JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The laser machines that have been tracing shots at PGA Tour events for more than a decade were getting old and needed to be replaced. That led tour officials to ask if there was a better method to collect data.

The answer was found in sophisticated video cameras.

It started with small cameras attached to poles on the sides of three greens at PGA Tour events during a testing phase toward the end of last season. As 2016 ends this week, cameras are being used on six greens at Sea Island for the RSM Classic.

“It would be easy to buy new lasers,” said Steve Evans, the tour’s senior vice-president of information systems. “But would there be another way to collect data? And could we be collecting more than we’re collecting? What about using video cameras to translate what comes through video into data?”

ShotLink involves mapping golf courses and using lasers to show where each shot lands. That information generally allows for distance (how far off the tee, how close to the hole) and direction (fairway, rough, bunkers, greens).

The cameras bring motion into play, particularly with putting. It will allow for statistics on the percentage of putts that break left-to-right or right-to-left, whether the putt is downhill or uphill.

“From a data perspective, we can learn if uphill is harder or downhill is easier,” Evans said.

Evans said the cameras also can correct flaws with projected putting paths because it eliminates the assumption on how hard the ball must be struck.

“With this system, let’s say it’s a 30-foot putt. We’ll know a foot off the putter how fast the ball is moving,” Evans said. “It’s gives us a much more accurate projection on where it will end.”

With the cameras installed only at the green, there are some limitations. The cameras can pick up the golf ball only as it approaches the green. Evans said if it proves worthwhile, cameras could be installed from the tees and along the fairways.

By tracking a ball in motion instead of where it comes to a rest, statistics would be available showing how much a ball rolls once it’s on the green. That would relate to the trajectory of the ball in its approach.

Evans said digital and broadcast media are likely to get the most of the information, along with publications that go heavy on analytics. It figures to be useful for players, too, allowing them to spot tendencies in their games.

“All that feedback and analysis on the golf course is nice to have,” Rickie Fowler said. “We look at statistics and stuff a lot more. Joe (Skovron), my caddie, does it for feedback on areas that we may have been working on to see the improvement and then what areas need improvement. Some guys use it more than others.”

The tour hopes to have it in place in the first part of 2017, at which point Evans said it will work with broadcast partners and how to make the best use of the data.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Olympic gold and silver medalists Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson are among the first to sign up for the PGA Tour’s first team event since 1981.

The tour announced Monday that the Zurich Classic outside New Orleans will be feature 80 two-man teams and both players will receive credit for an official victory. It’s the first official team event since the Walt Disney World Team Championship in 1981.

Rickie Fowler and Jason Day, the world’s No. 1 player, also announced plans to compete as a team.

The Zurich Classic is April 27-30 at the TPC Louisiana. It will feature two rounds of fourballs and two rounds of foursomes. Players can pick their partners, provided they have PGA Tour status or receive a sponsor’s exemption.

Calgary – Alberta Golf has announced the 2016 Player of the Year recipients.

“We are thrilled to celebrate our winners and two junior achievers for their performances over the course of the 2016 season that led to their successes on both the Provincial and National Orders of Merit,” said Randy Robb, Alberta Golf’s Manager of High Performance Sport. “These rankings recognize our athletes’ incredible accomplishments while also providing them with a measuring stick for their continued development as a player.”

The Player Rankings are used to identify and give recognition to top performing amateur & junior golfers across Alberta who has achieved success in the golf season. The Alberta Golf Rankings are based on those Championships that represent an high standard of competition. A point system is used based on the scores and results of the players in the approved events in order to objectively rank each individuals performance.

The objective of the Alberta Golf Rankings is to provide a Provincial comparison/ranking system for Alberta’s top junior/amateur players which will enable players to compare themselves to their counterparts across the country. The Alberta Golf Player Rankings is also used to select Camp invitations, Multi-Sport Games (Western Canada Games/Canada Summer Games) participants, High Performance Team Members and the invitations for the PGA of Alberta Junior Masters.

Being named the Player of the Year is a true testament to the dedication, hard work and commitment to achieve the goals set at the beginning of each competitive season.

The 2016 Player of the Year winners are:

Junior Boys Division:

1. Brendan MacDougall
2. Chandler McDowell
3. Max Sekulic
4. Max Murchison
5. Ethan Choi

Juvenile Boys Division:

1. Chandler McDowell
2. Max Murchison
3. Ethan Choi
4. Kai Iguchi
5. 5. Ethan de Graaf

Bantam Boys Division:

1. Ethan Choi
2. Marko Banic
3. Hunter Thomson
4. Caden Park
5. Thomas Sluka

Junior Girls Division:

1. Kenna Hughes
2. Sharmaine Rapisura
3. Kehler Koss
4. Katy Rutherford
5. Annabelle Ackroyd

Juvenile Girls Division: 

1. Annabelle Ackroyd
2. Taylor Stone
3. Lauren Koenig
4. Jessica Marks
5. Reese Martin

Bantam Girls Division: 

1. Annabelle Ackroyd
2. MacKenzie Baustad
3. Kaitlyn Wingnean
4. Tillie Claggett
5. Stephanie Chelack

Mens Amateur Division:

1. Evan Holmes
2. Matt Williams
3. Scott Secord
4. Jordan Irwin
5. Brett Hogan

Ladies Amateur Division:

1. Kat Kennedy
2. Jaclyn Lee
3. Quinn Fitzgerald
4. Lauren Diederichs
5. Erin Farner

Senior Mens Division:

1. Frank Van Dornick
2. David Schultz
3. Brian Brown
4. Christopher Hairrell
5. Howard Broun

Senior Ladies Division:

1. Lynn Kuehn
2. Cheryl Newman
3. Joan Wilson
4. Susan Plum
5. Barbara Flaman/ Susan Thomson

Boys Junior Achiever of the Year 

 Logan Carver

1. T21 Canadian Junior Boys Championship
2. 14th Alberta Men’s Amateur Championship
3. 3. T7 Alberta Junior Boys Championship

Girls Junior Achiever of the Year 

 Claire Emery

1. 9th Alberta Junior Girls Championship
2. 5th Future Links Western Championship
3. 1st CJGA RedTail Landing event

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – Pat Perez won the OHL Classic at Mayakoba on Sunday in his third start since returning from shoulder surgery.

Perez closed with a 4-under 67 for a two-stroke victory over third-round leader Gary Woodland on the Greg Norman-designed El Camaleon course. Perez finished at 21-under 263.

“I had an attitude that I can’t really repeat, but I had a lot of thoughts going on,” Perez said. “The main one was I wanted to stay aggressive. I knew if I just stayed aggressive I was seeing the line great on the putting green. … This type of grass and these greens, if you can get it on line you can make them.

“I just saw the line, I thought I could make them all and I just had a confidence. I had an entirely different attitude than I would have had a few years ago. It was definitely a different win than last time. Last time, I was a little more scared coming down the stretch. I didn’t really believe and this and that. This time, I really had like this calmness, kind of like a madness to get it done.”

Perez had surgery on his shoulder in February. He returned with a tie for 33rd in Malaysia, and tied for seventh last week in Las Vegas.

“When you hit 40 and then you have surgery, it’s like ‘Oh, God, you know, what are we going to do?”’ Perez said. “I had sleepless nights, I had a lot of sleepless nights wondering, ‘What are we going to do? How are we going to do this? What’s going to happen here? What would happen here? Because all you do is sit around and think. That’s all you have time is to sit around. You’re just sitting in a sling doing nothing and you can’t hit balls for five months. I had a lot of time to think about a lot of things.”

Perez shot a 62 on Saturday to pull within a stroke of Woodland. The 40-year-old former Arizona State player birdied five of the first eight holes and had a bogey on the par-4 12th.

“In a lot of ways, when you win you’ve got to have a lot of things go your way,” Perez said. “You’ve got to make a lot of putts, you need some help from other players. It’s everything. It’s so hard to win. But I just had this different look about it this week and I’ll hopefully carry that through for a while.”

He also won the 2009 Bob Hope Classic.

“I guess I’m just one of those late-maturers,” Perez said. “I know I was sort of a punk and all that early on, but I think I learned a lot about myself in the last nine, 10 months and it just paid off this week. I couldn’t be more excited about what’s going on.”

Woodland birdied the final two holes for a 70.

Russell Knox was third at 18-under after a 66.

“I wasn’t all that comfortable out there.” Knox said. “This course kind of makes you put the steer on sometimes, but I made seven birdies. A couple mistakes, but overall starting the day I would have taken 66.”

Chez Reavie (67), Kevin Streelman (65) and Scott Piercy (70) were 17 under.

Adam Hadwin (67) of Abbotsford, B.C., finished in a tie for 10th at 14-under par, while Nick Taylor (70), also from Abbotsford, was tied for 15th at 12 under.

LUJAN, Argentina – The par saving 18-footer he made on the 54th hole on Saturday afternoon turned out to be the Argentina Classic title clincher for Spain’s Samuel Del Val.

The 29-year old was declared the winner of the 16th tournament of the PGA TOUR Latinoamérica season when thunderstorms moved into the Club Campos de Golf Las Praderas de Lujan to force the cancellation of the fourth round on Sunday.

After postponing the start of the final round several times throughout the day, PGA TOUR Latinoamérica officials found the course saturated by rain that made it unplayable. The final round was cancelled at 12:50 p.m.

Del Val, who posted rounds of 69-66-68, secured the title with a score of 13-under 203. He won by one over Augusto Núñez of Argentina and Derek Gillespie of Oshawa, Ont.

“This is a long-awaited victory. I’ve been seeking this win for four years and it’s finally here,” said the champion who had had two runner-up finishes in 58 previous starts thru four seasons in Latin America.

“When stuff like this happens is hard to control the emotions. You really don’t know if you are going to play or not, but I kept telling myself that we were going to play and that is was going to be a long day, a good battle with several good players near the top. You know we didn’t play and I guess it was enough to claim the win, so I’m very happy for the way things turned out.”

MEXICO CITY – Carlota Ciganda rallied to win the Citibanamex Lorena Ochoa Invitational on Sunday for her second LPGA Tour victory in four starts.

The 26-year-old Spaniard shot a 4-under 68 at Club de Golf Mexico for a two-stroke victory over six players. She played the four par-5 holes in 5 under, making an eagle on No. 2 and birdies on 6, 11 and 17.

Ciganda won the LPGA KEB-Hana Bank Championship a month ago in South Korea for her first tour title. The former Arizona State player has five straight top-10 finishes.

“I am very happy to be here and to get my second victory,” Ciganda said. “It’s wonderful to play here in Mexico. I honestly don’t have any words. I love the golf course, the people, it’s an honour to be here. I’ve been playing really good all year long and to end this year with these two victories gives me a lot of confidence, I am very happy.”

Ciganda won a year after finishing second Inbee Park on the tree-lined course.

“Last year, I was close,” Ciganda said. “It was a shame not being able to win but it was still a good last day, so I had really good memories. Last week, I was back home just resting because I wanted to play here and to do so well, so I am really happy and thrilled that I was able to win.”

Third-round leader Austin Ernst had a 71 to drop into a tie for second with Angela Stanford (69), Jodi Ewart Shadoff (67), Karine Icher (69) and Sarah Jane Smith (70).

“Right now, disappointed. I just didn’t play well enough today to get it done,” Ernst said. “Carlota played really good, especially early. I am just kind of frustrated with how I finished.”

Stanford won the 2008 event in Guadalajara.

“It was a good day,” Stanford said. “It’s hard to shoot 3 under on Sunday and be upset, but I had two three-putts. The one on 11 would probably haunt me for a while, but I hit the ball really well and gave myself a lot of chances and I was never in a really bad spot, so to be in contention and have a day like that is pretty encouraging.”

Mexican amateur Maria Fassi closed with a 73 to tie for 15th at 5 under. She’s a freshman at the University of Arkansas. Gaby Lopez also was 5 under after a 73 on her home course.

Canada’s Brooke Henderson, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 7, was 20th at 4 under after a 71. Michelle Wie (72) was 24th at 1 under after a 72. The 2009 winner in Guadalajara, she played on a sponsor invite after failing to qualify for the 30-player event.

Tournament host Ochoa won 27 LPGA Tour titles. The Mexican star retired in 2010. She will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame next year.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Paul Goydos and Bernhard Langer got the big trophies and checks Sunday in the PGA Tour Champions’ season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

Goydos completed a wire-to-wire victory in the tournament, and Langer finished second to win his third straight season points title and fourth overall.

Goydos shot a 4-under 66 to finish at 15-under 195 on Desert Mountain’s Cochise Course. He opened with a 62 in windy conditions and shot a 67 on Saturday to take a two-stroke lead in the final round.

Langer had a 64. Recovering from a left knee injury that forced him to withdraw from the playoff opener at Sherwood, the 59-year-old German star won the $1 million annuity as the Charles Schwab Cup season champion and also topped the tour with four victories and $3,016,959.

Colin Montgomerie had a 68 to finish third at 11 under.

Woody Austin (64) and 62-year-old Jay Haas (68) tied for fourth at 7 under.

The 52-year-old Goydos earned $440,000. He also won the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open in July in New York and has four victories on the 50-and-over tour. He won twice on the PGA Tour and shot a 59 in the 2010 John Deere Classic.

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico – Gary Woodland took a one-stroke lead into the final round of the PGA Tour’s OHL Classic at Mayakoba after dropping two strokes on the par-3 15th Saturday.

Woodland finished with a 5-under 66 to reach 18-under 195 on Mayakoba’s Greg Norman-designed El Camaleon course. He won the last of his two tour titles in 2013.

“I’ve been there. I’ve been in the position a lot the last couple years. I’m excited about my game, I’m going to rely on my game and trust it and go out and have fun. … I’m very comfortable with where my golf swing is and I’m going to rely on it and run it out.”

Woodland birdied the first seven odd-number holes, then ended the string with the double bogey on 15 when his tee shot went long into the hazard. He played the first 51 holes without a bogey.

“I’m happy. I mean, I played great today. Drove the ball exceptionally well, controlled my distances to the green, and I rolled it well,” Woodland said. “It’s hard to argue with that, hard to be upset with that. I hit a good shot on 15. I just hit it long.”

Married last month, Woodland took last week off and worked with instructor Butch Harmon after opening the new season in Malaysia and China.

Pat Perez was second after a 62. He played the front nine in 7-under 29, making an eagle on the par-5 fifth. The one-time tour winner recently returned from shoulder surgery.

“I was real comfortable,” Perez said. “I woke up and I just felt good. I was comfortable on the range. I’ve just been on this different attitude in the last couple weeks where I just try to stay aggressive and try to think of the right shot and the good shot and not worry about what happens. It’s really worked. I’ve been working on that the last nine months since I got hurt.”

Scott Piercy was 16 under after a 66, Seamus Power (64) was 15 under, and Webb Simpson (69) followed at 14 under.

Defending champion Graeme McDowell was 8 under after his second straight 65. He opened with a 75.

MEXICO CITY – Austin Ernst shot her second straight 5-under 67 on Saturday to take the third-round lead in the Citibanamex Lorena Ochoa Invitational.

Ernst had her second straight bogey-free round at Club de Golf Mexico after opening with a 72.

“I have been hitting my driver pretty well, which I get a lot of looks at birdie,” Ernst said. “I have had a lot of good looks this week so even when I am not making everything, like today, I still made five birdies. So, I have just made it very easy when I haven’t been sure about myself, missing greens and I haven’t had many hard putts for par.”

The 24-year-old American won the 2014 Portland Classic for her lone LPGA Tour title.

She’s coming off a two-week break.

“Everything I’ve been working in the last two weeks is definitely turning out how I wanted, so it is nice to see it,” Ernst said.

At 10-under 206, she had a one-stroke lead. Second-round leader Sarah Jane Smith of Australia had a 72 to drop into a tie for second with Spain’s Carola Ciganda (68).

“I was pretty nervous most of the day,” Smith said. “It was a position I’ve never been in before. I wouldn’t say I handle it well, but I scrambled well, so that should give me some confidence for tomorrow.”

Ciganda won her first LPGA Tour title last month in South Korea.

“It’s tough if you come from Asia, but I was in Spain for a week just resting,” Ciganda said. “There is a little bit of jet lag, but I think it is better to come from Spain rather than from Asia, which is like 12 or 13 hours. I feel good, I’m looking forward to tomorrow.”

Angela Stanford, the winner of the inaugural event in 2008 at Guadalajara Country Club, had a 69 to match Karine Icher (70) and Mi Jung Hur (71) at 8 under.

Mexican amateur Maria Fassi had a 65 to get to 6 under. She’s a freshman at the University of Arkansas. Gaby Lopez also was 6 under after a 73 on her home course.

Canada’s Brooke Henderson, the highest-ranked player in the field at No. 7, was 4 under after a 68.

Michelle Wie was tied for 20th at 1 under after a 74. The 2009 winner in Guadalajara, she’s playing on a sponsor invite after failing to qualify for the 30-player event.

Tournament host Ochoa won 27 LPGA Tour titles. The Mexican star retired in 2010. She will be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame next year.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Paul Goydos shot a 3-under 67 on Saturday to take a two-stroke lead into the final round of the PGA Tour Champions’ season-ending Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

A day after opening with a 62 for a three-stroke lead, Goydos birdied the par-5 18th to reach 11-under 129 on Desert Mountain Club’s Cochise Course.

“I was happy. It was a nice day,” Goydos said. “The wind had calmed down a little bit. It seems to be windy in the morning here and better in the afternoon. Playing good’s an advantage to some extent.

Colin Montgomerie, third in Charles Schwab Cup season standings, remained second. He followed his opening 65 with a 66. The Scot matched playing partner Goydos with a closing birdie.

Points leader Bernhard Langer was third at 7 under after a 66.

The top five in the standings – Richmond winner Scott McCarron is second, followed by Montgomerie, Joe Durant and Miguel Angel Jimenez – can take the season title with a victory Sunday. Durant was tied for 15th at 1 under after a 69, McCarron was tied for 17th at even par after a 71, and Jimenez was 22nd at 1 over after a 67.

The season standings were reset after the event last week in Virginia, with Langer’s lead over McCarron reduced from 935,657 to 200. The tournament winner will receive $440,000 and 2,000 points.

“I just know that there’s a bunch of possibilities like we imagined and here we are,” Langer said. “I guess right now if it stands like this, Monty and I would be tied and we’re going to a playoff. But will it stand that way tomorrow, nobody knows. I don’t know. It’s certainly exciting, it’s volatile. You know, it comes down the stretch.”

The 59-year-old German has a tour-high four victories and has wrapped up the season money title with $2,836,459. He won season titles in 2010, 2014 and 2015. He’s recovering from a left knee injury that forced him to withdraw from the playoff opener at Sherwood.

“It’s been the same for the last two weeks, just being very careful walking,” Langer said. “I can’t read my putts properly because I can’t bend down the way I used to. But my goal is to finish the tournament, not to read my putts properly. Obviously, I would love to read them right, but if that would kick me out of the tournament, that’s no good, so I’ve just got to do what I’ve got to do.”

Goydos is 24th in the standings. The two-time PGA Tour winner won the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open in July for his third senior title. He shot a 59 in the PGA Tour’s 2010 John Deere Classic.

“I’ve gotten off to good starts and, hopefully, I can continue that tomorrow,” Goydos said. “A little sloppy on the back nine, quite frankly. But I’m Paul Goydos, I’m not Bernhard Langer, as I’ve proven time after time after time after time. But I hung in there pretty good. Made a couple birdies on the 5 pars, which is nice, and looking forward to playing tomorrow.”