ORLANDO, Fla. – Tiger Woods put on a Sunday charge at Bay Hill that looked all too familiar.

One swing changed everything at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Coming off three birdies and two pars saves that brought him to within one shot of the lead, Woods hammered a tee shot so far left on the par-5 16th hole that it went over the fence, into a backyard and out-of-bounds.

A birdie or better turned into a bogey, and ultimately it didn’t matter when Rory McIlroy closed with five birdies in his last six holes to win. Woods made bogey from the bunker on the next hole and had to make a 12-foot par putt on the final hole for a 3-under 69 to finish eight shots behind.

The margin didn’t reflect the anticipation that Woods might win in his remarkable return from a fourth back surgery.

It was the second straight Sunday that Woods got within one shot of the lead on the back nine. His next stop is the Masters, which Woods has missed three times in the last four years and will be among the favourites at Augusta National for the first time in five years.

Woods was bothered more by the mental mistake than the swing on the 16th hole.

“I was caught. I didn’t decide what I was going to do,” Woods said. “That’s on me for not committing.”

A vintage Sunday charge.@TigerWoods is 3 under thru four holes on the back nine. #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/0aePOvXVrC

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 18, 2018

The 16th hole was playing shorter than usual at 496 yards with firm fairways. Woods didn’t hit the fairway the previous three rounds and still made birdie. He said his options were a driver that he could shape between the left rough and the bunkers on the right, or pound a driver over the bunkers, or simply hit a 3-wood down the fairway and have no more than an 8-iron into the green.

He opted for driver, and then couldn’t decide whether to shape the shot or blast it.

He blasted it, all right.

Woods watched it sail to the left and hung his head when he received the signal that it was out-of-bounds. He drilled the next tee shot 358 yards down the middle, hit wedge to 25 feet and missed the par putt.

“It’s not that hard of a hole,” Woods said. “I wasn’t committed to either one of the three shots I was supposed to hit.

Woods won all eight of his titles at the Arnold Palmer Invitational playing in the final group. He was five shots behind going into the final round, though he had nine players – including three major champions – in front of him.

He began creeping up on the leaders with birdies on the par 5s on the front. He was four shots behind going to the back nine when he began his run with five one-putts in five holes, three of them for birdie. When he made it from 15 feet on the fringe, he was one shot behind and the enormous crowd could be heard everywhere on the course.

Woods still had plenty of work left, and he knew it.

“Even though I got up there, I knew I had to keep making birdies. Those guys had so many holes behind me,” Woods said. “I got to 16 and figured I’ve got to play the last three in 3 under to have a chance. Even that wouldn’t be good enough the way Rory is playing back there.”

Moments after Woods’ tee shot when out-of-bounds, McIlroy made birdie putts of 15 feet on No. 13 and 20 feet on No. 14, and if that wasn’t enough, he chipped in from 40 feet on the 15th to start pulling away.

One thing was clear during the Florida swing. That red shirt on Sunday is back in vogue.

Woods finished 12th at the Honda Classic, was a runner-up in his first time playing the Valspar Championship and tied for fifth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

“If you would have asked me at the beginning of the year that I would have had a chance to win two golf tournaments, I would have taken that in a heartbeat,” he said.

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Canadian Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., put up her third consecutive strong round to finish in solo 3rd after a 3-under 69 in Sunday’s final round of Florida’s Natural Charity Classic.

Marchand, 25, fell just short in her bid for a second career Symetra Tour title, finishing three strokes back in the fog-delayed season opener at the Country Club of Winter Haven. The Team Canada Young Pro Squad member posted a string of three straight birdies to momentarily hold the lead at 7 under par. It didn’t last long though, as Marchand slipped with back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 6 and 7.

.@Britt_Marchand with the easy birdie on No. 5, the last of three straight to give her the outright lead at 7-under par. #FLNatCC #Road2LPGA

Scores ▶️ https://t.co/8Gw7caiuLO pic.twitter.com/wsIaXK2lTB

— Symetra Tour (@ROAD2LPGA) March 18, 2018

She gave way to champion Lauren Kim, who closed the 54-hole event at 10 under par (69-74-63). The only thing that kept her from a real low number, Marchand said, was her putter.

“Backed her up with a couple bogeys, couple three putts. Just a little aggressive on the putting,” said Marchand. “I still felt like I knew I was hitting it well. I tried to erase those and had a little shaky middle. Gave myself a few more opportunities on the back. Another three-putt on No. 16, which is killer. I made three three-putts and shot three-under. There’s potential for sure.”

Performing as well as she did in the first tournament of the year, Marchand has plenty to build on.

“You can’t do anything about Lauren,” Marchand said with a smile on her face. “That’s just amazing. I’m happy with how I came out. I shot better today than I did the last two days. I just wanted to be able to play a solid round and let the chips fall where they did.”

Fellow Canadian Samantha Richdale fell out of contention after a 1-over-par 73. The 2016 champion and Kelowna, B.C., resident finished at 2 under in a tie for 11th.

Elizabeth Tong of Thornhill, Ont., finished T54 at 8 over par (72-75-77).

Click here for full scoring.

MESA, Ariz. – Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee nabbed her third NCAA top-10 finish of the season on Sunday, placing 2nd in the Clover Cup at the Longbow Golf Club.

Lee, a Team Canada National Amateur Squad member, carded rounds of 72-69-71 to close the 54-hole event at 4 under par, one stroke behind the champion Julienne Soo of Oklahoma.

Lee’s efforts paced Ohio State Buckeyes to a 4th place result, 11 strokes behind champion Oklahoma Sooners.

The Ohio State junior will lead the Buckeyes into their next match at this week’s Clemson Invitational on Friday at The Reserve at Lake Keowee in Sunset, S.C.

Click here for full scoring.

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Brittany Marchand was a model of consistency on Saturday, carding her second straight 70 (-2) to hold a share of 3rd place at Florida’s Natural Charity Classic.

Marchand, 25, tallied three birdies at the Country Club of Winter Haven against one bogey on the par-3 6th to sit at 4 under in the 54-hole event, one stroke off the lead. The Orangeville, Ont., native will look to collect her second career Symetra title on Sunday—she’ll tee it up at 1:10 p.m.

Not far off is fellow countrywoman Samantha Richdale, who trails Marchand by one stroke at 3 under par (70-71). The Kelowna, B.C., product is chasing her second trophy at Florida’s Natural Charity Classic—she took home the 2016 title with a thrilling come-from-behind victory.

In total, 60 individuals made the cut of 5-over par and six countries are represented in the top-10. Final round play begins at 8:30 a.m. with players going off No. 1 tee in twosomes.

Click here for full scoring.

SANTEE, Calif. – Sam Fidone (Lufkin, Texas), suffered no letdown in the final round of the 2018 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada qualifying tournament at Carlton Oaks Country Club, closing with a 3-under-par 69 to claim medallist honours at the first of five qualifiers for the Tour. He finished with a 72-hole total of 12-under-par 276, two strokes better than Andrew Levitt (Ladera Ranch, Calif.).

As a result of his play, Fidone will be fully exempt on the Mackenzie Tour for the entire 2018 season. He was the only player in a starting field of 132 players to post four consecutive rounds under par with three of those in the 60s.

“It feels really good. As I said, from the beginning of the week when I walked out here I knew I would really like this golf course. Pete Dye is kind of my favourite designer and coming out here with the atmosphere it’s been great,” said Fidone. “I feel very validated on what I’ve been working on in the offseason and I’m ready to get the season going.”

Fidone took full advantage of things on the back nine during the week, finishing 12-under-par on those final nine holes with 13 birdies on his scorecards.

“Having the full year exemption is fantastic. It makes travel plans much easier and you know you won’t have to wait week in and week on the conditional button. I’ve been there before and it’s tough and I feel bad for anyone that’s there,” Fidone added.

Levitt started the day two back of Fidone but could not close the gap as each finished the day with rounds of 3-under-par 69. However, Levitt, as the second-place finisher, earns exempt status through the first eight events until the second re-shuffle.

Earning similar status are the three other players who finished in the top five: Paul Barjon, Ian Holt and Andrej Bevins.

Fidone made two starts on the Mackenzie Tour in 2016, finishing T15 at the Players Cup in Winnipeg and missing the cut at the ATB Financial Classic in Calgary.

Has been a member of the PGA TOUR Latinoamerica Tour the last two years with 15 starts in 2017 and 16 in 2016. He also made three starts in 2015 before being shelved with an injury.

Canadians Brett Kennedy and Andrew Funk earned conditional status by finishing within the 17-40 range.

Click here for full scorung.

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — The Canadian duo of Samantha Richdale and Brittany Marchand opened the Symetra Tour season on a high note, posting 2-under-par 70s on Friday to sit three strokes off the lead at Florida’s Natural Charity Classic.

Richdale, the 2016 champion at this event, will take to the Country Club of Winter Haven in Saturday’s second round at 9:32 a.m. local time. The Kelowna, B.C., product is paired with Emily Penttilä and Nicole Sakamoto.

LPGA Tour rookie Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., tees off at 1:39 p.m. in chase of her second Symetra Tour win. The Team Canada Young Pro Squad member captured the 2017 PHC Classic.

The pair are trailing leaders Louise Ridderström (Stocksund, Sweden) and Hyemin Kim (Seoul, Republic of Korea), who are tied at 5 under par.

Fellow Canadians Elizabeth Tong (Thornhill, Ont.) and Augusta James (Bath, Ont.) sit inside the cut line at even par and 2 over, respectively.

Second round action gets underway at 8:15 a.m. with players going off both No. 1 and No. 10 tees. Following the completion of round two, a cut will be made to the low 60 players and ties.

Click here for full scoring.

FedEx and Junior Achievement Worldwide have announced the return of the FedEx Junior Business Challenge, a program in conjunction with the PGA TOUR and its tournaments that provides the next generation of entrepreneurs an opportunity to pitch original business concepts during the 2017-18 season.

The RBC Canadian Open is proud to play host one of the FedEx Junior Business Challenge qualifying events this season, while the first will take place at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, March 20. The full schedule of four events is below.

FedEx Junior Business Challenge Qualifying Events Schedule:

• WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play (Austin, Texas) – Tuesday, March 20

• THE PLAYERS Championship (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.) – Wednesday, May 9

• RBC Canadian Open (Oakville, Ont.) – Wednesday, July 25

• Dell Technologies Championship (Norton, Mass.) – Wednesday, August 29

JA students ranging from 15 to 18 years old will pitch their team’s business, innovative products or services to a panel of high-profile judges. One JA student company from each qualifying event will be selected to move on to the FedEx Junior Business Challenge finals at the TOUR Championship and 2018 FedExCup finale at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta for a chance to receive a $75,000 donation to their local JA chapter from FedEx.

“We were inspired by JA students who participated in last year’s FedEx Junior Business Challenge and presented innovative, dynamic thinking with real-world solutions,” said Patrick Fitzgerald, senior vice president, Integrated Marketing and Communications, FedEx. “We’re honored to bring the program back for its second season and look forward to working alongside the PGA TOUR and JA to help empower the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders.”

The judging panels throughout the FedEx Junior Business Challenge program will comprise an eclectic mix of personalities and diverse backgrounds, including PGA TOUR players and other professional athletes, business leaders and media personalities, providing JA students with a broad range of perspectives and signifying that no two paths to success are the same.

2003 U.S. Open (tennis) and former ATP World No. 1 Andy Roddick and three-time PGA TOUR tournament winner Pat Perez are slated to join the panel at the first qualifying event being held at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play on Tuesday, March 20.

Since 1996, FedEx has donated nearly $14 million to JA Worldwide in support of small businesses and the entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

“It’s great to see the program return for a second season and expand its reach by hosting a qualifying event in Canada,” said Bill Paul, Golf Canada’s Cheif Championships Officer. “We’re looking forward to hosting the students and eagerly await to see what terrific ideas they come bring to light.”

Follow the FedEx Junior Business Challenge all season long on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter via @FedEx and join the conversation by using #FedExJuniorBiz.

This video below highlights the 2017 FedEx Junior Business Challenge final, held at the TOUR Championship in Atlanta.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Henrik Stenson had a hot putter, a much quieter crowd and a one-shot lead in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

One week after Stenson returned from his winter break and spent two days with Tiger Woods and his raucous crowds, he made birdie on half of the holes at Bay Hill for an 8-under 64, his lowest round ever on the course the King built.

PGA Tour rookies Aaron Wise and Talor Gooch each had 65. Wise missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the final hole.

Woods again brought out big crowds in the unseasonable chill Thursday morning and gave them quite a show. He hit a tee shot that was out-of-bounds by inches. He atoned for that with a 70-foot birdie putt. And he wound up with a 68, his best opening round since he returned this year from a fourth back surgery.

“I feel like I’m not really thinking as much around the golf course,” Woods said. “I can just see and feel it and go.”

WOW!!! ?@TigerWoods from 71 feet …#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/xO7XWJVv9p

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) March 15, 2018

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., was tied for 48th after shooting an even-par 72. Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., was 2-over 74 and tied for 86th.

Each week is a little better for Woods, and Stenson saw the progress last week. The 41-year-old Swede typically takes a month off between the Middle East swing and the Florida swing, and he returned last week to a grouping of Woods and Jordan Spieth. That didn’t bother him as much as his poor putting.

Bay Hill provided a change in both areas.

“It’s great to see him back competing, but it was a little loud out there last week,” Stenson said. “But that comes with the excitement of having him back and seeing him play well, so I thought it was great. … I guess it’s nice to get a little bit of a breather at times, though.”

It really helps to be putting well, especially on pure greens at Bay Hill that already had a yellow hue to them. He spent the weekend at home in Orlando working with Phil Kenyon, his putting coach, and it seemed to help. Stenson took only 20 putts, tying his personal best for fewest putts in a round on the PGA Tour.

He ran off five straight birdies around the turn, and he followed his lone bogey at the par-3 14th with two birdies and a 10-foot par save.

Woods had no complaints, and about the only thing that went wrong – except for the tee shot on No. 3 that went OB – was his prediction before he left Bay Hill. He was happy with anything in the 60s and said, “There won’t be a lot of rounds out there that will be in the 60s. The golf course is playing difficult.”

There were 13 more rounds in the 60s in the afternoon, including Ernie Els and Rory McIlroy at 69.

Only one of them was pleased with it. Els, who has gone more than a year since his last finish in the top 30, dropped only one shot, on the opening hole. McIlroy had five birdies through 10 holes and then hit out-of-bounds on the 18th hole for a double bogey.

Coming off a runner-up finish at the Valspar Championship that raised expectations of a victory being closer than ever, Woods started and finished strong, with one mishap in the middle.

His drive on No. 3, his 12th hole of the round, sailed to the right and went off a cart path and toward the houses. Only when he reached the ball did Woods find it had rolled into the bottom of a mesh fence. It looked like it was in play, except the poles on the waist-high fence were the boundaries, and his ball was inches outside of them.

He went back to the tee, sprayed the next tee shot under a tree and made double bogey.

And then came the big finish – two birdies on the par 5s, including a bold flop shot from a tight lie over a bunker at No. 6, and the 70-foot putt he was hoping would be close. Woods immediately pressed his hand down, asking for the ball to slow down, and then watched it drop for a most unlikely birdie.

“I was trying to lag it down there and just make my par and get out of here,” he said. “It had to crash at the hole – which I’m not complaining – and it went in.”

He closed with a 12-foot putt to save par from the bunker.

Former PGA champion Jimmy Walker, Rickie Fowler and Bryson DeChambeau were at 67.

Walker was on the other side of the golf course finishing up at the same time as Woods. He holed a wedge from 132 yards on the 18th for an eagle, matching his best score at Bay Hill. It was especially gratifying because he wasn’t even planning to play this week.

He had a trip to Augusta National planned with some friends and club members and thought it was this weekend. Instead, it was meant to be Monday and Tuesday. Walker’s wife, Erin, has a horse-jumping show in West Palm Beach. The kids are with their grandparents skiing in Utah.

“I figured I might as well play,” Walker said.

He had two days at Augusta National, didn’t have a practice round at Bay Hill and felt right at home.

“It’s just golf,” he shrugged. “Just hit the shots. I’ve done so many Monday qualifiers earlier in my career where you never see the golf course. Sometimes it helps because you’re not overdoing it.”

PHOENIX – Jessica Korda had 240 yards to the front of the 15th green Thursday morning in the chilly first round of the Founders Cup. She reached for driver – and caddie Colin Cann didn’t stop her.

While she often hits driver off the deck at home in Florida, she hadn’t attempted it in competition.

“It’s just if my caddie has a heart attack or not,” Korda joked.

The lanky American spared her looper’s ticker with a shot to 15 feet.

“I think the crowd enjoyed it more than I did, but I did think it was really cool,” said Korda, making her third start following off-season jaw surgery.

She settled for birdie on the par 5 – her fifth in the first six holes – after the eagle try lipped out.

“I was really upset, because I was like, ‘That would’ve been so cool,”’ Korda said. “What did I do after that? Nothing. I didn’t do anything after that.”

She did make one more birdie at Desert Ridge, but closed with two of her three bogeys in a 3-under 69 that left her two strokes behind leaders Karine Icher and Chella Choi. Ariya Jutanugarn, playing alongside Korda and defending champion Anna Nordqvist, was a shot back with Inbee Park, Lizette Salas, Cydney Clanton, Mariajo Uribe and Hee Young Park.

Maude-Aimee Leblanc of Sherbrooke, Que., was the low Canadian, shooting a 3-under 69 to tie for ninth. Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., and Quebec City’s Anne-Catherine Tanguay were tied for 61st at even-par 72. Hamilton’s Alena Sharp was 3-over 75 to sit 117th.

Canadian @maleblancgolf sits tied for 9th after the first round of the @LPGAfounders ???? pic.twitter.com/WetaElo0fp

— CP Women’s Open (@cpwomensopen) March 16, 2018

Korda won three weeks ago in Thailand in her return from the surgery, which corrected a severe overbite.

“It’s been difficult,” said Korda, the daughter of former tennis champion Petr Korda and sister of fellow tour player Nelly Korda. “I didn’t know when I was going to be able to come back.”

Though she no longer has constant headaches, she’s still sore and fighting a head cold – all more difficult in the cold and wind.

“If you guys are going numb, just think about how my lips are turning blue,” she joked.

Korda has four straight top-10 finishes, tying for third and second in her final two events last year before the surgery and following the victory in Thailand with a tie for 10th in Singapore. She has worked hard to improve her short game, focusing on her chipping.

“I’m not afraid to miss a green,” Korda said. “I used to get so frustrated missing greens because I was like that’s an automatic bogey. I knew how hard I would have to work just to make par. … It was really bad. It was like really, really, really bad. If I was 40 yards out, I would probably want to putt it.”

Nelly Korda helped mother Regina Rajchrtova – also a former professional tennis player – care for Jessica.

“She was drooling, obviously, because she couldn’t feel the bottom half of her face,” Nelly said. “Taking off her clothes was a bit difficult because she didn’t have any centre of gravity, so she would fall over. It was definitely hard to see her at that stage.”

The 19-year-old Nelly had a 72 in the group behind her sister. She tied for second in Singapore, a stroke behind Michelle Wie. The Kordas’ brother, 17-year-old Sebastian, won the Australian Open junior tennis title in January and is the top-ranked junior in the world.

Icher bogeyed Nos. 15 and 18 after playing the first 14 holes in 7 under.

“With the wind picking up, it’s a little bit hard,” Icher said.

The 39-year-old Frenchwoman birdied five of her first eight holes.

“The fairway doesn’t roll at all and big rough,” Icher said. “Last year, we had much more roll off the fairway and no rough. And the wind. The wind and the temperature. Usually in Phoenix we play in the 90s, so it’s a different course. We have to adapt.”

Choi also finished with a bogey.

“It was windy and tough out there, but every player in same condition,” Choi said.

Nordqvist, a Swede who played at Arizona State, closed with a bogey for a 69. Fourth-ranked Sung Hyun Park also had a 69.

Wie opened with a 70 in the afternoon.

“It was a grind,” Wie said. “This course, generally, you feel like you have to shoot 10-under par every day.”

Lydia Ko had five bogeys in a 74.

WOODBRIDGE, Ont.  – adidas Golf, a worldwide leader in golf apparel and footwear, announced today the signing of Brittany Marchand as she is coming off her most successful season as a professional. Marchand’s contract includes her wearing the 3-Stripes’ industry-leading performance apparel, footwear and headwear as she takes her game to the next level.

Since turning pro in 2015, Marchand has had five top-ten finishes on the Symetra Tour and picked up her first victory at the 2017 PHC Classic. The Team Young Pro Squad member enters 2018 with conditional status on the LPGA and will play a mixed schedule between Symetra Tour and LPGA events. Marchand was one of two Canadians to play through the weekend at the 2017 CP Women’s Open and provided much excitement at the Manulife Classic, where she was tied for 9^th heading into Sunday.

#TeamCanada Young Pro Squad member @Britt_Marchand signs with @adidasGolfca ????

Read ➡️ https://t.co/6kh523EXbV pic.twitter.com/hrlj75V0e5

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) March 14, 2018

“I’m very excited to join team adidas for the upcoming season! I’m proud to be amongst the best players in the world and to wear such an iconic brand. I wore adidas in college at NC State, I know the brand well and I’m thrilled to wear it again. It feels great to have the support of adidas Canada and the global team as I start my career on the LPGA tour!”

“We are very excited to have Brittany join team adidas, and we look forward to supporting her journey as a professional,” said Lesley Hawkins, general manager, adidas Golf. “Brittany joins a marquee roster of adidas Golf LPGA Tour athletes, which includes Paula Creamer, Jessica Korda, and 2017 Major Winner Danielle Kang”.