DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Australia’s Kalem Richardson shot a 6-under 66 on Thursday to take the first-round lead in the Asian Tour’s season-ending Dubai Open.

Richardson had an eagle, five birdies and a bogey at The Els Club Dubai.

Englishmen Craig Hinton and Christopher Cannon were a stroke back along with Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert and Singapore’s Lam Chih Bing. Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke opened with a 72.

TORONTO — Brooke Henderson, the No. 1 ranked female amateur golfer in the world, has turned professional and signed with IMG for worldwide management and marketing representation.

A native of Smiths Falls, Ontario, Canada, Henderson was assisted by her hometown Ottawa Senators hockey team in making today’s announcement.

Henderson has signed with PING and will continue to be supported by Golf Canada’s Young Pro program.

“I am really excited to begin my professional career in 2015 and proud to represent Canada along the way,” said Henderson. “I realize what a big step it is to play professionally and I think IMG and their partners at WME give me a competitive advantage on a global level.”

The 17-year-old was an integral member of Team Canada’s National Amateur Squad for the past three years. She won the individual title at the 2014 Women’s World Amateur Team Championship and led Canada to a silver medal. As a 16-year-old, she was runner-up at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Amateur and tied for 10^th at the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open at Pinehurst No. 2.

She boasts more than 50 victories as an amateur and has also won three professional tournaments including two Canadian Women’s Tour events and the 2014 PGA of Canada Women’s Championship. Henderson’s Canadian Women’s Tour victory in 2012 at the age of 14 years, 9 months and 3 days made her the youngest player (male or female) ever to win a professional golf event.

Guy Kinnings, Global Head of Golf at IMG, commented, “Brooke’s tremendous talent on the golf course is exceeded only by her positive and engaging personality. We are delighted to help Brooke make the transition into professional golf and very much look forward to helping her achieve all of her goals both inside and outside the ropes.”

Henderson joins former No. 1 amateurs Lydia Ko and Minjee Lee as recent IMG signees. Ko most recently earned 2014 LPGA Rolex Rookie of the Year honors, while Lee was co-medalist at the LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament earlier this month.

“Through outstanding competitive results and a commitment to excellence, Brooke has proven herself to be a special talent, demonstrating all of the necessary characteristics to make a successful transition to the professional golfing ranks,” said Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s Chief Sport Officer. “She has been a huge part of the Team Canada program which is designed to challenge our top athletes through exposure to the highest levels of training and competition. We are proud to have played a role in her development and will continue to support her in this next exciting stage of her career.”

Following today’s announcement, Henderson is now the top-ranked Canadian professional.

The idea that the PGA Tour calendar is too full depends on how you look at the calendar.

In this new world of the wraparound season, it seems as though golf never ends. There was a three-week break between the end of one season (Tour Championship) and the start of another (Frys.com Open). And then the PGA Tour takes a seven-week break before resuming the new season in Kapalua.

But is that much different from 10 years ago?

The PGA Tour had 44 consecutive weeks of golf in 2004 from Jan. 8 at Kapalua until Nov. 7 at the Tour Championship. That schedule included three tournaments held the same week as World Golf Championships, the B.C. Open opposite the British Open and the Texas Open the same week as the Ryder Cup.

The tour had 43 weeks of golf in 2014, with the three-week break built around the Ryder Cup in the early fall and the final tournament Nov. 16 in Mexico. And there were only three opposite-field events the same week as three WGCs (Doral, Firestone, Shanghai).

Is the new “fall start” any different from the old “fall finish?” Now it starts in California and goes to Las Vegas, Sea Island, two in Asia, one in Mississippi and Mexico. Ten years ago, the lineup after the majors included Hartford, Canada, Tampa and now-defunct tournaments at Disney and 84 Lumber. There also was a WGC thrown in the mix.

Go back even further. Twenty years ago, the PGA Tour schedule featured 43 consecutive weeks of tournaments. That was right about the time the WGCs were being discussed, and a decade before the FedEx Cup was even an idea.

The biggest change might be the golf that isn’t being played.

Back in 1994 when the Tour Championship ended (at Olympic Club – those were the days) on Oct. 30, there were six tournaments as part of the silly season. That included the Lincoln-Mercury at Kapalua, the Shark Shootout, Skins Game, JC Penney Mixed-Team Classic and the Diners Club Matches.

Either way, there was never a shortage of golf. That much hasn’t changed.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Canada’s Brad Fritsch will have a little more reason to celebrate this holiday season. The 37-year-old carded a final-round 66 Tuesday to take home Web.com Tour Q-School medalist honours, earning $25,000 (U.S.).

Fritsch’s 27-under total of 402 (72, 64, 65, 65, 70, 66) at PGA National was 7-strokes better than American Andrew Landry, who finished runner-up.

Fritsch played the PGA Tour for the past two seasons, but his 2014 total of $568,391 (U.S.) in earnings left him 140th on the money list and 151st in FedEx Cup points, both outside the top-125 cutoff to retain privileges for 2015. He then failed to earn his way back onto the PGA Tour in the Web.com Tour’s four-event fall qualifying series.

Winning medalist honours gives Fritsch full Web.com Tour status for the entire 2015, meaning he has the flexibility of picking and playing any tournament he chooses.

The Ottawa resident isn’t new to the PGA Tour’s developmental circuit. In 2014, he had four top-10 finishes on the Web.com Tour without a victory. He had also previously maintained Web.com Tour status for next year, but prior to winning was only guaranteed entry into four tournaments before the ranks would be re-shuffled according to earnings.

“I think finally winning is great for my mind,” Fritsch told PGATour.com staff. “Because I was never much of a winner in junior golf, amateur golf, whatever. This is great, because I finally got out to a big, big lead. Usually for me, if I’m in first or second or third with one round remaining, I play an OK round and finish second or third. That’s not terrible, but it was nice to execute in the final round when I had to.

“I think executing down the stretch and learning how to build a big lead, learning how to play with a big lead, is important. You can start to play defense, and I didn’t, and I’m happy about that.”

For the rest of the field, getting into the top 45 was the goal for Tuesday’s final round. The top 45 finishers and ties are fully exempt until the second reshuffle of the 2015 season, while the top 10 and ties are fully exempt until the third reshuffle of the year. Anyone outside the top 45 has conditional status.

Unfortunately, only one of the other six Canadians in the field were able to crack the top 45. Peterborough, Ont.’s Ted Brown carded a final-round 73 to tie for 35th at 8-under 421.

Vancouver’s Ryan Williams (-3, 426) tied for 71st; Calgary’s Ryan Yip (+1, 430) tied for 100th; Victoria, B.C.’s Cory Renfrew (+9, 438) tied for 124th; Calgary’s Wes Heffernan (+12, 441) tied for 135th; and Montreal’s Beon Yeong Lee (+15, 444) tied for 142nd.

For full Web.com Q School results, click here.

Just in time for the holidays, two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson dropped his hip-hop video Bubbaclaus “The Single” which entails him dressing up like Santa, calling himself “Bubbaclaus” and promoting his #Bubbaclaus movement on Twitter where he gives gear away to fans.

It’s safe to say you won’t find this track on any top holiday song lists, but thought we’d share anyway.

Don’t forget to follow Bubba on Twitter if you want to win any of his gear.

HAWAII FIVE-O

A friendship in Hawaii has led to Michelle Wie making her first cameo on a television series.

Wie met actor Daniel Dae Kim through mutual friends in Hawaii – Wie was born and raised in Honolulu, while Kim has been living in paradise with his wife and children toward the latter years of his role in the miniseries “Lost.”

Kim played in Wie’s charity Ping-Pong event after she won an LPGA Tour event in Hawaii this year. He was working on a movie in Atlanta in June when he drove over to Pinehurst No. 2 to watch Wie win her first major at the U.S. Women’s Open.

That led to Wie getting a small part in an episode of “Hawaii 5-0,” on which Kim plays Chin Ho Kelly. Wie shot the episode this weekend while in Hawaii. Still unknown is her role, although agent Jamie Kuhn says Wie is playing herself.

Wie took an Instagram sitting in a director’s chair, flashing the “hang loose” sign and adding, “Officially an actress now” with three emoticons crying of laughter.

RICHMOND, B.C. –  British Columbia Golf has announced the nomination of five outstanding golfers in their respective categories for the Sport BC Athlete of The Year Awards.

Doug Roxburgh, Jackie Little, Christina Proteau, Adam Svensson and Naomi Ko have each been nominated by British Columbia Golf’s President David Atkinson and Executive Director Kris Jonasson.

The gala event, being held March 12, 2015, is the longest standing provincial sports award program in Canada to recognize the accomplishments of amateur athletes, coaches and officials.

Nominated as Master Male Athlete of the Year, Vancouver’s Doug Roxburgh is the 2014 B.C. Senior and Canadian Senior Champion. The Marine Drive Golf Club member is a 13-time B.C. Amateur Champion, 4-time Canadian Amateur Champion and has been inducted into both the B.C. and Canadian Golf Hall of Fames.

“When I think of how much golf has given me, I can’t help but think this is such an unbelievable game,” said Roxburgh. “There’s no other sport like it. You can play it from when you’re a kid to when you’re old. You can play it with your family, from playing with your dad to playing with your kids and grandkids. I think of all the friends I’ve made through the game and how good the game has been to me. I owe so much to this game.”

Port Alberni’s Jackie Little, nominated in the Master Female category, took home the B.C. Senior Women’s trophy for the 4th time, while adding the B.C. Mid-Master and Zone 6 Sr. Women’s championships in 2014. She also captured the Alberta Senior Ladies crown and Pacific Northwest Golf Association (PNGA) Women’s Amateur Senior titles for good measure. Little is also a member of the B.C. Golf Hall of Fame.

There must be something in the water in Port Alberni as they also lay claim to Christina Proteau, who is up for the Senior Female award. Aside from accepting her third straight PNGA Women’s Mid-Amateur Award, Proteau won the B.C. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship and then followed that up by taking her third consecutive Canadian Women’s Mid-Amateur title, which she won while she was 5 months pregnant.

Up for Senior Male Athlete of 2014 is Surrey’s Adam Svensson, the number two ranked male amateur golfer in Canada. As a junior at Barry University in Florida, Svensson won seven of the 12 NCAA Division II events he competed in, a record that earned him the Jack Nicklaus Award for best Division II golfer in the nation. He was also named the PNGA’s Male Golfer of The Year and recorded a tie for 8th in the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship as well as tie for 4th in the 112th B.C. Amateur.

The nominee for Junior Female Athlete of the year is Victoria’s 17-year-old Naomi Ko. A Team Canada Development Team member, Ko, who was named the PNGA Junior Girls’ award winner, had a stellar 2014, which included winning the B.C. Junior Girls’ Amateur Championship and finishing runner-up at the B.C. Juvenile Girls’ Championship. She also added the CN Future Links Ontario title to her list of achievements for the year.

The Sport BC Athlete of the Year Awards take place March 12th, 2015 at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver.

VIRGINIA WATER, England – Rory McIlroy has been chosen as the European Tour player of the year, capping a season in which he won two majors, the Ryder Cup, and topped the money lists in Europe and the United States.

McIlroy, the world No. 1, won his maiden British Open title by two strokes over Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia at Royal Liverpool in July, and less than a month later earned a second PGA Championship at Valhalla, finishing a shot clear of Phil Mickelson.

Between McIlroy’s third and fourth major wins, the Northern Irishman won the World Golf Championship event at Firestone for the first time, again with a two-shot victory over Garcia.

Overall, he took four big titles over three months, starting in May at the tour’s flagship event at Wentworth, where he edged Shane Lowry by a shot on a course where he missed the halfway cut the previous two years.

That victory came days after cancelling a wedding and relationship with tennis player Caroline Wozniacki.

At the Ryder Cup at Gleneagles in September, McIlroy won three points as Europe successfully defended the title.

“If I had won any one of those four titles it would have been a good year, but to win all four, to win The Race to Dubai, and to be part of another fantastic European victory in the Ryder Cup, means it is a great one,” McIlroy said.

“The European Tour has always been good to me, so it is always special to be recognized in this way.”

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. – Canada’s Brad Fritsch isn’t showing any signs of slowing down as he continues to tear up PGA National, taking a five-shot lead into the final round of  the Web.com Tour’s 2015 Q-School.

The Ottawa resident carded a 2-under-par 70 during Monday’s round at PGA National’s Fazio Course – the fifth of the six round event – which included two bogies and four birdies. He’s sitting at 22-under heading into Tuesday’s finale.

With a win on Tuesday, Fritsch would earn fully-exempt status for the 2015 Web.com Tour season without having to concern himself with reshuffles. Players inside the top 10 and ties will be exempt until the third reshuffle. Those who place inside the top 45 (and ties) will be exempt until the second reshuffle.

Sitting second at 17-under is American Andrew Landry who carded a 5-under 67 Monday to climb two spots up the leaderboard.

Aside from Fritsch, six other Canadians are taking part in Web.com Tour final qualifying.

Peterborough, Ont.’s Ted Brown has a share of 18^th at 10-under after firing an 1-under 71.

Vancouver’s Ryan Williams matched his best round of the tournament, a 3-under 69, to sit tied for 10th at 3-over.

Calgary’s Ryan Yip had a 4-over 75 and is tied for 111th at 5-over.

Victoria, B.C.’s Cory Renfrew is 7-over (T116th); Calgary’s Wes Heffernan is 11-over (T133rd) and Montreal’s Beon Yeong Lee is 13-over (140th).

For full Web.com Q School leaderboard results, click here.

Check out the top 10 shots from the 2014 PGA Tour season, featuring clutch approaches, incredible hole-outs and amazing recovery shots from players like Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson and Rory McIlroy.

TaylorMade introduces 2015 headwear lineup

CARLSBAD, Calif. – TaylorMade Golf has introduced its all-new 2015 headwear collection. The complete lineup of men’s and women’s caps, visors and beanies deliver on-course performance with a casual, lifestyle appeal for all golfers.

New for 2015 TaylorMade has partnered with New Era, a leading cap manufacturer, to create a unique product offering for golfers who seek performance without sacrificing style. Included in the Canadian New Era lineup is the TM 39THIRTY stretch fit cap. The cap will be played on Tour and feature TaylorMade’s 3D front embroidery and side equipment branding, New Era flag back embroidery and a moisture-absorbing sweatband with antimicrobial finish to resist odor. For casual wear, the Pipeline 39THIRTY stretch fit features a TaylorMade front patch and New Era flag side embroidery.

“As the leading brand in sports headwear, partnering with TaylorMade was a logical step for us to further authenticate our brand as we enter the golf market,” said Chris Koch, CEO of New Era. “As a result of this partnership, we look forward to seeing our caps worn on Tour by many of the best players in the world.”

Adding to TaylorMade’s lifestyle line is the TM 1979, TM 1983, Tradition and the TM Casual. Both the TM 1979 and TM 1983 feature 3D heritage TaylorMade front embroidery, commemorative side label, adjustable tuck-in back strap, moisture-wicking sweatband and cotton twill fabric with 50 UPF. The Classy Trucker is built with a pre-washed mesh, moisture-wicking sweatband, adjustable snapback closure and TaylorMade front patch.

“The goal of our lifestyle line was to provide off-the-course casual headwear for golfers,” said Paul English, Senior Director, TaylorMade Golf Accessories. “Our Classy Trucker’s pre-washed mesh provides a comfortable fit, while our heritage logo caps pay homage to TaylorMade’s history in a fun way with our cool, classic logos.”

Other notable pieces from the 2015 headwear collection include the Tour Radar cap and visor with adjustable tuck-in back strap, the Storm Hat and Bucket with a full seam-sealed crown and Tour Reversible Beanie.

The TaylorMade ladies’ line features the Women’s Tour cap and visor with adjustable tuck-in back strap.

Arriving in February 2015, the entire collection will be available at select retailers and on TaylorMadeGolf.ca, with MSRPs ranging from $24.99 to $34.99 (CDN).

Golf Central and HBM Integrated, two Nova Scotia owned and operated businesses, have teamed up to donate National Golf in Schools kits (NGIS) to two deserving schools in Nova Scotia.

Hebbville Academy was the recipient of a National Golf in Schools Kit donated by HBM Integrated. This school has over 500 students from grades primary to nine and won the Golf in Schools kit via winning a draw from all entries of schools attending the Sport Nova Scotia Milk Sports Fair held in in Bridgewater. PGA Professional Andrew Noseworthy assisted in delivery of the program by conducting classes for 100 students.

Waverley Memorial Elementary School received a National Golf in Schools Kit courtesy of Golf Central. This school has approximately 350 students from grades primary to six and was visited by PGA of Canada Professional Mike Timmons. More than 200 students of all ages participated in balancing and posture exercises along with putting and full swing drills.

HBM Integrated Technology Inc. provides business management and accounting solutions to companies in a wide variety of industries in Atlantic Canada and beyond.

Golf Central is a locally owned and operated golf retail store in Bayers Lake Industrial Park. It has built its success on selling brand name golf products at competitive prices while, at the same time, keeping quality customer service and satisfaction its number one goal.