JACKSON, Miss. – Kevin Streelman wasn’t the only one who took advantage of nearly ideal conditions at Jackson County Club.

The 37-year-old did it a little better than everyone else, though, finishing with a 9-under 63 for a two-shot lead after the first round of the Sanderson Farms Championship.

Streelman made 10 birdies Thursday, including eight in an 11-hole stretch. With more good weather forecast for the next three days, he said the low scores will have to keep coming if he wants to have a shot at winning the tournament.

“When you get PGA Tour players on great greens with great conditions and there’s a fair amount of wedges in our hands on this golf course – they’re going to make some birdies,” Streelman said.

Trey Mullinax, Seamus Power and Carl Pettersson all shot 65 to sit two shots behind Streelman. Seven others – including Lucas Glover and Camilo Villegas – were among those three shots back.

Defending champion Peter Malnati shot a 71. Of the 132 players, 100 shot even par or better.

Streelman is a two-time PGA Tour winner, with his last victory in 2014 at the Travelers Championship. He missed the cut two weeks ago in the season-opening Safeway Open.

Streelman said he wasn’t planning on playing at Sanderson Farms until his poor performance in California. It’s been a good decision so far: The 9-under 63 is his career-low score in relation to par. He shot an 8-under 62 at the Travelers in 2008.

“It was pretty flawless ball-striking to be honest,” Streelman said. “Hit a lot of fairways.”

Mullinax – a rookie making his fifth career PGA Tour start – was among the others who took advantage of the forgiving course to post a low score. The 24-year-old finished tied for 22nd at the Safeway Open two weeks ago and continued to play well in Jackson.

“The goal this week was to give myself the best chance to win, and today was a good start,” Mullinax said. “We have three days left.”

The 29-year-old Power is making just his second start on the PGA Tour. He finished 15th at the Olympics while playing for Ireland over the summer and said the experience helped give him confidence.

“The biggest thing to remember is I’m not going to win the tournament at 7 under,” Power said. “I’m going to have to get to 20-under, so that’s the overall goal you have to get to and then see what happens from there.”

With a 15-foot birdie putt on the last hole at the Mid Ocean Club in Bermuda, the Quebec duo of Dave Levesque and Marc-Etienne Bussieres separated themselves from a logjam at the top of the Nike Golf PGA Team Championship of Canada.

The clinching putt at No. 18 vaulted the pair to 20-under-par (64-65-64), separating themselves from four teams—Chris Barber/Lee Curry; Dean Brown/Pat Marcia; Ian Doig/Ed Maunder; and Brad Kerfoot/Michael Moniz—all at 19-under-par.

“I was really trying to focus on my breathing standing over that last putt and not think about winning the trophy,” Levesque said. “I knew what had to be done because I’m a leaderboard watcher and I knew exactly what was happening with all these teams stacked up.”

The Nike Golf PGA Team Championship of Canada featured different team formats for each day—fourball, foursomes and scramble—with Levesque Bussieres taking home $12,000 of the $90,000 total prize purse.

“The beauty of this event is the format,” Levesque said. “You get teams contending this week you don’t usually see, plus you have powerhouse teams too and everyone is just making lots of birdies to keep things exciting.”

There were plenty of birdies Thursday at Mid Ocean with the average team score of 64.30.

For the full Nike Golf PGA Team Championship of Canada leaderboard, CLICK HERE.

With the win, Bussieres becomes a two-time PGA of Canada winner in 2016, his first coming back in June at Victoria Golf Club for the PGA Championship of Canada.

“This win is really special because Bermuda is such a wonderful place and the fact that Mid Ocean Club has hosted us all week is just incredible,” Bussieres said. “This golf course is spectacular and the food has been amazing all week too.”

Ranked the 47th best golf course outside of the United States by Golf Digest, The Mid Ocean Club was designed by world-renowned architect Charles Blair Macdonald and first opened for play in 1921. The club has played host to the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in 2007 and 2008, and has hosted such heads of state as Presidents George H.W. Bush and Dwight Eisenhower; Sir Winston Churchill, The Duke of Windsor; former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney; as well as baseball icon Babe Ruth.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Amy Yang took the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia lead, and Michelle Wie had her best score in more than a year. Lydia Ko had to fight to get back to even par in her first event since firing her caddie.

Yang shot an 8-under 63 _ one off her own course record – in hot and humid conditions Thursday for a two-stroke lead over American Marina Alex. The 27-year-old South Korean player birdied all four par-3 holes at TPC Kuala Lumpur.

“Simple, just keep it simple,” Yang said. “And try to get as much shade as I can.”

Wie opened with a 66, breaking 70 for only the fourth time in 68 rounds this year. Winless in 57 tournaments since the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open, she’s coming off a season-best 10th-place tie last week in China in the Blue Bay LPGA.

“I just had fun out there today,” said Wie, paired with Alex. “I love playing with Marina. She’s a really good friend of mine and she was playing great today, and just kind of feeding off each other’s energy.”

The top-ranked Ko birdied the par-5 18th for a 71. She had a double bogey on the par-4 second.

“Really clumsy double,” Ko said. “I hit a great drive and then I just leaked a shot in the water. The rest of the day I was just trying to fight back and put myself in position under par. And I got back into good position and I hit it in the water again. So, that wasn’t good. But obviously to finish up the round with a birdie on 18 was good. To bring it back to even, I think it could have been much worse.”

The 19-year-old New Zealander fired Jason Hamilton, the Australian who caddied for her since late 2014, and is using Malaysia’s Sargunan Suntharaj this week. Hamilton shifted to Ha Na Jang and helped the South Korean player open with a 69.

China’s Shanshan Feng, the 2014 winner, was at 66 along with Wie, Norway’s Suzann Pettersen, American Mo Martin, Spain’s Azahara Munoz and South Korea’s Jenny Shin.

Feng had 10 birdies, watery double bogeys on Nos. 14 and 15 and a bogey. The women are playing TPC Kuala Lumpur’s East Course, a week after Justin Thomas successfully defended his title on the West Course in the PGA Tour’s CIMB Classic.

Yang birdied Nos. 15-17 and nearly made it four in a row on the par-4 18th, only to have her 5-footer graze the right edge. That left her a stroke short of the course record she set in 2013.

On the par 3s, she hit to a foot on the fifth, 20 feet on the seventh, and 7 feet on 15 and 17. She had 22 putts.

“My putting was good,” Yang said. “Just happy to shoot a bogey-free round.”

She has five top three-finishes this season. Both of her LPGA Tour victories have come in Asia, the first in 2013 in South Korea and the second last year in Thailand.

“I do enjoy Southeast Asia,” Yang said. “I’d rather play in this weather than cold weather.”

Wie returned to play last week at Blue Bay after a four-week break.

“Just really just kept my body right,” Wie said. “Just really took time off and really tried to get healthy again. I did a lot of rehab and just practiced and tried to play a lot.”

She also opened with a 66 last year. The American struggled after that a year ago, closing with a 76 to tie for 42nd.

Second-ranked Ariya Jutanugarn, grouped with Ko and fifth-ranked Brooke Henderson, had a 68. The 20-year-old Thai star has a tour-high five victories and leads the money list and the Race to CME Globe and player of the year standings. She was third Sunday in China.

Stacy Lewis shot a 70 in her first event since mid-September. Winless in 60 starts since June 2014, the 11-time tour champion had a triple bogey on the par-4 11th. She has 11 runner-up finishes during the drought.

Henderson also had a 70. The 19-year-old Canadian is playing for the fifth straight week in Asia and plans to make it six in a row next week in Japan in the Asia finale.

Defending champion Jessica Korda shot 71. She was second in China.

SHANGHAI – Rikard Karlberg made his World Golf Championships debut with an 8-under 64 on Thursday to take a one-shot lead over Rickie Fowler in the HSBC Champions.

Karlberg has only faced a field this strong twice before in the British Open, both times missing the cut. He wanted to treat this like any other event, and on a soggy Sheshan International course, he made it look easy.

Karlberg was 9 under through 16 holes and challenging the course record when he came up short on the par-3 17th, nearly in a hazard, and managed to save par. He wasn’t so fortunate on the par-5 closing hole after driving into a bunker. He caught too much sand, couldn’t reach the green with his third and took his only bogey.

Russell Knox won his first WGC event last year at Sheshan International, and Karlberg at least took a good opening step in that direction.

“It felt amazing, every part of the game,” he said. “Everything was so easy. It was just one of those days, a walk in the park.”

It was a wet walk. The course was soaked with 5 inches of rain over the weekend, another downpour on Wednesday cut short the pro-am and most of the opening round was played in a light rain that make the greens bumpy toward the end of the round.

Fowler, in his first competitive round since the Ryder Cup, holed a 15-foot birdie putt on his final hole for a 65 that had him thinking about an HSBC sweep. He won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship in January, so far his only victory this year.

Fowler was particularly efficient on the par 5s, reaching two of them in two shots for eagle chances and leaving a simple up-and-down on the 14th hole for another birdie. He also chipped in from just off the green on the 17th.

Fowler was at PGA of America headquarters in Florida for the official arrival of the gold Ryder Cup trophy (he also accompanied it to Arnold Palmer’s memorial service). And while the buzz of winning is starting to wane, he rode some of that momentum into China.

Fowler had never won a Ryder Cup match until teaming with Phil Mickelson in a fourballs victory in the opening session at Hazeltine. He also beat Justin Rose in singles, and while it was a team victory, it felt like more.

“For me, finding a way to get a win in a singles match was big,” Fowler said. “It’s a team victory, but I felt like I did my part to help the team. Coming out of that with a 2-1 record instead of 1-2 was important to me.”

He didn’t see another golf course for two weeks until getting back to work last week in Florida, determined to clean up his tee-to-green game, and that’s what carried him in the first round of the HSBC Champions.

That wasn’t the case for U.S. Open champion, who hit only seven fairways and wasn’t able to use his length in soft conditions to attack the par 5s. Johnson also missed a couple of short birdie chances early and finished with only one birdie in a round of 74.

Scoring wasn’t a problem for so many other players.

Knox played in the group with Fowler and Paul Casey, and they combined to make 16 birdies and an eagle. Knox, Daniel Berger and Hideki Matsuyama were at 66, while Casey joined Bill Haas and Francesco Molinari were at 65. Nineteen players in the 78-man field broke 70.

Rory McIlroy wasn’t among them. He made only two birdies, dropped a shot on the 18th and had to settle for a 71.

As great a round as Karlberg played, it was a quiet one for the Swede. He said there only a dozen or so people watching, and the Chinese gallery was so quiet that there were times he didn’t know how close he had hit it because no one cheered.

“They are a bit quiet when it comes to if they should applaud or not, especially I think a guy as me who shows up that is not one of the ‘super heroes,”’ he said with a smile, referring to the HSBC Champions promotion of top players. “We hit a few shots that were just spot on, and I looked at my caddie … ‘Is that long or short?’ I don’t know, they were a little scared to applaud you.”

He at least has experience in these parts. Karlberg played the Asian Tour for five years before getting his European Tour card, and he has a good understanding of the greens, putting aggressively on them.

Four-time PGA TOUR winner Stephen Ames and PGA TOUR member Julian Etulain will captain the teams from the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada and PGA TOUR Latinoamérica at the inaugural Aruba Cup, December 12-18 at Tierra del Sol Resort and Golf, it was announced Tuesday along with a new logo for the event.

Ames, who played on the Mackenzie Tour from 1990 to 1991 and has amassed more than $20 million in career earnings and Etulain, a three-time PGA TOUR Latinoamérica winner who earned his PGA TOUR card for the 2016-17 season, will lead the teams of 10 players each in the President’s Cup-style match play event at Tierra del Sol.

“I’m honoured and excited to lead the Mackenzie Tour team into this competition at an incredible venue for the first time,” said Ames. “I fondly remember my time starting my career in Canada and know that the guys on our team are well on their way to making the next step on the path to the PGA TOUR, and it should be a fun week of great golf in Aruba.”

“It’s an honor for PGA TOUR Latinoamérica to have asked me to be the captain of the Aruba Cup,” said Etulain. “It was a pleasant surprise to have been asked and when I was, I didn’t hesitate to say ‘yes.’ This will be a new challenge for me, and I have no doubt that we will form a great team and have a great competition.”

A Vancouver, B.C. resident who hails originally from Trinidad and Tobago and became a Canadian citizen in 2003, Ames counts a victory in 2006 at THE PLAYERS among the highlights of a professional career that began in 1987. Ames now plays on PGA TOUR Champions, where he has accumulated 11 top-10s in 42 career starts.

Etulain captured his first PGA TOUR Latinoamérica win at the 2013 Lexus Peru Open and went on to win twice in 2014 to lead the Order of Merit and capture the Roberto de Vincenzo Award as Player of the Year, earning exempt status on the Web.com Tour, where he finished runner-up twice to earn his PGA TOUR card for 2016-17.

“We’re thrilled and honoured to be hosting two great champions like Stephen and Julian along with their respective teams at Tierra del Sol. We can’t wait to get started and are looking forward to an outstanding week of competition and fun in December,” said Oliver Riding, Director of Golf Operations, Tierra del Sol Resort and Golf.

The 10-man roster for the Mackenzie Tour, which includes the top 10 players available on the Order of Merit with a minimum of five Canadians, will be announced in the coming weeks, while the Latinoamérica team will be announced following the conclusion of the 2016 season.

The Aruba Cup will take place December 12-18, with the three competition days featuring Fourball, Foursomes and Singles matches on December 15, 16 and 17.

SHANGHAI – Rory McIlroy is replacing his Nike driver and two fairway metals this week at the HSBC Champions as he begins to search for new equipment.

Nike announced in August that it was getting out of the hard equipment business _ clubs and golf balls _ to concentrate more on its longtime strength of shoes and apparel. McIlroy, at No. 3 in the world, is the highest-ranked player in Nike’s golf stable.

“Honestly, I didn’t envision having anything in my bag until the end of the season,” McIlroy said. “Look, I’m playing well. I’ll leave it. But I brought a few clubs out to Dubai to try out and test. I hit them and I was like, ‘This is good.”’

He is using the TaylorMade M2 driver, 3-wood and 5-wood at Sheshan International.

McIlroy won the Deutsche Bank Championship and the Tour Championship to capture his first FedEx Cup. A week later, he went 3-2-0 in the Ryder in a European loss. The HSBC Champions begin a stretch in of three tournaments in four weeks to close out his European Tour season.

McIlroy, a four-time major champion, signed with Nike in 2013.

He went back to a Scotty Cameron putter for the FedEx Cup playoffs, though McIlroy plans to stick with the Nike irons, at least through the end of the year. He said Nike recently made him a fresh set of irons.

How long that lasts depends on what he finds at the end of the year. McIlroy said when his season ends at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, he plans to test equipment from every major manufacturer.

“The hardest part will be the golf ball,” he said. “I need something that works. And right now, the Nike golf ball works with the TaylorMade drive and woods, but it also works with everything else in my bag, which is perfect.”

He said Nike has stocked up enough golf balls to last him two to three years. That doesn’t mean he won’t change golf balls, but “at least I have that option.”

Nike has some three dozen players using its equipment, a roster that includes Tiger Woods. He was using the Nike clubs at a clinic at Pebble Beach two weeks ago. Woods has not played since August 2015, and his next tournament is likely the Hero World Challenge the first weekend in December in the Bahamas.

Paul Casey used a TaylorMade driver for one round at the Safeway Open last week. Kevin Chappell, who finished a career-high eighth on the PGA Tour money list last year, also switched to the TaylorMade driver for the HSBC Champions and to the Titleist golf ball.

According to one player, Nike has said it will honour contracts but that it will pay only 50 cents on the dollar if a player signs another equipment deal.

McIlroy is not in a rush to sign any deal.

“I’m going to enjoy the luxury of being able to play with what I want because it’s the best for me,” he said. “All of this, the whole Nike thing that happened, one of the great things is that it’s given me freedom to say, ‘Let’s go to market. Let’s see what works absolutely 100 per cent for me.”’

Chappell also had the Nike irons in his bag at Sheshan International, though he started testing new clubs during his two weeks after the Tour Championship. Like McIlroy, he said he was looking for the “best 14 clubs” he could find.

“If someone wants to endorse me for using them, then great,” he said.

This article was originally published in October of 2016

37-year-old Justin Randall Timberlake – better known as Justin Timberlake or simply JT – is a pop icon and a man of many talents.

Since breaking through as a teenager with the popular boy band NSYNC in the late 1990s the Memphis, Tennessee native has gone on to find massive success as a solo artist earning nine Grammy Awards – and counting.

The former Mickey Mouse Club cast member has also enjoyed success on the big screen with parts in popular movies such as Alpha Dog, The Social Network, and Shrek the Third.

Timberlake’s latest project sees him as the voice of Branch in the upcoming animated musical comedy, Trolls, which co-stars Anna Kendrick.

Besides his accomplishments as a chart-topping artist and a respected actor, Timberlake is also a talented golfer – who started playing at the age of 12 and shoots a six handicap.

“It’s pretty impressive for someone like JT, who’s constantly on the go, to be a single digit handicap,” acknowledged former Canadian national team member, Rebecca Lee-Bentham, who also started playing golf at the age of 12.

“He seems like a man of many talents, but it also takes a lot of hard work to be where he’s at,” she added about Timberlake who co-produced the 2013 documentary, The Short Game, about a group of young elite golfers preparing for the 2012 U.S. Kids Golf World Championship.

Just last month, the pop icon was in Toronto for the premier of Justin Timberlake and The Tennessee Kids – a concert documentary from his 20/20 Experience tour.

The 90 minute feature by Academy Award winning director Jonathan Demme premiered during the Toronto International Film Festival and was met with much excitement and buzz especially given that it meant Timberlake would be walking the red carpet at Roy Thomson Hall.

The “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” singer was caught up in the TIFF buzz also.  After meeting up with Demme on the red carpet and sharing a hug, Timberlake declared: “We made it!”

Then with his cell phone in his hand, he proceeded to run up and down the red carpet capturing the excitement of his screaming fans – many of whom had been camping out for hours in anticipation of his arrival.

“I always love meeting people who have achieved a lot in their careers, and who have given back a lot to their community and JT has done so much in every aspect of his life,” said Lee-Bentham, a huge Timberlake fan, who has taken in TIFF each of the previous three years.

Besides the pandemonium surrounding his arrival to Roy Thomson Hall, Timberlake also created a frenzy on the Internet when he told an E! reporter that he would like to work with former Mickey Mouse Club cast member Britney Spears again – whom he dated from 1999 to 2002.

In addition to plugging his film with reporters on the TIFF red carpet, Timberlake – now married to actress Jessica Biel – also talked to a Toronto reporter about his one and a half year old son, Silas, and the challenges and joys of parenthood.

Having thoroughly enjoyed his experience at the Toronto International Film Festival, Timberlake tweeted out: “Good times Toronto! #TIFF16. Next up @Netflix Oct 12th” to his 55 million plus followers.

Besides finding success as a musician and actor, the married father of one also carries the title of record producer, business owner, and philanthropist.

Perhaps the most notable artist that Timberlake has written for and produced is Rihanna – first working with the singer from Barbados in 2009 on her second album Rated R.

As an entrepreneur, Timberlake and his wife are minority owners of the National Basketball Association’s Memphis Grizzlies.

Another notable business venture saw the long-time golf enthusiast purchase Big Creek golf course in his home town. Timberlake would then spend millions and turn it into the state of the art eco-friendly Mirimichi Golf Course.

While it was not a profitable investment, the venture to redevelop Big Creek  and save it from becoming a housing development had a special place in his heart because it was that same course he grew up playing in.

The efforts at his hometown golf course were not Timberlake’s only good deeds on the greens.

In 2007, the PGA announced that he would be the host of the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

As part of his involvement, the chart-topping artist hosted a charity concert with proceeds going to the Shriners Hospital for Children during the week of the PGA tournament in both 2008 and 2009.

As a self-described golf enthusiast, Timberlake frequently plays in PGA Pro Am events – including the Pebble Beach Pro Am in February – where he gave an impromptu performance on the 16th tee for his many fans in the gallery.

Besides his good deeds through golf, Timberlake and his wife also contributed to the Hurricane Sandy relief efforts in 2012.

Timberlake’s latest humanitarian efforts includes a remake of the 2003 smash hit “Where is the Love?” with proceeds going to fund educational programs.

While Timberlake continues to be idolized in Canada and around the world, Lee-Bentham says what the pop icon is doing with his current platform – being an ambassador for golf and to a larger extent making a difference for the betterment of society – is what’s most impressive and inspiring.

“I love that he uses his talents and gifts to influence change for the better,” said the former LPGA pro about Timberlake.

“It would be nice to have more role models like JT out there in the celebrity world for kids to look up to.”

VENICE, Fla. – Four Canadians were among 84 competitors that advanced to Stage III of the LPGA Qualifying Tournament on Sunday at the Plantation Golf & Country Club.

Megan Osland of Kelowna, B.C., led all 10 Canadians in the field, finishing at 5-over par (72-72-73-76) to grab a share of 30^th. Team Canada graduate and Calgary product Jennifer Ha was the next Canadian in line, closing at 7-over par (69-71-79-76) to end in a tie for 47^th.

Fossambault, Que., native Sara-Maude Juneau—also a Team Canada graduate—carded her lowest round of the tournament (73) to solidify her place in the final stage with a T62 result.

Paris, Ont., native and former Team Canada member Jennifer Kirby finished one stroke clear of the cut line to become the fourth Canadian to advance to the final stage. Kirby struggled out of the gate with an opening-round 80 (+8), but fought her way back into contention with three consistent rounds to finish the event tied for 76^th.

Norway’s Marianne Skarpnord (Sarpsborg, Norway) cruised to medallist honours at Stage II of LPGA Qualifying Tournament on Sunday with a final-round 1-under, 71 to finish at 11-under, 277, five shots clear of second.

World No. 2 amateur, Bronte Law (Manchester, England), finished second at 6-under, 282 while runner-up at the 2015 U.S. Girls’ Junior Angel Yin (Arcadia, Calif.) finished third at 5-under, 283.

The final stage will commence from Nov. 30 – Dec. 4 at LPGA International in Daytona Beach. The top 20 finishers at final stage will earn LPGA Tour membership for the 2017 season.

Click here for full scoring.

SEOUL, Korea, Republic Of – The PGA Tour expanded its Asia swing to three tournaments Monday by adding a new event in South Korea with a limited field and a $9.25 million purse.

The size of the purse for the 78-man field at The CJ Cup would trail only The Players Championship, the majors, and the World Golf Championships. The field would be comprised of the top 60 players available from the previous year’s FedEx Cup. The other 18 will be determined by exemption to be decided later.

The CJ Cup is scheduled for Oct. 19-22 at Nine Bridges, located on Jeju Island off South Korea’s southern coast.

The tournament will be in the middle of the Asia swing, which starts with the CIMB Classic in Malaysia (Oct. 12-15) and ends with the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai on Oct. 26-29.

The PGA Tour first went to South Korea a year ago for the Presidents Cup at the Jack Nicklaus Golf Club Korea in Incheon.

“We had such a phenomenal experience in Korea last year at the Presidents Cup, and we hoped an official, permanent event in this great country would be the result of that success,” said Jay Monahan, the PGA Tour’s deputy commissioner.

Title sponsor CJ Corporation agreed to a 10-year deal.

CJ is a South Korean conglomerate that already is involved in golf. It sponsored an LPGA Tour event at Nine Bridges from 2002 to 2005, and it was the sponsor of an Asian Tour event, the CJ Invitational, from 2011 to 2013. It also sponsors Korean players such as Byeong Hun An and Si Woo Kim.

The PGA Tour has 12 players from South Korea on its international roster this year, second only to the 15 from Australia among countries outside the United States. Last year there were 20 South Koreans who were members of either the PGA Tour or the Web.com Tour.

“Partnering with a respected business leader like the CJ Corporation means this tournament will be on the Korean sports landscape for years to come,” Monahan said. “We have a tremendous population of Korean golfers on the PGA Tour, and we anticipate that will continue as The CJ Cup … inspires a new generation of players, not only in Korea, but also around the world.”

The tournament will be run by the PGA Tour’s championship management division. The CIMB Classic in Malaysia is co-sanctioned with the Asian Tour, while the HSBC Champions is run by the International Federation of PGA Tours, with the European Tour serving as the lead tour.

The final round of the CCAA Golf Championships at Fox Meadow Golf & Country Club began with a lot of excitement in the air. Players knew that the forecasted weather would provide a true test for the best collegiate players in Canada. High winds, cold temperatures and heavy rain gave the participants everything they could handle during the championships final day.

Josiah Dixon of the Niagara, Conner Watt of Humber and Marc-Olivier Plasse of Cégep André-Laurendeau battled all day in the tournament’s final group. Watt entered the 18^th hole with a one-stroke lead over Dixon. However Dixon got into to trouble and finished with a triple bogey while Plasse closed with a par, leaving the two tied at 5-under par. Watt ended with a bogey and was presumed to be the individual winner by a three shot margin over the other two.

During the closing ceremonies it was brought forward by the rules officials that Watt had signed for a six on his scorecard instead of a seven. Watt was then disqualified and the green was cleared for Marc-Olivier Plasse and Josiah Dixon to compete in a playoff for individual gold. With darkness falling quickly, the pair matched each other shot for shot before Dixon finally clinched the event on the third playoff hole.

Matt Lemay from the Georgian College Grizzlies would claim the individual bronze at +1 while Nick Earle (UNB Varsity Reds), Marc-Antoine Hotte (Cégep André-Laurendeau Boomerang) and Antoine Roy (Cégep Champlain St. Lawrence) would tie for fourth at +2.

In team play the women’s golfers from the Georgian College Grizzlies and the men from the Niagara College Knights survived the elements on their way to become the PING CCAA National Golf Champions.

The women from the Georgian College Grizzlies led wire-to-wire, clinching the championship on Friday by posting a team score of 161. They defeated the Humber College Hawks by 14 strokes.

Members of the Grizzlies are Addison Wallwin (+14, 1st), Emilie Tyndall (+21, T5th) and Sady Beelik (+37, T11th).

Cégep Champlain St. Lawrence Lions (+53), University of the Fraser Valley Cascades (+55) and the Medicine Hat College Rattlers (+59) rounded out the top five in the championship.

Individually Wallwin of the Georgian College Grizzlies won the women’s title by three strokes over Noémie Oullette of the Cégep Champlain St. Lawrence Lions after a final round 78.

Other notable finishers were Becky Martin (Medicine Hat, +18), Lorelle Weavers (Niagara College, +19), Tyndall (Georgian College, +21) and Sheila McKeen (Humber College, +21) rounding out the top five.

For the host-team from Holland College Karleigh McEwen led the way by finishing tied for 14th; she was joined by teammates Daria Leidenius finishing in 23rd and Jaylene Holmes-Tang ending the tournament in 26th. As a group the Hurricanes finished in seventh place overall.

The men’s championship was claimed by the Niagara College Knights who stormed to the top of the leaderboard by posting a final round team score of 297. They claimed the championship by one shot over the second place team from Cégep André-Laurendeau Boomerang.

The Knights were made up of individual champion Josiah Dixon (-5), Evan Littlefield (+7, T15), Ben Kenel (+12, T29), Brett Shewchuk (+12, T29) and Logan Lammerant (+22, T53).

Rounding out the top five in the team competition was the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds (+26), Cégep Champlain St. Lawrence Lions (+27) and the Humber College Hawks (+27).

The host men’s Hurricanes finished in a tie for seventh place after posting a score of 304 on Friday; they were represented by Tyson Gavin (T10), Connor Shea (T20), Bradley Jenkins (41st), Peter Frenette (T42) and Spencer Compton (T53).

The event featured several firsts for the championship. This was the first time that the results from the PING CCAA National Golf Championships were counted towards the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

This was also the first time that this Championship was broadcasted live which was a major success thanks to the hard work from all involved including TV1 presented by Bell Aliant and Universum Media.

For a full look at the official tournament photos by Mike Bernard Photography visit this link.

To watch archived footage of the events broadcast visit this link.

For a full look at the final championship leaderboard visit this link.