SAN DIEGO – A group of PGA Tour caddies has filed a class-action lawsuit demanding that the tour compensate them for wearing bibs.

Some 80 caddies joined the federal suit filed Tuesday in Northern California. At issue is having to wear bibs that have the logo of the tournament sponsor. The caddies contend the PGA Tour is making $50 million off the sponsors while the caddies get nothing.

The lawsuit stems from a dispute that has been brewing for more than a year. It also says the tour has denied caddies access to health care and pension plans.

Named as the two class representatives were Mike Hicks, the caddie for Payne Stewart when he won his last U.S. Open, and Kenny Harms, who caddies for Kevin Na.

OAKVILLE, Ont. (Golf Canada) – Golf Canada congratulates long-time Team Canada member Augusta James of Bath, Ont., for her decision to pursue a career in professional golf.

James, 21, makes the leap to the professional ranks following another strong season, highlighted by a six-stroke win at the Canadian Women’s Amateur Championship in July. The N.C. State senior will join the Symetra Tour with full-status for 2015—earned by way of LPGA Qualifying School. The sports management major plans to complete her degree by collecting credits periodically throughout the season.

The decision comes just months after James played a pivotal role in guiding Canada to a silver medal at the World Amateur Team Championship in Karuizawa, Japan. She will look to hit the ground running at the Symetra Tour’s first event of 2015—The Gateway Classic at Longbow Golf Club—from Feb. 20-22 in Mesa, Ariz.

James, a three-time all-ACC player, has already gained some valuable experience playing in professional events as an amateur; her best finish saw her come away T108 at the 2011 Canadian Women’s Open.

As her four-year stint with Team Canada comes to a close, James is grateful for the support she has received and reflects positively on her time with the national team program.

“Being a part of Team Canada has prepared me in the best way possible to make this important jump in my career,” said James. “I look back and am so thankful for all the experience I’ve gained and the relationships I’ve built with coach Tristan (Mullally), the supporting staff and of course the other girls on the team.”

At such an important juncture in her life, James is playing with focus and confidence as she prepares to transition into the professional ranks.

“I’ve been playing really strong golf of late, and have no doubts that I am ready to take on this challenge. Now is the right time for me.”

Click below to listen to Augusta’s announcement in its entirety.

DUBLIN – Rory McIlroy has arrived in court for the start of his multi-million dollar case against his former management company.

The top-ranked golfer is suing Dublin-based Horizon Sports Management and its leading agent, claiming he was misled into signing a contract with the company.

Wearing a dark suit and glasses, McIlroy arrived at the Dublin High Court on Tuesday morning for the start of proceedings. The case was quickly adjourned until the afternoon.

McIlroy has said in court papers that he signed the contract at Horizon’s Christmas party “in circumstances of great informality,” and without having seen a draft of the agreement before it was given to him to sign.

Horizon is counter-suing, claiming McIlroy owes it millions of dollars in commissions.

McIlroy left Horizon to form his own management company in 2013.

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas -A pair of Team Canada Pro Squad members have Monday-qualified for this week’s Puresilk Bahamas LPGA Classic.

Smiths Falls, Ont. teenager Brooke Henderson carded a 69 to earn qualifying medalist honours and a spot in her first LPGA Tour event as a professional.

Another Team Canada Pro Squad member, Rebecca Lee-Bentham of Toronto, finished a shot back with a 70 to grab the other qualifying spot.

Hamilton, Ont.’s Alena Sharp is also in the field in Bahamas.

The opening-round of the Bahamas event takes place at Atlantis’ Ocean Club Course Thursday.

Henderson turned professional late last year after becoming the first Canadian female to hold the No. 1 spot on the World Amateur Golf Rankings. She just missed out on qualifying for the LPGA’s season-opener in Florida, finishing in a tie for third in the qualifier. Only the top two earned spots.

Instead of playing on the LPGA Tour last week, Henderson played a SunCoast Ladies Tour event in Winter Garden, Fla. She won the event and cashed a $2,200 cheque – her first as a pro.

Unlike Lee-Bentham who has conditional status on the LPGA Tour, Henderson does not have a regular tour to compete on. She is able to accept six LPGA sponsor’s exemptions and also qualifies for the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open in Pennsylvania by virtue of her top-10 finish last year.

Henderson also will try to Monday qualify for events, as she did this week.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – With an eagle putt that looked as long as his golf journey around the world, Brooks Koepka surged into the lead and stayed there Sunday with a 5-under 66 to capture the Phoenix Open for his first PGA Tour victory.

Lingering for most of the final round, Koepka holed a 50-foot eagle putt from the fringe on the 15th hole and didn’t make any mistakes the rest of the way.

The victory ended a long, arduous road for the 24-year-old from Florida. With no status in America, Koepka played the Challenge Tour in faraway lands like Kazakhstan and Kenya, winning four times to earn his European Tour card and then validating his status as a rising star by winning the Turkish Open last year.

But winning at home brought the strongest validation.

“It feels amazing,” Koepka said after his one-shot win over Hideki Matsuyama, Masters champion Bubba Watson and Ryan Palmer.

Of the five players who had a share of the lead in a wild final hour at the TPC Scottsdale, Matsuyama had the last chance to catch Koepka until his 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole missed well to the right.

Martin Laird, who had a three-shot lead going into the final round, was tied with Koepka going to the 17th until he sprayed it well right into the gallery on the short par-4 hole and made bogey, and then pulled his tee shot into the water on the 18th and made double bogey. He closed with a 72.

Palmer shared the lead with a birdie on the 15th, but he had to settle for pars the rest of the way for a 66. So did Watson, who reached the front of the 17th green only to three-putt from just over 100 feet and made par. He closed with a 65.

Matsuyama, who holed out from 129 yards for eagle on the first hole and was the first player to catch up to Laird, took the lead with a beautiful pitch behind the green on the par-5 13th. He went 44 consecutive holes without a bogey until Matsuyama three-putted on the 14th hole, and he never recovered. He shot 67.

Koepka already was eligible for the Masters with his tie for fourth at the U.S. Open last summer, and his victory during the final stretch of the Race to Dubai in Europe last year raised his stock. The victory Sunday should put him at No. 19 in the world.

This was his second victory in his last four starts, both against strong fields.

Koepka had not played since the Nedbank Challenge in South Africa two months ago, taking a full month off away from his clubs and working hard over the last few weeks after a change to his putting stroke.

Back-to-back birdies near the end of the front nine kept him in range. A solid chip from behind the 13th green for a 4-foot birdie kept him within two shots of Matsuyama. And his fortunes changed mightily with his eagle putt on the 15th.

A Florida State alum who describes himself as “chill” had plenty of adrenaline pumping on the 17th hole when he hit 3-wood on the 322-yard hole onto the green and over the back. It came to rest on the red hazard line, a foot from going into the water. He chipped to about 12 feet and missed the birdie putt that might have clinched it.

And with the pressure of holding a one-shot lead as he went after his first PGA Tour win, Koepka smashed his driver 331 yards down the middle of the fairway.

Arizona State junior Jon Rahm closed with a 68 to tie for fifth. It was the best finish by a Sun Devil still on the golf team playing in the Phoenix Open. The previous best was a tie for 32nd by Phil Mickelson.

However, the top 10 does not get the Spaniard into Torrey Pines next week because he is an amateur.

Canada’s Graham DeLaet also cracked the top 10. The Weyburn, Sask. native finished with a share of 7th at 11-under.

The finish is DeLaet’s best since the RBC Canadian Open at Royal Montreal, where he also tied for 7th.

SEA ISLAND, Ga. – Team Canada’s Austin Connelly went the distance Sunday, coming back from a seven-stroke deficit to win the Jones Cup in a playoff at the Ocean Forest Golf Club.

Connelly started the day in a tie for ninth, but fought back in Sunday’s third and final round with a six-birdie, 4-under 68. Despite bogeying the 18^th, Connelly headed into a playoff against Kyle Jones of Snowlake, Ariz.

In the first playoff hole, Connelly knocked down a 20-foot putt for par to keep the match alive. The Arkansas University commit rode that momentum into the next hole with a birdie to put away Jones and take home the title.

With the win, Connelly becomes the second straight Canuck to win the Jones Cup – he finished runner-up last year, also making it to a playoff before falling to Team Canada teammate Corey Conners. Together, the duo of Connelly and Conners won Canada the Tailhade Cup this past November.

Connelly, a dual-citizen of Canada and the U.S., records his first win as a member of Team Canada after being named to the 2015 National Amateur Squad. He currently sits as Canada’s lowest ranked amateur at No. 7 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR).

“I loved Austin’s game plan this week. Things didn’t go as planned yesterday on a very difficult day but he hung in there and gave himself a chance today,” said Derek Ingram, Men’s National Squad Head Coach. “His play in the playoffs was very impressive–he never changed his routine. It was quick, athletic and committed and he hit several excellent shots.”

With the victory, Connelly earns and exemption into the McGladrey Classic, which takes place November 16-22, 2015 at the Seaside & Plantation Courses at Sea Island Golf Club.

Team Canada’s Adam Svensson (Surrey, B.C.) and Corey Conners (Listowel, Ont.) cracked the top-20 in Sea Island, finishing T8 and T14 respectively.

Austin James (Bath, Ont.), the reigning Canadian Junior Boys Champion, finished at T58 while Blair Hamilton (Burlington, Ont.), also new to Team Canada in 2015, finished T67.

Click here for full scoring.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – An unrelenting Rory McIlroy secured his second Dubai Desert Classic title in six years with a 2-under 70 in the final round to win by three shots on Sunday.

The Northern Irishman’s 22-under 266 total matched the lowest in the history of the tournament, set by Stephen Gallacher in 2013 and Thomas Bjorn in 2001.

The top-ranked McIlroy, whose win here in 2009 was his first as a professional, made just three birdies Sunday but kept the mistakes off his card. His only bogey of the round came on the par-3 seventh hole at Emirates Golf Club’s Majlis course.

Sweden’s Alexander Noren, making a comeback this season from a wrist injury, had eight birdies in his round of 65 to take second place at 19 under.

Gallacher closed with a 69 to give the Scot third place with 16-under 272.

The $2.5 million tournament forms the closing leg of the three-stop Desert Swing of the European Tour.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Martin Laird watched the ball disappear into the cup on the par-3 16th hole and put some elbow grease into his fist pump.

It certainly wasn’t the most exciting moment on golf’s most raucous hole. That belonged to Francesco Molinari, who made the first hole-in-one at the 16th on Saturday at the Phoenix Open since Tiger Woods in 1997.

But it was plenty important to Laird.

On the verge of dropping another shot and watching his lead dwindle, Laird followed that 10-foot par putt with a birdie on the 17th and another par save on the 18th to finish off a 3-under 68 and take a three-shot lead into the final round.

Next up is another round with a new pair from the next generation.

Laird, a 32-year-old Scot who has lived in Scottsdale the last 14 years, played in the final group Saturday with two 21-year-old rookies, Justin Thomas and Daniel Berger. Chasing him Sunday will by Hideki Matsuyama, the 22-year-old from Japan who is No. 18 in the world, and 24-year-old power hitter Brooks Koepka.

“This might just be the way it is,” Laird said of the increasingly evident youth movement. “When they come out, they’re ready to go. They don’t need three or four years to get used to the tour life or used to the golf courses. I don’t think they get intimidated at all anymore.”

Laird was at 13-under 200 as he goes for his fourth PGA Tour victory.

Matsuyama, already with seven wins worldwide, birdied his last four holes to surge into contention with a 63. Koepka finally managed to find the fairways, made birdie on both par 5s on the back nine and shot 64. They were at 203 with Zach Johnson, who shot a 67.

Laird at least has a cushion, which might not have been the case without those key par putts, especially on the 16th.

He pulled his tee shot into the water on the par-5 15th and made bogey, which can feel like losing two shots. And then he stepped into the arena at the 16th, hit wedge at the flag from 133 yards and pulled it enough to go in a bunker. He blasted out to about 10 feet, though the putt had plenty of break.

“That was a big one,” he said. `You don’t want to make two bogeys in a row at two holes you’re looking at maybe making birdies on.”

He followed with a perfect pitch to 3 feet for birdie on the 17th, and finished his round with a 10-foot par save.

Molinari’s ace wasn’t for show. It carried him to a 64, and at 8-under 205, he was among 15 players still within five shots of the lead.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of that group was Jon Rahm of Spain, a junior at Arizona State playing this week on a sponsor’s exemption. He got the gallery on his side early, especially by wearing a Sun Devils jersey when he teed off on the 16th, and shot 66. Rahm was at 9-under 204, along with Ryan Palmer (68) and Thomas, who had four birdies over his last six holes to salvage a 69.

“I’m not surprised, but I didn’t expect it. Something between there,” Rahm said.

Laird played in the final group with Thomas and Berger, two players who were still in high school three years ago. That’s the way golf is shifting, players getting younger and more fearless. And that’s what Laird faces again on Sunday.

Matsuyama, who won the Memorial last year, was the first rookie to win the Japan Golf Tour money list. He played bogey-free, and it was his birdie streak at the end of the round that put him into contention. The best one of all was his 50-degree wedge into the 16th and a salute from the crowd.

Koepka is the Floridian who went to the far corners of the world to chase his card, starting at the Challenge Tour on Europe and then winning the Turkish Open last year. He was 3 over on the par 5s this week, his first tournament in nearly two months, and made up some ground Saturday. Koepka hit the fairway on two par 5s on the back nine, setting up simple up-and-down birdies, and he made birdie on the 17th.

“It’s just a little bit of rust, just not playing in two months,” Koepka said. “Felt like today I was finally comfortable. Being out there the last two days, it was almost like I was trying to find the driver a little bit.”

Even with an overcast sky and cool temperatures, TPC Scottsdale still had a big buzz. The hope was for a record attendance – as it had been all week – until Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson both missed the cut. The attendance was 159,906, some 40,000 short of the record last year.

But it was loud enough, especially the final hour.

“It shouldn’t be a struggle to get your adrenaline going,” Laird said.

Six-shots off the lead is Canada’s Graham DeLaet. The Weyburn, Sask. native is 7-under and tied for 17th.

OCALA, Fla. – During a closing stretch that featured one of the more tumultuous final hours in recent LPGA Tour history, teen wunderkind Lydia Ko faced a series of tough predicaments. But a query that came after the final round gave her the biggest pause of all.

After reclaiming the lead late Saturday to set herself up for a double payoff of sorts, the 17-year-old double-bogeyed the 71st hole in the inaugural Coates Golf Championship to lose by a shot to Na Yeon Choi.

However, Ko secured a piece of history that could be remembered long after the details of the tour’s season opener are forgotten. The New Zealander became the youngest player of either gender to climb to world No. 1, breaking the record set by Tiger Woods by almost four years.

As the ramifications of the distinction finally took hold, the sting of defeat at Golden Ocala Golf and Equestrian Club wasn’t quite so bad. The notion of celebrating, which first set her back for a moment, didn’t seem so crazy after all.

“It’s going to be good,” Ko said. “I was here to focus on the tournament itself, but I guess I got a great outcome at the end of the day, too.”

After leading by as many as four shots on the front nine, Ko trailed Choi by a shot as they played the par-3 15th. With Choi facing a 6-footer for birdie, Ko slammed in an improbable 60-footer and Choi promptly three-putted for a two-shot swing.

The teenager’s lead didn’t last long. Ko drove into a fairway bunker, then fanned a hybrid shot into a stand of pine trees down the right side of the 17th hole, scrambling to make a double bogey.

As the steadier Choi finished with a 4-under 68 and 16-under total, Ko had to salvage a par on the 18th to finish in a three-way tie at 15 under, but it was good enough to secure a piece of the record book.

Woods, previously the youngest golfer to reach No. 1, was 21 years, 5 months, 16 days when he reached the top in 1997. Ko reached the mark 3 years, 8 months, 14 days earlier. The men’s rankings date to 1986 and the women’s list is nine years old.

“It’s a nice consolation, if you want to call it that,” said Ko’s swing coach, David Leadbetter.

Ko finished with a 71 to match Jessica Korda (66) and Ha Na Jang (70) at 15 under.

Ko, whose pulse rate seems to be frozen at about 75 beats per minute whether she’s making an eagle or double bogey, hardly seemed derailed by the 71st-hole meltdown. Her indefatigable nature is her biggest asset, Leadbetter said.

“We sent her to anger management school to learn how to get angry,” Leadbetter laughed.

Choi, on the other hand, was clearly caught up in the emotion of her first victory since late 2012. The 27-year-old topped the LPGA money list in 2010 and won the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open, but had fallen out of the world top 15.

“I think I was so nervous out there,” said Choi, who recorded her eighth LPGA victory and was fighting back tears. “I was waiting so long for this moment.”

Choi, one of the game’s elite players before the two-year victory drought set in, admitted that the pressure to succeed wore her down to the point that she stopped reading Korean sports websites and considered downgrading her cellphone plan so she could not download stories about her play.

“I think I had a lot of stress from the result,” Choi said. “Even if I was top 10 or top five, not many people said you did a good job if you finish as runner up. They say you are a loser and that hurts me a lot.”

As for Ko, her ascent seemed ordained when she won her first LPGA Tour title as an amateur at age 15, the youngest in tour history.

“I can’t say I’m surprised,” American star Stacy Lewis said of the new No. 1. “It was just a matter of time.”

Ko, a native of South Korea who moved to New Zealand as a youngster, unseated Inbee Park in the top spot.

“She’s probably the straightest player out here,” said Park, who tie for 17th. “The golf gets easier if you hit the ball straight and you can roll the ball in.”

Ko hit a few crooked shots down the stretch, which ultimately cost her the first-place trophy, but once the magnitude of the moment took hold, she was all smiles.

“There was obviously a loss,” Ko said. “But there was a huge positive, too. That’s pretty awesome.”

Canada’s Alena Sharp tied for 55th at 5-over 293 to earn $3,738 (U.S.).

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Rory McIlroy extended his lead to four shots with a 6-under 66 in the third round of the Dubai Desert Classic on Saturday.

The top-ranked McIlroy, who led by a stroke overnight, made just one birdie on the back nine of Emirates Golf Club’s Majlis course after five birdies in his first eight holes.

With an overall 20-under 196, McIlroy can challenge the tournament winning record of 22 under, set by Stephen Gallacher in 2013 and Thomas Bjorn in 2001.

Denmark’s Morten Orum Madsen, who shot a 9-under 63 on Friday, was second after a 66 with six birdies.

England’s Lee Westwood (69) was third at 14-under 202, six shots adrift of McIlroy.

Defending champion Gallacher survived bogeys in the opening nine before hitting three birdies on the back nine. The Scot is tied for fourth at 203 alongside England’s Andy Sullivan and Danny Willett (70), and Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger, after all four shot 70.

McIlroy could do no wrong in his first eight holes as he birdied Nos. 1, 3, 5, 7 and 8. And then golf showed him all its quirks on the 10th.

At the 549-yard par-5 hole, the Northern Irishman smashed a drive that went a massive 380 yards. But McIlroy could not birdie the hole as his effort from less than two feet spun out of the hole.

“I didn’t put a foot wrong on the front nine and, when I missed that little short putt on 10, it seemed like that momentum I had just sort of went away and had to scramble a little bit for pars coming in,” McIlroy said.

He finally got a birdie again on the 17th, where he made an 18-footer, but needed to scramble to save par on the final hole after hitting his 4-iron second from 205 yards into the water guarding the front of the green.

“It was nice to make one birdie on 17 and then a great save on the last. It was nice to go out there today with no bogeys,” McIlroy said. “I was just trying to get as many in front as I can.”

As McIlroy surged, his closest rivals fell away on moving day and the 194th-ranked Madsen has the unenviable task of attempting to reel in the four-time major champion on Sunday.

“I was nice and calm all the way and putted well and hit the ball solid,” Madsen said. “I wasn’t really in any major trouble, so that was nice.”

The $2.5 million tournament forms the closing leg of the three-stop Desert Swing of the European Tour.