Brooke Henderson will be making her Australian debut this week at the ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.

“This is my first time here so I’m really looking forward to it,” Henderson said with a smile.

The trip Down Under will be the first of several international trips for the 18-year-old this season.

“I’m playing on the Gold Coast next week in the European tour event and then in Singapore in a few weeks in the LPGA and hopefully the Asian Swing in the Fall,” Henderson said of her 2016 travel schedule. “So being able to play all over I know a couple of months ago I was looking to get the sponsors invite into Dubai, so yeah I’m just kind of playing and being well known by people everywhere.”

What makes the travel easier on Henderson is having her sister Brittany as a travel companion and caddie.

“You know I love having her to travel with and see the world and experience all these things with her and then to also have her also on my bag with me every day is really cool,” Henderson said. “When I was a little girl I grew up watching her and wanting to be like her and now I have her support with me.  It really means a lot.”

Last year was Henderson’s breakout year.

“It’s been an amazing year, considering back a year ago I didn’t have a tour to play on, I didn’t know which events I would play in,” she said today. “I was just counting on Monday qualifiers and sponsors invitations to get into events, and I was able to play well and a lot of doors opened to me and I was able to win in Portland a couple of months ago and get full LPGA Tour status. I’m really just living the dream now, travelling around the world, first time to Australia is really exciting.”

Henderson’s win on the LPGA Tour in Portland last August came after she Monday-qualified, but it was emphatic. She won by eight shots, and soon petitioned the LPGA Tour for an exemption so that she could have a playing card although she had not reached the minimum age of 18. This was granted, and now she is a full member.

A former world No. 1 amateur, she says her improvement has been steady.

“I think over the last three or four years I’ve continued to improve just a little bit every year and that’s been key,” she said today after the Open pro-am. “Last year the main thing was realizing that I was good enough to compete on the LPGA Tour. Getting top 10 finishes was (a boost in) confidence for me. Over the last couple of months and in the off-season I’ve gained a bit of distance which has really helped. I was considered a longer hitter to begin with and gaining 10-15 yards has really helped. Moving forward I think short game is what I need to improve to compete on the LPGA.”

Henderson likes the look of The Grange – the venue for this weeks  ISPS Handa Women’s Australian Open.

“It’s in amazing condition, they’ve really done a great job with it. It’s a little bit tricky, second shots are key here, just playing smarter on the course and knowing where to hit the ball is going to be very important.”

Carlsbad, Calif. – Cobra Golf has introduced its new KING wedges – designed to improve feel and performance on shots that really count.

In addition to a new muscle shape, the KING wedge collection utilizes progressive grooves, variable face roughness and three sole grind configurations, to provide golfers with superior feel, increased spin consistency and personalization for different swing types.

“We’ve been working on these new wedges for nearly two years to create the best performing specialty wedges for golfers,” said Jose Miraflor, Director of Product Marketing at COBRA Golf. “Our COBRA engineers collaborated with our tour players, including Rickie Fowler, Jonas Blixt and Lexi Thompson, and conducted extensive research and testing on the KING wedges. Through that we’ve greatly improved wedge feel and versatility, giving golfers the confidence to hit a variety of shots around the green.”

One of the most important attributes of a wedge is feel and COBRA engineers used modal analysis to help tune vibrational frequencies (or shape) to deliver the softest feeling wedge to date.

The KING wedges (MSRP $150) are designed and manufactured using new Progressive Milled Grooves which feature wider grooves and gapping on higher lofted wedges, and traditional groove spacing on lower lofted wedges. The wider groove design allows higher lofted wedges (56-60*) to grab the golf ball imparting increased spin, and making spin more consistent throughout the wedge set. The new grooves are combined with Variable Face Roughness (VFR), a face milling technology that maximizes both RA (average roughness) and RY (max peak to peak depth) to the USGA limit.

To provide the ultimate wedge customization and performance, the KING wedges feature Three Sole Grind configurations that have been combined with the iconic COBRA Notch, which provides golfers with the ability to choose the perfect wedge to match their game and turf conditions. Each unique sole grind has its own set of advantages:

• The Versatile sole features a medium bounce (8-10*) to provide overall versatility on medium to firm turf conditions.
• The Classic configuration has a high sole bounce (11-12*) and a narrow sole for ease of use on all turf conditions.
• The WideLow option has a low bounce (4-7*) with a wide sole that works well on medium to soft turf conditions.

The KING wedges, available April 1, 2016, feature a new, durable Satin Nickel Chrome plating finish that helps diffuse light and prevent glare along with True Temper Dynamic Golf S200 (Stiff) shafts and Lamkin UTX grip.

For more information on the entire KING family of products, visit cobragolf.ca.

TORONTO – The National Golf Course Owners Association Canada (NGCOA Canada) has announced an official marketing partnership with the St. Kitts Tourism Authority, a marketing body responsible for promoting the Caribbean island of St. Kitts as a travel destination.

The collaboration will see the tourism organization leverage NGCOA Canada as a marketing platform to engage with the millions of Canadians playing golf across the country and position the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis as a premier leisure destination.

There are approximately 5.7 million Canadian golfers who play roughly 60 million rounds of golf annually. They account for more than 1 million golf related trips per year, and are responsible for driving $19.7 billion in golf industry direct spending – $4.6 billion of which is spent on golf related travel and on-course spending outside of the country.

Over the course of the multi-year relationship, St. Kitts will work with NGCOA Canada to leverage the Association’s network of over 1,200 member courses, directly connecting with this highly influential and valuable group of travelers, while solidifying St. Kitts as a top-of-mind and preferred destination for Canadian’s golf and leisure travel.

The partnership’s core programming will be St. Kitts-sponsored “Club Nights” at select, targeted NGCOA Canada member facilities. Typically the most attended day at a golf course in any given week, integrating via “Club Nights” provides the St. Kitts Tourism Authority with a captive audience to build both brand awareness and directly educate consumers on the world-class St. Kitts & Nevis golf and hotel properties. The partnership will kick off this spring with over 40 event integrations planned for the 2016 golf season.

“The Canadian passion for golf- and especially golf travel- is very significant to St. Kitts and a key driver behind our partnership with the Association. With two championship courses, another in its final phase of construction and grow in, and the fourth now carved into the landscape, St. Kitts as a destination offers an amazing golf experience- designer courses surrounded by beautiful warm Caribbean sightlines and world class resorts”  states the Hon. Lindsay F.P. Grant, Minister of Tourism, International Trade, Industry and Commerce.

“The NGCOA Canada is a forward looking association that prides itself on delivering exceptional value to our members. Our partnership with St. Kitts Tourism Authority will create sponsorship opportunities for our members, enhance the consumer golf experience, and help build awareness for St. Kitts and Nevis as a world-class golf vacation destination. This partnership is a true WIN for our members, St. Kitts and Nevis, and the NGCOA Canada”, says Jeff Calderwood, CEO, NGCOA Canada.

The partnership stems from the integrated marketing platform developed for the NGCOA Canada by SportBox Entertainment Group, the Association’s agency of record for strategic partnerships. With the volume and purchasing power of Canadians playing golf at clubs across the country, SportBox Group and the NGCOA Canada embarked on a strategic relationship, building a framework that would provide brands with opportunities to directly connect with targeted audiences.

“The NGCOA [Canada] provides customized, scalable coast-to-coast access to 5.7 million Canadians that are responsible for billions of dollars of economic activity – that is a highly sought-after consumer for almost any brand,” said David Corelli, Chief Strategy Officer, SportBox Group. “This marketing vehicle provides an uncluttered and direct channel for brands, such as St. Kitts, to engage with a demographic that have a high propensity to spend in many consumer categories.”

A person with knowledge of the negotiations tells The Associated Press that Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler are poised for a prime-time golf exhibition.

Quicken Loans is finalizing details for a match between McIlroy and Fowler that would be played June 7 under the lights at Detroit Golf Club. It would be televised live by Golf Channel and CBS.

The person spoke with the AP on Monday on condition of anonymity because the match has not been announced.

The first two hours would be televised live by Golf Channel, followed by the 9-11 p.m. slot shown live on CBS. It was not clear how many holes would be broadcast under the lights.

Unlike the Monday night matches involving Tiger Woods in 1999 and 2000, there would be a celebrity component with this exhibition. The person said it would be “Team Rory” against “Team Rickie.”

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Vaughn Taylor doesn’t know how he lost his game. Even more mystifying was the way it returned.

His goal Sunday when he teed off in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, trailing Phil Mickelson by six shots, was to finish in the top 10 so he wouldn’t have to rush down to Los Angeles and try to qualify for the next PGA Tour event.

It had been more than a decade since he won. It had been three years since he had a full PGA Tour card. And just 10 days ago, Taylor was throwing up in his hotel room in Bogota, Colombia, so sick that he withdrew from a Web.com Tour event and flew to Pebble Beach as an alternate. The one-time Ryder Cup player only had a carry bag with him to save money on baggage fees.

Taylor ran off four straight birdies on the back nine at Pebble Beach to close with a 7-under 65, and he wasn’t sure it was enough when Mickelson stood over a 5-foot birdie putt to force a playoff. And then Taylor got one last surprise.

Mickelson missed.

“Just absolutely amazing,” Taylor said. “Didn’t know if it would ever happen again, to be honest. Just lost a lot of confidence, lost a good bit of my game. I just kept working, grinding and kept at it. And I can’t believe it actually happened today.”

Neither could Mickelson.

Lefty was going for his record-tying fifth victory at Pebble Beach, and the 43rd title of his Hall of Fame career. He had a two-shot lead to start the final round, lost the lead after five holes, rallied with a birdie on the 17th hole and then delivered two good shots to within 60 feet of the hole, just short of the green on the par-5 18th.

“It never crossed my mind that I wouldn’t make that one,” Mickelson said after his 72.

Taylor had never given up on his career, though he was starting to rule out another victory, and he never imagined returning home to Augusta, Georgia, to play in the Masters. He is the first player this year to qualify by winning.

“Playing in the Masters is my Super Bowl,” Taylor said.

Taylor was No. 447 in the world and had never won a tournament against the best players. His previous two victories were the Reno-Tahoe Open (2004 and 2005), which is held opposite a World Golf Championship. He had a scare two years ago when his aluminum fishing boat capsized in a strong current, leading to a few moment of panic with cold water up his chin and a park ranger guiding him to shore.

He finished at 17-under 270 and earned $1.26 million, which is about $165,000 more than he made the last three years combined.

Jonas Blixt, the first player to catch Mickelson, made bogey on the par-5 14th to fall back and closed with four pars for a 69 to finish third. Hiroshi Iwata of Japan, who played with Mickelson in the final group, was one shot behind until he missed the 16th green and made bogey. He closed with a 72 to tie for fourth with Freddie Jacobson (71).

Taylor didn’t look like much of a threat when he went out in 34, but he poured it on the back nine. He hit his approach to 3 feet on the 13th and to 12 feet on the dangerous par-5 14th. Coming out of the rough on the 15th, his ball hit the golf ball of Matt Jones and settled 2 feet away for a third straight birdie.

The real blow came at the 16th, a 30-foot birdie putt on one of the toughest greens at Pebble. He rammed it hard enough and watched it break back into the cup, and Taylor ran around the green to celebrate.

“I’ve had that putt before. It’s a hard putt,” Taylor said. “I wasn’t even thinking about making that putt. I knew it broke a lot, and it’s a little uphill at the end. It’s really easy to leave that putt short. I just flushed it. It was kind of going in from the start.”

He missed two good birdie chances on the last two holes, but still wound up a winner.

Taylor didn’t even realize he was in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am _ he still has limited status as a past PGA Tour winner _ until Monday when he was learned Cal Pettersen had withdrawn. That no longer is a problem. He’s in the Masters and PGA Championship, and he gets to set his own schedule for the next two years.

Jordan Spieth, the world’s No. 1 player, closed with a 66 and tied for 21st, ending his streak of seven straight top 10s dating to September.

Nick Taylor and David Hearn were the top Canadians, tying for 30th place at 5 under. Taylor shot a 1 under on Sunday while Hearn had a 2-over 74. Austin Connelly was 2 over for the day and finished at 1 over.

Mickelson at least left Pebble believing he was closer to ending the longest victory drought of his pro career that dates to the 2013 British Open.

“It’s certainly disappointing, but it makes me more determined to get back to work and get this thing right,” he said. “I know that I’m close to being where I want to be. But if I was there, I would have been able to finish it off.”

Canada’s Nick Taylor and and David Hearn had a share of 30th at 5-under, while Austin Connelly finished 1-over to tie for 60th.

TALAHASSEE, Fla. – Team Canada Amateur Squad member Maddie Szeryk fired a final round 70 (-2) on Sunday to capture medalist honours at the Florida State Match-Up at the Don Veller Seminole Golf Course.

Szeryk, a 19-year-old dual citizen from Allen, Tex., posted six birdies on Sunday en route to a four-stroke victory over Florida State’s Kim Metraux and South Carolina’s Katelyn Dambaugh. The win marks Szeryk’s first collegiate victory and the fifth time she finished a 54-hole tournament at 5-under or better—the only Texas A&M golfer to accomplish that feat.

Collectively, the Aggies finished with a score of 898 (+34) to finish fifth. Florida State took home the title with a final score of 871 (+7).

Szeryk, last year’s Southeastern Conference (SEC) Freshman of the Year, will tee-it-up again with the Aggies on Mar. 11–13 at the Forest Hills Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., for the 3M Augusta Invitational.

Click here for full scoring.

NAPLES, Fla. – Bernhard Langer won the Chubb Classic on Sunday for his 26th PGA Champions Tour title, closing with a 1-over 73 for a three-stroke victory.

Seven strokes ahead after opening with rounds of 62 and 66, the 58-year-old German star finished at 15 under 201 at TwinEagles. He also won in 2011 and 2013, was second in 2012 and tied for second in 2014.

Fred Couples had a 66 to finish second.

Langer completed his sixth wire-to-wire triumph. He’s second on the 50-and-over tour’s victory list, behind Hale Irwin (45) and Lee Trevino (29).

Using an approach of smart-aggressive, Langer was 1 over through 10 holes before making his first birdie on No. 11.

Couples drew within two shots with a birdie on 17 and Langer’s bogey on 15. Couples had a three-putt bogey on 18, and Langer birdied 17 to push the margin to four. On 18, Langer put his second shot in the water and salvaged a bogey.

Canada’s Stephen Ames and Rod Spittle each had a share of 17th at 6-under.

PRETORIA, South Africa – Charl Schwartzel raced away from the rest of the field to win the European Tour’s Tshwane Open by eight shots on Sunday as he closed with a 7-under 63 to finish 16 under par.

Schwartzel, who held a one-shot lead heading into the final round, had seven birdies and an eagle to cruise to victory and his second tour title this season. The former U.S. Masters champion finished with four birdies in his last seven holes for his runaway victory at Pretoria Country Club.

It delivered an 11th European Tour title for Schwartzel, who had ended a two-year drought on the tour by winning the Alfred Dunhill Championship in November. Eight of Schwartzel’s 11 wins have come in South Africa.

Schwartzel won from Denmark’s Jeff Winther, who closed with a 64 for second outright on 8 under.

Winther was the only non-South African in the top six, with Anthony Michael third on 6 under and Justin Walters, Richard Sterne and Dean Burmester tied for fourth another shot back.

Schwartzel bogeyed No. 3 and No. 11, but he was already four shots ahead of his nearest rival at the turn, and immediately made up for that drop at 11 by sinking a 40-foot birdie putt on No. 12. There were three more birdies, including one on the last hole, for his comprehensive win.

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand – Unfazed by an earthquake just before she teed off, top-ranked Lydia Ko won the New Zealand Women’s Open for the third time in four years Sunday.

The magnitude 5.7 quake rattled the area about 10 minutes before Ko began play. She started the round on time and play wasn’t interrupted by the quake.

“It was interesting, I’ve never been on a golf course where there is an earthquake,” Ko said. “It was a lucky I wasn’t out there playing because I wouldn’t want to be in the middle of my swing and the ball moves somewhere else.”

Ko closed with a 2-under 70 for a two-stroke victory. The 18-year-old South Korean-born New Zealander finished at 10-under 206 at Clearwater Golf Club. She also won the national championship in 2013 and 2015.

England’s Felicity Johnson, South Korean amateur Hye Jin Choi and Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen tied for second. Johnson shot 67, Choi 69, and Madsen 70.

The event was sanctioned by the Ladies European Tour and Australian Ladies PGA.

The earthquake came a week before the fifth anniversary of a 6.3 magnitude quake that killed 185 people in Christchurch and area.

Ko birdied her second hole but gave it back with the only bogey of her round at the par-5 fifth, three-putting from 10 feet.

She briefly dropped behind Amelia Lewis, but the American bogeyed the 16th, leaving Ko among five players tied at 8 under. Lewis finished with a 69 to tie for sixth at 6 under.

Ko birdied Nos. 10 and 11 to take a two-shot lead and she held that advantage to become the first player to successfully defend the title.

“I could feel some tears coming after the 18th hole,” Ko said. “It’s been a long week, a lot of emotion and a lot of people to share this amazing victory with. Especially given how much New Zealand golf has been a support to me and my career.”

Three Canadians were in the filed. Lorie Kane, Kyla Inaba and Jessica Macphee all failed to make the 36-hole cut.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Phil Mickelson stayed away from all the celebrity commotion Saturday at Pebble Beach. More importantly, he stayed away from bogeys on the toughest day.

Mickelson took only 21 putts and shot a 6-under 66 to take a two-shot lead in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, leaving him one round away from tying the record with his fifth victory at this event.

“It’s fun to be back in the thick of it,” Mickelson said.

It’s his first 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour since the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion. Mickelson has gone 52 events worldwide since his last victory at Muirfield in the 2013 British Open that gave him the third leg of the Grand Slam. It is the longest drought of his career.

He was at 16-under 199 and led by two shots over Hiroshi Iwata of Japan, who had a 69 at Spyglass Hill.

Freddie Jacobson had a 68 at Monterey Peninsula, which for the first time this week played the toughest of the three courses because of the brisk wind. He was three shots behind, along with Sung Kang, who had a 70 at Pebble Beach.

Jordan Spieth, the world’s No. 1 player, was happy to have a tee time on Sunday.

Spieth struggled on the par 5s for the third straight round, playing them at 1 over at Pebble Beach. He had to get up-and-down for par on the par-5 18th for a 74 to make the cut on the number. He has played the par 5s in even par for the week.

“I’m not in contention. It will be the first stress-free round that I’ve really had in quite a while where I’ve played a Sunday not having a chance to win,” Spieth said. “It’s not good, but at the same time, I think I can get into a groove and not lose any hair over the back nine. I’m going to fire at some pins.”

Mickelson got as much as he could out of his 66.

He played at Pebble Beach with the rest of the celebrities, which is a tradition on this course, except that he teed off on the back nine and was on the opposite end of the golf course from the dancing, clowning and raucous atmosphere on a gorgeous day once the fog lifted.

Mickelson’s pitch to the 18th went through the green, and he chipped in for a birdie to make the turn in 3 under. He had to scramble for par out of a bunker on No. 1. On the third hole, he drove into a fairway bunker and purposely played away from the flag, chipping just short of the green for a good angle at the pin.

He also had to get up-and-down for par on the short par-4 fourth hole. Those typically are the scoring holes, but he took off from there with three straight birdies, including a 20-foot putt on the 112-yard seventh hole, tougher than usual because of a firm green and a breeze at the back.

Even his birdie at the par-5 sixth was no picnic. Mickelson short-sided himself on his second shot and had to hit a flop shot over the bunker to about 4 feet. He closed with two solid pars (one from the front bunker on No. 8) and is trying not to look too far ahead to Sunday.

The next six players behind him on the leaderboard have combined for four PGA Tour victories. Mickelson is going for his 43rd.

Mickelson, however, wasn’t taking anything for granted. This was a good score on a tough day.

“It’s been awhile since I’ve been in contention and it would mean a lot to me to be able to play a good final round tomorrow,” he said. “And as well as I’ve been hitting the ball, the score was great, but the ball striking wasn’t indicative of how I’ve been hitting it. So I would like to get that dialed in for tomorrow’s round.”

PGA champion Jason Day had a 68 at Pebble Beach to get within six shots of the lead. Justin Rose was among five players to have at least a share of the lead at one point Saturday, reaching 13 under. He made four bogeys and no birdies over the final 11 holes, including going bunker-to-bunker around the 18th green for a bogey. That gave him a 72 and he was seven shots behind.

Canada’s David Hearn has a share of 17th at 7-under. Nick Taylor is tied for 29th at 4-under, while Austin Connelly is tied for 54th at 1-under.