It’s no surprise when chatting with Roland Deveau, Golf Canada’s newly installed president, that maritime references keep cropping up in conversation. Like “let’s all row in the same direction,” and “a rising tide raises all boats.”

Deveau was named Golf Canada’s 113^th president at the association’s recent annual general meeting in the harbour city of Halifax, not far from the home he shares with wife Jacqueline in suburban Bedford. He is a longtime member of Clare Golf and Country Club in Comeauville, about Bubba Watson driver distance from the Bay of Fundy.

Given that geography, it is inevitable that seafaring phrases come to mind when he lists his priorities for his year in office.

Continuing to improve collaboration and cooperation with the provincial associations, other national associations and related industry partners is key, he says. Although Golf Canada is the National Sports Federation for the game, everyone concerned—course owners, pros, club managers, superintendents and manufacturers included—has to work together and focus on the end goal.

“As the NSF, we have important responsibilities, to be a leader in the sport from increasing participation and enjoyment for all enthusiasts to improving success at the elite level. But, ultimately, everyone with a stake in the game, we’re all serving the same person, the golfer, creating quality golf experiences for everyone who plays. If we do that collectively, then everyone wins.”

A lawyer who is the vice-chair of the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board, Deveau first got involved in golf at the committee level at his club and rose to become the president of the Nova Scotia Golf Association. Although his first love is the Rules of Golf (he has been a Rules official at more than 75 national, regional and provincial championships at the junior, amateur and professional levels), he worked on various NSGA committees and was a founding member of the Nova Scotia Golf Marketing Council. He became a Golf Canada Governor in 2009 and was elected to the Board of Directors in 2012.

With that resume comes perspective, he says. “I would like to think I understand a number of important viewpoints: the golfer, the club, the provincial association and the national association. I appreciate what their respective concerns and expectations might be and, yes, their frustrations and skepticism as well. It’s a challenge, to be sure, but we recognize that and we are determined to find a solution.”

Part of that solution may be tied to an innovative new membership initiative introduced with limited rollout as a pilot project in 2015. “We’re refining the concept,” says Deveau. “It’s definitely not just about increasing revenue. It is more about getting everyone involved in the game to be more engaged in the game. We are trying to be more welcoming, more inclusive.”

Deveau well knows the power of inclusiveness. At his modest rural golf club, there are no restrictions on who plays and when. He is justifiably proud of the fact that two national champions and “countless” provincial winners have come from his club.

“That makes me see the power of accessibility at the grassroots level and how that can, eventually, translate into success at a higher level. We need to provide that kind of accessibility and inclusiveness and diversity to everyone who wants to play, no matter where they live.”

One unique opportunity to promote the game will come in August when Canada “defends” its Olympic gold medal in Rio (George Lyon won the last championship in 1904).

“It goes much, much further than just sending our best golfers to the Olympics. It’s a splendid showcase for the game that, hopefully, we can utilize to engage all golfers across Canada.”

Engaging all golfers across Canada. Now that’s casting the net far and wide.

• Golf Canada’s AGM culminates with induction of Roland Deveau as 113th president
• A word from our 113th president, Roland Deveau
• Golf Canada’s 2016 Strategic Plan

OTTAWA – Canada may be a sport-loving nation, but when it comes to access to sport for Canadian women, it has a long way to go for the win. So say the findings from a new research publication, unveiled today by Canada’s dairy farmers and the Canadian Association for Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity (CAAWS).

The report, entitled Women in Sport—Fuelling a Lifetime of Participation, highlights the severe gender inequality for Canadian women in sport, and is the first of its kind, pairing data and research from academic journals and peer-reviewed articles, with primary research obtained from national surveys and the analysis of four years of female sports media coverage.

Among its key findings:

• 41 per cent of girls between the ages of 3-17 years do not participate in sport—and this jumps to 84 per cent in adult women.
• Only 24 per cent of all Athletic Director positions and 17 per cent of all head coaching spots in the CIS are female.
• Only 38 per cent of senior staff and 29 per cent of board members are female, among national and multi-sport organizations.
• A review of programming data from Canada’s primary national sports networks, concluding that of approximately 35,000 hours in programming in 2014, only 4 per cent went towards the coverage of women’s sports, with over half of that percentage due to women’s professional tennis coverage and the Sochi Olympics.
• Only 5 per cent of the total area of top national print media sports coverage researched was dedicated to women.

The representation of women in sport commonly centres around femininity, rather than highlighting their athletic accomplishments.

With the purpose of the research publication being to inform, educate and inspire action across Canada, the study brings much-needed attention to the realities for women in sport and the challenges they face. To guide the research process, the publication aims to explore and uncover what principle hurdles impact female participation in sport.

The study was funded by Canada’s dairy farmers as part of their Fuelling Women Champions movement, which focuses on advancing female sport so that all women and girls, regardless of age or ability, can access and experience the benefits of sport.

What you can do:

• Schedule time for sport and recognize its importance for physical, mental, and social health;
• Help girls’ confidence in sport by focusing on fundamental movements such as kicking, running, jumping, and catching before introducing sport-specific skills;
• Encourage girls to join and continue to play, coach, and officiate a variety of sports from youth into adulthood;
• Support elite female athletes by attending and watching events and by following them on social media;
• Promote female sports news stories that focus on athletic skills, healthy living champions, accomplishments, and profiles positive role models;
• Encourage the “next generation” of female sports enthusiasts by supporting an environment that is diverse, welcoming, and fun.

For more information, to obtain a copy of the study, or to get involved in the initiative, visit www.womenchampions.ca.

DORAL, Fla. –  Adam Scott faced a daunting challenge, a six-shot deficit with 13 holes remaining on a course that was playing tougher than it had at any point this week.

And after overcoming that, he needed to survive two brushes with big trouble on the final hole to finish the job.

Scott won for the second straight week, shooting a final-round 69 to win the Cadillac Championship by one shot over Bubba Watson. It’s the second win for Scott in a World Golf Championships event, his 13th career win on the PGA Tour and he now hasn’t finished lower than second in any of his last three starts.

“Everything fell the right way for me today,” Scott said.

Scott finished the week at 12-under 276. Watson (68) was alone in second, and Danny Willett (69) and Rory McIlroy (74) were tied for third, two shots back. Phil Mickelson (70) was alone in fifth at 9 under and Jimmy Walker shot the round of the day, a 6-under 66 to finish alone in sixth at 8 under.

With course owner Donald Trump popping in on Sunday, arriving by helicopter and greeting fans as he drove around in a cart, there was plenty of drama away from the fairways and greens.

Scott ensured there was a ton on the grass as well, after two double-bogeys in a three-hole span on the front side seemed to send his round into a tailspin. That is, until he got hot at just the right time with birdies on six of his next nine holes after the second double.

“It was such a challenge out there today,” Scott said. “I knew if I could just get a couple before the turn, maybe I’ll have a chance.”

It’s anyone’s guess if Scott will get a chance to defend the title at Doral in 2017. General Motors’ sponsorship agreement with the event ends this week and with no sponsor, there’s no tournament.

“Our hope is that the future could allow us to stay here and continue to build the tournament,” PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said Sunday afternoon, meeting with reporters before sitting down privately with Trump to talk about the tournament’s future. “But we’ll have more to say about that after we do a full evaluation of our performance this year.”

Count Watson, who has been second or third at Doral four times in the last five years, among those who want Doral to stay on the schedule, as it has been since 1962.

“If they move it I’ll be sad,” Watson said, “because I’m pretty good around this place.”

That he is, but Scott – despite walking a tightrope the last three holes – was a bit better.

He saved par on the par-4 16th, after his drive went over the green and nestled in a bunker. His second shot was dreadful, finding a patch of greenside rough. From there he popped a chip 8 feet past the hole, then made the putt for par.

The trouble only got worse from there.

His tee ball on 17 found a bunker while Watson, on the green ahead, made birdie to get within one. Scott eventually saved par, headed to the final hole with that one-shot lead – and put his tee shot in the right rough, a skinny palm tree impeding his path to the green. So he went left, around the tree but toward the water, and that shot somehow caught enough thick grass on a sharp slope to stop before getting wet.

“I was so lucky for it to stay up inside the hazard line,” Scott said. “When you’re that lucky, you better get them up and down.”

That’s exactly what he did. Scott chipped to 6 feet, made the par putt and moments later knew the win was his.

“I can’t believe I’ve won back-to-back weeks,” Scott said. “To win a World Golf Championship is huge again.”

Watson made eagle at the par-5 8th to get into real contention Sunday, but his big mistake was a bogey on the par-4 14th. He couldn’t get up-and-down from a greenside bunker, Scott made birdie on the same hole just a few minutes later, and that two-shot swing proved critical.

“I gave it a good effort,” Watson said. “What I’m working on in my head is working out. Right now, I’ve got the energy and the mind-set to play some decent golf, so very positive, very happy about the week and what took place.”

DORAL, Fla. – Donald Trump’s helicopter landed on the course bearing his name, and before long, the Republican presidential front-runner was busy autographing a woman’s shirt, driving a golf cart through throngs of screaming fans and boasting about how he hosts one of the elite golf tournaments in the world.

For now, anyway.

Trump’s arrival at the Cadillac Championship was splashy, as has been the case plenty of times before at golf tournaments he hosts. What remains unclear is if there will be a tournament for him to even visit at his Doral venue next year, whether he’s living in the White House at that time or not.

“It would be a bad thing for golf,” Trump said when asked about the possibility of the event leaving Doral.

It might happen anyway. Sunday marked the final day that the Cadillac Championship at Trump National will be played under its existing sponsorship agreement, and neither Trump nor the PGA Tour can say with any degree of certainty that a World Golf Championships event – or even a regular tour stop – will be back in 2017.

General Motors’ contract to present the event was ending Sunday, and Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem made clear that sponsorship for Doral going forward is a major question.

“We have moved out of markets before, but not very often,” Finchem said. “And usually, we look at the situation as to how can we improve it. We’re not looking to leave. … Having said that, we have to have sponsorship to conduct a tournament.”

Finchem and Trump were meeting Sunday to discuss how this year’s event went, and to talk about future options. No final decisions were expected, and probably won’t come for some time. Trump said he has business relationships with Cadillac, and reminded reporters that he has a contract with the tour to host at Doral for several more years.

“Everybody wants to be at Doral and the Blue Monster and I’m sure they’re talking to other people now about sponsorship,” Trump said. “But Cadillac has been terrific.”

Trump’s relationship with golf has seemed tenuous at times since the businessman became a politician. His comments last year about Mexican immigrants led to the PGA of America canceling its Grand Slam of Golf at Trump’s course in Los Angeles. And it’s fair to question if new potential sponsors would want to commit to an event at Trump’s course without knowing how his campaign will play out.

“The presidential campaign has a few months left, and I suspect that whatever happens, this won’t be front and center what we’re talking about next year,” Finchem said. “But that’s just the nature of politics in the United States.”

Trump’s arrival led to an uproar Sunday.

The last groups were about a half-hour from teeing off when the helicopter bearing his name touched down behind some palm trees, and Trump quickly commandeered a golf cart to make his way through some fans and to the driving range – all the while wearing a white cap emblazoned with his “Make America Great Again” slogan.

Those “Quiet please” signs marshals use on the course were no match for the Trumpmania going on behind the grandstands.

“Donald was making a racket there on 18,” Justin Rose said, noting the noise he was hearing on the course as he was trying to finish his round.

Trump was asked if he would self-sponsor a tournament at Doral, and said he hasn’t considered such a move.

“I know they’re talking to other people,” Trump said. “It’s the most important tournament down here. It’s got the best venue in the country and it’s 50 years of great tournaments.”

He said the last time he played was about two weeks ago at his course in West Palm Beach, Florida, with LPGA player Lexi Thompson for nine holes. She shot 32, he said. Trump declined to offer his score, but said a Trump presidency would be good for the game.

“I love golf. I love playing it. It’s a very important game,” Trump said. “It’s a great game. You can learn so much. You make so many great friends by playing it. But I will say this: It won’t be good for my game, but it’ll be great for golf.”

SINGAPORE – South Korea’s Ha Na Jang enhanced her growing reputation as one of the hottest players on the LPGA Tour by winning the HSBC Women’s Champions tournament by four strokes on Sunday.

Playing like a seasoned veteran, the 23-year-old South Korean fired six birdies and an eagle in a brilliant final round of 7-under 65 to finish at 19-under at Singapore’s Sentosa Golf Club.

Her playing partner, Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum, closed with a bogey-free 68 to take outright second at 15-under while South Korea’s Amy Yang birdied the last hole for a 71 to take third place with 11-under, one shot clear of a group of five players.

Jang captured her maiden LPGA title at the Coates Golf Championship in Florida last month and has quickly made it two.

“I was very comfortable this week,” Jang said. “My target in 2016 was two wins but right now I’m there so I’m going to change my target.”

Not only is the South Korean emerging as one of the hottest players on the LPGA Tour but she’s also developing a cult following with her elaborate celebrations.

When she won in Florida, she impersonated a samurai swordsman, and on Sunday, she provided her own rendition of Beyonce by dancing on the 18th green.

We just can’t get over this epic celebration by Ha Na Jang! #HSBCWomensChamps pic.twitter.com/p68aMNZr2o

— LPGA (@LPGA) March 6, 2016

Jang said she had been thinking about copying some of Beyonce’s moves after watching her perform at the Super Bowl and winning her second title seemed like the perfect time to break it out.

“I’m trying to be like Beyonce, the single lady. I’m single right now, too, I try the single lady,” she explained.

Brooke Henderson also continued her impressive play, earning her fourth top 10 in as many starts. The 18-year-old Smiths Falls, Ont., native carded a final round 71 to finish at 9-under for a share of 9th.

Henderson’s previous top 10s include a tie for eighth at last week’s RACV Ladies Masters in Australia, a tie for ninth at the Women’s Australian Open and a second-place finish at the Coates Golf Championship.

DORAL, Fla. – Rory McIlroy came into the Cadillac Championship insisting that everything about his game is solid right now, and that his ability to contend rested solely on his mental game.

His mind must be right, because he played a mistake-free third round at Doral on Saturday.

McIlroy made four birdies and no bogeys in the third round on the Blue Monster, his 4-under 68 getting him to 12 under for the week and three shots ahead of Adam Scott and defending champion Dustin Johnson with 18 holes left in the first World Golf Championships event of the season.

“I just played a really solid round of golf,” McIlroy said.

If he wins Sunday, McIlroy would go over $30 million in career PGA Tour earnings, and could get handed the trophy by the course owner himself. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump said he will attend Sunday’s final round, though it’s unclear how visible he will be or how much of the day he’ll spend at Doral.

“I think it’s Rory’s to lose, really,” said Danny Willett, who shot 72 and is in a group five shots off the pace. “We’re going to have to go out there and play clever and play aggressive when we can, and hopefully we can knock a few birdies off and post a good number.”

McIlroy’s made nine birdies and nine bogeys or worse in two rounds last week at The Honda Classic, which is why his preparation for Doral could start two days early with a missed cut there.

At Doral, he hasn’t been flawless, but close enough. McIlroy’s last bogey was on the second hole in his second round.

In 34 holes since, it’s been 11 birdies and 23 pars, fueling his climb atop the leaderboard. He took the lead with a birdie at the par-4 fifth, one of only eight made on that hole Saturday. And he escaped brushes with the sand on each of his last two holes, keeping his mistake-free streak intact.

“I’ve seen Rory play some great golf,” Scott said. “I think he’s going to be very satisfied with that round. Looked like he was under total control.”

McIlroy’s tee ball at the par-4 17th found a bunker – with the wind picking up a bit – so he simply knocked his second onto the green and two-putted from 45 feet. And his approach from the middle of the fairway on 18 landed in a greenside bunker, but he knocked in a testy 6-footer for par to cap the round.

“My first bogey-free round of the year,” McIlroy said. “To do it in a round like this is very pleasing.”

Johnson gave himself a chance to end his day with a great par, then missed a 4-footer. After spraying his tee shot way right, Johnson punched out and then knocked a wedge close. But he missed the par try and fell to 9 under for the tournament, 1 under for the round.

Johnson rallied from five shots back in the final round to win last year at Doral. This time, his deficit is only three.

“Anything’s possible,” Johnson said. “With this golf course, there’s trouble on just about every hole, so I just need to go out and keep playing like I’m playing. I feel like I’m playing really well. Today I missed a couple short putts and didn’t really hole any putts and still shot 1 under on a tough day. So I’m pleased with that.”

Willett, Bubba Watson (71) and Phil Mickelson (70) are tied for fourth, five shots off the lead. World No. 1 Jordan Spieth struggled again, his round of 73 leaving him at 2 under for the week and tied for 17th place.

Spieth played with Justin Thomas, who followed up a 66 on Friday with a 78 on Saturday.

“A rough day for us both,” Thomas said.

SINGAPORE – South Korea’s Ha Na Jang shot a flawless 4-under 68 on Saturday to grab a one-stroke lead heading into the final round of the HSBC Women’s Champions tournament.

Chasing her second LPGA title this year, the 23-year-old racked up four birdies and her second straight bogey-free round to lead the tournament on 12-under 204 then headed back to the practice range for some more golf.

“My nickname is Enjoy Ha Na, Energizer Ha Na,” Jang told reporters. “It’s really good my nickname. I want to show every day, I enjoy playing golf.”

Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum knocked in six birdies in her 68 to end the third round in outright second at 11-under, one clear of the South Korean pair of Amy Yang and Mirim Lee.

Yang reeled off five birdies in her last eight holes for a 68 to charge up the leaderboard while the overnight co-leader Lee signed for a 70 after a mixed day where she made five birdies and three bogeys.

Canada’s Brooke Henderson carded a 5-under 67 Saturday to climb the leaderboard. She’s among a group of six players who finished two shots behind them at 8-under, setting the stage for an exciting finish on Sunday with the top 10 separated by just four strokes.

DORAL, Fla. – A rare instance of Adam Scott seeming less than pleased Friday came after his first putt on the par-4 16th, when he miscalculated the speed and left the 30-footer well short.

Of course, that was after he drove the green on the 315-yard hole and had to merely settle for a two-putt birdie.

Otherwise, there wasn’t much for Scott to dislike during the second round of the Cadillac Championship. His 6-under round of 66 got him to 10 under for the tournament and put last week’s winner of The Honda Classic two shots clear of Rory McIlroy and defending champion Dustin Johnson at the midway point of the first World Golf Championships event of the season.

“Overall, it was a lot of good stuff,” Scott said. “Enough quality shots and enough quality putts to negate a couple of mistakes out there, but they can easily happen on this golf course. So I’m glad there was enough of the good stuff to keep me up on top and kind of setting the pace after halfway.”

Scott made eight birdies, including three straight on holes 15, 16 and 17 to strengthen his grip on the lead.

“I’m probably a little more relaxed this week leading going into the weekend than if I hadn’t won last week,” Scott said. “A 36-hole lead doesn’t mean that much, unless it’s by about 10. I could tee off tomorrow and not be leading. I’m going to have to play a good couple of days and try to keep moving in the right direction while the conditions are allowing us to.”

He’s right – with relatively gentle breezes, the Blue Monster wasn’t exactly defenseless but scores were there to be had Friday, as in the opening round. There were 25 rounds where a player went under 70 at Doral last year; so far this year, the count is already at 21 with the weekend left to go.

Johnson shot a flawless 64, eight birdies and no dropped shots on the way to the best round of the day. McIlroy shot a 65 for his share of second place after two rounds, and Danny Willett (66) was alone in fourth at 7 under.

“I think the golf course is fantastic,” Johnson said. “It’s in great shape. The greens are perfect. It’s not an easy golf course.”

McIlroy announced his arrival with a four-hole barrage of birdies on the front side, but the catalyst to all that, he said, was what came immediately before that streak. Going with a left-hand-low grip this week on the greens, McIlroy made a testy 7-footer to save par at the par-3 fourth hole – and that’s when the run of birdies started.

“There was a lot of big momentum putts in there that I have not been holing,” McIlroy said. “So to see those drop today and to be as comfortable as I was, it feels really good and obviously I’m very happy with where I’m at going into the weekend.”

Phil Mickelson got to 9 under at one point, leading by three – until the two shortest holes on the course led to his undoing.

Mickelson three-putted from 55 feet for bogey on the 191-yard 13th, and made an enormous blunder at the 139-yard 15th by putting his tee ball into the water. That led to double-bogey, the only one made on the hole all day and essentially costing him nearly 2 1-2 strokes against the rest of the field. Mickelson made a 5; on average, everyone else made 2.68.

“I just kind of lost my train of thought,” Mickelson said. “I’ll be fresh and ready for the weekend. I feel like I’m driving the ball extremely well and my iron game is sharp. And even though that back nine wasn’t what I wanted, it was kind of an anomaly. It’s going to be a good weekend.”

SINGAPORE – South Korea’s Ha Na Jang has developed a habit of making the extraordinary seem normal.

In January, she made a hole-in-one on a par-4 and last month she won her first U.S. LPGA Tour title, at the Coates Golf Championship in Florida.

Jang was at it again on Friday, holing a monster eagle putt from off the green on her way to a 6-under 66 to grab a share of the halfway lead with compatriot Mirim Lee at the HSBC Women’s Champions.

“I was very comfortable on the front nine,” Jang said. “I was talking to myself, ‘Don’t do too much thinking … just be patient.'”

Lee got up and down from a greenside bunker to birdie the last and shoot a 67 to join Jang in a two-way tie at the top of a congested leaderboard after a wet and windy second round at Sentosa Golf Club.

Thailand’s Pornaning Phatlum carded a 67 and Norway’s Suzann Petterson signed for a 69 to be equal third, a stroke behind the leading pair, with a group of four players lurking just one shot further behind and a total of 34 players under par.

The joint overnight leaders, Taiwanese veteran Candie Kung and Australian teenager Minjee Lee both finished strongly after mixed rounds to remain in contention.

Canada’s Brooke Henderson carded a sub-par round of 71 to put her two-day tally at 3-under-par 141. She’s 5-shots off the lead heading to the weekend.