The University of Victoria Vikes Men’s Golf Team (50 points) have been named the best University/College golf team in Canada at the mid-season point of the 2016-17 golf season, as selected by the Golf Coaches Association of Canada.

The Vikes earned all five 1^st place votes based on results from various Conference championships and fall team scoring averages.

The UBC Thunderbirds (41 points) came in second followed closely by the Laval Rouge et Or (40 points).  The Queens Gaels (30 points), and Waterloo Warriors (28) round out the top 5.

The Western Mustangs and New Brunswick Varsity Reds (18 points) tied for sixth place, followed by the Camosun Chargers (16 points), and Niagara College Knights (12 points) who are ranked ninth.  The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades complete the top 10 with 7 points.

Other teams to receive votes were the Humber College Hawks, Manitoba Bisons, Alberta Golden Bears, Calgary Dinos, and Concordia Stingers.

Full men’s rankings:

On the women’s side, the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds Women’s Golf Team (50 points) topped the mid-season rankings. The Thunderbirds also earned all five 1st place votes based on results from various Conference championships and 2016 fall team scoring averages.

The Ontario University Association champion Toronto Varsity Blues (41 points) came second, followed closely by the RSEQ champion Laval Rouge et Or (40 points). The Canadian College Athletics Association champion Georgian College Grizzles (35 points), and Victoria Vikes (33 points) round out the top 5.

The Waterloo Warriors (24 points) and Montreal Carabins (21 points) are sixth and seventh place respectively, followed by the Western Mustangs (14 points), and Humber Hawks (9 points) who are ranked ninth. The Fraser Valley Cascades round out the top 10 with six points.

Full women’s rankings:

NAPLES, Fla. – Steve Stricker returned from a long layoff to team with Jerry Kelly to take the first-round lead in the Franklin Templeton Shootout.

The Madison, Wisconsin, duo shot a 16-under 56 on Thursday in the scramble format for a one-stroke lead over Harris English and Matt Kuchar at Tiburon Golf Club.

“It was just a great team effort today,” Stricker said. “We both played well. We both kept the pedal down all the way around, we never let up. We made a lot of good birdies, threw in an improbable eagle at the sixth hole, but other than that it was just good, solid golf all the way around, all the way to the end. Usually we have little hiccups here and there or a little lull period and today that never happened. We just continued that good play every hole really.”

On the eagle, Stricker holed a breaking 60-footer on the par-5 sixth.

“The pin was in a very difficult position kind of on the left side of the green,” Stricker said. “It was kind of up and over and speed was tricky. He put a good putt on it, on the first one. It was difficult, it had a lot of break. But speed was the issue and he gave me great speed and the line because I ended up giving it a little bit more.”

The 49-year-old Stricker had not played since the Deutsche Bank Championship on Labor Day. He’s teaming with the 50-year-old Kelly for the record eighth time. They won in 2009, and Kelly also won with Rod Pampling in 2006.

“We know everybody’s going to get in the fairway and get on the green in this format, so it’s really rolling in the putts,” Kelly said. “I just need to do my job and hit solid putts, so he can see where the line is and make it like he does.”

Harris and Kuchar won in 2013 in their first start together and finished second the last two years.

Charles Howell III & Rory Sabbatini were third at 59, and defending champions Jason Dufner and Brandt Snedeker were at 60 with Kevin Chappell-Kevin Kisner and Luke Donald-Russell Knox.

Lexi Thompson and Bryson DeChambeau were eighth after a 62. Thompson is the second woman to compete in the event, following Annika Sorenstam with Fred Couples in 2006.

The teams will play modified alternate shot Friday and close with better ball Saturday.

The Web.com Tour prepares to host its final stage of qualifying this week from Dec. 8-11 in Winter Garden, Fla., where 10 Canadians will compete for 2017 playing status.

The Canadian contingent will battle against 150-plus athletes in the 72-hole stroke play event, with players finishing inside the Top-45 (plus ties) earning guaranteed starts for the beginning of the 2017 campaign. The medallist of the event will earn fully-exempt status for the entirety of the season; Canada’s Adam Svensson captured that crown in 2015.

The following list of Canadians will tee-it-up at the Orange County National Golf Club’s Crooked Cat and Panther Lake courses:

• Ryan Yip (Calgary)
• Aaron Cockerill (Teulon, Man.)
• Seann Harlingten (Vancouver)
• Ben Silverman (Thornhill, Ont.)
• Lucas Kim (Toronto, Ont.)
• Justin Shin (Pitt Meadows, B.C.)
• Corey Conners (Listowel, Ont.)
• Adam Cornelson (Langley, B.C.)
• Michael Gligic (Kitchener, Ont.)
• Austin Connelly (Irving, Tex. | Clare, N.S.)

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The Champions Tour announced today its 2017 tournament schedule, featuring 26 official tournaments and two “Challenge Season” events. The 23-event regular season will again highlight the Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs, which will be used to determine the season-long Charles Schwab Cup champion. The Tour will contest events in four countries and 18 states, with total prize money of $55.7 million (U.S).

The 2017 season will feature five tournaments with new host venues, including Trump National Golf Club outside Washington D.C., Salem Country Club in Peabody, Mass., Caves Valley Golf Club in suburban Baltimore, Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Wales and Phoenix (Ariz.) Country Club.

The season will begin with the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai, set for the week of January 16-21 in Ka’upulehu-Kona, Hawaii. Thirteen-time PGA TOUR winner David Toms, who turns 50 on January 4, is expected to make his PGA TOUR Champions debut. Toms will be joined by fellow rookies Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly during the 2017 season.

This past year, World Golf Hall of Fame member Bernhard Langer claimed an unprecedented fourth Charles Schwab Cup title after putting forth a dominant four-win season on PGA TOUR Champions.

The five major championships on the Champions Tour will kick off with the Regions Tradition, which returns to Greystone Golf & Country Club in Birmingham, Ala. the week of May 15-21. The KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship will be contested the following week at Trump National Golf Club near Washington D.C.

The final three major championships of 2017 will be held during a five-week stretch in the summer, beginning with the U.S. Senior Open at Salem Country Club in Peabody, Mass. the week of June 26-July 2. The Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship will move from June to July in suburban Baltimore at 2002 U.S. Senior Open host Caves Valley Golf Club (July 10-16), while the Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex will be contested at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club in Wales (July 17-23) for the second time in four years, dating back to 2014.

The schedule will feature two “Challenge Season” events, beginning with the Diamond Resorts Invitational the week of January 9-15, and the PNC Father Son Challenge, which will be contested in December on a date to be announced. The event’s 2016 playing is set for this weekend in Orlando.

Canada will once again have two Champions Tour stops. The Shaw Charity Classic will be played September 1-3 at Canyon Meadows G & Country Club in Calgary. The Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship will be contested at Bear Mountain Resort in Victoria, B.C. from September 15 – 17.

Team Canada Men’s Head Coach Derek Ingram was among the 10 award winners announced today by the PGA of Canada, earning the nod as the Ben Kern Coach of the Year recipient.

“I’m extremely honoured to be receiving this prestigious award from the PGA of Canada—an association I’m very proud to be a member of,” said Ingram, a class “A” member. “It was definitely a year to remember for a lot of different reasons and I’m very thankful to be honoured with this achievement.”

The Winnipeg native collects the award on the heels of another busy season at the helm for his 12th year with the Team Canada program. Ingram’s 2016 travels were highlighted by a trip to Rio de Janeiro, where he acted as the Canadian men’s head coach in golf’s return to the Olympics after a 112-year hiatus.

In September, Ingram led the Canadian trio of Jared du Toit, Hugo Bernard and Garrett Rank to Mexico, where they finished tied for ninth at the World Amateur Team Championships.

Ingram’s extended coaching efforts came full circle with the emergence of Young Pro Squad member Mackenzie Hughes, who collected wins on both the Web.com and PGA Tours in a span of three months. The 26-year-old Dundas, Ont., native has been a pupil of Ingram’s since joining the Team Canada program in 2008. He has since become an exemplary model of development through the Canadian system, something Ingram takes great pride in.

“Mackenzie is the perfect example of what we are trying to accomplish with the Team Canada program,” he said. “He climbed his way up through the ranks through dedication and hard work; he’s also a great champion off the golf course and I’m proud to have played a part in that.”

Alongside marquee events, Ingram upheld a schedule including training camps, contact days and competitions with the nine athletes on this year’s National Amateur and Young Pro squads. He is also heavily involved with industry-leading initiatives including Long-Term Player Development and high performance.

The award comes a year after close friend and counterpart Tristan Mullally (Team Canada Women’s Head Coach) took home the honours.

“Derek is a great leader and friend and deserves every recognition for helping better his athletes both in life and in sport,” Mullally said. “I look forward to new challenges with him and continuing to push each other to grow for seasons to come.”

The Manitoba Golf Hall-of-Famer is no stranger to receiving accolades, having won the PGA of Canada’s Teacher of the Year award twice (’03, ’07) to compliment being named the PGA of Manitoba’s Teacher of the Year a record seven times.

The following other award winners will be recognized during PGA of Canada Night on Jan. 26 at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla.

• Murray Tucker Golf Professional of the Year—Alan Palmer, Class “A” head professional, Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club;
• George Knudson Teacher of the Year—Henry Brunton, Class “A” Master Professional, Henry Brunton Golf;
• Mike Weir Player of the Year—Marc-Étienne Bussieres, Candidate for Membership, Club de golf Longchamp;
• Ben Kern Coach of the Year—Derek Ingram, Class “A” head coach, Team Canada;
• Moe Norman Candidate for Membership of the Year—Garrett Malcolm, Candidate for Membership, Breezy Bend Country Club;
• Tex Noble Professional Development Award—Jason Helman, Class “A” teaching professional, Wyndance Golf Club;
• Pat Fletcher Retailer of the Year—Adam Tobin, Class “A” head professional, Whistle Bear Golf;
• Stan Leonard Class “A” Professional of the Year—Ashley Zibrik, Class “A” professional, Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club;
• Jack McLaughin Junior Leader of the Year—Amanda Minchin, Class “A” head professional, Estevan Woodlawn Golf Club;
• George Cumming Distinguished Service Award—Bob Weeks, TSN.

NASSAU, Bahamas – A flop shot that required feel. A wedge to a back pin that he had to trust. Tiger Woods followed those two birdies with a perfect 6-iron that he wanted to be even better, urging it to move “one yard … one yard!”

The golf ball didn’t listen. Television viewers did.

And his three straight birdies after going 466 days without competition sure got everyone’s attention, even those who were playing.

“When I saw that he was 4 under through eight, I wanted to withdraw so I could go watch him,” Russell Knox said.

Was he back to being Tiger Woods?

Of course not.

This was only the front nine of the first round at the Hero World Challenge. By the end of the week, Woods was 15th out of 17 players . What returned was the excitement of having him inside the ropes again.

“Everybody loves the comeback story,” Matt Kuchar said. “A guy like Tiger, good or bad, draws attention. If it’s good, it gets really exciting.”

So he’s back. And now he’s gone again.

Still to be determined is when he will play and how much. There has been chatter, and nothing more at this stage, of Woods playing in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship the third week in January. HSBC already has Rickie Fowler and Dustin Johnson, not to mention Rory McIlroy and Henrik Stenson, and might not want to break the bank. But a happy and healthy week for Woods in the Bahamas – not to mention his 24 birdies – certainly raised interest.

Torrey Pines is a week later and a more likely start.

Woods said in his “heart of hearts” he wants to play a full schedule. It will a different one, at least early.

Riviera is back on the schedule because his foundation runs it. The Valspar Championship at Innisbrook is in play because it’s a week after one World Golf Championship and two weeks before another – both in the month leading to the Masters. Woods isn’t eligible for either WGC event and won’t be unless he wins before then.

That leads to the more critical question.

When will it be time to stop marveling at seeing the red shirt and start judging him by red numbers on the scoreboard?

Woods doesn’t like any victory that doesn’t come with a trophy, so he was quick to point out “silly mistakes” and six double bogeys whenever he caught himself getting too excited talking about his good golf. But he had reason to smile. Only the winner, Hideki Matsuyama, had as many sub-par holes. Woods shot 65 in the second round with no bogeys, not a tall order at Albany except that it was his first tournament in 15 months.

This was a good week for him.

His swing showed very little stress. It was graceful, not violent. Woods knows he isn’t among the top power players anymore, though he showed ample length off the tee, even finding an extra gear on occasion. He said before the tournament he had all the shots, and there was little evidence to suggest otherwise.

He just didn’t score very well. But only those wanting to see him fail cared about that after such a long layoff.

That will change over time. There’s just no consensus on when.

“Give him three or four tournaments, maybe six tournaments, maybe around the Masters,” Henrik Stenson said. “Probably give him a number of tournaments and he might be in contention in one of the early ones next year. Then you know you have the answer quicker. It’s easy to overanalyze a very limited amount of golf.”

Kuchar said he has low expectations of Woods in the Bahamas, and was impressed to see him start 73-65-70.

“I still don’t hold him to any standard just yet,” he said. “He’s kind of a new man. Great to see. Shoot, he gets back in the hunt and wins a tournament, you’d have to put those expectations right back on him. For having nearly two years off, it’s hard to hold a guy to his typical expectation level.”

Brandt Snedeker was curious to see how much progress Woods makes in his next tournament. Others, like Jordan Spieth and Zach Johnson, had a longer view when it came to measuring Woods by his scores.

“To me, it’s if we can chat next year at this point,” Johnson said. “It’s not so much the golf game and the golf swing and the putts being holed and contention. It’s physically. Can he withstand a Tiger year, which is what, 15 to 20 events?”

Curiosity has given way to anticipation. Doubts have been replaced by optimism.

Reality is still months away, if not longer.

Global Golf Post is the first designed-for-digital weekly golf news publication in the world. In Canada it is delivered Monday, 50 weeks per year, to the inbox of Golf Canada members. To get Global Golf Post delivered to your inbox, you can become a Golf Canada member. If you are already a Golf Canada member and are not receiving Global Golf Post, please email us at members@golfcanada.ca.

Below is this week’s edition of Global Golf Post.

Featured Story: Global Golf Post’s 2016 Players of the Year

Global Gofl Post has named its 2016 Players of the Year. Click here to find out who won.

Click here to read the full issue, which includes these articles and more.

TOP OF THE NEWS

• Matsuyama on a Hot Streak

COLUMNISTS

• Green Jr.: Somehow, a Sense of Renewal for Tiger
• Hopkins: Fitzpatrick, Hull Spur England’s Promise

ALSO IN THE NEWS

• News: Brazil Official Denies Olympic Course Demise
• Gear: Ship Sticks Adds to Travel Services
• Gear: KING LTD Black Driver
• No Reservations with Adam Scott
• Travel: Where Golf Meets the Sky

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Calgary’s Jennifer Ha is the latest Canadian to join the ranks on the LPGA Tour after finishing the qualifying tournament with a share of eighth at the Hills Course.

Ha—a former Team Canada member—closed the 90-hole stroke play event at 8-under par (70-74-69-67-72) to nab one of the Top-20 spots to earn full status in 2017. The 22-year-old finished five back of medallist Jaye Marie Green of Boca Raton, Fla.

Fellow Canadian and Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Augusta James also made the 72-hole cut at Daytona Beach.

The Bath, Ont., product finished in an 11-way tie for 44^th at 3-over par (76-76-69-69-73) to earn conditional status (category 17) on tour next season.

James narrowly missed full status this year by way of the season-long Volvik Race for the Card money list, where she finished just outside the Top-10 (No.13) for a second consecutive season. She posted seven Top-10 results this past season on the Symetra Tour.

While three of the top four finishers are from the USA, a total of 13 different countries (USA, Iceland, Korea, Taiwan, Denmark, Canada, England, Spain, Israel, Sweden, Philippines, Japan and Thailand) are represented amongst the players that finished in the top 20 to earn category 12 status on the LPGA Tour for 2017. Further, four teenagers finished in the top 20 (Nasa Hataoka, Maria Parra, Angel Yin and Ssu Chia Cheng).

Click here for full scoring.

NASSAU, Bahamas – The return of Tiger Woods was more about the big picture than any of his big numbers.

And that started with the sight of that red shirt on Sunday.

Woods grumbled about three more double bogeys in the final round of the Hero World Challenge. Considering how badly he has felt in the 15 months since he last played, he still was able to keep it in perspective.

“It feels good to be back out here playing again, competing and trying to beat the best players in the world,” Woods said. “I missed it. I love it.”

He even loved some of his golf at Albany.

Woods made 24 birdies, the most of anyone this week. He also had six double bogeys, three of them in the final round. The last one on the final hole, his third of the week on the 18th, gave him a 4-over 76. It was the highest score of the tournament, and he finished 15th in the 17-man field.

The other players were not about to measure him by his score – not yet, anyway.

“The whole world is watching a couple of rounds of golf,” said British Open champion Henrik Stenson, who finished second to Hideki Matsuyama. “It’s great to see him back and healthy and playing. I want to see him up in contention and try to beat him when it matters the most.

“Give him three or four tournaments, maybe six tournaments, maybe around the Masters,” he said. “It’s easy to overanalyze a very limited amount of golf.”

Rarely has a December event attracted this much curiosity. Woods, the dominant player of his generation, had gone 466 days since his previous tournament because of two back surgeries. The recovery at times made it difficult for him to walk and led him to wonder if he would ever play.

“Getting back to this point is beyond anything that I’ve ever experienced in my lifetime,” said Woods, who turns 41 at the end of the month. “The pain issues that I had, it was rough. Quite frankly, there some pretty dire times where I just couldn’t move.”

Woods showed no stress in his swing or in walking five straight rounds, starting with the pro-am. He had plenty of length, at times going after his driver with a little more pop to clear a bunker. He holed a few long putts . He missed a few short ones. At times, he looked like he had never been away for that long. And at times it did.

“It’s kind of new to me again, the feel of playing, the feel of adrenaline in my system, hitting shots,” Woods said.

One day after he briefly pulled within two shots of the lead, it was clear early on this day would be a struggle.

Woods was scrambling for pars instead of being in a position to attack pins. He twice made double bogey on a par 5, starting at No. 6 when he blasted out of the sandy area to the back side of a double green, forcing him to chip off the putting surface. Still, he rallied with three straight birdies to play the front nine in even par.

He was never going to win the tournament – Matsuyama was too far ahead – but it was a chance to post a decent number and take more positives into what figures to be a two-month off-season. Instead, Woods added two more double bogeys and shot 40 on the back nine.

He made his third double bogey of the week on the 18th hole without even going into the water. His tee shot landed in a thick palmetto bush, and he had to take a penalty drop to take it out. Just his luck, his drop in the sandy waste area settled right in front of the nub of another bush. He got that back to the fairway, went just over the green and took two putts from there for his 6.

“What he did here showed that he’s certainly up for the task and his game is there. He’s ready to go,” Jordan Spieth said. “Even with Tiger, every time we set expectations, he exceeds them.”

Woods at least starts his climb from No. 898 in the world, the product of not playing since Aug. 23, 2015.

He said he wants to play a full schedule in 2017 – that typically means no more than about 20 a year – and will look at his options over the next few weeks.

“I need to play more tournaments. Zero in 15 months is not a lot, so this is one,” Woods said. “I thought I made some good, positive things happen this week. Made a lot of birdies, also made a lot of mistakes. That’s something I know I can clean up.”

His caddie, Joe LaCava, offered the best perspective.

“I wasn’t going to compare him to the rest of the field. They’ve been playing all year and they’ve been playing great,” LaCava said. “Honestly, my goal was to get him through five rounds on his feet. That was big.”

NASSAU, Bahamas – Tiger Woods started with brief run at the lead. Hideki Matsuyama ended Saturday on his way to another victory.

Matsuyama, a winner in three of his last four tournaments, holed out for eagle on the front nine and kept his mistakes to a minimum for a 7-under 65 to build a seven-shot lead in the Hero World Challenge.

British Open champion Henrik Stenson (66) and U.S. Open winner Dustin Johnson (72) were the closest players to the Japanese star.

Woods was even farther back – 11 shots – though the opening hour was filled with big excitement and raised expectations. Woods opened with three straight birdies, and then holed out a 40-yard bunker shot on the par-3 fifth hole to get within two shots as Matsuyama was getting started.

But it didn’t last.

After an 18-foot birdie putt on the 11th hole to reach 11 under, Woods started missing fairways and dropping shots. And he ended the third round with another tee shot into the water on the 18th hole for a double bogey. He had to settle for a 70 and was in 10th place among 17 players.

Even so, Woods has made 19 birdies in three rounds of his first tournament in 15 months. Asked what he would have thought at the start of the week to hear that he was 8-under par through three rounds, Woods replied, “I’ve had said I’d be pretty far behind. And I’m right.”

Matsuyama was at 19-under 197, matching the 54-hole score by Bubba Watson last year at Albany. A year ago, Watson had a two-shot lead. No one is close to Matsuyama, the hottest player in golf over the last two months.

“I knew somebody was going to go low, but I thought it was going to be probably three, four guys that would post this kind of a score,” Woods said. “But Hideki is just playing unbelievable golf.”

Johnson tried to stay with him, but had a hard time keeping it out of the sandy areas off the tee. Matsuyama was two shots ahead when he laid up on the short seventh hole, which played downwind, and then one-hopped his wedge into the cup for an eagle. Just like that, the lead was up to four. And when Johnson kept making mistake, ending with a double bogey on the 18th, the margin only got wider.

Brandt Snedeker (69) and Matt Kuchar (71) were at 11-under 205.

Matsuyama took notice early when he saw Woods made a brief run up the leaderboard.

“Only Tiger could take a year-and-a-half off and put up the numbers he’s putting up this week,” Matsuyama said. “I don’t care how many strokes I’m leading over him, I still worry about him, fear him.”

That was more respect than reality. The winners of golf’s two oldest major championships this year don’t sound like they have much of a chance from seven back.

“Anything’s possible, but I’m going to have to shoot a really special round,” Johnson said.

Matsuyama won his first World Golf Championships title last month in Shanghai at the HSBC Champions, winning by seven shot over Stenson and Daniel Berger.

“That’s exactly what he did at HSBC Champions, and it was not much to do at that time. And possibly, that could be the same tomorrow,” Stenson said.

Woods still captivated the small island crowd, at least with his start. He three-putted for bogey to slow his momentum, and he missed a pair of 6-footers for par early on the back nine. Still, most players said his score was above their expectations given the injuries he had and the rust he accumulated.

Woods said he had no expectations at all, though he was surprised about his start. Typically after a long layoff, Woods said he struggles to get going. Now it’s about finishing a round.

“That’s the most concerning part of the game, is getting off to I guess halfway decent starts,” Woods said. “But I’ve been into the round early, and I’ve been able to build a significant amount of positive shots and go under par early. And unfortunately, I haven’t been able to keep it going, except for yesterday. I didn’t hit the ball that poorly today, but hit bad putts in the middle part of the round.”