The recent proposal of modernized golf rules, set to take effect in 2019, may have absolved Lexi Thompson from a four-shot penalty that cost her a major.

Over the last few months, the Rules of Golf have certainly been in the spotlight. Though most discussions involving the rules have been positive, mostly due to the game-changing announcement on March 1 by golf’s governing bodies that proposed changes to take effect January 1, 2019, there have also been a few widespread groans from golf fans regarding rulings at the professional level.

The most recent of which transpired during the final round of the LPGA Tour’s ANA Inspiration. Walking to the 13th tee with a two-stroke lead, Lexi Thompson was informed by LPGA officials that she would be receiving a four-stroke penalty for incorrectly replacing her ball during the third round.

With just six holes left to play and a huge emotional swing, the American displayed true sportsmanship and poise, fighting back to eventually lose in a playoff. The event drew numerous headlines with many players, coaches and media vocalizing their opinion about the seemingly unfair result, which ultimately cost Thompson a chance to win her second major.

It needs to be said that, based on the current rules, the LPGA Tour applied the penalty and dealt with this unfortunate situation correctly. The tour became aware of a potential infraction through a viewer email after Thompson made the turn on Sunday.

As a Committee, it was obligated to review footage to find out if she did in fact replace her ball in a wrong place. Under Rule 16-1b, a player is allowed to mark the ball on the putting green and she must replace it on the same spot. After carefully reviewing video evidence from the 17th hole of Thompson’s third round, she had indisputably placed the ball in a slightly different spot.

The silver lining for Thompson was that this is no longer results in a penalty of disqualification. In 2016, there was a narrow exception added to Rule 6-6d that was meant to cover a situation exactly such as this.

It states that, “If a competitor returns a score for any hole lower than actually taken due to a failure to include one or more penalty strokes that, before returning his or her score card, she did not know she had incurred, she is not disqualified.” In Thompson’s circumstances, she incurred a two-stroke penalty under Rule 16-1b for not replacing her ball correctly and an additional penalty of two strokes for signing an incorrect score for the 17th hole.

Viewer call-ins and specifically, video evidence, have been a part of the ongoing Rules Modernization Project discussions as the governing bodies prepare an updated code for 2019.

But rather than waiting for the end of this rules cycle, the bodies put into immediate effect a decision to absolve players from infractions, firstly, when video reveals evidence that could not reasonably be seen with the naked eye and, secondly, when players use reasonable judgment to determine a spot, point, line, area or distance.

These standards recognize that a player should not be held to the degree of precision that can sometimes be provided by video technology. It will still be a matter for the Committee to make a determination whether any potential rules breaches could have reasonably been avoided when situations like this arise and when the new rules take effect in 2019.

The 24-rule proposal, reduced from the current 34, has been written in a user-friendly style with shorter sentences, commonly used phrases, bulleted lists and explanatory headings. The joint initiative, intended to make the rules easier to understand and apply, also focuses on assessing the overall consistency, simplicity and fairness of the Rules of Golf for play.

A few highlights of the proposed changes include:

How to drop a ball
Players will be able to drop a ball from any distance above the ground, provided it doesn’t touch anything and falls through the air when dropped.

Time for ball search
Three minutes will be the new maximum allotted time to search for a ball, rather than the current five minutes.

Repairing spike marks
Players will be allowed to repair spike marks and any other damage done by shoes, damage from a club and almost all other damage on the putting green.

Leaving flagstick in the hole
Players will be allowed to leave the flagstick in the hole on the putting green without penalty.

Relaxed rules in penalty areas
Players are allowed to ground their club and move loose impediments in a penalty area (an expanded concept of water hazards).

To review the proposed changes in more detail and submit your own feedback to the R&A and click here.

To do the same with the USGA click here.

This article was originally published in the Family Issue edition of Golf Canada Magazine. Click here to view the full magazine

For the second time in three weeks, the Web.com Tour announced a new tournament set to debut on the annual schedule in 2018. The North Mississippi Classic, which will be played at the Country Club of Oxford, will be held the week of April 16-22, 2018, with 156 players competing for a $550,000 purse. A three-year deal is in place through 2020.

The North Mississippi Classic joins the Savannah Golf Championship in Savannah, Ga., as the newest Web.com Tour events ready to host the next wave of PGA TOUR stars in 2018.

The announcement was made on Tuesday morning at a press conference at the Country Club of Oxford, with Web.com Tour President Dan Glod, Century Club Charities President Jeff Hubbard and Managing Owner of the Country Club of Oxford Larry Britt in attendance.

“We are excited to bring the North Mississippi Classic to Oxford as we continue to grow the Web.com Tour with new events in strong markets,” said Glod. “This community has demonstrated a passion for golf, and we are excited about the opportunity to partner with Country Club of Oxford and the Century Club, which has a proven tournament team that operates a very successful PGA TOUR event.”

“We are confident this partnership will allow us to engage fans, volunteers and local businesses as we look to cement our roots in North Mississippi and increase our charitable impact.”

The North Mississippi Classic will be the third PGA TOUR-sanctioned event to be held annually in Mississippi, joining the PGA TOUR’s Sanderson Farms Championship and the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic on PGA TOUR Champions.

Mississippi is one of just five states to host an annual tournament on all three Tours, with California, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.

The event will be managed by Century Club Charities, the non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization which manages the Sanderson Farms Championship. Since 1994, the group has donated over $14 million to charity through the PGA TOUR stop. The event’s Executive Director, Steve Jent, will oversee the North Mississippi Classic, with proceeds benefitting charities throughout the region.

“Century Club Charities looks forward to hosting another great professional tournament, which will allow us to again showcase Mississippi hospitality to some of the best golfers in the world – all while raising much needed money for a variety of deserving charities,” said Hubbard.

The event will mark the Web.com Tour’s return to Mississippi after a successful 10-year run with the Gulf Coast Mississippi Classic from 1990 through 2000 (tournament was not played in 1998).

The event, which was contested in Gulfport, Miss., produced an impressive list of winners, including major champions Tom Lehman (1991) and Jim Furyk (1993).

The Country Club of Oxford is a 2006 Jim Fazio design that sits just minutes south of the city on some of the most undulating terrain in the region. The 7,000-yard course is one of the home courses of the University of Mississippi golf teams, which annually produce some of the top players in the SEC, including recent NCAA Individual Champion Braden Thornberry.

“The Country Club of Oxford, as well as the Lafayette County, Oxford and University of Mississippi communities are excited the PGA TOUR has chosen The Country Club of Oxford to host this new event,” said Britt. “I, along with my partners and our members, am looking forward to showcasing our club and community. Many have said The Country Club of Oxford is Oxford’s best kept secret. We look forward to sharing that secret with golf fans and to a long-lasting partnership with Century Club Charities and the Web.com Tour.”

With 50 available PGA TOUR cards for the following season (since 2013), the Web.com Tour is The Path to the PGA TOUR. Twenty-five TOUR cards are reserved for the leading money winners at the end of the 22-event Regular Season. Another 25 are up for grabs at the four-event Web.com Tour Finals that follow the Regular Season in September.

The Finals paved the path for immediate PGA TOUR success over the last two seasons for Web.com Tour graduates, with Emiliano Grillo (Frys.com Open), Smylie Kaufman (Shriners Hospitals for Children Open) and Peter Malnati (Sanderson Farms Championship) winning three of the opening four events in the TOUR’s 2015-16 season.

Cody Gribble (Sanderson Farms Championship), Rod Pampling (Shriners Hospitals for Children Open) and Mackenzie Hughes (The RSM Classic) won three of the opening seven events in the 2016-17 season.

For more information on the North Mississippi Classic or the Web.com Tour, please visit PGATOUR.com.

Team Canada came out strong in round one of the Women’s Western Golf Association (WWGA) Championship. Amateur Squad’s Jaclyn Lee and Development Squad’s Mary Parsons hold shares of fourth place at even par through 18 holes at River Grove Country Club in Elmhurst, Ill.

Lee and Parsons carded opening rounds of 72 (E) on Monday to sit one stroke behind leaders Sophia Schubert (Oak Ridge, Tenn.), Hannah Kim (Evanston, Ill.), and Emily White (Saline, Mich.) who are leading the way at 1 under par.

A sophomore at Ohio State University, Lee (Calgary, Alta.) helped the Buckeyes reach the match-play quarter-finals of the NCAA Championship this season, leading Ohio State with a season stroke average of 73.71.

Delta, B.C., native and Team Canada rookie Mary Parsons won the Future Links, driven by Acura Pacific Championship in May – successfully defending her 2016 title. The 18-year-old has committed to attend the University of Indiana in the fall.

Lee’s Amateur Squad teammates, Maddie Szeryk (London, Ont.) and Naomi Ko (Victoria, B.C.), are one stroke back of their compatriots sitting T7 at 1 over par (73).

Ottawa’s Grace St-Germain – the fourth member of the Team Canada Amateur Squad in Elmhurst this week – is T18 at 3 over par (75) along side Development Squad’s Monet Chun (Richmond Hill, Ont.). One stroke behind them is Maddie Szeryk’s 15-year-old sister Ellie who is T26.

Jessica Ip (Richmond Hill, Ont.), Valerie Tanguay (Saint-Hyacinthe, Que.) and Development Squad member Chloe Currie (Missisauga, Ont.) are T42 (+6).

After 36 holes the low-64 qualifiers will advance to the match-play portion of the tournament.

Click here for full scoring.

Brian Hadley is no stranger to posting low numbers at Deer Ridge Golf Club and Monday was no different seeing him shoot a first-round 4-under-par 68.

The 36-year-old head professional from Thames Valley Golf Club leads the field at the PGA Championship of Canada sponsored by Mr. Lube and presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf.

“This golf course is always in such perfect shape with fabulous greens,” Hadley said. “I feel really comfortable out here and it’s really a treat to be able to play this golf course.”

Hadley holds the course record at Deer Ridge, shooting a remarkable 59 in the first round of the 2013 PGA of Ontario Championship.

A pair of first time PGA Championship of Canada players—Wes Heffernan of Calgary and Quebec’s Sonny Michaud—trail Hadley heading into Tuesday’s second round by just a shot after opening-rounds of 3-under-par.

“This event has a long, storied history and it’s very cool,” Heffernan said about teeing it up this week. “There are not many national championships that have the type of names who have won like the PGA Championship of Canada does.”

And he’s right with past champions of the PGA Championship of Canada including Moe Norman, George Knudson, Danny King, Dave Levesque, Eric Laporte, Bryn Parry, Al Balding, Bob Panasik, Tim Clark, Lanny Wadkins, Jim Rutledge, Wilf Homenuik, Stan Leonard, Lee Trevino and Arnold Palmer.

Vancouver’s Parry, who won his PGA Championship of Canada in 2013 at Magna Golf Club, is in a group that includes fellow British Columbia resident Lindsay Bernakevitch and Jean-Philip Cornellier of Quebec at 2-under, T4. Deer Ridge’s own James Skrypec, Oliver Tubb, Philippe Gariepy, last year’s PGA Club Pro Championship of Canada winner Craig Hocknull and Kevin Senecal round out the top 10 at 1-under-par.

For the full leaderboard and second-round tee times, click here.

The 71-player field will be whittled down to the top-16 players following tomorrow’s second round. The final 16 will fill out the match play brackets with the eventual champion winning four match play rounds.

Currently Mike Belbin, Lee Curry, Gordon Burns, Alf Callowhill, Colin Murray and Kevin Stinson would all be involved in a six-for-five sudden death playoff to determine the match play brackets.

Designed by Canada’s Thomas McBroom, a designer known for his indelible golfing concepts that have resonated with players the world over, Deer Ridge is unlike any other creation in the architect’s canon. Opened in 1990, Deer Ridge was ranked the 69th best golf course in Canada by SCOREGolf in its 2016 rankings.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced on the weekend that golf will be extended through the 2024 Olympics.

Golf was already in the program for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and on Saturday the IOC approved all 28 sports from Rio for the 2024 games.

The International Golf Federation (IGF) – the official international federation for golf at the Olympics and Paralympics – released a statement on Sunday.

“We were always confident that golf would deliver exciting men’s and women’s competitions in Rio de Janeiro and even at that, it exceeded our expectations. Now, we are excited to build upon the success from last year as we prepare for the 2020 Games in Tokyo and, hopefully, beyond.”

Golf made its return to the Olympics in Rio after a 102-year hiatus. Britain’s Justin Rose and South Korea’s Inbee Park were the gold medallists.

Canada came to Rio as the defending gold medallist in the men’s competition thanks to George Lyon’s victory at Glen Echo Country Club in the 1904 St. Louis Olympics.

Graham DeLaet (Weyburn, Sask.) finished 20th in Rio and Brantford Ontario’s David Hearn was T30.

In the women’s competition Brooke Henderson (Smiths Falls, Ont.) was T7 and Alena Sharp (Hamilton, Ont.) was 30th.

The location of the 2024 games has not been officially released.

You’ve heard the boilerplate reasons to maintain an accurate handicap factor.

“Level playing field.” “Track your progress.”

Blah, blah, blah.

Here’s the real reason.

Don’t be a cheater. Be a real golfer. An honest golfer.

Oh, I am sure your intentions are good. You stand on the first tee and when asked what your handicap factor is, you say, “Well, I usually shoot about xx.” Then you go and shoot xx minus 10.

There’s no polite way to say this. You cheated. And you are no doubt a little embarrassed. As an unintentional result, there will be whispers of “sandbagger” when your name is mentioned subsequently.

I have no doubt your intentions were honourable and so are you. But because you didn’t have a verifiable factor, you cheated your fellow competitors (who hopefully had a Golf Canada handicap factor) of the opportunity to compete equitably.

If anyone has a passion for this topic, it’s Craig Loughry, Golf Canada’s Director of Handicap and Course Rating. Only he would call the handicapping system “cool.”

“The obvious cool part of handicaps is allowing golfers of any ability to have either a fun, friendly match with a friend or relative or a serious competition with anyone. Look at the alternative. Otherwise, the higher-handicapped player would be slaughtered in a gross stroke-play event or worse, they enter into a heated negotiation on the first tee as to how many strokes each should get.”

Loughry points out that the Golf Canada handicap system provides for golfers who play from different tees in the same event to compete on an equitable basis.

And there are many other advantages to maintaining an accurate and official Golf Canada handicap factor over other informal and unapproved score tracking systems, including being able to observe your progress (or lack thereof) over the course of years.

Consider yourself a “real golfer”?

You’re not if you don’t maintain an accurate Golf Canada handicap factor.

And if we meet on the first tee, you’re not getting any strokes from me.

Dusseldorf, Germany’s Max Rottluff shot a 3-under 67 on Sunday at Uplands Golf Club to claim his second career Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada victory at the Bayview Place Cardtronics Open presented by Times Colonist.

The 24-year old built a three-stroke lead down the closing stretch, then hung on to win by one over Jacksonville, Florida’s T.J. Vogel to earn his second career Mackenzie Tour title. The win moves Rottluff to second place on the Order of Merit, in position to earn Web.com Tour status for 2018.

“It’s great to get a win early in the season,” said Rottluff, who finished eighth on the Order of Merit last season thanks to a win at the SIGA Dakota Dunes Open. “I know it’s a long year, and there are a lot of quality players on this Tour, so I expect a lot of other guys to be in contention, but I’ll give it my best to secure a spot in The Five.”

Beginning the day two strokes behind Vogel, Rottluff was one of several players in the hunt as the leaders headed to the back nine, with Rottluff, Vogel and Lake Mary, Florida’s Jhared Hack holding a share of the lead.

It was then that Rottluff, a former 1st team NCAA All-American at Arizona State, took control, making birdies on holes 10 through 12 to jump in front by two shots over Vogel.

The deciding moment came at the par-4 16th, when Rottluff poured in a 30-footer for birdie to extend his lead to three. After Vogel birdied the 17th but narrowly missed a birdie putt at the 72nd hole, Rottluff needed only a two-putt bogey at the last to secure his second professional victory.

“I knew exactly what the ball was going to do,” said Rottluff of his decisive birdie putt at 16. “I was able to match the speed perfectly, and that was a huge, huge momentum swing for sure.”

The win was extra special for Rottluff and his father Sepp, a former pro hockey player in Germany who is caddying for his son during the B.C. Golf Swing, the three Mackenzie Tour events in Vancouver, Victoria and Kelowna.

“I had a special caddie last year for my first win, and I had a very special caddie for me again this week,” said Rottluff, whose girlfriend Emily caddied for him during his first win last year. “It means a lot for me to pull a win off with him.”

Vogel carded an even-par 70 on Sunday to finish at 15-under and record his best career Mackenzie Tour finish, while Hack and Danville, California’s Cody Blick both notched career-best T3 finishes a shot further behind at 14-under.

Rottluff becomes the first player during the PGA TOUR era on the Mackenzie Tour (2013-present) to win in back-to-back seasons.

He remains the only German-born winner in Mackenzie Tour history and claimed victory the same day that countryman Stephan Jaeger won the Web.com Tour’s Rust-Oleum Championship.

With a total score of 10-under par in a tie for eighth, Stony Mountain, Manitoba’s Aaron Cockerill finished as the top Canadian on the leaderboard, earning Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Week honours and a $2,500 prize.

Check out the final round recap below.

For the full leaderboard click here

The first few shots of Daniel Berger’s final round didn’t give much clue that his second straight victory at the St. Jude Classic was only a few hours away.

He hit his drive on No. 1 into the rough, sent his next shot into the rough far past the hole and his third shot was a chip that didn’t even make it to the green. What was left was an awkward 25-foot chip to save par.

He drilled it.

And from that point on, Berger put together a stellar day on a firm, fast, challenging course at TPC Southwind, shooting a 4-under 66 to erase a three-shot deficit and beat South African Charl Schwartzel and South Korean Whee Kim by one stroke.

Now he just might be one of the young players to watch going into the U.S. Open next week at Erin Hills in Wisconsin.

“We hear a lot about the young guns and about the Justin Thomases and Jordan Spieths, but I feel like I kind of get forgotten a little bit,” Berger said. “I’m pretty good, so I’m just going to try and keep doing my thing and see if I can’t get a few more.”

Berger is the fourth back-to-back winner at St. Jude and the first since David Toms did it in 2003 and ’04. He played a bogey-free round on Sunday, usually avoiding trouble after the first hole. His 17-foot birdie putt on No. 15 put him ahead for good and he finished at 10-under 270.

"Come on!!"@DanielBerger59 is hoping to go back-to-back.

?❓ #QuickHits pic.twitter.com/mkEN9J1zk9

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 11, 2017

“I played really great through the first couple days but I didn’t make as many putts,” Berger said. “Then the last couple days they just started to fall and that was the big difference.”

Schwartzel shot a 66 and Kim shot a 67 to finish in second. Amateur Braden Thornberry and Billy Horschel were among five players two shots back.

Schwartzel played well for most of the tournament, but a 4-over 74 in the third round made for a steep hill to climb on Sunday. He nearly made it, but a long putt on No. 17 stopped just short of the birdie he needed to pull even with Berger.

Stewart Cink, Ben Crane and Rafa Cabrera Bello started Sunday with a one-shot lead on a crowded leaderboard that included 12 players within three shots of the lead. Cabrera Bello stayed in contention for most of the day, finishing with a 71, but Cink and Crane both shot a 73.

The leaderboard was a jumbled mess through much of the final round. At one point, there were nine players tied for the lead at 8-under before Berger finally emerged from the pile.

“I just hit so many good shots coming down the stretch and I can’t even explain,” Berger said. “It’s just – I feel like I wasn’t even on the golf course. It just kind of happened.”

Phil Mickelson briefly had a share of the lead during the final round, but a triple bogey on No. 12 –
which included a shot into the water – knocked him out of contention. He still shot a 68 and finished at 7-under, three shots behind the leaders.

Mickelson, who is not expected to play in the U.S. Open next week because of his oldest daughter’s high school graduation, said he feels good about how he’s playing except when it comes to between his ears.

“The good news is that my physical game is there and I should be able to find the mental toughness here soon,” Mickelson said.

Thornberry shot a 65 and became the first amateur to finish in the top 10 at the St. Jude Classic since 1965. Thornberry, a sophomore at Mississippi who is from nearby Olive Branch, Mississippi, recently won the NCAA individual championship with for the school’s first golf title.

Brantford, Ont., native David Hearn finished T10 at 6-under par after a final round 70. The 10th place finish is his best result of the season to date.

For the full leaderboard click here.

Canadians Adam Svensson (Surrey, B.C.) and Ben Silverman (Thornhill, Ont.) finished T8 at 5-under par at the Web.com Tour’s Rust Oleum Championship, in Invanhoe Il, eight shots back of the winner Germany’s Stephan Jaeger.

The 23-year-old Svensson carded an even par 72 on Sunday at the Ivannhoe Club, and Silverman posted a 1-under par 71.

Coming into the week, Svensson was 60th on the Web.com Tour’s Order of Merit. He jumped up to 45th thanks to his second top-10 finish this season.

His first was a career best T6 at the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship at Corales Golf Club in May.

Silverman birdied three of his last four holes on Sunday and will move from 87th to 61st on the Web.com Tour’s Order of Merit after his best result of the season.

For the full leaderboard click here.

Ariya Jutanugarn was seated by the scorer’s tent snapping selfies with In Gee Chun on Sunday, thinking there was little chance they would return to the course for a playoff at the Manulife LPGA Classic.

A short time later, Jutanugarn was posing for pictures as the tournament champion.

Lexi Thompson buckled down the stretch and missed a four-foot putt to win in regulation, forcing her to return to the 18th tee with Jutanugarn and Chun for a playoff hole.

Jutanugarn found the rough with her drive but her approach was pin-high and she drained a 25-foot birdie putt for her first victory of the season.

That. Winning. Putt. Ariya @Jutanugarn #Playoff #ManulifeClassic pic.twitter.com/Y8VBYu3YE7

— LPGA (@LPGA) June 11, 2017

The 21-year-old from Thailand is a virtual lock to move up one position Monday and knock Lydia Ko off her perch as the world’s top-ranked women’s player.

Jutanugarn, who won five times last year, had three birdies over a four-hole stretch around the turn at Whistle Bear Golf Club. She closed with six straight pars for a 3-under-par 69 that left her at 17-under 271.

Thompson, meanwhile, started the day with a one-shot lead and led by four strokes after a birdie on No. 9. Four bogeys on the back nine did her in, with the final one coming when she three-putted on the 18th hole.

“I had like a five-footer, six-footer, and about a four-footer and missed them all,” Thompson said of her last three holes. “If I made those I would have won, but that’s golf I guess.”

Conditions were warm and blustery for the second straight day and preferred lies remained in effect. Thompson finished with an even-par 72 while Chun had a 70.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., was the top Canadian. She finished six strokes back in a tie for 11th after a 71.

"I really appreciate all the support I got this week – the crowds were amazing” – @BrookeHenderson finished T11 @ManulifeClassic pic.twitter.com/6B27P8JWNx

— LPGA (@LPGA) June 11, 2017

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp started the day three shots behind Thompson but was unable to make a run. She had a double bogey on her final hole and finished at 10 under after a 76. Sponsor invite Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., struggled to an 81 (285).

Sharp, who had a share of the 36-hole lead, was looking for her first career victory in 246 career LPGA Tour starts. Henderson, meanwhile, had an uneven round with an eagle, six bogeys and six birdies.

“Obviously I’m a little bit disappointed, but (tied for) 11th, I can’t complain too much,” Henderson said. “I feel like my game is so close to being so great.”

Jutanugarn birdied three of four holes over the turn and closed with six pars in a row. She earned US$255,000 of the $1.7-million purse for the victory.

Jutanugarn is the 13th different winner on the LPGA Tour this season. Her last victory came at the 2016 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open.

Worth a look ==> Final Round highlights from Canada & @ManulifeClassic where Ariya Jutanugarn won in a playoff:https://t.co/OqxIPHXOqY pic.twitter.com/8O8Tld0BnX

— LPGA (@LPGA) June 11, 2017

Marchand, a full-time member of the Symetra Tour, was making her first career weekend appearance at an LPGA Tour event. She tumbled from a tie for ninth place into a tie for 46th.

The last Canadian to win on home soil was Jocelyne Bourassa at the 1973 La Canadienne Golf Championship.

Manulife will not return as sponsor next season. The LPGA Tour has said it hopes to return to the area and the search is underway for a new title sponsor.

For the full leaderboard click here.