NAPA, Calif. – Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy will play in the PGA Tour’s season-opening Frys.com Open next month at Silverado.

Tournament officials confirmed Friday that Woods and McIlroy are set for the Oct. 15-18 tournament.

Woods and McIlroy had agreed to play in the event by 2015 in a deal with the PGA Tour for releases for a 2012 exhibition event in Turkey.

Woods played in the 2011 tournament, while the second-ranked McIlroy will make his first appearance. Woods is winless since the 2013 Bridgestone Invitational and has slipped to No. 272 in the world.

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France – What she lacks in experience, the 22-year-old Mi Hyang Lee makes up for with advice from her 69-year-old caddie.

The South Korean took the sole lead at the Evian Championship after a 4-under 67 Friday in the second round. With a 9-under total of 133, Lee heads into the weekend of the final major of the season with a one-shot lead over American Morgan Pressel.

While Pressel has already won a major, Lee is chasing her first one. She has showed that she can hold her nerve when it really matters – claiming her only victory on the U.S. LPGA Tour last year at the Mizuno Classic after coming out on top of a three-way playoff with a birdie on the fifth extra hole.

To add an extra dose of knowledge to her game, she recently hired veteran caddie Mike Harig. They started working together in July.

“I’m a young player and he’s pretty old, 69 years old, the oldest caddie on the tour,” Lee said. “He has a lot of experience, so that’s a lot of help for me.”

Pressel gave herself a chance of a second major win after making eight birdies.

Meanwhile, top-ranked Inbee Park, seeking a career Grand Slam, made six birdies but struggled on the back nine with two bogeys and a double bogey on the par-4 No. 11. She is tied for 20th, eight shots off the pace, with two Americans – Michelle Wie and Beth Allen. Wie hit a second-round 66 after an opening 75.

Pressel carded a 6-under 65, the lowest score so far at the tournament. She was tied for 12th when starting the day in cold and rainy conditions and bogeyed twice in her five first holes, before thriving once the sun broke through.

“I didn’t let that (start) bother me, and just kept trying to plug along and make more birdies, and was able to do so,” said Pressel, after her best round in 10 Evian appearances.

On a course she knows inside out, the 27-year-old Pressel is oozing with confidence.

“This is my 10th year but only the third year on this new golf course, but it’s still similar,” she said.

Pressel’s U.S. Solheim Cup teammate, Lexi Thompson, who shared the lead with Lee at 5 under after the opening round, is now trailing the South Korean by five shots after shooting a 1-over 72.

Holding a share of the first-round lead for the first time, Lee picked up where she left off on Thursday night. Back on the course Friday at 8:18 am, she birdied the par-4 1st hole and added three more before the turn.

She birdied the par-5 13th but fluffed an easy birdie putt on the par-3 16th after landing a very long iron three feet from the hole, and stumbled with a bogey on the par-4 18th.

Nicole Broch Larsen, fresh from winning the Helsingborg Open on the European Tour, had no problem with the early showers on the shores of Lake Geneva, starting her second round with two birdies in her four first holes.

Playing in the Evian Championship for the first time, she hit three more birdies on her back nine to make up for a bogey on the par-3 5th. She carded a 67 that lifted her to third place on the leaderboard, two shots behind Lee.

“I struggled a little bit with my driver on the back nine but I kept it together, kept fighting. I had an eagle chance on 13, 5-meter putt, but it just lipped out. I finished with a birdie so it was nice,” the Dane said.

Meanwhile, Karrie Webb carded 74 after opening with 71 to share 45th place on 3 over. Webb, who is attempting to win her sixth different major, did not hide her frustration, biting her fingers and slamming the grass with her clubs at least twice on the undulating Evian course.

China’s Shanshan Feng had another 68 and moved fourth at 6-under, with Lydia Ko two shots adrift of her and tied for fifth. The 18-year-old Ko shot a 69 and is pursuing her last chance to become the youngest woman to clinch a major. If she wins this week she will surpass Pressel, who won the Kraft Nabisco Championship at 18 years, 10 months, 9 days.

Hamilton, Ont., native Alena Sharp posted a second round of 3-under 68 to move into a tie for 32nd place. A day following her 18th birthday, fellow Ontarian Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls carded a 74 and sits T37.

ZANDVOORT, Netherlands – Soren Kjeldsen shot his second consecutive round of 64 on Friday to take the lead with a 12-under 128 at the halfway stage of the KLM Open.

The Dane shot a bogey-free round on another day of low scoring at the par-70 Kennemer Golf and Country Club. Kjeldsen is one shot ahead of Wade Ormsby of Australia – who followed his 61 on Thursday with a 68 – and England’s David Horsey (66).

Matthew Fitzpatrick left a birdie putt just short on his final hole to miss out by the narrowest of margins on the first 59 on the European Tour.

The 21-year-old Englishman started his round on the 10th tee and shot six birdies on the back nine then followed it up with four more on the front nine.

BEN EION, Nova Scotia – Matt Marshall posted a bogey-free 7-under-par 65 to take the first-round lead at the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada’s Cape Breton Celtic Classic presented by PC Financial. He leads current Order of Merit leader J.J. Spaun and Ryan Brehm by one stroke, while nine players, including Canadians Adam Svensson, Taylor Pendrith, Ben Silverman and Stuart Anderson , trail by two strokes after the opening round at The Lakes Golf Club.

Marshall’s 7-under-par 65 was the third straight week he had opened with a round in the 60s and the fourth time in his last five starts. It was just one shy of his low round of the year, an 8-under-par 64 at the Staal Foundation Open in July in Thunder Bay.

“It was a nice way to finish with birdies on this last two par-5s (Nos. 16 and 18) because I didn’t play the par-5s particularly well before that,” said Marshall, currently in his third season on the Mackenzie Tour. “Everything went well today. I made a couple of putts and it was just one of those days where everything went accordingly.”

Marshall knows it will take a high finish this week if he has any chance to make it into the Tour’s final event of the year, the Freedom 55 Financial Classic next week in London, Ontario. The event is limited to the top 60 players on the money list following this event. He is currently 113th in the Order of Merit.

“To be honest, I’m far enough back where I can just let it go. I’m probably going to have to finish in the top five to get into next week’s event. It’s just one of those things where I can just go out and play and see what happens,” added Marshall.

Marshall is being chased by Spaun, the current Order of Merit leader with $88,534, and Brehm. Spaun posted his 10th consecutive round in the 60s to open play on the Mackenzie Tour this year. Other than a bogey on No. 17, the former San Diego State product played near-perfect golf and his round included seven birdies, including a pair on the par-5 16th and 18th..

“I just tried to avoid making any mistakes out there today,” said Spaun. “It was pretty windy out there and I hit a lot of greens and a lot of fairways and that’s kind of how my day went. I’ll take it. I think the wind actually helped the course because you have a couple of holes going downwind.”

This marked the first time in 2015 that Spaun has led or shared the lead after the opening round. In his previous nine starts, he has been among the top 10 just twice after round one. His best showing was a T4 at the Bayview Place Island Savings Open presented by Times Colonist in June.

Brehm is hoping to continue the success he’s enjoyed in his last two starts this week. He finished T2 two weeks ago at The Great Waterway Classic and T25 last week at the Wildfire Invitational. With his 66 today, seven of his last eight rounds have been in the 60s.

“These next couple of weeks for a guy like me, they’re important,” Brehm said following his round. “I don’t think I can win the money title, but we’re still playing for a lot. If you could eliminate a stage of Q-School and obviously earn money, it’s a big deal. Plus, you want to know that you’re playing well going into the end of the year. I’ve been at this for a while and I think it’s important when you play well that matters.”

NUMBERS YOU NEED TO KNOW

7: The number of holes-in-one on the Mackenzie Tour this year after Robert Karlsson aced No. 8 with a 6-iron from 188 yards.

2: Karlsson’s ace was the second in event history…Johnny Bloomfield had the other on No. 15 in the opening round in 2013.

10: The number of consecutive sub-par rounds current Order of Merit leader J.J. Spaun has posted in his opening round this year. He has yet to start an event with an over-par round. His first-round scoring average is now 67.9.

84: The number of players to better par in the opening round…A total of 46 players bettered par in 2014 and 53 did so in 2013.

QUOTABLES:

“This Tour is well run and well organized. It’s given me the opportunity to get used to the whole tournament routine with the travel and just competing. We’ve played great courses and it’s been enjoyable with the guys this year.” –C.T. Pan on his experience playing the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada this year.

“That’s by far the best 67 I’ve ever shot probably in my life especially after being 4-over-par after five. I really just had two bad swings which cost me four shots on 13 and 14.” – Taylor Pendrith after his 5-under-par 67. His card showed five pars, seven birdies, two eagles, two bogeys and two doubles.

“My mental approach has been the most frustrating thing for me this year. I’ve been playing well. I’ve missed a bunch of cuts by one or two shots and it’s been a frustrating year so maybe I can keep this going and get into next week’s event.” – Matt Marshall reflecting on his 2015 season.

NOTES:

• Weather: 25 degrees Celsius (34 with Humidity). Overcast with occasional light drizzle. Winds 10-20 km/W.
• With a 5-under-par 67 on Thursday, Adam Svensson has now finished below par in 17 of his 18 rounds this year. The lone exception was his 1-over-par 73 in the second round at last week’s Wildfire Invitational where finished T18.
• 2013 champion Mackenzie Hughes opened with a 1-under-par 71, while 2014 Mark Silvers is playing on the Web.com Tour this year.
• This marks the third straight year that this event has had a sole leader after the opening round.
• One of the competitors this week is Eric Hawerchuk, son of former NHL star Dale Hawerchuk. He opened with a 4-over-par 76.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. – Tommy Gainey and Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo shared the first-round lead at 6-under 66 on Thursday in the Web.com Tour Finals-opening Hotel Fitness Championship.

Gainey had an eagle, six birdies and two bogeys at Sycamore Hills. He’s coming off a third-place finish in the regular-season finale in Portland, Oregon.

“I made a lot of putts today,” Gainey said. “I’ve been hitting it good for a while now, but was able to make some putts on the last day in Portland and carried it over to today.”

Grillo had six birdies in a bogey-free round.

“There’s no wind out there,” Grillo said. “The conditions were perfect out there today so there was no reason not to play well.”

The four-event series features the top 75 players from the Web.com Tour money list and Nos. 126-200 in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup standings. The top 25 players on Web.com regular-season money list earned 2015-16 PGA Tour cards. They are competing against each other for PGA Tour priority, with regular-season earnings counting in their totals and the final leader getting a spot in The Players Championship. The other players are fighting for another 25 cards based on their earnings in the series.

Gainey was 35th on the Web.com Tour money list. He won the PGA Tour’s 2012 McGladrey Classic.

Grillo is a non-tour member who earned enough money in five PGA Tour starts to have placed in the top 200 in the FedEx Cup standing had he been eligible to receive points. He had a playoff loss in the PGA Tour’s Puerto Rico Open in March.

Jamie Lovemark, D.H. Lee, Ricky Barnes, Brice Garnett, Adam Long, Ryan Armour and Brett Stegmaier were tied for second at 67. Lovemark and Lee have secured PGA Tour cards with top-25 finishes on the Web.com Tour money list. Lovemark was 12th. Lee, from South Korea, was 15th.

India’s Anirban Lahiri, a member of the International Presidents Cup team, had a 69.

“I think I hit it decent, but I wasn’t very good off the tee,” Lahiri said.

Ottawa’s Brad Fritsch opened with a 1-under 71 for a share of 51st place while fellow Canadian Roger Sloan of Calgary carded a 74.

ZANDVOORT, Netherlands – Wade Ormsby blitzed the back nine on his way to a 9-under-par 61 at the KLM Open and joined Paul Lawrie in the first-round lead at the Kennemer Golf and Country Club on the Dutch North Sea coast on Thursday.

The Australian birdied six of the last seven holes, including 16, 17 and 18, to surge up the leaderboard.

“That’s the lowest score I’ve had in any round, let alone tournament golf,” Ormsby said. “I’ve worked pretty hard the last few weeks. I’ve had five weeks off back in Australia, and it’s nice to get back and on the front foot.”

Hours earlier, and playing the back nine first, 1999 British Open champion Lawrie made the most of benign conditions as he eagled the par-five 12th and birdied 16, 17 and 18, too.

“The 59 did cross my mind. I had a long putt on the seventh – my 16th – for eagle after a lovely three wood in there, and had that popped in there I would have only had to birdie one of the last two to make it,” Lawrie said. “But I’m very happy with 61.”

In the group behind Ormsby, Richard Bland of England also gave himself a chance of shooting the European Tour’s first 59. Bland was 8 under with the last three holes to play, but parred them to finish the round alone in second place.

“I hit a lot of good shots out there,” Bland said. “It’s always nice to make a good start. It wasn’t easy – we probably had a two-club wind most of the day.”

Dutch favorite Joost Luiten, the 2013 champion, was tied for fourth with four other players after 63s.

Tom Watson, who shot a hole in one in practice on Wednesday, didn’t manage another ace, but shot three birdies and two bogies on his way to a 1-under 69.

Bryson DeChambeau is a physics major with a unique approach to golf, and a set of irons all cut to the same length.

There is also the Ben Hogan-style cap the SMU senior wears when he plays, and the rare distinction that added him to a group of elite golfers: Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and Ryan Moore.

“I’ve been practicing my whole life for something like this, and to be able to finally do something history-worthy, I guess you could say is incredible,” said DeChambeau, only the fifth golfer to win both the U.S. Amateur and NCAA individual titles in the same year.

All with a swing of his own developed over years of experimentation since his coach, Mike Schy, threw the book “The Golfing Machine” at a then-15-year-old with the goal of being the best ball-striker in the world.

“It was a really difficult read, it was a college textbook, it was a foreign language to me,” DeChambeau said. “But after a couple of years of guidance from Mike, we came up with a single-plane swing … it’s called zero-shifting motion, more technically, and it’s helped me become the player I am today.”

DeChambeau explained that the book showed 24 components to a swing, with about 144 variations throughout those components. He picked a specific set of variations to come up with his swing.

That swing is then repeated over and over since all of DeChambeau’s iron shafts are about 37 1-2 inches long with differently weighted heads That allows him to consistently use the same motion, whether hitting a long iron or a pitch shot.

“I’m able to keep my posture the same, the swing is relatively the same, and it’s a lot easier to control the clubface because they’re relatively the same swing speed,” he said. “I have a very good guestimate … I’ve been able to understand how far I can hit it through those repetitions.”

DeChambeau last month won 7 and 6 over Virginia junior Derek Bard in the 36-hole final at Olympia Fields to claim the U.S. Amateur title. DeChambeau started the summer with a one-stroke victory over Washington’s Pan Cheng-Tsung for the NCAA individual title.

“I believe in myself that I can pull the shots off at any given point in time,” DeChambeau said.

This weekend, days before his 22nd birthday, he is in England with the U.S. team in the Walker Cup for match play against a team of players from Britain and Ireland.

After that, DeChambeau plans to stay in school to finish work on his major and expects to play his final season with the Mustangs. As amateur champion, he would receive invitations to play next year in the Masters, the U.S. Open and the British Open.

The California native said he feels no pressure to turn pro right now, even while going to college in the hometown of 22-year-old Jordan Spieth, the Masters and U.S. Open champion.

“He’s different than me, so we all have our individual ways to get there. I’m going my route,” DeChambeau said. “I’m not thinking about the future. I’m thinking about right now, and what I can do not only for my school, but my country.”

With his own swing and same-sized irons.

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France – Lexi Thompson played a four-hole stretch in 5 under and finished with a 5-under 66 on Thursday in the Evian Championship for a share of the lead with Mi Hyang Lee.

The 20-year-old Thompson began her run with a birdie on the par-4 12th, hit a 7-iron to 20 feet to set up an eagle on the par-5 13th, and added birdies on the par-3 14th and par-5 15th. She parred the final 12 holes in her bogey-free morning round in the major championship.

“It feels great to have a stretch of holes like that,” Thompson said. “But you just have to take one shot at a time and not get ahead of yourself because, I mean, shots can get away from you out here. If you hit it in the rough, the rough’s pretty thick.”

Thompson won the Kraft Nabisco last year for her first major title, and took the Meijer Classic in July for her fifth career title. She has three top-10 finishes in her last five starts, and will play in the Solheim Cup matches next week in Germany against Europe.

“Obviously, Solheim Cup was my No. 1 goal to be on that team to represent my country, so I’m very happy to be going to Germany next week,” Thompson said. “But you have to focus on this week being the last major here at the Evian Championship.”

Lee, from South Korea, had seven birdies and two bogeys at the picturesque resort above Lake Geneva.

Gerina Piller, Thompson’s U.S. Solheim Cup teammate, was a stroke back along with South Korea’s Eun-Hee Ji and Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum.

Piller had eight birdies and four bogeys.

“There are just some spots on this course you cannot get in,” Piller said.

Karrie Webb had a 71, and top-ranked Inbee Park opened with a 72.

Webb is attempting to win her sixth different major championship, and Park is trying to join Webb with a record five. Park has two major victories this year – the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and Ricoh Women’s British Open – and four overall titles. Webb and Park won the event before it became a major, Webb in 2006 and Park in 2012.

Second-ranked Lydia Ko, playing alongside Park and No. 3 Stacy Lewis, had a 69.

The New Zealander was impressed with Thompson’s round.

“I saw her score. I kind of realized it was going pretty low, especially at the start of the round and she was only a couple of groups in front of us,” Ko said. “I was on the par-3 14th or something, and that was only her fifth hole of the day. And I saw her to my left, and it showed her scorecard. I saw some birdies, some eagles, so that’s a pretty consistent scorecard there.”

Lewis shot a 73.

Defending champion South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim also had a 73. Last year, she opened with a major-record 61 and went on to beat Webb by a stroke.

Michelle Wie shot a 75. Sporting multicolored hair and high-top pink shoes, she’s fighting a slow-healing left ankle injury.

On her 18th birthday, Smiths Falls, Ont., native Brooke Henderson tallied two birdies across the back nine to finish with a share of 17th at 1-under 70. Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., shot a first-round 4-over 75 and sits T80.

Mackenzie Hughes knows a thing or two about what it takes to be the top Canadian on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada, and it’s not easy.

In 2013, Hughes turned a win and three other top-10s into the Order of Merit title and the Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Year award. At next week’s Freedom 55 Financial Championship, he’ll be one of the contenders for the honour once again, and with a beefed-up $25,000 prize on the line, even more is at stake.

“There were guys like Nick Taylor out here that year,” Hughes points out, “so that’s pretty cool to look back on and say I was the top Canadian for that year.”

Hughes sits 13th on the Order of Merit through 10 of 12 events, seventh among Canadians and within $18,362 of Albin Choi, the current top Canadian at No. 3.

“With the talent this year as far as Canadian players, it would be huge,” says Hughes.

There’s plenty on the line for every player next week in London, with the top five players on the Order of Merit earning status on the Web.com Tour and a $200,000 purse ($37,000 winner’s share). Only the top 60 players on the Order of Merit through this week’s Cape Breton Celtic Classic will earn a spot in the field at Highland Country Club, making the event a who’s-who of the Mackenzie Tour.

“It’s definitely going to have a little more importance to it, being that it’s only 60 guys,” says Hughes. “We know what we’re playing for, and it’s a nice reward to play for. It will be a fun week with a lot riding on it.”

For Canadian players, however, the stakes are even higher.

“Being the top Canadian with so many good Canadian players out here, I think it means a lot. It would be a big personal accomplishment,” says Choi, who notched a win earlier this year at the Bayview Place Island Savings Open and a co-runner-up finish at The Great Waterway Classic.

“It’s been a long and exciting year, and to cap it all off in London, I think we’re all looking forward to it. It’s going to be a big event for all 60 players,” Choi says.

The enhanced prize for top Canadian is part of Freedom 55 Financial’s commitment to Canadian golf this year, which includes the enhanced purse for the season-ending event, a $2,500 from the Canadian Player of the Week at each Mackenzie Tour event, and sponsorship of Team Freedom, a squad of Mackenzie Tour pros including Hughes, Choi, Taylor Pendrith, Matt Hill and Adam Svensson.

“What it’s allowed me to do is kind go after my goals and dreams with a little more freedom, so to speak,” says Hughes of the partnership. So far, the Team has been a squad of contenders this year, combining for 11 top-10s, including Choi’s win and two runners-up apiece for Svensson and Pendrith.

“Their support means a lot to me, and for the other guys that have the Freedom logo on their collar, hopefully the Freedom guys can play well and have a chance in London,” says Choi.

Including the five members of Team Freedom, 18 Canadians are inside the top 60 and in position to qualify for next week’s season-ending event. Each one of them still has a chance to become the top Canadian, and with so much on the line, you can expect a fight to the finish next week in London.

The Thames Valley Children’s Centre (TVCC) is the official charitable beneficiary of the Freedom 55 Financial Championship. Fifty-five per cent of ticket proceeds will go towards the wide range of services provided to more than 8000 children, youth and their families through the organization’s London Centre and its 15 regional office locations across Southwestern Ontario. Clients range in age from birth to 19 with services supporting a range of special needs including physical disabilities, communication disorders, developmental delays and autism spectrum disorders.

Children aged 17-and-under get in free all week at the Freedom 55 Financial Championship. Free junior tickets are available for download here. Additional details, including ticket information, can be found at www.freedom55financialchampionship.com.

OTTAWA, Ont. – The world’s top female junior golfers will gather in Ottawa for the second playing of the World Junior Girls Championship from September 20-25 at The Marshes Golf Club. Six Canadians will represent the host nation in team and individual competition as Canada vies for the title of World Junior Girls champion.

“The Marshes Golf Club is in great shape and we are excited to once again bring the world’s talented players to Canada,” said Tournament Director Mary Beth McKenna. “It is a true honour to be selected to represent your country and we know that all the athletes from across the globe will want to perform their best in this event.”

Grace St-Germain of Orleans, Ont., will return to the competition looking to improve upon Team Canada’s third-place result in 2014. The national team Development Squad member has had a banner year in 2015. St-Germain tallied a third-place result at the Golf Quebec Junior Spring Open before beginning Golf Canada’s championship season with a victory at the CN Future Links Pacific Championship. The 17-year-old repeated as the Golf Association of Ontario’s Junior Girls’ Match Play champion and closed the campaign with victories at the Canadian Junior Golf Association (CJGA) Mizuno National Junior Golf Championship and the Graham Cooke Junior Invitational – it was her third consecutive victory at the tournament named after the Canadian Golf Hall of Famer.

Playing alongside St-Germain is Hannah Lee of Surrey, B.C. The 15-year-old has demonstrated a great deal of consistency this summer, finishing runner-up at the British Columbia Juvenile Championships, third at the B.C. Junior Girls and T7 at the B.C. Women’s Amateur. She captured the 16-and-under Juvenile Division at the 2015 Canadian Junior Girls Championship and finished second overall in the national championship. The lessons she learned this summer culminated in Lee claiming the gold medal in the girls’ competition at the 2015 Western Canada Summer Games in Wood Buffalo, Alta.

Rounding-out the Team One contingent is 14-year-old Tiffany Kong. The Vancouver native’s second-place standing at the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour (MJT) Season Opener began a string of six events where she finished no lower than a tie for sixth-place. Kong finished fourth at the B.C. Junior Girls before capturing the silver medal in the individual competition at the Western Canada Summer Games. The highlight of Kong’s season would come at The Vancouver Golf Club in Coquitlam, B.C., where she competed in the 2015 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open after earning a spot through the Monday Qualifier.

As the host nation, Canada will field two teams in the World Junior Girls Championship. Euna Han of Coquitlam, B.C., will be a member of Canada’s second team in the competition. The 13-year-old notched five top-six finishes this summer, including a runner-up result at the MJT Odlum Brown Classic-PGA of BC Junior Championship, a third-place finish in the juvenile division of the Canadian Junior Girls Championship and a T6 at the B.C. Junior Girls Championship.

Alisha Lau will play in the World Junior Girls Championship for a second time. The product of Richmond, B.C., emerged victorious at the 2015 CN Future Links Prairie Championship at Cooke Municipal Golf Course in Prince Albert, Sask., and finished tied for third at the B.C. Women’s Amateur Championship. Lau claimed the bronze medal at the Western Canada Summer Games to complete a sweep of the podium for Team B.C. The trio of Lee, Kong and Lau’s combined score of 435 over two rounds earned them gold in the team competition – 58 strokes clear of second-place.

Completing the second team will be fellow British Columbian Kathrine Chan of Richmond. The 15-year-old’s 11^th place standing at the B.C. Junior Girls Championship was her lowest result this season. Chan finished second in the juvenile division of the Canadian Junior Girls Championship and fourth overall while also registering a T5 finish at the B.C. Juvenile Championships.

“These six athletes have been selected to represent Canada based on some fantastic results achieved throughout the season,” said Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s Chief Sport Officer. “The growth that these players have shown this year is a direct result of the support they have received from their home clubs, their skilled coaches and the provincial golf associations.”

Thompson credited the strength of competition in Canada as being a key component in the development of these players.

“The performances of Canada’s junior female athletes have been very strong this year. While that level of competition has made this selection process far from simple, it has provided excellent opportunities for the players to hone their skills against Canada’s best. The wealth of resources available to our athletes, beginning at the grassroots level and extending to the provincial and national levels, has resulted in a tremendous amount of golfing talent across the nation. We look forward to seeing this group proudly represent all of Canada as they learn and grow on the international stage.”

National team Development Squad women’s coach Ann Carroll will return to lead the Canadian teams in the competition. Assisting her will be Mike Martz, coach of the New Competitors team at the Golf Performance Centre at Whistle Bear.

Conducted by Golf Canada in partnership with the Golf Association of Ontario and supported by the International Golf Federation, the 2015 edition of the World Junior Girls Championship will take place in Ontario for a second consecutive year. The inaugural tournament in 2014 was held at Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham, Ont., where Team USA claimed team honours and Beverly Hills, Calif., native Mika Liu finished atop the leaderboard in individual competition.

In addition to the 72-hole team and individual competitions, the World Junior Girls Championship will be a celebration of the sport with a specific focus on the growth and development of the game. Golf Canada will host a Canadian Sport Institute Ontario (CSIO) coaching summit and a girls’ skill development clinic in the lead-up to the tournament.

Additional information regarding the 2015 World Junior Girls Championship can be found on the competition’s website.