CHONBURI, Thailand – Amy Yang rarely wavered with a big lead during the final round of the Thailand LPGA tournament, shooting a 4-under 68 to win by five strokes Sunday.

Due to rain delays, Yang was forced to play her final five holes of the third round on Sunday morning, and she led by five strokes after 54 holes.

Later in the day, the 2015 Thailand champion saw her lead reduced to three shots on several occasions, but the South Korean held on to post a record 22-under 266 on the Siam Country Club’s Pattaya Old Course.

The previous tournament record of 21 under was held by Suzann Pettersen in 2007 and Ai Miyazato in 2010.

Yang, who won for the third time on the LPGA Tour, made a 15-foot putt on the 14th for par, then drove the green on the par-4 15th.

“I knew I had to make it, and I did,” Yang said of her par putt on 14.

She missed her eagle attempt at 15, but made a three-foot putt for birdie to increase her lead to four shots with three to play. From there, her lead was safe and she birdied the 18th for good measure.

So Yeon Ryu, the 2011 U.S. Women’s Open champion, matched Yang with a 68 to finish second.

Lexi Thompson had the best round of the day, a 67, to finish tied for fourth, nine strokes behind, and level with fellow American Danielle Kang, who shot 68.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp shot 69 to finish in a tied for 45th at even for the torunament. Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., also finished even after a final round of 72.

The tournament featured 18 of the top 20 players in the world, including top-ranked Lydia Ko of New Zealand, who shot a closing 68 and was tied for eighth, 11 strokes behind.

“I am beyond happy, I had so many early wakeup calls this week,” said Yang, who had to play 31 holes on Saturday and 23 on Sunday. “I had to stay patient out there.”

Yang carded 10 birdies, one eagle and only one bogey over her second and partial third rounds on Saturday.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Another strong finish over the closing stretch Saturday. Another big lead after 54 holes.

Rickie Fowler can only hope that Sunday at the Honda Classic turns out as easy as it did the last two weeks on the PGA Tour, when Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson converted big leads into inevitable victories.

Fowler made two birdies over the final three holes to cap a 5-under 65 that gave him a four-shot lead over Tyrrell Hatton of England as he tries to end a frustrating year of not winning anywhere in the world.

“It would be nice to follow in their footsteps,” Fowler said. “But I do have a lot of work to do tomorrow. A four-shot lead is nice. That can obviously go away very quickly, too.”

Graham DeLaet (70) of Weyburn, Sask., was seven strokes back of Fowler. David Hearn (67) of Brantford, Ont., was 3 under and Mackenzie Hughes (72) of Dundas, Ont., was 2 over.

Fowler holed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 16th, got a potential break with a ruling behind the 17th green that allowed him to use a putter instead of a wedge, and then closed with a drive so bold and big that he had only a 7-iron into the par-5 18th to set up a two-putt birdie.

That put him at 13-under 197 and plenty of room for error.

Spieth made three birdies over his last four holes Saturday at Pebble Beach to build a six-shot lead (he won by four). A week later, Johnson birdied his last three holes at Riviera to build a five-shot lead and won by that margin.

The difference could be PGA National, with all its water and a forecast of strong wind for the final round.

“If you’re playing from three, four shots behind, you can’t make a mistake,” Fowler said. “When you’re out front, four shots, I make a mistake, OK, we’re still up. … To be out front and be in control and with the way I feel about the game, the way I’ve been swinging, I’m looking forward to it.”

Fowler is 5 under over the final four holes at PGA National so far this week.

“Birdies happen in the Bear Trap,” he said, referring to the closing stretch. “But other numbers do, as well.”

Hatton did his work before that stretch, running off three straight birdies to get within one of the lead. But he went long on the 17th and was perplexed by the Bermuda grass that he rarely sees. He chipped 15 feet by the pin and made bogey, then left a wedge short of the 18th green and had to scramble for a par and a 66.

Hatton and Fowler played together in the third round of the British Open last year, when neither had a chance to win the way Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson were playing Royal Troon that week. There’s plenty at stake this time.

Hatton, in his first PGA Tour event in Florida, came into the week with no expectations and stuck to that plan.

“All you can do is try your best and play well. That’s what I try and do every week,” Hatton said. “It’s a new course for me. I played 27 holes on Monday and Tuesday, and my caddie has done enough homework. So we know what to do. Hopefully, I’ll just play well.”

Two-time major champion Martin Kaymer had a chance to join Hatton at 9-under 201 until he took bogey from the middle of the fairway on the 18th and wound up with a 68. That left him in a large group at 7-under 203 that included Emiliano Grillo, who finished his 65 just as the leaders were starting the third round.

Ryan Palmer and Wesley Bryan, tied for the lead going into another tame day in South Florida, lost ground over the final two hours. Palmer played the final 11 holes in 4 over and shot 73, leaving him seven shots behind. Bryan hit consecutive tee shots into the hazard – including the par-3 15th that led to double bogey – and he made birdie on the 18th to salvage a 72.

Fowler hasn’t won since Abu Dhabi a year ago in January. His last PGA Tour victory was in September 2015 at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

“I definitely need to put myself in this position more often, which is just going to lead to me winning more often,” Fowler said. “I’m not going to be able to take a 36- or 54-hole lead every time and win, but the more times you put yourself there, the more trophies I get to hold on Sunday.”

This is the fifth time he has held a 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour and Fowler has yet to win from that position. He had a three-shot lead going into the final round at the Memorial in 2010 and shot 73 to finish three behind Justin Rose.

There at least was small redemption from a year ago, when Fowler became the first player to go bogey-free over the opening 36 holes at PGA National. But on Saturday, he made no birdies, shot 74 and dropped out of the hunt.

“I did better than last year,” he said. “I’m definitely in a better position that last year.”

CHONBURI, Thailand – Amy Yang of South Korea had 10 birdies and an eagle in 31 holes on Saturday after round three of LPGA Thailand was suspended due to bad light.

With five holes left, 17-under Yang had a four-shot advantage over 2011 US Women’s Open champion Ryu So Yeon, whose completed third-round 68 gave her the clubhouse lead of 13-under 203.

The tournament was already behind schedule after rain and unplayable course conditions saw the unfinished second round postponed to Saturday at the Siam Country Club Pattaya Old Course.

The 2015 champion and 11th-ranked Yang was among five players to start their second round in the morning, including second-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn.

Yang shot six birdies and a bogey for a second-round 67 and overall 11-under 133, heading into the third round with a one-shot lead over Jutanugarn (68) and Chinese Shanshan Feng (67).

In less than an hour, Yang went back for the third round and had two birdies _ and an eagle on the seventh _ for 15 under after eight holes. Play was stopped again due to lightning for more than an hour and Yang sank more birdies on Nos. 10 and 11 on resumption before bad light forced suspension.

Jutanugarn is 10 under overall with five holes to complete. Feng is also 10 under with four holes left from the third round.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., was tied for 44th place at even par. She was 1 under on her day with three holes left to play when play was suspended.

Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., was in the clubhouse at 2-over 219 after a 74.

Play resumes at 7 a.m. local time on Sunday.

Volunteer duo to be recognized during Golf Canada’s 2017 Annual General Meeting

Toronto (Golf Canada) – Golf Canada is pleased to announce that Bill Klein of Parkville, B.C. along with George McLeod of Brandon, Man. have been named co-recipients of Golf Canada’s 2016 Volunteer of the Year.

The pair will be acknowledged during the closing dinner of Golf Canada’s 2017 Annual General Meeting on Saturday, February 25^th at the Crowne Plaza Toronto Airport Hotel.

“Volunteers are the driving force behind the success of golf in this country and we are proud to recognize both Bill Klein and George McLeod for their long tenured support of Canadian golf,” said Golf Canada President Roland Deveau. “Both of these deserving individuals have given back to the game at the provincial and national level and have been proud ambassadors for our sport in their communities.”

Each year in Canada, tens of thousands of committed volunteers help to support the game of golf in communities from coast to coast.

Now in its 11^th year, candidates for Golf Canada’s Volunteer of the Year Award are put forth for consideration by the respective provincial golf associations in acknowledgment of significant contributions to the game of golf in their community.

BILL KLEIN – Parksville, B.C.

Bill Klein of Parksville, B.C. has been a volunteer with Golf Canada for more than 20 years. He originally got involved with the organization while living in Saskatchewan, during a period with Golf Saskatchewan the included successive terms as the President of Golf Saskatchewan in 1995 and 1996.

He continued to volunteer in golf after moving from Saskatchewan to Parkville, B.C. Although he enjoys living on Vancouver Island, the former police officer is fiercely proud of his roots in Regina, Sask.

A former governor with Golf Canada and past Board member with BC Golf, Klein has been a strong supporter of Canadian golf and mainstay on Golf Canada’s championship duty roster—often serving as Tournament Chair—whenever events are conducted on Vancouver Island.

He has a positive influence on his fellow volunteers and is tremendously popular among the players and guests at championships.  Klein also makes it a point to thank all the event volunteers and club staff, and goes out of his way to make sure players enjoy their championship experience.

After fighting a devastating bought of cancer two years ago, he remains a passionate supporter of the game. He served as both Tournament Chair and member of the host club committee for the 2016 Canadian University/College Championship. That event that marked the eighth time since 2010 that he served as Tournament Chair for a Golf Canada Championship on Vancouver Island including the Canadian Men’s Amateur (2013); the Canadian Women’s Amateur (2011); the Canadian University/College Championship (2012 & 2016); the Future Links Pacific Championship (2012 & 2015); the Canadian Women’s Tour (2014); and the Canadian Women’s Senior (2010).

In addition to championships, Klein has served on numerous other committees during his volunteer tenure with Golf Canada, BC Golf and Golf Saskatchewan. His passion and enthusiasm exemplify the spirit of volunteerism that drives the game of golf in communities across Canada.

GEORGE MCLEOD – Brandon, Man.

George McLeod of Brandon, Man. began volunteering in the 1980’s as a Rural Representative for the Wheat City Golf Club with the Manitoba Golf Association (MGA). He was then nominated and elected to the Board of the Manitoba Golf Association in 1985.

During his 20 year tenure on the Board, he volunteered on nearly every MGA committee and eventually served as President from 2002 through 2004. He was the last President of the MGA and the first President of the amalgamated Golf Manitoba. He was also instrumental in the formation and inauguration of the Manitoba Golf Hall of Fame and Museum.

Nationally, he served with Golf Canada as Manitoba’s Class “C” Governor for 10 years. He assisted with the association’s amalgamation with the former Canadian Ladies Golf Association (CLGA) and served on numerous committees over his 10 years as a Governor. Following Golf Canada’s governance change in 2011, he became a member of the association’s Governors Council, served on the Membership Committee and was Chair of the Canadian Turf Grass Research Foundation until 2015.

For more than 30 years, McLeod has been a Rules Official, Course Rater, Starter, Scorer and Tournament Chair with both Golf Manitoba and Golf Canada.

In 2016, he was honoured as the recipient of Golf Manitoba’s Volunteer Distinguished Service Award for his long tenured service to both Golf Manitoba and the Manitoba Ladies Golf Association and his commitment to amateur golf in Manitoba and North West Manitoba.

He has gone above and beyond the expectations of a volunteer, has been an advocate for the game and has been a positive influence on his many fellow volunteers.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – This was not a trick. This was a PGA Tour event.

Wesley Bryan, the PGA Tour rookie best known for the trick-shot videos he makes with his brother George, was so far right of the eighth fairway Friday in the Honda Classic that he was seemingly blocked out by the trees with limited options – or not many good ones, anyway.

Option one: There was a small gap at the top of the trees and he could take it over it all.

“But the best I could have done was hit just short of the green,” Bryan said.

Option two: Chip out sideways back to the fairway.

“But shoot, that was probably a harder shot that taking a low cut through the trees,” he said.

So he went with option three, and hammered it with so much bending left-to-right action that it cut through the trees and settled about 18 feet away. Bryan missed his birdie putt and looked back on the high-risk shot with a veteran’s perspective.

“Definitely don’t want to go over there and hit it again,” he said.

Bryan is loving his time on the PGA Tour more than ever. With a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole at PGA National, he had a 3-under 67 and goes into the weekend tied for the lead with Ryan Palmer.

He also shared the 36-hole lead in the John Deere Classic last August, but then he was fresh with confidence from having won for the third time on the Web.com Tour to earn an instant promotion to the big leagues. He tied for eighth.

When his rookie season began in October, he could barely crack an egg – three finishes out of the top 40, four missed cuts, another middle-of-the-pack result. But at Riviera last week, Bryan shot a 63 in the third round and was two shots behind Dustin Johnson. That excitement lasted about as long as it took Johnson to close out the third round with three straight birdies and soon stretch his lead to nine shots.

“It was really a tournament for second place,” Bryan said. He made a few bogeys down the stretch and tied for fourth.

PGA National represents his next chance.

Bryan is all about having fun. He and his brother, who grew up in South Carolina and attended the same high school (Dutch Fork) as Johnson, stumbled into making videos. Bryan has a knack for hitting a golf ball in midair, and his brother was the setup man.

But he liked the idea of being a PGA Tour player more than an internet star, and when he made it through Q-school to earn a Web.com Tour card, he showed there was a lot more to his game than trick shots.

He had never played a PGA Tour-sanctioned event until just over a year ago when he tied for seventh in his Web.com Tour debut in Panama. Then came victories in Louisiana in his third start, in Mexico a month later. He was on his way.

Bryan raised more than a few eyebrows last November at the RSM Classic at Sea Island when he was presented his award for Web.com Tour player of the year. He was asked that day about the talent gap between the Web.com Tour and the PGA Tour.

“I mean, I don’t think there’s any gap, honestly,” he said. “The best players on the Web.com Tour, if you put their best game against the best in the world out here, I don’t think you’re going to get more than a shot or two difference. The shot or two is going to come if one of the top 5 players in the world gets really hot.”

He realizes that “guys are good out here” and “they don’t stop making birdies.”

Then again, confidence goes a long way, and he picked up plenty of it with his three victories last year on the Web.com Tour.

“The more times you get in contention with a chance to win, the better off you are in the future,” he said. “Luckily, I was able to knock it out three times last year, and I found that under pressure, I can still hit the shots.”

One of the more important shots he hit Friday was with his putter – in a palmetto bush, 125 yards from the green.

He figured it was his best chance to advance the ball, and he scooted it along some 20 yards to get a better look at the green. He came up just short, chipped to 8 feet and made it for bogey.

“Don’t like making bogeys, but any time you find yourself with a putter out of the trees for your second shot, it’s not good,” he said. “Glad to settle for bogey there.”

NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, ON – After nearly 20 years of educating aspiring young golf enthusiasts, Niagara College Canada has decided to move its Professional Golf Management (PGM) program to its 3-year Sport Management program by September 2019. This means that the college will not be accepting new students into its PGM program this fall. All 2017 first year golf applicants will be directed to the college’s very successful Sport Management program. 

Given the needs of Canada’s changing golf industry, the college decided the sport management program better meets the challenges the industry faces. By providing a broader education (that will include golf), it was determined that a transition to sport better positions Niagara College graduates for a career in either sport or golf management.  

For current 1st and 2nd year PGM students, the college will fulfill its commitment by offering years 2 and 3 of the existing PGM program in 2017-18 and 2018-19 so they can graduate with a Business Administration diploma in Professional Golf Management. For the next two years, it will be business as usual meaning the program will continue on undisrupted. 

“While this decision may come as surprise to some, I think it was a good move by Niagara College to go in this direction,” says program coordinator Grant Fraser, who supported the programming shift toward sport management. “Sport Management at Niagara College is a 3-year program comprised of a great assortment of business and sport related courses that not only meet the needs of Canada’s changing golf marketplace but also the PGA of Canada’s current educational requirements for individuals interested in becoming a Class A professional, ” says Fraser. 

Michael Santoro, Fraser’s counterpart and coordinator of the Sport Management program at Niagara College agrees and says moving golf into sport is a logical progression and an easy transition to make. “In September 2016, Sport Management received more than 400 applications for 80 spots in our program. Students who are interested in a career in golf should take a serious look at broadening their education through our Sport Management program because it provides a variety of options and career choices in golf and other sport sectors,” says Santoro.

Looking back, Fraser says he hopes the legacy of the PGM program at Niagara College will be one that has served Canada’s golf industry well. “There are hundreds of Niagara College PGM graduates working across Canada contributing to the business and development of golf and that is what I am most proud of,” says Fraser who initiated the program at Niagara College in 1999 and has taught every student who has been through the program over the last eighteen years. 

With the 15^th graduating class set to receive diplomas in the spring of 2017, the PGM program at Niagara College will have an alumni base of approximately 500 graduates who will continue to make invaluable contributions to Canada’s golf industry. 

“The cry for the simplification of the Rules of Golf is a stock-in-trade of the journalist during the winter months. Countless words on the subject have been poured out to an ever-tolerant public, but still the long-sought simplification does not come.” Henry Longhurst, 1937

And here I thought I had come up with a novel idea for this blog. Turns out iconic golf writer Longhurst was 80 years ahead of me.

His quote can be found in the opening pages of a small volume called The Rules of Golf in Plain English. Now in its fourth edition, the book is co-authored by two Texas lawyers. Jeff Kuhn is a top-rated Rules official. Bryan Garner is a renowned expert in reducing legalese to something understandable by any layman.

Their book does exactly as the title implies. Approved by the USGA, its contents are organized in a more logical, understandable and readable manner than the standard Rule book.  (You can purchase it online.)

But, with all due respect to Mr. Longhurst, history has proven one of his assertions false. The golfing public is most definitely not “ever-tolerant.”

The fact that The Rules of Golf in Plain English exists is an indictment of the complexity of the Rules of Golf. The result is that while many golfers have a real interest in the Rules, they lack the inclination to spend hours scratching their heads over the convoluted regulations. (I am not saying this simply because I am bitter about doing miserably earlier this week in my first sample exam as I study for my Level 3 Rules of Golf certification. Really, I’m not.)

If you don’t believe me, take it from Adam Helmer. Few are more qualified to comment than Helmer, Golf Canada’s Director of Rules, Competitions and Amateur Status. He holds the highest possible Rules certification from Golf Canada, the R&A and the USGA and has officiated at elite tournaments such as the RBC Canadian Open, Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, the U.S. Open and The Players Championship.

“It’s very challenging for competitors in a sport where, for the most part, there are no officials, how are you supposed to play by the Rules if you don’t know or can’t understand them? It’s tough to do the right thing if you don’t know what the right thing is.”

But there may yet be hope.

Next month, at least a corner of the curtain will be lifted on the work being done by a Rules of Golf modernization task force.

The Joint Rules Committee, made up of representatives from the USGA, R&A and a Golf Canada delegate, is promising sweeping clarification of the Rules book from cover to cover.  After months of feedback and revisions, a new code will be published in 2020 at the latest.

“Nothing was untouched, nothing was sacred,” Helmer says. “The process is viewed as overdue by many, but I believe the result will be well worth waiting for.”

Helmer says important aspects of the task force’s mission included how to better educate golfers, both everyday golfers and elite players, with an emphasis on technology, a concept that was also mentioned by USGA Executive Director Mike Davis at his association’s annual meeting earlier this month.

“How come we can’t have an instance where someone can [use their iPhone] and say, ‘Siri, I hit my ball into a water hazard. What are my options?”

Sounds wonderful. Any chance they can speed up the process before I write my final Rules exam in April?

Play at the Honda LPGA Thailand was called at due to unplayable course conditions brought on by severe weather at the Pattaya Old Course.

“We were hoping we could get out and play some more golf. All four of us (LPGA Rules Officials) went out and looked, and there is just too much of a mess out there to be able to go and play today,” said LPGA Vice President of Rules and Competition Sue Witters. “It’ll take them a long time to restore the bunkers and pump the water out. We’re not going to play anymore today, and we’ll resume play at 7:00 tomorrow to finish round two.” 

The second round got underway at 9:38 a.m. but was delayed at 11:24 a.m. local time due to inclement weather in the area. Players returned to the course at 12:19 p.m. after a 55 minute delay but were quickly pulled off the course again at 12:39 p.m. when the storms returned. 

The final group of Ariya Jutanugarn, Amy Yang and Sei Young Kim did not tee off while the penultimate group of Minjee Lee, Ryann O’Toole and Shanshan Feng only hit their tee shots on the first hole before being called in.

Jutanugarn and Yang continue to lead at 6-under with Lee, O’Toole and Feng a shot back. Also a shot back are Danielle Kang and Cristie Kerr who both birided the par-5 first hole.

Ha Na Jang had the low round on the course at 3-under through eight holes to move into a tie for ninth at 4-under par.

Second round competition will resume at 7 a.m. tomorrow. Projected round three starting times will be 10:30 a.m. – 12:42 p.m.. Players will remain in their round two pairing for round three.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – One reason Martin Kaymer enjoys the Honda Classic is because he doesn’t feel as though he has to make a bunch of birdies.

On such a serene Thursday at PGA National, that was required to keep pace.

A pair of PGA Tour rookies who last played this course at Q-school for the Web.com Tour, Cody Gribble and Wesley Bryan, each opened with a 6-under 64 in the morning and it stood the rest of the day. The wind never really materialized. The greens remained soft from a big rain the day before.

More than half of the field was at par or better.

Kaymer, a two-time major champion from Germany playing on a sponsor exemption, chipped in from behind the 17th green for birdie and closed with a two-putt birdie from 40 feet for a 65. He was one shot behind, along with Anirban Lahiri of India.

“I felt very calm over the ball,” Kaymer said. “I enjoy the golf course. When you stand on the first tee, you don’t feel like you need to make five or six birdies. It’s a ball-striking golf course, but even level par or 1-over par is a very good round.

“It was very soft and there was not much wind,” he said. “Once you miss the fairway, it was actually OK from the rough because the greens are soft. I’ve not played the golf course in easier conditions.”

Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., Rickie Fowler and Ian Poulter found it the same way. They were part of a large group at 66. Sergio Garcia was headed in that direction until he pulled his tee shot left on the par-3 fifth hole and made double bogey, added a pair of other bogeys and recovered with a birdie on his final hole for a 68. He was in the group with defending champion Adam Scott.

Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., were at 1-under 69.

“If the weather stays good and it’s able to dry out, I don’t see the golf course getting any easier,” Fowler said.

It was an important start for Poulter, who is playing on a medical extension from a foot injury last year and has only six PGA Tour events left to earn either $220,301 or 154 FedEx Cup points to retain his full status.

“I’m on borrowed time,” said Poulter, who has slipped to No. 206 in the world. “A win would be nice. I have to think that I’ve got a chance, I really do. The situation I’m in, I have to be aggressive, but I’ve got to be careful. I can’t make many mistakes.”

Bryan is coming off his best tournament, a tie for fourth at Riviera in which he got within two shots of Dustin Johnson toward the end of the third round. It took him awhile to get going in warm, calm weather, and he finished with a 30 on the front nine.

Gribble already has won this season at the Sanderson Farms Championship last fall while the top players were in Shanghai. He missed four straight cuts on the West Coast and finally got his swing back to where he wants it. Along with birdies on three of the par 3s, he hit all 18 greens in regulation.

Bryan, still more known for the trick-shot videos he makes with his brother, can feel his confidence starting to grow.

And it helped to be on familiar turf.

“I think the comfort out here this week … yeah, I got into some pretty good form, but out here on the golf course, I got through Q-school just about 14 months ago, and it’s a place that I’m comfortable at and a golf course I know,” he said.

He picked up a rare birdie on the sixth hole, one of two that have been converted from par 5s to par 4s for the Honda Classic, followed that with a 12-foot par save and then a 10-foot birdie on No. 8 to join Gribble in the lead.

Gribble’s PGA Tour journey started a year earlier than Bryan’s. He tied for eighth at Q-school in December 2014 to get onto the Web.com Tour. He did well enough in the final event to earn his card, and a month later he was a PGA Tour winner.

“This is one of the tournaments I like to play,” Gribble said. “I played it well in Q-school a couple years ago. I’ve got some good memories.”

There weren’t a lot of good memories over the last month, missing the cut in three straight events starting with the Phoenix Open. But the Texan has been grinding away with his coach the last few weeks and it’s starting to take hold.

“We both know exactly how we want the ball to come out. We want less curve. I tend to draw it too much,” Gribble said. “I know we wanted more a cut swing, but kind of finally … it’s hard to explain. It clicked today, but it could be lost again tomorrow. You never know. It was a great start, and hopefully I can build on it.”

It helped to have a birdie putt on every hole. His lone bogey was a long three-putt on the 16th hole.

Roland Deveau of Bedford, N.S., nominated to serve a second term as Golf Canada President

TORONTO – Golf Canada’s 2017 Annual General Meeting (AGM) is set for this week (February 23-25) at the Crowne Plaza Toronto Airport Hotel in Toronto.

The event brings together Golf Canada’s Board of Directors, committee volunteers and staff as well as representatives from Canada’s provincial golf associations and stakeholders from within the golf industry including international representatives from the R&A and USGA. The group will assemble for three days of meetings, presentations and discussion in preparation for the upcoming golf season.

The Annual General Meeting will culminate with the appointment of Roland A. Deveau of Bedford, N.S., to serve a second term as the National Sport Federation’s volunteer President. Deveau joins Alfred Collyer (1930-31), F.A. Rolph (1915-1919), Col. George A. Sweeney (1898, 1901 & 1909) and A.W. Austin (1907 & 1910) as the fifth President to serve multiple or consecutive terms.

Deveau’s nomination to serve a second term was supported by Golf Canada’s Nominating Committee and 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 and a new CEO is expected to be named in April 2017.

The formal appointment of Deveau as President along with the release of the association’s 2016 financial statements will take place during Golf Canada’s official Annual General Meeting on Saturday, February 25^th at 5:00pm ET.

As part of the AGM, Golf Canada will also present its Volunteer of the Year Award in acknowledgment of outstanding contributions to the game of golf in Canada. In addition, the association will pay tribute to Simmons’ tenure as Golf Canada’s CEO.

A full itinerary of presentations taking place during Golf Canada’s Annual General Meeting is available here.

A copy of Golf Canada’s 2017 Strategic Plan is available here.

GOLF CANADA – LOVE THE GAME. GROW THE GAME.

Golf Canada is the National Sports Federation and governing body for golf in Canada representing 307,500 golfers and more than 1,400 member clubs across the country. A proud member of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Golf Canada’s mission is to grow participation, excellence and passion in the sport while upholding the integrity and traditions of the game. By investing in the growth of the sport and introducing more participants of all ages to the game, our goal is to be relevant to and respected by all Canadian golf enthusiasts from coast to coast. For more information about what Golf Canada is doing to support golf in your community, visit www.golfcanada.ca.