DORAL, Fla. – J.B. Holmes never liked the old Blue Monster at Doral because he thought it was too easy for a World Golf Championship.

He said this with a straight face Thursday after a 10-under 62 that tied the tournament record at the Cadillac Championship, gave him a four-shot lead and left the rest of this world-class field to wonder just how he managed.

“I was able to hit the shots where I envisioned and hit good shots, and today the putter was on,” Holmes said. “Put that combination together, you do everything pretty good, you’re going to shoot a good score.”

He made it sound as easy as it looked. Except that Trump National Doral wasn’t all that easy for everyone else.

Rory McIlroy again felt tentative with his swing and shot 40 on his opening nine holes before finishing without a par on his last six holes – an eagle, three birdies and two bogeys that allowed him to salvage a 73. The world’s No. 1 player has shot 73-74-73 in his three rounds in Florida this year.

Phil Mickelson shot 74 and failed to make a birdie for the first time in 186 rounds on the PGA Tour, dating to the final day at Olympic Club in the 2012 U.S. Open.

“Ten under? You’re joking,” Shane Lowry said after a hard-fought 71.

Ryan Moore was hanging with him until he hit his tee shot into the water on the par-5 18th hole and made double bogey. He still had a 66.

“It was a very fair test of golf,” Moore said. “I mean, it’s difficult, but you can make some birdies.”

Dustin Johnson ran off four birdies in a five-hole stretch on the back nine and was at 68, along with Alexander Levy of France and Rickie Fowler, who thought his round was solid. “To shoot 68 in some tough conditions on a tough golf course and be six back, wouldn’t really expect that,” Fowler said.

Henrik Stenson, making his American debut, had six birdies and joined Phoenix Open winner Brooks Koepka at 69. The group at 68 included Adam Scott, who used a conventional putter for the first time in just over four years.

Holmes last played at Doral in 2010, missing time with injuries, not the least of which was surgery to remove a piece of his skull in 2011. Gil Hanse renovated the Blue Monster to make it more sensational with so much water hugging the fairways and greens. That was never an issue for Holmes. He finished his round with an 8-foot par putt, which he said was the closest he came to bogey all day.

“By about 5 feet,” he said.

The start was nothing short of deal. Holmes two-putted for birdie on the par-5 10th, holed a 35-foot birdie putt on the 11th, and then smashed a drive downwind on the 603-yard 12th hole. He hit 6-iron thinking he might be able to clear the bunker, and it turned out better than he imagined, a foot away from the hole for an eagle.

The rest of the round, playing in tropical warmth and typical south Florida wind, was a matter of keeping it below the hole and making putts.

This was never his favorite WGC event the two previous times he played it.

“One of my least favorite tracks on tour,” he said of the previous design. “It was just too easy. I felt like for a World Golf Championship, 22 under winning shouldn’t really happen. It’s a very difficult golf course. I played great today.”

He was right on both counts.

The average score was 73.4, meaning that Holmes was more than 11 shots better than the field, the best standard of a great round. His 62 matched the tournament record set by Bubba Watson at Doral in 2012, and Sergio Garcia and Retief Goosen at Mount Juliet in Ireland in 2002.

McIlroy’s standard is slightly off at the moment.

Already a winner in Dubai and a runner-up in Abu Dhabi, he missed the cut last week at the Honda Classic after a month break and said he felt tentative. A week later, not much changed. Poor tee shots kept him from reaching the par 5s on the back nine in two. He twice failed to save par from the bunkers. And then from the middle of the fairway on the 18th hole – the tee shot is supposed to be the hard part – he was caught between clubs and tugged a 7-iron short, down the bank and into the water for a double bogey.

On his next tee shot, McIlroy was 5 yards away from going into the water – on the adjacent Red Course.

“It is very good on the range and it is very good in normal play when I’m not playing a tournament,” McIlroy said. “Then I’ve got a card in my hand the last couple weeks and it just hasn’t quite been there. It’s nice you can get round rounds this week and sort of try to play your way into some sort of rhythm. I don’t feel like it’s that far away. That’s the frustrating thing.”

But he’s far away from the lead. McIlroy already was 11 shots behind.

RIO GRANDE, Puerto Rico – PGA Tour rookie Mark Hubbard closed with a birdie in windy conditions Thursday for a one-stroke lead in the Puerto Rico Open.

Hubbard opened with a 4-under 68 at Trump International Golf Club-Puerto Rico. He birdied Nos. 4, 5 and 6, dropped a stroke on the par-3 eighth and finished with a birdie on the par-4 ninth.

“It played tough out there with the wind, but I hit a lot of really good kind of three-quarter and half shots into the wind,” Hubbard said. “I actually probably played the into the wind holes better than the downwind holes where I had to just hit normal shots. But I drove it pretty well, kept it in the fairway and made a lot of solid 5-, 6-footers.”

Hubbard made news last month when he proposed to Meaghan McCurley on the 18th hole at Pebble Beach during the first round in the AT&T Pebble National Pro-Am.

“I’ve been getting a lot of press,” Hubbard said.

Chris Smith, Billy Mayfair and Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo were tied for second.

The 45-year-old Smith last played the tour full-time in 2005.

“It was super windy,” Smith said. “I was up super early this morning and it was still dark out and I was out walking around, trying to wake up and warm up at 3:45 this morning, and it was howling, and I was like, `What in the heck.’ But yeah, I think it’s going to be like that all week, so it’s OK. … At home it’s like 15 below right now, so I really like the fact that it’s 80 degrees.”

David Duval, Jonathan Byrd and Alex Cejka were in the group at 70.

The 43-year-old Duval is winless since the 2001 British Open.

“I hit it good and I putted really well,” Duval said. “I made a couple to keep me going, two-putted several times from 25 to 40 feet and didn’t have to sweat over the second one.”

Defending champion Chesson Hadley opened with a 71.

Two-shots back of Hadley were Canadians Stephen Ames and Adam Hadwin. The duo carded even-par 72s.

Amateur Corey Conners of Listowell, Ont. carded a 2-over 74, which included two bogeys. The Team Canada member was T63.

Roger Sloan of Merrit, B.C. shot a 5-over 77.

EAST LONDON, South Africa – Kevin Phelan and Matt Ford made 5-under 67s to share the first-round lead at the Africa Open on Thursday.

Phelan had six birdies and just one bogey at East London Golf Course. Ford made five birdies and was bogey-free.

They lead from a five-way tie for third made up of Richard Bland, David Howell, John Parry, Neil Schietekat and Eduardo de la Riva.

Ireland’s Phelan followed up his tie for second at the Joburg Open last weekend with a promising start in south eastern South Africa. He started on No. 10 in difficult, blustery conditions, but his slip on his second hole was his only bogey.

“I took advantage of the opportunities I had, and any time I was close to a green I made it up and down,” he said.

England’s Ford joined him at the top of the leaderboard after producing the only flawless round of the first day.

Three Englishmen, Bland, Howell and Parry, are among the chasers, while Schietekat is the only South African in the top seven players – an unusual sight for a tournament that has been won by a home player in its previous seven editions.

Spaniard De la Riva eagled his opening hole and also made three birdies in his first eight to have a share of the lead. But he double-bogeyed No. 9 and made par through his last eight holes.

In-form Englishman Andy Sullivan, who won the South African Open in January and last week’s Joburg Open for his first career titles, began with a level-par 72 in East London.

DORAL, Fla. – Rory McIlroy says he is not thinking about the history that waits at the Masters, even though that’s all he seems to be talking about.

It’s not all his fault, of course.

Coming off his first missed cut in eight months at the Honda Classic, McIlroy leads the strongest field of the year at the Cadillac Championship. It’s the first time since the 2012 PGA Championship, which he won at Kiawah Island, that everyone in the top 50 of the world ranking are in the same tournament.

He wants to win at Doral. He wants to win at Bay Hill in two weeks at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

But he can’t avoid the questions about the Masters, where the world’s No. 1 has a chance to become only the sixth player to complete the Grand Slam. Boy Wonder is only 25, and so this won’t be his last chance to pick up the last leg. But having won the British Open and the PGA Championship last summer, it could take him one big step closer to joining Tiger Woods as the only player to hold all four major titles at once.

That’s a lot on the plate. That leads to a lot of questions.

And that’s OK with McIlroy.

“I think I’d rather have the questions, because it’s obviously a great position to be in going into Augusta and having it be the only major that I haven’t won,” he said Wednesday. “It’s not a bad position to be in. There’s always excitement and anticipation and hype that surrounds Augusta every year, and I feel it regardless if I’m going in as the favorite or under the radar or whatever.”

It’s the first major of the year. It the golf course fans know better than any other. It draws the most interest.

“There’s always hype,” McIlroy said. “There’s always buildup. My name is getting thrown around a little bit more than it used to, but I’m OK with that.”

It beats the alternative.

McIlroy began his year as a runner-up in Abu Dhabi and a winner in Dubai. He had won or finished second in eight of his previous 12 tournaments. And then he missed the cut at the Honda Classic – a tournament he won in 2012 to reach No. 1 for the first time – with rounds of 73-74.

It wasn’t a great way to start the road to the Masters. It was no time to panic, either. McIlroy worked at his home in West Palm Beach when the rain allowed, tightened up his swing, and then showed the Honda Classic might have been a mere speed bump when he shot 63 in the Pro-Member at Seminole.

He teed off Wednesday before the sun was up and worked his way around the Blue Monster in relative peace, an odd scene for the best player in golf. Only two photographers, the occasional TV camera and three fans with memorabilia in bags for him to sign (he didn’t) followed him around most of the day.

If there was ever a time to miss a cut, the Honda Classic would be a good one. It rained so hard that the tournament didn’t end until Monday. McIlroy’s biggest problem was controlling his ball in the wind, and luckily for him, it still was blowing when the rain stopped for his practice sessions.

“I just practiced and played a little bit, and at least I know going into this week where my game is,” McIlroy said. “So even if things maybe don’t go my way at some point during the round, I’ll know how to manage it a little bit better. Excited to get back at it and obviously try to put in a better performance than last week.”

The defending champion is Patrick Reed, who declared last year that he felt like he was among the top five in the world. He’s at No. 15, but at least making progress. Reed was tied for the lead at the Honda Classic with four holes to play when he went double bogey-bogey-bogey and shot 73. It was his first time over par in 20 rounds on the PGA Tour this year.

The top 50 doesn’t include Woods, who is not eligible for a WGC event for only the second time in his career. Woods has fallen to No. 75 after missing most of last year with back problems and playing only 47 holes in two events this year before saying he would take time off to sort out his game.

Henrik Stenson and Adam Scott are making their first starts on the PGA Tour, and Scott plans to use a conventional putter for the first in more than four years. Stenson will be playing with McIlroy and Masters champion Bubba Watson, a 1-2-3 pairing from the world ranking.

SINGAPORE – Inbee Park and Yani Tseng both shot 6-under 66 on Thursday to share the lead after the opening round of the HSBC Women’s Champions.

Park’s sixth birdie on the par-5 18th at Sentosa Golf Club left her tied with Tseng, who carded seven birdies and one bogey.

Angela Stanford of the United States was in third place, one stroke back.

“The front nine is a tougher nine,” said Park, who had five birdies after the turn. “I didn’t play too aggressively on the front nine, but the back nine I had a lot of shots.”

Tseng also had a late charge, with birdies on four of her last seven holes to build momentum heading into the second round.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko offset two bogeys with six birdies for a 68 and was tied for fourth with Karrie Webb, Jenny Shin, Mo Martin and Mariajo Uribe.

The 17-year-old Ko won her previous two tournaments.

Paula Creamer, who won last year’s tournament with a 75-foot putt, struggled to a 74. Michelle Wie had a 73 that included a double-bogey on the par-5 No. 7.

Lexi Thompson had a hole-in-one on the par-3 14th and was tied for ninth at 3-under 69.

“I hit a low controlled 7-iron from 150,” Thompson said of her ace. “It was looking good the whole way, so I was just waiting for it to drop. I let go of my club. I don’t even know what I did honestly.”

TORONTO – RBC continued to deepen its commitment to the game of golf with the signing of a multi-year deal with one of the game’s most talented golfers, Australian sensation Jason Day.

Joining an impressive roster that includes 2014 RBC Heritage champion Matt Kuchar, No. 7 world-ranked Jim Furyk and recent AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro Am champion Brandt Snedeker among other top golfers, Day will add an increased global dimension to RBC’s stable of brand ambassadors.

“Jason is one of the most exciting professionals playing right now on the PGA TOUR,” said Jane Broderick, chief brand and communications officer, RBC. “The calibre of talent he displays on the golf course combined with his commitment to help families in need off the course make him a dynamic ambassador, and one who is helping to shape the future of the game. We are thrilled to have Jason join Team RBC and we look forward to working together.”

“I’m proud to partner with organizations that place an emphasis on and share my interest in giving back to the community,” stated Jason Day. “RBC has a rich history of doing this through their sponsorship of golf and the extensive ambassadorial program they have in place. It’s an honour to join this fantastic team of touring professionals wearing the RBC brand week to week.”

Thrilled to announce that I have just joined iconic Team RBC. What a staff of first class players representing a first class brand! #RBCGolf

— Jason Day (@JDayGolf) March 5, 2015

The 27-year-old Day is a three-time PGA TOUR winner including the 2015 Farmers Insurance Open and the 2014 WGC- Accenture Match Play Championship. He’s had seven top ten finishes at major championships, including runner-up at the 2011 Masters Tournament and the 2011 and 2013 U.S. Open. When not playing on tour, Day and his wife Ellie run The Brighter Days Foundation, dedicated to providing funding and resources to deserving projects and organizations, with a focus on helping families in need.

The sponsorship kicks off at the WGC Cadillac Championship in Miami, Florida, where Day will begin to wear the iconic RBC shield on his golf apparel and golf bag, just like the other 13 members of Team RBC. As well he will participate in future marketing initiatives and client events for RBC, and act as a global brand ambassador, particularly in support of charitable initiatives that demonstrate RBC’s commitment to kids and youth such as the #RBCGolf4Kids online charity challenge.

Other recent additions to Team RBC include Canadian golfers Adam Hadwin, Brooke Henderson and Nick Taylor in a nod to the bank’s Canadian roots. RBC acts as the Official Banking and Financial Services partner to all members of Team RBC.

Timing and balance are vital in golf. Not just in the swing itself, but in the context of the future of the game.

That has been demonstrated recently at Golf Canada—from its anointment as the National Sport Federation for the game, to its rebranding from the Royal Canadian Golf Association, to its revamped governance model that has seen a more inclusive, balanced leadership at the Board level.

That was evident at the Golf Canada annual general meeting in February when Paul McLean was elected the 112^th president of the venerable association. McLean of King City, Ont., is known throughout the Canadian golf industry as co-founder and president of Maxium, one of the country’s leading privately held leasing companies, with assets exceeding $1 billion. A significant portion of that billion dollars is focused on approximately 800 golf courses, which Maxium supports through leasing, loans and mortgages.

In contrast to the past, where Golf Canada Board members made their trek to the top job through volunteerism at provincial associations and moved up through the ranks, the association also now identifies qualified individuals to join the Board to share their business acumen. McLean was invited to do so in 2008.

“It is a sign of the times,” says McLean, 57. “The association needed to capture a broader experience profile and varied expertise to balance the Board. As a result, we now have not only geographic balance but a balance of skill sets and perspectives. We have the breadth and depth we need going forward.”

There is no question that the timing is right to have McLean at the helm. A member not only of Golf Canada, but also of the National Golf Course Owners Association and the Canadian Golf Superintendents Association, he understands intimately the urgency of building bridges among all the stakeholders in the game.

“This is big business,” says McLean. “Golf has a $14.3-billion economic impact in this country. There are about 37,000 golf events in Canada each year, raising about $500 million for all sorts of charities. But we realize we have to address declining participation and other challenges. We need courage, focus, flexibility, energy, from every sector of the game to meet those challenges. Everyone is passionate about the game, but we have to harness that passion.”

“Passion” is a word that McLean uses frequently when speaking about golf. His passion for the game began when his Grade 7 teacher gave him three old clubs. When his parents decided that chipping and putting on the living room carpet was no longer acceptable, he moved on to a local driving range, then to a couple of executive courses. At 14, he graduated to a full-sized course where, if you waited until the end of June, you could get a junior membership for $35. “I think, given the number of rounds I played, it worked out to about 25 cents a round!”

Whatever the cost, the payoff was worth it. A natural athlete, he quickly won the junior championship and then the overall club championship at the age of 16. He still carries an enviable handicap factor of 1.

As a tribute to his lifelong work ethic, he managed those accomplishments and maintained top grades while working at the family’s creamery. During the school year, he would rise before dawn to drive a truck to various dairies, returning in time to get to class. That discipline has stood him in good stead to this day.

After obtaining his bachelor’s degree and MBA at McMaster University in Hamilton, where he played varsity hockey and basketball and was a teaching assistant, he was hired by Xerox. There he learned the fundamentals of the lending business, which he used to found Triathlon Equipment Leasing, a steppingstone to Maxium.

In addition, he is a member of ownership groups at Coppinwood Golf Club in Claremont, Ont., and Oviinbyrd Golf Club near MacTier, Ont. It is a wonder he finds time to spend with his wife Carol and his two children, a daughter who attends McMaster and a son who is in the Professional Golf Management Program at Humber College and plays on their golf team.

“I enjoy everything I do,” says McLean. “I don’t need a lot of sleep and I have always been energetic.”

He will need all that energy in the coming year as president of Golf Canada. He cites the new membership model, which will be introduced over a three-year period, as a prime initiative.

“We have a lot of great programs, but we need to make every golfer in Canada aware of them. There is a mindset among a lot of people, a preconceived notion, of what Golf Canada was and what we did. We have to change that misconception and quickly. Those days are gone. We’ve come a long way in a short time. Now we have to get everyone on board.

“I don’t suggest by any means that this will all happen in one year, my year as president. But I am honoured to be part of the process and will do my best to help that happen.”

Get to know more about McLean by watching his Golf Canada presidential induction speech below.

One of the three clubs used for the British Open with a male-only membership policy has voted to allow female members for the first time.

Royal St. George’s, which last hosted golf’s oldest major in 2011, said on Wednesday more than 81 percent of the club’s full members took part in a ballot, and 90 percent voted in favor of women being eligible for membership.

“It is extremely good news going forward,” Tim Checketts, club secretary of Royal St. George’s, told The Associated Press.

The rule change will take immediate effect. Checketts said it usually takes a year to accept new male members, but the timeframe can be quicker for juniors, and that could be the case for women.

The resolution to alter the rules on membership at Royal St. George’s was passed following a general meeting on Feb. 14.

Royal Troon and Muirfield are the other host clubs of the British Open to have male-only memberships. Troon hosts the Open next year, and has already said the club was reviewing its membership policy.

The eligibility of female members in Britain’s leading clubs was a hot topic that was brought further into scrutiny in September, when The Royal & Ancient Golf Club voted to end its male-only policy after 260 years. That club’s corporate structure, the R&A, organizes The British Open.

Last month, seven women accepted invitations to become honorary members of The Royal & Ancient Golf Club, whose clubhouse overlooks the Old Course at St. Andrews and is among the most famous buildings in golf.

Darren Clarke won the British Open when it was at Royal St. George’s four years ago.

It is fitting that Sandra Post has made her own moment in history as she prepares to oversee a committee tasked with honouring individuals who have made their own indelible marks on the game of golf.

After having served as a member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame’s selection committee for 12 years, Sandra has been selected by her peers to be the committee’s next chair. She becomes the first honoured member, as well as the first female, to head the committee.

Sandra assumes the role vacated by Ian Clarke – president of the PGA of Canada from 1997-1998. A Chair is selected through the Hall of Fame Nominating Committee. Chairpersons who step down from their position then take a seat on the Nominating Committee to assist in appointing their successor.

When asked about the committee’s new chair, Clarke was quick to praise Post. “Sandra’s passion for golf and her commitment to its growth in Canada are matched only by her appreciation of its past. She has the utmost respect for the builders who have laid its foundation and she will work tirelessly to recognize those individuals.”

“I am very proud to become the first honoured member and the first female to chair this committee,” said Post. “The mandate of the Hall of Fame Selection Committee is a responsibility that I take very seriously. There are so many individuals who have shaped this game and we owe it to the sport to honour their legacies.

“The Hall enshrines players – both amateur and professional – and those who have helped to shape the game in this country, including architects, teachers, administrators, and journalists.  We will continue to ensure that the most exceptional achievers are acknowledged nationally for their many contributions.”

Nominations to the Hall are due July 31. All nominations require a nominator and a seconder.

For additional information on the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame, please visit its official website.

Past Chairs of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame Selection Committee:

• Ian Clarke (2012-2014)
• Dave Shaw (2008-2011)
• Worden Teasdale (2006-2007)
• Jacques Nols (2001-2005)
• Peter Hope (1998-2000)
• Findlay Young (1996-1997)
• Keith Rever (1994-1995)
• F. Gordon Coyle (1993)
•  John Marshall (1989-1992)
• William Farlinger (1987-1988)
• Ralph Costello (1984-1986)
• Robert M. Everson (1981-1983)
• George Armstrong (1980)
• R. Bruce Forbes (1979)
• James P. Anglin (1974-1978)
• Jack Blair (1971-1973)