Golf Canada is pleased to announce the six athletes – three female and three male – who have been selected to the 2015 Team Canada Young Pro Squad for the program’s second year of operation.

Comprising the team for 2015 is: Brooke Henderson (Smiths Falls, Ont.); Rebecca Lee-Bentham (Toronto); Sue Kim (Langley, B.C.); Albin Choi (Toronto); Mackenzie Hughes (Dundas, Ont.) and Taylor Pendrith (Richmond Hill, Ont.).

Developed in partnership with the PGA of Canada and supported by founding partner Canadian Pacific, as well as supporting partners Citi Canada and the Golf Canada Foundation Women’s Fund, the Young Pro Squad program bridges the gap for top graduating amateurs transitioning into professional golf.

“We are very proud of the Team Canada Young Pro Squad initiative,” said Scott Simmons, Golf Canada’s Chief Executive Officer. “We’re well ahead of where we were just a couple years ago in terms of helping to make the transition from elite amateur to the professional ranks as seamless and successful as possible.”

Headlining the female contingent is Team Canada National Amateur Team graduate Brooke Henderson. The 17-year-old declared herself as a professional golfer in conjunction with signing on with IMG as her management group in December of 2014.

In September 2014, Henderson made history by becoming the first Canadian to occupy the world’s No. 1 spot on the Women’s World Amateur Ranking. Henderson earned spots in the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open and the 2015 ANA Inspiration Championship (formerly the Kraft Nabisco Championship) as a result of her tie for 10th at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open. In addition, Henderson is able to accept up to a maximum of six LPGA sponsor exemptions and is also eligible for Monday qualifiers.

“It’s been an unbelievable journey the past few years and now I’m excited for what lies ahead as a professional,” said Henderson, who won her first event as a professional (Suncoast Series Tour) and this past week qualified for the Pure Silk Bahamas LPGA Classic where she finished T-33. “I’ve been fortunate to be a part of the National Team program during my amateur career and now I’m proud to continue representing Team Canada as a pro.”

Joining Henderson are two returning members of the Team Canada Young Pro Squad – Rebecca Lee-Bentham and Sue Kim. Both Lee-Bentham and Kim are also graduates of Team Canada’s National Amateur Team and maintain conditional status on the LPGA Tour for the 2015 season.

Lee-Bentham, 22, was the second-highest earning Canadian on the LPGA Tour last season. She played 18 events on tour, highlighted by a tie for 12th at the Marathon Classic presented by Owens Corning & O-I. She earned conditional status on the LPGA Tour in 2015 by finishing inside the top 125 on the LPGA Tour’s Race to the CME Globe.

“I’m grateful to be back with a program that is undoubtedly working and continues to be dedicated to developing players,” said Lee-Bentham. “Golf Canada has been with me for most of my golfing career and I am honoured to represent Canada each week on the LPGA Tour.”

Sue Kim, 23, finished as No. 120 on the LPGA Tour’s Race to the CME Globe to earn conditional status for 2015. Her best finish, a tie for 35th, came at the Manulife Financial LPGA Classic.

“The ongoing support from Golf Canada is a huge boost for me and my goals to improve my game and results on Tour,” added Kim. “I’m thankful to Head Coach Tristan (Mullally) and the rest of the support staff and really excited for what the future holds.”

Mackenzie Hughes and Albin Choi return as members of the Team Canada Young Pro Men’s Squad. They will be joined by newly turned professional Taylor Pendrith.

All three athletes will attend PGA TOUR Canada qualifying school in April with hopes of earning full status. Hughes, 24, is a two-time former Canadian Amateur champion. This year he hopes to repeat the success he had in 2013, when he captured the No. 1 spot on PGA TOUR Canada’s Order of Merit.

“I’m thrilled to be back on the Young Pro squad and getting the support from those who share a passion for helping me become better,” said Hughes. “The program is a huge deal; it’s helped me to focus on my goal of being successful at the highest level.”

Choi, 22, is also a former Canadian Amateur champion. His 2014 season on the Web.com Tour was highlighted by four top-30 finishes and a tie for 19th at the United Leasing Championship presented by TPI.

“Being with the Team Canada program for seven years now, it almost feels like a family,” said Choi. “Derek (Ingram), the coaching staff, and the other members of the squad are all so supportive of each other. Having that backing is a huge lift for the many challenges of competing professionally.”

Pendrith, 23, will look to hit the ground running after a successful amateur career which included winning the prestigious Monroe Invitational in 2014, as well as earning the Gary Cowan trophy (low amateur honours) at the 2014 RBC Canadian Open.

“This is a big honour for me,” said Pendrith. “I have high goals and aspirations for my career and I couldn’t think of a better team to support me in my journey. The National Team program has done a lot for my amateur career and I’m excited to transition that success over to the professional ranks.”

Men’s National Squad coach Derek Ingram and Women’s National Team coach Tristan Mullally will provide coaching to their respective Young Pro players. In addition to funding as part of the program, the athletes will have access to Team Canada’s sport science staff which includes Psychologist Dr. Adrienne Leslie-Toogood, Nutritionist Nicole Springle and Physiotherapist & Strength Coach Greg Redman.

“I’m excited to see these young athletes take the next stops as professional golfers,” said Gary Bernard, Chief Executive Officer of the PGA of Canada. “Golf Canada has shown great commitment in collaborating with the PGA of Canada in our world class teaching and coaching certification programs.”

Golf Canada’s ability to offer this program is due in large part to a focused fundraising effort on the part of the Golf Canada Foundation.

“Now in its second year, the board of the Golf Canada Foundation is excited to continue supporting these young athletes in their pursuit of golfing excellence,” said Golf Canada Foundation Chief Executive Officer Martin Barnard. “We are very proud to be behind this program and look forward to the future success of the Young Pro Squad.”

Throughout the season, Golf Canada will closely monitor the performance of elite Canadian amateurs transitioning to professional golf with the possibility of program expansion.

Click here for Team Canada player bios.

LAKELAND, Floride ─Adam Svensson, d’Équipe Canada, a continué sur sa lancée en signant mardi sa deuxième victoire de la saison lors du tournoi Matlock Collegiate Classic.

Svensson, 21 ans, étudiant de troisième année à l’Université Barry de Miami, a remis des cartes de 67-67-70 pour terminer à 204, 12 sous la normale, et l’emporter par deux coups au Lone Palm Golf Club. Il a réussi 14 oiselets au fil de ce tournoi qui l’a vu remporter son deuxième titre individuel de la saison, après avoir été sacré champion du Guy Harvey Invitational, l’automne dernier.

Natif de Surrey, en Colombie-Britannique, Svensson a établi l’an dernier un record de son université en remportant sept titres individuels, ce qui en a fait le lauréat du Jack Nicklaus Award à titre de meilleur golfeur de la Division II de la NCAA.

Collectivement, les Buccaneers de Barry se sont classés deuxièmes, à 10 coups de Nova Southeastern. Svensson et les Buccaneers ont rendez-vous les 2 et 3 mars à Sebring, en Floride, théâtre du Warner Invitational.

Cliquez ici pour les résultats complets.

SAN DIEGO – The BBC called on Thanksgiving weekend in 2009 looking for insight on the shocking, sordid details about the private life of Tiger Woods and how this would affect his pursuit of golf’s most meaningful record.

The line of questions made one thing clear. They didn’t need a golf writer, they needed a psychologist.

Five years later, has anything changed?

Ignore for a moment the bunker shot that Woods blasted into the bleachers on the 16th hole during the pro-am at the Phoenix Open. Or the 82 he posted in the second round at the TPC Scottsdale, the worst score of his career. The record will show he has more WDs than top 10s in the last 18 months.

But this might be the most sobering thought.

Is it possible that perhaps his greatest strength – his mind – is now his weakness?

The look on the practice range is one of uncertainty. On the golf course, it is one of resignation. Woods has never appeared more fragile. And he has never been the subject of so much sympathy from peers he used to beat so badly that Charles Howell III once said only half-jokingly that he “ruined a lot of guys’ lives.”

There was some truth to a throwaway line from Woods at his Hero World Challenge in December that “Father Time is undefeated.” He is 39 with five surgeries and one public embarrassment behind him. Adding to accelerating years is that he has been in pursuit of greatness from the time he crawled out of a high chair.

Accepting his rapidly advancing age is another story.

A decade ago in the parking lot at Doral, when Woods finally adapted to a swing change under Hank Haney and was on his way to two majors that year, he said he would walk away from the game sooner than anyone imagined, that he would quit when his best was no longer good enough to win.

“I’ve won tournaments out here when I wasn’t playing my best,” Woods said that day. “If I play my best and don’t win, there’s no reason to be out here. I don’t lie. When I play well, I tell you guys. When I haven’t played well, I’ll tell you.”

At this stage in his career, his best isn’t good enough to beat Rory McIlroy and maybe a few others.

Woods has never been forthcoming with the press or the public. The question is how honest he is with himself. For now he can fall back on injuries as the cause of his poor play, although the message gets muddled based on his recent comments about his back.

“It feels great. It feels fantastic,” he said in December.

“That’s not an issue anymore,” he said last week in Phoenix.

And then he pulled out after 11 holes at Torrey Pines for what he described as tightness in his lower back. If only he had described it that way. Woods doesn’t like to be perceived as a golfer. He wants to be perceived as an athlete, and it shows in his speech.

He warmed up fine on Thursday morning. The fog rolled in, the temperature dropped and his back never loosened up again after standing around. That happens. Instead, he said that “everything started deactivating again” and it was frustrating that he couldn’t stay “activated.” Thankfully, he cleared that up by mentioning it was his “glutes” that didn’t activate.

For the next two days, “glute activation” became a buzz word on the putting green and practice range. Woods became the butt of jokes.

No one wants to see this.

Most disturbing is how easily it has become to withdraw. In his brief interview among a circus atmosphere in the parking lot, no one asked if Woods risked further injury by completing the last six holes (and presumably two putts). Could he not have gutted out the first round and tried to activate his glutes Friday morning? Notah Begay said over the weekend on Golf Channel that a text from Woods indicated it was not a “major concern.”

One major concern is motivation and, yes, desire.

That would be unlike the Woods of yesteryear – no one would ever dare question his desire – but it’s reality. This is his 20th year on tour. He’s gone to the top of the mountain four times. This would be the toughest climb of them all. He is a single father of two whose schedule is determined by the weeks when he gets the kids. He has been hurt on the golf course and humbled off it.

And he has chipping problems so severe that the dirtiest four-letter word in golf has been evoked – yips.

The Masters starts in 59 days. Woods is supposed to play the Honda Classic in two weeks, and there are questions whether he should even show up. Woods doesn’t need competition. He needs a clear head and a strong mind.

Right now, the only thing clear about Woods is that he faces a murky future.

The game of golf extends well beyond your performance on the course. There’s no doubting length off the tee and the ability to read a green’s break are integral aspects of the game. However, what many golfers don’t realize is that knowledge of the sport’s rules can be just as crucial. Understanding golf’s rules and their proper applications can not only help to speed up play, but also assist in lowering your score and overall enjoyment of the game.

Level 1 of the program introduces the basic concepts and language of the Rules of Golf. Examples, videos, animations and exercises are used to familiarize the student with the principles of the rules and how to use the Rules of Golf book. This online program is ideal for juniors, beginners and golfers who have had no previous experience with the rules. Start your Level 1 experience here.

Level 2 builds on the experience of Level 1 and introduces the key reference manual for officials: the Decisions on the Rules of Golf. This publication is the key to understanding how the Rules of Golf are applied on the course. In addition to introducing some of the fundamental rules through examples, videos and exercises, Level 2 teaches the student how to use the Decisions book effectively when the Rules book alone does not provide the answer. More information on Level 2 is available online here.

Level 3 is comprised of a three-day seminar conducted by the provincial golf associations. The seminar covers the most common Rules of Golf and includes practical sessions that demonstrate how the rules are applied on the golf course. To be certified at Level 3, an official must successfully pass the exam and meet the minimum practical requirements. The Level 3 program leads to provincial certification as a tournament official. Once Level 3 certified, an official is qualified to attend the Level 4 national certification seminar. To find out more about Level 3 seminars in your area, please contact your provincial golf association or visit their websites:

• British Columbia Golf
• Alberta Golf
• Golf Saskatchewan
• Golf Manitoba
• Golf Association of Ontario
• Golf Quebec
• New Brunswick Golf Association
• Nova Scotia Golf Association
• Prince Edward Island Golf Association
• Golf Newfoundland

Level 4 of the program leads to national rules certification. This is a necessary, but not sufficient qualification to work as a rules official at a Golf Canada national championship. The Level 4 program is intended for experienced rules officials who wish to improve both their technical and practical knowledge as a rules official. Considerable time is spent on the golf course discussing complex issues of the Rules of Golf.

Golf Canada Rules of Golf Seminars

An integral aspect of Level 4 is the learning seminars. Golf Canada’s Level 4 Rules of Golf seminars are intended for experienced officials. Registration for a 2015 Rules of Golf Seminars is restricted to persons who: are Level 3 certified officials; have achieved 70% or better on the Level 4 Rules Exam or 80% or better on the USGA Rules Exam within the last four years; or have achieved 92% or better on the USGA Rules Exam after January 1, 2004; or are currently or have been previously certified at Level 4 or equivalent by Golf Canada.

Inaugural Golf Canada Tournament Administration and Rules Seminar

In addition to the Level 4 rules seminars, Golf Canada is excited to conduct the inaugural Tournament Administration and Rules Seminar (TARS), April 16-19 at Crowne Plaza Toronto Airport.

The objective of TARS is to gather championship volunteers and staff members from key golf associations in Canada to discuss important and impactful topics in the golf industry in relation to tournament administration and golf competitions.

Attendees will have the opportunity to learn from some of Canada’s most experienced tournament administrators and rules officials, in addition to special guests Grant Moir (R&A) and Mark Dusbabek (PGA TOUR).

Full details regarding TARS can be found here.

2015 Golf Canada Rules of Golf Seminars Schedule

Registration for Level 4 Rules of Golf Seminars is available online here.

SAN DIEGO – Jason Day was playing to win and figured he lost.

His chip from gnarly rough behind the 18th green at Torrey Pines came out hot, rolled out fast and tumbled off the front of the green toward the water. After a week of visualizing his hands on the trophy, his thoughts quickly changed to a more dire scenario.

“OK, where do I need to drop?” he said.

The cheers told him otherwise. The ball stopped at the yellow hazard line a few feet from the water. Day saved par from there, got into a four-man playoff and won the Farmers Insurance Open on Sunday with a par on the second extra hole.

“When you win golf tournaments, you have to have a little bit of luck,” Day said. “And that was my luck.”

There was plenty of skill to go with it.

Day made two big birdies and a par save from a plugged lie in the bunker during a tough stretch on the back nine and closed with a 2-under 70. He played a smart shot on the par-5 18th in the playoff and made birdie with a superb pitch. And he outlasted J.B. Holmes on the par-3 16th with a 5-iron to 15 feet after Holmes drilled his 6-iron over the green and made bogey.

Harris English, who birdied the 18th hole for a 72, and defending champion Scott Stallings (69) also were in the playoff. They were eliminated on the first extra hole.

It was a big win for Day, who was more determined than ever not to let injuries get in the way of his lifelong goal of No. 1 in the world. For now, he’ll have to settle for No. 1 in Australia. The third PGA Tour victory of his career moved him to No. 4, just ahead of Adam Scott, still miles behind Rory McIlroy. But it’s a start, and equally important to winning is staying in good health.

After winning the Match Play Championship a year ago to rise to No. 4 in the world, he played only the Masters in the next three months because of a thumb injury.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Day said. “I’ve been working so hard for this. I was visualizing myself holding the trophy, just like I did at the Match Play. I’m really proud of myself to hang in there and grind it out.”

Day said he no longer wants to be satisfied finishing second, and it showed. Tied for the lead, he took a chance in regulation by going for the 18th green in two. He pulled a 3-wood to clear the water, but over the green in U.S. Open-type rough is no bargain, and it nearly cost him.

Holmes played it safe with no regrets.

In the final group and tied for the lead, he had 235 yards to the pin and chose to lay up with an 8-iron. He was surprised when his wedge didn’t spin back toward the bowl at the front of the green, and his 20-foot birdie putt for the win grazed the cup. He closed with a 72.

A little shorter or longer in the fairway and he said he would have gone for it. But the ball was on a slightly downhill lie.

“It was a lie that my tendency is to hit it a little bit further and hit a draw, and long and left is dead,” Holmes said. “If you hit something over the green there, it’s not really an easy up-and-down. It’s not really the best access to the pin. The best play is to lay up and hit a wedge. I had the same thing again, I would lay up.”

English and Stallings were eliminated on the first extra hole. Stallings had to lay up from the left rough, and his 15-foot birdie putt turned away. English drove well to the right, but his short iron back to the fairway was too strong and settled on the border of the first cut and 4-inch grass. He couldn’t get any spin on the ball, and was left with a 60-foot birdie putt from the back of the green to stay alive. It stopped a few inches short.

Equally important for Day were the holes leading up to the 18th. He made one of only four birdies at the 15th, and he holed a 50-foot putt on the 16th for one of only five birdies in the final round. From a plugged lie in a bunker at the 17th, he got up-and-down.

Day was among seven players who had at least a share of the lead on a Sunday that was more about survival than a shootout. It was the first time that a single-digit score under par – 9-under 279 – won on the PGA Tour since Justin Rose (4-under 276) at Congressional last summer.

Charles Howell III (68) and Alex Prugh (71) each missed birdie chances on the 18th and finished a shot out of the playoff.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C. was the top Canadian, finishing tied for 32nd at 1-under 287.

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – South Korean rookie Sei Young Kim won the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic on Sunday for her first LPGA Tour title, holing an 8-foot birdie putt on the first hole of a playoff with countrywoman Sun Young Yoo and Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn.

“Just before the last putt I was super nervous, but I was fine,” Kim said.

The 22-year-old Kim shot a 1-under 72 in the completion of the delayed third round and closed with a 68 to match Yoo and Jutanugarn at 14-under 278 on Atlantis Resort’s Ocean Club course.

“It’s definitely a dream,” Kim said. “I’m really happy. Since 10 years ago, it’s what I’ve dreamed of.”

Kim birdied the par-5 18th in regulation, chipping from the front greenside rough to 3 feet – to earn the last spot in the playoff. She won on the hole a few minutes later.

A five-time winner on the Korea LPGA, Kim tied for sixth at the LPGA Tour’s Q-school to earn a card. She played in four playoffs on the KLPGA, winning four of them.

“I joined the LPGA in hopes of making the Korean Olympics team,” Kim said. “This is one step toward that. So, this means a lot to me.”

She’s projected to move from No. 40 to No. 23 in the world. Q Baek is currently the fourth and final South Korean player in the Olympic rankings at No. 11.

Yoo finished with rounds of 69 and 70, and Jutanugarn shot 70-69.

Brittany Lincicome was third at 13 under after rounds of 68 and 70.

Lydia Ko tied for seventh at 11 under in her first event as the No. 1 player in the world. She shot 70-68.

Second-ranked Inbee Park had a chance to take the top spot back from Ko, but closed with a 72 to tie for fifth at 12 under.

“I saw the news or like the projections and how it would change, but I didn’t really think about it,” Ko said. “To me, it was more important trying to make a lot of good putts and a lot of good birdies.”

Play was delayed Thursday because of rain and slowed Friday by high wind.

Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Brooke Henderson carded a final-round 72 for a share of 33rd. The Smiths Fall, Ont. native earned just shy of $9,000 (U.S.) in her first LPGA start as a professional.

BOCA RATON, Fla. – Paul Goydos closed with a birdie for a 3-under 69 and a one-stroke victory over Gene Sauers on Sunday in the Champions Tour’s Allianz Championship.

Goydos chipped to a foot from behind the par-5 18th green and tapped in for his second victory in 12 career starts of the 50-and-over tour. He won twice in 507 starts on the PGA Tour.

“Statistics are a wonderful predictor of the past,” Goydos said. “Part of it is experience and maturity. If I played like I did today 10 years ago, I don’t think there’s any way I would have won this tournament. I didn’t have my best game, but I got it around.”

On a wild day at Broken Sound where nine players had a share of the lead at some point, Goydos finished at 12-under 204 to claim the $255,000 first prize. He chipped in for an unlikely birdie at the difficult ninth and stayed atop the leaderboard the rest of the day.

“It was a shootout without great scores,” Goydos said. “The course played tough today.”

Sauers birdied his final two holes for a 67. It was his fourth runner-up finish on the Champions Tour, including a playoff loss to Colin Montgomerie last year in the U.S Senior Open.

“I’ve lost the last five playoffs I’ve played in. I was hoping to break that streak,” Sauers said. “But I’m ecstatic with the way I played.”

Fred Funk chipped in for eagle on the final hole to tie for third at 10 under with John Huston, playing for the first time in 18 months because of a neck injury, and 2014 winner Michael Allen. Funk and Huston shot 66, and Allen had a 67.

Jose Coceres, who started the day nine shots back in 45th place, played his first 16 holes in 10 under to tie Goydos for the lead. But Coceres bogeyed his 17th hole and finished sixth after a 63. The biggest comeback in Champions Tour history was when Jay Sigel rallied from 10 back to win the 1994 GTE West Classic.

Canada’s Rod Spittle led by two shots at 11 under until he made a 10 on the par-5 sixth.

SAN DIEGO – Billy Casper, one of the most prolific winners on the PGA Tour who was overshadowed at the height of his career by the “Big Three,” died of a heart attack Saturday at his home in Utah. He was 83.

Bob Casper said his father died quickly and peacefully with wife Shirley at his bedside. They had been married 62 years.

Casper passed out in the clubhouse at the Masters last year, had work on his heart and recovered from a bout of pneumonia over Thanksgiving that kept him hospitalized for a month. His son said Casper was going to cardio rehab for the last four months and was doing well until he started to feel badly in the last week.

In any other era, Casper might have commanded more attention than he did.

“I think it is fair to say that Billy was probably underrated by those who didn’t play against him,” Jack Nicklaus said Saturday night. “Those who did compete against him knew how special he was.”

Casper won 51 times on the PGA Tour, putting him at No. 7 on the career list behind only Sam Snead, Tiger Woods, Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Arnold Palmer and Byron Nelson. His three major championships include the 1966 U.S. Open, one of golf’s most remarkable comebacks. He rallied from a seven-shot deficit on the back nine at Olympic Club to tie Palmer, and beat him in an 18-hole playoff.

Casper also won the 1967 Canadian Open, 1959 U.S. Open at Winged Foot and the 1970 Masters. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1978.

He was overshadowed by the “Big Three” – Palmer, Nicklaus and Gary Player, whose rivalry sparked a revival in golf in that era. Part of that was the marketing of Mark McCormack at IMG. Casper originally signed with IMG and then left.

But he kept winning.

From 1962 through 1970, Casper and Nicklaus won 33 times on the PGA Tour, while Palmer won 30 times. According to Golf Digest, Casper’s winning rate of 9.2 percent trails only Nicklaus (12 percent) and Woods (26 percent) of all golfers who started after 1950.

Casper was a genius with the short game, considered one of the best putters in golf. When he won the U.S. Open at Winged Foot, he purposely laid up on the par-3 third hole all four rounds and got up-and-down for par each day.

“Billy was a fantastic player, and I don’t think he gets enough credit for being one,” Nicklaus said Saturday night. “I have said many times that during my career, when I looked up at a leaderboard, I wasn’t just looking to see where a Palmer or a Player or a (Lee) Trevino was. I was also checking to see where Billy Casper was. Billy had tremendous confidence. He just believed in himself.

“You knew when you played against Billy Casper, Billy would not beat himself.”

Casper won his first PGA Tour event in the 1956 LaBatt Open over Jimmy Demaret, and Casper won at least once each season for 16 straight years, a streak only surpassed by Nicklaus and Palmer at 17.

More than golf, Casper was devoted to family. He had 11 children, six of them adopted, and he is survived by 71 grandchildren and great grandchildren. He became a Mormon just as his career was taking off.

“More important than what Billy Casper gave us inside the ropes, he has been so selfless outside them,” Nicklaus said. “He has always been so steadfast and committed to his family, his religion, his community, and his unwavering beliefs. And he never asked for anything in return. It was not even a year ago, someone asked Billy how he wanted to remembered, and he said, `I want to be remembered for how I loved my fellow man.’

“We lost a true friend tonight.”

In 1992, Casper founded the Billy Casper Youth Foundation and for more than 20 years hosted an annual charity event in San Diego that raised more than $3 million for children.

Casper was born June 24, 1931, in San Diego and began to caddie at San Diego Country Club. He was among the first of the great lineage of golfers in San Diego that included Gene Littler and Mickey Wright.

“Gene was so much better than me. I never beat him as a teenager,” Casper told Golf Digest in a 2012 interview. “But I had a lot of inner confidence. I had such a tie with my eyes and my hands. I could look at a telephone pole 40 yards away, take out a 7-iron and hit it 10 times in a row. I had something special. And somehow, I really understood the game, all without having a lot of guidance.”

Casper won the PGA Tour money title twice and was player of the year in 1966 and 1970. He won the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average five times and still holds the American record in the Ryder Cup for most points. He played on eight teams and was the winning captain in 1969.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – India’s Anirban Lahiri has his sights set on the U.S. Masters after winning the Malaysian Open on Sunday by firing a final round 4-under 68, finishing a stroke ahead of Austrian Bernd Wiesberger.

Anirban, who finished on 16-under 272, rolled in a 40-foot birdie putt from off the green on the 17th hole as he overcame a five-shot deficit at the start of play.

Ranked 73rd heading into this week’s event at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club, Lahiri will now move into the world’s top 40.

With the top 50 automatically qualifying for the Masters when the cut-off is made in early April, the 27-year-old has a great chance of making it to Augusta National.

“That’s definitely one of my targets,” Lahiri said. “I don’t know how far I’ve moved up (the rankings), but I’m pretty confident now with this win I should have a good chance.”

Wiesberger held a two-shot lead over Spain’s Alejandro Canizares heading into the final round, but the Austrian faltered, carding a two-over 74 to finish outright second on 15-under.

Canizares also shot 74 to end the week three shots behind Lahiri in a tie for third alongside England’s Paul Waring, who closed with a 73.

Defending champion Lee Westwood, who shared the lead after the opening two rounds, stumbled to a 75 on Sunday that left him in a share of fifth on 11-under.

Nine shots off the pace after the second round, Lahiri shot a superb 10-under 62 on Saturday to put himself in contention.

“I don’t think it has sunk in yet,” Lahiri said. “But I’m pretty sure when it does, I’ll be pretty happy.”

Needing a birdie on the par-5 18th to force a playoff, Wiesberger left his putt short and could only manage par. The Austrian has now finished tied sixth, third, tied fourth and second over the past four weeks.

“On the back nine I hit bad shots off the tee on 13 and 14, a bad seven-iron on 17 and another five-iron missed on 17,” a disappointed Wiesberger told The Associated Press.

“It’s not good enough to win the tournament. Overall I just didn’t play well enough today.”

Toronto native Richard T. Lee finished tied for fifth following a final round of 1-under 71.

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas – Gerina Piller topped the leaderboard at 10 under Saturday when third-round play in the Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic was suspended because of darkness.

Piller was 3 under for the round with nine holes left on Atlantis Resort’s Ocean Club course. She made 40-foot birdie putts on Nos. 3 and 4.

“Just minimize the mistakes, and fairways and greens,” Piller said. “I mean, the wind could switch at any second, it can.”

Play was delayed Thursday because of rain and slowed Friday by high wind.

Lexi Thompson was a stroke back along with Sandra Gal, Brooke Pancake, Kelly Shon, Sei Young Kim and Perrine Delacour. Thompson was 7 under for the round with two holes left. Gal had nine holes to go, Pancake 11, Shon eight, Kim 11, and Delacour six.

Second-ranked Inbee Park and No. 3 Stacy Lewis were in the group at 8 under. Park had 11 holes left, and Lewis three. Top-ranked Lydia Ko was 4 under with three holes left.

“I feel good,” said Lewis, 6 under for the round. “I would have liked to have finished that round off today, but just going to bed with a good number posted so far, I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Thompson played alongside Lewis.

“We were talking about that we probably had the best golf going on today, we had so many birdies,” Thompson said. “The first two days we were ball-striking it well, just didn’t make that many putts, but today we were definitely feeding off each other off of birdies.”

Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Brooke Henderson was 3 under with one hole remaining in her third round. This is her first LPGA event as a  professional.

Only two groups finished the third round Saturday.

Michelle Wie missed the cut Saturday morning, finishing at 5 over.

Canadians Rebecca Lee-Bentham (+3) and Alena Sharp (+6) also failed to make the 36-hole cut.