PRATTVILLE, Ala. – Laetitia Beck took the first-round lead in the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic, dodging some of the wind Thursday morning in a bogey-free 7-under 65.

The 24-year-old Beck, the first Israeli player to qualify for the LPGA Tour, was in the first group of the day off 10th tee. She birdied four of the final five holes on her opening nine in calmer conditions, and had three more – two on par 5s – on the windier second nine.

“I think the winds picked up for us only like the last five, six holes, so we played the front nine without much wind,” Beck said. “That front nine was 4 under, so it really helped.”

Annie Park and Minjee Lee were tied for second at 67. They played in the afternoon.

Beck hit 11 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens and had only 26 putts on the links-style Senator Course at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail’s Capitol Hill complex.

“I think here on this golf course it’s all putting, because it’s a very scorable course,” Beck said. “Hitting a lot of greens, hit the right part of the green, and I think I was doing well making putts, even though I did miss birdie opportunities, but I made good putts for birdies.”

Normally held in hotter and firmer conditions late in the summer, the tournament was moved up because of the Olympics.

“The conditions are great,” Beck said. “The greens are softer than what I played last year. They were softer so we can attack more, so I think that’s why it’s a scorable course this year, especially because we can just go for it, especially with having short irons.”

The former Duke player is winless on the tour and has made only two cuts in eight events this season.

Park birdied five of the first seven holes. The 21-year-old former University of Southern California player won three times last year on the Symetra Tour and topped the circuit’s money list.

“It was definitely not easy out there with the wind picking up, but I hit some good shots,” Park said. “There were some lucky shots out there, too, and then I think putting was kind of difficult, especially with the wind and the slopes. There were some really scary putts out there, especially when it’s helping wind downhill, but I had a good round.”

Lee had four straight birdies on her first nine and birdied three of her last five. The 19-year-old Australian won last month in Hawaii for her second LPGA Tour title.

“It was pretty chilly,” Lee said. “I had my jumper on warming up and long pants and long sleeves. … Just the wind makes it cold.”

Mexico’s Alejandra Llaneza opened with a 68.

“I’m pretty happy,” Llaneza said. “I didn’t know what to expect today. I have been actually really sick this week, so I was just like, ‘OK, one shot at a time.’ I think that helped. I got on a roll for a little bit there, so that was exciting.”

Morgan Pressel, Vicky Hurst and Taiwan’s Candie Kung shot 69.

“It was tough out there,” Pressel said. “Once we made the turn, around 10, my hat blew off, I lost my ball marker. The wind played really tough. It was tough to get it close to the hole, really, so when you end up 40 feet on some of these greens, it’s just good to two-putt.”

Michelle Wie had a 71. She’s winless since the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open and hasn’t had a top-10 finish in 34 events.

Fourth-ranked Stacy Lewis, the 2012 winner, had a late bogey in a 71. She’s winless in 48 events.

No. 5 Brooke Henderson had a 72. The 18-year-old Canadian has eight top-10 finishes this year.

“It wasn’t one of my best days today, but I hung in there really well and was happy to get two birdies kind of late in my back nine to get it back to even par,” Henderson said. “Definitely some opportunities out there, but the conditions are pretty tough. The wind is pretty strong today.”

Japan’s Haru Nomura also shot 72. She has two victories this season.

Defending champion Kris Tamulis had a 76.

Golf’s Long-Term Player Development (LTPD) guide encompasses all aspects of athlete progression—from early childhood through to adulthood. The framework is at the core of Golf Canada’s mission to develop players that can compete at the highest level within the sport.

While serving as a measurement tool for performance, the LTPD guide also focuses on continued efforts to foster life-long engagement with the sport. The 2015 release of the guide’s second iteration elevated the experience for those that utilize the guide by incorporating new interactive elements to separate it from its earlier version (released in 2006).

In addition to the printed document, the LTPD guide is offered through a mobile app, available for free on the app store. To compliment the mobile experience, LTPD also streamlined its own dedicated web portal, providing instant access to up-to-date research and insightful video interviews from industry experts and professionals.

Although specifically targeted at golf professionals, athletes and parents, LTPD also contains valuable information for Golf Course Owners and Superintendents.

Click here to download the mobile app.

Augusta National is the carrot. The Masters Tournament, United States Golf Association (USGA) and PGA of America dangle it like a winning lottery ticket, like a sweepstakes for junior-aged golfers and their families.

Can you blame them? Having Augusta as the centrepiece of America’s Drive, Chip & Putt initiative helps make it the junior golf development windfall it has become. That and Golf Channel providing tour-level coverage, players in the Masters field and Augusta National members handing out medals, and finalists invited to stay over for Monday’s Masters practice round.

Let’s not kid ourselves (apologies for the pun): This is a juggernaut. As a grassroots development platform, the Drive, Chip & Putt profile has no equal. It’s unparalleled.

But it wasn’t the first. From a curriculum standpoint it might not even be best.

Five years before Drive, Chip & Putt, there was the Junior Skills Challenge. Ever heard of it? CN sponsors the program. Golf Canada administers it. The PGA of Canada and provincial golf associations deliver it.

The Canadian version actually uses a fourth category — iron play — to join putting, chipping and driving as the skills pillars. Regional qualifiers are held across the country with winners converging at Glen Abbey GC the Saturday prior to the start of the RBC Canadian Open for the finals. Up to $500 in travel subsidies are available. Did I mention Acushnet Canada provides qualifiers with more than $300 worth of prizing? Not bad, right?

“The national finals during RBC Canadian Open week is a wonderful stage for these talented kids,” says Scott Simmons, Golf Canada’s CEO. “It’s an inspirational and exciting atmosphere for them and their families.”

Wait, there’s more. On Sunday, kids participate in a nine-hole Golf Canada Junior Open tournament after the skills finals. They also get an opportunity to walk with a PGA Tour pro during the Wednesday pro-am and attend junior clinics. The clinics are hosted by Team Canada Young Pro squad members during RBC Canadian Open practice round days.

“This program is community-based. Families do not need to invest significant money to travel to regional qualifiers and PGA of Canada professionals represent the front-line delivery for these quality golf experiences. What separates our Skills Challenge is the depth and quality of the CN Future Links program in its entirety. It really is an exciting platform to motivate Canada’s junior golfers,” adds Simmons.

Look, I’m not here to apologize for being a proponent of Drive, Chip & Putt. It’s an amazing program. Canadians sign up and a few have even gone on to compete at Augusta. Simmons says discussions are ongoing about CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge one day becoming a qualifier for it.

“They (USGA & PGA of America) certainly recognize the quality of our program up here,” he says. “I think there is strong potential to somehow align Junior Skills Challenge with Drive, Chip & Putt in the near future.”

Until then, however, I need to pay better attention to my own backyard. Truth is, CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge has, rather quietly, been quite a success story in this country. Last year 3,400 kids signed up at cnfuturelinks.com to try qualifying at 168 regional events, a year-over-year increase of 28 more sites from 2014. Of those 3,400 juniors involved, 40 per cent were ages nine to 11. That’s a key target demographic Golf Canada is trying to engage. It’s promising and it bodes well for the game’s future.

For kids who participate in the CN Future Links Junior Skills Challenge there’s plenty of motivation and reasons to take part.

No, the Jack Nicklaus-designed Glen Abbey is not Augusta and the RBC Canadian Open will never be confused with the Masters. But that’s okay.

They’re still great carrots.

Canada’s Drive, Chip & Putt This article was originally published in the April 2016 edition of Golf Canada Magazine. To view the full magazine, click the image to the left.

Courtenay, B.C. – California’s Aaron Wise shot a 3-under 69 on Wednesday at Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community to maintain his lead heading into the final round at the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada’s British Columbia Qualifying Tournament.

The 19-year old stumbled to a 1-over front nine, but carded four birdies without a bogey coming in to reach 14-under for the tournament, three shots ahead of Dallas’ Conrad Shindler and San Antonio’s Jeff Rein with one round to go at Crown Isle.

“I didn’t have my best stuff on my front nine, and my short game kept me in it. I had a lot of great up-and-downs. When I got to 10, I kind of re-set my goals and wanted to make six birdies on the back nine. I didn’t do that, but it was still a pretty solid back nine,” said Wise.

The University of Oregon sophomore, who currently ranks no. 6 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, said he kept calm after a wobbly start and set about his business to rebuild his lead on Thursday afternoon

“It’s just knowing your own golf game,” said Wise of making a mid-round correction that paid off. “I’ve worked with my coach long enough to where I know what my swing does and my tendencies under pressure. I knew what I was doing out there; it was just a matter of me fixing it, and it took a few holes, but I did it.”

Wise will turn professional later this spring after completing his collegiate career, but said he isn’t getting ahead of himself even with a huge slate of tournaments on the horizon, instead choosing to focus on the round in front of him on Friday.

“We have a good game plan. It’s just a matter of me going out there and hitting the shots. I didn’t do such a great job on the front nine, so I hope to get off to a better start tomorrow, and I’m excited,” said Wise.

Courtenay, B.C. – Lake Elsinore, California’s Aaron Wise shot a 4-under 68 on Wednesday at Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community to take the second round lead at the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Qualifying Tournament.

The 19-year old, currently ranked No. 6 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking, carded six birdies against one double bogey, his only dropped shots of the week, to lead by four shots over Atherton, California’s Jonathan Garrick through 36 holes at Crown Isle.

“I played well,” said Wise. “I’ve got a good strategy going and I’m executing all my shots correctly. I had a costly double bogey there on 16 which I’m a little irritated about right now, but I’ll get over it and I’m looking forward to the next couple of days.”

With four wins to his name in his two seasons at Oregon, Wise has flourished in his sophomore year. This spring, he was named a semi-finalist for the Ben Hogan Award, given annually to the top player in college golf, and credited an improvement in his putting to his strong second-year performance.

“My set-up was a little off and my stroke wasn’t very good, so I was making a lot of compensations. Since I’ve gotten a little drill that shows my hip and shoulder alignment and makes sure I’m putting a good stroke on it, and that’s really helped me score a lot better because I’m making the putts I need to make,” said Wise, who owns four collegiate victories and has twice been named Pac-12 Player of the Month.

Former Ducks to have success on the Mackenzie Tour include 2015 ATB Financial Classic Daniel Miernicki and two-time winner Eugene Wong, both of whom preceded Wise at the University of Oregon. Wise said their success on the Mackenzie Tour influenced him to follow their path when he turns pro following the college season.

UXBRIDGE — It was a night to honour the best in Ontario golf as Golf Ontario, along with Wooden Sticks Golf Course, hosted the 16^th annual Ontario Golf Hall of Fame ceremony on May 4.

This year, three inductees joined the list of who’s who in Ontario golf as journalist John Gordon, professional/teaching pro Patty Howard and former Golf Association of Ontario Executive Director Dave Mills joined the Hall as the 73^rd, 74^th, and 75^th members. In addition, journalist Bill ‘Skip’ Johns was honoured with the Lorne Rubinstein Media Award.

The event began with emcee Mark Zecchino, from TSN, welcoming all guests who packed the reception room at Wooden Sticks in Uxbridge.

Golf Ontario President Chris Osborne took to the stage next to congratulate all of the individuals being honoured. “We acknowledge all of tonight’s inductees’ contributions and accomplishments in the great game of golf, and through this induction ceremony wish to perpetuate the memory of their place in golf history.”

First up was the Lorne Rubenstein Media Award. Presenting the award was none other than Rubenstein himself who was honoured to give the award to his peer Bill ‘Skip’ Johns. Johns, a journalist for close to 60 years, brought smiles and laugher to the crowd as he did his best “athlete” acceptance speech before thanking all who made the award possible for him.

The first inductee to be honoured was John Gordon. Gordon, a golf journalist for more than 30 years, was involved in many aspects of the golf industry. In addition to his contributions in print, radio, television and online journalism, Gordon also held roles with Golf Canada, the Ontario Golf Association (now Golf Ontario), the NGCOA and Clublink. Gordon also helped to form the Professional Golf Management Program at Georgian College and is a published author of eight books.

During his speech, Gordon spoke about his passion to make the game more accessible and affordable, but emphasized to people to have faith in the game and to stop and admire it for what it currently is.

Next, Patty Howard joined the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame. Howard was a multiple-time winner as a professional and went on to become a successful teaching pro. She held numerous positions in the industry, many of which were a first for females. Her accomplishments helped to pave the way for women in golf today.

Howard talked about her passion for the game and how it continues to burn even to this day. “People don’t remember what you did but rather how you made them feel,” said Howard. It was evident from the guests, including the coach bus of supporters that accompanied Howard, that she had made an impact on many people.

Last but not least, former Golf Association of Ontario (Golf Ontario) Executive Director Dave Mills took his place in the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame. Mills, who started out as a volunteer on the Ontario Golf Association Board of Directors, went on to become the association’s Executive Director and led the organization out of a period of financial instability. He spearheaded a merger with the Ontario Ladies’ Golf Association to create one of the largest golf associations in the world. To this day Mills continues to be involved with the association as a volunteer.

Mills took the opportunity to talk about his favorite memories with the association including his numerous trips to championships with junior teams and mischief the players would find themselves in.

Jordan Spieth understands his meltdown at the end of the Masters will follow him. And three weeks later, Spieth’s not quite ready to say he’s over letting a five-shot lead in the final round morph into that awkward ceremony in the Butler Cabin that ended with him slipping the green jacket on Danny Willett following an ugly and very public collapse.

Still, let’s not get carried away.

“I’m not taking it very hard,” Spieth said Tuesday, while attending a FedEx event in suburban Pittsburgh ahead of practice at Oakmont, where he will try to defend his U.S. Open title next month.

“I’ve got ladies at the grocery stores putting their hand on me and going, ‘Really praying for you; how are you doing?’ I’m like, ‘My dog didn’t die. I’ll be OK. I’ll survive.’ It happens.”

It just hadn’t really happened to Spieth during the 22-year-old’s sprint to the top of the world rankings, a dash that included a pair of major championships and a reputation as one of the game’s steadiest players as the holes dwindled and the stakes rose. In the span of 30 minutes during the final round at Augusta, it disappeared. A bogey at 10. Another at 11. That seemingly endless sequence on 12 where he hit the ball into Rae’s Creek not once but twice on his way to a quadruple bogey 7 that cost him control of the tournament.

“It was just bad timing on the wrong hole,” Spieth said. “And you know, it is what it is, and I’ll move on. If you’re in contention at a major, hopefully 50-plus times in your career, something like that is bound to happen. Just don’t let it happen again.”

Spieth endured the uncomfortable post-round ceremony with Willett, whose brilliant closing 5-under-par 67 will be forever tied with the way Spieth let it slip away. Spieth admitted “this one will hurt” in the aftermath and he’s spent the last few weeks trying to decompress and get ready for the daunting test that awaits at Oakmont in June.

So Spieth did what most early 20-somethings with time to burn and money to spend did: he went on a well-appointed Spring Break. Spieth joined Rickie Fowler, Smylie Kaufman and Justin Thomas for a getaway at a tropical resort that Fowler chronicled via Snapchat, a vacation that included a little golf and a lot of unwinding.

“We were having fun, we were relaxed,” Spieth said. “We were able to play golf and golf was kind of secondary to the relaxation part of the trip.”

It will be back to work on Wednesday when Spieth takes a long look at Oakmont, which is prepping to host its ninth U.S. Open and first since 2007, before heading to Florida for next week’s Players Championship. Spieth plans to treat his preparation for the rugged test in the Western Pennsylvania hills much the same way he got ready for Chambers Bay last summer, when he edged Dustin Johnson and Louis Oosthuizen by a stroke. Spieth will try to get a feel for Oakmont this week then arrive early in June for a far different kind of test than the one found at the three other majors.

Angel Cabrera captured the Open in its last visit to Oakmont with a four-round total of 5 over par. Compare that to the 18 under par Spieth posted while winning at Augusta in 2015 or even the 5-under he put up at Chambers Bay. It will take nerves to survive and regardless of what that stretch at the Masters looked like, Spieth isn’t worried about his confidence being rattled should he be in the mix on Father’s Day.

“Our team can draw on the wins, and that’s what we’re going to do,” he said. “We’ve now had a chance to win coming down the stretch in six majors and we’ve won two of them, including the last five and 2014 Masters. So that’s still a pretty good percentage, if you’re in contention six times, you win two of them, a third of the time. Considering my age, and hopefully with continued good health and continued improved play, if we keep that percentage up, we’ll be all right.”

DULUTH, Ga. – Former British Open champion Stewart Cink says he is taking a break from golf after learning his wife has breast cancer.

Cink posted the news Tuesday on Twitter, saying the family is still in the process of figuring out “what she is fighting, and the uncertainty is difficult.”

He prefaced the short statement on Twitter by saying that his wife, Lisa, has been his biggest supporter since he was 15 and “it’s now time for me to return the favor.”

The statement says: “In order to assist Lisa in meeting the challenge, I will be stepping away from competitive golf until the circumstances improve for her. Hopefully that day will come quickly.”

Since I was 15 years old, @lisacink has been my biggest supporter. It’s now time for me to return the favor. pic.twitter.com/4mVRMsmfL4

— Stewart Cink (@stewartcink) May 3, 2016

Cink’s biggest victory was the 2009 British Open when he beat Tom Watson in a playoff at Turnberry.

Courtenay, B.C. – Barrie, Ont.’s Eric Hawerchuk shot an 8-under 64 on Tuesday at Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community to take the first round lead at the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Qualifying Tournament.

The 26-year old, whose father is NHL Hall of Famer Dale Hawerchuk, was bogey-free with eight birdies to lead by one over Lake Elsinore, California’s Aaron Wise after one round in Courtenay.

“I played smart and had a couple big up-and-downs, par saves that kept me going to be honest. A lot of the putts fell in, and it was a great day,” said Hawerchuk.

After missing his card at Q-School in 2014, Hawerchuk said he took a hard look in the mirror and began making changes to his game with the goal of becoming a competitive player on the path to the PGA TOUR.

“I came two years ago and I realized I wasn’t ready to play at this level. You see how good everyone is, and I took last year to just kind of work on some things that I learned, and it seems to be paying off so far. Hopefully I can just keep that going,” said Hawerchuk.

With three rounds to go, the former Central Connecticut State Blue Devil said he was still focused on competing through the week and not getting ahead of himself despite his red hot opening round.

“This is a huge bonus,” said Hawerchuk. “I was just trying to get in there, shoot a few under and be right in the mix, so to jump out to a nice start like today – I’m not going to really change anything, but it does help my mindset going forward.”

 “I was just having fun, to be honest. I had my brother-in-law on the bag, and just the stuff I’ve been working on the last few months with my coaches has been paying off. I’m just trying to be a kid again, trying to be an artist out there,” said Fink.

Carlsbad, CA – PUMA Golf announced today the signing of Canadian golfer Adam Svensson, who is entering his first full season as a professional golfer with full status on the Web.com Tour. Svensson will don PUMA Golf apparel and accessories on-course throughout the 2016 golf season.

“Adam is a great fit for PUMA Golf,” said Dave Burgess, Director of Marketing at COBRA PUMA GOLF Canada. “He has proven his skills on the course and has a cool style and swagger. We are thrilled to be adding him to our Tour team.”

Svensson, 22, won nine of his last 14 events individually for Barry University in Miami. He is a two-time NCAA First Team All-American, named Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year in 2014 and received the Phil Mickelson Award as most outstanding freshman in 2013. In his first year as a professional, Svensson set the record for lowest scoring average in the PGA TOUR era of the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada with an impressive 67.67 average and won four professional events including lapping the field by seven shots at Web.com Tour Final Stage Q-School.

Svensson, who is a Team Canada alumni, will be wearing pieces from the brands’ Spring Summer ’16 Collection featuring new cooling and warming technologies to equip golfers for changing weather conditions. The line boasts re-energized essentials, elevated and sophisticated details, a balanced color palate to suit the style of any golfer.

“I’ve always been a fan of PUMA Golf and I’m excited to become an ambassador for the company. Their ability to move the needle to make golf very lifestyle focused is pretty cool,” Svensson says. “A big part of success as a pro is feeling good in your gear and I have no doubt PUMA will contribute to my success.”

For more information on the entire PUMA Golf collection visit www.cobragolf.com/pumagolf.