TUCKER’S TOWN, Bermuda —Players took advantage of prime scoring conditions Tuesday for the first round of the Nike Golf PGA Team Championship of Canada.

The highly touted duo of Billy Walsh and Danny King, and the surprising tandem of Conrad Riley and Thomas Keddy put together fourball rounds of 10-under-par 61 at Bermuda’s Mid Ocean Club. Both teams are tied for the lead and hold a three shot advantage over four other teams.

“This was just perfect weather for scoring today—no wind to speak of really and lots of sun is a solid recipe for going low,” King said after the round

The first round of the PGA Team Championship of Canada featured a two-person fourball format. Walsh, the PGA of Canada’s No. 1-ranked player, admitted it’s a nice feeling having a partner this week.

“This is actually the first time Danny and I have been partners,” he said. “And it’s an awesome feeling being able to count and root for him all day long.”

The inaugural Nike Golf PGA Team Championship of Canada features different team formats for each day—fourball, foursomes and scramble—with the eventual winners taking home $12,000 of the $90,000 total prize purse.

The teams of Adam Blair and Mark Kohlen; Dave Levesque and Marc-Etienne Bussieres; Billy Houle and Francis Tanguay; and Max Gilbert and Jean-Pierre Morin are T3, three shots back after opening rounds of 7-under 64.

Ranked the 47th best golf course outside of the United States by Golf Digest, The Mid Ocean Club was designed by world-renowned architect Charles Blair Macdonald and first opened for play in 1921. The club has played host to the PGA Grand Slam of Golf in 2007 and 2008, and has hosted such heads of state as Presidents George H.W. Bush and Dwight Eisenhower; Winston Churchill, The Duke of Windsor; former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney; as well as baseball icon Babe Ruth.

“This golf course is just so much fun to play,” King, who won this year’s PGA Championship of Canada, said. “With the team formats we’re playing this week, Mid Ocean is really the perfect venue for this national championship because there’s so many holes where you’re presented with varying options to make birdie.”

As the seasons rotate from summer to fall, it’s a good time to focus on your physical rotation. Trunk rotation is essential to the golf swing; it enables you to separate your shoulders from your pelvis. Some literature will refer to this separation as the “X factor.” A greater degree of separation between your shoulder blades and your pelvis/ hips allows players to apply force over a greater distance. When executed with speed this creates power.

Maximizing the player’s trunk rotation while maintaining the alignment of the shoulder blades parallel to the pelvis is crucial to maintaining a consistent golf swing.

Here are three exercises to improve your swing by increasing your thoracic spine’s ability to rotate.

MOBILITY

Lay on a foam roller with the roller perpendicular to your spine. Spend two minutes rolling up and down your spine to loosen any tight muscles. Keeping the roller still, with your hands supporting your neck, arch over the roller. Extend 3-5 times, move the roller two inches up or down your spine; repeat. Finally, lay on the roller with it running parallel to your spine, from your head to your tailbone. Keep as much of your spine on the roller, then slowly extend your arms above your head. Repeat six times.

FLEXIBILITY

Restricted latissimus dorsi muscles limit the trunk from rotating freely. Here is a stretch to help improve the flexibility of these large trunk muscles, getting as much range as physically possible. Hold each stretch for 30 seconds and repeat 2-3 times.

Stand tall with an elastic band looped around your wrists and your arms straight overhead and pulled slightly apart to create tension in the band. While keeping your trunk extended, maintain the tension in the band as you exhale and side bend at the pelvis. Hold this side bent position for three deep breaths before you return to the starting position. Repeat on both sides 2-3 times.

ON COURSE EXERCISE

Maintaining the mobility and flexibility you achieve at home prior to heading to the course is important since we all tend to tighten up after striking so many balls. Here is a practical exercise to use on the range, and at the sixth and the 12th holes.

Use a longer iron and slowly search the muscle tissue along the sides and back of your trunk, looking for tight knots or bands. Once you find one, gradually use the longer iron to massage out the knot. This could take 2-3 minutes before the muscle releases. Complete five passes up and down your back looking for these tighter bands or knots.

Oakville, Ont. – As golf’s governing body in Canada, Golf Canada, in conjunction with the R&A and the United States Golf Association (USGA), announce the new revisions to the Rules of Golf for 2016.

In accordance with the Joint Rules Committee’s four-year review cycle of the Rules of Golf, the new changes came into effect January 1, 2016.

Along with the R&A and USGA, Golf Canada holds a unique position as the only other governing body that sits on the Joint Rules Committee which carries out the quadrennial review of the Rules of Golf. Golf’s governing bodies are committed to ensure the rules are constantly evolving and relevant to today’s game.

Among the most significant of the changes in the 2016 edition of the Rules are the following:

• Withdrawal of Rule on Ball Moving After Address – Rule 18-2b (Ball at Rest Moved by Player, Partner, Caddie or Equipment) has been withdrawn. This means that if a ball at rest moves after the player addresses it, the player is no longer automatically deemed to have caused the ball to move. A one-stroke penalty under Rule 18-2 will be applied only when the facts show that the player has caused the ball to move.

• Limited Exception to Disqualification Penalty for Submission of Incorrect Score Card – A new exception has been introduced to Rule 6-6d (Wrong Score for Hole) to provide that a player is not disqualified for returning a lower score for a hole than actually taken as a result of failing to include penalty strokes that the player did not know were incurred before returning the score card. Instead, the player incurs the penalty under the Rule that was breached and must add an additional penalty of two strokes for the score card error. In all other cases in which a player returns a score for any hole lower than actually taken, the penalty will continue to be disqualification.

• Modification of Penalty for a Single Impermissible Use of Artificial Devices or Equipment – The penalty for a player’s first breach of Rule 14-3 (Artificial Devices, Unusual Equipment and Abnormal Use of Equipment) during the round has been reduced from disqualification to loss of hole in match play or two strokes in stroke play. The penalty for any subsequent breach of Rule 14-3 will continue to be disqualification.

• Prohibition on Anchoring the Club While Making a Stroke – As announced in May 2013, the new Rule 14-1b (Anchoring the Club) prohibits anchoring the club either “directly” or by use of an “anchor point” in making a stroke. The penalty is loss of hole in match play or two strokes in stroke play.

“As the game evolves, the rules need to stay current and every aspect of the game was reviewed during this exhaustive four-year review cycle by the Joint Rules Committee,” said Adam Helmer, Golf Canada’s Director of Rules, Competitions, and Amateur Status. “The ultimate goal when developing a single set of rules for all golfers around the world is to make the game more equitable under all playing conditions, and the feeling is that the 2016 Rules of Golf accomplished that goal.”

The 2016 publication has been designed, published and presented jointly by golf’s governing bodies. The book is reproduced in 36 official languages and distributed to millions of golfers around the world.

Golf Canada has the exclusive right to govern, publish and distribute the Rules of Golf throughout Canada. As the National Sport Federation, Golf Canada will also produce a French edition of the Rules of Golf.

The Rules of Amateur Status also underwent revisions in conjunction with the changes to the Rules of Golf.

Notable changes to the 2016 Rules of Amateur Status include:

• Prize Money to Charity – New Rule 3-1b enables an amateur golfer to participate in an event where prize money or its equivalent is donated to a recognized charity, provided the approval of the governing body is first obtained in advance by the organizer.
• Golf-Related Expenses – New Rule 4-3 clarifies that an amateur golfer may receive reasonable expenses, not exceeding actual expenses incurred, for non-competition golf-related activities.  Former Rule 4-3 becomes Rule 4-4.
• Reinstatement to Amateur Status – The recommended guidelines on periods awaiting reinstatement are amended to provide that a period in breach of the Rules of up to six years (previously up to five years) should result in a period awaiting reinstatement of one year.

For the full text of the 2016 Rules of Amateur Status, please click here.

Golf Canada will publish English and French copies of the 2016 Rules of Golf, available January 1, 2016. The companion publication to the Rules of Golf, Decisions on the Rules of Golf will also be available January 1, 2016.

You can order a printed copy of the 2016 version of the Rules of Golf on Golf Canada’s e-store.

More information about the Rules of Golf and Golf Canada’s Rules Education Program, please click here.

MEXICO CITY, Mexico – Team Canada’s Young Pro Squad members Corey Conners and Taylor Pendrith teamed up this past weekend to finish in a tie for third at the second edition of the Bridgestone America’s Golf Cup presented by Value, a PGA TOUR Latinoamérica event.

Conners, a Listowel, Ont., product and Pendrith, a native of Richmond Hill, Ont., carded a 255 (65-65-62-63) to finish at 29-under in the four-ball event hosted at the Club Campestre. In addition to being teammates with Team Canada, Conners and Pendrith have the experience of playing collegiate golf together for the Kent State Golden Flashes—further adding to the duo’s chemistry.

Out of 30 total teams representing 19 countries, Conners and Pendrith emerged as one of the top-three teams, tied with the Colombian pair of Rozo and Merizalde. Puerto Rico’s Fields and Figueroa placed second at 30-under, while the American duo of Kuchar and Hueber (replacement for injured Tiger Woods) finished first by a four-stroke margin.

The event is among the most prestigious tournaments in Latin America and boasts one of the highest purses in the region at $300,000 (USD).

Click here for full scoring.

LAS VEGAS – Smylie Kaufman won the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open on Sunday in his fifth PGA Tour start, shooting a 10-under 61 and waiting more than two hours while rival after rival fell short.

Kaufman played the final 11 holes in 9 under with an eagle and seven birdies. He set up the eagle with a 3-wood drive to 15 feet on the par-4 15th and closed with a 20-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th to post 16-under 268 at TPC Summerlin.

Kevin Na, third-round leader Brett Stegmaier, Patton Kizzire, Cameron Tringale, Jason Bohn and Alex Cejka tied for second, a stroke back.

Na, coming off playoff loss last week to Emiliano Grillo in the season-opening event in Napa, California, made a 25-foot birdie putt on the par-5 16th to tie for the lead, but bogeyed the par-3 17th after flubbing a chip, and missed a 15-foot birdie try on 18.

Stegmaier had the last chance to force a playoff, but hit his approach on 18 into the left fringe and came up short on a 20-foot birdie try.

Kaufman became the second straight rookie winner on the tour, earning $1,152,000 and a spot in the Masters. The 23-year-old former LSU player from Birmingham, Alabama, began the year with no tour status, won a Web.com Tour event in May and earned a PGA Tour card with a high finish on the money list.

Na, the 2011 Las Vegas winner for his lone PGA Tour title, finished with a 67. Stegmaier shot 69, Kizzire 63, and Tringale, Bohn and Cejka 66.

William McGirt and Chad Campbell tied for eighth at 14 under. McGirt had a 62, going 9 under in a nine-hole stretch that ended with an eagle on the par-5 16th. Campbell had a 68.

Rickie Fowler finished with a 68 to tie for 25th with Canada’s David Hearn and Nick Taylor at 9 under. Jimmy Walker, playing alongside Na in the second-to-last group, had a 78 to fall into a tie for 50th at 4 under.

HONG KONG – Justin Rose won his first European Tour title in 15 months Sunday, warding off a stubborn challenge from Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark to win the Hong Kong Open by one shot.

The Englishman, who started the final round even with Bjerregaard on 15 under and a four-shot lead over the field, carded an impressive two-under-par 68 for a 17-under 263. It was his eighth career title on the European Tour.

“I’m very happy to get the job done. Last week I had a chance to win in Napa when I was tied for the lead but I let that one flitter away. I wanted to hang on to this one,” said Rose, the 2013 US Open champion whose last victory on the European Tour came at the 2014 Scottish Open.

“Lucas played incredible golf and I was thoroughly impressed. When you separate yourself from the field like we did, it’s probably a tough one for him to lose. But he didn’t lose it, it’s just that both of us played incredibly well,” added Rose, who has now won in every European Tour season dating back to 2012.

Bjerregaard’s attempt to win his first title was blown away at the 14th hole at the Hong Kong Golf Club when he made a double-bogey to let slip a one-stroke lead over Rose who then took over the lead by one.

Rose, 31, went two shots ahead at the 16th and despite a bogey at the final hole, only his third dropped shot all week, it was enough to ensure victory as the 24-year-old Bjerregaard failed to force a playoff and finished with 69 for a 16-under 264.

Bjerregaard, who had thrived on the back nine in the first three rounds collecting 15 birdies, failed to conjure up that same magic as he cracked under the pressure to make a bogey and a double bogey coming home.

Rose, however, showed his class and continued his remarkable knack for staying out of trouble with only two bogeys all day.

The last time Rose appeared at the Hong Kong Open, in 2011, he missed the cut but it was a very different scenario this week with the Englishman leading from the second round.

European Tour rookie Matt Fitzpatrick of England shot a final-round 69 to finish in a four-way tie for third with Lee Soo-min of South Korea (64), American Patrick Reed (67) and Australian Jason Scrivener (68) – all on 11 under and a massive seven shots behind Rose.

Indian youngster Anirban Lahiri who had started in second place, four shots behind, struggled to a 71 to finish tied for seventh. Also falling from contention was fellow-countryman Jeev Milka Singh who began five shots behind the leaders but could only finish with a four over 74 to be tied for 24th.

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Lydia Ko ran away with the LPGA Taiwan Championship on Sunday to regain the No. 1 spot in the world ranking.

The 18-year-old New Zealander holed a 30-yard pitch for eagle on the par-5 12th and finished with a 7-under 65 in sunny, breezy conditions at Miramar for a nine-stroke victory.

Ko took the top spot in the world from South Korea’s Inbee Park with her fifth LPGA Tour victory of the season and the 10th of her career. Park skipped her title defense at Miramar to play in a Korea LPGA event, where she tied for second Sunday.

“I think winning and playing well at an event is the top priority,” Ko said. “And then if you get the extra bonus with it, it’s even better. … The winning part is probably the most memorable. I haven’t really thought about being world No. 1 again.”

Ko also took the top spot from Park with a second-place tie in the season-opening event in Florida. Park moved back in front with her major victory in the Women’s PGA Championship in June in New York.

“In Ocala, I was disappointed in the way I finished,” Ko said. “Coming tied second and being world No. 1, I think it’s a little different right now. I think I played really consistently well the last couple weeks, so I think it’s something we can all celebrate and I want to share this with my whole team.”

At 18 years, 6 months, 1 day, Ko is the youngest player to win 10 events on any major tour. Horton Smith set the PGA Tour mark of 21 years, 7 months in 1929, and Nancy Lopez set the previous LPGA Tour record in 1979 at 22 years, 2 months, 5 days.

“I actually met her in Cleveland for an outing a couple months ago,” Ko said about Lopez. “She’s such an amazing person and an amazing golfer. To have beaten her record, it’s an honor.”

Ko broke ties with Park for the tour victory lead and the No. 1 spot in the player of the year points race, and earned $300,000 to increase her tour-leading total to $2,716,753.

Ko finished at 20-under 268 after opening with rounds of 69, 67 and 67 to take a four-stroke lead into the final day.

South Koreans So Yeon Ryu and Ji Eun-hee tied for second.

“She’s still a teenager, so it’s really hard to believe how she acts and how she plays,” Ryu said about Ko. “I feel really happy to be playing with someone really special on the tour. She’s not only a good player, but she’s a really good person. If she was not a good person, I might be jealous, but I totally respect (her).”

Ryu shot a 68, and Ji had a 70. England’s Charley Hull was fourth at 10 under after a 70.

Ko birdied four of the six holes, bogeyed the par-3 seventh, and opened a seven-shot lead with the eagle chip on 12.

“I mis-hit it a little bit,” Ko said. “But I was looking at it and thought it was flying enough and then I saw it kind of landed a yard or two short of the green. When I walked up, I felt like it was a little on the firmer side, so I kind of thought it would bounce up anyway. But I didn’t imagine it going in.”

She added birdies on the par-3 14th and par-5 18th, chipping to a foot on the last.

Ko has three victories in her last five starts. She won in Canada and France – where she became the youngest major champion – in consecutive starts, tied for second two weeks ago in Malaysia and tied for fourth last week in South Korea.

In addition to her 10 LPGA Tour titles, Ko has four other worldwide victories, including a 2013 KLPGA tournament at Miramar and a Ladies European Tour event this year in New Zealand. She won her first LPGA Tour title as an amateur in the 2012 Canadian Women’s Open at a record 15 years, 4 months, 2 days.

Canada’s Alena Sharp finished 11-over-par and tied for 66th.

The tournament was the third in the five-event Asian Swing. The Blue Bay LPGA is next week in China, followed by the Japan Classic.

LAS VEGAS – Brett Stegmaier birdied the final hole Saturday for a 3-under 68 and a one-stroke lead in the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open.

Making his fifth career PGA Tour start, Stegmaier rebounded for a bogey on the par-3 17th with a 13-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th to reach 13-under 68. The 32-year-old former University of Florida player completed a second-round 66 on Saturday morning for a share of the lead.

“It played a little tougher, so played a little more conservatively,” Stegmaier said. “Certainly happy to make four birdies and one bogey and be in the lead.”

He’s sticking with a simple approach.

“Just do the same things, not really look at leaderboards until maybe the last three holes,” Stegmaier said. “I’ve played really well the last two months. Been doing the same things, just try and read the greens well. I feel like if I read the greens well, I’ll play well. That’s the main goal tomorrow.”

Morgan Hoffman was second after a 66. After making four birdies in a four-hole stretch, he hooked his drive on 18 into the desert rocks and ended up saving bogey with a 10-foot putt.

“I was just saying if I could see the ball in there and it wasn’t in the bush, I’d give it a shot,” Hoffmann said. “Yeah, lucky to get out of there with bogey.”

Jimmy Walker, former UNLV player Chad Campbell and 2011 winner Kevin Na were tied for third at 11 under. Walker had a 69, Na shot 68, and Campbell 70.

“I think that the pins are a lot more difficult than they normally are, a lot of tough pins,” Walker said. “It’s like they don’t want us to make birdies. A lot of holes, par is pretty good here.”

Campbell agreed.

“There wasn’t a whole lot of low scores,” Campbell said. “It was pretty hard to get to those pins. But I feel like I played OK, and looking forward to tomorrow.”

Alex Cejka had a hole-in-one on the 212-yard 17th in a 66 that left him at 10 under along with Canada’s Nick Taylor (67), Jason Bohn (69) and Cameron Tringale (70).

Cejka won the Puerto Rico Open last year for his first PGA Tour title. The 44-year-old Czech-born German lives in Las Vegas.

“It was a good 6-iron for me, perfect yardage,” Cejka said. “I tried to hit it a little bit right. I struck it well, and pitched pretty good and was rolling toward the pin and then suddenly disappeared. It’s a great bonus, especially in front of the home crowd here, and then to top it off with a birdie on 18, that’s fabulous.”

Rickie Fowler was tied for 28th at 6 under after a 70, playing the last four holes in even par without making a par. He eagled the short par-4 15th, hitting a drive to 5 feet, then hit into the water on the next two holes for a bogey on the par-5 16th and a double on the par-3 17th. He birdied the par-4 18th with a 12-foot putt.

“It was a little irritating,” Fowler said. “Sixteen and 17 cost me a lot of shots this week. It would be nice to possibly get some back there. I haven’t made particularly bad swings, just hit it kind of the wrong directions at the wrong time.”

HONG KONG – Justin Rose and Lucas Bjerregaard led the Hong Kong Open by four strokes after Saturday’s third round.

The Englishman and Dane were on 15-under 195 overall at Hong Kong Golf Club.

Rose began the day with a one-shot lead over his Danish opponent, who never let him out of his sight. Bjerregaard twice nosed in front at the par-70 Fanling Course before settling for shared honors.

Rose completed another bogey-free round – he has made only one bogey all week – and finished with a solid 6-under 64, which included two eagles and two birdies.

“It was really a fun day playing with Lucas and flip-flopping birdies and eagles and stretching away from the rest of the field,” said Rose, who had monster putts of 25 and 50 feet on Nos. 3 and 13 respectively for eagles.

Bjerregaard rolled in eight birdies to card 63, the best round of the day, and only a bogey at his final hole prevented him enjoying the sole lead going into the final round.

European Tour rookie Anirban Lahiri of India shot 65 to move to 11-under 199 and grab second place. India’s Jeev Milka Singh (65) and England’s Matt Fitzpatrick (66) were next on 10-under 200.

Ian Poulter started two shots behind leader Rose but carded a disappointing 3-over 73 to finish 11 shots off the pace.

Poulter had made a frantic dash to make it to the Hong Kong Open and was only able to play because American Rich Beem had given up his spot so that the Ryder Cup star could meet the requirements of keeping his European Tour membership.

“The tank was empty and I’m really gutted,” Poulter said.

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Lydia Ko took a four-stroke lead Saturday in the LPGA Taiwan Championship, putting the 18-year-old New Zealander in position to regain the top spot in the world ranking.

Ko had four birdies in a five-hole stretch and closed with another birdie for a 5-under 67 in windy conditions at rain-soaked Miramar.

She would jump from second to first in the world with a victory or second-place finish Sunday and also could take the top spot under other scenarios depending on where top-ranked Inbee Park finishes in the Korea LPGA’s KB Financial Star Championship. Park, the winner last year at Miramar, was tied for fourth Saturday in the South Korean event.

Ko had a 13-under 203 total. South Korea’s Eun-Hee Ji, a stroke ahead after each of the first two rounds, was second after a 72.