PRETORIA, South Africa – Justin Harding fired a 7-under 63 to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the European Tour’s Tshwane Open in South Africa on Thursday.

Harding’s round featured eight birdies and a single bogey as only 22 players managed to go under par at Pretoria Country Club.

Harding was at the head of five South Africans at the top of the leaderboard. Anthony Michael was 6 under par, Theunis Spangenberg 5 under, Jaco van Zyl 4 under and Merrick Bremner 3 under. Charl Schwartzel was in a tie for 38th after opening with a 1-over 71.

The Tshwane Open is the fifth European Tour event in South Africa this season. Home players have won three of the other four.

Oakville, Ont. and Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. – The Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada’s 2016 schedule will include 12 events from May to September, highlighted by two new tournaments and 10 returning events from 2015, as players look to make the next step on the path to the PGA TOUR.

The season will once again begin in May with the Freedom 55 Financial Open (May 23-29) at Point Grey Golf and Country Club in Vancouver, B.C., with purses of $175,000 (CA$) for the first 11 events and a $200,000 (CA$) purse for the season-ending Freedom 55 Financial Championship (Sept. 12-18) at Highland Country Club in London, Ont.

“Thanks to the hard work of our host organizations and tremendous support from our sponsors, especially our umbrella sponsor Mackenzie Investments, we’re in a great position to play 12 fantastic events across Canada this season,” said Mackenzie Tour President Jeff Monday. “We look forward to seeing another season of outstanding play from our players while making a positive impact in each of the communities where we play.”

Mackenzie Tour players will look to make the next step on the path the PGA TOUR by leveraging their performance into advantages to reach the next level. The Order of Merit winner will be fully exempt on the Web.com Tour for the following season, with players 2-5 earning conditional status and each player 2^nd through 10^th earning an exemption into the Final Stage of the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament. Players 11 through 20 earn an exemption into the second stage.

Players will look to follow in the footsteps of Nick Taylor and Tony Finau, who went from the Mackenzie Tour in 2013 to being finalists for PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year for the 2014-15 season, along with 37 members of the Mackenzie Tour from 2015 who went on to earn 2016 Web.com Tour status.

Also announced was the introduction of a new look and logo for the Mackenzie Tour, symbolizing the innovative approach taken in concert with Mackenzie Investments.

“We are thrilled to support another great season of golf, helping the players build the confidence they need to succeed, while raising the profile of the Mackenzie Tour both on and off the course,” said Jeff Carney, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mackenzie Investments.  “Last season the Mackenzie Tour raised a record amount of money for charities across Canada and we look forward to building on that momentum and driving additional support, especially in the two new tour stops this season, Kelowna B.C. and Edmonton Alta., which are exciting additions to an already outstanding roster.”

After kicking off the season with the Mackenzie Tour’s first event in Vancouver, the Tour will head to Victoria, B.C. for the 34^th playing of the Bayview Place Island Savings Open presented by Times Colonist (May 30-June 5) at Uplands Golf Club, followed by the inaugural GolfBC Championship (June 6-12) at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf and Country Club in Kelowna, B.C. The SIGA Dakota Dunes Open, which features a ‘Graham Slam’ event hosted by Graham DeLaet and supports the Graham and Ruby DeLaet foundation, takes place at Dakota Dunes Golf Links in Saskatoon, Sask. June 20-26, and after an off week, the Tour heads to Winnipeg, Man. for The Players Cup (July 4-10) and Thunder Bay, Ont. for the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel (July 11-17), after which the top three players on the Order of Merit earn exemptions into the RBC Canadian Open on the PGA TOUR.

The season resumes with three straight events in Alberta, with the inaugural Oil Country Championship in Edmonton (July 25-31), the Syncrude Boreal Open in Fort McMurray (August 1-7) and the ATB Financial Classic in Calgary (August 8-14), followed by the National Capital Open to Support Our Troops in Ottawa, Ont. (August 15-21).

The newly-rebranded Cape Breton Open moves to Bell Bay Golf Club in Baddeck, N.S. August 29-4, after which the top 60 players on the Order of Merit will retain exempt status and play their way into the season-ending Freedom 55 Financial Championship at Highland Country Club in London, Ont.

Click here to view the schedule.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Caddies lost their class-action lawsuit against the PGA Tour when a federal judge in California ruled they signed a contract with the tour that requires them to wear bibs as part of their uniform and cannot claim that corporate sponsorship on the bibs makes them human billboards.

U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria dismissed the lawsuit Tuesday night without prejudice, which typically means it cannot be refiled.

The decision came just over a year after caddies filed the lawsuit in northern California, the same federal court where former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon successfully sued the NCAA for keeping college players from selling their marketing rights.

The lawsuit began with 81 caddies and had grown to 168 caddies.

Chhabria dismissed all seven of the contractual claims.

The caddies and the tour had been odds for the last several years over what they perceive as poor treatment. They are not allowed in clubhouses and at some tournaments are not allowed in the locker room.

At the heart of the lawsuit was a claim that the tour was using them as “human billboards” because the bibs they wore on the course, which featured the logo of the title sponsor, amounted to advertising to which they received no compensation. Lawyers for the caddies estimated the value of the advertising at $50 million a year.

Chhabria suggested in his ruling that the caddies’ own complaint worked against them.

The contract a caddie signs to work a PGA Tour event says that caddies are to wear uniforms and identification badges prescribed by the tournament and the tour. Chhabria said the caddies in their brief acknowledge that “the PGA Tour has required caddies to wear bibs for decades.”

“In other words, for decades, the bib has been the primary part of the ‘uniform’ that the Tour requires caddies to wear,” Chhabria wrote. “The only reasonable interpretation of the contract is that the caddies agreed the Tour could make them wear bibs.”

Chhabria also found no merit to claims of antitrust and trademark law, along with complaints of publicity rights and that contracts were signed under duress.

“The caddies overall complaint about poor treatment by the Tour has merit, but this federal lawsuit about bibs does not,” Chhabria said.

The PGA Tour said in a statement it was pleased by the decision.

“We look forward to putting this matter behind us and moving forward in a positive direction with the caddies,” the statement said.

Lawyers for the caddies were preparing a comment. One option would be to appeal the ruling.

Toronto – The University of the West Indies has announced that Canadian Golf Hall of Fame honoured member Stephen Ames will be one of five leaders of Canadian and Caribbean origin to be honoured at its annual Toronto Benefit Gala on Saturday, April 2, 2016, at The Ritz-Carlton.

Ames will be awarded with the University’s Vice Chancellor’s Award, which is given to people of Caribbean heritage who have made significant contributions within their organizations and communities.

Ames, 51, was born in Trinidad & Tobago. He turned professional in 1987. In 2004, he enjoyed his first PGA Tour victory, reached the top 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and was awarded the Chaconia Medal, Trinidad & Tobago’s second highest honour. He initiated the Stephen Ames Cup, an international Ryder Cup style competition that pits CJGA Team Canada against Team Trinidad & Tobago. He also co-hosts an annual charity golf tournament for kids and owns the Vintage Chophouse in Calgary.

Under the theme “Light, Learning and Liberty”, The University of the West Indies Toronto Benefit Gala provides funds for scholarships -awarding nearly in the past six years.

For tickets and a full list of honourees, please visit www.uwitorontogala.com.

SAN DIEGO – Diana M. Murphy, of St. Simons Island, Ga., has been elected to serve a one-year term as the 64th president of the United States Golf Association (USGA). The election of officers and the 15-member USGA Executive Committee also took place today during the USGA Annual Meeting.

As president, Murphy assumes the leadership of the more than 300 professional staff and nearly 1,200 volunteers who serve on more than 30 USGA committees.

“Although golf will always face challenges, the great golfers – such as Bob Jones, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and my dear friend Louise Suggs – had one trait in common: they were optimistic about their games and the game,” said Murphy after her election. “It is a time for all of us, together, to be positive about golf and act accordingly.”

A full version of Murphy’s speech can be found here.

Murphy has been formally associated with the USGA since 1996, when she began a 12-year tenure on the USGA Membership Committee. She joined the Executive Committee in 2011, and has chaired several committees, including the Championship (2015), Commercial (2012-13), Compensation (2014-15), Finance (2012-14) and U.S. Senior Amateur Championship (2014) committees. She was elected treasurer in 2013 and vice president in 2014 and 2015.

Murphy, 59, is the managing director of Rocksolid Holdings, LLC, a private-equity firm focused on small business and real estate in the Southeast. She is also managing director of the Georgia Research Alliance Venture Fund, which supports the state’s public and private research universities. Past appointments include managing director of Chartwell Capital Management Company, a private-equity firm in Jacksonville, Fla., for 11 years, and senior vice president of The Baltimore Sun Company for 15 years.

An active community supporter, Murphy has served on the board of the Boys & Girls Club of Southeast Georgia since 2006, spearheading the establishment of the Elizabeth F. Correll Teen Center in 2008, among other activities. She is a member of the executive committee of the College of Coastal Georgia, and played an instrumental role in developing its master plan as it moved from a two-year to a four-year institution. She is the non-executive chairman of Landstar System Inc. and a board member of CTS Corporation, both public companies.

Murphy earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from West Virginia University in 1978, and holds an advanced executive business degree from Northwestern University.

She is the second woman in the association’s 121-year history to serve as president, following Judy Bell, who was president in 1996 and 1997.

Two other current members of the Executive Committee have been elected to serve as officers. They are: Sheila C. Johnson, of Middleburg, Va., continuing as secretary, and George J. Still Jr., of Atherton, Calif., as treasurer.

The other 10 current members of the Executive Committee who are continuing their service are: William E. Fallon, of Pittsburgh, Pa.; J. Stuart Francis, of Hillsborough, Calif.; C. Malcolm Holland III, of Dallas, Texas; G. Thomas Hough, of Atlanta, Ga.; Robert D. Kain, of Gates Mill, Ohio; Martha J. Lang, of Birmingham, Ala.; Gregory B. Morrison, of Duluth, Ga.; Asuka Nakahara, of Merion, Pa.; Mark E. Newell, of McLean, Va.; and Mark P. Reinemann, of Pewaukee, Wis.

Two new members were elected to the Executive Committee for 2016: J. Michael Bailey, of Salt Lake City, Utah; and Clifford J. Shahbaz, of Portland, Ore. Robert C. Weber, of Hobe Sound, Fla., has been elected general counsel.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Rickie Fowler broke down in tears in the media center after his playoff loss Sunday in the Waste Management Phoenix Open, overcome by emotion talking about his family.

“The hard part is having all my friends and family and grandpa and my dad who haven’t seen me win,” Fowler said. “But I will be able to kind of hang with them tonight. I’ll be all right.”

He hit two balls into the water on the par-4 17th hole – the first in regulation and the second on the fourth and final extra hole – to give Hideki Matsuyama an unexpected victory.

“This one hurts,” Fowler said.

He blew a two-shot lead on the 317-yard 17th in regulation when he blasted a driver through the green and into the water, with the ball traveling nearly 360 yards.

“I’m hitting a chip-cut driver,” Fowler said. “Usually, don’t expect it to hit on the downslope and then go 360.”

Using a 3-wood on the hole in the playoff, he pulled his drive into the lake just short of the green.

“Hit it solid,” Fowler said. “Just hit it a little high on the face and it just got up and left a little quicker than I was expecting and wanted.”

Matsuyama birdied the hole in regulation to tie for the lead, chipping to 2 1/2 feet. In the playoff, he chipped to 6 feet and two-putted for the win after Fowler missed his 10-foot par putt.

“Surprised and sad that Rickie finished that way, but all I can do is my best,” Matsuyama said through a translator. “I was lucky to come out on top.”

Fowler forced the playoff with a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th after Matsuyama made an 18-footer. They each shot 4-under 67 to finish at 14-under 270 at TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course.

“The putt I made there was probably the best putt I have ever made in my life,” Matsuyama said.

The playoff was just as dramatic.

On the par-4 10th on the third extra hole, Fowler saved par with a 12-foot putt after driving into the left rough and skulling his approach long and right. Matsuyama made a 5-footer to extend the playoff.

They played the 18th hole twice to open overtime. On the first extra hole, Fowler chipped to a foot to set up a par after leaving his wedge approach short and right. Matsuyama rolled his 25-foot putt inside a foot. On the second playoff hole, Matsuyama matched Fowler’s 15-foot birdie putt to extend it.

“Maybe from the outside it looked calm, but then I was nervous inside,” Matsuyama said.

The crowd of 65,330 pushed the week total to a record 618,365, shattering the mark of 564,368 set last year. The event broke its own golf record Saturday at 201,003 after drawing a Friday-record 160,415.

“It was a blast playing in front of all these people,” Matsuyama said. “I’d say probably 99 percent were cheering hard for Rickie, but that gave me the motivation to go out and do it and win.”

Matsuyama won the 2014 Memorial for his only other PGA Tour title, beating Kevin Na on the first extra hole. The 23-year-old Japanese player tied for second last year in Scottsdale, a stroke behind Brooks Koepka.

Fowler missed a chance for his fifth worldwide win in nine months. He started the run in May at The Players Championship, and won the Scottish Open the week before the British Open, the Deutsche Bank Championship in September and the European Tour event two weeks ago in Abu Dhabi.

“With how good I’m playing, I know I can win,” Fowler said. “That’s the hard part.”

Fowler chipped in from 50 feet for birdie on the par-4 10th to take the lead and added birdies on the par-5 13th and 15th holes to pull two shots ahead. He missed a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-3 16th, the tournament’s signature stadium hole, before giving Matsuyama a chance with the long tee shot on 17.

“It didn’t look very good,” Matsuyama said. “Then Rickie opened the door for me, and I was able to walk through it.”

Harris English shot a 66 to tie for third at 12 under.

Abbotsford, B.C., native Adam Hadwin was the top Canadian after shooting a 3-under 68 on Sunday. Hadwin rose 14 spots to 17th place with a 6-under 278 for the tournament. Nick Taylor, also from Abbotsford, shots a 2-over 73 and entered the clubhouse with a 5-over 289.

Third-round leader Danny Lee had a 73 to drop to fourth at 11 under. The South Korean-born New Zealander began the day three strokes ahead of playing partners Fowler and Matsuyama.

Phil Mickelson followed his third-round 65 with a 71 to tie for 11th at 8 under. The 45-year-old former Arizona State won the event in 1996, 2005 and 2013.

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Esteban Toledo parred the third playoff hole Sunday to win the Allianz Championship over Billy Andrade on a cold, windy day at Broken Sound Club.

Toledo made a 4-foot par putt after Andrade’s 5-foot par try lipped out on the par-4 17th hole. Three of Toledo’s four PGA Tour Champions titles have come in playoffs. Toledo (67) and Andrade (68) finished at 11-under 205.

Andrade had a chance to win in regulation but missed a 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole. It looked like he was going to lose on the first playoff hole when his second shot landed in the palmetto bushes, but he saved par.

It was the fourth playoff in the last seven years at the Allianz Championship.

Tom Byrum shot the best round of the tournament, an 8-under 64, to jump from 32nd into a third-place tie with Jeff Sluman (70).

Tom Lehman could have made it a three-way playoff, but he failed to birdie the par-5 18th, which played the easiest on the course (4.47). A bogey dropped Lehman (72) into fifth place.

Second-round leader Corey Pavin extended his advantage to two shots on the front nine but made six bogeys and faded to 10th after a 75. Pavin has just one victory in 112 starts on the PGA Tour Champions, and that came at the 2012 Allianz Championship.

Canada’s Stephen Ames carded a final round 72 to tie for 15th. Compatriot Rod Spittle finished with a share of 19th after a 69 Saturday.

BOGOTA, Colombia – Sebastian Munoz won his hometown Club Colombia Championship on Sunday for his first Web.com Tour victory, two-putting for birdie from 45 feet on the par-5 18th for a one-stroke victory.

Playing on a sponsor exemption, Munoz became the first Colombian winner in the history of the tour.

The 23-year-old former North Texas player finished off a 5-under 66 in the morning in the completion of the suspended third round and shot a 71 in the afternoon at Bogota Country Club. He finished at 12-under 272 and earned $126,000.

Matt Atkins and Richy Werenski each shot 68 to tie for second.

Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Taylor Pendrith carded a 69 to share 4th with American Trey Mullinax (70) at 10 under.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Danny Willett withstood the pressure and made a 15-foot birdie putt on the final hole to win the Dubai Desert Classic title by one shot on Sunday.

The 28-year-old Willett closed with 3-under par 69 at Emirates Golf Club to finish on a 19 under 269, one shot better than fellow Englishman Andy Sullivan (68) and Spain’s Rafael Cabrera-Bello (69).

Both Sullivan and Cabrera-Bello had set the marker with birdies on the final hole to take the clubhouse lead. Willett was one-over par for his last four holes after a bogey on the 14th.

But he made the birdie when it mattered most. He had to lay up from the rough on the 18th hole, and his third shot left him with a difficult downhill putt, which he read to perfection.

It was the fourth European Tour victory for Willett, who finished second in the Race to Dubai to Rory McIlroy last year.

The two pre-tournament favorites – McIlroy (65) and Henrik Stenson (66) – finished tied for sixth on 273.

Korea’s Byeong Hun-An (65) and Spain’s Alvaro Quiros (65) were in joint fourth on 272.

“I am just ecstatic,” said Willett, who made six birdies during the final round to go along with bogeys on the 2nd, 9th and 14th holes. “You can’t buy that feeling, you know, what it’s like coming down the back nine, the back three, in contention of a golf tournament. It’s something that you can’t pay for in life. You’ve got to earn it.

“Obviously, coming down the last with all the situations that were going on – Sully (Sullivan) just birdied, Rafa (Cabrera-Bello) hit it two-on . it was just nice to know that I can dig deep there and produce what I can.”

For Sullivan, it was the second straight runner-up finish in Dubai, having finished behind McIlroy at the DP World Tour Championship in November. But the 28-year-old Englishman was feeling more sorry for the small group of supporters from his home town of Nuneaton, who were following him around.

“Every time they have been there, I think I’ve done well. It’s been awesome,” said Sullivan, who had his “Team Sulli” in attendance during November’s tournament as well.

“I feel a little bit gutted for the two times they come to Dubai and I have been a bridesmaid both times, but I’m sure they are proud,” he said. “Fair play to Dan, holing that putt, that was a tough putt.”

McIlroy was happy with his closing 65, but disappointed he could not do any better than 15 under.

“It’s sort of a week of what could have been. There was a lot of really good golf in there. I played a lot of great shots and made a lot of birdies, but just made a few too many mistakes, as well,” said the Northern Irishman.

“I’ll rue the two front nines that I played on Friday and Saturday. Played the combined front nine 5-over par there and if I had not of done that, things could have been different.”

OCALA, Fla – Canadian Brooke Henderson had to settle for second Saturday at the LPGA Tour’s Coates Championship.

The 18-year-old native of Smiths Falls, Ont., finished two shots back of Ha Na Jang, who captured her first career LPGA Tour title. Jang made a late birdie to take the lead en route to a final-round 72.

Henderson also shot a 72 but had two bogeys over the final five holes.

“Starting the day, if I would have finished second, I would have been very happy,” Henderson said.

“A couple putts on the back nine kind of cost me, but overall it was a good day, and I’m right in position where I want to be.”

Jang reclaimed the lead with a 5-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole.

“It’s amazing how I feel right now,” said the 23-year-old Korean, who was in tears after making one last birdie that only affected the margin.

She finished at 11-under 277 and earned $225,000.

Lydia Ko, the LPGA player of the year making her 2016 debut, was tied with Jang after they completed the third round Saturday morning at Golden Ocala.

Ko, however, fell apart in the middle of the final round. She made three straight bogeys to finish the back nine, then hit her tee shot into the water and made double bogey on the par-3 11th to fall five shots behind. She ran off three straight birdies late in her round to try to stay in it.

Ko closed with a 75 and tied for third, three shots behind.

“I just couldn’t get anything going today,” Ko said. “I wasn’t hitting the ball great, and the putts weren’t dropping, either. When those two combinations go, you know you’re not going to make a lot of great birdies. But I finished strong, so I’ll take that.”

Henderson had the lead until a pair of three-putt bogeys over the final five holes as the rain worsened, forming puddles on the edges of the green. The greens crew used leaf blowers on some of the puddles to help the water evaporate.

Henderson tried to lay up on the par-5 18th with a hybrid and came within an inch of the hazard. With an awkward stance and a tough lie, she chunked a wedge to the front of the green, some 75 feet away, and did well to two-putt for par.

She posted at 9-under 279, and then waited to see if it would be enough for a playoff.

Sei Young Kim was at 9 under and had a 10-foot birdie putt on the final hole that misses on the right edge. Kim then missed the 3-foot par putt and finished at 8-under 280. Suzann Pettersen was in range until she fell back with consecutive bogeys.

Lexi Thompson also had a chance until a peculiar decision on the par-3 15th. Thompson was two shots out of the lead when she chose to putt through about 6 feet of wet, Bermuda rough because the green sloped away from her. The ball moved only about 4 feet, and then she used putter again and barely got it out of the thick grass and onto the green. Thompson made double bogey.

Jang was 2 over for the final round after a three-putt bogey on the 14th and one shot behind. Henderson was on the 17th and three-putted to slip into a tie, and Jang pumped her fist when she made a 5-foot birdie on the 16th to take the lead.

She made a par without stress on the 17th, and played the 18th to perfection. The only nervous moment was her third shot to the 18th, which featured a back pin with a puddle on the back edge and wet rough over the green. Jang’s wedge flew all the way to the pin and checked up on the soft surface. She needed only two putts from 6 feet to win, and rolled in the centre for birdie.

Jang was 15th on the LPGA money list last year as a rookie, when she was runner-up four times. The player of the year on the Korean LPGA in 2013, Jang is projected to move into the top 10 in the Rolex Women’s World Ranking. She was a runner-up at the Coates Golf Championship last year.

“I’m really comfortable at this golf course, and then very confident because of really good last year,” she said.

U.S. Women’s Open champion In Gee Chun had a 70 and joined Ko and Kim at 8-under 280.