PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – With his feet positioned near wooden planks and his ball resting on the fringe at the treacherous island green, Tiger Woods tried to decide between bellying his sand wedge and toeing his putter.

He went with the iron.

Good call. It resulted in Woods’ most memorable – maybe even best – shot during the opening round at The Players Championship on Thursday.

Woods holed out from the edge of the daunting par-3 17th at the TPC Sawgrass, making a highlight shot that helped him shoot 1-over 73 in windy conditions. Woods ended the day six shots behind the leaders but feeling good about his game.

“Probably the highest score I could have shot today,” said Woods, who was over par in the first round for the fifth consecutive event. “I didn’t get much out of that round. I hit the ball better than the score indicates, and I got a couple good breaks and never took advantage of them.

“Just really struggled hitting the putts hard enough to get them to the hole. Even when I tried to ram them, I still didn’t get the ball to the hole, so I need to make a better adjustment on that.”

Maybe he should just go with the wedge.

It worked to perfection at the 17th.

His ball hit the back of the cut, rolled around and dropped. He smiled, tipped his hat to the raucous crowd and looked as if he had found a little something with back-to-back birdies that got him to 1 under as he walked to the 18th tee

But he failed to stay in red numbers on the final hole.

Woods took an aggressive line and found the water off the tee. He finished with a double-bogey 6.

“I tried to hit kind of a low, hard, cut 3-wood up there and just kind of bank it up against the wind,” he said. “I just tried to hit a low one, tried to get on top of it and I just happened to pull it just a touch. It was the right shape, the right height, but my start line was probably just a few yards left, which ended up costing me.”

It was one of just a few errant shots for Woods, who won The Players the last time he played in 2013.

He yanked his first two drives left, leading to a bogey at the par-4 first, and really turned heads when he shanked his tee shot at the par-3 eighth. His ball bounced into a water hazard he said he didn’t even know was there. He dropped and ended up with a double.

“It’s only one bad swing, one bad shot,” he said. “I had to fix what I had starting out the round more importantly. Eight just, I just happened to make a bad swing. So what, move on. But I had a bad pattern starting out and I rectified that, which was nice.

“I put together a pretty good round and until 18.”

Woods missed seven months across parts of last year while recovering from back surgery. He sat out two months this year to work on his game – particularly his chipping – after posting a career-high 82 in the Phoenix Open and withdrawing during the first round at Torrey Pines because of tightness in his back.

He has shown much better form since – especially with that nifty shot at the 17th.

“He looked all right,” said playing partner Adam Scott, who shot an even-par 70. “I haven’t played with him for a while. He hit a couple bad shots, but it was tough out there today. I hit a couple bad shots, too. I don’t think anyone made any putts in our group, scores were pretty good considering nothing was going in.”

Dans le cadre du Gala Femmes d’Influence, spécial 10e anniversaire d’Égale Action, Diane Barabé a reçu le prix dans la catégorie Volet sport provincial/national et/ou international alors que Diane Dunlop-Hébert a reçu une distinction spéciale pour ses accomplissements dans le monde sportif féminin. L’événement s’est tenu le 6 mai au Sheraton Laval lors des Assises du sport 2015, organisées par Sports-Québec.

En nomination en compagnie de Johanne Boivin, entraîneur en plongeon et Jocelyne McLean, officielle en natation, Diane Barabé a eu la surprise d’être couronnée récipiendaire du prix décerné dans sa catégorie. Un honneur pleinement mérité pour de nombreuses années de bénévolat à Golf Québec et partout au Canada. Sa compétence déborde même les frontières du pays.

Diane Dunlop-Hébert s’est vue décerner une distinction spéciale tout comme la plongeuse et médaillée olympique Annie Pelletier. Les réalisations de Madame Dunlop-Hébert aux niveaux provincial et national ainsi que son influence dans l’industrie du golf lui procurent une reconnaissance à l’international.

Les accomplissements de ces deux grandes dames contribuent concrètement au développement de la pratique du golf et au rayonnement des jeunes filles et femmes dans le sport.

Diane Barabé

Femme de tête inspirée et inspirante, Diane Barabé a marqué l’univers du golf québécois et canadien au cours de l’année 2014. Arbitre certifiée sur les règles de golf de niveau 4, elle a agi comme officielle en chef dans de nombreux événements provinciaux et nationaux. En juillet dernier, elle est devenue la première Québécoise et seulement la deuxième Canadienne après Ann Edgar à agir à titre d’arbitre lors de l’Omnium canadien RBC présenté au Club de Golf Royal Montréal. Un fait marquant dans les 105 ans du championnat national associé à la grande PGA.

Plus tôt en juin, elle avait été sélectionnée pour agir à titre d’officiel lors de l’U.S. Open de la LPGA à Pinehurst. Un honneur remarquable. Cette sélection a été rendue possible grâce à un stage d’officiels au Royal and Ancient Golf Club, à St. Andrews en 2013. Une formation, que très peu de femmes détiennent, qu’elle a réussie avec un pointage de 97 % soutenu par une mention de distinction.

Déjà honorée par Golf Québec en 2011 et par Golf Canada en 2014 à titre de bénévole de l’année, Madame Barabé a poursuivi son parcours depuis les débuts de son implication en 1992. Son parcours unique dans l’univers du golf a ouvert la porte et stimulé de nombreuses personnes à pratiquer le golf ou à s’impliquer activement. Elle est active sur le comité des règles de Golf Québec et de Golf Canada et agit en tant qu’instructeur lors des séminaires règles du golf. L’année 2014 aura été une année de consécration pour Diane Barabé par sa contribution dans de nombreux événements provinciaux, nationaux et internationaux.

Diane Dunlop-Hébert

Membre du prestigieux Club de golf Mount-Bruno et dame d’affaires avertie et prospère dans le monde de l’automobile, Diane Dunlop-Hébert est une pionnière. Elle a commencé à s’engager au début des années 90 en golf féminin puis dans différentes fonctions, en premier lieu à l’Association canadienne des golfeuses – section Québec, où elle agit comme bénévole trésorière et administratrice durant deux ans. La fusion avec Golf Québec l’a ensuite amenée à devenir présidente durant deux mandats en 2007 et 2008.

Après deux années à la présidence de Golf Québec, elle accéda en 2012, seulement six ans plus tard, à la barre des grandes décisions du golf au pays pour une année à la présidence de Golf Canada. Cela témoigne de la très grande vitesse avec laquelle elle s’est hissée au sommet de la hiérarchie de Golf Canada. Son accession à la haute gouvernance de cet organisme plus que centenaire fut une première pour une Québécoise, ce qui dit tout de l’importance de la nomination. Gestionnaire très efficace, elle a su relever de nombreux défis autant à Golf Québec qu’au niveau national. Augmentation de l’effectif, développement de l’excellence, meilleure visibilité pour les tournois majeurs ont été parmi les nombreux succès accomplis.

Au cours des derniers mois, un honneur ultime lui fut offert. Madame Dunlop-Hébert vient d’être du nombre des deux vagues annoncées par le club Royal & Ancient à St. Andrews, en Écosse, comme premières membres féminines.  Elles ne sont que sept choisies partout sur la planète. Jamais en 260 ans, le berceau du golf n’avait accepté la gent féminine.

The PGA of Canada today announced the creation of a new PGA national championship, the Nike Golf PGA Team Championship of Canada.

This unique championship sees two PGA of Canada professionals pairing up with the partner of his or her choice. The pair competes together in their respective PGA of Canada Zone Qualifier with hopes of landing one of the coveted spots in the $90,000 purse Nike Golf PGA Team Championship of Canada.

“We couldn’t be more excited to launch this one-of-a-kind PGA national championship with our friends from Nike Golf Canada,” said PGA of Canada CEO Gary Bernard. “Their support of the association, at both the national and zone level. with this championship will create incredible competition and camaraderie around the country.”

A Nike Golf PGA Team Championship of Canada qualifier will be held in each PGA of Canada Zone this summer with the 52 top teams booking their ticket to the national championship final at a location that will be announced in the very near future.

“We are proud to launch the inaugural Nike Golf PGA Team Championship,” said Tyler Keenan, Marketing Director at Nike Golf Canada.  “We are confident the format will inspire PGA professionals across the country to team up and compete for a spot in this one-of-a-kind national championship.”

The Nike Golf  PGA Team Championship of Canada will be a 54-hole championship with a different team format each day—fourball, scramble and foursomes.

The winning team from the Nike Golf PGA Team Championship of Canada will also receive an exemption into the PGA’s of Europe International Team Championship in November to represent the PGA of Canada.

The Golf Association of Ontario (GAO) held it’s annual Ontario Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Wooden Sticks Golf Course in Uxbridge, Ont. Bob Breen, Doug Carrick, Edie Creed and Bill Kerr were inducted as the class of 2015, while Garry McKay was the recipient of the Lorne Rubenstein Media Award.

GAO president Chris Osborne began the evening by introducing the great class of 2015. “When I joined the GAO, I was told I could play lots of golf and meet many cool people. I haven’t seen much of the golf, but I have met many great people and that echoes here tonight. What I like most about golf is it is enjoyed by great people. On behalf of our board, staff, volunteers and Hall of Fame Committee thank you all for coming out and let’s induct this great class.”

The ceremony began with the presentation of the Lorne Rubenstein Media Award to McKay. McKay, who has covered golf for more than 40 years, has written for a number of news publications, golf magazines and hosted golf radio programming. He is a member of the Golf Writers Association of America, the International Network of Golf and is currently the past-president of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada.

“I want to congratulate all of the inductees, they have all had amazing careers,” said McKay. “There are so many people I want to thank, but I really need to thank all of the people in this room because all golfers have great stories and I wouldn’t have had a great career if I couldn’t tell your stories.”

Bob Breen excelled at golf capturing the Ontario PGA Hunt Trophy as a junior, a feat he would go on to do again three times as a senior. He turned pro in 1960 and went on to have tremendous success. He captured 15 victories on the Ontario PGA Tour and another three on the Canadian Tour. Breen also participated in the Canadian Open on 10 occasions, played on the American Tour, where he won the Bahamas International, the Florida tour, where he was a four-time winner, the South American Tour and events on the PGA Tour.

Accepting on behalf of Breen, who passed away in August of 2014, was his son Blair Breen who was visibly emotional about the honour his father was given. “I’m sure that back in the 1950s, when my dad started playing golf he would have never imagined this moment, being inducted into the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame. It is a true honour for him and his legacy to Ontario golf.”

Doug Carrick entered the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame in the builder category. A renowned course designer, Carrick has designed 25 courses in Canada and another four internationally. In addition, he has been involved in the renovations of 45 courses. His courses have earned him numerous awards and have hosted multiple professional events.

“I was traveling in Austria when I received a call from GAO Executive Director Steve Carroll telling me I was to be inducted into the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame and I can tell you I was completely stunned.” said Carrick. “I’d like to thank all of my clients over the years for putting their trust in me to design and remodel their golf courses.”

Edie Creed had tremendous success as an amateur golfer as a member of the Oakdale Golf and Country Club. Her list of accomplishments is long and includes being a 37-time Club Champion at Oakdale. Creed also won the York District Championship in 1982. It was as a senior competitor where Creed made her mark on the game. She captured the Canadian Senior Women’s Championship three times (1979, 1981 and 1982). She also added five Ontario Senior Women’s Championships (1978, 1981-83 and 1986).

Creed talked about her inspiration in golf, her husband Eddie. “I’m honoured to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. I got started in golf all because of my husband Eddie. He always encouraged me to practice and I listened to his advice. While I don’t play golf anymore, my memories are as sharp as the tee, my friendships as long as the fairway. This induction is my eagle.”

Bill Kerr captured the 1945 CPGA Championship, a feat he would go on to replicate in 1960. He also won two Miller Trophy Match Play Championships in 1944 and 1945, another feat he would duplicate while in Quebec in 1947 and 1950.  Throughout his career, Kerr played in six Canadian Opens and the 1961 Masters Championship. He was a five-time winner on the Quebec PGA Tour, the 1956 Bermuda Goodwill Champion, and the 1963 and 1964 CPGA Senior Champion. In addition to his contributions to the game as a head and touring professional, Kerr also served as a two-time President of the Quebec Golf Association and President of the CPGA from 1955-1958.

Accepting on his behalf were Rob Kerr and Bill Kerr III. “Our family is honoured to accept this great award for my father,” said Rob. “He had the chance to play with many great players and also the opportunity to teach many people about the game of golf and he really enjoyed that. It is difficult to have a professional career while running a golf course but he was a determined individual and was able to have a pretty decent career.”

With that the 2015 class entered the hall capping off an excellent Hall of Fame Day celebration.

BEL OMBRE, Mauritius – Thorbjorn Olesen, Wang Jeung-hun and Carlos Pigem all opened with a 6-under 65 Thursday for a share of the first-round lead at the inaugural Mauritius Open.

The three were the early pacesetters on the Indian Ocean island in a new tournament shared by the European, Asian and South African golf tours.

Denmark’s Olesen picked up six birdies in his opening nine holes, with the putter working well after returning from a three-month injury layoff caused by hand surgery.

“I holed a 40-foot putt on the first and just kept going,” he said. “I’ve been waiting a long time for this. Three months to play a competition round.”

South Korea’s Wang had six birdies and didn’t drop a shot at Heritage Golf Club at the Domaine de Bel Ombre resort on the south coast to match Olesen’s newly-set course record.

Pigem of Spain birdied four of his last six holes.

They are being pursued by Oliver Bekker and Terry Pilkadaris, who were one stroke back.

European Tour rookie Daniel Woltman of the United States was tied for sixth after a 67.

Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat is the highest-ranked player on the Race to Dubai standings in Mauritius at No. 9, but he had an awful opening day for a 77.

Kiradech made six bogeys, three of them in a row, a double bogey, and his only hole under par was an eagle three on No. 18. Tipped to be among the title contenders this week, last month’s Shenzhen International winner was tied for 123rd in the 132-man field.

His playing partner Thomas Bjorn, who has 15 European Tour wins, didn’t fare too much better with a 74.

South Africa’s George Coetzee shot a 70 playing in the same group as Aphibarnrat and Bjorn.

Before every round Rory McIlroy plays on the PGA Tour, he goes through an extensive warmup routine. Here’s an all-access look inside what McIlroy is working on.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Rory McIlroy turns into a different player when he tees it up at the TPC Sawgrass.

It’s not by choice.

McIlroy found out quickly that his free-swinging power game isn’t the best fit at The Players Championship. In three appearances, he never broke par. That’s when he decided to scale back his game and play a bit more conservatively.

He at least is making progress. After missing the cut three times in four years – he didn’t even bother playing the other year – McIlroy has a pair of top 10s. A year ago, he closed with a 69-66 weekend and tied for sixth, though he was never in contention.

“It’s always hard for me when I can’t get driver in my hand, because I feel like when I get driver in my hand I can give myself an advantage over the rest of the field,” McIlroy said. “It’s just about being very patient and approaching it a different way, winning a different way.”

The Players Championship begins Thursday with the strongest field in golf.

It also might be the most wide-open field in golf.

The PGA Championship is renowned for having the most players from the top 100 in the world ranking. It also has a few past champions (John Daly, Mark Brooks) and 20 club pros. What differentiates The Players is that everyone in the field is capable of winning. The last player in was 21-year-old Justin Thomas, who already has played in the final group on the weekend at three tournaments this year.

Martin Kaymer is the defending champion. Tiger Woods won the year before that. Those are multiple major champions. The list of champions at Sawgrass also includes Fred Funk and Henrik Stenson, Tim Clark and Fred Couples.

McIlroy recited a favorite line about the golf course. It favors no one and tests everyone.

It might not be the same feeling as Phil Mickelson winning the British Open on a links course, but McIlroy believes a victory in the so-called fifth major would make him a more complete player because it’s a different kind of golf that he prefers to play.

“Winning around this golf course would … I definitely have a feeling that if I was able to do that, I would be able to win a different way,” he said.

He compared it with Wentworth, where he had struggled until winning the BMW PGA Championship last year. Then again, it was a wet week in England and he was able to hit driver more than he normally would.

Asked to describe the course in one word, McIlroy wasted little time.

“Frustrating,” he said.

One-word answers from other players over the years have included “exciting” and “dramatic” and “challenging.” Geoff Ogilvy once took five days to find the right answer. He saw a reporter who had asked the question walking along the 14th fairway in the final round, walked over to him and said, “Annoying.”

One other word comes to mind for Thursday’s opening round: Anticipation.

Only this has nothing to do with the golf course.

Playing along McIlroy on Thursday morning will be Masters champion Jordan Spieth and Jason Day, who in this case might feel like a third wheel. McIlroy and Spieth have been the center of golf over the last few months – McIlroy because he is No. 1 in the world, Spieth as the Masters champion and No. 2 in the world.

A budding rivalry?

Not quite. Or at least not yet.

“He is as far ahead of me as I am with the next eight guys,” Spieth said, referring to the gap between No. 1 and No. 2 in the world ranking. “So with that being said, it’s kind of anybody’s game to get up and make it interesting with him. I just happen to be the one that occupies No. 2 right now.”

McIlroy responded to all the hype over Spieth and his green jacket by winning the Match Play Championship last week in San Francisco. He provided another answer to the chatter about a rivalry by practically yawning.

“Last year it was Rickie (Fowler). This year it’s Jordan, might be someone else, could have been Tiger,” McIlroy said. “There’s been four or five rivalries over the past year. So it doesn’t really do anything for me.”

He then borrowed a line that Jack Nicklaus once told Tiger Woods. Both had a revolving door of rivals over the years.

“As long as I’m one of them, the other can be whoever it is,” McIlroy said. “I don’t mind.”

Nearly forgotten in all this hype is Tiger Woods, who is playing for the first time since he resurrected his short game and tied for 17th at the Masters. Woods is playing in the afternoon with Kaymer and Adam Scott, a trio of champions at Sawgrass.

There is an urgency to find a new star, a new rivalry, in just about any sport. Perhaps this should serve as a reminder to slow down. A year ago at The Players Championship, McIlroy was No. 11 in the world and in one of his mini-slumps.

The No. 1 player? That was Woods, who now is No. 125.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas golfers Taylor Moore and Nicolas Echavarria have been suspended indefinitely from competition following their arrests for allegedly taking sexually explicit photos of an intoxicated woman.

Moore and Echavarria were arrested by Fayetteville police Wednesday and charged with felony video voyeurism.

According to a preliminary police report, the woman said she went to Moore’s house on April 11 to sleep following a night of drinking. She recalled seeing flashes of light and suspected Moore had taken pictures of her.

Police seized Moore’s and Echavarria’s phones, discovering a sexually explicit photo Moore allegedly took on Echavarria’s phone. Moore, 21, is a junior from Edmond, Oklahoma, while Echavarria, 20, is a junior from Medellin, Colombia.

The Razorbacks finished sixth in the Southeastern Conference tournament and are set to complete in the NCAA men’s golf regionals next week in New Haven, Connecticut. Moore leads the team with an average of 71.8 strokes per round this season, finishing second at the SunTrust Gator Invitational.

The university said Thursday it was aware of the arrests and that Moore and Echavarria have been suspended indefinitely.

Both posted $2,500 bond and had were given court dates of June 1.

The incident first came to the attention of police when the victim contacted them on April 18. She told police she met Moore and Echavarria, who she knew previously, while out on the city’s popular Dickson Street on April 11, and after determining she was unable to drive that she planned to sleep at Moore’s house and be taken home the next morning.

While slipping in and out of consciousness, the women said she recalled seeing the flash of light – prompting her to later contact police.

Moore and Echavarria initially denied that any photos of the victim had been taken before later recanting, police said in the report. The report also says the two admitted taking three pictures, two of which had been deleted, and that the victim was unaware the pictures had been taken.

COURTENAY, B.C. – Galloway, Ohio’s Ethan Tracy carded his second consecutive 5-under 67 Wednesday at Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community to take the 36-hole lead at PGA Tour Canada’s British Columbia Qualifying Tournament.

The 25-year old, who finished tied for second at PGA Tour Latinoamérica’s Lexus Panama Classic presented by World Jewelry Hub last week, carded three birdies and an eagle on the day to lead by three over Kansas City, Missouri’s Michael Letzig, Moscow, Pennsylvania’s Nicholas Reach and London, England’s Charlie Bull

“It was a very similar round I just didn’t put myself in trouble. It was very simple golf, making my crucial par-savers and my putts inside 10-feet,” said Tracy, who sits eighth on the PGA Tour Latinoamérica Order of Merit. The University of Arkansas graduate’s 67 was tied for the best round of the day on Wednesday.

Following his runner-up performance in Panama last week, Tracy had a troublesome travel day and did not arrive in Courtenay until late Monday night, and said he’s doing his best to conserve energy this week.

“After the round I did nothing. I just watched a couple of movies on Netflix, relaxed and went to dinner later with my dad,” said Tracy of his opening-round 67 on Tuesday. Despite the hectic schedule, Tracy said he’s comfortable in his position and sees more solid play in his near future. “I’ve always played my best golf when I’m playing a lot, so I’m just trying to keep on playing. If I need a break, I’ll take one, but I’m playing well enough that I need to keep on playing right now.”

Letzig, who led after round one with a 6-under 66, offset four bogeys with five birdies to share second with Reach and Bull, with Taiwan’s C.T. Pan and Bear, Delaware’s Eric Onesi one further behind at 6-under.

Wil Bateman is the low Canadian thru two rounds. He’s tied for 9th at 3-under after a 68.

SAN FRANSICO, Calif. – Walker Cup teammates Nathan Smith and Todd White won the inaugural U.S. Amateur Four-Ball on Wednesday, beating Sherrill Britt and Greg Earnhardt 7 and 5 in the championship match.

Smith and White won the first four holes at Olympic Club, Britt and Earnhardt took the fourth with a birdie, and Smith and White birdied the sixth to regain their 4-up lead. Smith and White won Nos. 11 and 12 with pars and ended the match with a birdie on the par-3 13th.

The 36-year-old Smith, a four-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, is an investment adviser in Pittsburgh. The 47-year-old White is a high school history teacher in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Earlier in the day, the American duo defeated Canadian Amateur Squad member Austin Connelly and partner Sam Burns, 2 and 1, before going on to win the title.

Connelly and Burns, ranked 9^th and 7^th, respectively in the World Amateur Golf Rankings (WAGR), put forward a great effort in the semi-final round, fighting back from a 2-hole deficit to draw even on the 10^th. The 18-year-olds could not hold on, however, eventually giving way to the veterans.

“They stepped up on the back nine,” said Connelly, who captured the Jones Cup in February and will attend Arkansas.“They made three putts outside of 30 feet at really key times.”

Austin Connelly (USGA/ Darren Carroll)

The Four-Ball replaced the U.S. Amateur Public Links on the USGA calendar.

Click here for full scoring.