Ben James takes lead in Canada in his pro debut

CALEDON, Ontario (AP) — Ben James holed a 25-foot eagle putt to start his round and never let up until he had a 7-under 63 for a one-shot lead in his professional debut at the RBC Canadian Open.

James was an All-American all four years at Virginia and led the PGA Tour University ranking to earn a card through the 2027 season.

“It all kind of came together today. It was just one of those days,” James said. “The putter was good, hitting fairways, had good numbers, and was able to capitalize on a pretty tricky scoring day.”

James was at 10-under 130, one shot over a group of five players that included Sam Burns, who played in the final group at the Memorial last week and tied for fourth.

Brooks Koepka had a 68 and was two shots behind, along with Tommy Fleetwood.

James played bogey-free on the Osprey Valley course at TPC Toronto and goes into the weekend having not made a bogey in his last 33 holes. This is his 10th PGA Tour event, including two U.S. Opens, but first one as a pro.

“I wasn’t really thinking about results at all this week. Just worried about getting comfortable, making new friends and having fun, and just seeing where everything kind of falls,” James said. “Obviously, I have some stuff to work on, just trying to see where everything goes. Because this is just the baseline, it’s my first professional debut. Had a great two days, but just trying to get better.”

Burns had a 67 and was at 131 along with Jackson Suber (65), Haotong Li (64), Keith Mitchell (64) and Jesper Svensson (65).

Tommy Fleetwood, who lost in a playoff at the Canadian Open three years ago when Nick Taylor holed that memorable 72-foot eagle putt, had a 65 and joined Koepka in the group two back that included defending champion Ryan Fox (66).

Koepka was slowed at the start of his round when he lost his tee shot on the 13th and had to scramble for double bogey, and then bogeyed the par-3 14th. He also had four birdies and an eagle on the back nine — he started on No. 10 — the latter coming off a 379-yard drive on the par-5 18th.

He was thinking more of the drive that went sideways.

“I would like to have that tee ball back on 13,” Koepka said. “I just stood there for 10 minutes and tried to hit a low fade and then it turned into a high draw. When you stand there and start thinking too long, that was kind of the issue. I would love to have that one back. But other than that, played solid, it was fine. The ball striking hasn’t been phenomenal, but it’s good.”

Eric Cole, who was part of the six-way tie for the lead after 18 holes, started with a triple bogey and his day never got much better. He shot 76 to miss the cut, meaning he will have no chance to play in the U.S. Open next week. Cole came into the week at No. 63 in the world, and the top 60 earn an exemption to Shinnecock Hills.

James made it through 36-hole qualifying in New York to earn a spot in his third straight U.S. Open. His focus now is on the fifth-oldest championship in golf — the Canadian Open dates to 1904 — and his professional debut.

“I’ve never been in this position, so I’m very excited to find out,” James said about the weekend. “One thing I wanted to do I was, like, ‘Let’s try and get in that last group.’ I just want to feel what that feels and just see what happens out there in that situation. Being so young, I’m just excited. I have no expectations. I’m going to play the best I can like I did the last two days.”

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Matthew Anderson, of Mississauga, Ontario, putts on the ninth hole during the second round of the RBC Canadian Open in Caledon, Ontario, on Friday, June 12, 2026. (Nick Iwanyshyn/The Canadian Press via AP)

The Golf Canada logo is seen on the tee box during the second round of the RBC Canadian Open in Caledon, Ontario, on Friday, June 12, 2026. (Nick Iwanyshyn/The Canadian Press via AP)

Nick Taylor, of Winnipeg, Manitoba, hits a shot out of the bunker during the second round of the RBC Canadian Open in Caledon, Ontario, on Friday, June 12, 2026. (Nick Iwanyshyn/The Canadian Press via AP)

China's Haotong Li putts on the ninth hole during the second round of the RBC Canadian Open in Caledon, Ont., on Friday, June 12, 2026. (Nick Iwanyshyn/The Canadian Press via AP)

England's Tommy Fleetwood looks down the ninth hole during the second round of the RBC Canadian Open in Caledon, Ont., on Friday, June 12, 2026. (Nick Iwanyshyn/The Canadian Press via AP)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — The South Korean and U.S. militaries have agreed to shorten their drills at the U.S.'s request, South Korean officials said Wednesday, a move that likely reflected President Donald Trump’s hopes to reengage with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un but could undermine a U.S.-South Korean defense readiness.

Trump had ordered his Pentagon chief to “substantially reduce” the allies’ summertime Ulchi Freedom Shield exercises, just before they began Monday for an 11-day run. Trump cited what he said was a good relationship with Kim and South Korea’s refusal to join the U.S. war against Iran.

South Korea’s military said in a statement the ongoing drills with the U.S. would end Friday, not Aug. 27 as initially planned. It said the allies also agreed to downsize some joint field training exercises.

The statement said South Korea and the U.S. will discuss and carry out various steps to achieve objectives of their drills and establish combined defense postures.

Many experts say Trump’s move threatens to hurt combined U.S.-South Korean defense posture and eventually weaken their decades-long alliance.

Ulchi Freedom Shield is largely a computer-simulated command post exercise meant to hone the allies’ ability to deal with potential North Korean aggression. The two countries usually hold field a set of training exercises during the command post exercise period.

The drills and a similar springtime exercise are a central pillar of the U.S. -South Korea alliance, which dates to the 1950-53 Korean War. But it’s also a long-running source of tensions with North Korea, which has denounced the exercises as a rehearsal for an invasion and responded with provocative missile tests. Days before this month's drills began, North Korea launched two ballistic missiles into the sea.

This month's drills were reportedly supposed to be held in two phases — the first part until this Friday with a focus on defensive operations in simulation of North Korean attacks and the second part until Aug. 27 to practice counteroffensive operations. North Korea is typically extremely sensitive to counteroffensive drills.

North Korea hasn't responded to Trump's overture. But earlier Wednesday, its state news agency, KCNA, published a commentary slamming the U.S.-South Korean military drills as “frantic” and “extremely dangerous” and vowing to completely frustrate its rivals’ hostilities.

“The dangerous escalation of the war drills staged by the U.S. and its vassal forces is posing a more serious threat to the security rights” of North Korea, the commentary said. “Our exercise of its right to self-defense will continue to completely neutralize the enemies’ military threat.”

Many experts said Kim, now emboldened by his advancing nuclear program and expanding military cooperation with Russia, won't likely embrace Trump's overture anytime soon unless he's promised bigger concessions. In response to Trump's previous outreach, Kim suggested last year that he can return to talks only after the U.S. drops its demand of a North Korean denuclearization as a precondition for diplomacy.

Trump and Kim met three times from 2018-2019 but their high-stakes diplomacy eventually fell apart over wrangling over a North Korean demand for extensive sanctions relief in return for limited denuclearization steps.

On Monday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's office expressed hopes that a “friendly relationship” between Trump and Kim would lead to “meaningful dialogue” between their countries to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula. This drew a strong backlash from conservatives, who alleged Lee's government was prioritizing the resumption of Kim-Trump diplomacy over security concerns caused by Trump's move.

FILE - U.S. President Donald Trump, right, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Sentosa Island in Singapore, on June 12, 2018. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

The U.S. Army's soldiers conduct a training exercise on a river in Yeoncheon, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

U.S. Army's soldiers conduct a training exercise on a river in Yeoncheon, South Korea, near the border with North Korea, Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)