SINGAPORE _ Michelle Wie rolled in several clutch putts on Thursday and had six birdies in a 10-hole stretch to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the HSBC Women’s Champions.

The 27-year-old Wie, who has struggled with injuries and form since winning the U.S. Open in 2014, shot a 6-under 66 at the new Tanjong course.

Brooke Henderson, of Smiths Falls, Ont., was in a five-way tie for second place. Henderson, Inbee Park, Mo Martin, Anna Nordqvist and Ariya Jutanugarn each shot a 5-under 67.

“We love Singapore,” Henderson said of her and her sister Brittany. “It’s our favourite place that we travel to. We love it. Just being in a hotel room and looking out over the city is cool. Maybe a night safari or something like that.”

Among other scores in the 63-player field, Stacy Lewis and Paula Creamer had 68s, top-ranked Lydia Ko shot 69, Shanshan Feng and Lexi Thompson 70, Karrie Webb 75 and Cristie Kerr 77.

Alena Sharp of Hamilton opened with a 3-over 75.

Wie, who had eight birdies and a pair of bogeys on Thursday, has managed just one top-10 finish since 2014 and only got into the $1.5 million LPGA tournament on a sponsor’s invitation after her ranking slumped to No. 179.

But she was in vintage touch Thursday despite playing in tricky winds and light rain.

After making a bogey-5 at the third, Wie’s putter suddenly got hot as she made three birdies in a row to go out in 34.

She made another three birdies at the start of the back nine, draining a 12-foot putt on the 11th and then sinking another long putt from below the hole on the 501-yard, par-5 13th to take the early lead at a tournament featuring nine of the world’s top 10 players.

Wie slipped a shot behind Nordqvist when she bogeyed the 15th after an errant tee shot and the Swede picked up her sixth birdie, but Wie regained the lead with back-to-back birdies at 16 and 17.

“It feels good to play without much pain, to go out there and just play some golf and focus on my game rather than trying to finish out rounds,” Wie said. “It’s always exciting to be on the top of the leaderboard.”

Scott Simmons, the outgoing CEO of Golf Canada after 10 years on the job, doesn’t want to talk about a “legacy.” He prefers “framework.” He also discounts “challenge,” substituting “opportunity” whenever the former word is mentioned.

When Simmons took over in 2007, he might have done well to recognize Charles Dickens’ opening sentence in A Tale of Two Cities: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

A decade ago, the landscape of golf was shifting, as it continues to do. The demographic, economic and related tectonic plates that had hoisted the game to historic levels were settling, even faltering.

But, typically, Simmons saw not a challenge, but an opportunity.

The year before he took over, the Royal Canadian Golf Association had been anointed as the National Sport Federation for golf.

“I saw this as such an exciting time for the game to leap forward in Canada,” Simmons said in an interview. “It was a unique opportunity for a traditional association, which had been known only as the ‘governing body of golf’ to evolve into the National Sport Federation [NSF] for golf in a country which has such a love of the game.

“If I had to give one reason for taking the job, that would be it.”

In full disclosure, I have known Simmons for more than 20 years. We worked together in the early 1990s at the RCGA. I was director of communications. He was my counterpart on the marketing side. We both left to pursue other interests eventually. He to private industry, me to, well, I remain unsure.  It was a pleasure, and I mean that sincerely, to work with him on many projects, including the infancy of what now is Future Links and Golf in Schools. I was always impressed by his passion for the game. That passion was, and remains, genuine.

If you want the boilerplate checklist on what he is most proud of as he departs, you can have a look at his sayonara message in Golf Canada’s annual report. It’s impressive.  Of course, he didn’t do it all on his own. It required the valued input of Boards of Directors, provincial associations, national associations and other contributors.

Nonetheless…

The thumbnail sketch of his “legacy” includes developing an ongoing strategic plan for the association, a much-needed revision of the organization’s governance model, introducing “Golf Canada” as the public-facing brand, securing long-term sponsors for our men’s and women’s national Opens, introducing a new membership model, revitalizing the Golf Canada Foundation and numerous other checkpoints.

“I love this game and I thought, 10 years ago, that I could bring a different perspective and energy and give something back to golf,” says Simmons. “Aside from building on the NSF designation and the other achievements, I am most proud of the success we have had in getting kids involved in golf.”

When I spoke to Simmons recently, he had just returned from a meeting with the folks looking for his successor.

He suggested to them that, among other items, their criteria should include the ability to continue to expand the framework he established over the past decade, specifically to strengthen the relationships with all international, national and provincial golf associations.

I would suggest some other criteria. Visionary, communicator, diplomat, marketer, ambassador, administrator, hide of an elephant…

But not golfer.

Simmons’ advice to his successor is that they prepare to “see a lot of golf courses and not play any of them.”

As the National Sport Federation and governing body of golf in Canada, Golf Canada, in conjunction with the R&A and the United States Golf Association (USGA), has unveiled a preview of the proposed new Rules of Golf. This joint initiative was designed to modernize the Rules and make them easier to understand and apply.

The online release of this preview by the R&A and USGA begins a six-month feedback and evaluation period during which all golfers worldwide can learn about the proposed changes and provide input before they are finalized in 2018 and take effect on 1 January 2019.

The announcement follows a comprehensive review process that began in 2012 with a working group of key R&A and USGA Rules administrators, a Golf Canada representative, professional tour officials and other Rules experts. While the Rules are revised every four years, this is the first fundamental review since 1984, and was established to ensure the Rules fit the needs of today’s game and the way it is played around the world.   

David Rickman, Executive Director – Governance at The R&A, said, “Our aim is to make the Rules easier to understand and to apply for all golfers. We have looked at every Rule to try to find ways to make them more intuitive and straightforward, and we believe we have identified many significant improvements. It is important that the Rules continue to evolve and remain in tune with the way the modern game is played, but we have been careful not to change the game’s longstanding principles and character.”

“We are excited and encouraged by the potential this work brings, both through the proposed new Rules and the opportunities to use technology to deliver them,” said Thomas Pagel, Senior Director of Rules & Amateur Status for the USGA. “We look forward to an ongoing conversation with golfers during the feedback period in the months ahead.”

“There was considerable effort, exploration and dialogue around how these proposed changes would both modernize the Rules and make them easier for all golfers to understand and apply,” said Adam Helmer, Director of Rules, Competitions and Amateur Status with Golf Canada. “We encourage Canadian golf enthusiasts to review the proposed Rules changes and participate in the feedback process of the next six months.”

The proposed 24 new Rules, reduced from the current 34, have been written in a user-friendly style with shorter sentences, commonly used phrases, bulleted lists and explanatory headings. The initiative also focuses on assessing the overall consistency, simplicity and fairness of the Rules for play.

The Rules are currently delivered in more than 30 languages, and the proposed wording will support easier translation worldwide. When adopted, the Rules will be supported by technology that allows the use of images, videos and graphics.

Highlights of the proposed Rule changes include:

– Elimination or reduction of “ball moved” penalties: There will be no penalty for accidentally moving a ball on the putting green or in searching for a ball; and a player is not responsible for causing a ball to move unless it is “virtually certain” that he or she did so.

– Relaxed putting green rules: There will be no penalty if a ball played from the putting green hits an unattended flagstick in the hole; players may putt without having the flagstick attended or removed. Players may repair spike marks and other damage made by shoes, animal damage and other damage on the putting green and there is no penalty for merely touching the line of putt.

– Relaxed rules for “penalty areas” (currently called “water hazards”): Red and yellow-marked penalty areas may cover areas of desert, jungle, lava rock, etc., in addition to areas of water; expanded use of red penalty areas where lateral relief is allowed; and there will be no penalty for moving loose impediments or touching the ground or water in a penalty area.

– Relaxed bunker rules: There will be no penalty for moving loose impediments in a bunker or for generally touching the sand with a hand or club. A limited set of restrictions (such as not grounding the club right next to the ball) is kept to preserve the challenge of playing from the sand; however, an extra relief option is added for an unplayable ball in a bunker, allowing the ball to be played from outside the bunker with a two-stroke penalty.

– Relying on player integrity: A player’s “reasonable judgment” when estimating or measuring a spot, point, line, area or distance will be upheld, even if video evidence later shows it to be wrong; and elimination of announcement procedures when lifting a ball to identify it or to see if it is damaged.

– Pace-of-play support: Reduced time for searching for a lost ball (from five minutes to three); affirmative encouragement of “ready golf” in stroke play; recommending that players take no more than 40 seconds to play a stroke and other changes intended to help with pace of play.

– Simplified way of taking relief: A new procedure for taking relief by dropping a ball in and playing it from a specific relief area; relaxed procedures for dropping a ball, allowing the ball to be dropped from just above the ground or any growing thing or other object on the ground.

A series of materials have also been prepared to explain the proposed Rule changes and provide background on the initiative. Found on randa.org and usga.org/rules, they include:

– Overview of the Rules Modernization Initiative: goals, proposed changes and process for implementation in 2019

– Draft New Rules of Golf for 2019: the full text of proposed Rules 1-24 and Definitions

– Draft Player’s Edition of the New Rules of Golf for 2019: Written from the perspective of “you” the golfer, this shorter version covers the most commonly used Rules and is meant to be the rule book golfers will use when finalized and adopted in 2019

– Explanation for Each Major Proposed Change in the New Rules of Golf for 2019: Short summaries of each major proposed change

– Summary chart of major changes

– Videos and Infographics: Visual explanations of the proposed Rules.

Golfers are encouraged to review the proposed changes and submit feedback online via worldwide survey technology that can be accessed at randa.org or usga.org/rules from now until 31 August 2017.

The feedback will be reviewed by golf’s governing bodies in establishing the approved final version of golf’s new Rules. These are due to be released in mid-2018 ahead of a 1 January 2019 implementation. Social media users can also follow the discussion using #GolfRules2019.

Players are reminded that the current 2016 Edition of the Rules of Golf remain in force when playing, posting scores or competing, until the new Rules are officially adopted by The R&A and the USGA as well as Golf Canada in 2019. The Rules of Amateur Status and the Rules of Equipment Standards were not part of this review process.     

OAKVILLE, Ont. (Golf Canada) – The Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum is proud to announce that Montreal natives Judy Darling Evans and legendary golf club maker Robert (Bob) Vokey have been elected as the 2017 inductees into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame.

Darling Evans will be inducted under the player category while Vokey will be inducted as a builder. With their inductions, the Quebec duo will become the 78^th and 79^th honoured members of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame.

“The Canadian Golf Hall of Fame recognizes the accomplishments of outstanding individuals and their tremendous impact on the game of golf and it is without question an honour welcome Judy Darling Evans and Bob Vokey as our newest honoured members,” said Sandra Post, Chair of the Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee. “During her competitive career, Judy was fierce and accomplished competitor while the Vokey name has become synonymous with excellence in craftsmanship. Their respective elections exemplify the diversity of talent represented among the members of the Canadian Golf Hall Fame.”

During her stellar amateur career, Darling Evans, 79 was a dominant force in Quebec and Canadian women’s amateur golf with a resume that includes three Quebec Junior Girls’ titles (1953, 1956 & 1957); six Quebec Women’s Amateur titles (1957-1961, 1972); and a Quebec Women’s Senior title (1988); three Quebec interprovincial team titles; a Canadian Junior Girls title (1957) and a pair of Canadian Women’s Amateur victories (1960-61). She also represented Canada at the 1959 and 1963 Commonwealth Games and in 1998, her accomplishments were recognized with induction into the Quebec Golf Hall of Fame.

A product of a proud golfing family, she and her mother Dora are the only mother-daughter duo to have both won the Quebec Ladies Amateur Championship and the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship.

“Just last weekend I was at the Honda Classic at PGA National where I live, and I was cheering on Graham DeLaet who was well under par, when my phone kept buzzing and I ran home to find Sandra Post had called,” said Darling Evans about getting the call from the Selection Committee.  “She told me that I had been selected to be inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. I was overwhelmed and shed more than a few tears. It was the most wonderful surprise. I would like to thank Sandra and the Selection Committee for bestowing this honour on me. It is truly a great privilege to be in the company of such distinguished and accomplished honored members and I am very excited about the upcoming ceremony this summer at Glen Abbey.”

Born in Montreal and raised in Verdun, Que., Vokey has become one of the world’s foremost wedge designers and trusted short game advisor to many of the modern game’s greatest golfers. His innovative designs have made Titleist Vokey wedges a trusted brand among golfers of every age and skill level.

Over his illustrious career, Vokey, 77, has designed wedges for many of golf’s notable players including Seve Ballesteros, Lee Trevino, Bernhard Langer, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Davis Love III, Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott, Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy, as well as Canadians Mike Weir, Ian Leggatt, Graham DeLaet and Brad Fritsch.

“I’m truly humbled by this incredible honour. This is something I would never have dreamed of as a young boy growing up in Verdun, working in my Dad’s machine shop. I’ve never forgotten where I came from, so to see my name on the same list of Canadian golf legends is overwhelming. I have always been surrounded by passionate, hardworking people who love the game as much as I do. This honour really is a reflection of everybody that has provided me the opportunities to live out my passion over the past 50 years in golf.”

Darling Evans and Vokey will be officially inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame during ceremonies to be held later this year.

About Judy Darling Evans….               

For nearly a decade, the name Judy Darling Evans was synonymous with amateur golfing success. She was born on October 6, 1937 in Montreal and was first introduced to the game at Whitlock Golf Club where her grandfather, J.A. Darling—a Quebec Amateur champion himself— served as the club’s first president.

Through the years, the Darling family was an institution at the Whitlock club. Judy’s father, Bill won 11 club titles as well as the Western Canada championship. Her mother, Dora, twice captured the Québec Women’s Amateur crown and won the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship in 1936. Her sister Mary was a three-time Québec junior champion. As well, her brother Brian was twice named to the junior interprovincial team and was a five-time member of the Québec team in matches against Ontario.

Darling Evans first joined the Whitlock club at the age ten, although she had begun swinging a club almost as soon as she could walk. In 1953, her family also held membership at Royal Montreal Golf Club, although she continued to compete under the Whitlock banner. It was during her time at Royal Montreal that she was

It wasn’t long before Judy earned a formidable reputation in the junior ranks. In 1952 she finished runner-up in the Québec Junior Girls’ Championship as a 14-year old and then the following year captured her first Québec Junior Girls’ title. Her domination in Québec junior ranks continued with a runner-up finish in 1955, before winning her second of three Quebec Junior crowns in 1956. She would go to capture national attention with a runner-up finish at the 1956 Canadian Junior Girls’ Championship.

By age 19 she had become one of the province’s elite players. In 1957 she captured the first of five consecutive Québec Women’s Amateur crowns (1957-1961), earning her the distinction of becoming the first golfer to win both the Quebec Junior Girls and Quebec Women’s Amateur titles in one year. She carried that success to the national level by capturing the 1957 Canadian Junior Girls’ crown.

Judy’s domination at the provincial and national level earned a selection to the Canadian women’s golf team competing in the 1959 Commonwealth Games in St. Andrews, Scotland. She would help Canada finish second at the four-nation event.

In 1960, after graduating from McGill University, she would finish runner-up in the Canadian Ladies’ Close Amateur Championship before winning the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship. The victory was historic as it marked the first time a mother-daughter duo – her mother Dora won the Open title in 1936 – would have their names inscribed on the Duchess of Connaught Trophy. That year she would rank third in voting for Canadian Female Athlete of the Year.

In 1961, Darling Evans captured her record fifth consecutive Québec Ladies’ Amateur title and went on to successfully defend her Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship crown. She was again nominated for Canadian Female Athlete of the year, eventually finishing second in the balloting. Later that year Judy Darling would wed Douglas Evans.

The summer of 1962 brought different joy with the birth of her first child, daughter Katherine. Eight months later, after taking more than a year off from golf, Darling Evans accepted the invitation to play for Canada in the 1963 Commonwealth matches in Australia. Those Commonwealth matches were to be her last hurrah as a competitor as she redirected her focus toward family life.

Competitive golf made way to recreational enjoyment as her family grew to include four children, Katherine (1962), Cynthia (1964), Tracey (1967), and Daphne (1969). In 1970, she rejoined Royal Montreal Golf Club and two years later entered the Québec Women’s Amateur Championship. Although she had spent nearly a decade away from competitive golf, her talents led to capturing her sixth Amateur title in 1972.

Amateur golfing success continued into her later years with a win (1988) and runner-up finish (1989) at the Québec Senior Women’s Championship.

Darling Evans career as one of Canada’s most accomplished amateurs was recognized with induction into the Quebec Golf Hall of Fame in 1988.

About Bob Vokey…..

Bob Vokey was born in 1939 in Montréal, Québec. and credits his early inspiration in club design to the summers he spent with his father, a fine tool and die maker who had a penchant for golf and enjoyed tinkering with equipment.

He was a three-sport athlete in hockey, baseball, and football growing up and his talents on the football field led to a professional stint with the Québec Rifles of the United Football League as a punter, receiver and safety. He moved to Southern California in 1965 to work for AT&T laying telephone lines and it was during this time that he developed a passion for golf and the tools required for golfers to play their best.

In 1976, he pursued his passion by opening Bob’s Custom Shop which offered club building and repair services. From there, it didn’t take long for the ‘Bob Vokey’ name to become synonymous with craftsmanship within the South California golf community.

In 1986, he joined TaylorMade as their primary club builder in the company’s Tour department. It was during this time that he developed relationships with players such as Lee Trevino, Seve Ballesteros and Mark O’Meara.

In 1991 he joined Founders Club and continued to gain the trust of the game’s greats including Lanny Wadkins and Peter Jacobsen with performance products that included the TV-1 Irons, Founders Forged and Fresh Metal Plus metal woods.

In 1996, the lead club designer at Titleist, Terry McCabe, asked Vokey to join him in the R&D and Tour Departments. His first project at Titleist was assisting with the final design of the Titleist 975 driver, which quickly became the No. 1 driver in play on the PGA Tour in 1996.

Shortly thereafter, Titleist CEO Wally Uihlein entrusted Vokey with the task of driving the company’s wedge business. The 456.14 wedge was the first Vokey Design wedge in play on the PGA Tour when it debuted in the summer of 1997 and introduced to the consumer market in 1998.

Vokey’s innovation with wedge design introduced popular concepts such as bounce and grind into golf equipment lexicon. The 400 series Vokey Design wedges delivered the finest in product design and committed service to the world’s best players and were complimented by 200 and 300 series wedges from 2000 to 2004. In 2004, Vokey Design wedges became the No. 1 wedge in play on the PGA Tour, a distinction of excellence that continues today.

In 2005, Vokey’s innovation introduced the Spin Milled groove cutting process, which ultimately led to Vokey Design wedges becoming the No. 1 wedge in the world’s largest consumer market, the United States, in 2009, a market leadership position it has held now since 2011.

Vokey and his design team continue to focus on innovation and in 2016 introduced ‘progressive centre of gravity’ to the wedge category with the Spin Milled 6 models. The technology represented another leap in wedge design from custom sole grinds, to spin milled grooves and centre of gravity precisely positioned based on loft. Each innovation to this day is grounded in Vokey’s commitment to the golfer, and his mission to deliver the best in wedge play performance.

Earlier this year, his contributions to the game were honoured with election into the Quebec Hall of Fame.

Players in this year’s GREY GOOSE World Par 3 Championship will now have an opportunity to win $1-million (USD).

Sponsored by Greg Norman Apparel and the Fairmont Southampton, the $1-million hole-in-one shootout will feature two professional and two amateur golfers.

“Adding this exciting element to the GREY GOOSE World Par 3 Championship rounds out one of the best—and most fun—tournaments in Bermuda,” says Turtle Hill Golf Club’s director of golf Paul Adams. “The possibility of someone becoming an instant millionaire with just one swing of the club is electrifying.”

Professional and amateur participants will compete in two closest-to-hole games (on Nos. 9 and 18) during Friday’s first round, with the four winners (two professionals and two amateurs) participating in the $1-million shootout later that evening on No. 18.

The $1-million shootout will be live streamed through the PGA of Canada’s Facebook page.

The GREY GOOSE World Par 3 Championship takes place March 16-19.

With a total purse of $75,000 (USD), entry into GREY GOOSE World Par 3 Championship is still available. Both professional and amateur golfers can register HERE.

The $300 entry fee includes a myriad of experiences, including:

• Welcome Reception at Bacardi Headquarters (evening on Thursday, March 16, 2017)
• Lunch at Italian resort restaurant Bacci on Tournament Days (Friday, March 17, 2017 and Saturday March 18, 2017)
• Prize Giving Reception at the 10th Tee at Turtle Hill Golf Club (evening on Saturday, March 18, 2017)
• Golf Practice Round, complimentary access to the new golf practice area and an amenity bag
• Opportunity to win $1-million in hole-in-one shootout

Past champions of the GREY GOOSE® World Par 3 Championship include Bermudian Daniel Augustus, PGA Tour winner Nick Taylor, PGA of Canada member Ian Doig, American Jordan Mitchell, Mark Mouland of the European Senior Tour and last year’s winner Rafael Becker.

The GREY GOOSE® World Par 3 Championship, as well as the Bacardi National Par 3 Championship, are both integral to Fairmont Southampton’s strategic golf plan, which aims to drive golfers to Bermuda’s shores. Both golf tournaments will benefit the Bermuda Sea Turtle Project, the official charity partner of the Turtle Hill Golf Club. The Turtle Hill Golf Club has been recognized by Golf Magazine as one of the “Top 5 Par 3 Courses in the World” and is a recipient of Golf Digest’s “Best Places to Play Golf Award.”

TORONTO – Golf Canada’s 2017 Annual General Meeting culminated on Saturday, February 25^th with the election of Roland A. Deveau of Bedford, N.S., to serve a second term as the National Sport Federation’s President.

Deveau’s election to serve a second term is historic as he joins Alfred Collyer (1930-31), F.A. Rolph (1915-1919), A.W. Austin (1907 & 1910) and Col. George A. Sweny (1898, 1901 & 1909) as only the fifth President to serve multiple or consecutive terms since the association’s formation in 1895.

The nomination for Deveau to serve a second term was put forth by Golf Canada’s Nominating Committee and supported by the Board of Directors as the association works through a leadership transition to hire a CEO successor to Scott Simmons who stepped down earlier this month after 10 years. Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s Chief Sport Officer is currently serving in the role as interim CEO with a new CEO expected to be named in April 2017.

Deveau will lead a Board of Directors that includes Calgary’s Leslie Dunning as first vice-president and Charlie Beaulieu of Lorraine, Que., as second vice-president. Other Board members include Liz Hoffman of Thornhill, Ont., Dale Jackson of Victoria, B.C., Rob MacDonald of Winnipeg, Man., Don MacKay of Bracebridge, Ont., and Allison Chisholm of Rothesay, N.B., as well as past president Paul McLean of King, Ont. and new Directors Tom Sears of Port Hope, Ont. and David Atkinson of Vancouver, B.C.

“I am humbled to accept the nomination to serve a second term as the President of this great organization,” said Deveau.  “I do so recognizing that it is a privilege to represent a membership of more than 307,000 golfers at 1,400 member clubs and an honour to work with our provincial, national and international association partners for the betterment of this great sport.”

Annual Report, Financial Statements & Strategic Plan

Click here to read Golf Canada’s 2016 Annual Report, which includes a recap of the past season, as well as the association’s 2016 Financial Statements.

Click here for Golf Canada’s 2017 Strategic Plan, outlining the key activities that Golf Canada is focused on as the National Sport Federation and governing body for golf in the country.

Bill Klein and George McLeod honoured with Volunteer of the Year Award

Bill Klein of Parksville, B.C. and George McLeod of Brandon, Man. were recognized as Golf Canada’s 2016 co-recipients of the Volunteer of the Year. This marks the 11^th year in which the association has honoured volunteers for their efforts and commitment to grow the game in their community.

Click here for more on Volunteer of the Year honourees Bill Klein and George McLeod.

In addition to appointing its new president and members to the Board of Directors, the association presented details of its strategic plan and gathered with stakeholders from the provincial golf associations as well as national and international association partners including the R&A and USGA.  The AGM also celebrated accomplishments from the previous year, including a tribute to former CEO Scott Simmons.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Rickie Fowler made it interesting Sunday for as long as it took him to make two big putts to pull away in the Honda Classic.

Staked to a four-shot lead, Fowler hit one putt into a sprinkler hole, hit a tee shot into the water and watched a big lead shrink to one over Gary Woodland early on the back nine. Fowler answered with consecutive birdie putts of 40 and 25 feet and closed with a 1-over 71 for a four-shot victory.

“If I don’t make those putts, I’ve got a pretty tight race,” Fowler said.

Instead, those chasing him had the biggest problems with the closing stretch at PGA National.

Fowler effectively ended it with a shot over the water to the 3 feet that stretched his lead to five shots with two holes to play. Woodland appeared to have second place wrapped up until he three-putted the 17th, and then tried to lay up on the par-5 18th and came up short into the water. He closed with another bogey for a 69. He had to share second place – the difference of $128,000 – with Morgan Hoffmann, who missed a 4-foot birdie putt on the 18th.

PGA champion Jimmy Walker was lurking on the fringe of contention until tee shots into the water on the 15th and 17th holes, which cost him five shots.

Tyrrell Hatton of England, who played in the final group in his first PGA Tour event in Florida, was out of the picture quickly. He still had a chance to finish alone in second, which would have gone a long way toward securing a PGA Tour card, until missing a 3-foot birdie putt on the 17th.

Fowler even got into the act when it no longer mattered. He hit his tee shot into the water on the 17th hole and made bogey, then hit a wedge into the bunker on the 18th and closed with another bogey to finish at 12-under 268.

All that mattered was the trophy, the fourth of his PGA Tour career.

Fowler jokingly referred to it as a “small collection” on Saturday evening, though it was important. He had gone 13 months and 25 starts worldwide without a victory as everyone around him was winning multiple times.

It was his first PGA Tour victory since the Deutsche Bank Championship in September 2015.

“I guess I can already plan on Hawaii for next year,” Fowler said, referring to the Tournament of Champions at Kapalua. “I can relax a little bit. This just lets us chill out in a way. There’s less pressure, less stress. I think this is something we needed going into Augusta. I like this spot we’re in right now.”

Fowler won with the lead last year in Abu Dhabi and in 2011 when he won the Korea Open, but it was the first time in five tries he converted a 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour into a trophy. In all five rounds with at least a share of the lead, he has shot over par.

A four-shot lead, which he built with two late birdies Saturday afternoon, allowed him to play smart and safe.

It just always didn’t work out that way.

He went over the green on the par-4 fourth and tried to putt it up the slope, except that it went into a sprinkler hole and led to bogey. Two holes later, Fowler hooked his tee shot into the water on the tough par-4 sixth and made double bogey.

He bounced back with a 30-foot birdie putt on No. 8, only to drop another shot on the ninth.

Woodland hit wedge into 4 feet on the 13th for a birdie to get to 10 under, suddenly one shot back of Fowler. And just like that, it was over. Fowler leaned over on his putter as he watched his 40-foot on No. 12 drop into the cup, and while he went long with a wedge on the 13th, he dropped that one in from 25 feet for birdie.

Woodland had reasonable looks at birdie over the next four holes and couldn’t get any to drop. He powered his 20-foot attempt on the 17th about 6 feet by the hole, ending is last hope.

“I thought all of them looked pretty good,” he said of his birdie chances. “It was a little deflating on 18. Thought I hit a pretty good drive and thought I would have a chance, and I just couldn’t get home and laid up in the water, which was bad.”

Hoffmann tied for second, his best finish ever on the PGA Tour.

Jhonattan Vegas made a hole-in-one on the 15th hole and closed with a 64 to tie for fourth.

Fowler’s victory and Woodland’s tie for second knocked Charles Howell III and Hudson Swafford out of the top 10 in the FedEx Cup standings, keeping them from qualifying for the Mexico Championship next week, the first World Golf Championship of the year.