The team representing the Republic of Korea continued its strong play in the third round of the World Junior Girls Championship at The Marshes Golf Club in Ottawa.

The trio’s depth was again on display – for the third time in as many days, a different player led the team. The unit finished the day 6-under and now sits at 15-under 417 for the competition – 11 shots clear of second. Icheon native Shin Hye Kim led the way with six birdies and a bogey-free 3-under across the back nine. She finished the day at 4-under 68 to move into a tie for third at 2-under 214.

“I am extremely happy with my round. I was very lucky with my putting today. There were times when I made six or seven footers and that is something that rarely happens for me.”

Teammate, Hye-Jin Choi, a native of Paju-si, fired a 2-under 70 to reach 5-under in the tournament and reclaim the lead she held following the first round. Round two leader Eun-Soo Jang of Chang-Hyung finished the day 4-over 76 and sits alone in fifth for the tournament at 1-under.

“Even though this competition has an individual component, all three of us are only focused on the team competition,” added Kim when asked about her relationship with her squad. “The first day I was worried because I shot a 4-over. Throughout the round, I thought about what my teammates were doing, when I finished and found out what they had shot, I was instantly relieved. It felt like I had shot a 3-under myself.”

Filippa Moork began the round in third-place at even-par, but a 4-under performance propelled the native of Karlstad, Sweden into second. The 18-year-old is one-shot off the individual lead at 4-under.

“It felt really good to tie for the low round. I played my own game,” said Moork. “It was fun out there today. It feels nice that my putts were going in.”

Team Sweden, consisting of Moork, Gothenburg’s Elin Esborn and Fiskebackskil’s Frida Kinhult, sits alone in second at 4-under 428 following a combined score of 3-under on the day. Esborn completed the round at 3-over 75 to sit T20 in the tournament at 223. Kinhult ended the day with a 74 and is currently alone in sixth.

“We did really well today,” said Sweden’s head coach Malin Thorberg.
“Filippa putted really well today and made a lot of birdies. Frida, as well. It was a very good day on the greens. We are all really happy with today.”

Despite some difficult circumstances, Thorberg reflected very positively on the importance of this competition. “This is a really good learning experience for the girls. For Frida and Elin, it is their first time playing in this championship. We were without our clubs for the first two days (due to travel issues), but that was a good thing for the girls to learn – that these things can happen. They took it really well. From there, we just tried to be happy and do our best and learn as much as we could, both from other players and the course.”

Rounding out the top three is Team Denmark. The squad members made a move early in the round and found themselves just one back of Korea for the lead. However, they would fall back and sit at 2-under heading into the final round.

Silkeborg’s Cecilie Bofill, who is tied for third, led Denmark on the day. Bofill got off to a fast start with three birdies on the first five holes, but would end the round at 2-over 74 to sit 2-under for the tournament.  Teammate Puk Lyng Thomsen, a native of Frederickshavn, was 1-over for the day and sits T8 at 2-over. The third member of the team, Gilleleje’s Line Toft Hansen, is T13 at 4-over after an even-par third round.

Team Canada Two’s Kathrine Chan of Richmond, B.C., posted a 2-over 74 on the day – her lowest round of the competition. Tied for 27^th, she is the top Canadian in the individual standings at 12-over.

The final round of the World Junior Girls Championship will begin tomorrow at 8 a.m. Additional information regarding the tournament, including tee times and full results, can be found at www.worldjuniorgirls.com.

ATLANTA – Brandt Snedeker is finishing his ninth year on the PGA Tour, and he already has amassed more than $26 million in earnings.

He never really thought about the money and would only know his total if he took time to look it up.

But there was one exception.

On a Sunday afternoon at East Lake in 2012, Snedeker closed with a 68 to win the Tour Championship and beat out Rory McIlroy for the FedEx Cup title. The latter came with a $10 million bonus – $9 million up front, the other $1 million deferred.

Two days later, he went online to check his account.

“That’s the only time I ever checked was that Tuesday,” Snedeker said. “They said it would take until Tuesday. And it was there.”

That’s been the story at East Lake ever since the FedEx Cup began in 2007. It was different the first year when the money was all deferred. Now, it’s 90 percent cash. For most players, especially the top three in the world, this week is more about winning than the money.

Jason Day, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth have combined for 12 victories worldwide and over $25 million in earnings this year. They have won five of the last six majors. They all are in their 20s. And one of them will leave Atlanta as No. 1 in the world.

For everyone else, it’s a weighted free-for-all starting on Thursday:

THE BIG THREE: Day, McIlroy and Spieth are being dubbed as the new “Big Three” in golf because of their ranking and their majors. Day wants to add Rickie Fowler to the mix, but he’s only No. 5 in the world, and while he won The Players Championship in May with arguably the best finish of the year, he still hasn’t won a major and only has three PGA Tour victories in his career.

Day reached No. 1 for the first time with his six-shot victory last week in the BMW Championship. He’s the most likely to keep the ranking. McIlroy and Spieth would have to win the Tour Championship to get to No. 1.

If that happens, it would be the first time since the world ranking began in 1986 that there was a change at the top for six straight weeks.

THE BIG FIVE: Even though Day has dominated the FedEx Cup playoffs with two victories (Barclays, BMW Championship), the advantage is gone at East Lake. The points have been reset to give everyone a chance at the $10 million, with Day still having the best odds and Harris English (No. 30) the ultimate long shot.

The top five only have to win to claim the FedEx Cup. Day is followed by Spieth, Fowler, Henrik Stenson and Bubba Watson.

Stenson was at No. 2 in 2013 when he won at East Lake to claim the big prize. Watson probably stands the least chance this week. He has never seriously contended at East Lake, with his best finish a tie for fifth.

THE BIG ZERO: One player that is sure to make the PGA Tour nervous is Henrik Stenson.

Every year, it seems someone has a chance to win the FedEx Cup without winning a tournament. There has never been a better opportunity than what Stenson has this week. He was runner-up at The Barclays and Deutsche Bank Championship, moving him from No. 41 to No. 4, and that’s where he is now.

If the other players in the top five falter this week and Stenson finished third, he would have enough points (thanks to the reset) to win the FedEx Cup. It would be the only trophy he takes home from the PGA Tour all year.

“I’m just going to try my hardest this week,” Stenson said. “But if I finish second or third and win the overall, you won’t see me leaving here crying, I know that much. Not out of sadness, anyway.”

THE BIG TASK: Only twice since the FedEx Cup began in 2007 has someone won the Tour Championship and failed to capture the FedEx Cup.

Camilo Villegas won in 2008, but the points system was changed that year and backfired badly. Vijay Singh won the opening two playoff events, and effectively wrapped up the FedEx Cup title by the time he got to East Lake. All the big Fijian had to do was finish 72 holes, which he managed.

The current system – resetting points at the Tour Championship – has been in place since 2009. That year, Tiger Woods was No. 1 and was runner-up to Phil Mickelson, who was No. 14 in the standings. That was quite the image – Woods and Mickelson sharing the stage, each with a trophy. Mickelson won the Tour Championship ($1.35 million and a $3 million bonus for his second-place finish in the FedEx Cup) and Woods won the FedEx Cup and $10 million.

“Let me see if I get this straight,” Mickelson said that day. “I shot 65 and he shot (70), and he gets a check for $10 million … no, I’m just kidding.”

Clear skies and brilliant sunshine provided an ideal backdrop for the second round of the 2015 World Junior Girls Championship at The Marshes Golf Club in Ottawa. The team representing the Republic of Korea took full advantage of the ideal conditions to expand its lead atop the standings.

“I am very satisfied with both the scores and details of today’s performance,” said Korean coach Sang-Won Ko. “Yesterday the scores were fine, but the details weren’t where we wanted them to be. Today everything went well.”

Ko credited hard work and increased familiarity with the course for his team’s play. “The players are getting used to the course and are getting more comfortable playing it. Their putting was much better. We worked on it after yesterday’s round and it helped a lot today. To continue to lead, we just need to keep putting well.”

Leading the Korean side was Eun-Soo Jang who tallied six birdies en route to a 5-under 67. The 17-year-old, who has been battling a cold, is finally feeling more like herself. “Yesterday, I was struggling. Today, I got back to my game and gave myself more chances to make birdies. My wedge play was the strongest part of my game today. My shots from 80-yards-in were really good. I stuck many of them to within a foot or two on many of the holes.”

Cecilie Bofill of Silkeborg, Denmark ascended the leaderboard with five birdies, including three across a bogey-free back nine. The 17-year-old finished the first day of competition tied with 10 other players in fourth-place at even-par; her round of 68 has vaulted her into second.

The 18-hole leader – Hye-Jin Choi – followed her opening round of 2-under 70 with a 71. She carded two birdies on the day and despite sitting third in the competition, the 16-year-old’s tally will not count towards her team’s total on the day.

The Korean trio extended its lead from two to five strokes on the strength of performances from Jang and the team’s final member – Shin Hye Kim.  She collected four birdies on the front nine before a pair of bogeys saw the 18-year-old finish at 2-under 70. The team is now 9-under 279 through two rounds.

Led by Bofill, Team Denmark rose two spots to claim sole possession of second place. Puk Lyng Thomsen’s even-par round also counted towards her squad’s combined total of 4-under 285, while Line Toft Hansen’s 75 on the day completes the trio’s scores.

Team Sweden – comprised of Frida Kinhult of Fiskebackskil, Gothenburg’s Elin Esborn and Karlstad native Filippa Moork – holds third place at 1-under 287. Kinhult, who sits T5, posted a round of 1-under 71 to count alongside Moork’s 72. Esborn was 3-over 75 for the round.

Topping the Canadian contingent is Alisha Lau of Richmond, B.C. The 15-year-old carded one birdie and completed the round at 2-over 74. The national team Development Squad member is T24 at 6-over for the competition.

Head Coach of Team Canada One, Ann Carroll, provided some insight on her squad’s second-round performance. “I think they tried a little too hard today. I think some of them got off to a not-so-great start and after that, they started to force things instead of letting things come to them. I tried my best to get them in the right frame of mind and back to where they could control things.”

Carroll remains positive on the experience as a whole. “I think playing in an international event like this excels their learning and gives them confidence that even though they may not have played their best, they still know they can play against other girls from around the world.”

The third round of the World Junior Girls Championship will begin tomorrow at 8 a.m. Additional information regarding the tournament, including tee times and full results, can be found at www.worldjuniorgirls.com.

The last five winners of the FedEx Cup also won the Tour Championship. Vijay Singh in 2008 and Tiger Woods in 2009 are the only FedEx Cup champions who didn’t win at East Lake.

Henrik Stenson is in position to make his own brand of history this week – winning the FedEx Cup without winning a PGA Tour event all year.

The Swede started at No. 41, soared up to No. 4 with a runner-up finish at The Barclays, had another runner-up finish at the Deutsche Bank Championship and has held that position going into the final event. He could finish in a tie for third and have a mathematical chance of winning the $10 million bonus.

“I’m just going to try my hardest this week,” Stenson said. “But if I finish second or third and win the overall, you won’t see me leaving here crying, I know that much. Not out of sadness, anyway.”

Stenson would much rather win the Tour Championship and claim golf’s biggest bonus, as he did two years ago at East Lake.

“I still have one more chance and it shouldn’t be too hard to wipe the floor with these guys, right?” Stenson said, shifting into sarcasm mode. “There’s no one that’s playing great and is sky-high on confidence, and no one with a bunch of majors and no one hits it 330 off the tee. So it shouldn’t be that hard.”

Even so, a FedEx Cup title without having won anything on the PGA Tour would make the FedEx Cup an easy target for its points system, or how the PGA Tour has chosen to reset the points at the Tour Championship to give everyone a chance.

Stenson compared it with the world ranking. The year Lee Westwood reached No. 1 in the world, he had won just one tournament in 2010 and had not won in more than four months when he got to the top. It was a product of several good results, including a pair of runner-up finishes in the majors.

It’s not like the year has been a total loss. Stenson twice had the 54-hole lead this year, at Bay Hill and the TPC Boston, and didn’t win.

This is nothing new for Stenson. He was in position to win the Race to Dubai two years ago without having won on the European Tour. But then he won the finale in Dubai and “kind of finished those conversations.”

—

REVOLVING DOOR: The No. 1 ranking hasn’t been this unsettled since Tiger Woods, Greg Norman and Ernie were swapping the top spot in 1997.

Jason Day going to No. 1 with his victory at the BMW Championship meant the No. 1 ranking changed five times in five weeks – Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Spieth, McIlroy and Day. That tied an Official World Golf Ranking record set from June 8 to July 6 in 1997 when it went Norman, Woods, Els, Norman and Woods.

Woods then held the No. 1 spot for the next two months.

For the No. 1 spot to change for a sixth straight week, McIlroy or Spieth would have to win the Tour Championship. Day can secure No. 1 by finishing alone in fifth or better.

—

TALE OF THE TAPE: Henrik Stenson and Bubba Watson are among those are waiting to see if Jason Day can win the Tour Championship before deciding whether Day or Jordan Spieth gets their votes for PGA Tour player of the year.

Here’s where they stand going into the final event of the year:

– Spieth won the Masters and U.S. Open. Day won the PGA Championship.

– Day has five victories. Spieth has four.

– Spieth has wrapped up the money title with $10,545,465. Day has earned $9,174,805.

– Spieth has a 68.99 adjusted scoring average in the race to win the Vardon Trophy. Day is at 69.13.

– Spieth has accumulated 532.31 world ranking points this year, compared with 444.85 for Day. That might be a slight edge for Day, however, because he has played in four fewer events. Spieth has averaged 23.14 points for event, while Day has average, 23.41 points.

—

BUBBA’S MISSION: The good news for Bubba Watson is that he’s among the top five in the FedEx Cup at the Tour Championship and has a clear shot at the $10 million bonus. The bad news is still hasn’t quite figured out East Lake.

In five previous appearances at the Tour Championship, his best was a tie for fifth in 2012 and twice he has been outside the top 20.

“It’s just about getting comfortable and getting used to a situation or a place,” Watson said. “It’s a learning process.”

Watson said his wife reminded him that he used to not like Doral until strong finishes in recent years, so there’s hope. Then again, he has no choice. The Tour Championship has been at East Lake every year since 2004.

“This is a tournament I can’t miss and I don’t want to miss,” he said. “I want to be here every year. I would rather struggle here than not be here. But that’s the process of a golfer. You don’t want to be really good at your home course, you want to be good at every golf course. So I’m trying to figure that out as I go and I haven’t figured that out but once. I finished fifth one time. I am guessing that has to do with putting. I am guessing I putted pretty good that week.”

—

EARLY START: Rickie Fowler still has plenty of golf on his schedule the rest of the year, including plans for an additional PGA Tour event.

After the Presidents Cup in South Korea, Fowler said he would play the Las Vegas event before heading back to Asia for the HSBC Champions in Shanghai. Las Vegas is the first PGA Tour event that Fowler played as a pro in 2009. He tied for seventh.

Fowler said having played only one time last fall, he felt he had fallen too far behind when he played his next PGA Tour event three months later in the Phoenix Open.

It doesn’t hurt that swing coach Butch Harmon is located in Las Vegas.

“I’ve enjoyed playing there when I go,” Fowler said. “And it’s one more event in the fall schedule.”

—

DIVOTS: Jordan Spieth needs a two-way tie for fourth or better at the Tour Championship to set the single-season earnings record on the PGA Tour. … With two events remaining in the Web.com Tour Finals, a couple of PGA Tour players are on the bubble for earning their cards. Former U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover is at No. 24, with Jonathan Byrd and John Merrick in a tie for 25th. The Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship is this week on the Scarlett Course at Ohio State University, followed by the Web.com Tour Championship at the TPC Sawgrass Valley course. … Eight players are in the Tour Championship for the first time – Daniel Berger, Kevin Kisner, Danny Lee, J.B. Holmes, Steven Bowditch, Brooks Koepka, Sang-moon Bae and Harris English. Kisner, English and Berger made it despite not winning this year.

—

STAT OF THE WEEK: The PGA Tour had 102 players who earned more than $1 million this year.

—

FINAL WORD: “To take a 12-year-old kid from nothing and turn him into the best golfer in the world is a pretty nice achievement.” – Jason Day on his longtime coach and caddie Colin Swatton.

ATLANTA – The best three players in golf have combined to win 12 tournaments and over $25 million this year, so the appeal of a $10 million bonus for capturing the FedEx Cup might not be as great as simply winning the final showdown of the season.

But there was a time when money mattered for Jason Day, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth.

McIlroy was an 18-year-old rookie in 2007 playing his second tournament as a pro when he finished third at the Dunhill Links Championship. That not only wrapped up his European Tour card, it paid just over $300,000 (211,332 pounds).

“I remember I wanted this watch,” McIlroy said Wednesday. “And I remember it was the week after the Dunhill Links in 2007, and it was one of the bigger prize funds on the European Tour. At this stage, the money from the European Tour was just going into my debit account, whatever bank I was using in Ireland. And I went to get money out of the ATM the week after and the check had obviously been put in.

“And I wanted to check my balance and it was like 220,000 pounds, and I was like … I mean, I went straight to the store and bought the watch.”

Now they’re more interested in a pair of titles – the Tour Championship and the FedEx Cup – along with a single-digit number.

The battle for No. 1 enters its sixth straight week in golf.

Day reached the pinnacle for the first time in his career with no argument. His six-shot victory in the BMW Championship last Sunday was his fourth win in his last six starts. That includes a record score at the PGA Championship and a six-shot win at another FedEx Cup playoff event.

Day also is No. 1 going into the FedEx Cup finale at East Lake, though with a much slimmer margin.

To make the Tour Championship a weighted free-for-all for the 29 players at East Lake (Jim Furyk withdrew with injury), the points have been reset so that the top five players only have to win the tournament to claim the $10 million bonus.

Day is followed by Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Henrik Stenson and Bubba Watson.

McIlroy, who missed two months and one playoff event because of an ankle injury, is No. 11. For him to claim the FedEx Cup, he would have to win the Tour Championship and the top five in the standings would need to finish out of the top six depending on their ranking.

Part of him wonders if he’s due for that to happen. McIlroy was the No. 1 seed in 2012 on the strength of winning two FedEx Cup playoff events, tied for 10th at East Lake and lost out to Brandt Snedeker. He was the top seed going into the postseason a year ago on the strength of his two majors, was runner-up in the Tour Championship and finished behind Billy Horschel, who won the last two events.

“So maybe this time being outside … maybe get the job done a different way,” McIlroy said.

No one has ever won three FedEx Cup playoff events, and that’s an opportunity for Day. The 27-year-old Australian is pounding his driver long and straight, his short game is finally getting its due attention and he’s putting well. It’s an unbeatable combination, as the victories attest. Perhaps even more daunting is that Day is 101-under par in his last seven tournaments dating to the British Open.

No one knows how well Day is playing more than Spieth. They have been in the same group seven of the last nine rounds dating to Sunday at the PGA Championship. Spieth was runner-up at Whistling Straits, missed the cut in the opening two FedEx Cup events and then got his game turned around last week north of Chicago.

Or at least he thought he did.

Spieth opened at 65-66 – and he was still seven shots behind Day.

“What he did … I mean, he destroyed my score in those rounds for lack of a better term,” Spieth said. “It is very motivating because my personality, I don’t like getting beat in anything and I’m very stubborn. It doesn’t make me angry. It makes me want to get back to the level I was playing at this whole year, and see if the top of my game can beat the top of anybody else’s game when they’re at their best.”

That’s the beauty of this Tour Championship. All the best are at their best. The top five in the FedEx Cup are among the top six in the world ranking. Starting Thursday, they get one last chance to battle for at least one trophy (Tour Championship), maybe two (FedEx Cup) and a $10 million bonus.

It was a beautiful day at The Marshes Golf Club in Ottawa as the 2015 World Junior Girls Championship officially began. This year’s competition has gathered 14 countries, 15 teams and 44 players in the nation’s capital.

Making their debuts in this year’s event are teams representing the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Korea and France, who join returning countries Canada, Australia, Denmark, England, Finland, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the defending champions from the United States.

With the lowest two scores from each round counting towards the team’s daily total, Korea took the opening-round lead at 2-under 142. Hye-Jin Choi led her team with a round of 2-under 70 while Eun-Soo Jang shot even-par. The third member of the team, Shin Hye Kim, posted a 4-over-par performance.

After the round, Korean coach Sang-Won Ko reflected pensively on his team’s first round. “I told the team that they were leading at lunch, but that they could have been playing even better. I think all three can work on their putting heading into the second round. It is always a great experience to be a member of a team that represents Korea, it’s all the motivation they need.”

Choi’s round of 70 also has her tied atop the individual competition. Despite her share of the lead, the 16-year-old laments the opportunities she was unable to capitalize upon.

“It is hard to pinpoint one particular strength of my game today. I finished with five birdies, but could have had more,” said Choi. “I missed a few chances that could have led to two or three more birdies. Having a share of the lead is nice because it makes me comfortable heading into the rest of the tournament. I just have to play even better tomorrow now that everyone is warmed up.”

Two shots back of Korea in the team competition are the United States and Sweden who both sit at even-par 144. Team USA was led by a strong performance from Elizabeth Wang who holds a share of the lead.

“I started out pretty well with my putting really helping me out,” noted Wang. “I got a little tired on the back nine and my putting suffered. This is a very beautiful course, the greens are pretty firm, each hole is unique and you can definitely score on the course.”

The San Marino, Calif., native beamed with pride when asked about taking part in this competition. “This event is just such a privilege for me to represent the United States and I am very grateful for the opportunity.”

Also factoring into the team score was Alyaa Abdulghany of Newport Beach, Calif., who finished 2-over 74. Completing the American contingent was Frisco, Texas native Courtney Dow who carded a 5-over 77.

Sweden – last year’s silver medalists – counted Frida Kinhult and Filippa Moork’s identical even-par rounds. The pair’s performances have them knotted in an 11-way tie for fourth. Elin Esborn completed the day at 1-over 73.

Both Canadian sides finished with room for improvement following the first day of competition. Team Canada Two made up of B.C. natives Euna Han (Coquitlam), Alisha Lau (Richmond) and Katherine Chan (Richmond) finished at 7-over 151 while Team Canada One consisting of Grace St-Germain (Orleans, Ont.) Hannah Lee (Surrey, B.C.) and Tiffany Kong (Vancouver) were 8-over.

Team Canada Two coach Mike Martz sees positives to be taken from his team’s performance. “I think they did a good job today. They didn’t have the greatest start, but they fought really hard on the back nine to come back two or three shots. They could have just folded, but they pulled everything together and fought back. We will put some work in today and hopefully they will be able to continue to improve tomorrow.”

For full tournament information, including the leaderboard and pairings see the tournament site at www.worldjuniorgirls.com.

OTTAWA – It’s pretty easy to see how much the World Junior Girls Championship means to its participants. And you don’t even need to hear the golfers say anything – and with representatives of 14 different countries, you may not understand them anyway – you just need to look at their smiles.

For the six Canadians, and golfers from around the world, like Elin Esborn of Sweden, the World Junior Girls Championship – starting Tuesday from the Marshes Golf Club about 30 minutes from downtown Ottawa – is the pinnacle of many of their young careers.

“It feels really good to be one of the top three junior golfers in Sweden, but this is amazing,” Esborn says. The 18-year-old from Gothenburg (Sweden’s second-largest city) will be attending the University of North Carolina next year on a scholarship. But this is her first time on an international stage – after competing in the Junior Solheim Cup last week – and she is relishing the opportunity to be in Canada.

And that is exactly the experience Jeff Thompson, the Chief Sport Officer for Golf Canada, had in mind when they brought the idea to the International Golf Federation (IGF) for this particular championship.

“It’s been on our radar screen for the last five years or so,” Thompson explains. “There’s always been the Junior Boys’ in Japan but nothing for the girls. The IGF thought it was a good concept and they said they’d be happy to support us.”

2014 was the inaugural championship at Angus Glen Golf Club, the site of this year’s Pan American Games golf competition, where “Team Canada One” (as host nation, Canada gets two teams) finished third. Brooke Henderson led that squad, and, as everyone knows, has gone on to become a star on the LPGA Tour.

Two members of Golf Canada’s developmental squad are at The Marshes this week – Grace St-Germain (who is from Ottawa) and Alisha Lau. Four other British Columbians round out the rest of Team Canada: Hannah Lee, Euna Hun, and 15-year-old Kathrine Chan. Other than St-Germain and Lau, Team Canada is getting its first taste at international competition.

“This is a benchmarking opportunity for us, and it’s an opportunity for us to see how the girls are stacking up,” says Thompson. “But it’s also an opportunity for the girls to see how they’re stacking up too. This gives the girls an opportunity to see what’s going on around them in the world of golf.”

Golf Canada’s developmental team head coach Ann Carroll says the girls are feeling a new layer of pressure – being on home turf and representing Canada – but part of her job (and coach of ‘Team Canada Two’ Mike Martz) is to get the girls to feel as comfortable as they can so they can perform at their best.

“I think they’re felling very proud to be selected for this team, and we have to lessen that kind of pressure they put on themselves,” says Caroll.

Chan, who is hoping to make the Golf Canada National Team next year, says she feels a little bit more pressure this week to perform well. But, she states she wants to treat this as any other event and have fun.

“It’s so exciting to be here and represent Canada,” she explains.

But if this whole golf thing doesn’t work out for Chan, she admits she has a back-up plan.

“I want to go to college before maybe turning professional. I want to play golf, but I want to be a neurosurgeon too,” Chan says, nonchalantly, of her secondary career choice.

And that’s what this week is about, really.

There are girls who may never make it beyond junior golf, and some who might become household names playing this week. Thompson says he is excited for what the future holds for this event.

“We’ve made a commitment to put some momentum behind it and get it off the ground. We need to get partners engaged who have the same passion for it,” he explains.

There’s no doubt that the talent is here this week, and clearly, the event means a lot to both the participants, and the organizers.

“When you look at the field, the best countries in the world have their best players here,” says Thompson. “I think it’s the premier junior girls event in the world.”

For golfers like Chan, Esborn and all the others, hearing that is worth smiling about.

SAN MARTIN, Calif. – Ireland’s Niall Kearney beat Alan Morin 1 up to give Great Britain and Ireland its first PGA Cup victory on U.S. soil, a 13 1/2-12 1/2 decision Sunday at CordeValle

Great Britain and Ireland cut the Americans’ series lead to 17-6-4 in the event for club professionals.

Kearney got up-and-down for par from behind the 18th green to halve the hole, win the match and give GB&I the Llandudno Trophy. Facing a false front and water beyond the hole, Kearney hit a chip that cleared a deep bunker and rolled within 7 feet.

“I heard my caddie (Eddie Icaza) say, `Just hit it right edge.’ And that is what I did,” Kearney said.

Morin, a PGA assistant professional at The Falls Country Club in Lake Worth, Florida, missed a 45-foot birdie try before Kearney holed his par putt.

“I could not tell you exactly what was in my head,” Kearney said about the deciding putt.

David Dixon, Graham Fox, Jason Levermore and Jamie Broce also won matches for GB&I, and Lee Clarke halved with Sean Dougherty. Michael Block, Omar Uresti, Matt Dobyns and Bob Sowards won for the Americans.

GARDEN CITY, Kan. – Vicky Hurst locked up an LPGA Tour card for next season, winning the Garden City Charity Classic on Sunday for her second Symetra Tour title of the year.

The 25-year-old Hurst, from Melbourne, Florida, closed with an even-par 72 for a two-stroke victory. She finished at 8-under 208 at Buffalo Dunes and earned $15,000 to jump from 14th to fourth on the money list with $57,058, more than enough to wrap a spot in the final top 10 for an LPGA Tour card.

“I’m very excited,” Hurst said. “I’m a little bit relieved, too, because we only have three tournaments left and if it wasn’t here, it (finishing in the top 10) would only get tougher and tougher. I’m really proud of myself for playing well this week and the last couple of months and I’m looking forward to next year.”

Five strokes ahead entering round, Hurst played the first 13 holes in 2 over, rebounded with birdies on the par-4 14th and par-5 16th and parred the final two holes.

Hurst also won the W.B. Mason Championship last month in Massachusetts, and has six career victories on the tour – the first four in 2008. Last year, the 2011 U.S. Solheim Cup player finished 162nd on the LPGA Tour money list.

“The road back has been tough, anyone that plays professional golf knows,” Hurst said. “Last year, I had a little rut in my game and to be able to improve from that and build something positive this year has been huge. I’m excited to be heading back to the tour and play with the big kids again.”

Jersey’s Olivia Jordan-Higgins was second after a 68.

Israel’s Laetitia Beck followed at 5 under after a 66.

Canadian Anne-Catherine Tanguay shot a final-round 3-under 69 to move into a five-way tie for fourth. Fellow Canadians Augusta James and Samantha Richdale held shares of ninth at 2-under 214.

Los Angeles, California’s J.J. Spaun wrapped up Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada Player of the Year honours on Sunday, finishing with $91,193 in earnings on the season to top the Order of Merit and lead five players who earned status on the Web.com Tour for 2016.

Spaun, who posted seven top-10 finishes including a win at the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel, will be fully exempt on the 2016 Web.com Tour after finishing $11,297 ahead of No. 2 C.T. Pan of Taiwan. Joining Spaun and Pan in The Five were No. 3 Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ontario, No. 4 Sam Ryder of Longwood, Florida and No. 5. Albin Choi of Toronto, Ontario, who was fifth in the Order of Merit heading into the week, finished T13 and was knocked out of the top five by the Freedom 55 Financial Championship winner Jason Millard of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

“I’m so glad all the hard work paid off, I had a really good season and it means that I’m one step closer to my dream of playing on the PGA TOUR,” said Spaun. “There was always a feeling of envy to see The Five at the end of my first two years, and to be here finally, after three years, it’s a great feeling. All the hard work, all the support that I’ve had, it’s all coming together.”

The 25-year old San Diego State University graduate set the new record for single-season earnings on the Mackenzie Tour and became the first player to record top-five finishes in four straight starts.

“J.J.’s exceptional play this year is a tremendous accomplishment, and we can’t wait to follow his success on the Web.com Tour. Each of the players who earned their way into The Five have distinguished themselves with outstanding season-long performance, and we wish them the very best of luck on the Web.com Tour next season,” said Mackenzie Tour President Jeff Monday.

“On behalf of Mackenzie Investments, I would like to congratulate the winners of the 2015 Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada season,” said Jeff Carney, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mackenzie Investments. “As we complete the first season of our umbrella sponsorship, we couldn’t be more pleased with the partnership, the players and the positive impact the tour has had on communities across Canada. We can’t wait to see how today’s top five do as they graduate to the Web.com Tour and look forward to cheering on the rising stars of the Mackenzie Tour in 2016.”

Players 6-10 earn spots into Final Stage
In addition to The Five earning status on the Web.com Tour, players finishing 6-10 on the Order of Merit earned an exemption into the final stage of Web.com Tour Q-School, led by No. 6 Choi, No. 7 Michael  Letzig of Kansas City, Missouri, No. 8 Drew Weaver of Atlanta, Georgia, No. 9 Adam Svensson of Surrey, British Columbia. and No. 10 No. 8 Kevin Spooner of West Vancouver, British Columbia.

Players finishing 11-20 earn an exemption into the second stage of Web.com Tour Q-School