GLEN COVE, N.Y. – Two Canadians won their matches Thursday morning at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, advancing to the afternoon Round of 16 at Nassau Country Club.

Sixteen-year-old Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont. took down Ember Shuldt of Sterling, Ill. 4 & 3. The No. 2 ranked female amateur in the world will square off against Dylan Kim of Plano, Tex. Kim advanced to the round of 16 by defeating Canada’s Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont. earlier in the day, 2 & 1.

Also advancing for Canada is the recently crowned Canadian Women’s Amateur champion, Augusta James. The Bath, Ont. native bested fellow Canadian, Elizabeth Tong of Thornhill, Ont. 2-up. She will face 33^rd seeded Hannah O’Sullivan of Paradise Valley, Ariz. at 1 pm EDT.

For live scoring, click here.

Austin James and Augusta James (USGA)

COPETOWN, Ont. – Remi Bouchard captured the Mr. Lube PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada presented by Adams Golf after making birdie on the first playoff hole at Beverly Golf & Country Club.

The recently turned 50-year-old out-duelled Ken Tarling and Jean Laforce enroute to his dramatic playoff victory. With the win, Bouchard adds his name to an impressive list of past champions including Moe Norman, Stan Leonard, Bob Panasik, Al Balding and Jim Rutledge.

“When I drove in earlier this week and I saw the signs with all the past winners I was pretty inspired,” Bouchard admitted.

Bouchard, Laforce and Tarling finished the 36-hole championship at 7-under-par 133, one shot better than David Miller. Marc Girouard finished at 5 under and rounded out the top five.

With the win, the native of Candiac, Que., is a three-time PGA of Canada champion, winning the 1988 and 2008 PGA Assistants’ Championship of Canada.

“The lie I had was just good enough that I could get a club on it and I knew if I hit it solid it would cut a little bit,” Bouchard said about his 254-yard 3-wood approach on the first playoff hole-the 518-yard 18th hole. “When it left the club I knew I hit a perfect shot.”

Bouchard’s two-putt birdie was good enough as the clincher with both Laforce and Tarling failing to convert their birdie attempts.

David Wettlaufer, Jean-Claude Leblanc, three-time PGA Seniors’ Championship winner Jim Rutledge, two-time PGA Assistants’ Championship winner Philip Jonas and Champions Tour winner Rod Spittle finished T6 at 3 under. In total, 19 players finished the two-day championship at even-par or better.

Gar Hamilton won the Super Senior Division title after a one-hole playoff victory over Don Graham.

The PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada was first played in 1938 as a division of the PGA Championship of Canada. In 1973, the championship became an independent event and has stayed that way since.

Click here for the full leaderboard.

Gar Hamilton (PGA of Canada)

GLEN COVE, N.Y. – Team Canada’s Brooke Henderson advanced to the U.S. Women’s Amateur quarterfinal by winning her match Thursday afternoon at Nassau Country Club.

Henderson, 16, was all square through seven holes, but eventually pulled ahead, defeating Dylan Kim of Piano, Tex., 3&2. The Smiths Falls, Ont. native will carry her momentum from a very successful summer season into Friday’s match. The world’s no. 2 ranked female amateur is set to take on Alison Lee of Valencia, Calif. at 12:55 EDT.

Fellow Canadian and Team Canada teammate, Augusta James, fell in a nail-biting, 20-hole match to Hannah O’Sullivan of Paradise Valley, Ariz. James, of Bath, Ont., is coming off a win at the Canadian Women’s Amateur last week and will surely be looking forward to some rest after another strong performance at Nassau.

For live scoring, click here.

(Ottawa, ON) – Leicester, England’s Greg Eason shot an 8-under 63 on Thursday at Hylands Golf Club to take the first round lead at the inaugural Forces & Families Open. Eason carded seven birdies, an eagle and one bogey to lead by one over Crookston, Minnesota’s Travis Ross and Longwood, Florida’s Sam Ryder.

The PGA TOUR Canada rookie, who is playing in his first season as a professional following a standout career at the University of Central Florida, was upbeat about his round despite a bogey at the 18^th hole following an errant tee shot.

“I only really missed one shot and that was the tee shot down the last. I played some nice golf. I thoroughly enjoyed the day, to be honest,” said Eason, who was the runner-up at the Staal Foundation Open presented by Tbaytel three weeks ago in Thunder Bay. Eason missed his first cut of the season last week at the ATB Financial Classic despite shooting 3-under par for the first two rounds, and said he was excited to continue what has been a strong year so far.

“I never really did anything that badly last week, it’s just the scores were very low and mine weren’t,” Eason said. “I played well the week before and I’m just trying to do the same things I’ve been trying to do all year.”

The 22-year old, who now calls the Orlando area home, has three top-25 finishes on the season including his runner-up finish in Thunder Bay. Currently eighth on the Order of Merit, Eason said the experience of being in contention in front of galleries and under pressure has already helped him mature as a player in his first season as a professional.

“I’d not played in front of that many people before,” said Eason, who finished second to Cincinnati, Ohio’s Wes Homan by a shot. “It was a great experience and I thoroughly enjoyed the day with Wes, and I think hopefully it will give me a good step for this week. I’m just hoping to continue what I’ve been doing, and hopefully try and sneak in that top five.”

Ryder, who finished a career-best T10 last week at the ATB Financial Classic, and Ross were one shot back of Eason, followed Scotland’s Paul Ferrier and Libertyville, Illinois’ Michael Schachner at 6-under 66.

Seann Harlington is the leading Canadian, scoring 69 in the opening round.

Winnipeg, Man.  – James Beale claimed the 2014 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship title after rolling in a long birdie putt on the third playoff hole at Elmhurst Golf and Country Club.

The New Zealand native finished 72 holes tied atop the leaderboard alongside Team Canada’s Taylor Pendrith and California’s Jonathan Garrick at 6-under par. The trio battled it out over three holes before Beale’s 22-foot birdie putt found the bottom of the cup on the par-4 18th hole. 

“Honestly I don’t know if it’s good or bad but the thought went through my mind just as I was standing over it that this is for the win,” said Beale when describing his winning putt. “As I looked at the hole I just kind of stroked it and tapped it down there and it just tracked towards the hole and I couldn’t believe it.”

The 21-year-old carded a final-round 1-under 69 and drained a clutch par-putt on his 72nd hole to earn his spot in the three-man hole-by-hole playoff for the national championship title.

“It’s surreal it’s definitely something I’ve dreamed about, I didn’t think it would happen so soon,” he continued. “I’ve been working on my game hard and 2014 is the first year where I’ve really started to feel like I get everything out of my game.”

With Beale’s victory he earns an exemption into next week’s U.S. Amateur Championship and also the 2015 RBC Canadian Open at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont. 

“Just added benefits, it’s amazing,” he stated. “I wasn’t thinking about that stuff when I was out there but to get off and realize that I’m in the U.S. Amateur and the Canadian Open a PGA Tour event, it doesn’t get much better than that, I’ll have to reconsider turning pro next year so I can play in that one.”

Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont. carded a final round 4-under 66 to finish tied for second alongside Garrick of Atherton, Calif. Team Canada’s Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont. finished at 5-under 277 in a tie for fourth with New Mexico’s Sam Saunders.

The editor asked for a column on “par.”

My response?

“My good man, your ‘par’ is a deceitful harlot whose insidious false promises inevitably lead to broken dreams and shattered hopes.” (OK, so I just came up with that now, but that would have set him back on his heels, I bet. In any case, I accepted the assignment.)

Despite what you may think, the word “par” did not originate in golf. It denoted something that was average, acceptable. Eventually, it made its way into golf’s lexicon in the early 20^th Century to denote the arbitrary standard for the number of strokes, based on the length of a hole, that a proficient golfer should take on that hole. It also sounded a death knell for the dominance of match play, particularly in North America.

For the next few decades, although many golf competitions continued to be contested as matches, the concept of aggregate stroke play based on par was making inroads. One of the last professional holdouts was the PGA Championship, being played this week in Kentucky. It was a match-play tournament until 1958, when the commercial and entertainment realities of television pressured it to switch to stroke play.

One of the most significant mementoes of my life in golf is a trophy awarded to the club champion a few years back. It was a titanic struggle, one for the ages. (Did I mention I won?) To recap: Nerves jangling, barely breathing, I started out with two triple bogeys, a sketchy par and a double bogey. My opponent, who had a similar handicap factor to me, went par, bogey, par, par. I finished the round five shots behind my opponent, but I won the trophy on the second extra hole.

No doubt you are shaking your head and saying. “Huh? How does that work?” Easy. It was our club’s match-play championship.

In the match I mentioned, it didn’t matter that I was seven strokes behind my opponent after the first four holes. I was down just three holes, having lost the first two, halved (tied) the third and lost the fourth. (If it was a stroke-play competition, my fate would have been sealed before we made the turn and I would have been hailing the beverage cart.) But in match play, hope springs eternal. By the time we reached the 18^th green, I had won those three back and we were all square. We halved the 19^th and I had a par to his bogey on the 20^th. Despite stumbling badly out of the gate, I had won.

To say my opponent and I were exhausted is an understatement. He was buoyant about being three holes up after four played but decided to play defensively. In contrast, I took some chances that paid off and there I was, looming in his rearview mirror. Down two holes, then just one. Suddenly, short putts that had been conceded earlier in the match were not being conceded. Despite being the best of pals, we became the lockjaw twins. No quarter asked and none given. We were grinding, battling not only the course and our swings, but each other, as well as the many and conflicting emotions swirling around inside our noggins. It was a great match, a draining physical, psychological, emotional, strategic battle. It was “mano a mano,” just the two of us. Old Man Par, that uninvited third wheel, was not welcome.

So you can keep your par and your stroke play. Give me match play anytime.

Dean Ryan concurs. Ryan, a Golf Canada Governor, is a past Golf Canada Rules Chairman and still sits on the organization’s Rules Committee. I caught up with him on the phone as he was arriving at this week’s Canadian Men’s Amateur in Winnipeg after spending a week in Niagara Falls, presiding over the Canadian Junior Boys Championship.

Ryan got my attention when I read his excellent column, Stop The Stroke Play Insanity!, in the latest issue of Ontario Golf News, which coincidentally arrived in my inbox as I was thinking about this piece. (I won’t rehash Ryan’s thoughts, but you should read them here.)

“When golfers first try match play, they are delighted by its simplicity and forgiveness,” he told me. “Most of us are inconsistent golfers and match play takes the pressure off. North America is one of the few places around the world where match play and Stableford are not played frequently. In both formats, you can have a few bad holes and carry on. Not in stroke play.”

In fact, Ryan thinks match play “could be one of the saviours of the game,” not just for the reasons he mentioned above, but because it takes less time to play than stroke play because putts and even holes can be conceded to your opponent without having to grind out every shot. Just pick up and move on to the next tee. But, just like in stroke play, you must post a score for handicap purposes after every match-play round, even if you don’t complete a hole or holes.

Craig Loughry, Golf Canada’s Director of Handicap and Course Rating, explains.

“If in match play, the player is conceded a putt or hole mid-stream, there is a decision to make for score posting. There is a specific decision to help explain this.

“Section 4, Adjusting Hole Scores, says that a player who starts, but does not complete, a hole records for handicap purposes the ‘most likely score.’ This score must not exceed the player’s maximum number under Equitable Stroke Control.

“’Most likely score’ is a judgment that each player must make based on his or her own game. It consists of the number of strokes already taken plus, in the player’s best judgment, the number of strokes needed to complete the hole from that position more than half the time. The player must evaluate each situation based on what the player can reasonably expect to score.

“The grey area is if John has an eight-footer. John is a superior putter, so maybe he makes that putt. Craig, on the other hand, would be lucky to two-putt from there. Go to five feet, three feet, etc. You get the idea. It depends on you—you get to decide what that would be based on your own game, not someone else judging for you. Just like calling a rules violation on yourself.”

Faster rounds, simpler, less intimidating, more forgiving. Could match play, as Ryan suggests, be one of the saviours of golf in these trying times?

Complete information on match, stroke, Stableford and all forms of play is available in the Rules of Golf here.

The Golf Canada Handicap Manual is located online by clicking here.

GLEN COVE, N.Y. -Four of the five Canadians who qualified for match play at the 2014 US Women’s Amateur at Nassau Country Club advanced to the round of 32 Wednesday.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont. continues her dominant play, beating Mika Liu of Beverly Hills, Calif. 7 & 5 to advance. Henderson, who recently finished as low amateur at the U.S. Women’s Open, now faces Ember Schuldt, Sterling, Ill. in her upcoming match.

In an all Canadian match-up, newly crowned Canadian Women’s Amateur champion Augusta James of Bath, Ont. will face Elizabeth Tong of Thornhill, Ont. Thursday after defeating Sarah Burnham of Maple Grove, Minn.2-up. Tong made easy work of Ashley Burk of Boynton Beach, Fla. winning 5&4.

Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont. overtook China’s Yunjie Zhang 2-up and now faces Plano, Texas’ Dylan Kim.

The lone Canadian to fall Wednesday was Anne-Catherine Tanguay of Quebec City. She lost 2& 1 to Portland Rosen of Sugar Land, Texas.

In other notable match-ups, Lakareber Abe beat qualifying medalist Bethany Wu 6 and 4 Wednesday. The 18-year-old Abe, an Alabama recruit from Angleton, Texas, is trying to become the first black female individual champion in U.S. Golf Association history.

“It was just smooth sailing,” said Abe, second last year in the U.S. Girls’ Junior. “I didn’t get too up or too down. Just kind of steady the whole time.”

The 17-year-old Wu, from Diamond Bar, California, became the first top seed to fall in the first round since co-medalist Jihee Kim in 2011.

“I wasn’t hitting it solid,” Wu said. “After I lost the third hole, it kind of got in my head. I tried to come back so quickly, and it just didn’t work out. Overall, just a terrible day.”

Defending champion Emma Talley, the 20-year-old University of Alabama player from Princeton, Kentucky, edged Jiyoon Jang of Rancho Mirage, California, in 19 holes. Talley set up a second-round match with Princess Mary Superal, the 17-year-old Filipino player who won the U.S. Girls’ Junior last month.

Superal beat Raegan Bremer of Anaheim, California, 3 and 1.

Brittany Marchand (USGA)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Steve Stricker became the third and final assistant on U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson’s staff, an honor that came with just a hint of regret.

“I feel old,” Stricker said shortly after the announcement was made at Valhalla Golf Club, where he’s playing in the PGA Championship. “The way my body feels make feel old, too.”

The 47-year-old Stricker played on the last three U.S. teams. But watching from the sidelines this time won’t diminish his desire for revenge. He was left standing on the 18th green at Medinah in 2012, when Martin Kaymer of Germany sealed the win for Europe with a putt for a 1-up win in the match.

“There’s a bunch of guys who want to try to get that cup back,” Stricker said.

He joins Raymond Floyd, 71, and fellow Wisconsin native Andy North, 64, as Watson’s assistants. Given his friendship with North, Stricker was asked how the two would divvy up responsibilities when the matches are contested Sept. 26-28 at Gleneagles in Scotland.

“He’s the big cheese,” Stricker laughed. “He’s always been big cheese in Wisconsin.”

Stricker also played five times at the Presidents Cup, where his low-key personality made him a good match and frequent playing partner for Tiger Woods. Though he was also part of Woods’ foursome during Wednesday’s practice, Stricker never mentioned being selected as an assistant.

“He didn’t tell me,” said Woods. “I guess he was focused on his game.

“I think it’s great,” added Woods, who is still angling for a spot on the Ryder Cup team as a wild-card pick. “Because Strick is not only a good guy, he’s also one of our peers. … I think it’s important to have someone who is out here on a regular basis, who knows the guys, knows their personalities, knows their games inside and out. I think that’s well deserved.”

For his part, Stricker said twice that he wanted Woods on the team – provided his oft-injured back isn’t a problem.

“We know how important he is in the game of golf, and how good a match play player he is; when you really do need him, he’ll be there,” Stricker said. “So we’ll see. We’ll see how it plays out this week. Hopefully he’s healthier and he can get his game going.”

In making the announcement, Watson, who turns 65 next month, couldn’t help tickling his newly named assistant on the age issue.

When someone pointed out to Watson that Stricker was “obviously of a different generation to the other two vice captains that you’ve selected,” the captain cut the question off.

Turning to Stricker, he said, “Are you a different generation than North?”

“A couple generations,” Stricker replied, to a round of laughter.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A fan wearing a Chicago Cubs hat caught in the crush around the third tee at Valhalla Golf Club raised both hands above his head to show off an Illinois license plate. It read: “TIGR WDS.”

For those who questioned the wisdom of Woods returning to practice Wednesday, just three days after a bad back forced him to quit his last tournament mid-round, it seemed like an omen – and not a particularly good one. The unofficial motto of those sad-sack Cubs, after all, is “Wait `til next year.”

I’m not a doctor, but it sounds like good advice to me.

Woods has played only nine full competitive rounds since surgery at the end of March to relieve pressure on a pinched nerve. His best finish this season is a tie for 25th. He withdrew from two other tournaments and missed the cut in a third. He has always said winning majors is what matters most and his chances of sneaking past the field to capture this week’s PGA Championship – with less than a full round of practice under his belt – are about the same as the Cubs have to steal the pennant.

“It’s a totally different golf course than what I played in 2000,” said Woods, who won the PGA here that year in a playoff with Bob May. “These greens are all different. I have my book from 2000; it’s useless. There’s some new things that we have to learn out there.

“Joey (LaCava, Woods’ caddie) has been here on the ground. He’s got a pretty good handle on it,” he added. “We’ll run through some more of it as we go.”

At this point, it’s worth noting that he’s not the Tiger Woods of 2000, either. It’s hard to imagine that guy even talking about trying to win a major on the fly. Back then, preparation was his hallmark and Woods was collecting majors at such a furious pace that he seemed to be on cruise control in his pursuit of Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 career majors. That was true even after he won the 14th – and so far last – of his majors by beating Rocco Mediate, despite playing on a broken leg, in the 2008 U.S. Open.

Then the sex scandal of 2009 turned Woods’ life and career upside down. What followed was a run of questionable decisions, compounded by more injuries. He won eight tournaments the last two full seasons he has played, but hasn’t seriously contended on the final nine of a major in five years. On top of that, he lost nearly all of his major sponsors, save Nike, and hasn’t had much luck attracting new ones.

I’m not a psychologist, either, so I can only speculate about what Woods’ motivation might be for rushing back to tournament play after the rough patch he has endured. But my guess is that at age 38, Woods is increasingly nervous about the game he helped grow moving on without him. He’s already watched a generation of youngsters he inspired to take up the game blow their tee shots past his. It must be an unsettling feeling.

As golfing rewards go, the only two big ones still out there this season are the PGA Championship and the Ryder Cup. After his practice session, Woods was asked whether he can win this week and he answered tersely, “Yes.”

“What do you need to do,” came a follow-up question, “to do that?”

Woods was not much more revealing.

“Hit it well and make every putt.”

At the moment, qualifying for the U.S. Ryder Cup team is not a realistic goal, either. The top nine U.S. players in the points race qualify automatically and Woods currently ranks 69th, sandwiched between two guys – Troy Merritt and Luke Guthrie – you’ve likely never heard of.

In most years, Woods would be a lock for one of U.S. captain Tom Watson’s three wild-card selections. Instead, they’ve played a cat-and-mouse game in public the past few weeks, with Woods saying that he’s worthy of the pick and Watson saying he won’t commit either way until the formal announcement of the team on Sept. 2.

“I can’t answer that yet,” Watson said again Wednesday at Valhalla, where he’s in the field. “A lot of things can happen between now and then.”

Like Michael Jordan, the other sporting great to whom Woods has been compared, it’s hard to think of him setting foot on a golf course just for the sake of “being out there.” It’s sad to see, but it happens to the very best of them.

Ken Tarling jumped out to an early lead at the Mr. Lube PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada presented by Adams Golf after a bogey free round of 5-under-par 65.

Tarling, who captured the 2011 PGA Seniors’ Championship, holds a narrow one-shot advantage over an impressive cast of golfers including two-time defending champion Jim Rutledge, former European Senior’s Tour player David Wetfflaufer and newly-turned 50-year-old Remi Bouchard.

“Luckily for me it was a pretty clean round of golf out there today because I hit a lot of fairways and greens,” Tarling said of his first round at Beverly Golf & Country Club. “This is just a fantastic golf course and it’s in wonderful shape.”

Located in Copetown, Ont., Beverly Golf & Country Club is a classically designed Robbie Robinson gem and is often referred to as one of the best secrets in Canada golf. At more than 6,500 yards, the par-70 layout features angled greens, traditional bunkering and large mature trees.

This year’s PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada is contested over 36-holes, where as in past years it has been played over 54-holes. Rutledge, who has won this championship in 2010, 2012 and 2013, says it’s important to get off to a solid start.

“It’s more like a sprint out there this year, so you try and play very aggressively,” Rutledge said. ”

Jean LaForce, Don Graham, David Miller and Marc Girouard round out the top five after rounds of 3-under-par 67.

In total, 17 players are within five shots of the lead heading into Thursday’s final 18-holes at Beverly Golf & Country Club.

For the full leaderboard, click here.

Graham leads the Super-Senior division (60 years and older) by three shots over Daniel Talbot and Gar Hamilton. Two-time Super-Senior champion Norm Jarvis sits six shots off the pace

Attendance to the Mr. Lube PGA Seniors’ Championship of Canada presented by Adams Golf is free and spectators are encouraged to attend during tournament play.