitary bogey at the 4th (her 13th) hole. Kim regained her composure and reeled in three birdies to close the front nine. Her four-under performance trails Kupcho alone, and there is a real chance that Sei Young will produce a second score in the 60s and take a bit of control of the tournament.

Fifth, we’re giddy for Gaby

Although I cannot place my finger on why, it seems that each year, Gaby Lopez pops up on the U.S. Open leaderboard. She hasn’t figure out how to remain in contention, but here we are, in 2026, and Lopez is once again in the mix. The three-time champion on the LPGA circuit had a stunning first nine holes, turning in minus-five. She reached six deep at her tenth hole, but then gave three shots back coming home. Which Gaby will show up on Friday, and for how long? If back-nine Gaby can somehow channel front-nine Gaby, all outcomes are within reach. If the loose play continues, Lopez’ wiki page will add one more T41 to her majors column.

Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 U.S. Women’s Open

Published

2 days ago

Jun 3, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX Tour Photographer made the trip from the Memorial Tournament across the country to the U.S. Women’s Open at Riviera. Check out links to all the photos below!

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 Memorial Tournament

Published

4 days ago

Jun 1, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

GolfWRX is on site this week at the Memorial Tournament, with both Alistair Cameron and Tour Photographer Greg Moore on the ground in Dublin, Ohio, where a strong field is assembled to pay homage to the Golden Bear.

In addition to WITB galleries, we’ve already been treated to an in-hand look at Tommy Fleetwood’s new TaylorMade Spider putters.

Check out links to all our photos below.

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