AUGUSTA, Ga. – Jason Day didn’t have time to ponder his putt as he clambered up a hill to the first green at Augusta National.

He was too busy keeping his “caddie” moving.

“You’ve got it, you’ve got it,” Day said, urging his son along. Three-year-old Dash Day made it to the top and through all nine holes at the Masters’ annual, mostly-for-fun Par-3 contest. So did Daddy and Mommy.

The event is a fun tradition like no other – at the Masters, at least. Once the actual tournament begins Thursday, the easy laughs, juvenile hijinks and friendly exchanges with fans often only a few feet away on the nine-hole short course will be replaced by the grind of competition.

But this is about fun.

For the record, Jimmy Walker won the competition with an 8-under 19, including a hole in one on No. 2. Craig Stadler, the 1982 Masters champion, and Keegan Bradley tied for second at 5 under. The field is comprised of Masters competitors, past champions and honorary invitees.

Most players had their wives and/or kids carrying their bags in an event that’s been around since 1960 and is popular enough to draw big galleries and a TV audience.

Dash accompanied Day and wife Ellie throughout the round, even if he couldn’t actually carry the bags. Both sported the white jumpsuits with “DAY” on the back. Day quickly headed to slap hands with his son to celebrate that first putt going in.

For a few hours, Day wasn’t the No. 1 golfer in the world and a Masters favourite.

He was just Daddy.

“It was so fun,” Ellie Day said, with Dash calling for “Daddy” from a nearby golf cart. “It’s funny, because we almost didn’t do it. We almost didn’t have Dash come out today because last year he was 2-1/2 and it was a million degrees. And he was kind of crazy.

“But he was so good. He never gets to actually see Jason play golf, so he got to actually be right there. He was like, ‘I want to watch him. Let go of my hand.’ He just wanted to watch Daddy. It was so fun.”

There was good golf, too. Fans gleefully celebrated nice shots and even bantered with players who were often more laid-back and chatty than during a tournament round.

Justin Thomas aced the fourth hole, one of nine holes in one. Not to be outdone, so did playing partner Rickie Fowler moments later.

Webb Simpson closed his round with a finishing hole in one on No. 9. OK, it wasn’t as glorious as a victory-clinching finale on Sunday. Still cool, though.

“It’s just always been a miniature dream to have a walk-off hole in one,” Webb said. His caddie was longtime swing coach Ted Kiegiel, a former Augusta National staffer who first brought a 12-year-old Webb to play the course.

There were a lot of things fans won’t see on Sunday.

Justin Rose took a selfie with his children Leo and Charlotte, two fans he was more than happy to pose with in the middle of a round.

Little Caleb Watson carried one of his Daddy Bubba’s clubs, that was about as tall as him. Dash Day walked along the ropes giving high-fives to fans on the final hole.

And as usual some players allowed their caddies or kids to putt out on 9. It’s a fun way to close out the competition, and it nullifies their scorecard so they can’t win the competition. And since no Par-3 winner has ever won the Masters, some superstitious golfers don’t want to take any chances.

“I’m not going to jinx it,” said Branden Grace, whose own caddie celebrated a pretty nice downhill putt. “I’m not going to be the first one to find out.”

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Masters champion Jordan Spieth expected the nerves to hit long before he is announced on the first tee Thursday.

Spieth had to host the Champions Dinner on Tuesday night, a great honor for any golfer, but a bit daunting for a 22-year-old in a room that included greats like Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Ben Crenshaw.

“I imagine the chairman will maybe ask me to say a few words,” Spieth said before the dinner. “I’ll certainly think of something that makes sense, given the time. But I’ll probably do less talking and more listening tonight. There will be nothing that I’ve ever done before or will ever do that will match the first time talking to that audience. It’s a bit odd to think about.”

The reigning champion gets to set the menu, and the Dallas native went with salad greens, authentic Texas barbecue (beef brisket, chicken, pork ribs), barbecue baked beans, vegetables and a warm chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice cream.

Here is the menu @JordanSpieth selected for tonight’s Champions Dinner: pic.twitter.com/UBGspJA5pF

— Masters Tournament (@TheMasters) April 5, 2016

Only Masters champions are invited. Spieth’s caddie, Michael Greller, found that out the hard way from Spieth’s agent, Jay Danzi.

“At first I think he thought he was going to be able to be there,” Spieth said. “He was a bit surprised when … I think it was Jay who told him, ‘No, Michael, nobody goes.’ He was like, ‘This is going to be the coolest dinner ever.'”

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Jack Nicklaus says he thinks Tiger Woods will win again. After seeing him a few weeks ago, Nicklaus is surprised Woods isn’t playing the Masters this week.

Woods is missing the Masters for the second time in three years as he recovers from two surgeries on his back last year. He has not played since a tie for 10th in the Wyndham Championship in August, and he has not won since Firestone in August 2013.

“I don’t think he’s done,” Nicklaus said Tuesday afternoon before going to the Champions Dinner. “I think Tiger is going to win more tournaments.”

Woods announced late Friday that he was not ready to return to competition. He said he had been hitting balls and training every day, but that “I need to be cautious and do what’s best for my long-term health and career.”

Woods was planning to attend the Tuesday night dinner for Masters champions, his second social event of the year. Nicklaus hosted a Ryder Cup dinner at his home on Feb. 24 that Woods attended. Nicklaus said he thought Woods looked great physically, and that Woods told him he was able to putt and chip without feeling any pain.

“I’m very surprised he’s not here,” Nicklaus said. “Maybe he’s not ready. But he’s too good of a talent not to win.”

Woods has long been associated with his pursuit of Nicklaus’ 18 professional majors. Woods won his 14th major at the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines when he was 32. Nicklaus won his 14th major when he was 35.

Woods hasn’t won another major since then. He had knee surgery in 2008, followed by the crisis in his personal life when he was caught in a shocking web of infidelity, and then more leg injuries and three back surgeries over the last two years.

Asked if his major championship record was safe, Nicklaus smiled and mentioned Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and “Tiger is still out there.”

“Does that mean his chances are as good as they were? Of course it doesn’t mean that,” Nicklaus said. “But he’ll be able to play healthily – if he gets healthy – until he’s 50. I caught lightning in a bottle at 46.”

Nicklaus is the oldest Masters champion, winning in 1986 for his 18th and final major.

Woods, who turned 40 at the end of December, last met with media at his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, and he was more blunt than usual when he said anything else he does in golf “will be gravy.”

Nicklaus brushed that off as Woods being tired of answering questions about his future.

“That’s probably an easier answer than ‘I’m going to get back out there next week’ and really doing it. He’s probably tired of saying that,” Nicklaus said. “If he says the other, then all of a sudden, everybody writes him off for a while, and then he’s got to show up for his 1980 and his 1986. I think he’ll show up for that a little bit.”

The reference was clear.

Nicklaus was 40 in 1980 when he won the U.S. Open at Baltusrol and the PGA Championship at Oak Hill, giving him 17 majors. It was the fifth time in his career that Nicklaus won two majors in one season. And in 1986, he won the Masters.

One big difference is that Nicklaus was rarely injured. He didn’t withdraw until back spasms at the old World Series of Golf at Firestone in 1981 when he was 41, and he had to pull out again two years later after one round of the 1983 Masters.

“I was just lucky from a physical standpoint,” Nicklaus said.

He also said he trimmed his schedule and geared them around the four majors. Nicklaus won his 18 majors over 25 years.

“So when you do that, you’re not abusing yourself too much. You can play a longer time,” he said. “Tiger and I both won young. And he may span 25 years himself.”

The Mark Twain quote most often repeated in golf circles is the one about the game being a good walk spoiled. But there is another quote from the noted American author that seems especially apropos for the golf industry these days: “Whiskey’s for drinking; water’s for fighting over.”

Larry Gilhuly, the colourful west region agronomist with the United States Golf Association, has no doubt about what the biggest issue facing golf will be in the coming years. “It’s water,” Gilhuly said in a lively presentation to the annual general meeting of British Columbia Golf at Tsawwassen Springs.

“There is no question. Whether you’ve got or don’t got it (sic), it will be an issue in the future. It will drive everything in this industry. That is something to think about because in North America, we get it wrong. Green is the ‘holy grail’ but healthy grass is not necessarily green.”

Gilhuly, a former assistant superintendent at Seattle Golf Club, has worked for the USGA for the past 33 years and has some strong opinions on sustainability, which was the topic of his hour-long presentation.

He joked about the Monday after the Masters being the toughest day of the year for golf course superintendents in North America. Golfers will have spent much of the past week watching the drama unfold at Augusta National Golf Club in absolutely pristine conditions and wondering why they can’t get that at their courses.

“What you are looking at is not real,” Gilhuly said. “What I mean by that is the course is closed for five or six months a year. Their problem is they have too much money and they have to get rid of it somehow. The greens are underlaid with heating systems, during the summer they have tents over them, the bunkers have plastic over them. There is no play. You can’t compare your golf course in any way to Augusta National. It is not sustainable.”

Gilhuly called last summer’s near-drought conditions in the west one of the best things that has happened in years because it forced the golf industry to start thinking more about its use of water. He said the industry has a perception problem when it comes to water and suggested it must work hard to change that.

“The public perception of golf course(s) is not good as far as water use,” he said. “It is not good. (The public is saying) ‘you are water hogs and why should we be faced with water restrictions, while the golf course down the street just throws water away’. It’s perception and we have to fight it.”

Gilhuly said North American golfers must adjust to having their courses less green. To conserve water, courses must use that precious resource on areas where it’s most needed, most notably greens, fairways and tees. Far too much is wasted, he said, watering areas like the rough and driving range landing areas. “You can have a little brown on your golf course, especially the rough,” Gilhuly said. “Players like the rough when there’s not a lot of thick grass. You can find your ball and move along.”

Gilhuly said courses in places like Scotland and New Zealand get it right. “Green grass equals more green (dollars),” Gilhuly said. “You will spend more money at your club keeping grass green. It’s a fact. That’s why the Scots have it right, it’s why the Kiwis have it right. . .They have (maintenance) staffs in Scotland to this day that are five to six people. How do you maintain an 18-hole golf course year-round with five or six people? Don’t fertilize it too much, the grass won’t grow as much. Don’t water it as much, the grass won’t grow as much and that means you don’t have to mow it as often. That means you don’t need as much labour. . .that’s sustainable golf.”

The California golf industry knows better than most about how big an issue water has become. Kevin Heaney, executive director of the Southern California Golf Association, spoke to the AGM about how the industry there has banded together under what is called the California Golf Alliance to lobby government on its behalf.

The industry had success working with government to change some potential restrictions that could have put some courses out of business. Heaney said courses in the Los Angeles area had been told they were going to be limited to watering just two days a week. “What we came to know was that LA wanted 15 per cent reduction in water usage,” Heaney said. “Our comeback to them was if we give you 20 per cent can we water every day? They were thrilled about that. That was all they needed to hear.”

But like Gilhuly, he cautioned that the industry must be more proactive when it comes to managing its water. “We have a lot of golf courses that don’t know how much water they use,” he said. “That is crazy.”

Gilhuly had a number of other suggestions about making the game more sustainable. He spoke at length about slowing down green speeds and presented a chart showing that Stimpmeter readings had increased by three or four feet over the last 30 years on a number of Seattle-area courses.

“Unfortunately, courses have been taken over mentally by single-digits (handicaps). . .They are not the majority of golfers. In fact, they are the minority by a mile. Maybe five per cent or less of golfers in the United States are five handicap or less. . .Greens should be set up for the regular player. The average male player is a 14.5 in the U.S. for ladies it is 28.9. I’m sorry, but 28.9 players should not be playing on greens that have 11 foot of speed. It’s not fun, it will hurt the game, it is not sustainable.”

Gilhuly is also a proponent of shorter forward tees, noting 5,400-yard front tees used by women equate to about 7,200 for men. “Any guys want to play 7,200 yards all the time? Have your third shot into a par 4 with a long iron? That’s fun. . .Everybody is moving forward, It’s not a gender issue any more. Older guys finally are getting over their ego problems and playing tees that are appropriate for their distance. It’s a distance issue.”

AUGUSTA, Ga. – When golf returns to the Olympics in Rio, the winners will receive more than a gold medal.

They’ll also get a free pass to all the major championships.

The governing bodies for men’s and women’s golf announced the exemptions Monday at Augusta National, adding a little extra incentive for the Olympic champions.

The men’s winner will be assured of a spot in the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship in 2017. The winner on the women’s side will automatically qualify for their final major of 2016, the Evian Championship in September, and the first four majors the following year: ANA Inspiration, Women’s PGA Championship, U.S. Women’s Open and Women’s British Open.

While the winner might already be qualified for the major championships, limits on the number of players who can represent each country at the Olympics could clear the way for a lower-ranked player to claim the exemptions.

“Whether it’s someone that is in the top rankings in the world or someone who is a Cinderella story, in both ways it’s a positive,” said Pete Bevacqua, chief executive officer of the PGA of America.

Some players are skeptical that the Olympics will carry nearly as much importance as the men’s majors or the Ryder Cup, and there have also been complaints about a trip to South America in early August adding to the grind of an already packed schedule.

Billy Payne, the chairman of Augusta National and head of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, shrugged off those who question the need for golf in the Summer Games.

“There is nothing — nothing — more powerful than representing your country,” Payne said. “I suspect that you will see that take over and totally capture the enthusiasm of the players for golf.”

Payne and other leaders in the sport are counting on the Olympics to expand golf’s global reach.

“We believe our game’s visibility will be dramatically elevated by the global platform that only the Olympics offer,” Payne said. “New audiences from all over the globe, some for the very first time ever, will be exposed to our great sport and come to know and appreciate the amazing athletes and heroes in golf.”

LONDON, Ont. – Vancouver’s Ryan Williams is the latest golfer to sign with Freedom 55 Financial as brand ambassador.

Williams joins current Freedom 55 Financial Team Freedom ambassador golfers Albin Choi, Matt Hill, Mackenzie Hughes, Augusta James, Taylor Pendrith and Adam Svensson.

Williams, a 35-year-old Vancouver native, won the 2014 Freedom 55 Financial Championship, the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada’s season-ending event, and finished as the top Canadian on tour that year. Williams was introduced to golf at age seven and has been a member of the Mackenzie Tour since 2008. Before turning to professional golf, he played junior hockey in B.C. and Michigan.

“I’m thrilled to be joining Team Freedom,” Williams said. “The support Freedom 55 Financial has provided the Mackenzie Tour and its players has been instrumental to the growth of golf in Canada. This is a tremendous partnership for me on my road to the PGA TOUR and I am proud to be part of an incredible group of talented athletes on Team Freedom!”

To keep track of Williams and his teammates on their journeys, follow Freedom 55 Financial on Facebook and Twitter, using the hashtag #TeamFreedom.

With the end of hockey season in sight for the McCann Family, it’s time to drop the sticks and pucks in favour of golf clubs and balls.

While Carter, 10 and Cameron, six, won’t be making any money for the McCann Family anytime soon, their dad is looking forward to getting back on course and playing some competitive golf.

“I love watching them play. I always wanted to be a pro hockey player but I was too small, so to be back in the rink watching both my guys playing the game gives me a lot of joy,” says McCann, who will be looking to make it three in a row in 2016, when it comes to PGA of Ontario Player of the Year honours.

After sharing the shuttling duties of taking the boys to the rink six days a week with his wife Wendy, Brian, who also plays men’s league hockey, will be back on the tee May, 2^nd for the first scheduled event of the season, playing with Kieran Harris in the two-person scramble Assistants’ Team Series at King’s Riding GC – one of the few PGA of Ontario events that McCann doesn’t have his name etched as a winner.

“Every time I go out there and tee it up, I’m there to win. I developed that mentality when I was playing junior golf and when I attended Arkansas State University and that hasn’t changed over the years,” says the 41-year-old, who is entering his third season as an associate professional at Brampton Golf Club, where he works in the golf shop and on the range giving lessons and coaching.

“I think I have just learned to manage my game better. When I play well, I don’t make a lot of mistakes. I’m not going to go out there and have six birdies and six bogeys, maybe just one or two bad shots. For me the difference between winning and losing really comes down to putting. If I shoot a 65, the putter is working, when I shoot a 71, the putter doesn’t work.”

McCann certainly had his fair sharing of the winning feeling in 2015 with victories in the PGA of Ontario Assistants Championship in August at Pen Lakes Golf Club, 2015 PGA of Ontario Fall Classic in September at Lora Bay Golf Club and Georgian Bay Club and the PGA of Ontario Player of the Year Championship in October at Legends on the Niagara. He also settled for T2 at the Assistants’ Team Series and PGA of Ontario BIRDIE SHOOTOUT and T3 at the 2015 PGA of Ontario Spring Open. Internationally, Brian also enjoyed a huge win in December at the Goslings Invitational at Belmont Hills in his ninth trip to Bermuda. He was back in Bermuda in March for the Grey Goose World par 3 Championship where he settled for T15.

“Overall I was very happy with my play throughout 2015, the only disappointments were the PGA of Ontario Championship (T8) and the PGA of Canada Championship where I didn’t make the round of 16,” says McCann, who led the PGA of Canada order of merit standings in 2011 and 2012, before dropping out of the top spot in 2013. “My goal is to get back to the No. 1 position in Canada, to go head-to-head against all the best players in the country, and we’ll see if I can get back on top in 2016.”

McCann says that now that he works full-time in the golf shop at Brampton Golf Club, it’s more challenging to get time away from the club to play competitive golf and then there are lessons on top of that. Brian also says he’s very lucky to have a head professional, Emerson Mahoney, who recognizes that McCann loves to compete and arranges a flexible schedule that works.

“I’m really looking to try to find a balance between work at Brampton GC, competitive golf and time with my family,” says McCann, who admits to not having practiced hitting balls on the range for more than 10 consecutive minutes in the past five years. “What I have come to realize over the last couple of years is why so many professionals say they don’t have time to play tournament golf. It’s just a very busy schedule, and difficult to be everywhere you’d like to be.”

McCann says he’s excited to see how the new partnership with the PGA of Ontario and Kenesky Murray Golf Services (Jim Kenesky and Colin Murray) when it comes to tournament play in 2016 and beyond. The two veteran PGA of Ontario members will be managing all of the non-team events for the PGA of Ontario this season, as well as Great Lakes Tour events, which McCann is considering playing, as well as the Mandarin Tour.

Five years from now, McCann says he can see himself as a head professional at a club in the Greater Toronto Area, and until then, there’s lots of golf to be played. “Playing golf for fun doesn’t get my juices going. I still love the competition. Whether it’s the PGA of Ontario or the PGA Tour the goal is to win,” says McCann who played on the Web.Com Tour from 2004 to 2006.

Only 12 players have emerged victorious at both the Canadian Open and the Masters, though none have done so in the same year. As we prepare for the 2016 editions of the two events, the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum looks back at these 12 players and the elite company they hold on this elusive list.

The 2016 RBC Canadian Open will be played at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont. from July 18-24. Additional information regarding the event can be found on the official site.

Sam Snead
Canadian Open 1938 1940 1941	The Masters 1949 1952 1954
Craig Wood
Canadian Open 1942	The Masters 1941
Byron Nelson
Canadian Open 1945	The Masters 1937 1942
Arnold Palmer
Canadian Open 1955	The Masters 1958 1960 1962 1964
Doug Ford
Canadian Open 1959 1963	The Masters 1957
Art Wall Jr.
Canadian Open 1960	The Masters 1959
Billy Casper
Canadian Open 1967	The Masters 1970
Tommy Aaron
Canadian Open 1969	The Masters 1973
Gay Brewer Jr.
Canadian Open 1972	The Masters 1967
Mark O’Meara
Canadian Open 1995	The Masters 1998
Tiger Woods
Canadian Open 2000	The Masters 1997 2001 2002 2005
Vijay Singh
Canadian Open 2004	The Masters 2000

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Fred Couples is out of the Masters because of acute back pain – the first Masters the 56-year-old former champion has missed since 1994.

Couples won the green jacket in 1992 and remains relevant at Augusta National. He shared the 36-hole lead in 2012 and was one shot behind going into the weekend in 2013.

His career has been slowed by back problems the last two decades. Couples says the recent pain has been too much for him to prepare or to compete.

Couples has played only three times this year, once on the PGA Tour. He missed the cut at Riviera while visibly struggling with his back.

With Couples not playing, the field is 89 players, the fewest since 2002.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Lydia Ko took advantage of Ariya Jutanugarn’s late collapse to win the ANA Inspiration on Sunday for her second straight major victory and second LPGA Tour win a row.

The top-ranked Ko hit an 88-yard wedge shot to a foot on the par-5 18th to set up her winning birdie – and an unlikely victory leap into Poppie’s Pond. She closed with a 3-under 69 to finish at 12 under.

“This is an unbelievable moment,” Ko said before jumping into the pond.

Jutanugarn had a two-stroke lead at 13 under with three holes to play. The 20-year-old Thai player bogeyed all three holes, three-putting the par-4 16th, failing to get up-and-down from a bunker on the par-3 17th and hooking her drive into the water on 18.

“I really get nervous, especially being my first time leading,” Jutanugarn said. “Next time, it’s going to be so much fun to be there.”

Charley Hull and In Gee Chun finished a stroke behind Ko, and Jutanugarn ended up fourth at 10 under.

Ko won the final major last season, the Evian Championship in September in France, and took the LPGA Tour event last week in Carlsbad. The 18-year-old New Zealander has 12 LPGA Tour victories, five last year when she was the tour’s player of the year.

“It has always been my dream to play on the LPGA Tour,” Ko said. “For these amazing things to be happening it is unbelievable, but it also motivates me to work harder.”

Ko had a bogey-free round, also holing a 22-foot birdie putt on the par-3 fifth and a 40-footer on the par-3 eighth. She made three key par saves on the back nine, the first with a 15-foot putt after crisscrossing the par-5 11th. She ran in an 18-footer on the par-4 13th, and a 10-footer on 17.

“Obviously, making those putts on 11 and 13 was crucial, too, but just not knowing anything, I wanted to focus on my game and just what I could control,” Ko said. “But on 17, I knew what I needed to do. Something like a miracle needed to happen, so I think 17 was probably the most crucial putt.”

Until Sunday, best known for blowing a two-stroke lead with a closing triple bogey at age 17 in the 2013 LPGA Thailand, Jutanugarn made four birdies in a five-hole stretch in the middle of the round to move into position for a breakthrough victory that slipped away. She finished with a 71.

“I got a lot of experience from this week,” Jutanugarn said.

Hull birdied the 18th for a 69 and her best finish in a major.

“I know I can play well under pressure now when I have to get it going,” the 20-year-old English player said. “I’m happy I holed that putt on the last, and I’m proud of myself. It feels great. Lydia hit a great shot into the last, and she should be proud of herself.”

Chun also closed with a birdie in a 70. The U.S. Women’s Open champion was making her first start after sitting out a month because of a back injury. She was hurt when she was struck by a hard-case suitcase that rival South Korean player Ha Na Jang’s father dropped down an escalator at the Singapore airport.

Lexi Thompson, the third-round leader, eagled the last hole for a 73 to finish fifth at 9 under. The 2014 winner had three front-nine bogeys and failed to make a birdie.

“Just overall tough day,” Thompson said. “I struggled today, ball-striking, and the bad ball-striking didn’t give me many birdie chances, so I struggled a bit with the putter as well.”

Michelle Wie, tied for seventh entering the round, shot a 77 to drop into a tie for 36th at 5 over. She’s winless since the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open and hasn’t had a top-10 finish in 31 events.

Brooke Henderson shot a 67 for the best round of the day. The 18-year-old Canadian tied for 10th at 7 under and to run her LPGA top-10 streak to six events.