RIVIERA MAYA, Mexico – On the strength of Garrett Rank’s 69 (-2), the Canadian contingent climbed inside the Top-10 for the first time in Saturday’s final round of the 30^th World Amateur Team Championship to close the tournament in a tie for ninth at 12-under par.

Playing on the Mayakoba El Camaleon Golf Club, Rank, 29, led the Canadian trio to a team score of 2-under par on the day, coupled with Jared du Toit’s even-par 71. Collectively, Rank was the leading Canadian at the event. The Elmira, Ont., product finished at 1-under par (74-72-70-69) to hold an individual share of 35^th.

Kimberley, B.C., native Jared du Toit finished two strokes behind Rank at 1-over par (71-70-75-71). The 21-year-old Arizona State senior closed at T44. Teammate Hugo Bernard of Mont-St-Hilaire, Que., was disqualified because of a scoring error in his final round.

“Our guys gave it their best this week and I’m proud of the fight they put up to get inside the Top-10,” said Ingram of the Canadian squad, who stood tied for 27^th following Wednesday’s opening round. “An unfortunate mistake with Hugo’s scoring, but we’ll look at it as a learning experience for everyone.”

Australia extended their commanding lead, closing with a final-round team score of 6-under to win the tournament at a record score of 38-under par, 19 strokes ahead of runner-up England. The victory marks the fourth time Australia has come out on top at the World Amateur.

Austria and Ireland rounded out the top-3, sharing third place honours at 18-under par.

Australia’s Cameron Davis was the lone player to tally four rounds in the 60s, earning him medalist honours at 17-under par, with teammate Curtis Luck finishing second at 15-under.

A biennial competition, the World Amateur Team Championship has been played since 1958, with the winner taking home the Eisenhower Trophy. The United States won the 2014 title in Karuizawa, Japan, by two strokes over the Canadian contingent of Corey Conners (Listowel, Ont.), Taylor Pendrith (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and Adam Svensson (Surrey, B.C.).

In 28 appearances at the World Amateur Team Championship, Canada has captured the Eisenhower Trophy on one occasion (1986) and earned runner-up honours five times.

Click here for full scoring.

ATLANTA – Dustin Johnson had a reasonable lie in the rough and only a few pine tree branches blocking his path to the 17th green. Neither seemed like a problem until he played the wrong shot, clipped the tree and wound up with a double bogey Saturday in the Tour Championship.

It was an example of how one hole can change everything at East Lake.

And it’s why the final round of the PGA Tour season suddenly has more scenarios than Johnson cares to consider.

Johnson recovered with a birdie from the bunker on the par-5 18th for a 1-under 69, giving him a share of the lead with Kevin Chappell (68) going into the last round that will determine who wins the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup.

For the first time since 2009, there’s a chance it might not be the same player.

“There’s a lot of scenarios that could happen,” Johnson said. “But yeah, I’m still going to go out and try to shoot as low a score as possible.”

Johnson only has to win or finish second alone to claim the $10 million bonus as the FedEx Cup champion.

Rory McIlroy, who has gone 28 holes without a bogey at East Lake, had three birdies over his last six holes for a 66 and was two shots behind. If he were to win the Tour Championship and Johnson finished in a two-way tie for second or worse, McIlroy would claim the FedEx Cup.

“It would just be great to try to win the Tour Championship, and if the chips fall my way, then so be it,” McIlroy said.

The winner of the Tour Championship has won the FedEx Cup every year since 2009, when Phil Mickelson won the tournament and Tiger Woods won the FedEx Cup.

Johnson led by as many as four shots when he ran off three straight birdies on the front nine, and he really didn’t do much wrong to give up the size of that lead. He had a three-putt from 70 feet on No. 13, and missed the fairway by a few feet on the next hole, enough that his ball was buried so deep that even Johnson and his power couldn’t advance more than about 135 yards.

It was the 17th hole that reshaped the tournament.

Johnson tried to played a fade from a flyer lie in the rough, and the ball came out high and hit a branch, leaving him in more rough about 60 yards short of the green. He put that in the bunker, blasted out to 6 feet and missed the putt to make double bogey.

Chappell rolled in a 10-foot birdie putt for a three-shot swing on the hole and suddenly had the lead, only for Johnson to catch him with the final birdie.

They were at 8-under 202.

Chappell, a runner-up three times this season who has never won on the PGA Tour, has made only one bogey in 54 holes this week, a show of consistency, discipline and a few good breaks when he does miss the fairway.

His next chance at a breakthrough victory is to face golf’s best player at the moment (Johnson), with McIlroy and Ryan Moore (66) two shots behind.

“I’ve always kind of been the underdog, so it’s a role I’m comfortable in,” Chappell said.

Moore went out in 31 until he was slowed by a pair of bogeys, though very much in the mix just two shots out of the lead. The mystery is whether anything he does on Sunday – even if that means a victory – is enough for Davis Love III to use his last captain’s pick on Moore for the Ryder Cup.

“I came here this week to win a golf tournament, and I’m 100 per cent focused on that,” Moore said, adding that the Ryder Cup is “completely out of my control.”

And that’s how the last day is shaping up for everyone – post a score and see where it leads.

Johnson, for a moment, looked as though he might take all the drama out of the season-ender when he made a 15-foot par putt early in his round and then ran off three straight birdies on the front nine to go four shots clear.

The putter cooled off, however, and Chappell stayed in range.

Chappell chipped in on No. 12 to match birdies and stay three shots behind, and then he quickly closed the gap when Johnson made back-to-back bogeys, only to respond with a 4-iron over the water to a peninsula green on the par-3 15th to 15 feet for birdie.

The 17th hole changed everything.

“I thought about just trying to hit it in the front bunker, which I probably should have done – probably would have made 4 if I’d have done that,” Johnson said. “But it is what it is. I came back and birdied the last hole, tied for the lead going into tomorrow. I like my position.”

And he doesn’t need a degree in math to figure out the easiest scenario – just win.

VICTORIA – Scott McCarron eagled the par-5 12th and shot a 5-under 66 on Saturday to take a two-stroke lead in the Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship.

The 51-year-old McCarron made an 8-foot putt for the eagle and added a birdie on the par-3 16th in chilly, overcast conditions at scenic Bear Mountain Resort, the first-year venue in the PGA Tour Champions event that was played in Hawaii from 2012-14.

McCarron had a 14-under 128 total after shooting a course-record 62 on Friday. The three-time PGA Tour winner won the Principal Charity Classic in June in Iowa for his first senior victory.

Doug Garwood was second after a 66. Winless on the 50-and-over tour, Garwood played the front nine in 6-under 20, birdieing the first three holes and the last three. He lost the lead with a bogey and McCarron’s eagle on 12, had a double bogey on the par-3 14th and birdies 17 and 18.

Colin Montgomerie was 11 under. The Scot birdied the final two holes for a bogey-free 67

Scott Dunlop birdied the last two holes for a 65 to reach 10 under, and Jeff Maggert, Mark O’Meara and Brian Henninger each shot 64 to join Olin Browne (67) and Jeff Sluman (68) at 9 under.

Vijay Singh was 6 under after a 69. He bogeyed three of the last five holes.

Fellow Hall of Famer Bernhard Langer bogeyed the last for a 68 that left him 10 strokes back at 4 under. The 59-year-old German star leads the tour with four victories this season.

Jim Rutledge topped the four Canadians in field, shooting a 69 to move into a tie for 51st at even par. Stephen Ames was 1 over after a 69.

RIVIERA MAYA, Mexico  ─ Led by Team Canada’s Hugo Bernard of Mont-St-Hilaire, Que., the Canadian contingent had its best day Friday at the men’s World Amateur Team Championship.

Playing in the morning wave, Canada improved its standing 12 places with an 8-under 136 and is now tied for 11th. Bernard, the 2016 Canadian Amateur champion, carded a 66, while Garrett Rank, who works as a National Hockey League official, had a 70.

Bernard birdied three of the four par 3s. He struck an 8-iron to within 8 feet at No.8 and hit a three-quarter pitching wedge to set up another birdie at No. 15.

“He’s a wonderful iron player,” said Doug Roxburgh, who has served as the Canadian captain seven times. “I have only seen him hit a couple of irons that were not directly at the pin. He’s a big, strong guy who takes advantage of his length.”

Jared du Toit, Kimberley, B.C., the best trio in the first two rounds, tallied a 3-over 75, which didn’t count for Canada. After 54 holes, Canada has a cumulative score of 10-over 420.

Australia took a nearly insurmountable 16-stroke lead after 54 holes with a team score of 32-under-par 398 at the par-72, 6,888-yard Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club.

Ireland moved into second place at 16-under par after registering a third-round 135.

England, Austria and Poland are tied for fourth at 13-under.

A biennial competition, the World Amateur Team Championship has been played since 1958, with the winner taking home the Eisenhower Trophy. The United States won the 2014 title in Karuizawa, Japan, by two strokes over the Canadian contingent of Corey Conners (Listowel, Ont.), Taylor Pendrith (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and Adam Svensson (Surrey, B.C.).

In 28 appearances at the World Amateur Team Championship, Canada has captured the Eisenhower Trophy on one occasion (1986) and earned runner-up honours five times.

Click here for full scoring.

VICTORIA – Scott McCarron birdied five of the first six holes and finished with an 8-under 62 to take the first-round lead Friday in the Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship.

The 51-year-old McCarron birdied all four par-5 holes – Nos. 1, 12, 13 and 18 – in chilly conditions at Bear Mountain Resort, the first-year venue in the PGA Tour Champions event that was played in Hawaii from 2012-14.

“I really enjoy the golf course. I love the layout,” McCarron said. “It’s really one of the prettiest golf courses I’ve ever played in my life, it’s just fantastic. It’s my new favourite golf course, of course.”

McCarron won the Principal Charity Classic in June in Iowa for his first victory on the 50-and-over tour after winning three times on the PGA Tour.

“It was a tough day – we had a little drizzle, little bit of breeze and the fog came in and out,” McCarron said. “There were a couple of holes where we had to wait until we could see the fairway. But I got off to a good start. I birdied the first three holes, made a couple nice putts and hit some good shots and the rest of the round kept going. I made another three birdies in a row in the middle of the round, and it was really nice to birdie the last hole to shoot 62.”

Doug Garwood and Jerry Smith were tied for second at 64. Garwood played the back nine in 6-under 30, and Smith had eight birdies and a bogey.

Woody Austin and Jeff Sluman shot 65, and Olin Browne and Wes Short Jr. followed at 66. Austin has three victories this year.

Hall of Famers Vijay Singh and Colin Montgomerie topped the group at 67.

England’s Paul Broadhurst, the winner last week at Pebble Beach, had a 69. He won the Senior British Open at Carnoustie in July.

Bernhard Langer opened with a 70. The 59-year-old German star leads the tour with four victories this season. Langer played alongside Singh and former European Ryder Cup teammate Miguel Angel Jimenez (69).

Rod Spittle topped the four Canadians in the field with a 72. Jim Rutledge shot 73, Stephen Ames 74, and Murray Poje 82.

ATLANTA – Dustin Johnson is playing better than anyone in the world, and Kevin Chappell can’t wait to watch him at the Tour Championship.

Even if that means having to beat him.

Johnson powered his way down the fairways and occasionally out of the brutal rough at East Lake on Friday for a 3-under 67, giving him a one-shot lead over Chappell and moving him one round closer to the $10 million FedEx Cup prize.

The U.S. Open champion is on a different level at the moment.

Even on a demanding test like East Lake this year – only 10 players remain under par – Johnson is hitting his driver long and straight. His wedge game has gone from a weakness to a strength. A new putter he put in play two weeks ago when he won the BMW Championship is giving him a better feel for alignment.

Small wonder that this was his seventh straight round at 68 or better during the FedEx Cup playoffs.

“The game is never easy. I wish it was,” Johnson said. “Obviously, I’m playing good right now. I’ve got a lot of confidence in my game. Every week, I feel like I bring the same game, which is nice. But I put in a lot of work to get to where I am.”

Johnson was at 7-under 203.

Chappell, one of two players at the Tour Championship who has yet to win on the PGA Tour, was just as solid, even if it doesn’t look as spectacular. He has made only one bogey in 36 holes, quite a feat on a course where the Bermuda rough is so punishing that balls sink to the ground and sometimes can’t be seen from a foot away.

He shot a 68 and will be in the final group of a playoff event for the second time this year.

Kevin Kisner (70) and Hideki Matsuyama (71) were four shots behind, while Rory McIlroy overcame another rough start on the front nine to post a 70. He was in the group five shots behind, which isn’t much of a deficit at the halfway point except for Johnson being the one they have to chase.

If nothing else, Johnson all but eliminated nearly everyone not among the top five seeds vying for the FedEx Cup. McIlroy is No. 6 and still has a chance, though he would have to win the Tour Championship and Johnson would have to finish third.

“I need to win, and I just need someone to play as good as Dustin this week,” McIlroy said.

Jason Day is out of the picture. The world’s No. 1 player withdrew in the middle of a round at the second straight tournament, citing the same nagging back issues that he hopes will be cured by rest.

By Day withdrawing, Johnson won the points-based PGA player of the year award and is likely to win the player vote as PGA Tour player of the year because of his three victories, with perhaps another to follow.

But there is still work ahead of him, and that starts with Chappell.

“I promise you, I’ll be watching Dustin,” Chappell said. “He’s the best player in the world right now, and it’s an opportunity for me to see where my game is. There’s a golf tournament going on, and I have a chance to win that. That’s the ultimate goal. But I also have a chance to see why he’s the best player in the world right now, and I look forward to taking advantage of that opportunity.”

Chappell has been a runner-up three times this season and keeps running into the wrong guys – Kisner at Sea Island, Day at Bay Hill and The Players Championship. He also was in the mix at the TPC Boston until McIlroy pulled away.

“It seems I like going against the hot player at the time,” he said.

Russell Knox matched the low score of the tournament with a 66 that allowed him to get back under par at 1-under 139, along with Justin Thomas, who is still hopeful of a Ryder Cup pick at the end of the week.

Thomas lost a shot when his ball moved right as he set his putter down behind a short par putt on the 11th hole. The PGA Tour reviewed it on videotape and gave him a one-shot penalty under Rule 18-2, the same penalty applied to Johnson at Oakmont in the U.S. Open.

Thomas disagreed with, but accepted, the penalty. His argument was it was not a flat surface and the greens were running fast

“It’s nothing against the rules officials. It’s a god-awful rule,” Thomas said. “It’s very fortunate it didn’t cost Dustin a major championship. I hope it doesn’t cost me anything. I don’t feel like I did anything wrong.”

Mark Russell, the vice-president of rules and competition for the tour, said, the wind was light and the ball had been at rest “for quite some time.”

“And the moment that Justin put his club behind the ball and addressed the ball, the ball moved,” he said. “In that situation, the evidence is against the player and he was penalized.”

That left him six shots behind Johnson instead of five. Either way, it’s a tall order for Thomas or anyone to catch Johnson.

ATLANTA – Jason Day has withdrawn from the Tour Championship because of recurring back pain.

It’s the second straight FedEx Cup playoff event that the world’s No. 1 player did not finish because of back pain. Day stopped midway through the final round of the BMW Championship. His agent said Friday at East Lake this was the same issue, and Day was withdrawing as a precaution.

The withdrawal means Dustin Johnson wins the points-based PGA player of the year. Johnson is likely to win the player vote for PGA Tour player of the year.

Day was 3 under for the tournament when he pulled his tee shot into the water on No. 8, hit his next shot well to the right and couldn’t reach the green out of deep rough.

During Sept. 19-23, Golf Canada along with industry partners are celebrating the inaugural Adopt a School Week to honour the investments made throughout 2016 in support of the Golf in Schools (GIS) program.

Through a staff fundraiser, Golf Canada raised over $2,800 towards Golf in Schools adoptions and are proud to select ten schools from its waiting list—thanks in part to the matching program in place from the Canadian Seniors Golf Association (CSGA).

Offered at the elementary ($475), intermediate ($635) and high school ($795) level, Golf in Schools features age-appropriate equipment to accompany a user-friendly Learning Resource. Developed in partnership with the PGA of Canada and Physical Health Education (PHE) Canada, the Learning Resource helps students build character and confidence through its new Life Skills model, featuring golf lessons with both intrapersonal and interpersonal examples.

The program’s Learning Resource is tailored to suit teachers of all backgrounds—regardless of prior golf knowledge or skill level. Its seamless lesson plans are simple yet effective, teaching students timeless skills that are relatable to everyday scenarios.

“Naturally, we felt compelled to support the Adopt A School week initiative, a focused effort on bringing golf into schools in an easy to deliver, safe manner,” said Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s Chief Sport Officer. “The GIS program is often a child’s first introduction to the sport and we feel this program can and will have a long-term impact on the growth of Canadian golf, exposing it to a large segment of the population that would likely not have considered the sport as a recreational activity.”

For Thompson, the initiative presents a strong opportunity for facilities to grow numbers at the junior level.

“With Adopt a School Week, we hope to encourage facilities to view adoptions as an investment towards their future membership,” he said. “There’s great opportunity to build lasting relationships with schools that continue to provide value year-over-year.”

Make an impact in your community today by adopting a school at golfcanada.ca/adoptaschool

When the third annual World Junior Girls Championship takes centre stage at Mississaugua Golf and Country Club  September 25-30, fans of the sport will focus upon the tournament between the talented 18-and-under female golfers from across the globe. But the organizers of the competition and the events surrounding the championship have a larger goal in mind – the continued development of the sport.

“The World Junior Girls Championship is about more than this year’s competitors and the chance to learn through international competition,” said Tournament Director Mary Beth McKenna. “It is also about the promotion of junior girls golf in the Mississauga community and Canada as a whole.

“Through our partners at Mississaugua and our excellent volunteers and committee members, we have brought together the surrounding communities to truly celebrate the game. While the championship itself brings together national golf federations from around the world, the events during tournament week will gather people from across the city in support of golf.”

A coaching summit will take place Sunday, September 25 at Mississaugua Golf and Country Club. PGA of Canada coaches will have the chance to meet with international coaches to exchange ideas and to share in coaching methodology. In the afternoon, a junior girls skills development clinic will see PGA of Canada members/coaches introduce and develop fundamental skills with aspiring golfers from the community.

On Wednesday, September 28, a special clinic will be conducted in partnership with Golf Fore the Cure – a national program aimed at women’s participation in golfing activities and raising funds towards breast cancer research. In the 2016, the initiative raised over $270,000 in the fight against breast cancer, while more than 10,000 women took part in 140 events across Canada.

A total of 47 athletes will take part in the 2016 edition of the World Junior Girls Championship, including the six players selected to don the red and white of Team Canada. Canada One will be comprised of Chloe Currie (Mississauga, Ont.), Mary Parsons (Delta, B.C.) and Monet Chun (Richmond Hill, Ont.). As host of the competition, Canada will field a second team made up of Céleste Dao (Notre-Dame-de-L’Île-Perrot, Que.), Hannah Lee (Surrey, B.C.) and Isabella Portokalis (London, Ont.).

The four-day tournament’s opening round gets underway on Tuesday, September 27.

The public is welcome to attend. Admission to the competition is free.

For more info, visit worldjuniorgirls.com.

RIVIERA MAYA, Mexico – The Canadians struggled to make up any significant ground on Thursday’s second round at the 30^th World Amateur Team Championship, carding a team score of 140 (-2) on the par-71, 6,771-yard/6,187-meter Mayakoba El Camaleon Golf Club to sit T23.

For the second straight day, 21-year-old Jared du Toit led the Canadian trio with the team’s lowest score. The Kimberley, B.C., product was scoring well until running into trouble on his 11^th and 12^th holes, where he carded a respective bogey and double-bogey. du Toit, a senior at Arizona State, finished the day at 1-under par to hold a share of 37^th individually.

The second-counting score of the day came from the reigning Canadian Men’s Amateur champion, Hugo Bernard, who matched du Toit with a 1-under 70. The Mont-St-Hilaire, Que., native now stands in a tie for 52^nd place. Rounding out the Canadian contingent was Elmira, Ontario’s Garrett Rank. The 29-year-old has yet to find his groove, posting a 72 (+1) to share 80^th place.

Collectively, the Canucks sit at 2-under par for the tournament, and will look to make up ground in tomorrow’s third round. Rank will tee-off first for the Canadians on moving day, slated to start at 7:45 am EDT, followed by Bernard at 7:55 am EDT and du Toit at 8:05 EDT. The squad will be paired up with Netherlands and Germany.

Australia nearly matched the 36-hole scoring record and vaulted to an eight-stroke lead after the second round in the 30th World Amateur Team Championship (WATC). Harrison Endycott and Cameron Davis each fired 5-under 66s at the Mayakoba El Camaleon Golf Club.

The Australians, who began the day one stroke behind first-round leader Scotland, posted a 10-under 132 at Mayakoba. Australia’s two-round total of 19-under-par 267 is one off the WATC record established by the USA in 2012. Curtis Luck, the 2016 U.S. Amateur champion, added a non-counting even-par 71. The best two scores from each country’s three-man team are used.

“The mindset was to be as competitive as we can,” said Australian captain Matt Cutler, whose team also equaled the lowest second-round score in WATC history. “You talk about having an opportunity to win. If we play well, we have a chance to win, so that has been our focus.”

Endycott, who has won this year’s Porter Cup and was a quarterfinalist at the Australian Amateur, holed a 10-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th to cap his team’s performance. He used an 8-iron to set up two of his six birdies at Nos. 9 and 15, but his play was propelled by a run of four consecutive birdies on his inward nine in the first round.

“That was a huge confidence booster,” Endycott said. “Yesterday things weren’t going my way early on. I just wasn’t hitting good shots, and I was struggling to get feels. Making a few good putts from good positions says you can go do this.”

Davis, who finished second in both the Asia-Pacific Amateur and Australian Amateur last year, recorded seven birdies on his scorecard for the second consecutive day. He birdied Nos. 4, 5, 6 and 7 on his outward nine and has the best 36-hole individual score at 10 under after opening with a 67 at the par-72, 6,888-yard/6,386-meter Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club.

“We are full of confidence,” Endycott added. “We all believe in the three of us. As long we keep building that momentum like we are doing at the moment, it is going to be a good week.”

Maverick McNealy, who won the 2016 Mark H. McCormack Medal as the top-ranked amateur player, reeled off five consecutive birdies on his inward nine at Iberostar to advance the USA into second place at 11-under 275.

McNealy, a first-team All-American at Stanford University, and Scottie Scheffler, a junior at the University of Texas, each carded 3-under 69s. Scheffler also closed well with birdies on three of his last five holes.

“We had a nice finish with Maverick making five in a row on the back nine, and we’re very pleased,” said USA captain Paul Caruso. “There was a little bit of weather and wind at the start, but once it calmed down, we played good golf.”

The USA appeared to be fading midway through the round in its quest to win its third consecutive WATC championship. McNealy, who was the Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year for a second time, started on No. 10 and bogeyed three of his opening four holes.

“I got off to an atrocious start, so Brad (Dalke) came over and gave me a little pep-talk,” McNealy said.  “I feel like I played really solidly after those first four holes. I’m glad I managed to hold the round together.”

Switzerland moved into third at 10-under 276 with an array of closing birdies and an eagle at Mayakoba. Jeremy Freiburghaus, who shot a 3-under 68, birdied four of the last six holes. Mathias Eggenberger, who helped Team Europe win this year’s Palmer Cup, shot a 69. His round was highlighted by a 32-foot eagle putt at the par-5 seventh.

“We are more than pleased,” said Toni Matti, who is serving as Switzerland’s captain for a sixth time. “Golf is never ending. It’s always until the finish that you can make some birdies and some eagles.”

Poland counted a 2-under 69 from Adrian Meronk and a 1-under 70 from Mateuz Gradecki, positioning them in fourth at 9-under 277. Meronk, who was an All-America selection at East Tennessee State University in 2015-16, took advantage of the par 5s on the inward nine at Mayakoba. He had an easy up-and-down for birdie at No. 13 and made a 15-footer for another birdie at No. 15.

“I am kind of use to it because I was a leader in college as well,” said Meronk about his role as a playing captain. “It’s been always good for me, and I hope we finish strong.”

Scotland was one stroke behind at 8-under 278. The first-round leader struggled to a 2-over 144. Robert MacIntyre, the runner-up at this year’s Amateur Championship at Royal Porthcawl, had an even-par 71, while Grant Forrest added a 73. Forrest’s topsy-turvy round included a triple-bogey at Mayakoba’s par-4 first hole, his 10th hole, and a 60-foot eagle putt from the fringe at No. 5.

“It was one of those days where it couldn’t have gone much worse,” Forrest said. “It’s just what happens sometimes, and you have a tough time when the putts don’t go in.”

Austria and Ireland are tied for sixth at 7-under 279. Austria’s Markus Maukner and Michael Ludwig each carded 2-under 70s at Iberostar. Maukner improved from his first-round 80 by making five birdies against three bogeys. Jack Hume, of Ireland, fought back from a two-stroke penalty to post a 2-under 70, and teammate Paul McBride had a 73.

“There is good spirit in the team,” said Austrian captain Tobias Schmied. “You saw that today when a player who didn’t score too well yesterday improved his performance today for the good of the team.”

Spain, which was tied for third after the first round, had difficulties making the transition to the Mayakoba El Camaleon course. The team’s second-round score of 3-over 145 left them at 281 in a tie for 12th. Manuel Elvira, who is a junior at the University of Central Florida, shot a 71 and Ivan Cantero had a 74.

“This is a PGA Tour golf course,” said Elvira about a venue which will host the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in November. “It was a real tight golf course, and the greens are more difficult. It’s tougher to score on this course than the other one.”

Joshua Ho, of Singapore, produced the low round of the championship with a 7-under 65 at Iberostar. Ho, who was 11 strokes better than his first-day score, and Gregory Foo’s 70 helped improve their team’s standing 26 places and into a tie for 12th at 281.

A biennial competition, the World Amateur Team Championship has been played since 1958, with the winner taking home the Eisenhower Trophy. The United States won the 2014 title in Karuizawa, Japan, by two strokes over the Canadian contingent of Corey Conners (Listowel, Ont.), Taylor Pendrith (Richmond Hill, Ont.) and Adam Svensson (Surrey, B.C.).

In 28 appearances at the World Amateur Team Championship, Canada has captured the Eisenhower Trophy on one occasion (1986) and earned runner-up honours five times.

Click here for full scoring.