AUGUSTA, Ga. – Jordan Spieth set a Masters record on Friday by leading the tournament for the sixth straight round.

He sure didn’t seem to be in a mood to celebrate.

Spieth led by as many as five shots after a fast start, and then, just like everyone else on this wickedly windy day, he had to hang on for dear life. Spieth holed a 15-foot par putt on the 18th hole for a 2-over 74 that gave him a one-shot lead over Rory McIlroy.

“I’m still in the lead. I couldn’t ask for much better than leading,” Spieth said. “I’m a bit disappointed right now, fresh off the round. Two over on the last three holes will leave you that way.”

McIlroy, who needs a green jacket to complete the Grand Slam, played the last six holes in 3 under for a 71 to match the low round of the day. Conditions were so brutal that it was the first time since the third round in 2007 that no one broke 70.

“I know I’m in a good position going into the weekend,” McIlroy said. “And I’m happy with that.”

The prospects of Spieth and McIlroy in the final group at any major, much less the Masters, is tantalizing. Both of them realize that this is far from the duel. With more wind expected on Saturday, it feels more like everyone against Augusta National. And right now, the odds are with the golf course.

The way Spieth came back to the field, the Masters is wide open.

He was at 4-under 140, the highest 36-hole lead since that frigid, windy Masters in 2007.

Danny Lee bogeyed his last two holes for a 72 and was two shots behind, along with Scott Piercy (72). The only other players who remained under par were Hideki Matsuyama (72), Brandt Snedeker (72) and Soren Kjeldsen (74).

Dustin Johnson birdied all the par 5s for a 71 and was in the group at even par that included U.S. Amateur champion Bryson DeChambeau, who felt the sting of Augusta on the final hole. DeChambeau was playing the best round of the day at 3 under and just one shot out of the lead. But he hooked his tee shot into the trees and had to return to the tee, hooked the next one and made triple bogey for a 72.

Still in the mix was Jason Day, who sputtered along to a 73 but was only five shots behind.

“It almost feels like a U.S. Open where you need to survive,” Day said. “And I’m trying my best to survive right now.”

Spieth finished a round over par at Augusta for the first time in his three Masters appearances. Coming off his wire-to-wire victory last year, that par save from the bunker on the 18th allowed him to set a record for most consecutive rounds in the lead. Arnold Palmer was atop the leaderboard for six straight rounds in 1960 and the opening two rounds in 1961, though he shared in those last two rounds.

Even so, it was hard to get past Spieth’s mistakes – a four-putt double bogey on No. 5, a three-putt bogey on No. 16. Frustration began to set in on the 10th when Spieth posed over his approach until it came up short of the green. “How is that into the wind?” he said, before turning and having a stern conversation with himself.

McIlroy was as many as eight shots behind and never lost sight of the difficult conditions. He picked up birdies on the two par 5s on the back, and holed a 40-foot birdie putt on the 16th before finishing with a par save out of the trees.

“I was at 8 under and you finish at 4. That’s kind of tough,” Spieth said. “I felt like I played better than 4 over from the fourth hole on.”

The gusts topped out at 30 mph on Friday, and it’s not expected to get easier. Throw in the pressure on Spieth to become only the fourth back-to-back winner at the Masters, and a burden on McIlroy to finish off the Grand Slam, and this could be theater at its finest.

“Tomorrow is going to be more difficult than today,” Spieth said. “Even par is one heck of a score tomorrow.”

He said anyone breaking par Saturday could move into the lead from as far back as 25th place.

Spieth’s par on the last hole not only kept him in the lead, it sent Phil Mickelson home for the weekend because of the 10-shot rule. Mickelson shot a career-high 79 and finished at 7-over to miss the cut.

Tom Watson missed the cut by two shots in his final Masters appearance, walking up the 18th fairway to a standing ovation and warm applause. He parred his last four holes for a 78 and said later, “I’m glad I don’t have to play that 18th hole anymore.”

Spieth, McIlroy and everyone else have two more days to endure to see who claims the green jacket.

CARTAGENA, Colombia – Brad Fritsch took advantage of calm conditions at TPC Cartagena at Karibana, on Friday morning, and fired a 7-under-par 65 to move into the lead. The Canadian’s 8-under 136 total is good for a one-stroke advantage over PGA TOUR veteran Jonathan Byrd (67), and PGA TOUR Latinoamérica alum Jorge Fernandez-Valdes (68) after 36 holes of the Servientrega Championship presented by Efecty.

Jason Millard (-6), who finished No. 5 on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Order of Merit last season, and Irishman Seamus Power (-6) are two back heading into the weekend.

“Playing today in the morning was such an advantage,” said Fritsch, who teed off at 6:30 a.m. “If there was ever a good draw, this was the one.”

Starting on 10, Fritch recorded four straight pars before getting into red numbers with birdies at 14 and 15. His only blemish of the day came at the par-4, 16th where he made bogey. Fritch bounced back two holes later with a birdie at the par-5, 18th to turn in 2-under.

On his inward nine, Fritsch recorded three birdies to tie for the lead at 6-under. The 38-year-old pro cemented himself atop the leaderboard with an eagle at the par-5, eighth hole. With 210 yards from the middle of the fairway, Fritsch elected to hit a mid-iron and landed it just short of the green.

“I hit a 7-iron,” said Fritsch, who guessed his ball would carry an extra 30 yards downwind. “I just tried to one-bounce it on the green and it just missed the bunker on the left.”

The ball settled 25 feet from the cup. With some help from Kevin Tway, who hit a pitch along the same line, the Holly Springs, N.C., resident drained the putt for three, which put him 8-under for the tournament.

Fritsch is not known as a great chipper of the golf ball but was force to lean on his short game to break par in the tough conditions Thursday afternoon. The Edmonton, Alberta, native made five birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey en route to a one-under score.

“I got up and down nine or 10 times yesterday,” said Fritsch about his first-round 71. “I just had to survive yesterday and that was the goal.”

Fritsch has held at least a share of the 36-hole lead three times in 135 starts on the Web.com Tour. The 16-year pro has never won an official Tour event and relishes the chance to change that this weekend.

“I’m looking forward to it,” said Fritsch. “It’s a very good challenge.”

Byrd could not believe how limp the flags around the first hole were when he walked up onto the tee box. Playing in still conditions, the five-time Tour winner went 6-under-par in his first 14 holes. Late in the round the breeze started to pick up and Byrd closed-out his day bogey-birdie-bogey-par and signed for a 5-under score.

“Every little breath of wind you feel, you thought it was coming,” said Byrd, who was waiting for it to start howling. “We probably got the better wave and that first nine was just there for the taking.”

Fernandez-Valdes has been in contention quite a few times in his two years on Tour, most recently at last year’s Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco. With two rounds left to decide a winner, the 24-year-old from Cordoba, Argentina has a chance to become the fourth Argentinian to win on Tour and first since Emiliano Grillo at the 2015 Web.com Tour Championship.

“I think all the experience is good,” said Fernandez-Valdes, who has competed in 50 Tour events entering this week. “I just got to keep doing my thing and stick to my strategy. I’m 100 percent sure that will help me this weekend.”

LAKE WALES, Fla. – Marissa Steen (West Chester, Ohio) made a 30-foot putt for birdie on her first hole and used the early jolt to post a 6-under 66 to lead the Florida’s Natural Charity Classic on Friday. Samantha Richdale (Kelowna, British Columbia), Ya-Chun Chang (Chinese Taipei) and Kana Nagai (Tokyo, Japan) are two shots off the lead at 4-under 68.

There are three teenagers in the top eight – Chang (15), Nagai (18) and Greta Voelker (18), who posted a 2-under 70 and is T8. There are also seven different countries represented inside the top eight.

Steen, a 3-time Symetra Tour winner, made three birdies on her outward nine and three birdies heading in.

“I hit the ball solid all day and the first two birdies I made were both long putts, one was a 30-footer and on the par-3 15th I made a 35-footer,” said Steen, who played on the LPGA in 2015. “Those two freed me up and then I started to hit shots closer.”

Steen, who finished T8 at the IOA Championship to open the year in February, used the time in between events to visit friends and prepare for this busy stretch. She went home to Ohio for a bachelorette party and also played in some NWGA mini tour events, winning one.

“I thought about playing some Monday Qualifiers on the LPGA, but at the beginning of the year I thought I just needed reps,” explained 26-year-old Steen. “I just wanted to get six competitive rounds under my belt before coming here.”

Her plan seems to have worked to perfection as she hit 16 of 18 greens in regulation and needed just 29 putts.

After winning three times in 2014 on the Symetra Tour, Steen battled injuries on the LPGA Tour in 2015 including three cracked ribs and missed the cut in her final eight starts.

“It was a really tough year,” admitted Steen. “I was so excited to go out there (LPGA) and I had never had an injury before and I didn’t know how to handle it. When I was no longer hurt, I started to press and felt like I had already not played my best in the first three or four months of the season. Then, it became mental and it was me getting in my own head all season. I definitely learned a lot of lessons.”

Steen said that club selection was also an issue on the LPGA because she was trying to do too much.

“I tried to go for broke a lot and hit heroic shots all season,” explained Steen. “I played below the hole today and took a 30-footer, but otherwise I need to take a two-putt and move on.”

Of course Steen’s top priority is returning to the LPGA, but she’s more focused on improving year-over-year then results in every event.

“Ever since I started playing golf, I’ve always said that if I can play better than the year before and keep improving to become the best golfer I can be then that is my real goal,” said Steen. “Focusing on the money list or being in the top 10 every week doesn’t work for me. I just go out and hit the best shots I can and it seems to be working.”

Steen said she is hitting the ball better than ever and is now more confident than ever.

“If I’m not confident in myself then who else is going to believe in me,” said Steen. “I just need to get out of my own way because that is one thing that has always held me back.”

Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Augusta James of Bath, Ont., sits T8 at 2-under. Lorie Kane, who was named for induction into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame as part of its 2016 class, opened at even-par.

Canadians in the field:

• T2: Samantha Richdale: -4 (68)
• T8: Augusta James: -2 (70)
• T19: Lorie Kane: E (72)
• T48: Rebecca Lee-Bentham: +2 (74)
• T64: Brittany Marchand: +3 (75)
• T64: Jessica Wallace: +3 (75)
• T84: Jennifer Kirby: +4 (76)
• T84: Sara-Maude Juneau: +4 (76)
• T107: Sue Kim: +6 (78)
• T153: Megan Osland: +13 (85)

MOKA, Trinidad & Tobago – Team Canada Men’s Development Squad won a one-hole playoff on Friday to finish second place and punch their ticket to the Toyota Junior Golf World Cup in Japan this upcoming June.

Canada’s struggles in Friday’s closing round made for an interesting finish down the stretch at St. Andrews Golf Club. The foursome let a seven-stroke advantage slip away to enter a playoff with host nation Trinidad & Tobago, eventually going on to win a nail-biting one-hole playoff.

The Mexican squad also earned a spot in Japan by cruising to a 13-stroke victory with an aggregate total of 652 (+4). They were led by Luis Carrera, who closed at 213 (-3) as the only competitor to score under-par for the tournament.

The Canucks were paced by Coquitlam, B.C., product A.J. Ewart, who led the team at 219 (+3) despite struggling with a final-round 80. Vaughan, Ont., native Tony Gil came in at 220 (+4) while teammate Jack Simpson of Aurora, Ont., ended with a 230 (+14). Quebec’s Charles-Éric Bélanger rounded out the squad, posting a 240 (+24).

The 2016 event will be contested in Japan from June 14–17. It is the world’s only junior golf championship in which 20 national teams—including winners of regional qualifiers held across six continents and 60 national teams—compete for the world championship trophy.

In 2015, the Men’s Development Squad placed sixth 15 strokes behind champion Japan. The best Canadian finish came in both 1994 and 2002 when the team took home runner-up honours.

GULF BREEZE, Fla. – Team Canada Amateur Squad member Hugo Bernard continued his red-hot play on Tuesday, rallying with a final-round 70 (-2) to close out the come-from-behind victory at the Argonaut Invitational.

The Mont-St-Hilaire, Que., product surged up the leaderboard following Monday’s second round at Tiger Point Golf Club, firing a tournament-low 66 (-6) on the day to leapfrog 17 spots up the leaderboard and put him in the driver’s seat for the win.

With his first collegiate victory in sight, Bernard’s final-round 70 was enough to shut the door on the competition and build a three-stroke cushion over second place.

The win highlights a string of impressive results in Bernard’s freshman campaign with the Div II Saint Leo Lions. Prior to Tuesday’s victory, the 21-year-old rattled off three consecutive Top-5 finishes in just four events on the squad.

“Hugo’s been working extremely hard on his game and is progressing nicely,” said Derek Ingram, Team Canada Men’s Head Coach. “I’m really pleased to see that all of his hard work is paying off with some great results across the board.”

Collectively, the Lions finished runner-up at 11-over par, three strokes behind champion Missouri – St. Louis.

Bernard, last year’s Canadian Men’s Amateur runner-up, will look to continue his streak when the Lions tee-it-up next at the Sunshine State Conference Championship from Apr. 17–19.

Click here for full scoring.

See Victoria’s Dale Jackson playing at his home course of Royal Colwood and you would not be remiss to think you are watching just another solid club level amateur golfer.

In this case appearances would be deceiving.

Jackson has been involved in giving back to the game as a rules official since becoming interested in this vocation more than 15 years ago. Since then he has risen through the ranks to become a Level Four Rules Official and serving as Managing Director of Rules and Competitions for British Columbia Golf from 2003 to 2007.

More recently, Jackson has been active at the national level and since 2013 has been the Chair of the Rules of Golf and Amateur Status Committee for Golf Canada.

Within Canada, this involves heading a group of volunteers who deal with issues ranging from ruling on applications for amateur status reinstatement to developing ways to increase the number of certified rules officials.

Internationally, this means that Jackson is intimately involved with deciding rules issues at the highest levels representing Golf Canada on the Joint Rules Committee and as an Advisory Member of the R&A’s Rules Committee.

Together with representatives of the R&A and USGA, they are responsible for the recent rules changes from the anchoring ban to the relaxation of Rule 18-2 concerning when a player is deemed to have caused a ball to move after addressing it. (Ed. Note: see link for a complete list of the major changes in the just released Rules book).

Another responsibility that goes along with being the Chair is serving as a Rules Official at three of the four “Majors” in golf.

Late in 2015, Inside Golf’s Jeff Sutherland was able to listen to Mr. Jackson speak about officiating on golf’s biggest stages and ask him a few questions.

inside GOLF: First can you explain what is actually entailed in being the Rules Chair for Golf Canada in terms of your role internationally?

Dale Jackson: What it means is that a number of really great opportunities have come my way in the last three years. I go to the U.K. for meetings 3-4 times a year, usually at St. Andrews. It also means that I serve as an advisory member of the R&A Rules Committee. As a member of the Joint Rules Committee, which is a 7 person committee, we are responsible for administering the rules of golf around the world. But what’s really cool is that I get invited to officiate at The Masters, The U.S. Open, The Open, and several other tournaments.

iG: You have been at the last three Masters. What is it like to spend a week at Augusta?

DJ: Well the first thing, getting there is not simple. Getting to Augusta takes three airplane flights but once you get there it’s sort of a wonderland for a week. I was so excited that I took my iPhone out and took a video clip driving down Magnolia Lane and it lived up to billing. Tuesday and Wednesday, all the rules officials arrive… 60 or 70, a lot of rules officials and we all arrive and take the time to walk around inside the ropes… and a lot of places, I am sure, the players have never been. One thing about The Masters, there are a lot of social events and the first Event of the week is “Canada Nite.” Everybody rents a house and the house that Golf Canada has rented for countless years recently sold but the original owner made it a condition of sale that he still sort of “owns” it for that week and gets the revenue. And on the Tuesday, Golf Canada invites everyone to a backyard BBQ and literally people from around the world show up. It’s the one informal night of the week… jeans, shorts.

iG: When do you get going on the officiating side?

DJ: Well, there are many informal traditions during the Masters. One for the rules officials is the Wednesday morning meeting which is set for 7:30 AM but actually starts at 7:25. Fred Ridley, The Championship Chair goes over the conditions of competition which does not really change at Augusta. The Masters is made up of literally hundreds of little traditions and this meeting starting five minutes early is one of them.

iG: What happens next?

DJ: We are free for the rest of the day and Wednesday night is the first of the formal occasions and these… I am not complaining… but your stomach needs a vacation after the week of the Masters. The first is a cocktail party out on the lawn behind the Augusta clubhouse and you chat with people from around the world. The Thursday night the USGA holds a reception at Augusta CC which is older than Augusta National and shares a boundary with them. Very beautiful, very large clubhouse. Friday night the PGA of America holds one in an old Church that has been converted into a civic centre…also very high end. Saturday night we (Golf Canada) go to a reception that Golf Australia puts on in a house that they rent. There are others, three or four every night but you can’t go to them all. As I said, your stomach takes a beating. It’s all very, very good but it takes its toll.

iG: Still, it can’t be all cocktails and canapes. You do do some officiating. How is it decided where and when you will work?

DJ: Each day we are assigned to a different hole and now, over the three years, I have been on ten holes. And you are with anywhere from one to five other rules officials. For example, Hole #13 has six.

iG: What exactly are your responsibilities?

DJ: (smiling) Basically your job is to be out of the sight lines of the TV Cameras and stay inconspicuous… unless the players want a ruling. And aside from something like what happened with Tiger Woods a couple of years ago, it’s what we term a very ‘clean’ golf course… and anything that causes trouble for a rules official has been dealt with long ago and there aren’t many rulings.

iG: You’re supposed to be invisible?

DJ: The Masters is unique in that all you ever see are players and caddies. You don’t see walking scorers, you don’t see walking standards, you do not see photographers. You never see rules officials unless we are called out and even then, cameras have instructions to cut away. Our job is to stay out of the way.

iG: Has anything ever gone wrong?

DJ: I think we all remember in 2013 when Tiger took an illegal drop when his ball went into the water. The next year I was assigned to that hole, #15, and I and two good friends from the R&A and PGA and we, like other officials, were going to make sure we did not let anybody, especially Tiger, take any illegal drop on 15 while we were there.

The really difficult part for me is that the three of us take positions, one more of the hundreds of traditions are the places that you stand, and 2 of the 3… one is up here (gesturing) in the shade of these trees, one is here out of camera range and the third one is down here, which is green side on the left side of 15, a pretty famous setting, and on the day I was assigned there, Saturday, the hole is always cut far over on the hard left so, as I mentioned earlier, one of the things you must (do) is stay out of sight.

So, as we switched around it was my turn for the last third of the field (the leaders,) so I looked around and asked myself, ‘Where am I going to stand and where am I going to sit?’ There are TV cameras everywhere… I counted them and there were nine cameras aimed at the green!. I had to kind of guess, ‘Where am I going to go?’ Well… I guessed wrong.

I watched a replay later that day and at the house later that night and I had picked just about the worst place. I got into the camera line of the main camera for showing the putts on #15 and time and again there I was either standing or sitting. Thats not a good thing to do… you don’t want to raise your head above the bunker, as it were, at Augusta …you want to be very inconspicuous at Augusta. I was expecting to be called into the office by Fred Ridley the next morning. I wasn’t… and I am not sure whether he just did not happen to see the coverage or whether he was just being kind. I’m really not sure, but I expect the latter. Anyway, that was an uncomfortable moment.

iG: Are there any other rules you must follow?

DJ: One of the other peculiarities (of Augusta) is that we have to wear jackets and ties which is interesting sometimes. Spring time in Georgia is a wonderful time to be there but it can get warm. On Thursday of this year, the temperature crept up past 80F, we all started to sweat, it went past 85 and you can imagine a tie and jacket when it’s above 85 and a lot of the places we have to stand are in the sun. At that point Fred came on the radio and said jackets could come off and it was the most welcome thing I ever heard on a radio!

iG: Talk about some of the other things, traditions that don’t change?

DJ: One of the other things are the volunteers. There must be 2,000 and they come back year after year and do the same job year after year. This guy (shows picture) who is a forecaddie has probably been doing this job for 20 years. This marshall probably has been doing it for 30 years. Two of my favourite stories from Augusta involve these volunteers.

On Hole #2 which is a par five, there are two of these forecaddies in the white suits.I met them there my first year, their names are David and Norman. One of them lives in New York and one of them lives in Minnesota. They went to university together, I think 37 years ago now. One is a doctor, one has a greeting card company in Manhattan. This will be the 37th year that they have done this job together. Same place.

The other involves my first year. I met a guy… his name I forget, he was 70 years old and Augusta has a policy that you have to retire when you are 70 and this was his last year, his 39th, but they were allowing his son to take over his place. (At Augusta), you can hand down your volunteer post.

iG: Have you ever made any rulings?

DJ: I mentioned that most of the rulings are straightforward. I have done water hazard rulings, the cross paths at Augusta are Ground Under Repair so we will get rulings from that, for Rules Officials that is very straightforward stuff. For the rulings, more have involved players wanting to get relief and me not giving them relief. They will say ‘That’s GUR’ and I will say, “Other than the crosswalks we don’t have ground under repair at Augusta.

iG: What is your highlight of the week?

DJ: Day Four, Sunday. Everybody’s and my favourite day of the Masters. We still have a hole to work but the invited officials like myself tend to be given the assignments that are on the front nine or early on the back nine and that allows my favourite part of the whole week. The leaders maybe still have nine holes to play. Everybody goes back to our committee room, a large room and there are two really large TVs, comfortable chairs and a bar. And the bar does not really get used until the end but everybody drifts back and you get to watch the finish of the Masters with all of the best rules officials in the world, people who have become your friends over the years. You finally get a chance to sit down, have a beer with them and watch like any other fan. My first year was the year that Adam Scott won and I sat with three Australians and it was just… they were so excited to see Adam Scott win, the final putt was very dramatic, then the playoff with Angel Cabrera. All of them were crying by the end. It was really something and as I said that’s my favourite part of the week.

iG: Is that the end?

DJ: The whole week ends with the prize ceremony. You see Butler Cabin on TV, that finishes and they do the real ceremony out on the putting green. Everybody, all the rules officials, the invitees from all the Golf Federations from around the world file up and the green jacket is presented to the winner with all the fans ringing around. It’s quite an experience to be part of it.

iG: Tell us five things we may not know if we have not been to Augusta?

DJ: First the property they own is just enormous. The golf course is 160 acres and they have more than 500 I think. They have parking, they have so much stuff. It’s so complicated that one day I was trying to drive out the back and got lost. Eventually I found a security guy and he had to direct me out of the golf course. They have also just purchased more land and there is some buzz about some new big change in how they are going to put on the Masters.

Second, The Masters is described as not just being the best run golf tournament in the world but as the best run sporting event in the world and I can’t imagine how that cannot be true. It cannot be run any better than it is. Everything is clockwork, everything is precise. There are so many traditions, rules. You can’t take your shoes off at Augusta. You can sit on the grass but you cannot lay back on the grass. If you go through the main entrance gate, it’s as intense as going through security at an airport.

Third, the Clubhouse at Augusta, you can see the front is only three windows wide. It is an incredibly small clubhouse but it suits them. I must say there are all kinds of other buildings and I don’t what they are all for.

Fourth, people always ask me, ‘How beautiful is Augusta?’ They have such a large budget to do everything perfectly, it’s almost not real. It’s sort of like Disneyland, half real and half not.Think of the movie, Polar Express, where it was filmed and then they put this sort of artificial film over everything. And that is what Augusta is like to me, it’s almost not real.You can’t believe what pristine shape it is in. I was walking with a guy two years ago and we found a little bit of poa annua. It was like, ‘What is this, how can this be?’ The course is over seeded with Bermuda grass and depending on the weather conditions, I think it was two years ago, they overseeded five times to get to the right density of grass so that the ball would sit up.

The final thing you hear about but can’t see are the elevation changes. I tried to find pictures but two dimensions can’t show it. The 10th hole drops 116 feet from tee to green. That is a whole lot of distance for a hole to drop. Eleven drops 40 feet. Eighteen goes up 40 feet. You don’t get a sense from TV just how hilly it is.”

iG: To finish, any stories from the other Majors you have officiated, The Open Championship or The U.S. Open?

DJ: Two other stories… At all the tournaments, the day before you get your assignments, at Augusta it is which hole you are going to be on; at The U.S. Open and The Open, it’s which group you are assigned to. You follow one group; you walk with them and if they need a rules official, you’re the one.

With the U.S. Open in particular, there are so many rules officials, even more than Augusta, that they assign forward observers for some of the more high profile groups. And on the fourth day at Pinehurst, I was assigned to the 1:45 group. I did not really pay attention to who it was because as a forward observer you don’t really see the players in the group you are assigned to, you are so far ahead you see the players (in the group) in front and you watch them play.

I got there Sunday morning and the USGA’s Jeff Hall, came up to me and said I need you to be the referee for the group not the forward observer and I said, ‘Sure that would be great.’

I kind of made note who it was and then showed up on the first tee for the 1:45 tee time with about ten thousand other people. Mark Rolfing was standing beside me and there were hand held cameras everywhere because I was refereeing Adam Scott and Rory McIlroy and they were the 6th to last group to go off. And that was quite a thrill. It was a thrill in a lot of ways. Here was this guy from Victoria, BC refereeing two of the best players in the world but to watch them up close.

There is something about the quality of the very best players, the top ten in the world… it’s different. The sound the ball makes is different, their swings are just art. I can only say art but even more impressive was the way that both of them handled themselves and they were very complimentary toward one another; they had obviously played a lot of golf together. They acknowledged and were appreciative of the galleries. they both played well and shot under par. It was a great day. I made three relatively straightforward rulings. Stevie Williams who caddies, maybe past tense now, for Scott only got ‘owly’ with me a little bit once and comparatively that’s alright… when that happens only once a round.

The Open… Obviously run by the R&A and the R&A does everything really, really well and in a very understated way. Everybody who is involved is treated like royalty. Great food and beverage, the members are incredibly welcoming. (My wife) Alison went with me this year (2015) and was blown away by the reception given by the wives of the R&A members. This is my Open story. The guy walking toward the camera is Tiger Woods (pointing at a video that is playing) and he is coming on to the first tee at Muirfield a couple of years ago. And there is me and Tiger shakes my hand. That seems sort of unremarkable.

This goes on, Adam Scott shakes my hand but what’s interesting, I don’t know if you can pick it up, but when Tiger walks toward me, just as he was about to tee off in the fourth round of a Major, he looked me right in the eye and said, “Hi I’m Tiger Woods. Thank you for helping out with us today.” And there was a contact that he made that I have never experienced with another player. And he was the last player I would have ever expected that to happen with. And then after the round, on the 18th green, it was the same thing, he walked up to me and said, “Thank you very much for helping us today.”

And it was an insight into Tiger Woods, he had the ability that when he looked at you, you knew you had his attention. It may have been only for a second but for that moment… All of the other players are polite but quite perfunctory. They know the routine but it is pretty straightforward stuff. They are about to tee off in one of the four biggest tournaments of the year and I don’t blame them. They don’t need to think about us, they have to be thinking about golf, but with Tiger it was a little bit different.

The Dale Jackson Bio

• Served as a Rules Official for numerous Golf Canada championships over the past 14 years
• Has been a Rules Official at many of the world’s most prestigious golf championships including The Masters, The Open and the U.S. Open
• From 2003 to 2007 he served as the Managing Director of Rules and Competitions for British Columbia Golf
• In 2014 Dale was named the Sports BC Official of the Year
• Has officiated at the last Masters, Open Championship and U.S. Open
• Rules chair for the 2013 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship which was co-hosted by Royal Colwood and Gorge Vale Golf Clubs
• Served from 2011 to 2014 on the Governors Council
• Joined Golf Canada’s Board of Directors in 2015
• Served as Club Captain and Director of Royal Colwood Golf Club in Victoria, B.C. and is the author of Royal Colwood: 100 Years, the club history published in 2013 to celebrate the Club’s centenary

MOKA, Trinidad & Tobago – Four members of Team Canada’s Men’s Development Squad are set to compete in the qualifying event at St. Andrews Golf Club from Apr. 6–8 to secure one of two available spots into the 2016 Toyota Junior Golf World Cup.

The qualifying format will be a 54-hole stroke-play event, with each team’s three lowest daily scores contributing to the aggregate total. The Canadian foursome will square off against Mexico, Guatemala and Puerto Rico.

The Canucks will be led by Vaughan, Ont., native Tony Gil, who returns to the qualifier for a second straight year after posting Canada’s lowest total score in 2015. He will be joined by teammates Charles-Éric Bélanger (Québec), A.J. Ewart (Coquitlam, B.C.) and Jack Simpson (Aurora, Ont.).

The Canadian contingent will be under the guidance of Lead Development Squad Coach, Robert Ratcliffe.

“We’ve had some strong success in this qualifying event in the past and the boys have practised hard to continue that trend,” said the PGA of Canada Class “A” member. “The course is set up well for our game and we’re looking forward to the challenge.”

In last year’s qualifier, Canada cruised to a six-stroke victory and went on to place sixth at the World Cup. The best Canadian finish came in 1994 when the team took home runner-up honours.

The 2016 event will be contested in Japan from June 14–17. It is the world’s only junior golf championship in which 20 national teams—including winners of regional qualifiers held across six continents and 60 national teams—compete for the world championship trophy.

Click here for live qualifier scoring.

Development Squad’s Grace St-Germain has signed a letter of intent to join the Daytona State Falcons in August of 2016.

The Falcons are listed as a Div I school under the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA)—an association dedicated to America’s two-year collegiate programs.

“This is a great fit for Grace all-around,” said Ann Carroll, Women’s Development Squad coach. “The training facilities at Daytona are phenomenal and it will compliment her game perfectly as she looks to take her game to the next level.”

Hailing from Ottawa, St-Germain will carry a long list of accomplishments to the Falcons, including a runner-up finish at the 2015 Quebec Women’s Amateur and a pair of victories at the 2014 Quebec Women’s Amateur and Canadian Junior Girls Championship.

She will fall under the guidance of long-serving Head Coach and well-known teaching professional Laura Brown, who has been at the helm for all 16 of the team’s seasons.

Click here to learn more about the Falcons.

Officially a Falcon!So excited to have signed with Daytona State College! Thank you to everyone who has supported me pic.twitter.com/2nXh6nsggD

— Grace (@gracestgermain) April 3, 2016

VANCOUVER – Development Squad member A.J. Ewart birdied his final two holes on Sunday to earn a one-stroke victory in the U19 division at the Canadian Junior Golf Association’s (CJGA) B.C. Junior Open presented by Pacific Rim Intercollegiate Golf.

Holding the 18-hole lead, the Coquitlam product kept up the pace in Sunday’s final round to close out the wire-to-wire victory at 4-under par (70-70). The Team Canada rookie fended off the battling Henry Lee of Coquitlam, who closed the tournament one-stroke back of Ewart at 3-under. Both competitors ended as the only two athletes to finish under-par at the University Golf Club.

The win marks Ewart’s first CJGA victory of his young career. The Pitt Meadows Golf Club member will look to ride his momentum into action next week when he joins Team Canada teammates to compete at the Toyota World Junior Qualifier in Trinidad.

On the girls’ side, Delta native Amanda Minni led the pack with a closing score of 2-over par (73-73) to lock up the victory in the U19 division. She built up a two-stroke cushion over co-runner-ups Mary Parsons—also of Delta—and Ye Ji Lim of Langley.

The Women’s Development Squad were also in action in Vancouver. In the Juvenile group (U17), Richmond’s Kathrine Chan ran away with a score of 1-under par for a five-stroke victory over teammate and Surrey native Hannah Lee. The win also marks the first CJGA win for the 16-year-old Chan, who currently sits at No.14 on the CN Future Links National Junior Order of Merit .

Hometown native and Development Squad member Tiffany Kong finished the U19 division tied for sixth at 7-over par (78-73).

Click here for full scoring.

TORONTO – With exclusive Canadian coverage of The Masters coming to CTV and TSN, the networks announced the addition of decorated Canadian golfer Mike Weir as a special guest analyst for this year’s Tournament.

As the only Canadian to ever win the prestigious Green Jacket, Weir will compete in the 80th edition of The Masters from April 7-10. Following each round at Augusta National Golf Club, Weir will join CTV and TSN to contribute his unique perspective on the Tournament. Weir will also appear as part of daily panels on TSN’s Sportscentre.

“The Masters is hallowed ground for professional golfers and fans alike, and playing in the Tournament is an experience like no other,” said Weir. “I’m very excited to work with the CTV and TSN team as an analyst to share the player’s perspective on what it’s like to compete in one of my favourite events.”

“Mike is a perfect fit to join our newly expanded coverage of The Masters on CTV and TSN,” said Mark Milliere, Senior Vice-President of Production, TSN. “By competing on the course and moving directly to the analyst’s chair after each round, Mike offers a completely unique perspective on The Masters for Canadian golf fans. We’re absolutely thrilled to have him with us for this prestigious Tournament.”

Over his 24-year professional golf career, Weir has captured 15 career victories, highlighted by his dramatic playoff win at The Masters in 2003. His breakthrough year on the PGA Tour earned him the 2003 Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada’s top athlete of the year and the Lionel Conacher Award, given to Canada’s top male athlete of the year, an award he previously won in 2000 and 2001.

In 2009, Weir was invested as a Member of the Order of Canada and inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. Weir has used his success as a platform for helping other families in need with the creation of the Mike Weir Foundation in 2004.