BELLEAIR, Fla. — Sei Young Kim answered Ally McDonald’s ace with a late birdie run to open a five-stroke lead Saturday in the Pelican Women’s Championship, the South Korean’s first event since winning the KPMG Women’s PGA a month and half ago.

The second-ranked Kim shot a 6-under 64, birdieing Nos. 14-17, to get to 14-under 196 at Pelican Golf Club.

“She made a hole-in-one, we almost one-shot lead,” Kim said. “I got a little bit pressure, but I try to focus on my game.”

McDonald shot 68. She had the hole-in-one on the par-3 12th and birdied the par-5 14th to get close to Kim. The American dropped a stroke on the par-4 16th.

“It was playing like 115 front, 127 hole, and there was a little bit of downwind,” McDonald said. “So, I thought a 115 shot, just playing the front edge, would be enough to pitch it a few yards on and let it release.

“Honestly, this is kind of how my strategy works, was everything told me to look a couple paces right of it, so I did. That’s kind of my strategy, because I wasn’t looking at the hole, but then it went in.”

Kim’s victory last month at Aronimink was her 11th on the LPGA Tour and first major title.

“I feel like same, but when standing on the first tee, like announcer, `This is a major champion, Sei Young Kim.’ When I heard that, feels like, `Oh, yeah, I got that.”’

She left McDonald behind with the birdie spree.

“I just trying to keep push myself until the last hole,” Kim said. “Just keep pushing. I think that is way to make more birdies.”

McDonald struggled on the greens late.

“I felt like I played really solid during that stretch,” McDonald said. “I hit good shots. Just unfortunately, my speed got a little off, especially 16, 17, 18. For a little bit, I kind of lost my touch with the putter.”

Stephanie Meadow was third at 8 under after a 68 in the first-year tournament originally set for the same week as the PGA Championship in May

Lydia Ko (66) was 7 under, and Minjee Lee (67) and Austin Ernst (65) were 6 under.

Brooke Henderson is also 6 under and tied for fifth place going into Sunday’s game. The Smiths Falls, Ont., player fired a 66 today — her best round of the tournament.

“I feel like after you make the cut you’re feeling a little bit looser, and I think it’s a great day where you can really, well, make a move up the leaderboard and challenge the leaders. I was trying to do that today.”

Fellow Canadian Alena Sharp (Hamilton, Ont.,) shot a 71 and sits at even par, but is still within the top 20 players teeing off Sunday.

Top-ranked Jin Young Ko was tied for 28th at 2 over after a 69 in her first LPGA Tour event of the year. No. 1 in the world for the last 68 weeks, she has been home in South Korea since the COVID-19 pandemic. She plans to play three straight tournaments through the U.S. Women’s Open.

BELLEAIR, Fla. — Breakthrough winners in their last starts, Sei Young Kim and Ally McDonald were on top again Friday in the Pelican Women’s Championship.

The second-ranked Kim, making her first start since winning the KPMG Women’s PGA a month and half ago at Aronimink for her first major title, shot a 5-under 65 at Pelican Golf Club to take a one-stroke lead over McDonald into the weekend.

Not that Kim was paying attention to the leaderboard.

“Golf is compete with myself, I think,” Kim said. “If you see the leaderboard then I think I think about the other things. I just want to think about focus on myself and what I have to do.”

McDonald had a 66. She won her first LPGA Tour title late last month in the Drive On Championship-Reynolds Lake Oconee in Georgia in the tour’s last event.

“My ball-striking was just a little off yesterday, but managed to play really solid,” McDonald said. “I was able to strike it better today. Had a few more realistic looks for birdie. Overall, I just feel like I’m still rolling the ball really well, which gives me a lot of confidence and takes a little pressure off my ball-striking in general. Feel like I don’t have to hit had it really, really close.”

Kim had an 8-under 132 total in the first-year tournament originally set for the same week as the PGA Championship in May. The 11-time LPGA Tour winner birdied four of the first five holes and added another on the par-5 14th.

“It was a tough to make the chance to birdie on the back nine because pin position really tough,” Kim said. “Pins, most pins were right next to undulation, so if you miss the distance, it’ll come back, all the way back. I had three good up-and-downs. Bogey-free round It was really good play today.”

First-round lead Sophia Popov, the Women’s British Open winner at Royal Troon in August, was tied for third at 6 under with Stephanie Meadow. Popov followed an opening 64 with a 70, playing alongside McDonald and top-ranked Jim Young Ko.

“Ally had a good start, too,” Popov said. “When I started making a couple bogeys she was making birdies, and so I knew she was getting close to me. I think that also helped to push me.”

Meadow birdied four of her last five holes, finishing on the front nine, for a 65.

“My back nine was awesome,” Meadow said. “Played really solid. The front nine I hit barely any greens and made a ton of up-and-downs. Just kept my cool on my front nine, the back nine, and was able to make some birdies coming in, which was nice.”

Elizabeth Szokol was 5 under after a 66.

Lydia Ko had a 67 to join Minjee Lee (69) and Lindsey Weaver (68) at 3 under. Angela Stanford (68), Jennifer Song (70) and Robynn Ree (69) were 2 under.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., fired a 70 and is also 2 under.  Henderson is sitting in a tie for 9th place going into the weekend rounds. Hamilton’s Alena Sharp is one shot behind following a 1-under 71 and is tied for 14th.

Jin Young Ko was tied for 47th at 3 over after rounds of 72 and 71, in her first LPGA Tour start of the year. No. 1 in the world for the last 68 weeks, She has been home in South Korea since the COVID-19 pandemic. She plans to play three straight tournaments through the U.S. Women’s Open.

U.S. Women’s Open champion Jeongeun Lee6, also making her return to the LPGA Tour, was tied for 38th at 2 over, following an opening 73 with a 69. She last played the Women’s Australian Open in February before the tour began shutting down its Asia swing because of the pandemic.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Robert Streb birdied his last two holes on the Plantation course at Seal Island and matched his career low with a 9-under 63, giving him a two-shot lead over Camilo Villegas on Friday in the RSM Classic.

Villegas had an even better finish to stay in range going into the weekend.

His tee shot on the par-5 18th on the Plantation course hit a cart path on the right side of the fairway and bounced enough that he only had a 9-iron left over the water to a front pin. He was urging it to clear the water, and it landed just on the green and left him about 12 feet away for a closing eagle and a 66.

The final two rounds move to the Seaside course, which Joel Dahmen lit up Friday for a 9-under 61 that took him outside the cut line to just outside the top 10.

The last four winners at the RSM Classic each had the 36-hole lead.

“I don’t want to be the one that breaks it,” Streb said. “There’s still a lot of golf left, and we’ll see what happens.”

Streb was at 14-under 128 at the only tournament he has won on the PGA Tour. It was the fourth time he shot 63, the most memorable in the second round at Baltusrol in the 2016 PGA Championship.

Villegas has the same attitude — go play, count up the scores, see where he stands — though he is not oblivious to the attention on his for all he has been through this year.

The 38-year-old Colombian missed all of 2019 recovering from a shoulder injury, and then his world was torn apart when his 2-year-old daughter, Mia, developed tumors on her brain and spine. She died in late July. Villegas has his brother as a caddie — Manny, who also played professionally — and that helps keep his mind on the golf.

“I’m going to be very honest with you, there’s so much happening on the golf course, you’re so focused, and that’s what I’ve been doing all our life. Having my brother on the bag has helped, too. He keeps me in check and we try to play golf when we’re out there.”

On Thursday, he saw a rainbow on the range and it made him think of his daughter.

“Once you get on that first tee, you try to focus on golf,” he said. “I think I’ve done a good job of it.”

Villegas is a four-time winner — his last victory was six years ago — and knows not to get too caught up at the halfway point. Even so, he is building confidence mainly from his shoulder feeling good and knowing he has put in the work.

“It’s not a two-day thing, it’s a process,” Villegas said.

Bronson Burgoon also had a 63 at Plantation and was three shots behind with Sea Island resident Patton Kizzire, who had a 66 at Plantation. Harris English, another Sea Island resident, shot 66 at Plantation and was four shots behind with Kyle Stanley (65 on Plantation).

Of the top 10 on the leaderboard, past Sea Island winner Kevin Kisner was the only one who played the par-70 Seaside course, where he made a 35-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole for a 66.

Merrit, B.C., player Roger Sloan is the top Canadian going into the weekend — he shot a 69 on Friday and sits in a tie for 22nd with 6 under. Corey Conners (Listowel, ON.) is one point behind with 5-under 137. Fellow Canadians David Hearn, Mackenzie Hughes, Nick Taylor, Adam Hadwin, and Michael Gligic will not be continuing on to the weekend after missing the 3-under 139 cut line.

All together, sixty-five players made the cut. Among those missing the cut was Justin Rose, who birdied three straight holes before ending with a bogey from the bunker on the 18th hole at Seaside to miss by one. Sungjae Im, a runner-up last week at the Masters, shot 69 at Seaside and missed the cut by two shots.

BELLEAIR, Fla. — Women’s British Open winner Sophia Popov left top-ranked playing partner Jin Young Ko and everyone else behind Thursday in the Pelican Women’s Championship.

Popov shot a 6-under 64 in windy conditions to take a two-stroke lead over Ashleigh Buhai, with Ko eight shots behind after a 72 in her first LPGA Tour start of the year.

Popov was the surprise winner at Royal Troon in August.

“I think I’m playing with a different confidence level,” Popov said. “You know, the shots are there. I always had them I felt like. I think mentally I’ve never felt as freed up as I do now. I don’t know if that’s from winning the tournament or just overall just having more fun out here. Having obviously an exemption for the next couple years just frees up the swing a little bit, my mindset, I can be a little bit more aggressive, and I think I just took advantage of that.”

At the tricky Pelican Golf Club, the German birdied the last five holes for a front-nine 29, then cooled off on the back with two birdies and two bogeys — the last on the par-4 18th.

“I felt pretty confident coming into the round,” Popov said. “Honestly, probably didn’t see that many birdies on my front. I thought with the wind the course is playing really tough, and surprised myself a little on that front nine. Tried to keep it going, but think the other nine is definitely tough and so I’m happy with my score.”

Buhai birdied three of the last four holes.

“You just have to stay patient, hit to the big parts of the green,” the South African said. “I think in order to shoot a low score today, you got to have a hot putter, especially this afternoon. The greens firmed up a lot and it was difficult to get it close. That’s what I did. I made some good putts coming down. I hit it close on 17 and then holed a nice one on 18 for birdie.”

Ally McDonald, playing alongside Popov and Ko in an afternoon threesome, was at 67 with Women’s PGA champion Sei Young Kim, the No. 2 player in the world.

“Honestly, my ball striking wasn’t that great,” McDonald said. “I just felt like my timing was just a little bit off.”

McDonald won her first LPGA Tour title late month in the Drive On Championship-Reynolds Lake Oconee in Georgia.

Canadians Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., and Hamilton’s Alena Sharp closed off their first round tied for 5th place after shooting 2-under 68.

“It’s definitely a tricky golf course,” Henderson said. “You got to be careful out there. It can kind of jump up and bite you if you’re not paying attention, and especially with how windy it was earlier today.”

Local favourite Brittany Lincicome and Jessica Korda shot 69.

“A lot of the holes it seemed like it was a left-to-right wind, which being a draw player was just really messing with my swing,” Lincicome said. “You have to miss it in the right spot, and I feel like I missed it in the wrong spot a few times.”

Lexi Thompson had a hole-in-one on the 162-yard third hole, her 12th of the day.

“Hit a full 9-iron and it was kind of flagged right off the face,” Thompson said. “I kind of went off a guy behind the green. He put his hands up. I couldn’t tell if it went in or not. But it’s a great feeling, even though there was only about ten people that saw it.”

She bogeyed three of the next four holes in a 70.

U.S. Women’s Open champion Jeongeun Lee6, also making her return to the LPGA Tour, had a double bogey and two bogeys in a 73. She last played the Women’s Australian Open in February before the tour began shutting down its Asia swing because of the pandemic.

The first-year tournament was originally to be held the same week as the PGA Championship in May.

ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. — Moving on from a devastating summer of losing his child, Camilo Villegas made a 10-foot birdie putt on his final hole Thursday for a 6-under 64 and a share of the lead with Matt Wallace in the RSM Classic.

Villegas and Wallace each finished on the Seaside course at Sea Island with big putts. Villegas capped off a bogey-free round on the ninth hole for his lowest score on the PGA Tour in four years. Wallace hit into a hazard on the 18th and saved par with a 30-foot putt.

They were a shot ahead of eight players, a group that included Sea Island resident Patton Kizzire and Robert Streb, who won his only PGA Tour title at Sea Island five years ago. They each had 5-under 67 on the Plantation course, which played about three-quarters of a shot harder.

Villegas was trying to return from a shoulder injury that kept him out all of 2019 when he and wife learned early this year their 2-year-old daughter, Mia, had tumors developing on her brain and spine. She was going through chemotherapy when she died in July.

He’s trying to move on and hang on to memories, and he had one immediately while warming up with his brother, Manny, working as his caddie.

“Got on the range and see a little rainbow out there. I start thinking about Mia and said, `Hey, let’s have a good one.’ Nice to have Manny on the bag and yes, it was a good ball-striking round, it was a great putting round. I was pretty free all day.”

Villegas, a 38-year-old from Colombia, is a four-time winner on the PGA Tour, including the last two FedEx Cup playoff events in 2008. He has missed the cut in three of his five events of the new PGA Tour season, which began a little more than a month after his daughter died.

“I can’t change the past and since I can’t change the past, I’ve got to focus on the present,” Villegas said. “It’s not about forgetting because you never forget your daughter. It’s about being in the moment, being in the now and this is my now. It’s not with her, but it is with her at the same time.

“I love playing golf, I love doing what I do. The game of golf has been great to me,” he said. “I happened to have a shoulder injury there for the last couple years that kind of set me back a bit, but I’m excited. I think things are rolling the right way and obviously if I keep doing what I did today, it should be fine.”

Wallace tied for 46th last week at the Masters, and then learned on his way to Sea Island about three hours away that his caddie, Dave McNealy, tested positive for the coronavirus. Wallace tested negative, but he was in need of a caddie. With two courses in the rotation he didn’t know, he decided on a local caddie named Jeffrey Cammon.

“He’s really chill,” said Wallace, who can run the opposite side of that temperament. “He said, `What do you want me to say?’ That was the first question. I was like, `Listen, mate, I don’t need anything. I’ll ask you a question and you answer it just with pure facts of what you think.’ It worked well today.”

Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., both shot a 3-under 67 during his first round, making them the top Canadian players so far at T21. Conners is playing the RSM Classic fresh out of a top 10 finish at the Masters last weekend.

Mackenzie Hughes (Dundas, ON) closed the round at 1 over, a shot ahead of fellow Canadian David Hearn (Brantford, ON). Abbotsford, B.C., players Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin trailed them with respective scores of 3 and 4 over, while Michael Gligic (Burlington, ON) ended the day at 7 over.

The weather wasn’t as pleasant as it was at Augusta National, with cooler temperatures, strong wind and heavy clouds. Nearly half the 156-man field was at par or better.

Sungjae Im, a runner-up at the Masters, began his round at Plantation with double bogey and brought it back to even-par 72. Webb Simpson, at No. 6 the highest-ranked player in the field, had a 68 at Seaside. Tyrrell Hatton, the No. 10 player in the world, shot a 69 at Seaside.

JOHANNESBURG — South Africans Wilco Nienaber and Shaun Norris both shot an 8-under 63 Thursday to share the first-round lead at the Joburg Open, which made its return to the European Tour schedule for the first time since 2017.

Aaron Cockerill of Stony Mountain, Man., who played his first round bogey-free and made two birdies on his last three. Cockerill ended the day one back of the lead at 7-under 64.

American Johannes Veerman joined Cockerill in a tie for 3rd — both players completed late-afternoon runs at Randpark Golf Club in Johannesburg.

Rhys Enoch, Adilson da Silva, Richard McEvoy, Benjamin Follett-Smith and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano all carded 65s and were another shot back.

On a morning of low scores, Nienaber and Norris both made eagles at the par-5 No. 12. Nienaber also had nine birdies but was held back by three bogeys. Norris made six birdies to go with his eagle and didn’t drop a shot all round.

The 20-year-old Nienaber turned pro last year and his best finish in a tour event is fourth. His power was on show at Randpark as he unleashed a 439-yard drive off the tee on the par-5 No. 4. He nearly picked up a second eagle there as his putt hit the cup but didn’t drop.

Norris is also seeking a first European Tour title, although he’s won twice on the Asian Tour. He put together a strong finish by making five birdies on his last seven holes.

The Joburg Open is the first of three straight European Tour tournaments in South Africa before the season-ending World Tour Championship in Dubai on Dec. 10-13.

OAKVILLE, Ont. – Golf Canada is pleased to announce the names of the 29 athletes, male and female, who have been selected to represent Team Canada as part of the 2021 National Amateur and Junior Squads.

Fifteen athletes will compete on Team Canada’s National Amateur Squad, consisting of eight players on the men’s squad and seven on the women’s squad.

The announcement marks a significant increase in roster size, adding six athletes to the previous year’s team. The roster expansion is due in large part to a restructuring of team resources in addition to increased funding support from the Golf Canada Foundation’s network of Trustee partners.

“We are very pleased to extend the reach of the Team Canada program to support more of the country’s top athletes,” said Derek Ingram, Head Coach of the National Men’s Squads. “The new program structure allows our coaching staff to focus more resources on training and sport science with each athlete’s individual results used to determine their respective competitive schedule.”

Team Canada’s 2021 Squad members have all competed and achieved impressive results at regional, national, and international competitions, including medals at the Pan-Am Games, NCAA tournament wins and victories at prestigious amateur competitions. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all athletes from the 2020 Squad were able to return in 2021, provided they met team eligibility criteria.

“We are very excited with the athletes selected – they represent a mix of returning team members as well as talented up-and-coming athletes,” said Tristan Mullally, Head Coach of the National Women’s Squads. “It is a new chapter for amateur golf in Canada and we have a tremendous group of ambassadors representing our country.”

The following athletes have been selected to Team Canada’s 2021 Amateur Squad:

WOMEN’S AMATEUR SQUAD

Taylor Kehoe | Strathroy, Ont. – West Haven Golf & Country Club
Alisha Lau | Richmond, B.C. – Marine Drive Golf Club
Noémie Paré | Victoriaville, Qué. – Club de golf de Victoriaville
Mary Parsons | Delta, B.C. – Mayfair Lakes Golf Club
Sarah-Ève Rhéaume | Québec, Qué. – Club de golf Royal Québec
Brigitte Thibault | Rosemère, Qué. – Club de golf de Rosemère
Brooke Rivers | Brampton, Ont. – Brampton Golf Club

MEN’S AMATEUR SQUAD

Matthew Anderson | Mississauga, Ont. – Credit Valley Golf & Country Club
Cougar Collins | Caledon, Ont. – TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley
Laurent Desmarchais | Longueuil, Qué. – Club de golf de la Vallée du Richelieu
Noah Steele | Kingston, Ont. – Cataraqui Golf & Country Club
Henry Lee | Coquitlam, B.C. – Public Player
Brendan MacDougall | Calgary, Alta. – Glencoe Golf and Country Club
Étienne Papineau | St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Qué. – Club de golf Pinegrove
Johnny Travale | Hamilton, Ont. – Glendale Golf & Country Club

Click here to read full player bios.

National Junior Squads

The National Junior Squad—a U19 program—features fourteen athletes (seven girls and seven boys).

In September, Golf Canada hosted a selection camp at Bear Mountain Resort in Victoria, B.C., to evaluate Canada’s top juniors. In partnership with the Provincial Golf Associations, all golfers were run through a series of testing modules followed by a 54-hole competition.

From March through early June, the Junior Squad will practice out of Golf Canada’s National Training Centre at Bear Mountain—the fourth year that the program has provided centralized training, accommodation and education for athletes during the second semester of their school year. Team members will be immersed in a focused centre of excellence, surrounded by world-class technical coaching staff and experts in the areas of mental performance, physiotherapy, biomechanics, and nutrition.

The following athletes have been selected to Team Canada’s 2021 Junior Squad:

JUNIOR GIRLS SQUAD

Angela Arora | Surrey, B.C. – Beach Grove Golf Club
Katie Cranston | Oakville, Ont. – Oakville Golf Club
Nicole Gal | Oakville, Ont. – Oakville Golf Club
Jennifer Gu | West Vancouver, B.C. – Seymour Golf & Country Club
Lauren Kim | Surrey, B.C. –  Morgan Creek Golf Club
Michelle Liu | Vancouver, B.C. – Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club
Emily Zhu | Richmond Hill, Ont. – National Pines Golf Club

JUNIOR BOYS SQUAD

Willy Bishop | Victoria, B.C. – Victoria Golf Club
Félix Bouchard | Otterburn Park, Que. –  Club de golf de la Vallée du Richelieu
Malik Dao | Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Qué. – Summerlea Golf & Country Club
Ashton McCulloch | Kingston, Ont. – Cataraqui Golf & Country Club
Owen Mullen | Shortts Lake, N.S. – Truro Golf Club
JP Parr | St-Célestin, Qué. – Club de golf Ki-8-eb Golf
Hunter Thomson | Calgary, Alta. – Glencoe Golf & Country Club

Click here to read full player bios.

Team Canada Coaching Staff Announced 

Golf Canada is pleased to announce the 2021 Team Canada coaching staff that will support both the National Amateur and Junior Squads.

For the amateur squads, Derek Ingram of Winnipeg returns as men’s head coach with support from assistant coach Andrew Parr of London, Ont. On the women’s side, Tristan Mullally of Dundas, Ont., returns as head coach.

On the junior side, Robert Ratcliffe of Comox, B.C., will lead the centralized Junior Squads at the National Training Centre in Bear Mountain for the fourth year. He will receive support from newly named coach Jennifer Greggain, also of Comox, B.C.

Players will have access to Team Canada’s sport science staff, which includes physiotherapist Greg Redman and Psychologist Dr. Adrienne Leslie-Toogood supporting the men’s team with physiotherapist Andrea Kosa and mental performance consultant Christie Gialloreto supporting the women. The Junior Squads will continue to receive sport science support from the Canadian Sport Institute Pacific in the areas of strength & conditioning, physiotherapy, mental performance, and nutrition.

“Team Canada has shown tremendous success and the coaching staff is well-positioned to lead the increased roster of athletes along with the centralized training program at Bear Mountain,” said Laurence Applebaum, Golf Canada Chief Executive Officer. “Along with every area of the business, we will continue to monitor the impact of COVID-19 to ensure the health and well-being of the athletes and coaches. We now look ahead to helping shape the bright futures of Canada’s top up-and-coming athletes looking to follow in the footsteps of graduates such as Brooke Henderson, Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes.”

Mullally, Ingram, Ratcliffe, Greggain and Parr are all PGA of Canada members.

Golf Canada will announce the selection of the 2021 Team Canada Young Pro Squad in January.

Ralph Bauer is taking on the role of Director of Instruction at Hamilton Golf and Country Club (HGCC) starting December 1, 2020.

After spending the past 12 years coaching full-time on the PGA TOUR, Ralph is looking forward to working with members and calling Hamilton home in his new full-time position.

“After the US Open at Winged Foot in September, I decided it was time to transition off the PGA TOUR and stay closer to home, the Director of Instruction job at HGCC was always my dream job since the day I first applied for it 25 years ago,” says Bauer, who has spent four stints in quarantine and isolation as a result of COVID-19 and has had lots of time to consider his options moving forward. He called his PGA TOUR players and other students to let them know of his change of plans and he is thrilled to have accepted the job.

This is the next step in elevating the member learning experience at HGCC.

“Ralph’s down to earth personality, dedicated skill set to improve the player and increase enjoyment in the game is one that fits well within the HGCC Golf Academy’s mission, visions and values,” says HGCC Head Golf Professional, Emerson Mahoney. “The mission of the HGCC Golf Academy is to provide the HGCC membership with access to world-class instruction and coaching. Under Ralph’s leadership, we will develop programs to improve and elevate the enjoyment of our most novice to most seasoned members of the club.”

Ralph says his goal is to continue to improve as a coach and an instructor. The 25-year member of the PGA of Canada views himself as a holistic golf coach/teacher. He teaches his students to practice properly and efficiently, so they get the most out of their time on the range, avoid injuries and enjoy the game more. He has a deep and abiding love of the game and everything that goes into enjoying it more and all things related to game improvement.

“I have spent the past two decades trying to become the best golf coach in the world and now I’m focused on being the best Director of Instruction in the world,” Ralph says. He has collaborated with many of the top trainers and coaches in the world, has visited and taught students at more than half of the top-100 courses in the world and seen vibrant teaching programs in action. He was the Golf Ontario Head Coach for several years and also had several roles with Team Canada, notably as the Assistant Coach from 2010 to 2012.

Ralph has coached competitors at all four majors, the past two Presidents Cups, the 2016 Summer Olympics and at every PGA Tour stop. His past and present students include Adam Hadwin, Mackenzie Hughes, David Hearn, Graham DeLaet, Nick Taylor, Adam Svensson, Lucas Glover, Gary Woodland, Kyle Stanley, Jhonny Vegas, JJ Spaun, Kevin Chappell, Anirban Lahiri and Brandon Harkins. His players have won 25 Golf Ontario provincial championships and 19 of the last 20 years, he has had a student make Golf Canada’s national amateur team.

“I don’t treat a tour player any different than I would any other student. My goal is to work with the student to improve their game” says Bauer. “I started in the business teaching beginner women golfers at Turkey Point GC 27 years ago. I still remember it as a nerve-racking experience. It took me a few years to understand that my students were nervous too. Now, I try to get my students to feel relaxed during a lesson, so they can be in a calm mental state and ready to learn and improve.”

He lives in Turkey Point, with his wife Margaret. They have three grown daughters; Rebecca, who was the Women’s Golf Team Captain at McMaster University; Rachel who is the Women’s Golf Team Captain at the University of Guelph and Leah, who attends King’s College.

Bauer is looking forward to developing a strong junior program at HGCC. “I believe we can have the best junior program in the world right here at HGCC,” he added.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – The PGA TOUR announced today the 2021 portion of the Korn Ferry Tour’s 2020-21 combined schedule, featuring 23 tournaments to be played during the next calendar year, with the season culminating at the Korn Ferry Tour Finals in August. The one-time wraparound season will result in a slate of 46 total events.

“Korn Ferry Tour graduates are prepared to compete with the world’s best on the PGA TOUR from day one as we’ve seen with our last two PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year honorees in Sungjae Im and Scottie Scheffler,” said PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan. “With a supersized 2020-21 schedule that bridges two years, we’re extremely confident the Korn Ferry Tour will once again deliver an exceptional class of graduates to the PGA TOUR in the upcoming year.”

The Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Aetna, which has been held at The Club at Indian Creek in Omaha, Nebraska, since 2017, moves to the finale of the Tour’s Regular Season, where the first 25 PGA TOUR cards for the 2021-22 season will be awarded based on the season-long points list. The event is set to be contested August 9-15 and will be broadcast on GOLF Channel.

“The season-long race for 25 PGA TOUR cards is at the foundation of the Korn Ferry Tour, and we are excited to bring that incredible atmosphere to the passionate golf fans in Omaha,” said Korn Ferry Tour President Alex Baldwin. “The Pinnacle Bank Championship presented by Aetna has been one of our Tour’s premier events over the last four years, and we are looking forward to continuing that tradition leading into 2021 and beyond.”

The 2021 season will open with the third annual LECOM Suncoast Classic, which returns to Lakewood National Golf Club in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, the week of February 15-21, 2021.

The Tour also announced two new events to the schedule with the Emerald Coast Classic at Sandestin and the Paiute Las Vegas Championship. The Emerald Coast Classic will be contested at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort’s Raven Golf Club the week of March 29-April 4. The Paiute Las Vegas Championship will be played the week of April 12-18 at the Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort’s Sun Mountain Course.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 10 tournaments from the Tour’s original 2020 schedule were canceled. Of those 10, the Lake Charles Championship, Veritex Bank Championship, Huntsville Championship and Live + Work in Maine Open were all set to make their respective tournament debuts. While the inaugural Lake Charles Championship will be postponed to 2022 due to the impact from Hurricanes Laura and Delta along the Louisiana coast, the other three tournaments will be contested between April and June.

Other 2020 events impacted by COVID-19 set to return in 2021 include the Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by MISTRAS, Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation, Visit Knoxville Open, KC Golf Classic and REX Hospital Open.

The Simmons Bank Open for the Snedeker Foundation, contested in Nashville since 2016, will move to The Grove in nearby College Grove, Tennessee, the week of May 3-9, 2021.

The Korn Ferry Tour Finals will be comprised of the Albertsons Boise Open (August 16-22), Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship (August 23-29) and Korn Ferry Tour Championship presented by United Leasing & Finance (August 30 – September 5). The Finals events will represent three of six tournaments broadcast on GOLF Channel, beginning with the BMW Charity Pro-Am presented by SYNNEX Corporation (June 7-13), which will feature the debut of the inaugural PGA TOUR University Class of 2021. The Utah Championship presented Zions Bank (August 2-8) will also be broadcast on GOLF Channel.

More than 25 linear TV partners broadcast tournament programming is available in 145+ countries & territories. Over 80 hours of LIVE tournament coverage is available in 135 countries and territories.

For more information on the 2021 Korn Ferry Tour season, please visit PGATOUR.com.

Breaking the scoring record was on his mind, because, of course it was. Dustin Johnson wanted it, too. He just hadn’t bothered to look the number up.

“It was 19 (under) before?” Johnson asked a Masters official to his right in the interview room late Sunday afternoon. They had on identical green jackets.

Told it was 18 under (shared by Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth), Johnson flashed a shy grin. His expression rarely gives much away; his answers seem designed to deflect attention. A moment later, Johnson admitted that he hadn’t looked at a scoreboard all day, either.

Not after shaky back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 3 and 4 peeled his four-shot lead back to one; nor after three straight birdies on the back nine left Cameron Smith and Sungjae Im, Johnson’s last two pursuers, in the dust. He didn’t see the need to complicate things.

“I didn’t want it to affect the way I played,” Johnson said. “I just didn’t look at it. I took what the course gave me and hit the shots I felt I could hit.”

Coming down 18, though, he finally gave in. Johnson turned to his brother Austin, who conveniently doubles as his caddie, and asked where he stood.

“I told him he had a five-shot lead,” Austin recalled. “I could kick it in from there. He had no clue.”

Green suits you well, DJ. Congrats ?#TeamRBC pic.twitter.com/4qcQ7AHW8x

— RBC Canadian Open (@RBCCanadianOpen) November 15, 2020

Johnson’s distaste for drama is often mistaken for indifference. He came out on tour in 2007 looking to all the world like he was born to play golf – long arms, a slow heartbeat and a syrupy swing that belies its raw power – then won early and, with the exception of the majors, often.

Johnson completed the climb to No. 1 in the world the first time in 2017 and stayed there for the better part of the three years since. He’d won twice already this year and still held that lofty spot when he arrived at Augusta, having already spent nearly two weeks in quarantine after testing positive for the coronavirus to boot. If anyone had a storyline that ran straight through this strange, pandemic-disrupted season, it was Johnson.

Yet nobody was happier when the pre-tournament spotlight focused on Tiger Woods’ chances of reprising his improbable 2019 win, and bulked-up Bryson DeChambeau’s grand plan to carve up Augusta National the way he sliced and diced Winged Foot at the U.S. Open. Predictably perhaps, both were old news by the time Johnson stretched out to a four-shot lead heading into the final round.

That move brought Johnson’s haunting past at the majors back to the fore. In his lone triumph, the 2016 U.S. Open, he came from four shots behind on the final day to win. On four other occasions, Johnson had at least a share of the lead after 54 holes and failed to cash in. Though you wouldn’t have known by watching him play – at least after those early bogeys – the suspense was taking its toll on him, too.

“I proved to myself that I do have it, ” Johnson began, “because I’m sure a lot of y’all think …” and then paused. “Like, when am I going to have the lead and finish off the golf tournament or finish off a major?”

Johnson saved the real surprise, as it turned out, for afterward. In a post-match interview on CBS, Amanda Balionis tried several times to get Johnson to explain what finally slipping on the green jacket meant. Every time he tried to answer, Johnson choked up, fighting back tears.

“I’m sorry,” he said apologizing more than once. “It’s hard to talk. I’ve never this much trouble gathering myself.”

Not on a golf course, perhaps, because inside the ropes, Johnson knew where he was headed. But at age 36, he again faced the question of whether all that talent would be enough when it mattered most, and finally answered it by proving how much it mattered to him.