LOS ANGELES – Tiger Woods is roaring into the new year, preparing to play four times in five weeks in his return to the PGA Tour after a 15-month absence. One of his stops includes a return to his hometown tournament in Los Angeles, where he made his first start on the pro tour as a skinny 16-year-old.

Woods has stayed away from Riviera, which hosts the newly renamed Genesis Open next month, since 2006. He loves the venerable course nestled in a posh residential neighbourhood overlooking the Pacific Ocean, but has never won there.

And that led him to avoid it.

“I’ve just never played it well,” he said Monday as occasional rain pelted the already soggy course. “That’s the only reason.”

Woods debuted at Riviera in 1992 on a sponsor’s exemption. The teenager from nearby Orange County shot 72-75 to miss the cut.

“I felt fine on that first tee but as I took the club back, I never felt nerves like that,” he recalled. “I was skinny. I looked like a 1-iron. I didn’t weigh a lot. I had a lot of speed.”

Woods birdied his first hole and thought to himself: “That’s how you want to start off your PGA Tour career.”

On his second hole, his shot smacked a fence and before long the teenager was 17 shots behind Davis Love III after 36 holes. Love eventually lost in a playoff to Fred Couples.

“I have so far to go,” Woods recalled thinking. “I’m not that good.”

But by 1997, he was Masters champion and well on his way to winning 79 PGA Tour career titles.

“Twenty-five years later, here we are,” said Woods, whose best finish at Riviera was a tie for second in 1999.

From the end of 1999 to early 2000, Woods either won or was runner-up in 10 of 11 PGA events.

The exception was Riviera, where he tied for 18th.

The last time he played Riviera was in 2006. Woods was among those who got caught out in the rain without an umbrella. He made the cut on the number, but then withdrew the next morning because of the flu.

Although Riviera is considered his hometown tournament, Woods is partial to Torrey Pines near San Diego, where he’ll start his season on Thursday in the Farmers Insurance Open. He’s won that tournament seven times along with a U.S. Open playing on a bad knee at the La Jolla course.

Woods will be testing his surgically repaired back starting at Torrey Pines. Next week, he’ll jet to Dubai for an event before returning to Los Angeles for the Feb. 13-19 Genesis Open and then playing the Honda Classic in Florida. A lot of travel in a short time for the 41-year-old.

“If my back feels good, I know I can prepare enough and I know I can play,” he said. “I need to have my health at a state where I can prepare. When I feel that way, I know I can shoot scores and win golf tournaments.”

Plagued by injuries after his first back surgery in 2014, Woods had two more surgeries in the fall of 2015 and didn’t play again until his Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas last month. He finished 15th in the 17-man field.

“I just need to get out there and do it,” Woods said. “I feel like I’m strong enough, I can handle the workload. Feeling good about it and doing it are two different things.”

Three weeks into the new year, Woods already has the Masters on his mind.

“I would love to play and I would love to win,” he said. “I’m hoping I can get everything right, so yes, I’m looking forward to it.”

A routine putt had Adam Hadwin rattled.

All that stood between the Canadian golfer and a third-round score of 59 at the PGA Tour’s CareerBuilder Challenge on Saturday was three-foot putt on the 18th hole. A shot that he’s made time and time again over his golf career suddenly seemed daunting with history on the line.

“It’s amazing that it came down to that one putt basically. I was extremely nervous, I was shaking,” Hadwin said Monday. “The first thought that entered my mind was, ‘don’t miss,’ and the second thought was that I had done it thousands of times and I just needed to it once more, and finish off the good round.”

Hadwin made the shot, becoming just the eighth golfer, and first Canadian, to shoot a round below 60 on the PGA Tour.

Hadwin’s previous lowest round in competition was 62 at a Mackenzie Tour-PGA Tour Canada event early in his pro career. He admitted he was thinking about history and doing the math in his head on Saturday.

“You don’t get into that rhythm or mindset very often,” he said. “It didn’t seem to matter what I did. If I was putting from eight, 10, 16, or 20 feet, I made everything.”

Hadwin ended up second at the CareerBuilder Challenge, earning just over US$626,000. He said celebrations were muted after his historic round as he knew he was entering Sunday’s final 18 with a chance to win a PGA title.

“I had dinner and went to bed, the same thing I did all week,” Hadwin. “My father is down here, my fiancee travels with me, and I had my godfather here. We went home, had some steaks and a glass of wine with dinner. Nothing changed.”

Hadwin nailed a lengthy birdie putt on the 17th hole Sunday to come into the final hole of the tournament just one shot back of the lead. But couldn’t convert a birdie on the 18th as Hudson Swafford captured his first PGA Tour title.

Hadwin knocked in a tricky shot for par to secure second place and his highest payday on Tour.

This was the second year in a row Hadwin was in the final group at the CareerBuilder Challenge. He said he feels comfortable playing golf in the desert and is familiar with the courses in La Quinta, Calif.

He also said the Canadian fan support was special.

“There was a lot of support, and I think it helped. It made me feel pretty good about what I was doing, and it definitely adds to my confidence,” he said.

There will be time for more celebrations soon. Hadwin and his partner Jessica Dawn will be married in March at a ceremony in Phoenix. He proposed in May in a game of hangman, spelling out “Will you marry me” in blank spaces as the puzzle’s solution.

“Everything is coming together, but I’m going to take zero credit for everything so far,” he said with a laugh.

Hadwin has been on the PGA Tour since 2015 after he won twice on the Web.com Tour circuit and earned full status thanks to his position on the money list. His previous best finish on the PGA Tour was a tie for fourth at the 2011 RBC Canadian Open at Shaughnessy Golf and Country Club in Vancouver, about an hour away from where he grew up in Abbotsford, B.C.

He said his result Sunday is going to be good for his confidence this season.

“The first couple of days I felt like I was playing pretty well. But to make everything on Saturday and have one of those days, it got me back into the tournament and I created a little history in the round as well,” he said. “I was happy to be in this position early in the year. It sets me up for future events, shows I can compete, hang in there, and have a chance to win golf tournaments.”

Hadwin is back in the PGA Tour field this week at the Farmers Insurance Open along with fellow Canadians Graham DeLaet, Brad Fritsch, Mackenzie Hughes, and Nick Taylor. This week also marks the return of Tiger Woods to the PGA Tour for the first time since August 2015.

In some cases, I feel that we don’t talk enough about Stanley Thompson. Now this could be because the man was a legend and legends can have books upon books written about them – and even in this day of age, blogs upon blogs written about them. This is the case for this particular blog.

For those of you who might not recognize the name, Stanley Thompson, he was the golf course architect in Canada.  Yes, he did design golf courses outside of Canada but for a man to have completed 145 designs from 1920 to 1952, in a time when travel wasn’t as easy as it is today, this is the stuff of legend.

And it isn’t just because the golf courses he designed were great in quantity, they were great because of the thought and care he took in utilizing the surrounding landscape in “forming” a hole.

I have been lucky enough to play Banff Springs (personally my favorite Thompson course – but I have been told that this is because I have yet to play Jasper) and I was in complete awe of each and every hole. Thompson’s bunkering is unparalleled.

For those of you who have yet to be fortunate enough to play a Thompson design, I will liken it to this – picture yourself at the tee box looking down at the ball (easy), you look up and you see the trees that line the fairway and up in the distance you see the green guarded by mounds (medium), but then bunkers jump out at you and suddenly the bunkers seem to get bigger and bigger and the bunkers seems to angling towards you like a catchers mitt trying to catch your ball (THOMPSON DIFFICULT).

Recently a gentleman walked into the museum and he had a self-portrait of Stanley Thompson in his hand, which was also autographed. My heart skipped a beat. This man, Scott was his name, told me how his grandfather was the greenskeeper at Jasper for over 30 years and this self portrait was given to him by Stanley, because not only was he a greenskeeper at Jasper, he was a foreman in helping build Banff. That man’s name was Jack Milligan. You may be able to find a few references to him but here is a great one written by Ian Andrew.

Scott was generous enough to loan this framed piece to us for use in the small Stanley Thompson exhibit that we have in the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame and Museum. Although small in size, it is a fantastic piece. When I forwarded a picture of it to Ian Andrew he said it was “perhaps the best (Thompson) signature I have ever seen.”

I would like to thank Scott for allowing us to put this piece on display and I look forward to learning more about his grandfather’s personal archives.

PS – Did I also mention that his mother was Rae Milligan, the same woman who competed on multiple international teams with Marlene Streit and Margaret Todd.

LA QUINTA, Calif. – Hudson Swafford a réussi trois oiselets consécutifs avant de terminer sa ronde avec une normale et il a signé une première victoire sur le circuit de la PGA en remportant le Défi CareerBuilder, dimanche.

Swafford a inscrit un score de 67 (moins-5) sur le parcours Stadium pour conclure le tournoi à trois parcours à moins-20. Adam Hadwin, d’Abbotsford, en Colombie-Britannique, a terminé à moins-19

à la suite d’une ronde de 70. Samedi, Hadwin avait signé seulement la neuvième carte de 59 ou moins de l’histoire de la PGA, en jouant 59 à La Quinta.

Brian Harman et Bud Cauley ont tous deux inscrit des scores de 69 pour terminer à égalité au troisième rang à moins-18.

Swafford a rejoint Cauley en tête en calant un roulé de 12 pieds pour un oiselet au 15e trou, puis il s’est détaché avec des oiselets aux 16e et 17e trous.

Au 16e trou, une normale-5, Swafford a envoyé un coup de bois-3 à 12 pieds de la coupe _ évitant la profonde fosse de sable qu’il avait visitée la veille en route vers un double boguey _ et il a eu besoin de deux roulés pour inscrire un oiselet et prendre les commandes. Au 17e trou, une normale-3 avec un vert sur une île surnommée “Alcatraz”, il a envoyé son coup de départ à un pied et demi de la coupe. Hadwin a cependant calé un roulé de 25 pieds pour rester à un coup de Swafford.

Hadwin a toutefois envoyé son coup de départ dans l’herbe longue au 18e trou, ne pouvant vraiment appliquer de pression sur Swafford. Les deux hommes ont inscrit des normales et Swafford a pu célébrer son premier triomphe en 93 tournois en carrière.

Nick Taylor, d’Abbotsford, a inscrit un pointage de 69 pour conclure le tournoi à égalité au 34e rang à moins-9. David Hearn, de Brantford, en Ontario, a joué 73 pour aboutir à égalité au 58e rang à moins-6.

LA QUINTA, Calif. – Hudson Swafford won the fittingly named CareerBuilder Challenge on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title, following three straight birdies with a closing par for a one-stroke victory.

Swafford shot a 5-under 67 on the Stadium Course at PGA West to finish the three-course, pro-am event at 20-under 268. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., came back with a 70 after his third-round 59 to finish second.

“It was just kind of an average week until yesterday, really,” said Hadwin. “To go out and do what I did and put myself in the position to win a golf tournament and to be right there coming up the last with a chance to win still, it just sets up the year and puts a lot of pressure off the rest of the year now. Today, mixed with a good fall, it’s just a lot of positive momentum moving forward and confidence that I can compete out here.”

Brian Harman and Bud Cauley each shot 69 to tie for third at 18 under.

Swafford tied Cauley for the lead with a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-4 15th, then pulled away on the 16th and 17th – a day after he dropped three strokes.

On the par-5 16th, he hit a 3-wood to 12 feet – staying out of the 18-foot deep bunker that he hit into Saturday en route to a double bogey – and two-putted to take the outright lead. He hit to 1 1/2 feet on the par-3 17, the rocky island green called Alcatraz, but Hadwin made a 25-footer to stay within a stroke.

It's not over yet!

Adam Hadwin pulls within one of Hudson Swafford as they head to No. 18.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/HyW9eBoPMT

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 22, 2017

Swafford found the fairway on the par-4 18th with water along the left side, then avoided the water again with an approach to the right side of the green. He lagged his 20-footer to 2 inches for the victory.

Hadwin’s final drive settled in the dormant grass an inch from the green rough and his approach stayed right and settled into thick dormant rough. The Canadian saved par to finish second alone.

“Somebody told me at the end of the day that I had the second loudest cheer going off the first hole besides Mickelson,” Hadwin said. “So, they come out in full support for all of us Canadians. To be able to play well in front of family and friends and lots of people that I know was pretty exciting.”

Five strokes behind leader Chad Campbell after five holes, Swafford birdied Nos. 7-9 to join Campbell and Hadwin atop the leaderboard.

Campbell holed out from 108 yards for eagle on the par-5 fifth, then made a triple bogey on the par-3 sixth – hitting into the water and three-putting. He finished with a 71 to tie for sixth at 16 under.

Phil Mickelson shot a 70 to tie for a 21st at 11 under in the 46-year-old Hall of Famer’s return from two sports hernia surgeries.

PILAR COUNTY, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Team Canada’s Hugo Bernard saved his strongest play for Sunday’s final round of action at the South American Amateur, carding a 5-under par 67 to jump into a three-way tie for seventh place.

Bernard, a Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que., native, recorded six birdies at the Martindale Country Club en route to finishing as the low Canadian at 6-under par. The 22-year-old trailed men’s champion Paul Chaplet of Costa Rica, who secured a two-stroke victory at 14-under par.

Team Canada’s Development Squad duo of Peyton Callens and A.J. Ewart also played some of their best golf on Sunday. Callens, a Langton, Ont., product, posted a 1-under 71 to squeeze inside the top-20 with a share of 17^th at even-par for the tournament (73-74-70-71). Coquitlam, B.C., native Ewart followed with an even-par 72, his lowest score at the event (75-75-77-72).

Richmond Hill, Ont., native Monet Chun continued her steady play to lead the way for the Canadian women. Chun, 16, closed with a 1-under 71 to also record her strongest round at the event, lifting her to a solo 16^th finish.

Teammate Mary Parsons of Delta, B.C., also followed suit with the strong Canadian play on Sunday, carding a 2-under 70 to jump nine spots up the leaderboard into solo 32^nd at 15-over par.

The women’s field could not keep up with the surging medallist Isabella Fierro of Mexico, who ran away with a 10-stroke victory at 14-under par (68-71-67-68). Fierro adds yet another impressive result to her resume; she recently took home medallist honours at the Mexican Amateur earlier this month.

Click here for live scoring.

LA QUINTA, Calif. – Adam Hadwin shot a 13-under 59 on Saturday in the CareerBuilder Challenge for the ninth sub-60 round in PGA Tour history and the second in 10 days.

In cool, clear conditions in the desert after rain the previous two days, the 29-year-old Canadian made a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-4 17th and got up-and-down for par – making a 3-footer – from just off the green on the par-4 18th at La Quinta Country Club.

“Wow! I don’t really know what to say just yet. I think it’s still sinking in,” Hadwin said. “I think everybody talks about kind of they were in a zone and I think that’s kind of what happened. I was thinking about it. I knew exactly where I was. I knew exactly what I needed to do. It just didn’t seem to matter.”

Justin Thomas had an 11-under 59 last week in Hawaii in the first round of his Sony Open victory. Hadwin matched David Duval’s tournament record, a 13-under 59 on the Arnold Palmer Private Course in the final round of his 1999 victory. Jim Furyk shot a tour-record 12-under 58 last year in the Travelers Championship.

Hadwin took the lead at 17-under 199 after starting the day tied for 49th at 4 under, a stroke below the eventual cut. He played the first two days at PGA West, shooting 71 on the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course and 69 on the Stadium Course – the site of the final round Sunday.

“The Stadium Course is a much tougher course than La Quinta,” Hadwin said. “It’s a Sunday. I got a chance to win a golf tournament. That’s what you want going into Sunday, and I’m excited about that. … They say one of hardest things in golf is to follow up a low round. I have to figure out a way to convince myself that I just shot 67.”

The former Louisville player is the first Canadian – he was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, and grew up in Abbortsford, British Columbia – to break 60 on the tour. He’s also the first to accomplish the feat on a par-72 course since Duval, and the only non-winner to do it.

“I think what gives sort of me the most confidence is that I knew exactly what I needed to do and through that whole process, if anything, I was thinking 58,” Hadwin said. “So, to be able to do it when I needed to. I know I was nervous. The putt barely went in on 17, and I only had 6 feet.

“I was happy to see the putt drop on 18. Last thing I wanted to do was miss a 3-footer for 59. So, I was more relieved than anything walking off that green.”

Hadwin had 13 birdies in the bogey-free round. He opened with a par with the temperature in the low-50s, birdied the next six and added a birdie on No. 9 for a front-nine 29. He birdied Nos. 11-15 to get to 12 under. He had had 21 putts, hit 12 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation.

Hadwin credited playing partner Colt Knost for keep him relaxed.

“He’s a character and so everything was very light, Hadwin said.

Said Knost: “We have been talking all week. We always talk when we play. So, I kept just trying to make it the same way, have fun with it and just talk to him and treat it like it’s a normal round. He knew where he stood, yeah. He was kind of joking about it. He was just focused on what he was doing. He did a great job.”

Rookie Dominic Bozzelli was a stroke back after a 69 on the Nicklaus layout.

“I’ve been riding a hot putter these last couple days,” Bozzelli said.

Second-round leader Hudson Swafford was 15 under with Bud Cauley, Brian Harman and Chad Campbell.

Swafford shot a 71 on the Stadium Course, making a double bogey after hitting left into the 18-foot deep bunker on the par-5 16th and dropping another shot on the par-3 17th after barely reaching the island green.

Cauley, Campbell and Harman played at La Quinta, the easiest of the three courses. Cauley shot 65, Campbell 66, and Harman 69.

“I hit a lot of good iron shots, drove it well for the most part, and was able to roll a few putts in,” Cauley said.

Phil Mickelson closed with a watery double bogey for a 73 on the Stadium Course, leaving him eight strokes back in his return from two sports hernia surgeries. The 46-year-old Hall of Famer had surgery Oct. 19 and again Dec. 12. Caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay also is making a comeback after having both knees replaced.

59!

Adam Hadwin becomes the eighth player in PGA TOUR history to shoot a 59. pic.twitter.com/RUi7KukWMQ

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) January 21, 2017

Adam Hadwin (Getty Images)

PILAR COUNTY, Buenos Aires, Argentina – Amateur Squad’s Hugo Bernard held onto his share of 14^th place with an even-par 72 on Saturday at the Martindale Country Club to lead all Canadians.

Bernard, the reigning Canadian Men’s Amateur champion, posted a steady 16 pars to remain 1-under for the tournament (75-68-72). The Mont-St-Hilaire, Que., product now trails Costa Rica’s Paul Chaplet, who leapfrogged the competition with a 66 (-6) to build an outright lead of two strokes over second place.

Team Canada teammate Peyton Callens had his strongest day yet, recording a 2-under 70 to move the Langton, Ont., native up nine spots into a tie for 23^rd at 1-over par for the tournament. Fellow Development Squad member A.J. Ewart’s struggles continued on Saturday, with the Coquitlam, B.C. resident posting a 5-over par 77. Ewart, 17, holds a share of 50^th heading into tomorrow’s final round.

Richmond Hill, Ont., native Monet Chun continues to lead the way for the Canadian women. The Development Squad rookie climbed three spots with an even-par 72 to bring the 16-year-old into a tie for 16^th. Chun is chasing the leading Isabella Fierro of Mexico, who recently took home medallist honours at the Mexican Amateur. Fierro holds the outright lead at 10-under par, four shots clear of runner-up Delfina Acosta of Argentina.

Development Squad teammate Mary Parsons showed signs of a recovery, posting a 2-over 74—her best score for the tournament. Through 54 holes, the Delta, B.C., product sits T41 at 17-over par.

The final round of action gets underway at 7:30 am local time on Sunday.

Click here for live scoring.

PILAR COUNTY, Buenos Aires, Argentina – At the mid-way point of the South American Amateur, Team Canada Amateur Squad member Hugo Bernard holds a share of 14^th after a second-round 68 (-4) brought him into the mix on Friday at the Martindale Country Club.

Through 36 holes, Bernard sits at 1-under par (75-68) to trail the leader—host nation’s Marcos Montenegro—by eight strokes. This marks the first stop in a lengthy international swing for the Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que., product, who will tee-it-up next at the Jones Cup, followed by the Terra Cotta Invitational and Azalea Amateur.

Canadian Development Squad teammates Peyton Callens (Langton, Ont.) and A.J. Ewart (Coquitlam, B.C.) were also in action alongside Bernard, sitting T33 and T64, respectively, heading into the second half of play.

On the women’s side, the Canadian contingent is led by Team Canada rookie Monet Chun, who sits just inside the top-20 at 5-over par for a share of 19^th. The Richmond Hill, Ont., product was tied for sixth after an opening-round 72 (E), but followed with a 77 (+5) to slip outside the top-10.

Chun is joined by fellow Development Squad rookie Mary Parsons of Delta, B.C., who has struggled at Martindale to sit alone in 45^th place at 17-over par (80-79).

The third round of action gets underway Saturday at 7:30 am local time.

Click here for live scoring.

LA QUINTA, Calif. – Hudson Swafford a remis une deuxième carte consécutive de 65 (moins-7), vendredi, et il détient un coup d’avance en tête au Défi CareerBuilder.

La deuxième ronde a pris fin tout juste avant l’arrivée d’un orage sur les parcours désertiques.

À la recherche d’une première victoire en quatre saisons sur le circuit de la PGA, Swafford a évité les bogueys sur le parcours Jack Nicklaus, après avoir joué jeudi à La Quinta.

Dominic Bozzelli, meneur après la première ronde, et Danny Lee partagent le deuxième rang. Bozzelli a enchaîné son 64 sur le parcours Stadium avec un 67 à La Quinta. Lee, qui est originaire de la Nouvelle-Zélande, a bouclé son parcours à La Quinta en 64 coups.

Phil Mickelson a disputé ses six derniers trous sous une pluie intermittente au sein de l’avant-dernier groupe à avoir amorcé la deuxième ronde au 10e trou du parcours Jack Nicklaus. L’ambassadeur du tournoi avait joué 68 à La Quinta, jeudi, et il est passé à moins-10 grâce à une ronde de 66. Mickelson effectue un retour au jeu après avoir été opéré deux fois pour des hernies l’automne dernier.

Brad Fritsch, d’Ottawa, Adam Hadwin, d’Abbotsford, en Colombie-Britannique, et Nick Taylor, aussi d’Abbotsford, font partie du groupe à égalité au 49e rang à moins-4. Fritsch a joué une ronde de 68 sur le parcours Nicklaus, Hadwin a inscrit un score de 69 sur le parcours Stadium et Taylor a joué 68 à La Quinta.

David Hearn, de Brantford, en Ontario, suit à moins-3 après une ronde de 70 sur le parcours Stadium. Graham DeLaet, de Weyburn, en Saskatchewan, se retrouve à moins-2 après avoir inscrit un pointage de 69 à La Quinta.