EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France – Angela Stanford ended her long wait for a first major title when her 3-under 68 was enough to win the Evian Championship by one shot Sunday after long-time leader Amy Olson made double-bogey on the 18th.

At age 40, and 15 years after she was runner-up at the U.S. Women’s Open, Stanford’s wild final few holes gave her a 12-under total of 272.

Olson missed a six-foot putt for bogey on the 18th to force a playoff, while Stanford waited near the green signing autographs for dozens of young spectators.

Stanford, who got the last of her five LPGA Tour titles in 2012, put her hands to her mouth on hearing she had won, and was in tears during television interviews.

Stanford earned a $577,500 check for making her 14th career top-10 finish in majors a winning one.

Olson carded a 74 to fall into a four-way tie for second place with fellow Americans Austin Ernst (68) and Mo Martin (70), and Sei Young Kim (72). Martin barely missed with a birdie chance on the 18th to face Stanford in a playoff.

Canada’s Brooke Henderson finished in a tie for 10th at 8 under. The 21-year-old from Smiths Falls, Ont., shot a 3-under 68 to rebound from a 1 over on Saturday. Alena Sharp of Hamilton closed with an even-par 71 and tied for 37th, while Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., tied for 49th at 3 over.

Round of ?? for @BrookeHenderson, who finished tied for 10th at the @EvianChamp to collect another top 10 major finish! ?? pic.twitter.com/A5g1l3VMOp

— CP Women's Open (@cpwomensopen) September 16, 2018

After Olson was outright or joint leader all day – briefly with Stanford at 13 under with four holes to play – she three-putted to end her championship with a career-best result.

“It’s disappointing to finish like that,” said the 26-year-old Olson, whose previous best finish in an LPGA event was tied for seventh in 2014.

Playing in the second-last group, Stanford went eagle-double bogey-birdie from the 15th, then saw her birdie chance brush the hole on No. 18.

She crouched with her hands on her head, tapped in for par, then went to sign autographs out of sight of the playing area.

Seeking a first LPGA title, Olson teed off two shots ahead of Kim and then gave one back at the par-3 2nd hole.

The leaderboard changed little on the front nine until Olson made bogey at the par-3 8th. She stayed as joint leader with Kim on 13 under – three shots clear – only when Kim’s putt from off the same green hit the pin and stayed out.

Olson’s two-shot lead was soon restored after Kim’s double bogey 6 at the 10th. She padded her lead to three with a tap-in for birdie at the par-5 13th.

Two more Americans, Stanford and Ernst, joined Kim three behind Olson, who let a good chance slip at the par-5 15th after her short approach chip to the green was weak.

In a wild ride for Stanford, she joined Olson on 13-under after making eagle at the 15th, then gave back both shots at the par-3 16th. Soon, Stanford punched the air with her right fist when sinking a 25-footer for birdie on 17th.

Olson went to the 17th tee with a one-shot lead on 13 under as Ernst set a clubhouse target of 11 under. Her bogey-free 68 saw several putts lip out.

Refusing to check the leaderboard all day, Olson said she only knew on the 18th tee where she stood. A par 4 would win, but she hooked her tee shot into the rough, and her third-shot approach was well below the pin. A par putt for victory raced past.

LONDON, Ont. — With 19 birdies through three days of competition, Jonathan Garrick managed to pull ahead of second-round co-leader Corey Pereira during the third round of the Freedom 55 Financial Championship, firing a 63 to take a two-stroke lead into the final round.

Through the front nine, Garrick and Pereira engaged in a back-and-fourth battle of epic proportions, exchanging 10 birdies between the two of them.

It wasn’t until a two-stroke swing on the long par-4 14^th hole, where Pereira made bogey, that Garrick took a stranglehold of the lead.

“It was fun. I don’t want to say I was rooting for or against him, but it was fun to see him make birdies because I knew the more he made, the more I wasn’t going to let up either,” said Garrick. “He (Pereira) made a few long putts there and we kept going back and fourth.”

Hole Nos. 14-16 have played the toughest at Highland Country Club this week, ranking first, third and second hardest respectively. Despite the challenge, Garrick played the toughest stretch on the course 2-under par on Saturday.

“I wasn’t even trying to really birdie them,” said the 24-year-old. “I made a long putt on 14, hit a good iron shot on 15 and made about a 15 or 20-foot putt on 16, and it was one of the easiest putts you can get on that green, so I did a good job to get it there.”

Before the week, Garrick, who is playing his third-consecutive year on the Mackenzie Tour, had yet to head into the final round of an event with the lead, but says he is confident that he will be prepared for tomorrow.

“I’ve never done it before, but I felt comfortable today,” said the UCLA alum. “I was just playing golf, I wasn’t too nervous, I was just calm and able to keep making birdies which was good. Tomorrow is the same thing.”

Trailing Garrick by two is Carter Jenkins, who has a lot to play for, currently projected to move into the top-25 on the money list with the second spot on the leaderboard. Meanwhile, with a win, Garrick would move into the top-10 on the Order of Merit, a spot that would send him to the final round of Web.com Tour Q-School.

On the Canadian side of things, for the second time this tournament, Michael Gligic managed to avoid bogeys on his card, making six birdies to sign for a 64, matching his score from day one.

““I’ve been hitting it good for a while and the putter has been good for the second half of the season, so I’ve got one more day in me and we’ll see what happens,” said Gligic.

The round puts him one-stroke ahead of Jared du Toit, and, already leading the Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Year Race, puts him in prime position to earn his third consecutive Canadian Player of the Week award, and fourth of the season.

“I’m really excited for tomorrow. I should be last two, three or four groups so right in the mix tomorrow,” said du Toit. “I have a lot to play for this year still, so really looking forward to it.”

London, ON, Canada — For the third time in four events, Corey Pereira has a hold of the lead on the Mackenzie Tour, this time drawing even with Jonathan Garrick after his second 65 in as many days at the Freedom 55 Financial Championship.

“It wasn’t really anything special until the last few holes,” said the University of Washington alum. “I felt like I left a few out there and made some mistakes, but that’s just how golf is sometimes, you make some mistakes, but stay in it, and I made birdie on the last two and turned a solid round into a really good round.”

Coming into the event, the season could be defined and split into two halves, each involving one of the top-2 players on the Mackenzie Tour Order of Merit. The first half was owned by Zach Wright, who became the first ever Mackenzie Tour player to open the season with six consecutive top-10 finishes.

The second half of the season seemed defined by Tyler McCumber, who became the only player in Mackenzie Tour history to win back-to-back events, quickly following up his victory at the Osprey Valley Open with a win at the Syncrude Oil Country Championship on Petroleum Golf Club, a course his father Mark designed. Adding the Players Cup a few weeks later to all but lock up Player of the Year honours, it appeared 2018’s storylines were set.

Not so fast. With a win at the ATB Financial Classic followed by a playoff loss at last week’s Mackenzie Investments Open, Corey Pereira has quickly become a name to recognize among professional golf circles.

With a win this week, Pereira would leapfrog George Cunningham and aforementioned Wright to finish the season at No. 2 on the year-end Order of Merit.

While the start of the season for Pereira allowed him to keep pace in the race for The Five, none of his finishes jumped off the page, but, beginning at the Syncrude Oil Country Championship, he has played his past 18 rounds on the Mackenzie Tour under par, earning $62,020 in that stretch.

“I can’t pinpoint anything special, I just stuck to the process and the pieces have come together, that’s just what golf is,” said Pereira. “Sometimes you’ll have a bad few months, but if you keep doing the right things I believe you can turn it around, I wasn’t far off at the start of the season, but I’ve put the pieces together.”

Pereira’s 65s at Highland Country Club have come in different ways, with the first a clean-carded five-birdie round. The second, an up-and-down day with seven birdies and a pair of bogeys.

“I’m handling everything well so far,” said the second-year pro. “The weekend will be a test for sure, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Joining Pereira at the top of the leaderboard is first-round co-leader Jonathan Garrick, who closed his second round with three birdies in his final four holes to sign for a 67.

The race for both Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Week and Canadian Player of the Year are led by Michael Gligic, who “grinded” his way to a second-round 69 to put himself one-stroke ahead of Taylor Pendrith.

OTTAWA, Ont. — It was a hotly contested finale at Camelot Golf & Country Club in Ottawa on Friday but when all was said and done, after a sudden death playoff on the 18^th hole, it was Italy who prevailed over the USA to capture gold at the 2018 World Junior Girls Championship.

The Italian team, who led by as much as 10 strokes earlier in the week, needed to find an extra gear after regulation play concluded with both countries tied at 22 under. It found it in the form of team stalwart Alessia Nobilio, who sank a final birdie in the last playoff group to capture Italy’s first medal at the World Junior Girls Championship. Nobilio’s teammates Caterina Don and Emilie Paltrinieri, who were waiting anxiously greenside locking arms with coach Enrico Trentin, rushed the green to congratulate the young Italian golfer who led her team all week with her splendid play.

It was a bittersweet defeat for the USA, who managed to close a nine-stroke gap yesterday, only to come up short in the end. But for the Italian team, the relief was palpable.

“We had a one-shot lead going into the last round and, you know, in a team event, anything can happen, one shot lead is really nothing,” said Paltrinieri, who was accompanied by her teammates and served as a de facto spokesperson for the team, post-victory. “When we came up to 18, we were quite close, we were actually behind, but Alessia made that great birdie on the finishing hole to force overtime,” added the young golfer from Parigi, Italy.

It is obvious that there is real chemistry between the three Italian girls, who recently competed as a unit at the World Amateur Team Championship in Ireland, placing 6^th. That chemistry and mutual friendship serves them well. “When we came here, we celebrated Alessia’s birthday together, being friends is the key for our team, we support each other, when one of us shoots 6 under, we want the other one to shoot 7 under or 8 under,” chimed in Don.

View this post on Instagram

Italy celebrates a playoff victory at the World Junior Girls Championship @camelotgolfclub ????

A post shared by Golf Canada (@thegolfcanada) on Sep 14, 2018 at 12:28pm PDT

The team spirit was key in acquiring the crown of World Junior Girls Champions for Italy. Joining them on the podium was USA with silver and Thailand with bronze. The Thai team were powered by the fantastic individual display put on by 15 year-old gold medalist Atthaya Thitikul, who shot the lights out at Camelot this week, setting the course record with a fantastic score of 60 (-12) on Friday. The round also contributed to a World Junior Girls Championship 72-hole tournament record of 20 under par. Nobilio took home silver, while American Zoe Campos captures the bronze medal. Brooke Seay of the USA finished fourth at 8 under for the week, while Canada’s Céleste Dao put up a solid score of 70 (-2) on Friday to finish in fifth place.

Team Canada One, comprised of Céleste Dao (Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Qué.), Ellie Szeryk (London, Ont.) and Tiffany Kong (Vancouver, B.C.) finished fourth in the team competition with a score of 10 under. Emily Zhu (Richmond Hill, Ont.), Sarah Beqaj (Toronto, Ont.) and Lauren Kim (Surrey, B.C.) who make up Canada Two, completed the week in 18th place.

The World Junior Girls Championship was conducted by Golf Canada in partnership with Golf Ontario and supported by the R&A and the International Golf Federation. Recognized as an ‘A’ ranked event by the World Amateur Golf Rankings, the World Junior Girls Championship was in its fifth edition. Canada will host again next year.

Full results and tournament information can be consulted here.

Additional information regarding the fifth annual World Junior Girls Championship can be found on the competition’s website.

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France _ Canada’s Brooke Henderson is two strokes back at the halfway mark of the Evian Championship, the final major of the LPGA Tour season.

The 21-year-old native of Smiths Falls, Ont., is tied for sixth at 6 under after a 2-under 69 on Friday. She’s two strokes behind Maria Torres of Puerto Rico, Mi Hyang Lee of South Korea and Americans Mo Martin and Amy Olson.

After two birdies in a row on Nos. 4 and 5, Henderson had a bogey at No. 6 and a double bogey at No. 7. But she bounced back on the back nine with four birdies and one bogey.

“I feel like my game is in a really good spot,” said Henderson. “To be able to rebound like that mentally I think is really key. On this golf course you got to stay patient, and I feel like we were able to do that even though it’s very difficult at times.

“I’m really excited for the next few days, so we’ll just see what happens.”

Tour rookie Torres, the first Puerto Rican to earn an LPGA card, shot a 2-under 69 before Olson (65), Martin (66) and Lee (66) matched her 8-under 134 total.

“It’s something new and it’s exciting (to lead),” said the 23-year-old Torres, who is ranked No. 184. She missed the cut at 10 over in her only previous major, the Women’s PGA Championship won in July by the South Korean world No. 1 Sung Hyun Park, who won’t play this weekend.

Park (71) started and finished play Friday at 6 over at the sun-soaked Evian Resort Golf Club and missed the cut by three shots.

Olson had seven birdies and secured a share of the lead with an 18-foot par-saving putt on the 18th.

“That was huge,” said the 26-year-old North Dakota native, whose career-best finish in a major is tied for ninth at the ANA Inspiration this season. “Seeing it drop, that’s a lot of confidence going into tomorrow.”

Olson’s working week in France meant she needed a replacement to bake cookies for the Indiana State linebackers coached by her husband, Grant. The Sycamores play Saturday at Eastern Illinois.

“The head coach’s wife made them for the linebackers this week,” Olson said. “She got me covered.”

Lee made an eagle at her final hole, the par-5 ninth, to be the highest ranked co-leader, at No. 59. The South Korean’s two career LPGA wins are more than the other three combined, though Martin won the 2014 Women’s British Open.

One shot back, Carlota Ciganda of Spain carded 70 to follow a 65 that only Torres equaled Thursday.

A seven-woman group on 6 under included Georgia Hall (68), last month’s Women’s British Open champion, plus former major winners Henderson (69) and So Yeon Ryu (69).

Austin Ernst (70) is also two shots back, completing her round minutes before Hurricane Florence made landfall close to her home state South Carolina.

“I’ve checked the weather app every day and talked to my family back home,” said the Seneca native. “It’s more flooding (risk) where I am. Let’s see what happens.”

American amateur Rachel Heck, who is only 16 years old, safely made the cut at her second major. A 73 got her to 1 over.

The top-ranked American, world No. 5 Lexi Thompson, was in tears on the 18th green and missed the cut by one stroke. She swiped her club in frustration after a scuffed chip that led to a bogey-5 and a round of 75. The 2014 ANA Inspiration winner had also dropped a shot at the 17th.

MANSONVILLE, Que. – Golf Canada’s seventh regional junior golf championship of 2018 is set to take begin on Friday as the Future Links, driven by Acura Fall Series gets underway at Owl’s Head Golf Club.

The tournament marks the beginning of the Future Links, driven by Acura Fall Series — a two-championship extension taking place for the first time in the fall of 2018. With the addition, the Future Links championship series now features eight tournaments through the course of the season, each hosted in conjunction with the respective provincial association.

The 54-hole stroke play tournament will begin with a practice round on Sept. 13 before the tournament gets underway with round one on Sept. 14.

Designed by renowned architect Graham Cooke, Owl’s Head Golf Club will challenge the field through its strategically placed white silica bunkers and water hazards on six of its fairways.

“Golf Quebec is pleased to host the inaugural Fall Series event with Golf Canada at one of our province’s many remarkable facilities,” said Éric Couture, tournament director with Golf Quebec. “Hosting another Future Links regional championship provides additional opportunity for Canada’s premier junior golfers to showcase their skills and continue their development. We look forward to hosting this strong field of juniors attempting to navigate the challenging course at Owl’s Head.”

The field will consist of 81 junior golfers with the top six earning exemptions into their respective Canadian Junior National Championship.

Sixty-one boys will vie for one of three spots into the 2019 Canadian Junior Boys Championship from Aug. 11-15, at Covered Bridge Golf & Country Club in Hartland, N.B.,

The Junior Girls Division will see 20 girls battle to earn an exemption into the 2019 Canadian Junior Girls Championship from July 29 – Aug. 2, at Lethbridge Country Club in Lethbridge, Alta.

A tie for the third position will be decided by a playoff following the conclusion of play.

The second Fall Series event and final Future Links championship of the season will take place at Sunshine Coast Golf & Country Club in Roberts Creek, B.C., from Sept. 28-30.

Results for previous 2018 Future Links, driven by Acura Championship can be found here: Pacific, Ontario, Western, Quebec, Prairie, Atlantic.

Click here for scoring, pairings and additional information.

LONDON, Ont. —  There’s just something about Thursdays at Highland Country Club that gets Jonathan Garrick going. In both 2016 and 2017, the American managed 6-under 64s, and this year he improved his stellar resume, throwing a co-leading 63 on the board at the Freedom 55 Financial Championship.

“I was hitting my irons well and gave myself a lot of chances,” said Garrick, who finished in a tie for 41^st in 2017 and a tie for 28^th in 2016. “I just have to keep it going for three more days.”

Garrick comes into the event playing his best golf of the season, a huge bounce back after missing four cuts in the year’s opening seven events.

“I had a good first round in Calgary and since then I’ve played pretty solid,” said the 24-year-old. “I’ve been near the top of the leaderboard at some point during every event and I’m gaining more confidence. I’ve really just stopped overthinking what I’ve been doing.”

Garrick’s first round in Calgary, a 9-under 63, set the UCLA alum up for his best finish of the season, a T5 that put him well inside the top-60 and all but secured his spot at the year’s final event for the third consecutive year.

Next to Garrick on the leaderboard is 22-year-old Danny Walker. The recent University of Virginia grad made five birdies as well as the only eagle of the day on No. 3 to sign for his lowest score since a 62 at the Lethbridge Paradise Canyon Open helped him to a T9 finish, his best as a professional.

Last season, Jared du Toit claimed Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Year honours after finishing T17 at the event, highlighted by a first-round 61. This time around, Du Toit sits just one off the lead after a first-round 64 matches him with fellow Canadian Michael Gligic in a tie for third.

If the second round was an all-Italian affair yesterday, it is Canada that led the charge on moving day at Camelot Golf & Country Club in Ottawa, where the third round of play for the World Junior Girls Championship took place.

Vancouver product Tiffany Kong led the way for Team Canada One, who registered an aggregate score of 10-under 134, halving their deficit to 10 strokes back of tourney leaders Italy. The Italian trio of Caterina Don, Alessia Nobilio and Emilie Paltrinieri cooled off after their torrid opening rounds to notch a team score of one over par (145). They saw their comfortable 10-stroke lead dwindle to a single shot over the USA, who sit at 15 under thanks to a stellar third round of 9 under par (135).

Team Thailand also had a solid outing with a 139 and sit third in the team standings. Canada One is only three strokes back of the Thai team and within reach of their first World Junior Girls medal since 2014.

In the individual competition, Italy’s Nobilio scored a team-best 69 (-3) today to maintain her seven-stroke lead over American Zoe Campos, who shot a tournament-low 65 to grab a share of second with Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand, at 8 under for the championship.

“I did really well, yeah… my irons were pretty good, and I was making a lot of putts today,” said the soft-spoken California native Campos.

“Eighteen was my favourite hole today… I pushed my drive into the last right bunker, had about 130 in, and I hit 8-iron within 15 feet of the pin and made that put. Always nice to finish with a birdie,” concluded Campos.

Kong had the low round of the day going for a large portion of the contest, a superb score of 66 which featured five consecutive birdies to kick off her round.

“I started off really well, five birdies in a row and I kept the good play going, hit my pars. On the back nine, I thought it’s a new nine holes, so I just wanted to keep it steady since the back nine is very hard,” said the 17 year-old Kong, who moves into a tie for 8th.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Have a day, Tiffany Kong!! ???? #TeamCanada making waves on moving day at the World Junior Girls Championship with a team score of 10 under par ?? #WJGC

A post shared by Golf Canada (@thegolfcanada) on Sep 13, 2018 at 10:07am PDT

Céleste Dao of Notre-Dame Ile Perrot, Que., leads the way for the Canadians through 54 holes in a tie for 5th at 4 under par. American Brooke Seay is 4th at 7 under.

Canada’s Emily Zhu (Richmond Hill, Ont.), Sarah Beqaj (Toronto, Ont.) and Lauren Kim (Surrey, B.C.) who make up Canada Two, are in 18th place, shooting a team score of 12 over in round three.

Team Canada is looking for its first medal since the team that featured recent CP Women’s Open champion Brooke Henderson capture bronze at the first ever World Junior Girls Championship in 2014.

The World Junior Girls Championship is conducted by Golf Canada in partnership with Golf Ontario and supported by the R&A and the International Golf Federation. Recognized as an ‘A’ ranked event by the World Amateur Golf Rankings, the World Junior Girls Championship is in its fifth edition.

Full results and tournament information can be consulted here.

Admission to the competition is free. Additional information regarding the fifth annual World Junior Girls Championship can be found on the competition’s website.

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France – Aiming to stylishly cap a rookie season that Hurricane Maria almost denied her, Maria Torres shared the first-round lead on 6 under at the final women’s golf major Thursday.

Torres, the first Puerto Rican player to get an LPGA Tour card, went birdie-birdie-eagle from the 13th to 15th holes in a 65 that tied her atop the Evian Championship leaderboard with Carlota Ciganda of Spain.

“I just want to come here and play, and whatever happens, happens,” Torres said.

Carefree laughs flowed from the 184th-ranked Torres, who last September was on her home island when the hurricane struck.

In the aftermath, the University of Florida graduate struggled to register for the second part of tour qualifying school. Finally, at Daytona Beach in December, Torres won a three-way playoff to claim the last tour card on offer.

Nine months later, the 2016 Southeastern Conference college player of the year is relishing her first competition in France.

“It’s awesome to be here,” Torres said. “I love it, I’m like almost rolling down the par-3s with all I’ve been eating here.”

Torres matched a target set by the 21st-ranked Ciganda, who had six birdies and no bogeys on the 6,523-yard Evian Resort Golf Club course.

Both excelled on the par-5s. Torres played the four long holes in 5 under, including her eagle at No. 15, against three birdies for the 28-year-old Ciganda, who previously helped Arizona State win a college title.

One shot back, Austin Ernst of the United States made eagle-3 at the 13th in a 5-under 66 to stand alone in third place.

A three-player group on 67 included Brooke Henderson of Canada, winner of the 2018 CP Women’s Open and 2016 PGA Championship; Nasa Hataoka of Japan, who won the qualifying school tournament,  and two-time major winner So Yeon Ryu of South Korea.

Highlights from @BrookeHenderson’s opening-round 67 ???? pic.twitter.com/yfrTd1G1jf

— CP Women's Open (@cpwomensopen) September 13, 2018

Canadian Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., opened with a 2-over 73 to share 56th place. Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., sits right on the projected cut line of 3 over par.

Georgia Hall, a homegrown British Open champion last month, had a bogey-free 68 to stand in a big group on 3 under which included seven-time major winner Inbee Park of South Korea.

Top-ranked Sung Hyun Park had a tough day, shooting a 6-over 77 playing in the same afternoon group as Hall. The South Korean player, who won the PGA Championship in July, dropped shots at four of the first five holes.

“Nothing went well,” Park said through a translator. “It was a very disappointing day.”

Defending champion Anna Nordqvist of Sweden and fifth-ranked Lexi Thompson of the U.S. shot even-par 71s among the early starters, who enjoyed the best of 27 degrees Celsius (80 degrees F) heat.

Forecast stormy rain held off just until the last groups completed play, including 16-year-old American Rachel Heck who had a 1-under 70 in her second major.

“I was looking around thinking I can’t believe I am actually here,” said Heck, a native of Memphis, Tennessee who got a wild-card entry.

VANCOUVER – There’s one thing you won’t see Canadian Adam Svensson do on the PGA Tour next year – hit a ball marked with the number four.

The Surrey, B.C.-native doesn’t know how the superstition started but he simply won’t jinx his game by playing a four, especially on the tour he’s been dreaming of playing his entire life.

While some pros use specially designed balls painted with a lucky numeral, others stick to the factory-produced version, marked with the numbers one through four to help golfers keep track of their shot on the course.

Svensson said he’s never had a bad experience with a four, but he’s not about to risk that changing at this crucial point in his career.

Last month the 24-year-old earned his card for next season’s PGA Tour when he finished the Web.com Tour’s regular season in 14th place on the money list with earnings of US $190,825.

A PGA Tour card has been a “life-long dream” for Svensson.

“Being able to play out there with the guys I grew up watching on TV is pretty special,” he said from Jupiter, Fla., where he now lives and trains. “It’s just an exciting time for me.”

But Svensson has work to finish on the Web.com Tour first. He goes in to this week’s Albertsons Boise Open in 15th place on the tour’s earnings board after posting four top-10 finishes this season and winning The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic in January.

The success follows an off-season full of tough workouts, Svensson said.

“Pretty much grinding it out,” he said. “It pretty much just comes down to working harder than I ever have before.”

Working hard at golf has been a major part of Svensson’s life since childhood. He remembers being at the range with his dad when he was about three, and begging to hit balls.

“I would just sit there for hours and watch him hit golf balls,” Svensson said.

At five, he was out playing with his dad and got to drive the power cart. He steered it directly into a pond, sinking his dad’s clubs. A tow truck was needed to pull the cart from the water.

Svensson was banned from driving for years, but golf continued to play a pivotal role in his life.

By eight he was entering tournaments and at 16, he joined Golf Canada’s development team.

The program offered “the whole package,” from a workout coach to a swing coach to a mental coach, Svensson said, and he credits the experience with helping to turn him into a successful pro.

Svensson noted that he isn’t alone in reaping the benefits. He came up with Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes, who have succeeded on the PGA Tour in recent years.

“There are a bunch of Canadians that have been extremely successful the last few years that I’ve played with on the Canadian national team,” he said.

“You play with these guys your whole life, your whole amateur career and you get to see how they work their butt off and how they’re successful now. It’s pretty cool.”

Svensson also spent two years playing at Barry University in Miami, where he helped the team win two NCAA national championships. He took home freshman golfer of the year honours in 2013 and the collegiate golfer of the year award in 2014.

By 2015, Svensson was ready to turn pro.

“I just felt that my game was ready and I wanted to challenge myself,” he said. “I had a great time (at Barry). I learned a lot and I was kind of ready to set sail.”

He won Web.com’s 2015 qualifying tournament by a record seven shots and earned himself full status for the next year. Since then, he’s continued to work on what he describes as his “aggressive” style of golf.

“I’m a great ball striker,” he said. “I do play the golf course and try not to play other people. My game pretty much comes down to the greens. If I feel like I’m putting well that week and make a decent amount of putts, I’m going to play well.”

To get more consistency with his putting, Svensson hired Ralph Bauer, a coach who’s worked with a number of PGA Tour players, including Canadian Adam Hadwin. They’ve been working together for a few months, practising drills and working on mental strength, Svensson said.

The ultimate goal, he added, is to maintain that consistency when he hits the PGA Tour.

“Golf is so up and down,” Svensson said. “For me, success is playing well week in and week out, making the cut, finishing top 20, top 25. Obviously I want to win on the tour and hopefully I will one day. But just playing consistent golf is success.”