VICTORIA, Australia – Team Canada’s Joey Savoie fired a 7-under 64 to momentarily break the course record at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club on Thursday at the Australian Master of the Amateurs.

Savoie, a La Prairie, Que., product, marched up the leaderboard on the heels of a bogey-free, seven-birdie effort to leap 26 spots in the final standings. The Middle Tennessee University grad finished T10 at 4 over par with fellow Amateur Squad member Hugo Bernard of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que.

Savoie was one of four competitors to set a course record at Royal Melbourne, including champion David Micheluzzi of host nation Australia. Micheluzzi won by a comfortable five-stroke margin with a final score of 14 under par.

EXCITING NEWS!!! Joey Savoie from Golf Canada​ ?? has broken the Royal Melbourne Golf Club East course record ⛳️? shooting 64! Congratulations Joey! ?? #recordbreaker #AMOTA2018 pic.twitter.com/VTkSEA69Nl

— AMOTA (@AusMotA) January 12, 2018

The final-standing course record was set by American Shintaro Ban, one of two runner-ups. Ban fired two eagles alongside five birdies to finish with a 63 (-8). In 2017, Ban finished runner-up at the Canadian Men’s Amateur at Toronto Golf Club and Islington Golf Club.

Canadian Josh Whalen of Napanee, Ont., finished T32 at 11 over par (77-75-73-70).

https://www.facebook.com/AusMotA/videos/1497517936993287/

On the women’s side, Japan’s Yuka Yasuda cruised to a five-stroke victory in the first-ever edition of the women’s competition.

Click here for full scoring.

HONOLULU – Zach Johnson and Chris Kirk each made seven birdies and shared the lead in the Sony Open.

Jordan Spieth made eight birdies and for the second straight year walked away from Waialae Country Club amazed that he could be six shots behind.

A year ago, it was because Justin Thomas shot 59 playing in the same group.

On Thursday, it was one hole.

Spieth hit four trees with four shots on the par-4 eighth hole – his 17th of the opening round – starting with a tough break when his tee shot caromed off the trunk of a tree and down an 8-foot deep ditch that left him no good options. He wound up with a quadruple-bogey 8 and had to settle for a 69.

He signed his card, signed autographs and declined requests to speak to the media.

Canadians Mac Hughes (Dundas, Ont.) and Corey Conners (Listowel, Ont.) opened with even-par rounds to hold shares of 78th place. Fellow countryman Ben Silverman (Thornhill, Ont.) carded a 1-over-par 71.

Johnson and Kirk kept clean cards playing on opposite sides of the draw and closed with different brands of birdies on the par-5 18th hole – Kirk two-putted from about 10 feet, while Johnson found a bunker, laid up and hit a wedge to 5 feet.

They were a shot ahead of Brian Harman, Vaughn Taylor, Kyle Stanley and PGA Tour rookie Talor Gooch.

Mac Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., shot 70’s and Ben Silverman of Thonrhill, Ont., was 1 over 71.

Thomas, who set the PGA Tour scoring record for 72 holes in his wire-to-wire victory, opened with a 67 and was all smiles at the end. Thomas, an Alabama alum, won a bet on the college football championship that required Georgia graduate Kevin Kisner to wear a Crimson Tide jersey on the par-3 17th.

“It’s definitely the best Kis has ever looked in a jersey,” Thomas said.

Kisner kept the jersey and plans to auction it off for charity. He shot 68.

More than half of the field – 77 players – broke par in the mild trade wind and relentless sunshine down the road from Waikiki Beach.

Kirk had only one top 10 last year – his final event of the year in the RSM Classic at Sea Island – and nearly two months off didn’t appear to half any momentum. He might have been rusty, but not when it comes to island life.

Because of the chilly weather in the South, Kirk brought his family out to Oahu a week ago Monday. He practiced a little in the morning at Ko Olina and hung out with his wife and children in the afternoon. He realized how littlegolf he had played during the short off-season when he reached into his bag and found golf balls that he had marked for the final round at Sea Island.

“I’ve probably been off long enough now that you never know what’s going to happen,” he said. “I really had no expectations whether I was going to play good or bad after having some time off. But this is a golf course that I’ve traditionally done pretty well on, and a place that I really love. So you always feel like it’s possible.”

He hit wedge to about 3 feet on the 15th and 16th, and that final birdie on the par-5 18th was a two-putt from 10 feet.

Dry weather, a fast course and the trades allowed a rarity for Johnson, who hit wedge into the green on the 480-yard opening hole. That was first of three straight birdies, and he had ample more opportunities, including a shot that hit the pin on No. 10 and settled 3 feet away. He missed that, though the two-time major champion wasn’t too discouraged. He picked up an unlikely birdie on the 13th from the fairway bunker by making a 25-foot putt, and he made a 20-foot birdie on the next hole.

“Just kept the course in front of me and played solid golf,” Johnson said, winless since the 2015 British Open at St. Andrews. “Made a few putts, missed a few putts. But I’m very encouraged with the direction.”

Spieth played well enough to be right there with them except for a pair of long three-putt bogeys – and that one tee shot.

His drive on No. 8 was not terribly offline, and the trees to the left are a common spot. This one hit the trunk of a tree and tumbled down a wide (and dry) ditch about 8 feet below the fairway. He studied his options. He found none.

He could have dropped it with a penalty stroke, but there was nowhere to go. His plan was to hit out of the sandy base of the ditch toward the trees closer to the fairway. If it hit the trees and dropped out, he would have been closer than the drop and at least had an opening to the putting surface.

It hit one of the smaller branches and came back toward him, about a yard short of go back down into the ditch. For his third shot, he had a gap toward the front of the green (the pin was back left), but out of a fluffy lie, the ball came out high and hit more trees, bouncing left and settle near another tree.

Next, he had to go under the tree in front of him and over a tree guarding the green. He only got the first part right.

At this point, he was lying 4 and was only a few yards away from the second tee, waiting for another group to tee off. His only choice there was to dump it into the bunker, where the sand was thin. He hit that out to 30 feet and two putts later had a snowman (8).

Golf Digest released its third biennial edition of the World 100 Greatest Courses on Thursday, which included nine Canadian courses from coast-to-coast. View the full list on their website here.

No. 9

Cabot Cliffs
Inverness, N.S.

No. 20

St. George’s Golf & Country Club
Etobicoke, Ont.

No. 36

National Golf Club of Canada
Woodbridge, Ont.

No. 43

Cabot Links
Inverness, N.S.

No. 51

Capilano Golf & Country Club
West Vancouver, B.C.

No. 60

Hamilton Golf & Country Club
Ancaster, Ont.

No. 87

Highland Links
Ingonish Beach, N.S.

No. 89

Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge Golf Club
Jasper, Alta.

No. 99

Banff Springs Golf Club
Banff, Alta.

GAUTENG, South Africa – Branden Grace and Chase Koepka shot 7-under 65s to share the first-round lead at the SA Open on Thursday.

Koepka, the younger brother of U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka, was among the morning starters and set the clubhouse target by hitting an eagle and seven birdies in his third tournament of his debut season on the European Tour.

Grace had three eagles – at Nos. 2, 8 and 15 – as he bids for a ninth European Tour title and to complete the set of wins at his native South Africa’s three most prestigious events. He has already won the Alfred Dunhill Championship in 2014 and the Nedbank Golf Challenge last year, as well as the Joburg Open in 2012.

England’s Chris Paisley was alone in third place after shooting 66.

Canada’s Austin Connelly recorded a 2-under 70 to sit inside the projected cutline in a tie for 31st. Canadian Golf Hall of Fame member Mike Weir notched five birdies against four bogeys and one double-bogey en route to posting a 1-over 73.

Coming off a season filled with milestones, Adam Hadwin believes there is no reason he can’t return to his winning ways early in 2018.

The Canadian golfer will play his second tournament of the year next week at the CareerBuilder Challenge in La Quinta, Calif., an event where he has found a lot of success. He finished runner-up there in 2017 on the heels of his record 13-under-par 59 during the third round, and was sixth in 2016.

“You can’t go to a place where you played well and finished second at the previous year and not think that you have a chance to win the golf tournament, that’s for sure,” Hadwin said from his home in Phoenix.

“My biggest hope is that people don’t expect me to shoot 59 again,” he added with a laugh. “At least now I know when I get going low in rounds I’ve gone really low before and it’s nothing new.”

Hadwin had a career-year in 2016-17, earning more than US$3.4 million, finishing 26th on the FedEx Cup standings and becoming Canada’s top-ranked male golfer. He earned first PGA Tour victory, become just the eighth golfer in history to fire a sub-60 round on Tour and became just the third Canadian to ever play in the Presidents Cup.

The breakout season earned him a spot in all four of golf’s major championships in 2018. As a result, his schedule this year will be built around the majors (a “good problem to have,” he said) and may not include the two-tournament Texas swing in May he has done in the past.

He’s never played the FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis, Tenn., but wants to add that event this year, the week before the U.S. Open in June.

The 30-year-old from Abbotsford, B.C., has won on every level of golf from the junior ranks in British Columbia through college and on golf’s developmental tours, and says last year’s breakthrough on the PGA TOUR was a combination of lots of hard work and a getting some breaks.

“Obviously I had been trending in the right direction and it just all came together that week. It was nice to play well under the gun and have things go your way,” he said. “There was a little bit of a monkey-off-your-back but after the last five or six months the monkey is right back on it, to be honest.”

Hadwin said his iron play is the key area he’s hoping to improve as the 2017-2018 PGA Tour season ramps up. He admitted he wasn’t hitting as many greens as he should be last season, but his putting saved him.

“When I’m good, I’m good, and I hit a ton of greens, but it just hasn’t been very consistent the last couple years,” he said. “That’s what we’re after now, just dialling in that consistency in certain situations.

“We’re going to dive into stats a little bit more? whatever the case is and really figure out why I’m not as consistent as I should be.”

Hadwin burst onto the scene in 2011 when he finished tied for fourth at the RBC Canadian Open when it was contested at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club, just over an hour from where he grew up. He explained he never wanted that result to be the defining moment in his career. With a victory now under his belt, he’s looking for more in 2018 and beyond.

“I’m at the point where I don’t want the win to be the defining moment of my career either? I don’t want it to be ‘blah’ after that. I’m always striving for more, always trying to get better, and always looking for win No. 2, then win No. 3 and so on and so on for the rest of my career,” he said.

Last year was a big year off the course as well for Hadwin, who got married, bought his first home, and bought dog – a cava-poo-chon cross breed named Brad.

“My wife chose the name Brad, and I extended it to Bradford,” he said. “She likes human names for dogs, which I’m fine with. He’s turned out to be a total ‘Brad.’ I don’t know why but it fits him so well, with his personality.”

Laurence Applebaum, CEO of Golf Canada, caught up with journalist Ian Hutchinson of Golf News Now in a phone interview on Wednesday to discuss the successes of 2017 and what’s ahead for Golf Canada in 2018 and beyond.

Listen to the clip here.

Callaway Golf Company (NYSE: ELY) has extended its relationship with Adam Hadwin, a standout member of the Callaway Golf Tour Staff. A product of Abbotsford, B.C., Hadwin currently resides in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Playing Callaway Epic woods, Apex irons, Mack Daddy wedges, an Odyssey putter and a Chrome Soft ball, Hadwin enjoyed a breakout year on the PGA Tour in 2017, winning the Valspar Championship, carding a 59 in the third round of the CareerBuilder Challenge, finishing 19th on the Official Money List and qualifying for the Presidents Cup’s International team for the first time.  He competed in the Masters, Open Championship and PGA Championship for the first time, and the U.S. Open for the third time.

While terms of the partnership were not released, Hadwin will continue to play a full bag of Callaway equipment.

“This was an easy decision,” said Hadwin. “Callaway equipment helped me take my game to the next level, and the Callaway Tour Team gives me the best support I’ve ever had.”

“Great player, great guy,” said Tim Reed, Callaway SVP, Global Sports Marketing. “We’re thrilled to continue our relationship with Adam and proud of his trust in Callaway equipment.”

Fifty-nine regional golf associations have entered into a new relationship with the United States Golf Association to enhance the golfer experience at the state and local levels in the United States. These Allied Golf Associations (AGAs), supported by the USGA’s five existing regional affairs offices, will administer the USGA Handicap and Course Rating Systems within defined geographic areas across the country. In addition, they will serve as the community’s primary resource for USGA services such as championship qualifiers, governance, golf facility support and programs that help grow and improve the long-term health of the game.

“Regional golf associations are a vital part of the golf community and the USGA,” said Mike Davis, USGA CEO. “As the game moves forward into the future, we feel this formalized new alliance of working together on grassroots programs will improve how we serve golfers and providing a healthy foundation from which the entire golf community can grow.”

Newly recognized AGAs were identified through a nearly year-long discovery process that encouraged collaboration among existing golf organizations within each state and region, sharing best practices and leveraging programs that have made a positive impact.

The resulting relationship will enable AGAs to provide a variety of competitive playing opportunities that engage more golfers of all levels within their region. The AGAs will also serve as local experts for education on topics such as modernizing golf’s rules, the new World Handicap System and related governance functions.

Each AGA will also have direct access to USGA research, funding for programs such as USGA P.J. Boatwright Internships, data and technology, additional expertise to better serve the health of golf facilities and support of national grow-the-game initiatives including PLAY9.

One of the alliance’s most significant benefits to golfers will be the centralized computation of USGA Handicap Indexes in the United States to improve efficiency, consistency and governance oversight. The move to a more modernized, digital platform will also empower Allied Golf Associations to more deeply engage golfers within their community through rich, real-time player data.

An AGA Council has been formed to share information, help ongoing service delivery and provide continuous feedback directly to the USGA to better serve golfers and golf clubs. The 12-member council consists of AGA executive directors who will represent regions and markets throughout the United States.

The alliance marks the latest step by the USGA to more deeply engage the local and regional golf community. It complements the USGA’s existing presence in all five major golf regions in the United States – Northeast, Great Lakes, Southeast, Central and West – where dedicated Regional Affairs directors currently serve in residence.

In addition to its five Regional Affairs directors, the USGA also supports golf clubs and facilities through the USGA Green Section, providing agronomic expertise through 13 regional offices.

The Symetra Tour is set to make a tournament stop in 2018 at a member course of the TPC Network operated by the PGA TOUR, as TPC River’s Bend will host the Prasco Charity Championship from Friday, June 29 through Sunday, July 1.

Playing an event at a course owned and operated by the PGA TOUR will be a first in the history of women’s professional golf.

“Competing at a PGA TOUR venue is an important step in the growth of women’s golf and demonstrates how our relationship with the PGA TOUR continues to pay dividends for our members,” said LPGA Tour Commissioner Mike Whan. “As our players continue to prepare for the LPGA Tour, we are thrilled that they will have the opportunity to compete at TPC River’s Bend, an outstanding championship golf course.”

Designed by Arnold Palmer, TPC River’s Bend opened in 2001 as a Golf Digest “Top 10 Best New Private Courses in the U.S.” and has been consistently recognized by the publication as one of Ohio’s “Best Courses in State” from 2005 to 2011, as well as 2015 and 2016. The course’s par-72 layout overlooks the historic Little Miami River, 25 miles northeast of Cincinnati. Complementing the golf course is an expansive TOUR-caliber, 12-acre practice facility featuring multiple chipping and putting areas.

TPC River’s Bend has been the site of several professional tournaments, including the PGA TOUR Champions Kroger Classic between 2002 and 2004, and the Chiquita Classic on the Web.com Tour from 2010 to 2012.

“The PGA TOUR is excited to welcome the LPGA’s Symetra Tour to TPC River’s Bend in 2018,” said PGA TOUR Chief Operating Officer Ron Price. “Everyone involved in this partnership is committed to helping grow the game. Having the LPGA compete at a TPC is a testament to that and the growing collaboration between our two organizations.”

In addition to hosting professional events, TPC River’s Bend was home to the 2017 Big Ten Women’s Golf Championships and will be again in 2018.

“I am super excited to hear we will be playing in southern Ohio where there is so much passion for golf, and especially women’s athletics,” said Dayton native and current Symetra Tour player Emma Jandel, also a former two-time Second-Team All-Big Ten selection for Ohio State University (2008, 2010). “The community will be extremely supportive and welcoming of the new event. Personally, I just can’t wait to play what is a sort of ‘home game’ for me.”

The event’s title sponsor—Prasco Laboratories—is also looking forward to having the Symetra Tour make a stop in southwest Ohio.

“Partnering with the Symetra Tour is a strategic fit for Prasco, as our values align closely with the Tour’s commitment to give back to local communities,” said Chris Arington, Prasco’s CEO. “We are pleased to bring women’s professional golf back to the Cincinnati area.”

Adam Hadwin had a career year in 2017, and as the calendar changes, he added two more honours.

The Golf Journalists Association of Canada (GJAC) is proud to announce Hadwin, Josh Whalen, Judith Kyrinis, and Brooke Henderson are the 2017 Players of the Year as voted by GJAC members across the country. Hadwin’s magical season where he notched his first PGA Tour victory, shot 59, and played on the Presidents Cup team was also named the Canadian Golf Story of the Year.

“GJAC is happy to honour these golfers and their accomplishments in 2017,” said Robert Thompson, GJAC president. “The accomplishments of the winners – and each of the nominees – show how strong Canadian golf is right now. GJAC wishes the best of luck to in the year ahead.”

Hadwin’s first PGA Tour victory came in March after a thrilling Sunday at the Valspar Championship, where he won by one over Patrick Cantlay. In January, Hadwin became the eighth golfer in PGA Tour history to shoot a sub-60 round.

Just weeks after his win, Hadwin got married and closed on his first home to cap a whirlwind start to 2017. He ascended to inside the Top 50 in the world (becoming Canada’s highest-ranked male golfer in the process), played all four majors, and participated in the Presidents Cup in September.

Henderson continued her impressive start to her LPGA Tour career, winning twice – at the Meijer LPGA Classic and the McKayson New Zealand Women’s Open – and nearly defending her title at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She finished sixth on the LPGA Tour’s 2017 money list, earning just over $1.5 million in 30 events (the most on Tour).

She was the only unanimous choice out of the four winners.

Kyrinis had a stellar 2017 campaign capped off with a victory in an all-Canadian final at the U.S. Senior Amateur. She also won the Ontario Women’s Senior Amateur and Mid-Amateur Championships, along with finishing runner-up at the prestigious North and South Senior Women’s Amateur, and fifth at the Canadian Women’s Senior Amateur.

Whalen finished No. 1 on the Golf Canada Amateur Order of Merit for his fine campaign in 2017. He finished third at the Canadian Men’s Amateur and notched six top-20 finishes during his senior year at Kent State University.