CALGARY – Alberta Golf has announced its competition schedule, including host clubs and dates, for the 2016 championship season. A total of 12 provincial amateur championships will be conducted – along with qualifying events – that lead to entry into Canada’s national amateur championships.

“Nearly 1,500 talented Albertan and regional golfers will gather at some of Alberta’s top golf facilities to compete for a provincial golf championship,” said Alberta Golf’s COO, Jack Lane.

“It is Alberta Golf’s honor and privilege to conduct these championships in partnership with our host clubs, committed sponsors and the hundreds of devoted volunteers from communities across Alberta. We are pleased that our championships offer an opportunity for all members to compete, whether that be for the simple enjoyment of the challenge, or for our athletes who are hoping to add their name to the history books.”

The complete 2016 schedule and registration information can be found here.

The azaleas are blooming, the pollen is swirling, and green sport coats are about to be in vogue for one whole week.

Yet something is missing at this dawning of spring.

Tiger Woods.

Whether he shows up at Augusta National to play in the first major of the year is beside the point. It’s not like he’d be a Masters contender, not with a broken-down body that has kept him off the course for more than seven months. Probably best that he just stay away, unless he wants to take a crack at the ceremonial opening tee shot. Now that Arnold Palmer has bowed out, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player need someone to complete their threesome.

All kidding aside, what’s missing is something that’s never coming back.

Tiger Woods in his prime.

While there’s no question the future of the game is in good hands with Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Rickie Fowler, none of them is likely to match – or even come close – to what Woods did at the height of his dominance.

Spieth gave it a run last year, winning the Masters and the U.S. Open, just missing out on a playoff at the British Open, and taking the runner-up spot at the PGA Championship.

Now, let’s see if the young Texan can keep it up for another decade or so.

“It’s hard to explain to Jordan coming out now how (Woods) was just so much better than everyone,” Adam Scott says. “We’re all quick to forget that sometimes.”

Indeed, with more and more time to reflect on Woods’ legacy – after all, he hasn’t won a major since his one-legged conquest at the 2008 U.S. Open – the enormity of his accomplishments feels like it was dropped on us from another world, transforming this lazy, country-club game into something hip, exciting, must-see TV.

Millions of people who had never watched a golf tournament tuned in every time Woods was on the course. As the ratings can attest, many of them didn’t stick around once he faded away.

Even now, when it seems a bit foolish to even consider him trying to tee it up next week, the breathless speculation about his status for the Masters shows just how much cachet he still carries.

Woods, like so many great athletes in the sunset of their careers, still seems to believe he can win major titles. He surely hasn’t given up on Nicklaus’ Holy Grail of records, those 18 major championships.

“I am starting to feel a lot better,” Woods wrote on his Web site about a month ago, the most recent dispatch on the state of his game. “While there is no timetable on my return to competitive golf, I want to play this game at the highest level again.”

Even Nicklaus, who’s made it clear he likes the view from the top just fine, wishes Woods had a few more good years in him, to at least make it a fair fight.

“I’ve told Tiger many times … nobody wants their records to be broken, but I don’t want you not to have the ability to have that opportunity to do so by your health,” Nicklaus says.

From his first major title at the Masters in 1997, when he shot a record 18-under score at age 21, to that U.S. Open triumph at Torrey Pines eight years ago, Woods played the game better than anyone before him and, we’re willing to wager, anyone to come in ours or several other lifetimes.

Over the course of 46 majors, he won 14 times and was runner-up on five other occasions. He had six more finishes inside the top five, four more where he was in the top 10. Only nine times did he finish outside the top 20 during that stunning stretch. He missed one cut, in 2006 at the U.S. Open shortly after the death of his father.

Woods bounced back from that heartache to win four of the next eight majors.

And, then, his body betrayed him.

Knee surgery knocked him out for the rest of 2008. These days, he’s trying to come back from two surgeries on his wobbly back, not exactly where a golfer who just turned 40 wants to be at this point in his career.

But we can always fall back on those memories from the first 16 months of the last decade, when Woods not only romped to four straight major titles over two calendar years – the Tiger Slam – he thoroughly demolished anyone who got in his way. His 15-stroke win at the 2000 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach will forever be the standard for what golf can be at its closest point to perfection.

“He inspired all of us to play golf like he did,” Scott says. “I feel so fortunate to have played practice rounds with Tiger at majors in the years 2000, 2001 and really see up close what is the best golf I’ve ever seen. Just head and shoulders above the rest.”

That’s what we’ll miss next week at the Masters.

Whether Woods shows up or not.

Richmond, BC – British Columbia Golf has announced the addition of Brad Ziemer to their staff in the capacity of writer/reporter.

During a 30 year career with the Vancouver Sun newspaper, which began in 1985 and included the role of Sports Editor for five years before returning to his true passion of sports reporting, Ziemer established himself as one of the Canada’s premier golf writers.

He has covered every significant golf event in British Columbia, both amateur and professional over the last few decades including seven PGA TOUR events. In 2013, Golf Canada presented him with its Distinguished Service Award, making him only the second B.C. golf writer to receive the award, following in the footsteps of his esteemed colleague, Arv Olson.

“I have always had a passion for writing about golf and the people who play the game, particularly at the amateur level,” said Ziemer, “I look forward to sharing some of those stories this spring and summer in my new role with British Columbia Golf.”

Ziemer will begin his new role by providing coverage from the Annual General Meeting for British Columbia Golf, taking place April 2nd at Tsawwassen Springs in Delta, B.C.

His role will begin in earnest in May as BC Golf prepares for its Championship Season starting later that month.

SAUCIER, Miss. – The opening round of the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic has been moved to Saturday because of heavy rain in south Mississippi at Fallen Oak.

The players will tee off at 7 a.m. Central on Saturday with the second round scheduled to begin about 12:30 p.m.

The field includes 26 of the top 30 in the current Charles Schwab Cup money list. David Frost, who won last year’s tournament at Fallen Oak, is also playing this weekend.

Rod Spittle is the lone Canadian in the field.

The opening line in a book David Owen wrote 17 years ago about the Masters captures why the anticipation for the first major at Augusta National.

“The modern golf season never ends, but it does begin.”

That rings particularly true this year.

The fall is forgotten. The preliminaries are over. For some, the Masters could not get here soon enough.

It felt that way when the 2015 majors ended last August with Jason Day winning the PGA Championship in a one-sided duel and a record score to par. Jordan Spieth opened the new year with an eight-shot victory in Hawaii, right as the Masters began airing TV promos with those moody piano notes.

For three months, just about every tournament was a reminder of the showdown looming amid the azaleas and dogwoods.

“I don’t know if it’s a free-for-all,” Adam Scott said. “I think it’s an exciting lead-up to the Masters with a lot of top players in great form and a lot of stories there, probably more so than the past few years.”

The top of golf is so tight at the moment that Westgate Las Vegas Sportsbook has three co-favorites – Day, Spieth and Rory McIlroy – with 7-1 odds to win the green jacket. All in their 20s, they have won five of the last six majors, which is why they have been referred to as the modern version of the “Big Three.”

Only now they have company.

Bubba Watson won at Riviera, reviving memories of his two Masters victories in the last even-numbered years. Scott tabbed him as the favorite, even as the Australian won in back-to-back weeks to start the Florida swing. And then along came Day, who won his last two starts before the Masters to return to No. 1 in the world.

“I am looking forward to it. I know it’s one tournament that I’ve always wanted to win, so the motivation and the want … there’s no problem,” Day said. “I can’t get comfortable with how I’m playing right now. I can’t get lazy, because I’ve got to understand that what I’m doing is working. So I’ve got to keep working … and then stay focused and hopefully put on the green jacket.”

The only player among the top six in the world without a victory is McIlroy, who has had three good chances to win in the last six weeks. He returns to Augusta with another shot at becoming only the sixth player in history to complete the career Grand Slam.

Not to be overlooked is three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson, who narrowly missed winning at Pebble Beach and looks rejuvenated at 45.

“There are more guys in the conversation,” Scott said. “There are so many that I’d be surprised if some or all of these guys aren’t there come Sunday, from Bubba to Jason to Jordan.”

So many top players are performing so well that this will be the smallest field at Augusta National in at least 10 years. PGA Tour winners automatically qualify for the Masters, but in the 12 tournaments to start the year, every winner already was eligible except for Augusta resident Vaughn Taylor, who won at Pebble Beach as an alternate.

Seven of the top 14 players in the world already have won this year.

That’s not much different from four years ago when eight of the top 20 had won early in the year, including McIlroy, Mickelson and Tiger Woods. Only one of those players, Mickelson, was in contention that year.

For all its magic, Augusta manages to keep everyone guessing. The last No. 1 player to win the Masters was Woods in 2002.

The original “Big Three” featured Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player, and it was as much about marketing as the majors they won. It’s too soon to hang that tag on players still in their 20s, though all of them have won majors and have traded turns at No. 1.

The youth movement in golf, however, is as much about depth.

“I think you’ve got more good players right now than you’ve had in a while,” Nicklaus said.

Nicklaus and Woods are the only players over the last 50 years to have won back-to-back heading into Augusta, and then won the Masters. That’s what is facing Day, the 28-year-old Australian who has an exquisite short game to complement his power.

His victories have taken a little attention away from Spieth, who is chasing his own slice of history as he tries to join Nicklaus, Woods and Nick Faldo as the only Masters champions to repeat. The 22-year-old is playing the Masters for only the third time.

As a rookie, he had a two-shot lead with 11 holes to play and was on the cusp of becoming the youngest Masters champion until Watson chased him down. Last year, Spieth was so dominant in his wire-to-wire victory that he set the 36-hole record, tied the 72-hole record and never let anyone closer to him than three shots over the final three days.

Expectations are one thing. The real hurdle for Spieth is the competition.

“I think this year’s Masters might be the hardest one to win in quite a while as far as the depth of the field and the quality of golf being played by people who play Augusta National very well,” Spieth said. “Everybody wants it badly.”

HOUSTON – Charley Hoffman birdied half the holes on the Golf Club of Houston course Thursday and had just a single bogey to shoot an 8-under-par 64 and take the first-round lead of the Shell Houston Open, putting himself in contention to claim the final spot in next week’s Masters.

But the hard work lies ahead for Hoffman. The three-time PGA Tour winner from San Diego hasn’t held up well on the weekends this season after giving himself good opportunities to claim titles. Closing 75s in his last two stroke-play tournaments even knocked him out of likely top-10 finishes.

Graham DeLaet was the top Canadian at 5-under. The Weyburn, Sask., native was tied for 10th place. Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., shot a 68 and Brantford, Ont., product David Hearn was at 2-under. Mike Weir had a 4-over 76.

“I’ve shot 3- or 4-over on the back nine on Sunday when I’ve been going from winning the golf tournament to 12th or 15th place,” Hoffman said. “I’ve played fairly solidly from the start of the year to now and haven’t been missing cuts, but I haven’t been able to put four rounds together. Hopefully I can do that this week.”

Hoffman birdied the first four holes of his back nine – the course’s front nine – then added another birdie on No. 8 to break out of what had been a four-way tie for first place with Dustin Johnson, Roberto Castro and Scott Brown, who all shot 65s.

“You always want to get off to a good start in any tournament,” Johnson said. “Today I got off to a great start. I still feel like I’m playing really solid, rolling the putter good.”

His round included two bogies but ended with an eagle on 8 and a birdie on 9. Regarding the former, he said: “I hit two great shots. Hit a perfect drive down the left side of the fairway and a great 4-iron in there to about 10 feet, then holed the putt.”

Castro, playing consistently from start to finish, produced seven birdies and no bogies while missing only two fairways. It was a marked turnaround from what he called “rough Thursdays in my last two tournaments,” when he opened with 75s in the Valspar Championships and the Arnold Palmer.

Former Houston champion Johnson Wagner, who won in 2008 and got into a Sunday playoff here last spring, was another swing back at 66, tied with four other players. Among the large group finishing with 67s was the reigning Masters champion Jordan Spieth, who was also part of the Sunday playoff in 2015 with Wagner and eventual champion J. B. Holmes.

Holmes pulled out of this year’s field on Wednesday night because of a shoulder problem.

Spieth, who hasn’t won a title since January and surrendered his world No. 1 ranking to Jason Day on Sunday when Day won the World Golf Championships Match Play competition in Austin, said he “drove the ball fantastic today (and) really felt comfortable on my iron shots. I had very, very good control of my golf game and my short game was there today as well.”

Former Masters champions Phil Mickelson, Charl Schwartzel and Angel Cabrera all posted 69s.

The 39-year-old Hoffman has been on the PGA Tour since 2006 and won most recently two years ago in the OHL Classic at Mayakoba.

“I was really relaxed and played well today,” Hoffman said, while adding, “but I learned a long time ago you enter golf tournaments to try to win them, not try to make cuts. Making cuts is a great thing, but we play to win, not to base a resume off cuts.”

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Brooke Henderson had by far the most fans following her around for the first round of the ANA Inspiration on Thursday.

The 18-year-old Canadian is still getting used to the support.

“It’s super cool,” Henderson said. “Every round it seems there are more fans and not only just from Canada. Though there is a huge Canadian crowd out here this week.”

Henderson opened with a 1-over 73 and was six shots off co-leaders Azahara Munoz and Ai Miyazato. The former hockey goalie from Smiths Falls, Ont., is making her second start at Mission Hills after tying for 26th in the major championship as an amateur in 2014.

“Some holes, I played awesome and just didn’t take advantage,” Henderson said. “I had a lot of birdie putts that I missed. Then holes that I kind of messed up on, I kind of messed up big time. It was just one of those rounds. Hopefully, clean up a few things tonight and have a better day tomorrow.”

She bogeyed Nos. 6 and 7, and rebounded with birdies on Nos. 11 and 12 – with a boost from the fans.

“On 11, walking up to the green before I hit my third shot out of the bunker, they yelled, ‘Go Canada!'” Henderson said. “I kind of felt a little better about myself and I was able to make two birdies in a row. So, I definitely think it helps.”

She bogeyed 13 and parred the final five holes, chipping in on the par-5 18th after her drive struck a palm tree and went into the water.

“It was kind of an interesting par,” Henderson said. “I think it’s the best one I’ve ever made in my life. I was happy to see it go in – and the crowd seemed to enjoy it too.”

Henderson won the Portland Classic last year to become the third-youngest champion in LPGA Tour history at 17 years, 11 months, 6 days. She was second in the Coates Golf Championship in Florida in early February and has had five straight top-10 finishes to jump to No. 7 in world.

Alena Sharp of Hamilton fired a 2-under 70 to grab a share of 14th thru 18 holes.

Port St. Lucie, Fla. – North Carolina’s Carter Jenkins, South Carolina’s Matt NeSmith and Alabama’s Wil McCurdy shared the lead at 10-under par before teeing off in round three at Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Q-School when play was suspended due to darkness at PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course on Wednesday.

Play was suspended at 7:30 p.m., with the entire field left to complete round three. Jenkins, NeSmith and McCurdy were among the second wave of round three tee times set to tee off Friday morning.

Finishing up round two earlier on Thursday, NeSmith followed up an opening round 8-under 64 with a 2-under 70 to reach 10-under total, a score matched earlier in the day by McCurdy and set yesterday by Jenkins, who did not play a single hole on Thursday.

“I’m just looking at it as though I played in the afternoon yesterday and the morning today, and I’ll play two more the next few days,” said NeSmith, currently a senior at the University of South Carolina. “Hopefully we’ll get finished with a good bit of play tomorrow, but I don’t know much we will get done. It would be nice to play a good bit tomorrow.”

McCurdy, a graduate of Auburn University, shot his second straight 5-under 67 and said that a pin-seeking approach helped him reach double digits under par.

“I was able to play pretty aggressively. With the wind blowing and some pretty good pins out there, it actually paid to play aggressive, because if you tried to play conservative out there, it was going be tough to get it down in two. There weren’t a lot of places you could hit it and have an easy two-putt or chip.”

Jenkins, a junior at the University of North Carolina, shot a 6-under 66 in round two on Wednesday.

Chris Hemmerich of Kitchener, Ont., had a share of 4th spot at 7-under two rounds.

He was scheduled to tee off for round two late Wednesday before play was called due to darkness. Hemmerich did not hit a shot Wednesday and followed up Tuesday’s 66 in round one with a 1-under 71 on Thursday for round two.

“I warmed up for two-and-a-half hours yesterday to not hit a ball, and today I probably warmed up for an hour-and-a-half and finally got to play, so that was nice,” said Hemmerich, a former Team Canada member. “It’s difficult. Yesterday, I was honestly pretty lucky to not have to hit that tee shot. I came out today with a fresh mindset and approach.”

Waterloo, Ont.  – Wilfrid Laurier University’s School of Business & Economics, with the support of the Golf Management Institute of Canada (GMIC), is introducing a new field within its MBA program: Management in the Golf and Resort Industry.

“We are excited to be working with our golf and resort industry partners to be the first in Canada to offer this kind of specialization in an MBA program,” said Dr. Hugh Munro, Director of Laurier’s MBA program. “Our goal is to develop managerial talent to enhance the performance of those firms operating in this challenging global industry, and to provide exciting career opportunities for our graduates in the golf and resort sector.”

Laurier prides itself on preparing graduates who are adaptive and able to handle the increasing complexity and dynamics of business. The golf industry is no exception.

A big part of this new specialization is designing immersive learning opportunities into the curriculum that help to ground theoretical concepts in business practice. The Golf and Resort Industry constitutes a fertile domain for both applying management knowledge, and for developing management talent. With over 32,000 golf facilities around the world, the industry is global, dynamic, and strategically complex. It faces transformative challenges in the mature developed markets, yet is an important growing economic development engine in many developing economies. Both situations require managers who have the requisite business acumen, and industry specific knowledge to effectively address the inherent challenges and opportunities.

Applications are now being accepted for the August 2016 intake of The Lazaridis School of Business & Economics new specialization, Golf & Resort Management, within the Full-time & Full-time Co-op MBA programs.

In Canada alone, the Golf and Resort Industry employs over 300,000 workers at more than 2,500 golf courses and resorts across the country. In the United States, the numbers are exponentially larger, with more than 15,000 golf facilities, with the total economic impact of golf in America reaching $176.8 billion, and supporting approximately two million jobs.

“I’m excited about the Golf and Resort Management specialization being offered within Laurier’s MBA program,” said Grant Fraser, founder of the GMIC and Laurier BBA graduate. “The GMIC is thrilled to be working in partnership with Laurier on the delivery of this unique program. This will be the only MBA program in Canada designed to train the next generation of golf business leaders, here at home, and around the world. That will be the focus, to create a specialization that will enable graduates to work in a variety of golf businesses anywhere in the world.”

By working closely with a wide range of industry partners and organizations, there are a variety of exciting career paths awaiting Laurier MBA graduates. Companies such as Nike, Titleist, and TaylorMade-Adidas are a few of the powerful brands the program will align with. In addition, international golf and resort property owners and managers such as Fairmont, Marriott, Troon Golf, Pacific Links, and Mission Hills in China will all have a role to play shaping the next generation of global golf industry leaders.

Here at home, the Canadian golf industry is fully supportive of Laurier’s new MBA specialization. Industry leaders such as Bruce Simmonds, CEO of Pacific Links International, Scott Simmons, CEO of Golf Canada, and Keith Keindel, Executive Director of the Canadian Golf Industry Association have all been instrumental in moving the program forward. In addition, an industry specific Advisory Board comprised of representatives from equipment manufacturers and retailers, facility owners and managers, industry consultants, golf course designers, and club managers has been formed to assist with this exciting initiative.

All involved are committed to developing a program that meets the needs of the global golf and resort sector. This includes providing direction and support with marketing, curriculum development, project opportunities, co-op positions, and post-graduate careers.

In addition to the specialization being offered in the Full-time MBA and Full-time with Co-op MBA, plans are underway to develop, design, and deliver the Golf & Resort Management specialization within a part-time schedule, targeting managers currently working in the industry anywhere in the world.

For more information about the Laurier MBA program, and the Golf & Resort Management Specialization please visit www.lauriermba.ca.

Port St. Lucie, Fla. – North Carolina’s Carter Jenkins shot a 6-under 66 at PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course on Wednesday to take the lead midway through the second round of Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Q-School before play was suspended due to darkness at 7:36 p.m.

Jenkins was one of 75 players to complete round one on Wednesday, having only hit two shots on Tuesday before play was suspended due to dangerous weather in the area. The 20-year old completed round one with a 4-under 68, then came back out and reached 10-under with a bogey-free second round 66.

“I only got two shots in yesterday, so I played both rounds today. I’m pretty tired, but it was a good day so I can’t complain. I made some putts that I don’t normally make, and it was good to keep the bogeys off the card,” said Jenkins.

Currently in his first full season at the University of North Carolina after transferring from UNC-Greensboro last year, Jenkins said the long day was precisely what he’s used to from his collegiate events.

“I’m still in college, so I’m used to the 36-holes a day of college golf. It was actually pretty nice to have someone carrying my bag. It was very comfortable; I just packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and kept going.”

Play was suspended due to darkness at 7:36 p.m. and will resume at 8:30 a.m.