AUGUSTA, Ga. – Fred Couples is out of the Masters because of acute back pain – the first Masters the 56-year-old former champion has missed since 1994.

Couples won the green jacket in 1992 and remains relevant at Augusta National. He shared the 36-hole lead in 2012 and was one shot behind going into the weekend in 2013.

His career has been slowed by back problems the last two decades. Couples says the recent pain has been too much for him to prepare or to compete.

Couples has played only three times this year, once on the PGA Tour. He missed the cut at Riviera while visibly struggling with his back.

With Couples not playing, the field is 89 players, the fewest since 2002.

Development Squad’s Grace St-Germain has signed a letter of intent to join the Daytona State Falcons in August of 2016.

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

“This is a great fit for Grace all-around,” said Ann Carroll, Women’s Development Squad coach. “The training facilities at Daytona are phenomenal and it will compliment her game perfectly as she looks to take her game to the next level.”

Hailing from Ottawa, St-Germain will carry a long list of accomplishments to the Falcons, including a runner-up finish at the 2015 Quebec Women’s Amateur and a pair of victories at the 2014 Quebec Women’s Amateur and Canadian Junior Girls Championship.

She will fall under the guidance of long-serving Head Coach and well-known teaching professional Laura Brown, who has been at the helm for all 16 of the team’s seasons.

Click here to learn more about the Falcons.

Officially a Falcon!So excited to have signed with Daytona State College! Thank you to everyone who has supported me pic.twitter.com/2nXh6nsggD

— Grace (@gracestgermain) April 3, 2016

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Lydia Ko took advantage of Ariya Jutanugarn’s late collapse to win the ANA Inspiration on Sunday for her second straight major victory and second LPGA Tour win a row.

The top-ranked Ko hit an 88-yard wedge shot to a foot on the par-5 18th to set up her winning birdie – and an unlikely victory leap into Poppie’s Pond. She closed with a 3-under 69 to finish at 12 under.

“This is an unbelievable moment,” Ko said before jumping into the pond.

Jutanugarn had a two-stroke lead at 13 under with three holes to play. The 20-year-old Thai player bogeyed all three holes, three-putting the par-4 16th, failing to get up-and-down from a bunker on the par-3 17th and hooking her drive into the water on 18.

“I really get nervous, especially being my first time leading,” Jutanugarn said. “Next time, it’s going to be so much fun to be there.”

Charley Hull and In Gee Chun finished a stroke behind Ko, and Jutanugarn ended up fourth at 10 under.

Ko won the final major last season, the Evian Championship in September in France, and took the LPGA Tour event last week in Carlsbad. The 18-year-old New Zealander has 12 LPGA Tour victories, five last year when she was the tour’s player of the year.

“It has always been my dream to play on the LPGA Tour,” Ko said. “For these amazing things to be happening it is unbelievable, but it also motivates me to work harder.”

Ko had a bogey-free round, also holing a 22-foot birdie putt on the par-3 fifth and a 40-footer on the par-3 eighth. She made three key par saves on the back nine, the first with a 15-foot putt after crisscrossing the par-5 11th. She ran in an 18-footer on the par-4 13th, and a 10-footer on 17.

“Obviously, making those putts on 11 and 13 was crucial, too, but just not knowing anything, I wanted to focus on my game and just what I could control,” Ko said. “But on 17, I knew what I needed to do. Something like a miracle needed to happen, so I think 17 was probably the most crucial putt.”

Until Sunday, best known for blowing a two-stroke lead with a closing triple bogey at age 17 in the 2013 LPGA Thailand, Jutanugarn made four birdies in a five-hole stretch in the middle of the round to move into position for a breakthrough victory that slipped away. She finished with a 71.

“I got a lot of experience from this week,” Jutanugarn said.

Hull birdied the 18th for a 69 and her best finish in a major.

“I know I can play well under pressure now when I have to get it going,” the 20-year-old English player said. “I’m happy I holed that putt on the last, and I’m proud of myself. It feels great. Lydia hit a great shot into the last, and she should be proud of herself.”

Chun also closed with a birdie in a 70. The U.S. Women’s Open champion was making her first start after sitting out a month because of a back injury. She was hurt when she was struck by a hard-case suitcase that rival South Korean player Ha Na Jang’s father dropped down an escalator at the Singapore airport.

Lexi Thompson, the third-round leader, eagled the last hole for a 73 to finish fifth at 9 under. The 2014 winner had three front-nine bogeys and failed to make a birdie.

“Just overall tough day,” Thompson said. “I struggled today, ball-striking, and the bad ball-striking didn’t give me many birdie chances, so I struggled a bit with the putter as well.”

Michelle Wie, tied for seventh entering the round, shot a 77 to drop into a tie for 36th at 5 over. She’s winless since the 2014 U.S. Women’s Open and hasn’t had a top-10 finish in 31 events.

Brooke Henderson shot a 67 for the best round of the day. The 18-year-old Canadian tied for 10th at 7 under and to run her LPGA top-10 streak to six events.

VANCOUVER – Development Squad member A.J. Ewart birdied his final two holes on Sunday to earn a one-stroke victory in the U19 division at the Canadian Junior Golf Association’s (CJGA) B.C. Junior Open presented by Pacific Rim Intercollegiate Golf.

Holding the 18-hole lead, the Coquitlam product kept up the pace in Sunday’s final round to close out the wire-to-wire victory at 4-under par (70-70). The Team Canada rookie fended off the battling Henry Lee of Coquitlam, who closed the tournament one-stroke back of Ewart at 3-under. Both competitors ended as the only two athletes to finish under-par at the University Golf Club.

The win marks Ewart’s first CJGA victory of his young career. The Pitt Meadows Golf Club member will look to ride his momentum into action next week when he joins Team Canada teammates to compete at the Toyota World Junior Qualifier in Trinidad.

On the girls’ side, Delta native Amanda Minni led the pack with a closing score of 2-over par (73-73) to lock up the victory in the U19 division. She built up a two-stroke cushion over co-runner-ups Mary Parsons—also of Delta—and Ye Ji Lim of Langley.

The Women’s Development Squad were also in action in Vancouver. In the Juvenile group (U17), Richmond’s Kathrine Chan ran away with a score of 1-under par for a five-stroke victory over teammate and Surrey native Hannah Lee. The win also marks the first CJGA win for the 16-year-old Chan, who currently sits at No.14 on the CN Future Links National Junior Order of Merit .

Hometown native and Development Squad member Tiffany Kong finished the U19 division tied for sixth at 7-over par (78-73).

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HUMBLE, Texas – Jim Herman delivered a masterful performance at just the right time Sunday in the Shell Houston Open.

Herman, winless in 105 previous starts on the PGA Tour, chipped in for birdie on the par-3 16th and finished with two solid pars for a 4-under 68 and a one-shot victory that sends him to the Masters for the first time in his career.

Herman tapped in for par and thrust both fists in the air after his one-shot victory over Henrik Stenson.

“Sorry for the tears, but I’m pretty happy,” Herman said in his TV interview. “We really did a good job keeping our game plan. We wanted to give ourselves as many birdie chances as we could and keep it low stress. And geez, look what happened. Never thought it was possible.”

The Houston Open was the final opportunity for players to get into the Masters, and Herman seemed like a long shot at No. 191 in the world whose only professional victory was six years ago at the Moonah Classic in Australia.

Stenson missed an 18-foot birdie putt on the last hole for a 68 to finish one shot behind. It was the Swede’s eighth runner-up finish since his last victory in Dubai at the end of 2014.

Dustin Johnson tried to overcome a double bogey on the 11th hole. He made three birdies coming in, but had to settle for a 69 and was two shots back.

Jordan Spieth made four straight birdies early in his round, but two shots into the water led to double bogeys and a 70. He was seven back in a tie for 13th.

It was the third time since 2008 that a player won the Houston Open to get into the Masters, and Herman might be the most unlikely candidate.

Ten years ago, Herman was working as an assistant pro at Trump Bedminster in New Jersey when he played one day with course owner and GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, who wanted to know why he was folding shirts instead of competing against the best. Trump encouraged him to give it another shot, and Herman eventually made it out to the PGA Tour.

This is his fifth full season in the big leagues, and he still wears “Trump” on his golf shirts. Within the past month, Herman has changed from block letters of “Trump” to a logo from Trump’s course.

He was artful in closing the deal at the Golf Club of Houston.

Herman and Jamie Lovemark were tied for the lead going into the final round. Lovemark was 4 over through six holes and was never a factor. Herman hung around during Spieth’s early charge, and even after Stenson took the lead.

Stenson fell back with a bogey from the bunker on the 14th hole, only to get that stroke back on the par-5 15th.

Herman, however, never flinched. Tied for the lead, he missed the green to the left on the 16th and was in thick grass near the bunker. His chip came out perfectly and dropped for a surprising birdie and a one-shot lead, and he held it.

He faced a long wait at the 18th to hit his tee shot, with a bunker to the right and water all the way down the left. Herman drilled it 316 yards down the middle, hit a safe shot to the middle of the green, and two putts later he was on his way to Augusta National.

The victory also gets Herman into the PGA Championship for the first time.

Graham DeLaet was the top Canadian, finishing tied for 27th. The Weyburn, Sask., native shot a 5-under 283 for the tournament. Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., tied for 46th at 2 under.

SAUCIER, Miss. – Miguel Angel Jimenez shot an 8-under 64 to win the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic by two strokes on Sunday.

Jimenez started the day in third place, three shots behind the leader Scott Dunlap. But the 52-year-old from Spain took control on the tournament’s final day thanks to a bogey-free round that included four straight birdies from No. 10 to No. 13.

It is Jimenez’s third victory on the PGA Tour Champions in just 10 starts dating back to 2014. He was 14 under for the tournament at Fallen Oak.

Dunlap couldn’t keep up with Jimenez, but finished in second place after shooting a 69. Tom Pernice Jr., Jeff Maggert and Jerry Smith were five shots behind Jimenez to finish in a tie for third.

Rod Spittle was the lone Canadian in the field. The St. Catharines, Ont., native tied for 58th at 8 over.

SAO PAULO – Andrew Svoboda rallied to win the Web.com Tour’s Brazil Champions on Sunday, closing with a birdie to overcome a one-stroke deficit to Bhavik Patel.

Svoboda birdied the par-4 18th for a 4-under 67, and Patel closed with a bogey to finish a stroke back in his second event since returning for a doping suspension and hip injury.

The 36-year-old Svoboda finished at 23-under 261 at Sao Paulo Golf Club and earned $126,000 for his third career Web.com Tour title. He won twice on the tour in 2013 and tied for second in 2014 in the PGA Tour’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The former St. John’s player is from Larchmont, New York.

The 25-year-old Patel, a former Fresno State player from Bakersfield, California, also closed with a 67. He sat out last season after being suspended for violating the PGA Tour’s anti-doping policy.

Patel tied Svoboda with a par on the par-3 15th, and pulled ahead with a birdie on the par-4 16th.

Anders Albertson was third at 20 under after a 66. He birdied three of the last four holes.

Martin Flores birdied the final two holes for a 68 to finish third at 19 under.

Ryan Armour and Sebastian Cappelen were 18 under. Armour birdied the last two holes for 65. He won the season-opening event in Panama and leads the money list with $158,176. Cappelen, from Switzerland, shot a 68.

Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., was the low Canadian. The former Team Canada member carded a final round 67 to finish at 14 under.

ANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. – Lexi Thompson made a 15-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th hole Saturday to take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the ANA Inspiration.

Trying to win the major championship for the second time in three years, Thompson shot a 3-under 69 to reach 10 under at Mission Hills.

After struggling with her putting most of the day, Thompson hit to 2 feet on the par-4 15th and 16th holes to set up birdies. She missed a 6-foot birdie try on the par-3 17th, then hit a 207-yard, 5-iron approach pin-high to the left on 18 to set up the eagle putt.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko, In Gee Chun and Ariya Jutanugarn were tied for second, and 15 players were within four strokes of the lead.

Hamilton’s Alena Sharp is the top Canadian after shooting a 69 in her third round. Sharp is 3 under and tied for 27th. Brooke Henderson, of Smiths Falls, Ont., is tied for 33rd at 2 under.

HOUSTON – Jim Herman and Jamie Lovemark, two players who have never won a PGA Tour event or played in the Masters, shared the lead going into the final round of the Houston Open.

A win Sunday and they get to tee off at Augusta National next week.

The 38-year-old Herman shot a 5-under 67 Saturday to position himself for a breakthrough. Lovemark, 28 and a former NCAA champion at USC whose professional career was derailed by major back surgery, wasn’t able to build on his fast start, which saw him birdie three of the first four holes. He stayed in the hunt with a 70 after opening rounds of 67 and 68.

Herman and Lovemark were at 11 under par through 54 holes and just a stroke ahead of Henrik Stenson, Dustin Johnson and Russell Hensley. The Swede Stenson, No. 7 in the current world ranking, posted the day’s best round with a 66 after also birdieing three of the first four holes. Henley had a 68 Saturday and Johnson a 70.

The two players ahead of Stenson in the world ranking, No. 2 Jordan Spieth and No. 5 Rickie Fowler, remained in contention at 6 under and 7 under, respectively, after both carding 70s.

The 22-year-old Spieth, who stayed alive with three birdies on the back side, lost in a three-way playoff here last spring, then went on to win the Masters in resounding fashion, leading start to finish for his first major championship.

Another shot back at 9 under was Roberto Castro, who also scored 70 and is trying to become the first Houston-born player to win the Houston tournament.

None of the leaders should be resting easily given the recent history of the event, which was founded in 1946. The last two champions here, Matt Jones in 2014 and J. B. Holmes a year ago, both came from six strokes behind starting the final round to claim the first-place check.

Nineteen players will tee off Sunday within six shots of the lead, including three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson and Canadian Graham DeLaet. Mickelson, also the 2011 Houston champion, had six birdies Saturday en route to a 71. A triple bogey on the par-4 sixth hole kept him from being only three strokes off the lead.

Port St. Lucie, Fla. South Carolina’s Will Starke finished up a final round 8-under 64 on Saturday at PGA Golf Club’s Wanamaker Course to earn medalist honours at Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Q-School and secure exempt status for 2016.

The 22-year old was bogey-free for his final round finishing at 16-under total to win by two over fellow University of South Carolina senior Matt NeSmith.

“The putter got hot and I kind of found something on the range before my third round. I just went with it and it felt good, and I was lucky to keep it going,” said Starke, who was 14-under for his final two rounds.

After successfully earning their cards, Starke and NeSmith join fellow teammates Sean Kelly and Caleb Sturgeon as current members of the South Carolina men’s golf team to earn status on the Mackenzie Tour for 2016. Kelly finished T18 this week to earn conditional status, while Sturgeon finished T11 at last week’s Q-School to earn exempt status through the first re-shuffle.

“We’ve been playing forever, and I live with him,” said Starke of his teammate and roommate NeSmith. “We kind of push each other and make each other better. It’s been important for me to have a good player like him to push myself continuously.”

Forty-three players in total earned status on the Mackenzie Tour for 2016, including Kitchener, Ont., native and 2015 Mackenzie Tour member Chris Hemmerich, who was the low Canadian in solo fourth place at 11-under.