AVONDALE, La. – Jonas Blixt and Cameron Smith posted a 10-under 62 in Friday’s four-ball format to move into the lead at the Zurich Classic, which is in its first year of a new team format.

Blixt and Smith have a two-day total of 15-under 129 to lead by one over Patrick Reed and Patrick Cantlay. The K.J Choi-Charlie Wi and Troy Merritt-Robert Streb pairings are tied for third at 13-under.

The four-ball format has each member of a two-man team playing his own ball throughout a round, with only the best score on each hole recorded. The same format will be used Sunday. The first and third rounds have an alternate-shot format.

“Jonas is playing really well at the moment,” Smith said. “You know he’s going to make a birdie or par, so I’m just playing aggressive and letting it all fall into play.”

The change from the alternate-shot approach produced much lower scores Friday, even as heavy winds impacted the TPC Louisiana course.

The Blixt-Smith, Reed-Cantlay and Merritt-Streb duos were among five teams to post a 62. Tyrone Van Aswegen and Retief Goosen teamed up for a 60 to get to 11-under for the tournament.

“We just blended so well today,” Van Aswegen said. “I made birdie and then he made birdie. It was great. It was a privilege out there.”

Those extraordinary low scores caused the two first-round leaders to fall off the pace a bit.

Jordan Spieth and Ryan Palmer had posted a 66 in the first round to share the lead with the Ryan Ruffels-Kyle Stanley duo. Both teams posted a 66 again Friday and fell into a six-way tie for fifth place.

With strong winds expected again as the tournament returns to alternate shots, the scores likely won’t be nearly as favourable.

“Certainly off of (Thursday’s) round, we know that we can have success in that format,” Spieth said. “We also know we need to set expectations a bit different. We had prime scoring conditions yesterday, and tomorrow it will be a bit like today or even more challenging. Anything under par in alternate-shot is a great score tomorrow.”

The Zurich Classic was a standard individual tournament until changing formats this year. This marks the PGA Tour’s first official team event since the 1981 Disney Classic.

Two of the higher-profile teams in this new format weren’t able to advance to Saturday’s third round. Justin Rose and Henrik Stetson ended up at 6-under to miss the cut by one shot. Jason Day and Rickie Fowler also missed the cut at 5-under.

“I think the format is a unique format,” Day said. “Missing the cut is not what we wanted, but walking away from this, I think they’re heading in the right direction with regards to a different format that adds more flavour to the PGA Tour.”

Canadian pair Graham DeLaet and David Hearn—teammates at the 2016 Rio Olympics—sit T23 at 7-under par

AVONDALE, La. – The first team event on the PGA Tour in 36 years has produced the first penalty for slow play since 1995.

PGA Tour officials say Miguel Angel Carballo and Brian Campbell were penalized one shot on the 14th hole of the opening round at the Zurich Classic for their second bad time. They opened with a 74 in foursomes.

They were on the clock when Carballo went over his allotted time on the 12th hole. Then, Campbell had a bad time on the 14th hole.

Typically, a player receives a warning after the first bad time and a one-shot penalty after his second. Because they were a team in foursomes, however, rules specify that a “player” includes his partners.

Until Thursday, the last time a PGA Tour player was penalized one shot for pace of play was Glen Day in the third round of the 1995 Honda Classic.

IRVING, Texas – Lexi Thompson was pleased with her first LPGA Tour round since a rules violation cost her a likely victory in the first major tournament of the year. And her Thursday round even included a consultation with a rules official.

Thompson shot a 2-under 69, leaving her four strokes behind leader M.J. Hur in the North Texas LPGA Shootout.

“I’m glad to be back in competition,” Thompson said. “All I’m focused on is the tournament that I’m at right now out here in Texas. I’m going to Japan next week. I’m forgetting about it all. It’s time to move.”

Hur had a bogey-free 65 on a blustery, sunny day at Las Colinas Country Club. Ariya Jutanugarn and Michelle Wie were a stroke back along with Katherine Kirk, Jennifer Song, Sung Hyun Park, Sandra Changkija and Marina Alex.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp was the low Canadian at 1-under 70, good for 32nd. Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., was 2-over 73 to tie for 70th, Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., was grouped at 88th after a 3-over 74 round and Calgary’s Jennifer Ha was 4-over 75.

Three weeks ago in the ANA Inspiration in California, Thompson was given a four-shot penalty with six holes to play – two shots for replacing her golf ball in the right spot on the 17th green, and two more shots for signing an incorrect scorecard because it happened on Saturday and it wasn’t detected by a TV viewer until Sunday. She wound up losing in a playoff to So Yeon Ryu.

Golf’s ruling bodies just this week announced new limits on video evidence that could spare players from being penalized even if committing a violation.

Thompson started on the back nine early Thursday afternoon and made the turn at 2 under after birdieing the par-4 16th and par-5 18th. She bogeyed the par-4 first and birdied the par-5 seventh after leaving a 30-foot eagle putt a half-inch short.

The 540-yard par-5 seventh hole is the longest on the course. The 233-yard second shot by Thompson, who went into Thursday leading the LPGA Tour in driving distance at an average of 275.6 yards, came to rest just beyond the green in the fringe and between two sprinkler heads.

Thompson sought out the official, who confirmed that the local rule allows relief within two club lengths of the green. Thompson’s ball sat just beyond that distance.

“I might as well ask,” she said, “but it ended up not being in my way.”

Thompson’s one bogey was the one green that she missed.

“I hit a great second shot,” she said. “The wind just absolutely killed it. It looked like the ball was coming down backward.”

Hur, a South Korean who lives about 40 miles from Las Colinas in McKinney, hit the first 14 greens in regulation and 16 overall. The streak ended when her tee shot on the 390-yard, par-4 15th sailed right in the wind and landed in the water. She saved par with a 30-foot putt.

“Everything was really good today, and I really liked the putter,” Hur said. “The wind was swirling on every hole. It gave me a headache.”

She won the last of the two tour titles in 2014

Top-ranked Lydia Ko, who turned 20 on Monday, shot a 70 in her first round with the latest of 10 caddies since turning pro in 2014, Peter Godfrey. She recently dismissed Gary Matthews after only nine events.

“I kind of needed somebody with a little bit more positive kind of thing and more a nice, confident energy,” Ko said. “Hopefully, that will happen between Peter and I.”

Defending champion Jenny Shin bogeyed two of her three last holes for a 71.

AVONDALE, La. – Jordan Spieth showed off his stellar short game. Ryan Palmer contributed momentum-saving par putts. They turned out to be quite the team Thursday in the Zurich Classic, the first official team event on the PGA Tour in 36 years.

Spieth hit a bump-and-run from 100 feet to a front pin to set up birdie on the par-5 11th, chipped in for birdie on the 14th and closed out their foursomes round with a 15-foot birdie for a 6-under 66 to share the lead with 18-year-old Ryan Ruffels and Kyle Stanley.

Nick Watney made a 60-foot eagle putt from well off the green at the par-5 18th as he and Charley Hoffman were among four teams at 67.

Even in the tough alternate-shot format, benign conditions at the TPC Louisiana allowed for good scoring with 43 of the 80 teams breaking par, and 18 teams in the 60s.

“Alternate-shot format with these conditions, anything 3 under or so was a solid score,” Spieth said. “Grab a few extra and be in pole position , it’s fantastic. We’re just going to try and have as much fun as we had today.”

The partnership of Spieth and Palmer, close friends who live in Dallas, took root late last year when Palmer’s caddie, James Edmondson, said they would have to play together if Edmondson beat Spieth in a friendly match. He got Spieth on the last hole, and Spieth decided to add the Zurich Classic to his schedule.

Spieth said his partner didn’t miss a shot over the first 10 holes, and Palmer pitched in with key putts. They hit only two of the last seven greens in regulation and still played that stretch in 3 under par.

“It’s great watching his short game,” Palmer said. “It’s one of the best in the world. And when the putter is rolling, it makes it not has hard to make those 5-footers. We both had our fair share, and we poured them in.”

Palmer made a 6-foot par putt on the 13th hole and, after Spieth chipped in on the 14th, Palmer made a 12-foot par putt on the 15th.

Ruffels, who turns 19 on Saturday, was an amateur in Australia when he played with Stanley at the Australian Masters. They got along well, are now represented by the same management firm and decided to play together in New Orleans.

Ruffels had never played foursomes until nine holes of practice on Tuesday, but it sure didn’t show. Starting on the back nine, they began the round with four straight birdies, with Stanley making three of those putts.

“We both keep it in play, and we both hit it quite long, and we gave ourselves a lot of opportunities,” Ruffels said. “So all it took was someone to start rolling a few putts in, like we both did.”

Some teams getting most of the attention didn’t fare too well.

Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson, the gold and silver medallists at the Olympics last summer in Rio, played the par 5s in 2 over and opened with a 72. Jason Day and Rickie Fowler, who have a corporate relationship with Zurich, could only manage a 71.

The cut will be made after Friday fourballs to the top 35 teams and ties. The winners will each get credit for a PGA Tour victory, just as it was in 1981 at the Walt Disney World National Team Championship in 1981, the most recent official team event.

Brian Stuard, who won the Zurich Classic last year on his own, has Chris Stroud as a teammate. They had a chance to tie for the lead on their final hole, the par-3 ninth, until Stuard hit into the water. He made a 20-foot putt to at least escape with bogey and a 68.

Also at 68 were Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly, a pair of 50-year-olds from Wisconsin who still have full PGA Tour status. They also had a chance to join the leaders until Kelly missed a 3-foot par putt on the 17th.

Brooks Koepka and his younger brother, Chase, who received a sponsor exemption, were among those at 69.

Spieth headed to the practice range after the round, and then the two-time major champion and Palmer had plans Thursday night. New Orleans coach Sean Payton invited them to the Saints’ team room for the NFL draft.

Both are Cowboys fans, but Palmer is friends with the coach and played the pro-am with Payton and quarterback Drew Brees.

“It’ll be really cool just kind of sitting in the back and watching that process take shape,” Spieth said. “I’ve always wondered what it’s like.”

The Rules of Golf state that if a player causes his or her ball in play to move there is a one-stroke penalty and the ball must be replaced. It’s a rule that dates back decades and is one with a few exceptions. However, over the last few years, it has also become increasingly difficult to enforce with both players and officials struggling to definitively determine what caused a ball’s movement.

The game’s governing bodies have taken notice and, effective January 1, 2017, a committee (committee in charge of a competition or committee in charge of a course) may adopt a new Local Rule that modifies Rule 18-2. The following wording is recommended:

Accidental Movement of a Ball on a Putting Green

“Rules 18-2, 18-3 and 20-1 are modified as follows:

When a player’s ball lies on the putting green, there is no penalty if the ball or ball-marker is accidentally moved by the player, his partner, his opponent, or any of their caddies or equipment.

The moved ball or ball-marker must be replaced as provided in Rules 18-2, 18-3 and 20-1.

This Local Rule applies only when the player’s ball or ball-marker lies on the putting green and any movement is accidental.

Note: If it is determined that a player’s ball on the putting green was moved as a result of wind, water or some other natural cause such as the effects of gravity, the ball must be played as it lies from its new location. A ball-marker moved in such circumstances is replaced.”

Implementing this Local Rule will absolve a player of penalty if a ball in play on the putting green is accidentally moved. It should also be noted that this Local Rule would modify Rule 18-3 and Rule 20-1, providing no penalty in match play to an opponent accidentally causing a player’s ball or ball-marker to move, as well as no penalty for an accidental movement of a player’s ball-marker on the putting green.

The desire to act immediately by introducing a Local Rule instead of waiting for the next code of the Rules of Golf in 2020 was mainly due to the alarming number of situations that arose where players’ balls were moving on the putting green. Most notably, this occurred during the final round of the 2016 U.S. Open.

Lining up a par putt on the fifth hole at Oakmont last year, Dustin Johnson’s ball slightly shifted on the green causing him to back away. After studying video and talking to Dustin after his round, the USGA ruled Johnson’s actions caused the ball to move and served him a one-stroke penalty despite his denial. Ultimately, it didn’t affect the outcome of the event as the American won his first major by three shots.

In today’s game though, the speed, slope and shape of putting greens is exponentially increasing the likelihood of balls moving. Globally, all the major golf tours worldwide will implement this new Local Rule, including the PGA Tour, European Tour, LPGA Tour and the PGA of America.

In Canada, all the provincial golf associations will be implementing this Local Rule as part of their Standard Local Rules, as well as Golf Canada, whose Rules and Amateur Status Committee formally ratified it at our annual general meeting.

This new Local Rule has been widely praised and is in fact one small piece of a greater effort to make the Rules of Golf easier to read, understand and apply. Golf’s governing bodies have been reviewing the rules for some time now and are considering a fundamental change to the Rules of Golf. The first iteration of the new Rules of Golf, through golf’s Rules Modernization Project, was announced to the public on March 1st.

This article was originally published in the April 2017 edition of Golf Canada Magazine. Click here to view the full magazine.

IRVING, Texas – Lexi Thompson paused, tears welling up in her eyes, when asked about how difficult things have been since a viewer-cited penalty cost her what appeared to be a sure victory in the LPGA Tour’s first major of the year.

Thompson stopped for more than 30 seconds after starting to answer the question Wednesday, a day before teeing off in Texas for her first tournament since the ANA Inspiration in California.

“That’s one of my favourite tournaments, and it’s always a dream of mine to just see myself jumping into Poppie’s Pond,” said the 22-year-old Thompson, who got to do that after winning at Mission Hills in 2014. “I played amazing that week. I don’t think I’ve ever played better, and just for that to happen it was just, it was kind of a nightmare.”

On the 13th hole in the final round April 2, Thompson had a three-stroke lead before being informed that she was being penalized four strokes for an infraction on the 17th hole the previous day that was pointed out by a television viewer by email.

Thompson, in her first media session since losing in a playoff at the ANA, said she didn’t intentionally put her ball back down in the wrong spot before making the 15-inch par-saving putt on the Dinah Shore Course with absolutely perfect greens.

“I have seen the video and I can see where they’re coming from with it. It might have been, I guess, me rotating the ball,” she said. “I have always played by the Rules of Golf. … I did not mean it at all.”

Golf’s ruling bodies just this week issued a new decision that limits the use of video evidence and could spare players from being penalized even if they violated a rule. The decision went into effect immediately on all tours around the world.

Players can avoid a penalty if the violation could not be noticed with the naked eye. Rules official also can eliminate penalties if they feel players made a “reasonable judgment” in taking a drop or replacing their golf balls on the putting green.

Thompson said she hadn’t read too much into the changes, but said, “any rule that’s made to make the game more simple, I think, is great for the game of golf.”

The U.S. Olympian also hadn’t spoken to any LPGA Tour rules officials about the new rule, and didn’t know if she would have been penalized had the new standards been in effect three weeks ago.

On the placement that got her penalized, Thompson said she was trying to take her time and make sure she made that putt after a birdie attempt that came up short on the 27th of 28 holes she had to play that Saturday at Mission Hills because she also had to finish her second round.

“I got up to it and thought about tapping it in, but I was pretty mad after my first putt because I put a terrible stroke on it,” she said. “My dad always told me I’ve missed a lot of putts by just going up and tapping them in. I’ve stubbed a few, done all that. I was just like ‘Lexi, just relax, mark the putt, it’s a major championship, you don’t need to go up and miss this little putt.”

So Thompson marked her ball, took a practice stroke, took a deep breath and made sure she made the putt.

Thompson, the fifth-ranked women’s player in the world, has three top-four finishes in her six starts on the LPGA Tour this season.

“I’m very excited. I’m happy to be here in Texas,” she said. “I’m really focused on this week to just get back playing again. My game is in a great spot. … I’ve been working hard the last three weeks, so I’m excited to tee it up and get this all behind me.”

The sun has nearly disappeared at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla., and there is a smattering of collegiate golfers wrapping up practice for the day. A mix of kids in pink, white and dark blue shirts mingle and then depart the large putting green, heading back to their rooms or maybe, because it’s Monday and the chicken wings are on special, to Houligan’s, a multi-level sports bar adjacent to the Daytona International Speedway.

But not Grace St-Germain.

She’s still on that practice green, knocking in a couple more putts before swatting away some mosquitoes — out for blood once the sun goes down — and flashing a big smile at a lingering reporter.

One of those mosquitoes catches her left arm, revealing for the first time a tattoo, visible only as she tries to flick away the pesky bug under the lights of the nearby parking lot where her teammates are waiting.

Written in script, it says, ‘I believe in good things coming.’

“No matter what you’re going through, or how bad it is, good things are always coming,” she says of her chosen ink. “If you have a bad hole, good things are coming. It’ll be OK.”

St-Germain, who spent two years on Golf Canada’s Development Squad and one year with Team Ontario, was named a member of the National Amateur Squad for 2017. She’s in her first of two years at Daytona State, a junior college, but has already committed to the University of Arkansas for the fall of 2018 thanks to some impressive accomplishments on the international stage.

At 16, she got those motivational words permanently etched on her arm. But since she was a minor, she had to get parental consent first.

“Grace is an old soul and I know that whatever she wants to do she has thought it out very well,” says her mom, Kathy. “I loved how it had a meaning for her life, but also for golf. We had an agreement that she had to write the quote on her arm and if after a month she still loved it, then we would go get it. The quote sums up Grace’s personality and I have to say, I love it on her.”

To this day, Kathy St-Germain is unaware of how Grace’s golf skill came to be. She says she doesn’t golf, and her husband is a casual, once-a-summer player.

St-Germain’s grandparents, however, ran the junior program at Hylands Golf Club — the host of the Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada’s National Capital Open to Support our Troops — and encouraged all their grandchildren to play.

“One of the members told us that Grace should start playing tournaments, and we were like, ‘Oh, why?’” relates Kathy with a laugh. “People said she had a nice swing, but we figured it was just something she could do for fun and it’s a sport you could play until you were 70 or 80 years old. We just had no clue.”

St-Germain says she was the only one of the grandchildren to stick with the junior golf program after she started playing at seven.

“You couldn’t play on the golf course until you were eight, so I would play around on the putting green and the driving range,” Grace recalls. “I wanted to keep getting better and better until I got to play on the big course. That got me into (golf) and motivated to play.”

St-Germain, an only child, grew up as a figure skater. She says the individualistic aspect of skating helps her now on the golf course.

“I have to put the effort in. I don’t have a team to support me. I have to do all the work on my own, and performing in front of crowds, (figure skating) helped too,” she explains. “I started figure skating when I was four, so I was used to crowds.”

Despite watching Grace grow up with sports, Kathy admits her and her husband still can’t grasp how she does what she does on the golf course.

“Even now, we’re in shock,” states Kathy. “We go out and we love watching her play so much. As long as she’s happy, there’s never been a where-will-this-take-her moment. When she won (the 2016 Ontario Women’s Amateur) we knew she could do it. Even then, we were standing around saying, ‘Oh my God, what just happened?’”

Kathy says Grace’s involvement in Golf Canada’s program has been the “best thing that’s ever happened to her” and St-Germain points to the support of Ann Carroll on the Development Squad as being important in her own growth as a golfer, calling her a “mother figure” and a “best friend.”

She’s excited, though, to move on and work with Tristan Mullally.

“The thing about Grace is that I see a lot of potential for growth,” says Mullally, head coach of Team Canada’s women’s squad. “Strategy is always a strong element of how she plays her game. There are some technical improvements that could be made but it’s awesome that she has been able to play as well and score as well, even though she can improve. She can get a lot stronger, there are a lot of positive elements that can grow.”

Being from Ottawa, St-Germain admits seeing local hero Brooke Henderson have the success she’s had so far has been motivating as well.

“I want to get there,” she says. “Seeing someone have such great success and being from (my) area is great.”

“With Brooke and all the other Canadians doing well, that opens up the gates,” adds Mullally. “It brings a familiarity of the level of play you need to be successful. It’s someone from your home country you can reach out to and look up to.”

Although St-Germain has not yet played in a professional event, she says if she was invited to or qualified for one, it would be great experience.

Through early 2017, she already has a win under her belt, as Team Canada — along with Maddie Szeryk — captured the team title at the 2017 Mexican Amateur (she finished third in the individual portion).

So while the sun sets on another day of practice for Grace St-Germain, jumping in her teammates’ car and home in time for some homework and dinner, it will rise again tomorrow as she continues to chase her dream.

Another day to believe in good things coming.

This article was originally published in the April 2017 edition of Golf Canada Magazine. Click here to view the full magazine.

Emily Leung and Chris Crisologo—both British Columbia natives and students at Simon Fraser University—captured their respective NCAA Division II individual titles on Tuesday at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Championship.

Leung (Richmond) carded a tournament-low 70 to open the tournament with a comfortable lead, eventually leading to a six stroke victory over teammate Kylie Jack. The Simon Fraser University Clan also defended the women’s team title, winning by a margin of 19 strokes at Idaho’s Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Course.

On the men’s side, Crisologo (Richmond) closed with an even-par 71 to finish at 5-under par (70-67-71), hanging on for a two-stroke victory over Western Washington’s Chris Hatch. The win marks Crisologo’s first individual victory in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.

Click here for women’s scoring.
Click here for men’s scoring.

The USGA and The R&A have issued a new Decision on the Rules of Golf to limit the use of video evidence in the game, effective immediately.

The two organizations have also established a working group of LPGA, PGA Tour, PGA European Tour, Ladies European Tour and PGA of America representatives to immediately begin a comprehensive review of broader video issues, including viewer call-ins, which arise in televised competitions.

New Decision 34-3/10 implements two standards for Rules committees to limit the use of video: 1) when video reveals evidence that could not reasonably be seen with the “naked eye,” and 2) when players use their “reasonable judgment” to determine a specific location when applying the Rules. The full language of the Decision can be found here.

The first standard states, “the use of video technology can make it possible to identify things that could not be seen with the naked eye.” An example includes a player who unknowingly touches a few grains of sand in taking a backswing with a club in a bunker when making a stroke.

If the committee concludes that such facts could not reasonably have been seen with the naked eye and the player was not otherwise aware of the potential breach, the player will be deemed not to have breached the Rules, even when video technology shows otherwise. This is an extension of the provision on ball-at-rest-moved cases, which was introduced in 2014.

The second standard applies when a player determines a spot, point, position, line, area, distance or other location in applying the Rules, and recognizes that a player should not be held to the degree of precision that can sometimes be provided by video technology. Examples include determining the nearest point of relief or replacing a lifted ball.

So long as the player does what can reasonably be expected under the circumstances to make an accurate determination, the player’s reasonable judgment will be accepted, even if later shown to be inaccurate by the use of video evidence.

Both of these standards have been extensively discussed as part of the Rules modernization initiative.  The USGA and The R&A have decided to enact this Decision immediately because of the many difficult issues arising from video review in televised golf.

The standards in the Decision do not change any of the current requirements in the Rules, as the player must still act with care, report all known breaches of the Rules and try to do what is reasonably expected in making an accurate determination when applying the Rules.

Video-related topics that require a deeper evaluation by the working group include the use of information from sources other than participants such as phone calls, email or social media, and the application of penalties after a score card has been returned.

USGA Executive Director/CEO Mike Davis said, “This important first step provides officials with tools that can have a direct and positive impact on the game. We recognize there is more work to be done. Advancements in video technology are enhancing the viewing experience for fans, but can also significantly affect the competition. We need to balance those advances with what is fair for all players when applying the Rules.”

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “We have been considering the impact of video review on the game and feel it is important to introduce a Decision to give greater clarity in this area. Golf has always been a game of integrity and we want to ensure that the emphasis remains as much as possible on the reasonable judgment of the player rather than on what video technology can show.”

The USGA and The R&A will consider additional modifications recommended by the working group for implementation in advance of Jan. 1, 2019, when the new code resulting from the collaborative work to modernize golf’s Rules takes effect.

There was good reason to smile on the weekend for a pair of Team Canada members, who both finished tied for fifth at their respective NCAA Conference Championships.

Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee—a sophomore at Ohio State—shot a 2-over score at the River’s Bend course in Mainville, Ohio to close the Big Ten Championship in a three-way share of fifth place. Lee led the Buckeyes to a third place result overall.

To add to her strong weekend, the four-year National Amateur Squad member was also named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team.

Jaclyn Lee named to the All-Tournament Team at the Big Ten Championships. #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/Pnqikk3oQ2

— Ohio State W Golf (@OhioState_WGOLF) April 23, 2017

Down in Alabama, Maddie Szeryk mirrored the success of Lee with a matching T5 result at the Southeastern Conference Championship in Birmingham. Szeryk—a junior at Texas A&M—carded a final-round 71 to finish at 5-under par, helping the Aggies to finish T5 overall.

The result marks another strong performance from the 20-year-old Szeryk, who earned back-to-back SEC Golfer of the Week honours in March. She has posted seven top-10 victories for the Aggies in the 2016-17 campaign.

Both Szeryk and Lee will tee-it-up at the NCAA Columbus Regional from May 8-10, held at Ohio State University’s Scarlet Course.

Victoria, B.C. native and Team Canada teammate Naomi Ko—a sophomore at N.C. State—will be in action at the Albuquerque Regional, also taking place from May 8-10.

The top-six teams and top-three individual scorers (not on advancing teams) from regional events will earn tickets to the NCAA Championships from May 19-24.