LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – Canada’s Brooke Henderson parlayed four birdies and a late eagle into Friday’s hottest round and a share of the lead at the LPGA’s season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions.

Henderson had a 5-under 66 to join Inbee Park of South Korea at 9-under 133 heading to the weekend at Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club Orlando.

Henderson, No. 3 in the Rolex Rankings and the highest-ranked player among the 26 LPGA players in the field, had a clean scorecard until three-putting from the back collar at the difficult, 192-yard closing hole for her lone bogey.

She wasn’t pleased with the finish, but she also wasn’t going to allow it to sour a solid body of work on a day when the scoring average was nearly 71. Mexico’s Gaby Lopez, whose lone LPGA victory is the 2018 Blue Bay LPGA in China, shot 69 and is alone in third, two shots back.

Park, already a World Golf Hall of Fame member with more victories (19 on the LPGA, seven majors) in the Diamond Resorts field, does not usually compete this early in the season. But with 2020 being an Olympic year, the gold medallist in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 adjusted her winter schedule to play weeks earlier than normal. Park shot a bogey-free 68 Friday, nearly holing her third shot at the par-5 17th to set up her third and final birdie.

That’ll work, @BrookeHenderson! A tap-in ? moves her into the lead in the LPGA season opener ??pic.twitter.com/C4ORPOUL06

— Golf Canada (@GolfCanada) January 17, 2020

Only 22, Henderson, from Smiths Falls, Ont., is seeking her 10th LPGA victory, and has earned multiple victories in each of her four seasons on tour. Winning this week would be a nice jump on extending her streak. Friday’s wind proved more demanding than a day earlier, with gusts topping 20 mph as Henderson reached the middle of her round.

“Once it started to pick up, I guess around the seventh hole, Britt (Henderso’n, her younger sister and caddie) and I did a really good job of just counting in all the factors and trying to hit smart shots and give ourselves some birdie looks,” Henderson said.

Her highlight was making an eagle-3 at the 525-yard 17th hole. After a big drive, Henderson had 200 yards to the front of the green, 230 yards to the flagstick. She was between a 3-wood and 7-wood, decided on 3-wood because of strong crosswinds, and ripped an approach shot that finished 4 inches from the hole.

Henderson owned one of two eagles recorded in the round. The other was by France’s Celine Boutier, who made the LPGA’s first ace of 2020 when she holed a 4-iron at the 179-yard fifth hole. It was her second lifetime hole-in-one, her first coming eight years ago, when she was an amateur.

When Boutier birdied her next hole, she held a share of the lead with first-round leader Danielle Kang at 9 under. Boutier (69) is tied for fourth, two shots behind the leaders.

Kang, who had birdied six of her first 10 holes and shot 5-under 29 on her front nine a day earlier, opened her day with seven consecutive pars before making back-to-back birdies at the eighth and ninth holes. Kang, however, would stumble with four bogeys on her closing nine and shot 73. She trails the leaders by three shots.

In the 49-player celebrity and entertainment division, which competes for a purse of $500,000 (the LPGA’s purse is $1.2 million), Major League Baseball Hall of Famer and Fox analyst John Smoltz, the event’s defending champion, surged into a three-way tie for the leader. He was joined by two-time Diamond Resorts champion Mardy Fish (tennis) and U.S. military veteran Chad Pfeifer, who plays with a prosthetic left leg.

All three players have 74 points using a Modified Stableford scoring system. Blair O’Neal, a former Symetra Tour player who now works in television, is playing six-months pregnant and is tied for sixth.

The 2019 season marked the first year under the modernized Rules of Golf.  While the Rules have typically been revised every four years, this was the first fundamental review since 1984, with the purpose of ensuring the Rules of Golf fit the needs of today’s game and the way it is played around the world.

The R&A, in partnership with Golf Canada, are requesting feedback in relation to the Player’s Edition of the Rules of Golf and The R&A’s Rules of Golf app. The information that is provided by Canadian golfers through this survey will provide Golf’s governing bodies with important feedback that will be used to improve the Rules of Golf publications in the future.

The survey will take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete, and will remain open until Friday, February 14^th.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE SURVEY

The new Scotty Cameron Special Select putter line blends timeless designs with modern craftsmanship to deliver pure tour-validated performance in eight new blade and mid-mallet setups precision milled in the USA.

Available Jan. 24 in Canada, Special Select putters are inspired by the classic, solid milled designs that Master Putter Maker Scotty Cameron has crafted for tour players around the world – featuring sleeker putter head profiles with thinner and flatter toplines, refined neck configurations, soft tri-soles and performance balanced weighting.

Each Special Select putter has been completely reworked, including Scotty’s classic Newport, Newport 2 and Newport 2.5 blade styles. A refined Del Mar joins the new Fastback 1.5, Squareback 2, Flowback 5 and Flowback 5.5 mid-mallet models.

“I’m always inspired by the putters that result from working directly with the best players in the world,” Cameron said. “With Special Select, I wanted to get back to the pure-milled shapes and faces that I’ve been crafting for tour players for over two decades now. We’ve brought those designs into the modern era with new setups, necks, faces, grips and weights. Every aspect of every putter has been redone. When it all came together, it was pretty special.”

SPECIAL SELECT PERFORMANCE & TECHNOLOGY

Special Select putters are meticulously crafted to provide pure performance and feel through the following key features:

• TOUR-INSPIRED SHAPES: Sleeker putter head profiles with thinner, flatter toplines deliver confidence inspiring looks preferred by tour professionals.
• SOLID MILLED STAINLESS STEEL CONSTRUCTION: Every Special Select is milled in the United States from a block of solid 303 stainless steel for legendary performance and playability with consistent sound and soft feel.
• SOFT TRI-SOLE DESIGN: Special Select blade models are milled with a tour-inspired soft tri-sole design. This self-soling feature promotes a proper setup at address while providing a stable, aesthetically pleasing view of the topline from the moment the putter is placed on the green.

• PERFORMANCE BALANCED WEIGHTING: New performance balanced weighting expands on the use of Scotty’s interchangeable, customizable sole weights to tune the performance and feel of putters at all lengths. By directing more weight to the heel and toe, the sweet spot is enlarged and stability is enhanced back and through the stroke without compromising feel or each model’s unique toe flow properties. The blades come equipped with new tungsten sole weights, which allow for ultra-sleek, tour-validated shapes with larger sweet spots. The mid-mallets employ stainless steel sole weights for optimal balance and weight distribution.
• REFINED NECK CONFIGURATIONS: Each Special Select putter neck style has been revamped based on an intense and deliberate study in neck configurations. Newport and Newport 2 feature a slightly shorter plumbing neck for medium toe flow, with a newly-defined socket radius subtly repositioned with onset to provide clearer visibility of the leading edge at address. The Newport 2.5 and Fastback 1.5 each have a refined, toe flow-promoting small slant neck, while the rounded Flowback 5.5 comes with a new slantback neck for similar strokes. The heel-shafted Del Mar’s flow neck is designed for maximum toe flow. The GOLO-inspired Flowback 5 limits toe flow with a more traditional mid-bend, shaft-over-spud setup.

SPECIAL SELECT MODELS

The Special Select line offers golfers the choice of three blade models and five mid-mallet options developed for every stroke style.

• Newport, Newport 2, Newport 2.5 models feature an insert-free, solid milled 303 stainless steel putter head with performance balanced tungsten sole weighting for a larger sweet spot and increased stability. Flatter and thinner toplines, milled flange sight lines, soft tri-soles and redesigned plumbing (Newport, Newport 2) and small slant (Newport 2.5) neck styles round out these timeless blade designs.
• A classic name returns with the new Special Select Del Mar in an updated heel-shafted, compact mallet model. Precision milled from solid 303 stainless steel, the new Del Mar features refined concave flange contours and a narrower, flatter topline for a player-preferred look at address, and customizable stainless steel sole weights. A left-handed Del Mar is also available.

• New Special Select Fastback 1.5, Squareback 2, Flowback 5 and Flowback 5.5 mid-mallet putters combine 6061 aircraft aluminum sole plates for optimal weight distribution with solid milled faces and interchangeable stainless steel sole weights. Each has a specific neck style – Fastback 1.5 (small slant), Squareback 2 (plumbing), Flowback (mid-bend shaft-over-spud) and Flowback 5.5 (slantback) – to facilitate better leading edge visibility from address, as well as desired toe flow properties.

ACCESSORIES

Each Special Select putter is accessorized with a new Pistolini Plus grip in cement gray with distinctive white lettering that retains the Pistolini shape with a slightly built up lower hand profile. This new grip complements an elegantly embroidered, red abrasion-resistant Special Select headcover with superior wear characteristics.

REFINED AESTHETICS

Scotty gave the Special Select line’s raw stainless steel finish a unique bead blast for a radiant yet glare resistant appearance. Additionally, Scotty’s signature three red dot pattern on the back cavity has a new look. Each dot has been milled with a recessed circular channel, polished and then hand-painted with cherry red translucent paint, creating a striking new “cherry rings” feature.

AVAILABILITY

Special Select putters will be available Jan. 24 in Canada through Titleist authorized golf shops starting at $529.

Slope rating is the difference between the course rating for a ‘scratch’ golfer and the course rating for a ‘bogey’ golfer multiplied by a factor. The Slope rating indicates the difficulty of a golf course for the ‘bogey’ golfer relative to the scratch player.

Click here for more information on the World Handicap System.

The introduction of the all-new Titleist T100•S irons meets the need for a fully-forged player’s iron that plays stronger to produce greater distance.

Modeled after the tour-refined design of the new Titleist T100 models – which have quickly become the most played irons this season on the PGA Tour – the new T100•S irons are individually calibrated with 2-degree stronger lofts to give better players the distance they need to score lower, while preserving the feel and precision required for superior shot shaping.

Available for fittings March 12 (and in golf shops March 27), T100•S is a direct result of player feedback and the engineering ingenuity that has made Titleist the longstanding #1 iron on the PGA Tour. Joining T100, T200 and T300 in the strikingly new T-Series iron family, the T100•S introduces a new fully-forged Player’s Distance iron model unlike anything else in the category.

“T100•S was developed as a Player’s Distance iron with an emphasis on the word Player’s. We’ve taken the most popular irons on the PGA Tour and carefully engineered them to maximize distance,” said Josh Talge, Vice President, Titleist Golf Club Marketing.

“As we were launching the new T-Series, we met a lot of golfers who were really excited about T100 but had become accustomed to playing stronger-lofted iron sets. It would have been really easy to just take T100’s and bend them stronger for those players. But by doing that you start to sacrifice the incredible feel and turf interaction – the reasons why players were gravitating toward them in the first place. So our engineers went back and redesigned each individual iron to give these players the stronger lofts and distance they’re looking for, while preserving the performance of that pure forged shape and sole.”

T100•S PERFORMANCE & TECHNOLOGY

T100•S irons are masterfully designed to deliver the same tour-level precision and signature forged feel as T100, in 2-degree stronger lofts for longer distance:

• Carefully calibrated T100 design with 2-degree stronger lofts enhances carry distance throughout the set.
• New fully-forged dual cavity construction provides precise distance and control
• Thinner, more responsive face increases ball speed across the face.
• Co-forged dual-density tungsten (with an average of 66 grams placed in the heel and toe of the mid and long irons) delivers exceptional stability.
• Tour-refined sole shape (same as T100) features a thin topline, minimal offset and enhanced camber for improved turf interaction.
• Progressive set design – with progressive blade lengths, sole widths and hosel lengths – delivers optimal CG positioning with preferred shaping through the set.
• Available irons: 3 (19º), 4 (22º), 5 (25º), 6 (28º), 7 (32º), 8 (36º), 9 (40º), P (44º), W48.

“While we’ve engineered T100•S for distance, this still a precision product,” said Marni Ines, Director, Titleist Irons Development, Golf Club R&D. “To be a great iron player you need to be in control of your distances and have the ability to work the ball when the shot calls for it. The design of T100•S simply allows players to hit their number from even farther away – with the tight dispersion and proper trajectory they need to hit it close.”

FREE TRIAL & FITTINGS

Beginning March 12, golfers can experience the performance of T100•S irons by attending a Titleist Trial & Fitting Event (including Titleist Thursdays), or visiting a Titleist Fitting Partner at one of hundreds of locations nationwide. To find a fitting event or location, golfers can visit https://www.titleist.ca/fitting.

T100•S STOCK SHAFT

T100•S’s stock shaft – the True Temper Projext X LZ (Mid launch, low spin | 120g) – enhances ball speed and launch for maximum distance with the proper trajectory to stop shots closer to the hole.

In addition, Titleist offers an industry-leading number of custom shaft choices, many at no upcharge.

 T100•S AVAILABILITY

New Titleist T-Series T100•S irons will be available in golf shops worldwide beginning March 27, with fittings beginning March 12.

After an intensive training camp with Golf Canada’s national amateur squad, coach Tristan Mullally is excited for the future of the women’s game in this country.

Mullally worked with Quebec City’s Sarah-Eve Rheaume, Noemie Pare of Victoriaville, Que., Brigitte Thibault of Rosemere, Que., and Mary Parsons of Delta, B.C. last week at The Legacy Golf Club in Phoenix. The camp focused on the ongoing development of all four players, preparing them to make the leap to the professional ranks.

“We’ve got a young, dynamic group that are a little bit light on experience but have some of the best attitudes that I’ve ever seen in terms of our national team,” said Mullally on Wednesday. “It’s very easy to improve their golf when their attitude is the way it is.

“I’m expecting over the next couple of years to start to see some of these players starting to be those next discussion points.”

Of course, right now the biggest discussion point in Canadian golf is Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont. She became the winningest golfer in Canadian history last season and is ranked eighth in the world. Henderson and Hamilton’s Alena Sharp represent the Canadian contingent on the LPGA Tour this season.

It’s a reversal of fortunes from last year when five Canadians were LPGA regulars with Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., Quebec City’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay and Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee joining Henderson and Sharp.

The injury bug bit, however, with Tanguay having to take a one-year sabbatical to heal an ailing back and focus on personal projects. Lee’s season was derailed by ongoing issues with her wrist. She’ll have partial LPGA status this season as she plays under a medical exemption.

Longtime Symetra Tour player Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., retired in the off-season after finishing 30th on the second-tier tour’s money list, further depleting Canada’s presence in the pro ranks.

But Mullally is optimistic about the next wave of young Canadian golfers playing in the NCAA.

“All of these athletes are on the national team for a reason, they know how to work hard to be efficient with their time,” said Mullally, who collaborates with the players’ university coaches to design individual development plans. “They’ve all done that, they’ve all come back a little bit better than when they left the last national camp and we want to continue that.”

Thibault is coming off of a career season where she competed in the inaugural Augusta National Women’s Amateur, won the Ontario Women’s Amateur Championship and the NCAA’s Mountain West Conference Championship. That led to her being named the female amateur of the year by the Golf Journalists Association of Canada.

She and Parsons were also part of Canada’s bronze-medal team at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, with Austin Connelly and Joey Savoie.

Every component of the new Titleist Velocity golf ball has been engineered for maximum velocity, including new aerodynamic and core technologies that deliver the longest, best performing Velocity yet. Golfers can also experience the speed of Velocity in style, with three new matte color options (Pink, Green and Orange) added for 2020.

Now available in golf shops worldwide, 2020 Velocity has been improved through comprehensive golfer feedback and new innovations developed inside the Titleist Golf Ball R&D labs:

• The invention of a spherically-tiled 350 octahedral dimple design produces a more consistent, high-flying trajectory for longer distance.• Velocity’s engine – a larger, higher speed LSX core – generates fast initial velocity with extremely low spin on all full swing shots to help golfers get every last yard.

• The increased core size also adds spin for greater stoppability on approach shots.

“Velocity golfers love distance, and they never stop asking us for more yards,” said Michael Mahoney, Vice President, Titleist Golf Ball Marketing. “But we know they’re also trying to shoot lower scores, and distance is only one part of that equation. The advancements our engineers have made to Velocity’s aerodynamics package and high-speed core technology are meaningful. Golfers can take aim from farther away – confident that if they put a good swing on it, they’ll have the extra distance to reach the green with the ball flight to stop it there.”

The new Velocity is manufactured by Titleist associates at Titleist’s owned-and-operated Ball Plant 2 in North Dartmouth, Mass., ensuring the most consistent performance and quality in every dozen and every ball.

NEW MATTE COLOUR OPTIONS

The improved performance of 2020 Velocity is enhanced by three new color options featuring a high optic, vibrant matte finish. Golfers can now choose from Matte Pink, Matte Green and Matte Orange (with play numbers #00-11-22-33), in addition to standard white (with play numbers 1-4).

Each matte finish has been developed and validated by Titleist R&D to maintain exceptional light stability and durability throughout the course of play.

VELOCITY PERFORMANCE & TECHNOLOGY

The new Titleist Velocity delivers longer distance, extremely low long game spin, high flight and greater iron stoppability through the following key technologies:

• New Larger, Higher Speed LSX Core delivers fast speed with extremely low spin on full swing shots for deep downrange distance. The increased core size also adds spin for greater iron stoppability.
• Fast NaZ+ Cover formulation is designed for speed and playable greenside feel.
• New Spherically-Tiled 350 Octahedral Dimple Pattern provides a high ball flight with greater aerodynamic consistency for enhanced long game distance.

AVAILABILITY

The new Titleist Velocity is available in Canadian golf shops beginning Jan. 23 starting at $35.99.

The largest core ever produced by Titleist golf ball engineers drives longer distance and better short game performance in the new Titleist Tour Soft, available beginning Jan. 23 in Canadian golf shops.

Titleist Tour Soft was first introduced two years ago, utilizing new material and process technologies to deliver the best performance in its category – offering a superior combination of soft compression feel, very fast speed for commanding distance and excellent short game spin and control.

For golfers who prefer a softer-feeling golf ball, the new 2020 Tour Soft improves upon its prior generation with real performance advancements to help them play better:

• Titleist’s largest golf ball core is now even larger, delivering faster ball speeds for category-leading distance off the tee.
• The larger core size required engineers to make Tour Soft’s high performance 4CE grafted cover system even thinner, producing increased short game spin around the green.
• Enhanced aerodynamics – a new spherically-tiled 342 cuboctahedron dimple design – provides a more penetrating ball flight.
• Doubling as an alignment aid, the new Tour Soft “T” sidestamp provides golfers the option for easy alignment on the tee or green.

“Golfers wanting to play a softer-feeling ball shouldn’t have to sacrifice yards off the tee or control into the green. We know they have real golf to play and their ball has to be much more than just soft,” said Michael Mahoney, Vice President, Titleist Golf Ball Marketing. “The new generation of Tour Soft continues to show what’s possible in a lower compression design. Our engineers have developed a longer, all-around better performing golf ball that maintains the soft and responsive feel that golfers love about this product.”

The new Tour Soft, offered in both white and high-optic yellow, is manufactured by Titleist associates at Titleist’s owned-and-operated Ball Plant 2 in North Dartmouth, Mass., ensuring the most consistent performance and quality in every dozen and every ball.

NEW ALIGNMENT STAMP

Tour Soft’s sidestamp has been redesigned and integrated into a new alignment aid feature for 2020. The alignment stamp – resembling a “T” shape – makes it easier for golfers to line up their Tour Soft on the green or tee, without having to mark lines on the ball.

“When we began offering alignment aid stamps through our My Titleist customizer (on Titleist.com) in February of 2018, they instantly became the most popular options among golfers choosing to add custom logos to their golf ball,” said Michael Fish, Titleist Golf Ball Product Manager. “Our research and testing with Tour Soft golfers showed an overwhelming preference for using an enhanced alignment stamp and they put this ‘T’ mark at the top of their list.”

TOUR SOFT PERFORMANCE & TECHNOLOGY

The new Titleist Tour Soft is engineered to provide golfers with better performance for their game, delivering responsive soft feel, commanding distance and excellent short-game performance through the following key technologies:

• Reformulated, Larger and Faster Core – the largest of any Titleist golf ball – delivers longer distance and responsive feel.
• Thinner 4CE Grafted Cover – developed using ultra-thin TCU process technology – generates more greenside spin for better control into and around the green.
• Spherically-Tiled 342 Cuboctahedron Dimple Design provides a more penetrating and consistent ball flight.

AVAILABILITY

The new Titleist Tour Soft available in Canadian golf shops beginning Jan. 23. MAP $44.99.

The World Handicap System is designed to offer golfers plenty of opportunities to submit scores for handicap purposes. The more acceptable scores a player submits, the more accurate their handicap index will be.

Click here for more information.

Experience max performance with the latest high-performance shoe from FootJoy, called Tour X™.  With the idea to deliver the ultimate “X” factor, this golf shoe is turbo-charged with advanced technologies and materials to achieve the most feature-rich performance package chosen by elite players like Kevin Kisner and Rafa Cabrera Bello.

“This is a powerful shoe with a strong, stable foundation that allows me to max out my swing speed while staying locked to the ground,” said Kevin Kisner.

Using innovation-powered features and materials, Tour X works to redirect and funnel power by ensuring balance and a stable foundation throughout the golf swing. Tour X was developed from the synthesis of three tour-proven models to provide players maximum performance: Max Stability, Max Control and Max Comfort.

MAX STABILITY

FJ PowerPlate outsole is the most stable outsole in FJ’s range, providing maximum ground coverage and stability which allows players to transfer power efficiently throughout the golf swing. This PowerPlate midsole/outsole system features a full TPU layer with 9 LaunchPods that provide unrivalled stability and increased surface area coverage.

MAX CONTROL

FJ PowerStrap™ system delivers medial and lateral support to provide exceptional midfoot control.  The molded TPU strap works with reinforced PowerEyelets, allowing you to pull tight and lock down to maintain a stable, balanced foundation.

MAX COMFORT

Tour X offers comfort technologies that wrap your foot in cushioning and control.  Inside the shoe is an OrthoLite® Impressions FitBed®, comprised of two densities of foam – an Open Cell PU Foam that maintains its mechanical properties and cushion throughout its life cycle, and an Impressions Foam that takes an impression of your foot, creating a custom fit.

For added comfort and breathability, Tour X features a 3D Molded Collar and Tour-Spec Stretch Tongue, ensuring maximum in-shoe comfort and support round after round. Tour X is fully-waterproof, using a Chromoskin™ leather by Pittards® of England, providing a super soft, supple feel.

Visit www.footjoy.ca for more information.

AVAILABILITY

The Tour X is available in Canada on January 15, 2020 starting at $299