ATLANTA – Dustin Johnson hit out of a bunker to 2 feet for birdie on his first hole and kept right on rolling to a 4-under 66 for a three-way tie of the lead Thursday at the Tour Championship.

Hideki Matsuyama had six birdies and Kevin Chappell played bogey-free to join Johnson at 66 on a tough day for scoring at East Lake.

Johnson only has to win the Tour Championship to capture the $10 million FedEx Cup bonus.

Jason Day, who withdrew from the final round of the BMW Championship two weeks ago with back pain, was among those at 67. Jordan Spieth was 3 over after two holes and shot 68, courtesy of six birdie putts between 18 and 30 feet.

Rory McIlroy and Paul Casey also were at 68.

RIVIERA MAYA, Mexico –  The Canadian contingent of Jared du Toit, Hugo Bernard and Garrett Rank struggled out of the gate in the 30^th World Amateur Team Championship, posting a collective score of even-par (144) to hold a share of 27^th after the first round.

The trio was led by 21-year-old Jared du Toit of Kimberley, B.C., who carded a 71 (-1) on the Iberostar Playa Paraiso course—one of two courses in rotation this week. Individually, the Arizona State senior sits T34, five off the pace.

Team Canada’s second-counting score of the day was registered by Hugo Bernard of Mont-St-Hilaire, Que. The 21-year-old reigning Canadian Amateur champion scored a 1-over 73 to find himself in a tie for 77^th through 18 holes of play. 29-year-old Garrett Rank of Elmira, Ont., recorded a non-counting 74 (+2), fighting back after slipping with a double and triple bogey in his first five holes.

Connor Syme shot a 6-under 66 to help Scotland take a one-stroke lead over Australia after the first round of the World Amateur Team Championship.

Walker Cup player Grant Forrest added a 68 at Iberostar Playa Paraiso to give Scotland a 10-under 134 total, with only the best two scores counting for the three-man teams. Robert MacIntyre had a 69.

The 20-year-old Syme topped the individual standings along with Poland’s Adrian Meronk. A rangekeeper at Drumoig Golf Centre in St. Andrews, Syme won the 2016 Australian Amateur.

Cameron Davis led Australia with a 67, Harrison Endycott had a 68, and U.S. Amateur champion Curtis Luck shot 69, also opening at Iberostar Playa Paraiso in the rotation with Mayakoba El Camaleon.

Spain was third 8-under at Iberostar Playa Paraiso. Mario Galiano shot 67, Manuel Elvira 69, and Ivan Cantero 71.

The two-time defending champion United States was tied for seventh at 5 under. Oklahoma’s Brad Dalke opened with a 67 at Mayakoba El Camaleon, Stanford’s Maverick McNealy had a 70, and Texas’ Scottie Scheffler a 73.

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.

Carlsbad, Calif. – TaylorMade announced today the contract extensions of the number one and two players in the Official World Golf Rankings, Jason Day and Dustin Johnson.

Jason Day, who first signed with TaylorMade in August of 2006, made his debut on the PGA TOUR that same year and hasn’t looked back since.

“For so many years, I aspired to play at the highest levels of the sport and become the best player in the world. I chose TaylorMade at the onset of my PGA TOUR career because they made products that performed. They’ve supported me on my quest for world #1 since day one. I’m excited to continue working with the great team at TaylorMade and playing the best performing equipment in the game.”

Dustin Johnson, who first signed with TaylorMade in December of 2007, earned his 2008 PGA TOUR card by way of successfully navigating qualifying school. Johnson’s first victory on the TOUR came at the Turning Stone Resort Championship in October 2008. Just four months later, he captured TOUR victory #2 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He then successfully defended his title the following year for his 3rd PGA TOUR victory. Johnson has had at least one victory in each of the last nine PGA TOUR seasons, the longest such active streak on Tour.

Johnson’s rise to a career-best #2 in the OWGR has been a steady climb since he turned pro, when he was ranked 1,375th. By the beginning of the ’15-’16 season, Johnson found himself at #8, joining stablemate Jason Day as the second TaylorMade Tour staffer in the top 10. A dramatic victory in the 116th U.S. Open Championship at Oakmont, a career milestone for Johnson, lifted the 32-year-old to #3, and he then elevated to #2 two weeks later with his victory at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and then cemented himself atop the FedExCup Playoff Standings entering the Tour Championship with a dominant win at the BMW Championship.

Arguably the longest hitter on Tour, Johnson has been ranked inside the top five on the PGA TOUR in driving distance every year since earning his card, and held the top spot at the conclusion of the 2015 season. Thus far through the ’15-’16 season, Johnson still holds the #1 position with a 314.2 yard average off the tee.

“When I started my professional career, my goal was to be the best and win tournaments. I chose TaylorMade because they made products that outperformed anything else I had ever played. Since day one, I’ve had a great relationship with the TaylorMade team and especially the guys who support me every week out on TOUR. I’m looking forward to continuing our teamwork and playing equipment that I believe in and has helped me to succeed.”

For more information on TaylorMade Golf equipment or Tour staff players, visit TaylorMadeGolf.ca.

WELLESLEY, Mass. – Judith Kyrinis, 52, of Thornhill, Ont., will be playing in the first match Wednesday at the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur – one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the United States Golf Association.

Kyrinis, who was medalist during qualifying, outlasted 54-year-old Robin Burke of Houston, in 20 holes before having an easier time in the Round of 16 Tuesday, with a 4-and-3 win against Evelyn Orley, 50, of Cardiff, Calif.

Kyrinis advanced despite an inflamed right elbow, which she said wasn’t a factor.

“It bothered me my first match more than anything,” she said. “This morning was not my best ball-striking, but I was better this afternoon, so that’s good to see.”

The quarterfinals will begin at 8 a.m. EDT on Wednesday; the first semifinal match is scheduled to start at 12:45 p.m.

Kyrinis is the last Canadian standing. Three Canadians fell in the Round of 32.

The competition consists of 36 holes stroke play followed by six rounds of match play, with the 18-hole championship match scheduled to take place Thursday, Sept. 22.

Canada’s best are gearing up to take on the world’s top talent on Wednesday when competition begins for the Men’s World Amateur Team Championship at the Mayakoba El Cameleón Golf Club and Iberostar Playa Paraiso Golf Club in Riviera Maya, Mexico.

The Canadian trio will be led by Kimberley, B.C., product Jared du Toit, who currently stands as Canada’s top-ranked male on the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR) at No. 26. He’ll be accompanied by Team Canada Amateur Squad teammate and reigning Canadian Amateur champion, Hugo Bernard of Mont-St-Hilaire, Que.

Rounding out the squad is 29-year-old Garrett Rank of Elmira Ont., who will be riding on the strength of his recent third-straight victory at the Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship.

Canada is paired with Japan and Spain for the opening rounds, with Bernard drawing the tournaments opening tee-slot at 7:15 am EST. Rank will follow at 7:25 am EST, while du Toit will go at 7:35 am EST.

The squad will be under the direction of Team Canada Men’s Head Coach, Derek Ingram, alongside non-playing team captain Doug Roxburgh.

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. In 25 appearances at the Women’s World Amateur Team Championship, Canada has earned runner-up honours four times.

Click here for pairings.

VICTORIA, B.C. – The 2016 Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship will get underway this Friday at Bear Mountain Golf Resort’s Mountain Course, with 81 of the top Champions Tour players competing for one of the year’s top purses of US$2.5 million.

Headlining one of the strongest fields of the 2016 Champions Tour season are World Golf Hall of Fame members Bernhard Langer, Vijay Singh, Colin Montgomerie, Mark O’Meara and Tom Kite.

Langer, who currently leads the Charles Schwab Cup standings with $2,432.659 in 2016 earnings, has put forth one of the strongest seasons in Tour history at the age of 59, with four wins – including major championship victories at the Regions Tradition and Constellation SENIOR PLAYERS Championship earlier this year.

The two-time Masters Tournament champion owns 29 career titles on Champions Tour, which puts him tied for second on the all-time victories list with Lee Trevino, trailing only Hale Irwin, who has 45 career wins.

Singh won 34 times during a stellar career on the PGA TOUR, including major championship titles at the 1998 and 2004 PGA Championship, as well as the 2000 Masters Tournament.

The 53-year-old native of Fiji ranks 14th on the PGA TOUR’s all-time victories list, and recorded a staggering 31 of his 34 wins during what is commonly referred to as the “Tiger Woods era.” Singh was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2005.

Montgomerie, 53, has notched three victories on Champions Tour, including the 2014 and 2015 Senior PGA Championship presented by KitchenAid, as well as the 2014 U.S. Senior Open – all of which are senior major championships.

The Scotland native won the European Tour’s Order of Merit a record eight times during a standout career which gave way to Hall of Fame honors in 2013. Montgomerie drew the ire of American golf fans through the years, posting a 20-7-1 record in the biennial Ryder Cup without losing a singles match.

Other notable players in the field include former Masters Tournament champions Craig Stadler (1983), Larry Mize (1987) and Ian Woosnam (1991), as well as former Open Championship winners Mark Calcavecchia (1989) and Todd Hamilton (2005).

Two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen and 1987 U.S. Open winner Scott Simpson will tee it up on Friday, as will former PGA Championship winner Jeff Sluman (1988).

The inaugural Charles Schwab Cup Playoffs are set to get underway at the end of October, which makes the Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship a crucial stop on the 2016 calendar as one of the final three events in the Tour’s Regular Season. The top 72 players will qualify for the Playoffs.

The Charles Schwab Cup standings during the Regular Season are based on earnings, in turn making the US$375,000 winner’s share this week an attractive target for players looking to win the prestigious season-long race. Only three events in the Tour’s 26-tournament schedule have larger purses than the US$2.5 million offered this week, with all three being major championships.

The field at the Pacific Links Bear Mountain Championship will consist of 52 former PGA TOUR winners, and 11 players who have won on Champions Tour this year alone.

Tournament week in Victoria will begin with Official Pro-Ams on Wednesday and Thursday, followed by 54 holes of championship play from Friday through Sunday, with no cut. All three competitive rounds will be broadcast live by Golf Channel to more than 200 million homes in 84 countries and 11 languages around the world.

Tickets are available for both pro-am rounds and tournament rounds, and are offered in a variety of packages, including the popular Champions Club.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Team Canada’s Grace St-Germain made an immediate impact in her first collegiate event on Sunday, finishing T2 at the Lady Falcon Invitational at her new home base (and campus).

St-Germain, 18, posted a 1-over 145 (72-73) in the 36-hole event, to help lift the Falcons to a convincing 14-stroke victory over runner-up Florida Tech. The event marks the first collegiate tournament for the Daytona State freshman, who has spent the last two years as a member of Team Canada’s Development Squad. She finished three strokes behind teammate Jiwon Jeon of South Korea, who closed at 2-under par (72-70).

With the strong finish, the Ottawa native shows no signs of slowing down after an impressive summer campaign which featured a win at the Ontario Women’s Amateur and a runner-up at the Quebec Women’s Amateur. St-Germain will tee-it-up next with the Falcons from Sept. 23-25 at the Lady Paladin Invitational.

The Falcons are listed as a Div I school under the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA)—an association dedicated to America’s two-year collegiate programs.

Click here for full scoring.

Nestled against the Credit River, within shouting distance of Lake Ontario and a mere 17 minutes (without traffic, of course) from downtown Toronto, lays one of the country’s most iconic and celebrated layouts.

And when Mississaugua Golf and Country Club hosts the 2016 World Junior Girls Championship from September 27-30, all eyes will once again be on the Percy Barrett/George Cumming/Donald Ross/Stanley Thompson design.

But, you don’t have to travel all the way to Mississauga to check out the venerable layout. Here’s a bird’s eye view of all 18 holes.

And, here’s a unique look at the historic clubhouse.

For more info on the World Junior Girls Championship, visit www.worldjuniorgirls.com.

To find out how you can grow your business by Adopting a School, visit golfcanada.ca/adoptaschool or call 1-800-263-0009 ext. 475.

There’s been much hand-wringing recently over the “future of the game” and where golf is headed if more youngsters don’t get involved.

For those of you who really care about the future of the game, the solution might be to stop wringing your hands and use them to open your wallets. Here’s your chance.

Sept. 19-23 is national Adopt a School Week, created by Golf Canada and supported by the PGA of Canada, provincial golf associations and the National Golf Course Owners Association Canada.

Adopt a School is an offshoot of the successful Golf in Schools program created by Golf Canada in conjunction with the PGA of Canada and PHE Canada with support from the National Golf Course Owners Association Canada as a program partner. It provides courses, companies and individuals with the opportunity to “adopt” one or more schools of their choosing to introduce the Golf in Schools program at that school. (Schools can also enroll in the program on their own if they wish.)

In a very generous gesture, for a limited time the Canadian Seniors’ Golf Association is matching all adoptions, giving donors the option to select two schools to receive the GIS program, while donating funding for just one.

The GIS program, currently in more than 3,000 elementary and high schools with more than 336,000 students participating from coast to coast, includes a “best-in-class” learning resource as well as child-friendly golf-specific equipment.

“It’s a fabulous program and the equipment is so well designed,” says Enid Botchett. A retired educator in Edmonton, she has a long history in volunteerism including serving in many roles with Alberta Golf, including president. In 2012, she was named Golf Canada’s volunteer of the year.

But as excellent as the program materials and equipment are, Botchett says having a local champion for the program is equally vital.

Fellow Edmontonian Patti Christensen agrees. Now an elementary principal, she has shared her love of golf at every school where she has worked.

Like Botchett, Christensen says the Golf in Schools program is unlikely to achieve its ultimate goal of not only introducing kids to the game, but keeping them in the sport unless there is a connection with a golf course or driving range.

“For Golf in Schools to really work, you must build a community partnership with golf courses. It’s not just about showing the kids what golf is about for a day or a few days, but helping them make the connection with the real golf experience.

“Another important part of the program is to teach them not just skills but values that come along with golf, like perseverance, etiquette, sportsmanship and character.”

For golf courses participating in the Adopt a School program, there are tangible benefits. Call it “enlightened self-interest.”

“My motivation [to support GIS]  is to grow the game because, otherwise, who is going to play golf?” says Jason Harris, owner of Orr Lake Golf Club near Barrie, Ont. Harris is heavily invested in the program, having adopted four schools in the area and paying a pro from a neighbouring course to visit those schools. Harris then busses the kids to his course to swing a club for real and get some pointers from a PGA of Canada member. Over the past few years, his support of the program has introduced more than 550 kids to golf.

“As great as the GIS concept is, Golf Canada can only do so much and they are doing their part by subsidizing the GIS packages and providing the grants to go into schools and to bring schools to the course,” says Harris.

“It is the ultimate responsibility for golf course owners to step up and continue or take over the school sponsorship by offering the in-school visits and bringing the classes to the golf course. We have to realize this is a top priority for the future of the game as well as for our business.”

Harris has seen ancillary benefits to his support of the Golf in Schools program.

“Sure, the kids come out to the course, but then they bring along mom and dad. Then there’s a whole family dynamic. Not only the kids want to play golf and take lessons, but so do their parents. We had 140 people go through our Learn to Golf clinics this summer. That’s 140 new golfers, so that’s a positive thing for golf.

“This entire program was great PR for us in the community plus we have definitely seen an increase in the number of juniors and families playing our course this year.”

Every journey starts with a first step, as the old saying goes.

With your support, Adopt a School just may provide that first step for thousands of youngsters to be introduced to “the game for a lifetime.”

London, Ont. – A day removed from his career-low, 9-under 61 at Highland Country Club, France’s Paul Barjon posted a final-round 2-under 68 to win the Freedom 55 Financial Championship, the final event on the 2016 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada schedule by a stroke over French Polynesia’s Vaita Guillaume at 22-under 258, a Mackenzie Tour record for 72 holes.

With the win and a first-place check of $36,000, Barjon jumped from No. 30 to No. 6 in the final Order of Merit and will advance to the final stage of the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament.

Langley, B.C.’s Adam Cornelson finished T50, high enough to clinch Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Year honors, which comes with a $25,000 prize.

Members of Dan Halldorson’s family presented Adam Cornelson with the Dan Halldorson Trophy as Player of the Year. pic.twitter.com/YYlZMTB4nB

— Mackenzie Tour (@PGATOURCanada) September 18, 2016

Up by six strokes over 18- and 36-hole leader Aaron Wise after his eagle at the par-5 second hole, Barjon remained in the driver’s seat all day and never lost his lead, despite a 10-under 60 by Guillaume. Barjon offset three bogeys with four birdies and an eagle.

“Yesterday was like a round that came out of nowhere,” Barjon said of his 61 in round three. “Today was a little different, when you play with the lead. You have everybody trying to chase you, but I was able to suck it up until the end and it worked out well, even with a 60 by Vaita.”

Barjon’s victory marks his third top-10 finish of the season, bettering a pair of T6 showings at the Bayview Place DC Payments Open presented by Times Colonist and the ATB Financial Classic.

“This is absolutely one of the best golf courses we play all year,” Barjon said of Highland. “It was a good one for me, everything worked out for me and it turned out successful for me.”

Barjon’s nearest threat in the end proved to be Guillaume. Beginning the day nine strokes off the lead at 11-under-par, Guillaume birdied his last four holes en route to a 10-under 60, tying the course record at Highland set by Curtis Reed in 2015. The Campbell University grad finished just a stroke back at 21-under 259.

Wise, the NCAA 2016 individual champion with the Oregon Ducks, finished three shots shy at 19-under after shooting a final round 68.

Freedom 55 Financial established the Canadian Player of the Week award in 2013 to recognize top Canadian players on the Mackenzie Tour. At each event, Freedom 55 Financial presented this award to the Canadian player who had the lowest total score. Winners also received $2,500 to use toward attaining future goals.

With scores of 65-70-67-65—267 (-13) to finish T9, Aaron Cockerill took home top-Canadian honors at this week’s Freedom 55 Financial Championship.

“It’s a huge honour to be the top Canadian at this event,” Cockerill said. “There are so many great players from across Canada here this week, and the competition on this Tour is so strong. Thanks to Freedom 55 Financial for their support in helping players like me chase their dream of making it to the PGA TOUR.”