Charleston, South Carolina – A member of Canada’s National Squad was in the lead after the first day of competition at the Azalea Invitational, an annual event that features over a hundred of the top amateurs in North America.

Hugo Bernard, of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Québec, concluded his first round with a 67, good for the top position of this event held on the magnificent fairways of the Charleston Country Club. The club has a rich history, with roots originating to 1786 when it was founded by Scottish merchants newly established in the area.

The winner of this tournament, held March 22-25, will receive the Frank C. Ford trophy, awarded since 2002 to the Azalea Champion in honour of this six-time winner of the event.

#TeamCanada‘s @Hbernard63 takes a 1-stroke advantage into the 2nd round of the Azalea Invitational. Teammate & fellow Que. product @savoiejoey is T6 ?

Scores ➡️ https://t.co/OxX03KIbAz pic.twitter.com/yYeZygicph

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) March 23, 2018

Joey Savoie, another Canadian National Squad member, had a solid start by posting a 70, good for a top 10 finish. Josh Whalen of Napanee, Ontario, is also in the field and shot a 72 in the opener.

Click here to view the leaderboard.

While spring represents the beginning of a new season and warmer weather, it also represents an exciting time of the year for many across the country.

First, there’s the NHL playoffs which are just about to begin. Then, there’s the Juno Awards – which honours the best in Canadian music.  And of course, the warmer weather also means a new golf season is approaching.

With some of Canada’s top musicians and athletes hitting the ice for a friendly shiny hockey game at the annual Juno Cup this weekend, a number of the participants are self-described golfers; and speak with excitement about the upcoming golf season.

BURNABY, BC – MARCH 22: Singer Shawn Hook attends the Juno Cup Practice at Bill Copeland Sports Centre on March 23, 2018 in Burnaby, Canada. (Photo by Phillip Chin/Getty Images)

“I’m super excited about spring and the upcoming golf season,” said 2018 Juno Award nominee, Shawn Hook. “I feel pretty good about my driving and my irons, but I really need to tighten up my short game.”

The “Reminding Me” singer, who spends half his time out in Los Angeles, says he gets out on the golf course more often than he gets on the ice.

“I would say my golf game is a bit better just because out in L.A. there’s no snow, so I do get out on the golf course during the winter as well; and I’m excited to say that I’m going to be playing at Pinehurst in a tournament for the first time in May,” he said with a grin.

This year’s host of the Juno Awards, Michael Bublé, is also known to be an avid golfer.

“Golf is a fun sport and it’s also very challenging. So it’s easy to see why it’s a sport enjoyed by so many,” added Hook.

While the talented Canadian musician has enjoyed steady success on the charts over the past couple of years, Hook says he’s looking forward to continuing that upward trend in the years to come.

Hook is quick to point out that someone he’s looking forward to seeing continued success from on the golf course is Smith Falls’ Brooke Henderson.

“I’m a big fan of Brooke. I think she’s incredible and I’m looking forward to seeing her win more big tournaments this year,” he said about the 2017 Canadian Press Female Athlete of the Year.

Henderson also has another fan and supporter in 2014 Lou Marsh Award winner, Kaillie Humphries.

“I hear a lot about Brooke and I know she’s been having a lot of success on the golf course; so I’m definitely rooting for her this year,” said the two-time Olympic gold medallist.

Similar to Hook, Humphries ranks her golf game slightly ahead of her hockey game.

“I must admit that my golf game is a little better than my hockey game,” noted Humphries with a smile.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve been on the ice, so my skating skills might not be up to the same level as the other participants,” she explained

Humphries will be joined by a group of former NHL greats, members of the Canadian women’s Olympic hockey squad, and musicians – including Hook – in the Juno Cup.

The event has raised over $700,000 in support of the Canadian music industry since 2004; and will be contested tonight at the Bill Copeland Sports Complex in Burnaby, British Columbia.

“Canada’s got so many talented musicans – ones already established, and many rising up through the ranks.  So it’s just great to be able to play in this shiny hockey game which supports our Canadian musicians,” said Humphries.

“It’s also going to be amazing playing alongside with some of the Canadian Olympians this weekend, such as Natalie Spooner, and the other women from the Canadian Olympic team.”

The well-spoken and thoughtful bobsledding legend points out that it’s definitely a noble Canadian trait to be supportive of other Canadians across all industries and sports.

“Having just competed at the Olympics, it was a great feeling to be able to cheer on and support the other Canadian athletes, and that’s something that’s sort of stayed with me,” she noted.

“And at the end of the day, I grew up in Canada and I’m a proud Canadian; so I’m going to root for Canadians across all professions and support them however I can.”

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic – Corey Conners continues to make a name for himself.

The 26-year-old Listowel, Ont., native put up a scorching nine-birdie effort en route to an opening-round 64, one stroke off the lead held by American Brice Garnett. In his 66th career round on the PGA TOUR, Thursday’s round marked his career-low, bettering his previous-best 66 (-4), which he posted in the second round of the 2018 Sony Open in Hawaii.

Conners, a Team Canada program graduate, is in chase of the outright lead for a second time in three weeks—he held the first, second and third-round leads at the Valspar Championship  after coming into that week as third alternate.

In his rookie season on the PGA TOUR, Conners has made 10 cuts in 11 events. He’ll tee off at 12:50 p.m. in Friday’s second round.

We see you, @coreconn! ??

He's knocking at the door again with an opening 8-under 64 to grab 2nd place early on at the @CoralesChamp ?? pic.twitter.com/0lphySWrsU

— RBC Canadian Open (@RBCCanadianOpen) March 22, 2018

Garnett was 10 shots better than his opening round at Punta Cana last year, when it was a Web.com Tour event. He shot 73-67 and missed the cut.

“I think last year I just kind of approached the golf course wrong,” Garnett said of the generous fairways on the resort course. “To me, this is a second shot golf course. Everybody’s in play off the tee and it comes down to a putting competition.”

Jonathan Byrd was in a large group at 66, while former Puerto Rico Open winner George McNeill was among those at 67.

AUSTIN, Texas – Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed enjoy few things more than trying to beat each other, and that’s when they are partners. The stakes are even higher in the Dell Technologies Match Play.

Win or go home.

Spieth and Reed did their part Thursday by winning their matches for a second straight day to set up a showdown on the skirts of Hill Country in Texas. They play Friday to determine who wins the group and advances to the weekend of this World Golf Championship.

Reed fired the first shot when asked what made Spieth a good opponent in match play.

“I don’t know. My back still hurts from the last Ryder Cup,” he said with a laugh, alluding to the way he carried Spieth in their partnership at Hazeltine to a 2-1-1 record in team play during a rare American victory.

Spieth dodged trouble early against Li Haotong, who missed putts inside 8 feet on two of the opening three holes, won the second hole when Spieth hit into the hazard and thought he won the fourth hole until Spieth matched his birdie by chipping in from short of the green.

Spieth never trailed and pulled away with a savvy play on the par-4 13th over the water and into the wind. He hit driver well to the right toward the gallery, which gave him a clear look at the green without having to hit over any of the lake. His pitch-and-run settled a foot away for birdie and a 2-up lead, and Spieth closed him out, 4 and 2.

Right behind was Reed in his match against Charl Schwartzel, and the South African was 2 up at the turn until Reed won the next two holes to set up a tight finish. Schwartzel stayed 1 down when he missed a 5-foot par putt on the 17th. Needing a birdie on the 18th to halve, Schwartzel could only watch as Reed hit a wedge that nearly went in and stopped a few inches away.

Reed and Spieth are 7-2-2 as partners in the Presidents Cup and Ryder Cup. They are 1-1 in PGA Tour playoffs, with Reed hitting through the greens to short birdie range when he won the Wyndham Championship in 2013, and Spieth returning the favour in 2015 at Innisbrook by winning a playoff with a 30-foot putt.

They don’t have much of a relationship except in team competitions, and even then it’s unusual.

“Because we’re so competitive with each other within our own pairing at the Ryder Cup, we want to outdo each other. That’s what makes us successful,” Spieth said. “Tiger says it’s a phenomenon. It’s not something that he’s used to seeing in those team events. Normally you’re working together. But we want to beat each other every time. In alternate shot, if we don’t win a hole, I want it to be his fault and he wants it to be my fault.

“We’ve almost played every single match we’ve been involved in together against each other,” he said. “We just happen to be wearing the same colours.”

Reed and Spieth have advanced out of group play just once, both in 2016 at Austin Country Club, and both lost fourth-round matches.

“He’s not going to give you holes,” Reed said. “You have to go and play some good golf. And that’s what it’s going to down to. Because I plan on not giving him any holes.”

That isn’t the only match between undefeated players this week.

Alex Noren of Sweden had another easy time, beating Thomas Pieters in 14 holes, and won for the sixth time in his last seven matches. He faces Tony Finau, who dispatched of Kevin Na to win his second straight match.

Defending champion Dustin Johnson will effectively play a practice round Friday. A year after the world’s No. 1 player couldn’t be beaten, Johnson couldn’t beat anybody. He lost to Bernd Wiesberger on Wednesday, and fell behind early in a 4-and-3 loss to Adam Hadwin on Thursday.

Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson still have life.

McIlroy had an easy time beating Jhonattan Vegas, while Brian Harman knocked out Peter Uihlein in the other match in their group. Harman will win the group if he beats McIlroy on Friday; McIlroy has to win to have any chance of making it to the weekend.

“At least I’ve given myself a chance to progress,” he said.

Mickelson, who lost to Charles Howell III in the opening round, rallied from 4 down after eight holes and won the last three holes to beat Satoshi Kodaira. Mickelson still needs Howell, who won against on Thursday, to lose a match.

TORONTO – The 2018 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada schedule was released, featuring 13 official tournaments from May to September and a $25,000 increase for all tournament purses as players compete to make the next step on the path to the PGA TOUR.

The season will begin with the Freedom 55 Financial Open (May 28-June 3) at Point Grey Golf and Country Club in Vancouver, British Columbia, with purses of $200,000 (CA$) for all regular events and a $225,000 (CA$) purse for the season-ending Freedom 55 Financial Championship (Sept. 10-16) at Highland Country Club in London.

In addition to two new tournaments – the Lethbridge Paradise Canyon Open (June 18-24) at Paradise Canyon Golf Resort in Lethbridge, Alta. and the Windsor Championship (July 2-8) at Ambassador Golf Club in Windsor, Ont. – another event to be announced holds a spot on the schedule from Sept. 3-9, with details to be revealed in the coming weeks.

“We are delighted to share the 2018 schedule and the progress it represents with our largest number of tournaments yet and an increase in prize funds. We are so pleased with the accomplishments of our host organizations and our partnerships with sponsors, particularly our Umbrella Sponsor Mackenzie Investments, as we head into our sixth season,” said Mackenzie Tour President Jeff Monday. “We look forward to another great season of players competing to advance their careers towards the PGA TOUR while we continue to build on the $3.2 million raised for charity since 2013.”

Mackenzie Tour players will once again look to make the next step on the path to the PGA TOUR by leveraging their performances into advantages to reach the next level. The Order of Merit winner will be fully exempt on the Web.com Tour for the following season, with Nos. 2-5 earning conditional status. Those players Nos. 2-10 will also earn an exemption into the Final Stage of the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament, while Nos. 11-20 on the Order of Merit will earn an exemption into the Qualifying Tournament’s Second Stage.

Players will look to follow in the footsteps of PGA TOUR winners Mackenzie Hughes, Tony Finau and Nick Taylor, along with rest of the 20 alumni who have gone on to earn their PGA TOUR cards. More than 160 Mackenzie Tour players have gone on to earn status on the Web.com Tour, including 72 for the 2018 season.

Off the course, Mackenzie Tour events will look to build off a second consecutive season of more than $1 million raised for local charities across Canada, bringing the total since 2013 to more than $3.2 million.

After beginning the season in Vancouver, the Tour will head to Victoria, B.C. for the 36th playing of the Bayview Place DCBank Open presented by Times Colonist (June 4-10) at Uplands Golf Club, followed by the GolfBC Championship (June 11-17) at Gallagher’s Canyon Golf and Country Club in Kelowna, B.C., and the new Lethbridge Paradise Canyon Open (June 18-24) at Paradise Canyon Golf Resort in Lethbridge, Alta.

The inaugural Windsor Championship takes place at Ambassador Golf Club in Windsor, Ont. (July 2-8), followed by the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel in Thunder Bay, Ont. (July 9-15) and the Mackenzie Investments Open presented by Jaguar Laval at Les Quatres Domaines Golf Club in Montreal, Que. (July 16-22) after which the top-three players on the Order of Merit earn exemptions into the PGA TOUR’s RBC Canadian Open.

The season resumes in Alberta, with the Syncrude Oil Country Championship presented by AECON at Edmonton Petroleum Golf and Country Club in Edmonton (July 30-August 5) and the ATB Financial Classic at Country Hills Golf Club in Calgary (August 6-12), followed by the Players Cup at Southwood Golf and Country Club in Winnipeg, Man. (August 13-19).

The Cape Breton Open takes place once again at Bell Bay Golf Club in Baddeck, N.S. (August 27-September 2), followed by an additional event to be announced in the coming weeks. The top 60 players on the Order of Merit through 12 events will retain exempt status for the following season and play their way into the season-ending Freedom 55 Financial Championship at Highland Country Club in London, Ont.

Following the completion of the season, Mackenzie Tour players will once again compete against their peers from PGA TOUR Latinoamérica in the Aruba Cup, taking place December 13-15 at Tierra del Sol Resort and Golf in Arub

For more information on Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada, click here.

TORONTO – Golf Canada and many of its partners celebrated the first day of spring by hosting a Preview Party for the 2018 RBC Canadian Open taking place July 23-29 at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont.

The event took place Tuesday, March 20 at Steam Whistle Brewing, located at the John St. Roundhouse.  Steam Whistle was recently named official beer partner of Golf Canada, the RBC Canadian Open and CP Women’s Open.

Nearly 150 invited guests, staff, corporate partners and potential clients gathered to learn more about the upcoming championship, including newly announced RBC Canadian Open corporate hosting experiences.

The event was hosted by TSN senior reporter and golf analyst, Bob Weeks.

Laurence Applebaum, Golf Canada’s CEO, and Cam Heaps, a founding partner of host Steam Whistle, took centre stage to bring official greetings. The pair had this to say following the event.

Cheers to The Good Beer Folks @SteamWhistle! Thanks for opening up The Roundhouse to celebrate with the @rbccanadianopen Preview Party ?⛳️#RBCCO #CPWO #SteamWhistle pic.twitter.com/llvKPXTAnQ

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) March 22, 2018

Corporate hospitality experiences and VIP experiences are still available. Click here for details.

For details on general grounds passes and volunteering, visit www.rbccanadianopen.com.

AUSTIN, Texas – Rory McIlroy put together another flawless back nine, running off five straight birdies.

This time, it wasn’t enough.

Former U.S. Amateur champion Peter Uihlein built a 5-up lead against McIlroy and held off his late charge with enough key shots of his own in a 2-and-1 victory, one of several surprises Wednesday in the opening session of the Dell Technologies Match Play.

Defending champion Dustin Johnson hit two shots out-of-bounds on the same hole, another tee shot in the hazard and couldn’t make the putts that he couldn’t afford to miss on the back nine. He wound up losing on the 17th hole to Bernd Wiesberger.

Adam Hadwin was 1 down on the 17th green and could only watch as Kisner stood over a 10-foot putt for the win. Kisner missed, then missed the 4-foot par putt to lose the hole, and they each made par on the 18th for the halve.

Justin Thomas also got a scare, mainly because his opponent had to putt with a sand wedge over the last 12 holes.

McIlroy was coming off a victory in the Arnold Palmer Invitational just three days ago, when he birdied five of his last six holes to win by three shots.

“I felt it was going to go two different ways,” Uihlein said. “When a guy comes off a win, next week out they’re either a little flat or still as hot as can be and they’re just going to blitz it.”

McIlroy was a little of both. He had a bogey, a double bogey and no birdies as Uihlein raced out to a 5-up lead through 10 holes. McIlroy began his run of five straight birdies on No. 12, and it might have been enough had Uihlein not matched him with a birdie at the 12th and another one on the 13th, when he laid up into the wind on the short par 4 over water and stuffed a wedge into 5 feet.

“I made him earn it at least,” McIlroy said. “I just came away a little fat. I didn’t really necessarily play badly. He didn’t make a bogey all day, so it was hard to sort of claw my way back.”

McIlroy, along with Johnson, Phil Mickelson and Tommy Fleetwood, now have to do some serious clawing to win their groups. All of them lost the opening match in their four-man groups and will need some help to advance to the weekend.

In the two years this round-robin format has been used, only four players have lost on Wednesday and won their group.

One of them was Johnson two years ago.

The world’s No. 1 player lost his first lead by driving into the hazard, another 1-up lead with he drove out-of-bounds twice on the par-5 sixth hole, and he was in serious trouble when his tee shot on the par-3 11th hit off the rocks guarding the green and into the lake, falling 2 down.

“I thought it was the easiest game I could have,” Wiesberger said. “I’m the underdog playing the defending championship. Just go out there and see what happens.”

Plenty happened on the first day as the 18-hole matches lived up to their fickle reputation.

Thomas, who had his wisdom teeth pulled two weeks ago and now is recovering from strep throat, built a 3-up lead that looked even larger when Luke List, whom Thomas beat in a playoff to win the Honda Classic, swung his putter into the hedges after losing the hole at No. 7.

Except those weren’t hedges.

“Turned out to be a wall,” List said.

It bent the grip of his putter enough that he could no longer use the damaged club in the round. List putted with the leading edge of his sand wedge, and he fought back to take Thomas to the 18th hole.

“When he started putted with the wedge, I knew that it would hopefully make it easier on me,” Thomas said. “But it didn’t.”

Jordan Spieth won his opening match over Charl Schwartzel by winning three straight holes to build a 3-up lead through 14 and holding on for a 2-and-1 victory. Spieth again missed a few short putts early in the round when he could have seized control.

The match ended with a peculiar twist. Schwartzel missed his birdie putt on No. 17, meaning Spieth had two putts from 5 feet to win the match. Schwartzel made him hit both putts, the second one from just over 2 feet.

“I missed some shorties to start the round. I don’t hold that against Charl,” Spieth said. “I didn’t enjoy hitting that second putt, and that’s the point.”

Charles Howell III birdied the 12th and 13th holes to go 3 up on Mickelson, who made only one birdie in 16 holes. Mickelson lost his opening match for the first time since John Cook beat him in 2002 at La Costa.

Mickelson, McIlroy and Johnson can’t afford another loss, and even that might not be enough to reach the knockout stage on the weekend.

Six of the matches were halved, and three of them felt like victories.

Zach Johnson was 4 down after 14 holes against Matt Kuchar when the two-time major champion birdied the final four holes for a draw.

Keegan Bradley was 2 up with three to play against 2017 finalist Jon Rahm when he bogeyed two of the last three holes in a match that ended in a tie.

Pat Perez rallied from 3 down with seven holes remaining to halve with Si Woo Kim.

PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic – David Hearn is going to make his debut at Augusta National in two weeks.

Unfortunately for the 38-year-old, it won’t be on the course. Instead it was announced by TSN that Hearn would be joining the broadcast booth for this year, providing unique insights that only a longtime PGA Tour player could provide.

He said Wednesday before teeing it up at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship that this opportunity was an exciting one, but it’s sparked a bit of a fire in Hearn as well.

“It’s probably a bit more motivating to be asked to do something like that, versus anything else. To keep working on my game and to try to get (to the Masters) without having to get there with media,” said Hearn with a smile.

Hearn is playing this week in the Dominican Republic, an opposite-field event to the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Championship (Mike Weir and Corey Conners are the other two Canadians in the field), his eighth event of the 2017-18 PGA Tour season.

The native of Brantford, Ont. finished 128th on the FedEx Cup standings a year ago, just missing out on early full status for this season. He said at the end of last year he wasn’t going to mind taking a little time at home with his growing family (he and his wife had their third child in early 2017) but now that the season has begun to chug along and he hasn’t had the results he’s wanted – missing his last three cuts in a row – he’s getting anxious to get back into a more regular routine of tournaments.

“I think I’m ready to go,” he said with a laugh Wednesday.

He admitted he didn’t play well on the west coast in the events that he did get into, but he’s motivated to get going through this key part of the season.

“I’m rested and ready,” he said. “Hopefully I can put together a good week this week and roll it into another good one.”

Hearn played every PGA Tour season since 2011 before falling out of the top 125 on the FedEx Cup last year. His best year was 2015 when he finished 55th. That was the year he finished third at the RBC Canadian Open, playing in the final group on Sunday at Glen Abbey Golf Club.

He said this year has made him realize, despite his veteran status, that every event is an important one.

“Maybe in past years when I have had access to every event all year long… you take it for granted a little bit,” he said. “But, given this year, my schedule is going to be a little more limited so each event I get in, I have to be prepared and ready to go.”

The Corales Golf Course is set to measure 7,600 yards this week, and more than 4,000 of those yards will come on the back nine – with two par fives tipping out longer than 620 yards.

He said length is definitely a factor this week, but the unpredictable tropical winds will also play into the scoring.

“A lot will depend on how the wind blows and how tricky they want to make those pin placements,” said Hearn. “There is enough length on this golf course that it’s going to be hard to make a lot of birdies hitting long irons into the greens.”

Hearn will be paired with 2012 RBC Canadian Open winner Scott Piercy and two-time major champion John Daly for the first two rounds of the tournament.

And although a win won’t get Hearn into this year’s Masters as a player, he’s hoping a solid finish will spur him on to get into the tournament itself in 2019.

In advance of the modernization initiative to the Rules of Golf which will take effect in 2019, Golf Canada, in conjunction with the R&A and the United States Golf Association (USGA), recently announced a new Local Rule effective January 1, 2018. The new Local Rule will eliminate the additional two-stroke penalty for failing to include a penalty on the score card when the player was unaware of the penalty.

In addition to this Local Rule, new protocols have been put in place to review video when applying the Rules of Golf at broadcasted events. For Golf Canada specifically, this will only impact our two professional opens and not have any impact on our amateur competitions.

For some time, it has been a point of contention with many enthusiasts of the game that viewer call-ins should not be permitted in our sport. Advances in technology and the use of high definition television and slow motion replay have added a level of complexity that has caused undesirable outcomes to many competitions in recent years.

Golf’s governing bodies felt this needed to be closely looked at and a group of experts from the PGA Tour, LPGA, PGA European Tour, Ladies European Tour and The PGA of America, as well as the governing bodies, was tasked with discussing the role video footage when applying the Rules.

As a result of these discussions over the last year, the protocol moving forward will be to assign one or more officials to monitor the video broadcast of a competition to help identify and resolve Rules issues as they arise. Committees will also discontinue any steps to facilitate or consider viewer call-ins as part of the Rules decision process.

All of the organizations represented on the working group will introduce the Local Rule for 2018, and this score card penalty will be permanently removed when the modernized Rules of Golf take effect on January 1, 2019.

As golf’s governing body, Golf Canada will be implementing this new Local Rule as part of their Standard Local Rules and Conditions of Competition for competitions in 2018.

If a committee wishes to introduce this Local Rule to modify the score card penalty, the following wording for the exception to Rule 6-6d is modified as follows:

“Exception: if a competitor returns a score for any hole lower than actually taken due to failure to include one or more penalty strokes that, before returning his score card, he did not know he had incurred, he is not disqualified. In such circumstances, the competitor incurs the penalty prescribed by the applicable rule, but there is no additional penalty for a breach of rule 6-6d. This exception does not apply when the applicable penalty is disqualification from the competition.”

Click here for more information on the Rules of Golf, or to send a rules question to our ‘Ask an Expert’ tool.

This article was originally published in the 2018 March edition of the Alberta Golfer magazine. 

WAIMALU, Hawaii — It wasn’t meant to be for Team Canada’s Christopher Vandette, who relinquished the 54-hole lead to settle for a share of 2nd at the 2018 Hawaii State Amateur.

The 17-year-old Beaconsfield, Que., native built a lead as large as four strokes, holding the outright lead through the first three rounds before slipping in Sunday’s final with a 2-over-par 74. Vandette’s struggles were no match for the surging local Tyler Ota, who recorded a tournament-low 67 to leapfrog into first place for the two-stroke victory at 11 under par.

Despite the disappointing result, the reigning Quebec Men’s Amateur champion held his head high at the Pearl Country Club, showing the composure of a seasoned veteran.

“It’s not the finish Chris was hoping for, but there are a lot of positives to take away from this event and he’ll be come back stronger for it,” said Team Canada Development Squad coach, Robert Ratcliffe. “I’m proud of Chris’ performance both on and off the course… it was a great week all around for our team here.”

Development Squad teammates Peyton Callens (Langton, Ont.), Johnny Travale (Stoney Creek, Ont.), Nolan Thoroughgood (Victoria, B.C.) and Thomas Critch (Austin, Texas) were also in action in Hawaii—they finished 7th, 11th, T14 and T22, respectively.

Click here for full scoring.