It is with great sadness that Golf Canada, Alberta Golf and the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame mourns the loss of R. Keith Alexander, who passed away Wednesday, November 12, 2014 at the age of 84.

In further sadness, the Alexander family is also mourning the loss of Keith’s wife Vanessa who passed away one day earlier on Remembrance Day, Tuesday November 11, 2014.

Born July 23, 1930 in Vulcan, Alta., Keith Alexander was an accomplished Canadian golfer who took his passion for and commitment to the sport from the golf course to the boardroom.

The 1960 Canadian Men’s Amateur champion and six-time Alberta Men’s Amateur champion went on to win the 1992 Senior Golf Championship of Canada before turning professional and focusing his attention on the Senior PGA Tour in 1993.

During his amateur playing career, he represented Canada at numerous international competitions including six times at the World Amateur Team Championship (1960, 1964, 1966, 1970, 1972, and 1976) and five times in the America’s Cup Team Matches (1960, 1961, 1963, 1965, and 1967).

A long-time member at the Calgary Golf and Country Club, he was a six-time Alberta Men’s Amateur champion (1957, 1964, 1966, 1977, 1978, 1981), represented the province on 26 occasions in Interprovincial Team play and won a pair of Alberta Open titles (1967, 1980).

As an administrator and volunteer, Alexander was an instrumental part of the Alberta Golf Association (now Alberta Golf) from 1968 through 1982, serving as President of the Association in 1977.

Through his affiliation with the Alberta Golf Association, Alexander was a driving force working with the provincial government in the development of Kananaskis, the Robert Trent Jones designed, 36-hole golf course in Alberta’s Kananaskis country.

Off the golf course, he was a member of the Alberta Legislative Assembly from 1979 until November 1985 when he resigned to allow Premier Don Getty to have a seat in the Legislature.

Alexander’s contributions to the game of golf were honoured in 1986 with induction into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. Keith was also an inductee of the Alberta Golf Hall of Fame and the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, November 22, 2014 at First Alliance Church, 12345 – 40^th St. SE Calgary at 11:00 am.

CARLSBAD, Calif. – TaylorMade has announced R15, its most technologically sophisticated, high-performance metalwood franchise ever. The family includes a driver, fairway and rescue club and reintroduces to the market the company’s successful “R” series – a brand mark synonymous with more than a decade of heroic, game-changing metalwood products.

The R15 driver, available January 9, 2015, aims to deliver for golfers both in stores and on the tee box. It will be offered in both black and white and features a desirable, playable pear-shape in two head sizes – 460cc and 430cc. Available in four lofts – 9.5°, 10.5°, 12° and 14° – golfers can pre-order R15 starting December 12. TaylorMade expects R15 to become its No. 1 played driver on top professional tours in 2015.

“R15 harnesses our world-class portfolio of technological advancements engineered over the last 15 years,” said Brian Bazzel, Senior Director of Product Creation for Metalwoods. “It performs incredibly in a package that looks great, sounds great and can be easily fitted to any player. Everything we know about the metalwood, we’ve put into R15; golfers will see that, feel it and sense it with every swing. It’s a special driver.”

Adjustability

Empowering the golfer to adjust weight in a driver head is a landmark innovation that TaylorMade brought to the golf industry more than 10 years ago with its r7 Quad driver. Through the years, company engineers have increased the amount of weight that can be distributed while also simplifying the process to enhance the golfer’s experience.

With its new Front Track system in R15, adjusting a TaylorMade driver has never been quicker or easier: Inside the track system are two sliding split weights that weigh 12.5 grams each (25g total). The R15 club head has 5 grams more discretionary mass to maneuver and is 4 grams lighter than the popular SLDR.  Using the torque wrench, golfers can loosen and slide the weights to the heel for a draw, to the toe for a fade or split for maximum stability.

Additionally, R15 incorporates the company’s most adjustable loft-sleeve, giving golfers the ability to alter their face angle, lie angle and loft preference to affect side-to-side trajectory. A simple rotation of the loft-sleeve system allows you to choose from 12 distinct settings that makes incremental changes in the lie and the loft/face angle (range is 4°).

Together, the sliding split weights and loft-sleeve enable golfers to adjust their R15 driver with extreme precision.

Engineered for Distance

Key to the performance of the R15 is the low and forward centre of gravity – a strategic placement of weight first seen in SLDR which promotes faster ball speed with less spin.

R15 has an even lower and more forward centre of  gravity thanks to the Front Track system, which is 12mm closer to the leading edge with 40 more grams of weight forward. In total, 75% of the mass is in the front of the driver.

Low forward CG in combination with the more forward track and redesigned sliding weights in the R15 helps to reduce spin by about 100 to 200rpm and increase launch by 0.5 to 1.0deg compared to the SLDR 460.

Size and Colour Detail

The larger, 460cc version of R15 is for the player seeking maximum forgiveness and confidence on the tee, while the R15 430 has a shape that strongly resembles some of the most coveted drivers from the company’s past. The address size is noticeably smaller to appeal to players who prefer a smaller address view. The R15 430 is also the lowest spinning driver offering.

The R15’s crown comes in a very appealing satin white finish, with a contrasting black PVD face and sole. The strong contrast between the crown and face make it easy to align the face accurately at address. TaylorMade expects the majority of its tour players to play R15 with a white crown.

A gloss black version will be offered exclusively in R15 460.

Available in four lofts– 9.5°, 10.5°, 12° and 14°, the R15 460 ($499.99) is offered in a white or black crown and is equipped with Fujikura’s Speeder 57 Evolution shaft (X, S, R and M flexes). The club also features Lamkin’s (Non-Cord) 48 gram Performance grip. Also $499.99, the R15 430 has a Fujikura Speeder 67 Evolution shaft (X, S, R and M flexes) and is offered in a white crown only. The loft options for the 430 are 9.5°, 10.5°, 12°.

Fairway & Rescue

Available in four lofts – 15˚, 16.5˚, 19˚, 20.5˚, the R15 fairway ($299.99) is the company’s most adjustable fairway to date. Featuring the same Front Track system as the driver, the R15 FW utilizes a single 25-gram tungsten weight that can slide easily to promote a draw or fade using a TaylorMade torque wrench. The Front Track also performs like a Speed Pocket, increasing the sweet spot and decreasing the spin rate. Like the driver, the R15 FW comes with a 4° loft sleeve for maximum loft adjustability.

The R15 fairway and rescue clubs have been refined by extensive input from TaylorMade touring pros to be suitable for the best players in the world. Similar to the original rescue club from TaylorMade, the new R15 ($239.99) has a “peanut” head shape, commonly preferred by Tour Staff professionals. The smaller shape (99cc) offers more versatility than a conventional size hybrid and is preferred by players who like to shape their shots.

TaylorMade has also incorporated an open channel Speed Pocket into the R15 rescue, which promotes more ball speed and reduced spin. Built with the new Fujikura Speeder 77 Evolution shaft, the club also features a 3-degree loft sleeve allowing the golfer to customize distance gaps between fairways, rescue clubs, and longest long iron.  TaylorMade engineers worked to ensure this club has a more neutral biased ball flight which guards against left misses that can sometimes occur with hybrid clubs designed for higher handicap golfers.

For more information, visit taylormadegolf.ca.

Buenos Aires, Argentina — Canadian Austin Connelly finished in second place at the Argentine Amateur final, losing to Argentina’s Andres Gallegos 4-and-3 on Sunday.

A dual citizen who resides in Nova Scotia and Irving, Tex., Connelly began the final 36-hole match with an early three-hole lead over his opponent, but could not hold on as Gallegos charged back throughout the day.

Gallegos made eight birdies in his second round of the day, including four that secured the victory between holes 28-33.

Connelly, who has signed a letter of intent to attend the University of Arkansas later this week, defeated Team Canada teammate Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont. 2-and-1 to advance to Sunday’s final.

The Canadian tandem has played solid golf while in Argentina.  Last Sunday, the pair captured the Tailhade Cup by a margin of 19 strokes.

MEXICO CITY — Christina Kim won the Lorena Ochoa Invitational on Sunday for her first LPGA Tour title in nine years, beating Shanshan Feng in a playoff after losing a five-stroke lead.

Kim won with a tap-in par on the par-4 18th on the second extra hole at Club de Golf Mexico.

“This is the greatest win in my life, without a doubt,” Kim said.

The 30-year-old American celebrated with an exuberant dance and jumped up and down on the green. Kim hugged caddie T.J. Jones, boyfriend Duncan French and friend Michelle Wie, with Wie wiping away tears after embracing the winner. French is Wie’s caddie.

“I can’t put into words how I’m feeling right now. Kim said. “I’m still riding so many emotions. It feels surreal. I can’t explain. I’m so overwhelmed right now. I’m so proud and honored to be a champion for such an incredible tournament.”

Kim won for the first time since the Tournament of Champions in November 2005, ending a 221-tournament victory drought. She also won the 2004 Longs Drug Challenge.

“She jumped up and she was really happy,” Feng said. “I felt the same thing. I was really happy for her because she’s a good player, good person.”

Feng, from China, drove left on the second playoff hole, with her ball settling too close to a tree truck for her to do anything but chip sideways into the fairway. With Kim already pin high 20 feet right of the hole, Feng hit her 9-iron approach to 25 feet – also to the right. Her par putt slid by the right edge, and Kim two-putted for the emotional victory.

Feng had a birdie putt to win on No. 18 on the first playoff hole, but left her 15-footer inches short and left. Kim then made a 5-foot par putt to extend the playoff.

Kim bogeyed the final hole of regulation – running a 3-footer past the left edge – for a 1-under 71 that left her tied with Feng at 15-under 273.

“My brain just didn’t work right there,” Kim said.

Feng shot 66.

“I thought other than Christina, the rest of us were competing for second place,” Feng said. “I never thought I could catch up. … I had a really solid run.”

After bogeying Nos. 14 and 15 to fall into a tie, Kim rebounded with birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 to take a one-stroke lead.

“I was just thinking that there were still chances for me to make birdie,” Kim said. “All the last four days I was thinking, `What would Lorena do?’ She would gather herself. She would know that she has the ability to make more birdies and just play her best. And whatever happens, happens.”

Feng played the four par 5s in 5 under, making an eagle on No. 2 and birdies on Nos. 6, 11 and 17, and chipped in for birdie on the par-4 15th. She won the LPGA Malaysia last month.

“She shot 6 under. She played lights out,” Kim said. “It was a very easy round to watch her play. She just made it look so easy while I was bumbling around with the trees.”

Top-ranked Inbee Park was third at 11 under after a 68. Brittany Lincicome and So Yeon Ryu followed at 9 under. Lincicome had a 69, and Ryu shot 71.

Lexi Thompson, the winner last year at Guadalajara Country Club, holed out from 129 yards for a double eagle on No. 2. She finished with a 73, also making two double bogeys, five bogeys and five birdies, to tie for 15th in the 36-player field at 3 under.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico  — Charley Hoffman rallied from a three-shot deficit Sunday by closing with a 5-under 66 for a one-shot victory over Shawn Stefani in the OHL Classic at Mayakoba.

Hoffman ended another long drought with his third career victory on the PGA Tour. He had gone 105 starts between his first and second victory, and this time went 108 starts until winning the final PGA Tour event of the calendar year.

“It’s been awhile between wins,” Hoffman said. “I kept calm and kept hitting good shots.”

He referred to it as a low-stress round, with a few exceptions, including the final hole on the El Camaleon course at this Mexican resort.

Stefani, who closed with a 69, made an 18-foot birdie putt on the 17th to get within one shot. Stefani then hit into a fairway bunker with a lip so steep that he had no option but to hit sand wedge some 50 yards short of the green. Hoffman hit driver that rolled up against the base of a tree, which forced him to play a left-handed shot back to the fairway.

Hoffman pulled his approach some 30 feet left of the hole. Stefani’s pitch came up woefully short, and he chipped to 5 feet. That allowed Hoffman two putts for the win, and he rolled his par putt to within 18 inches for a tap-in bogey.

Hoffman finished at 17-under 267.

Danny Lee ran off seven straight birdies on the front nine to take the lead, but the former U.S. Amateur champion couldn’t hold on. Lee didn’t make another birdie the rest of the way, dropping three shots on the back nine for a 67. He finished two shots behind in a tie for third with Andres Gonzalez, who had a 67 for his best career finish.

Jason Bohn, the 54-hole leader, shot 40 on the front to fall out of contention. He closed with a 74 and tied for seventh.

Carlos Ortiz (68) and Oscar Fraustro (69) both played well in their native country and tied for ninth. Ortiz was the Web.com Tour player of the year in 2014 with three victories. Fraustro will get into the Sony Open at the start of next year by finishing in the top 10.

Canada’s David Hearn made back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18 en route to a 3-under 68 and finished in a tie for 16th place.  His countrymen Roger Sloan and Nick Taylor dropped back into a tie for 56th spot after carding rounds of 72.

Hoffman goes to Hawaii one week early by qualifying for the Hyundai Tournament of Champions at Kapalua. Hoffman also gets to return to the Masters for the first time since 2011.

Hoffman needed some help from Lee, who began missing all the putts he had been making on the front nine. And he needed a little luck. He was one shot behind Stefani on the par-5 13th hole when Hoffman feared his tee shot went into a hazard. It barely stayed in play, and he went on to make birdie. Stefani, who drove into the fairway, hit his second shot into a hazard and made bogey.

“That was a big change in momentum,” Hoffman said.

The two-shot swing sent Hoffman on his way. He missed a pair of short birdie putts on the 14th and 15th holes, and then hit an approach to 2 feet on the 16th to build a two-shot lead with two holes to play.

Hoffman’s wife and two young daughters greeted him on the 18th when he tapped in his final shot. The last time Hoffman won, his wife was pregnant with their first child.

“My daughter has been wanting to go Hawaii, so I guess we’ll make a New Year’s run,” Hoffman said.

The question is which caddie goes with him. He fired his longtime caddie a few weeks ago. A replacement came down with neck spasms and couldn’t go to Mexico, so Hoffman used Brett Waldman, who had been working for David Toms.

Canada’s David Hearn was the leading Canadian, tying for 16th at 10-under 274.

Rory McIlroy has won the European Tour’s Race to Dubai for the second time in three years.

“Winning it for the first time two years ago was a fantastic feeling, but I feel like I’m now a more complete player and my all-round game has moved to another level,” McIlroy said in a statement released by the European Tour.

The 25-year-old Northern Irishman is more than 2.7 million euros ($3.4 million) ahead of Henrik Stenson. The Swede, who was European No. 1 a year ago, moved second on the money list by coming third in the Turkish Airlines Open on Sunday.

No player can now catch four-time major winner McIlroy at the remaining DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, starting Nov. 20.

McIlroy did not compete in Turkey where Marcel Siem, Jamie Donaldson and Sergio Garcia needed to win to stay in the race.

Brooks Koepka of the United States won the tournament by a stroke.

“This has obviously been the best season of my career by a long way, and to win The Race to Dubai for the second time really is something truly special,” McIlroy said. “That four-week spell over the summer, from the Open to the US PGA Championship, would have to be the best golf of my life.”

McIlroy won the British Open on July 20, the Bridgestone Invitational on Aug. 3 and the PGA Championship on Aug. 10, becoming the third youngest player after Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods to win three of the four majors.

BELEK, Turkey — Brooks Koepka claimed his maiden European Tour title after overcoming a two-shot deficit in the final round to win the Turkish Airlines Open by a stroke on Sunday.

The American player shot a final-round 7-under 65 for an overall 17 under 271 that edged England’s Ian Poulter.

Poulter had a chance to force a play-off but missed a five-foot birdie putt on the last.

Victory means that Koepka will finish the year ranked inside the top 50, which carries an automatic invitation to the Masters.

Other results ensured that top-ranked Rory McIlroy captured the 2014 Race to Dubai crown, his second in three years, after his nearest rivals failed to win here.

McIlroy will return to competition for next week’s European Tour season-ending DP World Tour Championship with the title in the bag with nearest challengers Jamie Donalson, Sergio Garcia and Marcel Siem no longer within striking distance.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — Jason Bohn looked out toward the ocean Saturday and knew it was going to be tough day at the OHL Classic. He kept it together long enough to take the lead.

Bohn made a pair of birdies, and a pair of tough par saves that were just as valuable, for a 4-under 67 in the rain and wind that gave him a one-shot lead over Shawn Stefani going into the final round of the last PGA Tour event of the calendar year.

“When we started, it was just a little bit breezy. It was nice. It was going to be a beautiful day,” Bohn said. “Then we could kind of see the rain coming in from the ocean. Once it started raining, it got very difficult. The greens got a little bit slower just from the rain. If you were in the rough, you got some squirters where the ball could fly where there was water trapped between the grass and the ball. And it was just tough.”

“I’m just soaked, right down to my boxer shorts,” he said. “I am as soaked as can be right now.”

Bohn was reminded on the final hole how tough it will be to capture his third career victory, and his first since New Orleans in 2010.

He stretched his lead to three shots as Stefani, Ken Duke and 36-hole leader Michael Putnam kept dropping shots. On the 18th hole at the El Camaleon course of Mayakoba, Bohn tugged his approach to the left side of the green.

Stefani, who made bogey from the bunker on the 16th and from a tee shot into the bushes on the 17th, made a 20-foot putt for one of only two birdies on the 18th hole in the final round. Bohn left his long birdie putt about 5 feet short and missed that for a bogey.

That put him at 15-under 198, and his three-shot lead suddenly was down to one shot.

Stefani is looking his first PGA Tour win. He lost to Justin Rose in a playoff at Congressional in July.

“I walked off the green on 17 and said, `Just try to hit one in the fairway.’ Hit a good shot in there and just tried to make birdie to end on a positive note,” Stefani said. “Sixteen and 17 were just kind of mental errors, getting tired late in the day. You can’t do that. It happened. But I stayed positive walking onto 18 tee box, and hit a couple good shots and knocked her in there.”

Charley Hoffman (67) and Alex Cejka (68) were three shots behind, while the group at 11-under 202 included Jerry Kelly and Ken Duke, who hit a tee shot in the hazard on the 16th and made double bogey.

“Only time I hit it in the hazard all week,” Duke said. “It’s just tough to get out there with everything coming down. You’re just soaked out there.”

Fred Funk, 58, whose Champions Tour season is over, was five shots behind.

Oscar Fraustro of Mexico had a 69 and was in the group at 9-under 204, while Carlos Ortiz again held up under all the attention with a 69. He was seven shots behind. Ortiz won three times on the Web.com Tour a year ago and was voted its player of the year.

Bohn is coming off a runner-up finish last week in Mississippi and is 29-under par in his last seven rounds. He believes he has finally figured out that he doesn’t have to smash it off the tee to compete as long as he’s keeping the ball in play. He made a number of key putts for par to grab the 54-hole lead.

“I’ve always tried to do things with the golf ball that maybe I can’t actually do,” Bohn said. “I’m really comfortable in a place where I know my own game. I’m not a bomber, but I can keep it in front of me and I can hit some good, solid iron shots in there.”

David Hearn fell 12 spots Saturday, shooting a 2-over 73.  He is tied for 17th, eight strokes back of the lead, while Nick Taylor and Roger Sloan are both -4 on the week and tied for 44th.

MEXICO CITY — Christina Kim shot a 4-under 68 on Saturday to increase her lead to five strokes in the Lorena Ochoa Invitational.

A stroke ahead after each of the first two rounds, Kim had a 14-under 202 total at Club de Golf Mexico. She won the last of her two LPGA Tour titles in 2005.

Kim matched China’s Shanshan Feng for the best round of the day in calm, sunny conditions on the tree-lined course. The 30-year-old American birdied two of the first three holes, bogeyed No. 5 and pulled away with birdies on Nos. 10, 13 and 17.

Feng was second. She won the LPGA Malaysia last month.

South Korea’s So Yeon Ryu, Spain’s Azahara Munoz and Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum were 8 under. Ryu had a 69, and Munoz and Phatlum shot 71.

Top-ranked Inbee Park was sixth at 7 under after a 69. She’s coming off a victory two weeks ago in the LPGA Taiwan.

Paula Creamer, second entering the round, had a double bogey and two bogeys in a 76 to drop into a tie for eighth in the 36-player field at 5 under.

Michelle Wie was 3 under after a 71. She won the 2009 event at Guadalajara Country Club for her first LPGA Tour victory.

Second-ranked Stacy Lewis had a 70 to reach even par.

BELEK, Turkey — Ian Poulter squandered a six-shot lead Saturday to trail Wade Ormsby of Australia by one stroke ahead of the final round at the Turkish Airlines Open.

Ormsby eagled his ninth hole and finished with a third-round 68 for a 12-under 204 total on the Montgomerie Maxx Royal course.

Poulter shot 75, nine strokes more than his second-round 66 which he completed earlier Saturday in the storm-disrupted event. The Englishman started the third round six shots clear of five players, including Ormsby.

Poulter shares second with Lee Westwood (67) and Marcel Siem (66).

After a bogey to start his third round Poulter continued to struggle before a double bogey at the par four 15th when his wedge shot hit a tree.

“I wasn’t aggressive enough this afternoon and I just made mistakes, and notably on 15,” said Poulter. “That was a real lack of judgment there that led to a double bogey, which was a real shame. I’ve now brought a lot of players back into the fray. Their dinner is going to taste lovely tonight and mine is going to taste horrible.”

The 34-year-old Ormsby, ranked 240th in the world, is one round away from nearly doubling the prize money he’s earned on the European Tour since making his debut in 2004. Victory would also mean a first appearance in the season-finale DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

“I was due to fly to Melbourne next week and play in the Australian Masters but then I would be delighted to change my flight to Dubai,” Ormsby said.

Siem birdied four of his last eight holes as the German seeks victory just a fortnight after capturing the BMW Masters in Shanghai.

If he wins this tournament, Siem could potentially still deny Rory McIlroy the Race to Dubai crown.

“The Race to Dubai looks like it is becoming more interesting now for everybody and for sure I’ll give it a shot tomorrow,” said Siem. “That’s what we are out here for.”

And John Daly hasn’t ruled out his chances in Turkey after adding a 67 to move to a share of eighth place on 8-under 208.

“It would be a nice way to round off my last event of the year but then I’ve got to hit more fairways tomorrow,” the American said. “I’m only four shots behind and you can make up that deficit in a few holes out here.”