HALIFAX – Golf Canada’s 2016 Annual General Meeting (AGM) is set for this week (February 25-27) at the Prince George Hotel in Halifax.

The event will bring 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. 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 Deveau of Bedford, N.S., as the National Sport Federation’s 113^th President. His induction will take place during an official ceremony on Saturday, February 27 at the Prince George Hotel. Deveau will succeed 2015 President Paul McLean of King Township, Ont., in leading Golf Canada’s Board of Directors.

Golf Canada will also present both its Volunteer of the Year Award, as well as its Distinguished Service Award(s) to honour and acknowledge a collection of individuals for their outstanding contributions to the game of golf in Canada.

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

A copy of Golf Canada’s 2016 Strategic Plan is available here.

To follow Golf Canada’s 2016 Annual Meeting on Twitter, use #GCAGM16.

BEAUMONT, Calif. – Canada’s Jessica Wallace finished runner-up at the Symetra Tour’s season-opening IOA Championship on Sunday at the Morongo Golf Club at Tukwet Canyon.

Wallace, a Langley, B.C., native, posted a final round 70 (-2), pushing a par-putt on 18 to just miss forcing a playoff with champion Erynne Lee of Silverdale, Wash., who rallied with a final round 65 (-7) for the come-from-behind victory. Lee’s round was highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 16^th, which tied her for the lead at 11-under and turned out to be the winning score. The win marks the first time a rookie has won the Symetra Tour opener since 2005.

Lee takes the top spot on the first Volvik Race to the Card money list with her first-place check of $15,000.

Fellow Langley, B.C., native Sue Kim, a Young Pro Squad member, climbed the leaderboard to a fifth place finish after carding rounds of 72-69-67 to finish at 8-under.

Samantha Richdale of Kelowna, B.C., finished one stroke back of Kim at 7-under par to tie for sixth. Young Pro Squad member and Bath, Ont., native Augusta James bounced back after an opening round 75 to finish tied for eighth at 6-under par (75-66-69).

The next Symetra Tour event is the Florida Natural Charity Classic—won last year by Sue Kim—from Apr. 8–10 in Lake Wales, Fla.

Canadian scores from the IOA Championship presented by Morongo Casino Resort & Spa:

• Jessica Wallace: -10 (69-67-70), 2^nd
• Sue Kim: -8 (72-69-67), 5^th
• Samantha Richdale: -7 (69-70-70), T6
• Augusta James: -6 (75-66-69), T8
• Sara-Maude Juneau: E (71-74-71), T31
• Anne-Catherine Tanguay: +1 (70-71-76), T37
• Brittany Marchand: +4 (74-72-74), T47
• Jennifer Kirby: +8 (71-76-77), T58

Click here for full scoring.

LOS ANGELES – Bubba Watson has the 54-hole lead at the Northern Trust Open, and that might not even be the most fun he’s had this week.

He took his 3-year-old son to hang out with Justin Bieber. The two-time Masters champion had a small part – one line that he said required four takes – in Disney Channel’s show “Girl Meets World.” And he couldn’t wait to leave Riviera on Saturday so he could get to an NBA game between the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors.

“That’s the advantage is that I’m friends with a lot of the guys, friends with Steve Ballmer – I don’t know if you know him, he’s the owner of the Clippers,” Watson said.

Winning at Riviera for the second time in three years? That might be gravy.

Watson put himself in prime condition on a gorgeous afternoon along Sunset Boulevard with a 4-under 67, which included an efficient up-and-down for birdie on the par-5 17th to break out of the pack and a par save from the concession area down the hill and to the right of the 18th green.

Navigating the final 18 holes against a strong pack of contenders might be tougher than traffic on the 405.

Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy, Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama were all among the 10 players within three shots of the lead going into the final round. Watson was at 12-under 201, one shot ahead of Johnson, Jason Kokrak and Chez Reavie.

“We all feel good about our chances, even the guy that’s five back,” Watson said. “For me, I’m going to go out and try to do the same thing, keep my head down, try to take deep breaths and try to slow it down and hopefully it works out.”

Watson hit more fairways on Saturday (10) then the opening two rounds combined. He’s not bothered by being in the short grass as much as having the right angle to the green, and what has really left him at ease – as much as Watson is ever at ease – is making the short putts. He has made only three bogeys in 54 holes.

“Knowing that I’ve won here and knowing that I can play around here, obviously I have a little bit of an advantage on the guy that probably hasn’t won here,” Watson said.

Kokrak, the 36-hole leader, made three birdies on the back nine to salvage a 70 and remain in the final group. Reavie had a three-shot lead at one point on the back nine, courtesy of a perfectly placed drive that led to eagle on No. 2. But he missed a pair of 8-foot par putts on consecutive holes and had to settle for a 69.

For all the birdies, the final round was shaped largely by pars on the 18th hole.

McIlroy, making his debut at Riviera, made three birdies on the back nine to reach 10 under when he pushed his tee shot too far right on the 18th for the second straight day. This time, he played too much of a fade around the eucalyptus trees, and it tumbled down the hill next to the concessions stand. His chip raced by the hole, leaving a downhill par putt form 18 feet that he made for par.

“That’s one of the loudest cheers I’ve had in a while,” McIlroy said. “It would be nice to hear something like that again tomorrow.”

He shot 67 and was two shots behind, a group that included Scott (67), UCLA alum Kevin Chappell (66), the resurgent K.J. Choi (67) and Marc Leishman (68).

“Everyone is playing good, and it’s whoever probably wants it the most tomorrow makes it happen,” Scott said. “Not everyone is just going to fade away. It’s not that brutal hard and fast stuff where your slight miss is really punished and you can’t get it up-and-down.”

Watson’s par from about the same area was even better. He was able to clip the ball perfectly, and it checked up just 3 feet above the hole.

Matsuyama, who won in Phoenix two weeks ago, made five birdies on the front nine to get into the mix, only to put four 5s on his card on the back nine. He shot 68 and was three shots behind, along with Troy Merritt (70).

It’s still wide open, even with the experience at the top of Watson and Riviera, and the experience of winning anywhere by McIlroy, who’s at No. 3 in the world.

“It’s one of these golf courses, if you just stay around, hang in there and not make too many mistakes, stay patient, your time will come and it will present itself with a few opportunities,” McIlroy said. “And thankfully on the back nine, I was able to take some of them.”

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., shot 1-over 72 and sits T41 at 3-under. Adam Hadwin is T50 at 2-under.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – South Korea’s Lee Soo-min put on a sizzling display with his irons to top the Maybank Championship Malaysia leaderboard on Saturday, opening a three-shot lead over closest rival Marcus Fraser after the third round.

Lee fired home nine birdies, including four in a row on the back nine, for a 7-under 64 to move to a total of 15-under 198 at Royal Selangor Golf Club.

Fraser had a 66 to be outright second, a stroke ahead of Australian compatriot and second-round leader Nathan Holman, who struggled with four birdies and a double bogey en route to a 73.

Lee, ranked 221 in the world, last won a title at the Gunsan CC Open on the Korean Tour last year.

“I had a good feeling this week because I like this course,” Lee said. “I hit many important iron shots and gained some confidence on the greens. I am a bit nervous thinking of the final round but I will try my best. This weekend will be very good for my golf life.”

Fraser is chasing his first title on the Asian and European Tour in six years.

“Probably somewhere round the 18-under mark will win it, depending on what the leader does tomorrow,” Fraser said. “There are a few guys stacked in behind him, so we’ll see what the final day brings.”

The trio of Masahiro Kawamura, Jorge Campillo and Miguel Tabuena trail Lee by five shots in a tie for fourth.

Tabuena, who won the Philippine Open last year intends to use his success on home soil as platform for a grandstand finish.

“Winning against the best in Asia really boosted my confidence. It showed that that I can compete against the finest and hopefully I can make some clutch putts tomorrow to win,” Tabuena said.

Malaysian Open champion Thongchai Jaidee was struck by illness and pulled out of the tournament, which is co-sanctioned by the Asian and European Tours.

ADELAIDE, Australia – American Danielle Kang shot a 5-under 67 on Saturday to move into a share of the third-round lead with South Korea’s Jenny Shin and Haru Nomura of Japan at the Women’s Australian Open.

Leading contenders Lydia Ko and Karrie Webb were just one stroke off the lead at The Grange’s West course.

Kang, the 2010 and 2011 U.S. Amateur champion, is chasing her first win on the LPGA Tour. She was at 9-under 207 along with Shin and Nomura, who each had 70s.

Tied for fourth were defending champion and No. 1-ranked Ko with a 68 and five-time champion Webb after a 70.

Catriona Matthew, the 46-year-old Scot who was tied for the lead after two rounds, shot a 73 and was 7-under, two strokes off the lead.

Smiths Falls, Ont., product Brooke Henderson posted a 73 and sits T30. Fellow Ontarian Alena Sharp of Hamilton carded a 70 to reach even-par for a share of 40th.

LOS ANGELES – Rory McIlroy was leaving the scoring area when he looked over at a TV screen that was showing highlights of his round.

There were a couple of three-putt bogeys (one from just off the green) to go along with five birdies in his round of 2-under 69 that left him satisfied. It wasn’t his best, though he still was only four shots behind Jason Kokrak. Right before leaving the room, Golf Channel posted a chart that showed McIlroy has more comeback victories (six) after 36 holes than anyone since 2010.

“There you go,” McIlroy said with a smile. “That’s a good stat.”

That’s how the weekend is shaping up at Riviera. Kokrak birdied all the par 5s with his power and shot 7-under 64 to build a one-shot lead over Chez Reavie, who had a 67. Kokrak will be going for his first PGA Tour victory, which looks to be a long way off considering the tournament is only at the halfway point.

Even with Jordan Spieth missing the cut, there is plenty of star power – and simply power – lined up behind Kokrak.

Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson were two shots behind. The large group four shots back included McIlroy, Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama and Charl Schwartzel, a winner last week in South Africa. Watson won at Riviera two years ago. Johnson has been runner-up each of the last two years.

Watson made the cut with two shots to spare in 2014 and then went 64-64 on the weekend. That’s one indication that anything goes on the weekend off Sunset Boulevard. And it’s an indication that Watson is pretty good.

Kokrak is a month away from the one-year anniversary of his last top 10 on the PGA Tour, but he took a lot out of the 67-69 finish he had last weekend at Pebble Beach. He was hitting the ball well. He sensed something good about to happen.

“The way I hit it on Saturday, Sunday at Pebble, I can definitely see something special coming,” he said. “But I just put myself in position, just like I’m going to try to do the next couple days and see what happens.”

It’s hard to call Riviera “Dustin Johnson’s Alley” when he’s never even won at the course (Ben Hogan won three times in two years, including a U.S. Open) but it clearly is one of his better courses for reasons he can’t explain except that it fits his eye. He has finished no worse than fourth in four of the eight previous times he has played, and he has more rounds at 67 or better (10) than anyone since he started playing.

And he might finally be shaking off the rust from taking nearly a month off in December, and not playing at all in the two weeks between Kapalua and Torrey Pines, and the one week before Pebble Beach.

Asked what he does in his spare time when he’s not playing golf, Johnson replied, “There’s a lot of things you can do other than golf. I do them all.”

Let’s move along.

Lanny Wadkins said when he set the scoring record of 20-under 264 at Riviera in 1985 that he played the final round with the goal of not having anything worse than a 4 on his card. Schwartzel couldn’t relate to that on Friday.

He had a 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and a 7.

And he still shot 68 and was four behind.

He had a double bogey on No. 10 from a plugged lie in the bunker (even clean lies are hard in the bunkers on No. 10). And he made a triple bogey on No. 2 when he was trying to chip out from a boundary fence and the ball hit him in the hand, costing him one shot. He also missed a 3-foot putt. Both irritated him. Between those two holes, which he described as “unfortunate,” he made seven birdies and an eagle. So that was fortunate.

Justin Leonard came in from the snow to post his best 36-hole start in 19 years at Riviera (67-69).

He moved from Dallas to Colorado last year with his wife and four children and loves it. Leonard said his psychologist told him he needed to start working harder and practicing more. “So I moved to Colorado so I can’t practice,” he said.

He is playing a limited schedule this year, wanting to play 10 or 12 events. He narrowed it down to the courses that make him excited.

Riviera makes him excited. Especially this year.

Charlie Danielson gets to wait before going back to school. A 22-year-old senior at Illinois, Danielson earned a spot in his first PGA Tour event through a college qualifier on Monday. He opened with a 67 and easily made the cut on Friday with a 72. He was seven shots out of the lead and guaranteed two more days at Riviera.

A pair of Abbotsford, B.C., natives lead the Canadian the contingent. A 3-under 68 performance propelled Nick Taylor into a tie for 22nd place, while Adam Hadwin posted a second consecutive 70 to sit T38.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Australia’s Nathan Holman shot a 6-under 65 on Friday to take a two-stroke lead after the second round of the Maybank Championship Malaysia at the Royal Selangor Golf Club.

Holman, who had an opening round of 64, had seven birdies to reach 13-under at the halfway mark. Richard Bland of England also shot 65 on Friday to stay within two shots of the lead.

England’s Danny Willett was among a group of golfers trailing Holman by five shots.

“I am enjoying the lead,” Holman said. “It is why we play the game, to get ourselves in front and with a chance of winning big tournaments. I’d like to be even further ahead if I could.”

Bland, whose only title came at the Challenge Tour Grand Final in 2001, attributed a change in driver to his strong showing.

“It has added 15 yards to my drives,” he said. “When you got a shorter club in your hand, you can be a bit more aggressive. I am pleased with my round, to get two rounds without dropping a shot takes some doing. Nathan’s playing well, so I’m going to have to keep making birdies just to keep up.”

The inaugural tournament, co-sanctioned by the Asian and European Tour and offering $3 million in prize money, was also highlighted by Casey O’Toole’s 193-yard hole-in-one on the 12th.

“I didn’t see it go in, but when I heard the yells I realized what had happened,” he said. “It’s my first in competition. I’ve had four or five in practice, so this is the first that really counts.”

Martin Kaymer, whose 73 left him at 2-over, was among those who missed the cut. Toronto’s Richard T. Lee was 1-over on the day.

ADELAIDE, Australia – England’s Holly Clyburn shot a 7-under 65 Friday to take a share of the second-round lead with 46-year-old Scottish golfer Catriona Matthew at the Women’s Australian Open.

Clyburn and 1996 champion Matthew (69) had 36-hole totals of 8-under 136 on The Grange’s West course.

They held a one-stroke lead over four players – Germany’s Caroline Masson, who shot 71, China’s Lin Xiyu (67), South Korea’s Jenny Shin (70) and Haru Nomura of Japan (68).

“I think that’s the beauty of golf, you know you can play, it doesn’t matter what your age is really as long as you can still hit the golf ball and get it in the hole,” Matthew said. “Age isn’t a barrier.”

Jack Nicklaus, who won his sixth Masters title at Augusta in 1986 at the age of 46 – the last of his record 18 majors – agreed. He took the time to send a tweet to Matthew following her round Friday.

“Hang in there and don’t give up, finish strong! Everyone wrote me off at 46!” Nicklaus said on Twitter.

Two strokes behind the leaders and in seventh place after a 71 was five-time champion Karrie Webb. She had a 67 Thursday.

“It was a bit scratchier today. I wasn’t as sharp with my iron play,” Webb said. “I still hit 14 greens but didn’t have a lot of decent looks at birdies. I just really hung in there.”

Canadian-based South Korean SooBin Kim, the first-round leader who shot a course-record 63 on Thursday, bogeyed five of her final seven holes Friday for a 77 and fell to 4-under, tied in a group four behind the leaders.

Top-ranked and defending champion Lydia Ko, who won last week’s New Zealand Women’s Open, had a second consecutive 70 and was also at 4-under.

“I feel like I’m in a good position. I reckon I could have cut a few more shots down but at the same time I think could have gone higher, so it all balances out,” Ko said. “But being a couple or a few shots behind isn’t a bad position.”

Canadian Brooke Henderson shot 71 Friday and was at 3-under, five strokes behind. There were 20 golfers within four shots of the lead.

Cheyenne Woods had a 78 and was at 4-over and missed the cut, as did former champion Laura Davies after a 76 to finish at 10-under.

Clyburn, winner of last year’s New South Wales Open, began her round with an eagle and three birdies in her first five holes.

“I was loving it, really,” Clyburn said. “I have been waiting for this round for a long time.”

In October 2014, Clyburn was well-placed in the second stage of LPGA qualifying but was disqualified when her playing partner failed to sign her scorecard.

“Probably what happened 14, 15 months ago was for the best, I don’t know,” Clyburn said. It’s her second start on the LPGA Tour.

Matthew won the Australian Open 20 years ago at Yarra Yarra in Melbourne and, among other wins, added two majors – the Women’s British Open title in 2009 and the LPGA Championship in 2013.

With her husband, Graeme on the bag – he’s been her caddie for 16 years – the Scottish player has hit 16 greens in each of her first two rounds, including a 67 Thursday in tougher afternoon conditions.

“It’s tricky if you start missing the greens out here, it’s not easy up and down,” Matthew said.

The tournament is also sanctioned by the Australian Women’s and Ladies European tours.

Alena Sharp of Hamilont, Ont., sits tied for 66th following a round of 75.

LOS ANGELES – Camilo Villegas hasn’t make a cut all year and has only broken 70 one time in four previous trips to Riviera, so it was mildly surprising to see him with an 8-under 63 to build a three-shot lead Thursday in the Northern Trust Open.

That wasn’t the biggest surprise.

One spot from the bottom of the leaderboard was Jordan Spieth, the world’s No. 1 player who shot an 8-over 79 on one of his favorite courses. It was his worst start ever as a pro, and his highest score since an 80 in the third round of the 2014 Tour Championship.

“In the course of a career, I imagine it’s going to happen,” Spieth said. “Just unfortunate when it actually does.”

And there was one more surprise for everyone. Riviera, which played so fearsome during the practice rounds under a hot sun, was softer than usual after a steady overnight rain that never cleared until moments before the first round began.

Spieth said he couldn’t trust how the course was playing. Villegas also was stunned when he heard players from the morning round talk about 4-irons stopping on the green, instead of taking a hard bounce.

“You don’t really shoot 8 under around this place not playing good,” Villegas said. “Obviously, the rain yesterday made the golf course a lot more accessible.”

Bubba Watson, who won at Riviera two years ago with a 64-64 weekend, opened with a 66 along with Chez Reavie and Luke List.

Rory McIlroy, making his first PGA Tour start this year and his debut at Riviera, opened with two quick birdies and added two more on the front nine for a 67. He was in a large group that included 22-year-old Charlie Danielson, the Illinois senior who earned a spot in his first PGA Tour event by winning a collegiate qualifier on Monday.

“I just went out and tried to enjoy the day,” Danielson said. “I had no idea if I would shoot 80 or 66, so I just went out with no expectations and it worked out.”

Spieth didn’t have any expectations of a 79 – or worse. Still to be determined is whether his ball moved before hitting a chip on the ninth green. Spieth asked rules officials to review the video. He said he was fairly certain it didn’t move, but wanted to be sure. A decision was not expected until Friday morning. It would be a one-shot penalty under Rule 18-2 if the ball did move.

That was the least of his worries. The round got away from him on the back nine when he kept missing greens and leaving himself short par putts that are difficult on poa greens in the afternoon. Spieth dropped six shots over the last seven holes, including a three-putt double bogey from 8 feet on the 18th.

“I’m not throwing this tournament away,” Spieth said. “I’m not packing it in by any means.”

Only one other player in the 144-man field shot worse than Spieth. The Masters and U.S. Open champion was the last man on the practice range Thursday night when the first round was suspended by darkness. Fourteen players did not finish the round.

Villegas didn’t want it to end.

He opened with a pitch to tap-in range for birdie on No. 10, far less fearsome with slightly softer conditions. But his round really took off on the front nine when he ran off four straight birdies starting at No. 5 when he holed a 25-foot birdie putt. He hit his tee shot to 3 feet on the par-3 sixth, and holed a pair of 15-foot putts on the next two holes. Villegas needed one more birdie at No. 9 to match the course record of 61 that Ted Tryba set in 1999.

He missed the green to the right and chipped to 4 feet, missing the par putt and settling for a 63.

“I got on fire there for a little stretch,” he said. “And obviously, a little mishap on the last hole. But man, I thought I made the chip, too. It was a good day out there. Fun.”

McIlroy started birdie-birdie, and his lone mistake was a tee shot into a deep bunker on No. 15, leaving him no chance at reaching the green. Even so, he was happy to take advantage of the conditions.

“Put myself out of position a couple of times, but with the way the conditions of the golf course were, it didn’t punish you as bad as if it would have been as firm as it was the last couple of days,” McIlroy said.

Villegas figured it out quickly and played more aggressively, going at pins instead of planning for a big bounce.

“I would say I was a little surprised with my 8 under to be honest. This is a golf course where it’s not easy to shoot 8 under,” Villegas said. “I didn’t know Jordan shot 8 (over), but obviously he must have had a bad day. But again, everybody has bad days in this sport, man.”

Abbotsford, B.C., natives Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin opened with matching 1-under 70s to sit T39. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., was 3-over 74 on the day, while Graham DeLaet from Weyburn, Sask., shot 4-over.