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Level 1
A beginner program that introduces the basic concepts and language of the Rules of Golf. Used to introduce the principles of the Rules and how to use the Rules book. The program is ideal for juniors, beginners and golfers who have had no previous experience with the Rules.

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• 2016 Rules of Golf book (online version in PDF format)
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Level 2
This course builds on the experience of Level 1 and introduces the key reference manual for officials: the Decisions on the Rules of Golf. In addition to introducing some of the fundamental rules through examples, videos and exercises, Level 2 teaches the student how to use the Decisions book effectively.

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• 2016 Decisions on the Rules of Golf book (hard copy plus online version in PDF format)
• Online quizzes and exercises

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Tiger Woods registered for the U.S. Open, which was more procedure than pronouncement. Three weeks later, he played five holes during the official opening of the golf course he designed outside Houston. The next step is returning to competition, for which the timeframe remains unknown.

Monday was the first time he had played any golf holes since the Wyndham Championship in August, he said, contrary to speculation that he had played at The Medalist near his home in South Florida. He described those five holes at Bluejack National as “nice and smooth.”

“That’s harder than I have been going at it the last month,” Woods told reporters for Global Golf Post and ESPN. “Just gradually progressing. We’re just trying to progress, and I’m doing that.”

As for the return? Woods said he hasn’t set a date, which he described as frustrating. Then again, he said, he never would have thought he would be this far along five months ago at his tournament in the Bahamas, where he was in pain from two back surgeries.

Woods had to register for the U.S. Open at Oakmont (June 16-19) by the deadline Wednesday.

He offered mixed signals to reporters on when he might play again.

Woods said he has to get stronger and faster and that “I’m not hitting it very far right now.” He said he was able to hit the ball as far as he is now without too much effort, and that he’s trying to work on new drivers.

“I know I need to hit a bunch of drivers. But I can’t hit a bunch of drivers,” he said. “I’m trying to figure that out.”

Then again, he said he eventually has to get back to a competitive environment, where he has to be patient and “plod my way along.”

“I can play a lot more at home and get my playing sense back, but tournament golf is so much different,” he said. “And I’ll have to make those adjustments. And the only way to make those adjustments is to get out there in the heat and feel it.”

Here are a couple videos shared from Tiger’s Twitter account during the Bluejack National opening event.

RG: Taking a crack at the par-3 12th hole. pic.twitter.com/hqArUey34r

— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) April 25, 2016

RG: The tee shot on the long 18th hole. pic.twitter.com/KdI9dQHi1V

— Tiger Woods (@TigerWoods) April 25, 2016

Listening intently as the guest of honour spoke, 19-year-old Maddie Szeryk was amazed by what she was hearing. The travel, the pressure, the fun — it was everything good, bad and ugly of professional golf. But what made the dialogue so fascinating was from whom it was being delivered: Alena Sharp.

Coming off a career season in 2015, the 10-year LPGA Tour veteran Sharp was visiting a national team training camp in Phoenix to chat with Canada’s next wave of golf talent. And Szeryk was all ears.

“We talked a lot about life on tour; finding a good caddie; she recommended a couple books for us to read; and just the whole mental part because she said it’s totally different from college to playing professional,” explained Szeryk. “You have to stay positive. You have to play well to make money.”

Szeryk has had no trouble playing well lately. She’s entering her second season as a member of Team Canada’s national squad, beginning the year inside the top 40 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking. Taking home the 2015 Investors Group Ontario Women’s Amateur — held at St. Thomas Golf & Country Club, a 20-minute drive for a large contingent of relatives in nearby London, Ont. — provided a big boost, not just for her ranking but for her confidence as well.

“It was really kind of a hometown thing so I had some family come out. I didn’t play very well in the first round and then kind of got up closer and, I think I shot three or four under the last day and won, so kind of came from behind.”

The 73-70-70-68 she posted for the victory delighted the four generations of family out on the golf course, which included aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and her 101-year- old great-grandfather.

While she considers London her Canadian home, Szeryk is a dual-citizen hailing from Allen, Texas. Her Canadian parents moved to the Lone Star State before planting their roots and starting a family. That hasn’t swayed her national pride though.

“I definitely love representing Canada more because that’s where my family is from,” said Szeryk, who proudly carries a Canadian passport.

Tristan Mullally, Team Canada’s national women’s coach, sees promise instead of nationality when observing Szeryk.

“Maddie is a soft spoken and polite young lady but on the course you can see her grittiness and determination to compete at her best,” he said. “Rarely does she give anything but 100 per cent when it comes to preparing and playing. She comes from a great family who push her to work hard but love her regardless of results.”

Along with her Ontario Amateur crown and a quarter-finals appearance at the Ladies British Open Amateur, Szeryk did most of her damage last season on the NCAA circuit representing Texas A&M University.

The Sports Management major burst onto the scene in her first year setting multiple school records and recording nine top-10 finishes for the Aggies. Arguably the team’s most consistent player, the teenager was named Women’s Golf Coaches Association Second Team All-American, All-SEC and the SEC Freshman of the Year. Winning the conference’s team championship — in which she was runner-up for medalist honours — superseded all the individual accolades.

“It was pretty awesome,” she reminisced. “We were kind of the underdogs going in but we all just played so well and we played great team golf. We’re all really close and we’re best friends and always cheer each other on but it was unreal to win. Especially me being a freshman, I was like ‘Oh my god, we won!’”

Working with Mullally, Szeryk has been able to grow into a more well-rounded player. She’s always considered herself to be a strong ball-striker with her weakness lying on the greens.

“I struggle with speed because normally I’m a pretty aggressive putter. So I’ll have like 10 feet and then maybe leaving four feet (coming back) and just learning from Tristan that if you’re hitting it that firm the chances of you making it goes down.”

“Maddie can get very aggressive,” added Mullally. “We have worked to temper this a little and have the correct speed regardless of how important the putt is. But she is very strong off the tee and gives herself a ton of chances from mid-range. She is lethal from 90 yards.”

If she continues down her current path, there’s no doubt Szeryk will be challenging for LPGA Tour status in a few years. Annika Sorenstam inspired her as a kid due to the Swede’s spectacular play on the course and class off it. Nowadays the young Canadian tries to model her game after another top-ranked superstar.

“I look up to Stacy Lewis a lot. Just because she’s also from Texas and I’ve gotten to talk with her, I met her once and she had surgery on her back and I have back problems so it’s good to see that if she can do it, I can do it.”

Diagnosed with a herniated disc last September, the diminutive right-hander showed no signs of struggle most of the year. Solid runs at the Porter Cup, PGA Women’s Championship of Canada, Canadian Women’s Amateur and a first career LPGA Tour start at the CP Women’s Open made her the easy selection as the nation’s Top Female Amateur in 2015.

Szeryk is currently finishing up her second year at Texas A&M — in which she notched her first NCAA victory this February — before she returns to Team Canada in the summer and resumes her quest to join the Brooke Hendersons and Alena Sharps of the world on golf’s biggest stage.

The reality check from Sharp in that early January encounter hasn’t dissuaded Szeryk from continuing to pursue her dream. If anything, it’s only better prepared her for when it eventually becomes a reality.

Maddie’s mission 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.

PARIS – Rory McIlroy will skip the Bridgestone Invitational and instead play at the French Open, a boost for the European Tour during a crowded summer schedule caused by the Olympics.

McIlroy won the Bridgestone Invitational two years ago, and he failed to defend his title in the World Golf Championship last year while recovering from ruptured ankle ligaments.

The Bridgestone Invitational typically is held a week before the PGA Championship. The PGA Tour moved it to the week of June 30-July 3 — two weeks after the U.S. Open and two weeks before the British Open. However, that’s the same date as the 100th edition of the French Open at Le Golf National, which will host the Ryder Cup in 2018.

The European Tour decided not to sanction the World Golf Championship in Ohio for the first time. European Tour members who play the Bridgestone Invitational will not have the earnings count toward the Race to Dubai, and the money or points will not count toward the Ryder Cup.

Henrik Stenson already has said he will not play in the Bridgestone because of the schedule, though the Swede said he would take that week off and stay in Sweden.

McIlroy has not played the French Open since 2010. The oldest national open in continental Europe is followed by the Scottish Open and the British Open at Royal Troon.

“Le Golf National might not be a pure links course, but it is traditionally firm and fast, and can throw up some tricky conditions,” McIlroy said Monday. “It’s a great test of golf, and I think playing there, as well as staying in Europe, will offer the best conditions to prepare for The Open at Troon.”

SAN ANTONIO – Charley Hoffman made a 9-foot birdie putt on the final to win the Valero Texas Open on Sunday.

The 39-year-old Hoffman closed with a 3-under 69 at TPC San Antonio for a one-stroke victory over Patrick Reed. Hoffman finished at 12-under 276 and earned $1,116,000 for his fourth PGA Tour victory.

Playing alongside Hoffman, Reed also birdied the par-5 18th for a 69. He missed birdie putts inside 8 feet on the par-3 16th and par-4 17th.

Reed, who was born in San Antonio, put the pressure on Hoffman with a tap-in birdie at the 18th after reaching the fringe on the 595-yard hole in two. His shot to the green came from the left-hand rough, and had to clear an oak tree and creek in front of the green.

Hoffman followed by hitting his third shot from a greenside bunker to set up his birdie.

Chad Collins was a career-best third at 10 under after a 69. He birdied four of the last five holes.

Third-round leader Ricky Barnes, looking for his first PGA Tour win in 222 tries, stumbled to a 74 to drop into a tie for fourth at 9 under with Kevin Chappell (68), Billy Herschel (70), Ryan Palmer (69) and Martin Piller (70). It was a career best for Piller, the husband of LPGA Tour player Gerina Piller.

Brendan Steele, the 2011 winner who led the first two rounds, had a 75 to tie for 13th at 7 under.

Reed pulled within a shot of Hoffman with a 23-foot birdie putt from the fringe at 15. Hoffman mised a 10-foot birdie try on the hole.

Reed missed a bending, right-to-left putt from 7 feet that could have tied Hoffman at 16, and missed a straighter putt from about the same distance on the next hole.

Piller birdied the 12th with a 14-foot putt to take a two-shot advantage over Reed and Hoffman.

But he gave it back with a double bogey on the par-3 13th. His tee shot plugged into the sand in the steep-faced bunker fronting the green. He blasted out – past the green – then chipped back and two putted.

David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., finished tied for 13th at 7 under while fellow Canadian Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., was tied for 21st at 6 under.

DALY CITY, Calif. – Haru Nomura held on in strong wind to win the Swinging Skirts LPGA Classic on Sunday for her second LPGA Tour victory of the year.

The 23-year-old Japanese player closed with a 1-over 73 in wind gusting to 35 mph at Lake Merced to finish at 9-under 279 and beat South Africa’s Lee-Anne Pace by four strokes.

Nomura won the Australian Women’s Open in February, pulling away to beat top-ranked Lydia Ko by three strokes for her first LPGA Tour title.

Nomura had a rules scare Saturday. After her third-round 71, she met with rules officials to examine her play from an awkward stance on a slope in a bunker on the par-5 sixth hole. The officials decided no penalty was warranted for building a stance, leaving her with a par instead of a double bogey.

Pace finished with a 74.

Ko shot a 75 on her 19th birthday to tie for sixth at 1 under with Canada’s Brooke Henderson. Ko won the tournament the previous two years.

Henderson carded a final round 76 to pick up her 8th straight LPGA top 10 finish.

Third-ranked Lexi Thompson (71) also was 1 under along with Jenny Shin (72) and Mi Jung Hur (74).

Michelle Wie withdrew because of neck spasms after playing the first 15 holes in 11 over. Wie was 16 over after opening with rounds of 73, 73 and 75.

She’s winless since the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open and hasn’t had a top-10 finish in 33 events. Last year, she struggled with left hip and ankle injuries. In 2014, she fought a stress fracture in her right hand.

Antigua, GUA – Team Canada Yong Pro Squad member Corey Conners finished in a tie for second at the Stella Artois Open.

Conners shot a 6 under 66 in his final round to move up three spots on the leader board and tie Puma Dominguez for second place at 13-under for the tournament.

The 22-year-old native of Listowel, Ont., is ranked fourth in the Order of Merit with 3 top ten finishes in the PGA Tour Latinoamerica.

American John Young Kim won the event with a 15 under 273.

LEON, Mexico – Wesley Bryan won the El Bosque Mexico Championship on Sunday for his second Web.com Tour title of the year, shooting a 5-under 67 for a four-stroke victory.

Bryan finished at 19-under 269 at El Bosque and earned $117,000 to jump from second to first on the money list with $260,820. The top 25 at the end of the regular season will earn PGA Tour cards.

The 26-year-old former University of South Carolina player won the Chitimacha Louisiana Open last month for his first tour title.

Third-round leader Brad Fritsch, the Ottawa native coming off a victory two weeks ago in the Servientrega Championship in Colombia, had a 73 to tie for second with Richy Werenski. Werenski closed with a 66.

Another Canadian, Roger Sloan of Calgary, finished tied for 5th at 13-under 275 after a final round 66.

RIDGEDALE, Mo. – Woody Austin and Michael Allen won the PGA Tour Champions’ Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf at Big Cedar Lodge on Sunday, giving Austin two straight victories and three in the last four events on the 50-and-over tour.

Austin and Allen birdied the final hole for a one-stroke victory over David Frost and Roger Chapman.

Austin and Allen closed with a 6-under 48, playing nine holes of modified alternate shot and nine of better ball on the par-3 Top of the Rock course. They finished at 23-under 156. Frost and Chapman also shot a 48.

Austin won the Tucson Conquistadores Classic last month in Arizona for his first senior title and took the Mitsubishi Electric Classic last week in a playoff in Georgia. Allen has eight senior titles.

Billy Andrade and Joe Durant, the winners last year, were third at 21 under after a 49.

Larry Nelson and Bruce Fleisher completed a wire-to-wire victory in the Legends Division for players 65 and older, beating John Bland and Graham Marsh by two strokes. Nelson and Fleisher shot a 4-under 23 in a better-ball nine to finish at 19-under 116. Bland and Marsh also had a 23.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Brittany Altomare won the Guardian Retirement Championship on Sunday at windy Sara Bay, beating Denmark’s Nicole Broch Larsen with a birdie on the fifth hole of a playoff.

Altomare closed with a 2-under 70 to match Broch Larsen at even-par 70. Broch Larsen had a 75.

“It is an incredible feeling,” Altomare said. “I feel like I am on a high.”

After Altomare and Broch Larsen each parred the par-5 18th four times before Altomare broke through for her first career victory with a 4-foot birdie putt.

“The moment that ball went in, it was almost like a relief like, ‘I did it’ finally,” Altomare said. “This is my fourth year as a professional and it is exciting, it is a relief and a confidence booster.”

The 25-year-old former University of Virginia player from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, earned $16,500. She expects to play in the next six LPGA Tour events are gaining status at the money-list reshuffle.

“This win gives me an incredible amount of confidence,” Altomare said. “I know my game is ready and I know I can do it so I am just excited.”

Thailand’s Sherman Santiwiwatthanaphong was third at 3 over after a 70.

Sara-Maude Juneau of Fossambault-sur-le-Lac, Que., tied for 5th at 6-over 222.

Two other Canadians cracked the top 15. Rebecca Lee-Bentham of Toronto and Anne-Catherine Tanguay of Quebec City had a share of 15th 8-over 224.