NAPLES, Fla. – Harris English and Matt Kuchar won the Franklin Templeton Shootout on Saturday, holding off Wisconsin friends Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly by a stroke at Tiburon.

English and Kuchar also won in 2013 in their first start together and finished second the last two years.

“It’s a thrilling event to come out with a win, amazing feeling,” Kuchar said. “I think it’s just such a fun partnership we’ve had. We’ve had such a good run. To have our last four events together, to have our track record be first, second, second, first is quite amazing.”

English eagled the par-5 17th and they closed with a 7-under 65 in better-ball play to finish at 28 under.

“We had some good action there and it kind of came down to the last couple holes and kind of set up perfect on 17 for me,” English said. “Really reachable par 5 and hit a really good drive off the tee and knew Kuch was in really good position so I could play really aggressive. Hit a really good 8-iron right where I wanted to and made about a 12-footer.”

“That’s the difference in these events,” Kuchar said. “Pulling out some shots like that, getting an eagle, getting that two-shot swing, that’s a big deal. This event comes down to you need to make birdies, you need to make some scores under par, and to do it on the 17th hole today and the position and the situation we were in, it was a battle. We weren’t making a huge number of birdies. It’s not like we were just battling with birdies, it was a fairly challenging day. But for Harris to come through and eagle 17 and give us that one-shot lead.”

Stricker and Kelly also shot 65.

“We just couldn’t get that momentum,” Stricker said. “A shot here or there. Jerry played great. Wish I could have helped him out a couple more times. I had some putts at it I didn’t make, but it was fun. Harris made an eagle. I knew somebody was going to do something there. It was just playing too short. He hit two great shots there at 17 and that was the difference really.”

English and Kuchar each earned $385,000. They opened with a 57 on Thursday in the scramble round and had a 66 on Friday in modified alternate shot.

Charley Hoffman and Billy Horschel were third at 26 under after a 61.

Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., and Gary Woodland tied for last with Lexi Thompson and Bryson DeChambeau at 16 under. Thompson became the second woman to compete in the event, following Annika Sorenstam with Fred Couples in 2006.

Among the scant few awards in my office is one that dates back to when I was coaching my daughter’s rep basketball team. This prized ornament features a basketball and a hoop encircled by wreath of leaves of some description.

The inscription reads: “John Gordon. Ontario Basketball Association. King of Technicals.”

It was given to me in jest by my team. Great bunch of girls. Talent, in addition to a sense of humour. Despite my best efforts, they won provincial gold in their division that season.

But their underlying message was clear. I knew (or I thought I knew) the rule book better than some of the referees and didn’t fail to take any opportunity to point out their shortcomings. With the expected result: Yet another technical foul, coach.

So it may seem counter-intuitive that I am studying hard to achieve Level 3 in the Rules of Golf certification this winter through Golf Ontario.

I successfully completed Levels 1 and 2 a couple of years back but, for reasons that remain unclear (OK, I got lazy), never progressed beyond that.  As I found out this summer while volunteering at a Future Links Championship at my home club, Midland Golf and Country Club, my situation was far from unique.

Ian Giles, who has volunteered at the provincial and national levels for more than 40 years, was a Rules official at that tournament. I’ve known Giles for many years and during one of our chats, between rulings he had to make, he asked why I hadn’t continued on in the Rules program. I didn’t have a decent answer. He said it’s not uncommon for avid golfers with an interest in Rules to go through the first two levels and then drop out.

The result is that while there currently are 587 individuals who have successfully completed Level 1 and 152 who have passed Level 2, there are only 30 certified Level 3 and 113 Level 4 officials in the entire country. (For an explanation of the four levels, click here.)

“We don’t have nearly enough officials in Ontario or across the country,” says Golf Ontario Tournament Manager Larry Longo, one of the country’s leading Rules experts. “Ideally, there would be enough to have an official at not just Golf Ontario events, but PGA of Ontario, local amateur and junior tournaments, even club invitationals and member-guests.”

Golf Ontario Rules Chairman Lee Griffin has been a volunteer Rules official since 1999 and says the rewards are plentiful.

“There’s lots of gratification,” she says. “As a Rules official, I’ve gotten to meet some fabulous people I would never have met otherwise, like people at host clubs, other officials and players.  And to see young players grow into adults who are successful not only in golf but in life is wonderful. “

Although I like to think of my desire to become an accredited Rules official as giving something back to the game, many folks (no doubt some in striped shirts reffing ball games) will see it as karma, as in the cliché, “what goes around, comes around.”

Whatever. I just hope I pass.  I’ll keep you posted.

More information about the Rules of Golf and Golf Canada’s Rules Education Program is available by clicking here.

And if you want to join me, visit  www.gao.ca or your provincial golf association’s web site.

The game needs you. Er, us, that is.

As golf’s governing body in Canada, Golf Canada, in conjunction with the R&A and the United States Golf Association (USGA), today announced a new Local Rule which will come into effect January 1, 2017.

Along with the R&A and USGA, Golf Canada holds a unique position as the only other governing body that sits on the Joint Rules Committee.

Golf Canada will be implementing this Local Rule as part of their Standard Local Rules which will be formally ratified at our annual general meeting by the Rules and Amateur Status Committee.

If a committee wishes to introduce this Local Rule, the following wording is recommended: “Rules 18-2, 18-3 and 20-1 are modified as follows:

When a player’s ball lies on the putting green, there is no penalty if the ball or ball-marker is accidentally moved by the player, his partner, his opponent, or any of their caddies or equipment.

The moved ball or ball-marker must be replaced as provided in Rules 18-2, 18-3 and 20-1.

This Local Rule applies only when the player’s ball or ball-marker lies on the putting green and any movement is accidental.

Note, if it is determined that a player’s ball on the putting green was moved as a result of wind, water or some other natural cause such as the effects of gravity, the ball must be played as it lies from its new location. A ball-marker moved in such circumstances is replaced.

Further reading:

Click here for detailed explanations about the new Local Rule, including diagrams, videos and a detailed FAQ document.

More information about the Rules of Golf and Golf Canada’s Rules Education Program is available by clicking here.

Mary Parsons of Delta, B.C., has been nominated for the Sport BC Junior Female Athlete of The Year Award.

Parsons, who had an outstanding 2016 season with four significant victories, will find out on March 8th, 2017 during the awards ceremony dinner being held at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel in Vancouver, whether she will be adding another honour to her name.

Included in her list of accomplishments this past summer were wins in the CN Future Links Pacific Championship, BC Junior Girls Championship, MJT Boston Pizza National Championship and the Kent Ford Motors Bouctouche East Coast Jr. Girls Championship.

She also had 2nd place finishes in the BC Women’s Amateur, BC High School AA Individual Championship (in a mixed gender field) and the MJT Season Opener event in Coquitlam. She was 3rd in the Canadian Junior Girls Championship, the AJGA Under Armour Canadian Championship and the CJGA BC Junior Open.

Parsons also recorded a T4 in the CJGA Western Canadian Junior and was 9th in both the Junior Americas Cup and the CN Future Links Ontario Championship giving her a total of 13 Top 10 finishes in significant events this past season.

Along with recently signing her commitment to the Indiana University Hoosiers Women’s Golf program, Parsons also was named to the Team Canada National Development Squad, a goal she had set for herself from the start of the year.

Parsons was nominated by British Columbia Golf President Patrick Kelly and Kris Jonasson, Executive Director of British Columbia Golf. The 2015 winner was West Vancouver’s Emily Overholt for swimming.

The University of Victoria Vikes Men’s Golf Team (50 points) have been named the best University/College golf team in Canada at the mid-season point of the 2016-17 golf season, as selected by the Golf Coaches Association of Canada.

The Vikes earned all five 1^st place votes based on results from various Conference championships and fall team scoring averages.

The UBC Thunderbirds (41 points) came in second followed closely by the Laval Rouge et Or (40 points).  The Queens Gaels (30 points), and Waterloo Warriors (28) round out the top 5.

The Western Mustangs and New Brunswick Varsity Reds (18 points) tied for sixth place, followed by the Camosun Chargers (16 points), and Niagara College Knights (12 points) who are ranked ninth.  The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades complete the top 10 with 7 points.

Other teams to receive votes were the Humber College Hawks, Manitoba Bisons, Alberta Golden Bears, Calgary Dinos, and Concordia Stingers.

Full men’s rankings:

On the women’s side, the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds Women’s Golf Team (50 points) topped the mid-season rankings. The Thunderbirds also earned all five 1st place votes based on results from various Conference championships and 2016 fall team scoring averages.

The Ontario University Association champion Toronto Varsity Blues (41 points) came second, followed closely by the RSEQ champion Laval Rouge et Or (40 points). The Canadian College Athletics Association champion Georgian College Grizzles (35 points), and Victoria Vikes (33 points) round out the top 5.

The Waterloo Warriors (24 points) and Montreal Carabins (21 points) are sixth and seventh place respectively, followed by the Western Mustangs (14 points), and Humber Hawks (9 points) who are ranked ninth. The Fraser Valley Cascades round out the top 10 with six points.

Full women’s rankings:

NAPLES, Fla. – Steve Stricker returned from a long layoff to team with Jerry Kelly to take the first-round lead in the Franklin Templeton Shootout.

The Madison, Wisconsin, duo shot a 16-under 56 on Thursday in the scramble format for a one-stroke lead over Harris English and Matt Kuchar at Tiburon Golf Club.

“It was just a great team effort today,” Stricker said. “We both played well. We both kept the pedal down all the way around, we never let up. We made a lot of good birdies, threw in an improbable eagle at the sixth hole, but other than that it was just good, solid golf all the way around, all the way to the end. Usually we have little hiccups here and there or a little lull period and today that never happened. We just continued that good play every hole really.”

On the eagle, Stricker holed a breaking 60-footer on the par-5 sixth.

“The pin was in a very difficult position kind of on the left side of the green,” Stricker said. “It was kind of up and over and speed was tricky. He put a good putt on it, on the first one. It was difficult, it had a lot of break. But speed was the issue and he gave me great speed and the line because I ended up giving it a little bit more.”

The 49-year-old Stricker had not played since the Deutsche Bank Championship on Labor Day. He’s teaming with the 50-year-old Kelly for the record eighth time. They won in 2009, and Kelly also won with Rod Pampling in 2006.

“We know everybody’s going to get in the fairway and get on the green in this format, so it’s really rolling in the putts,” Kelly said. “I just need to do my job and hit solid putts, so he can see where the line is and make it like he does.”

Harris and Kuchar won in 2013 in their first start together and finished second the last two years.

Charles Howell III & Rory Sabbatini were third at 59, and defending champions Jason Dufner and Brandt Snedeker were at 60 with Kevin Chappell-Kevin Kisner and Luke Donald-Russell Knox.

Lexi Thompson and Bryson DeChambeau were eighth after a 62. Thompson is the second woman to compete in the event, following Annika Sorenstam with Fred Couples in 2006.

The teams will play modified alternate shot Friday and close with better ball Saturday.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The Champions Tour announced today its 2017 tournament schedule, featuring 26 official tournaments and two “Challenge Season” events. The 23-event regular season will again highlight the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs, which will be used to determine the season-long Charles Schwab Cup champion. The Tour will contest events in four countries and 18 states, with total prize money of $55.7 million (U.S).

The 2017 season will feature five tournaments with new host venues, including Trump National Golf Club outside Washington D.C., Salem Country Club in Peabody, Mass., Caves Valley Golf Club in suburban Baltimore, Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Wales and Phoenix (Ariz.) Country Club.

The season will begin with the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, set for the week of January 16-21 in Ka’upulehu-Kona, Hawaii. Thirteen-time PGA TOUR winner David Toms, who turns 50 on January 4, is expected to make his PGA TOUR Champions debut. Toms will be joined by fellow rookies Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly during the 2017 season.

This past year, World Golf Hall of Fame member Bernhard Langer claimed an unprecedented fourth Charles Schwab Cup title after putting forth a dominant four-win season on PGA TOUR Champions.

The five major championships on the Champions Tour will kick off with the Regions Tradition, which returns to Greystone Golf & Country Club in Birmingham, Ala. the week of May 15-21. The KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship will be contested the following week at Trump National Golf Club near Washington D.C.

The final three major championships of 2017 will be held during a five-week stretch in the summer, beginning with the U.S. Senior Open at Salem Country Club in Peabody, Mass. the week of June 26-July 2. The Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship will move from June to July in suburban Baltimore at 2002 U.S. Senior Open host Caves Valley Golf Club (July 10-16), while the Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex will be contested at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Wales (July 17-23) for the second time in four years, dating back to 2014.

The schedule will feature two “Challenge Season” events, beginning with the Diamond Resorts Invitational the week of January 9-15, and the PNC Father Son Challenge, which will be contested in December on a date to be announced. The event’s 2016 playing is set for this weekend in Orlando.

Canada will once again have two Champions Tour stops. The Shaw Charity Classic will be played September 1-3 at Canyon Meadows G & Country Club in Calgary. The Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship will be contested at Bear Mountain Resort in Victoria, B.C. from September 15 – 17.

NASSAU, Bahamas – A flop shot that required feel. A wedge to a back pin that he had to trust. Tiger Woods followed those two birdies with a perfect 6-iron that he wanted to be even better, urging it to move “one yard … one yard!”

The golf ball didn’t listen. Television viewers did.

And his three straight birdies after going 466 days without competition sure got everyone’s attention, even those who were playing.

“When I saw that he was 4 under through eight, I wanted to withdraw so I could go watch him,” Russell Knox said.

Was he back to being Tiger Woods?

Of course not.

This was only the front nine of the first round at the Hero World Challenge. By the end of the week, Woods was 15th out of 17 players . What returned was the excitement of having him inside the ropes again.

“Everybody loves the comeback story,” Matt Kuchar said. “A guy like Tiger, good or bad, draws attention. If it’s good, it gets really exciting.”

So he’s back. And now he’s gone again.

Still to be determined is when he will play and how much. There has been chatter, and nothing more at this stage, of Woods playing in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship the third week in January. HSBC already has Rickie Fowler and Dustin Johnson, not to mention Rory McIlroy and Henrik Stenson, and might not want to break the bank. But a happy and healthy week for Woods in the Bahamas – not to mention his 24 birdies – certainly raised interest.

Torrey Pines is a week later and a more likely start.

Woods said in his “heart of hearts” he wants to play a full schedule. It will a different one, at least early.

Riviera is back on the schedule because his foundation runs it. The Valspar Championship at Innisbrook is in play because it’s a week after one World Golf Championship and two weeks before another – both in the month leading to the Masters. Woods isn’t eligible for either WGC event and won’t be unless he wins before then.

That leads to the more critical question.

When will it be time to stop marveling at seeing the red shirt and start judging him by red numbers on the scoreboard?

Woods doesn’t like any victory that doesn’t come with a trophy, so he was quick to point out “silly mistakes” and six double bogeys whenever he caught himself getting too excited talking about his good golf. But he had reason to smile. Only the winner, Hideki Matsuyama, had as many sub-par holes. Woods shot 65 in the second round with no bogeys, not a tall order at Albany except that it was his first tournament in 15 months.

This was a good week for him.

His swing showed very little stress. It was graceful, not violent. Woods knows he isn’t among the top power players anymore, though he showed ample length off the tee, even finding an extra gear on occasion. He said before the tournament he had all the shots, and there was little evidence to suggest otherwise.

He just didn’t score very well. But only those wanting to see him fail cared about that after such a long layoff.

That will change over time. There’s just no consensus on when.

“Give him three or four tournaments, maybe six tournaments, maybe around the Masters,” Henrik Stenson said. “Probably give him a number of tournaments and he might be in contention in one of the early ones next year. Then you know you have the answer quicker. It’s easy to overanalyze a very limited amount of golf.”

Kuchar said he has low expectations of Woods in the Bahamas, and was impressed to see him start 73-65-70.

“I still don’t hold him to any standard just yet,” he said. “He’s kind of a new man. Great to see. Shoot, he gets back in the hunt and wins a tournament, you’d have to put those expectations right back on him. For having nearly two years off, it’s hard to hold a guy to his typical expectation level.”

Brandt Snedeker was curious to see how much progress Woods makes in his next tournament. Others, like Jordan Spieth and Zach Johnson, had a longer view when it came to measuring Woods by his scores.

“To me, it’s if we can chat next year at this point,” Johnson said. “It’s not so much the golf game and the golf swing and the putts being holed and contention. It’s physically. Can he withstand a Tiger year, which is what, 15 to 20 events?”

Curiosity has given way to anticipation. Doubts have been replaced by optimism.

Reality is still months away, if not longer.

Global Golf Post is the first designed-for-digital weekly golf news publication in the world. In Canada it is delivered Monday, 50 weeks per year, to the inbox of Golf Canada members. To get Global Golf Post delivered to your inbox, you can become a Golf Canada member. If you are already a Golf Canada member and are not receiving Global Golf Post, please email us at members@golfcanada.ca.

Below is this week’s edition of Global Golf Post.

Featured Story: Global Golf Post’s 2016 Players of the Year

Global Gofl Post has named its 2016 Players of the Year. Click here to find out who won.

Click here to read the full issue, which includes these articles and more.

TOP OF THE NEWS

• Matsuyama on a Hot Streak

COLUMNISTS

• Green Jr.: Somehow, a Sense of Renewal for Tiger
• Hopkins: Fitzpatrick, Hull Spur England’s Promise

ALSO IN THE NEWS

• News: Brazil Official Denies Olympic Course Demise
• Gear: Ship Sticks Adds to Travel Services
• Gear: KING LTD Black Driver
• No Reservations with Adam Scott
• Travel: Where Golf Meets the Sky

NASSAU, Bahamas – The return of Tiger Woods was more about the big picture than any of his big numbers.

And that started with the sight of that red shirt on Sunday.

Woods grumbled about three more double bogeys in the final round of the Hero World Challenge. Considering how badly he has felt in the 15 months since he last played, he still was able to keep it in perspective.

“It feels good to be back out here playing again, competing and trying to beat the best players in the world,” Woods said. “I missed it. I love it.”

He even loved some of his golf at Albany.

Woods made 24 birdies, the most of anyone this week. He also had six double bogeys, three of them in the final round. The last one on the final hole, his third of the week on the 18th, gave him a 4-over 76. It was the highest score of the tournament, and he finished 15th in the 17-man field.

The other players were not about to measure him by his score – not yet, anyway.

“The whole world is watching a couple of rounds of golf,” said British Open champion Henrik Stenson, who finished second to Hideki Matsuyama. “It’s great to see him back and healthy and playing. I want to see him up in contention and try to beat him when it matters the most.

“Give him three or four tournaments, maybe six tournaments, maybe around the Masters,” he said. “It’s easy to overanalyze a very limited amount of golf.”

Rarely has a December event attracted this much curiosity. Woods, the dominant player of his generation, had gone 466 days since his previous tournament because of two back surgeries. The recovery at times made it difficult for him to walk and led him to wonder if he would ever play.

“Getting back to this point is beyond anything that I’ve ever experienced in my lifetime,” said Woods, who turns 41 at the end of the month. “The pain issues that I had, it was rough. Quite frankly, there some pretty dire times where I just couldn’t move.”

Woods showed no stress in his swing or in walking five straight rounds, starting with the pro-am. He had plenty of length, at times going after his driver with a little more pop to clear a bunker. He holed a few long putts . He missed a few short ones. At times, he looked like he had never been away for that long. And at times it did.

“It’s kind of new to me again, the feel of playing, the feel of adrenaline in my system, hitting shots,” Woods said.

One day after he briefly pulled within two shots of the lead, it was clear early on this day would be a struggle.

Woods was scrambling for pars instead of being in a position to attack pins. He twice made double bogey on a par 5, starting at No. 6 when he blasted out of the sandy area to the back side of a double green, forcing him to chip off the putting surface. Still, he rallied with three straight birdies to play the front nine in even par.

He was never going to win the tournament – Matsuyama was too far ahead – but it was a chance to post a decent number and take more positives into what figures to be a two-month off-season. Instead, Woods added two more double bogeys and shot 40 on the back nine.

He made his third double bogey of the week on the 18th hole without even going into the water. His tee shot landed in a thick palmetto bush, and he had to take a penalty drop to take it out. Just his luck, his drop in the sandy waste area settled right in front of the nub of another bush. He got that back to the fairway, went just over the green and took two putts from there for his 6.

“What he did here showed that he’s certainly up for the task and his game is there. He’s ready to go,” Jordan Spieth said. “Even with Tiger, every time we set expectations, he exceeds them.”

Woods at least starts his climb from No. 898 in the world, the product of not playing since Aug. 23, 2015.

He said he wants to play a full schedule in 2017 – that typically means no more than about 20 a year – and will look at his options over the next few weeks.

“I need to play more tournaments. Zero in 15 months is not a lot, so this is one,” Woods said. “I thought I made some good, positive things happen this week. Made a lot of birdies, also made a lot of mistakes. That’s something I know I can clean up.”

His caddie, Joe LaCava, offered the best perspective.

“I wasn’t going to compare him to the rest of the field. They’ve been playing all year and they’ve been playing great,” LaCava said. “Honestly, my goal was to get him through five rounds on his feet. That was big.”