RALEIGH, N.C. – Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Albin Choi was inspired 18-hole leader and fellow Canadian Roger Sloan.

Choi, a Toronto native, fired a tournament-low 64 (-7) on Friday to tie Sloan for the best score through 36 holes, moving him to 10 under for the tournament. Choi finds himself with a share of 3rd, while Sloan sits with a share of 7th.

Sebastián Muñoz of Colombia holds the outright lead at 12 under par.

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Raleigh, NC – It was a gloomy Thursday in Raleigh, North Carolina, for the 25th playing of the Rex Hospital Open contested at TPC Wakefield Plantation, but Colombian Sebastian Muñoz and Canadian Roger Sloan shone through the clouds, each posting rounds of 7-under 64 to stake a claim of the first-round lead. The lead marks Muñoz’s fourth first-round lead/co-lead of the 2018 Web.com Tour Season, and the first of Sloan’s career. Austria native Sepp Straka and Chris Baker sit one back of the duo.

Looking to make a return to the PGA TOUR is Roger Sloan, who posted a bogey-free round to claim his first round lead/co-lead since the 2014 Knoxville Open, when he shared the lead heading into the third round.

“We hit a lot of good shots off the tee today,” Sloan said of his round, “hit a lot of good iron shots and made a couple of good putts. It was pretty simple, nothing great, but we did everything really well.”

The 2018 Tour Season has proven to be an up-and-down one for Sloan. After opening with two-straight missed cuts, the 31-year-old picked up a T4 at the Panama Championship, followed by a T16 at the Country Club de Bogotá Championship. The past few weeks have been more difficult for him, however, having missed three-straight cuts before a T30 at last week’s Nashville Golf Open Benefitting the Snedeker Foundation.

“Everything’s kind of been a process,” he remarked. “I played well early in the season and have kind of been in a little of a lull lately. I’m not too far off. I’ve been working on putting, I think putting is something everyone works on. We’re just working on that and – it’s a long season so you just keep the process going. You’re going to play well out here and when you do, you just have to take advantage of it.”

Ryan Yip from Calgary, AB recorded 4-under 67 finishing the round T15. He also had a bogey free round firing birdies on four holes.

The round wasn’t all smooth sailing for Muñoz, who opened play with a bogey on the par-4 first. The 25-year-old refused to be shaken, however, quickly picking up steam with a birdie on No. 3. The change in momentum was crucial for the University of North Texas alum, who has missed the cut in both of his prior appearances in Raleigh.

“It was huge,” he said of the early birdie. “It’s knowing that I’m playing good and just kind of getting on track and seeing the putts go in. You feed off of it and it showed in the round later.”

Muñoz went on to pick up seven more birdies on the day, posting a clean scorecard after the opening blemish. His opening-round 64 marked the sixth sub-70 opening round for him in 13 events this season and was his sixth round of 65 or better.

“I feel like the changes I made in the offseason on my swing and my putting are definitely kicking in,” Muñoz remarked when asked about his performance this season. “I know I’m hitting it really good now. I just have to keep trusting it and keep doing it.”

The payoff is a welcomed breath of fresh air for Muñoz, who struggled in his maiden PGA TOUR Season last year. After winning in his hometown of Bogotá, Colombia, on the Web.com Tour in 2016, he made just eight of 19 cuts on the PGA TOUR in 2016-17, picking up a lone top-25 finish at The Greenbrier Classic (T3). With three top-10 finishes, including a runner-up at the North Mississippi Classic, already under his belt this year, Muñoz has moved into a good spot to be poised for a return to TOUR. He currently sits at No. 13 on the money list, with $130,363 in earnings halfway through the Regular Season.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Adam Svensson made a spectacular effort during the final round of the Nashville Golf Open Benefitting the Snedeker Foundation but a dramatic day saw him finish tied for fifth.

The Surrey, B.C. product started the day off strong firing six consecutive birdies, trading spots for the lead throughout the day.

After fifteen years, Canadian Hall of Famer, Mike Weir, will be making his second-career Web.com Tour start in the BMW Charity Pro-Am this week at the Thornblade Club in Greer, S.C.

The native of Brights Grove, Ont., will be playing in a reserved category for current or former PGA TOUR members ages 48-49, which he has just recently qualified for after he turned 48 on May 12. Weir will play the rest of the year on the Web.com tour with hopes to upgrade to the PGA TOUR.

The eight-time PGA TOUR winner has struggled with his form after he hit a tree root during the Heritage tournament in 2011. Several surgeries and injuries have left Weir with inconsistencies in his game, more particularly with his driver.

Weir has spent the past years working on his game. He has been working on his swing at Taylor Made Canada headquarters’ high-tech performance centre in Vaughan, Ont., showing signs of improvement with strong play overseas.

The Web.com Tour circuit will mark the first time in three years that Weir will be able to play regularly without any long breaks with consistency in his schedule. The BMW Charity Pro-Am will mark the beginning of Weir’s race for a spot in The 25, as he hopes for a PGA TOUR return.

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BOGOTA, Colombia – Last December, Englishman Ben Taylor found himself in Chandler, Arizona, competing at the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament, attempting to better his status on Tour for 2018. Despite three top-25 finishes in 2017, the Tour rookie had finished the Regular Season at No. 80 on the money list, narrowly missing a berth into the Web.com Tour Finals and exempt status for the following year. Now, just two months later, the Louisiana State University alum is a first-time winner after carding a closing-round 3-under-par 68 at the Club Colombia Championship, good for a six-stroke victory – the largest in tournament history – over K.H. Lee, Erik Barnes, Jason Gore and fellow LSU Tiger Sam Burns.

“It’s still quite surreal,” Taylor said about the difference two months makes. “To know that I had to shoot 17-under in December to be here this week is certainly a good feeling now that I’ve become the champion. It just goes to show that the hard work does pay off. I’m certainly very thrilled to come out on top this week. It’s a surreal feeling and a dream come true.”

Taylor entered Sunday at Country Club de Bogota four strokes clear of the field, but a bogey on the opening hole ensured the 25-year-old would have to play aggressively to keep the lead as the leaderboard became more and more bunched behind him at 9-under par. Taylor went on par the next two holes before picking up his first birdie of the day on the par-4 fourth. He carded four more birdies on the round to move to 16-under before dropping a stroke on the par-3 15th.

As Taylor approached the fairway on No. 17, the London native and current Orlando, Florida, resident looked at the leaderboard for the first time, only to see he’d opened up a six-stroke lead on the rest of the field with two left to play.

“I made sure not to look at any leaderboards all day,” Taylor laughed, “But when I was coming down No. 17 and realized I was ahead by six, I realized it was pretty difficult to mess it up. That’s when I realized the job was done. It certainly made the three-shot par-5 finish a lot easier.”

The former NCAA Division I and Division II champion finished the week at 15-under 269 for the tournament, just three strokes shy of the tournament-best 266 carded by Patrick Cantlay in 2013. With his opening-round 4-under 67, Taylor also tied Cantlay for the lowest start by a tournament champion. This week also marked the first time Taylor held a 36- and 54-hole lead.

The maiden victory for Taylor came with a $126,000 paycheck, enough to move him to No. 3 on the money list. For Taylor, who played every event of the Regular Season in 2017, the win reorients his goals for the season from simply retaining his Web.com Tour card to making a chase for a spot in The 25 and his first PGA TOUR card. The win also allowed Taylor to live out a dream almost three years in the making.

“The walk up No. 18 was really special. I remember before I even had my card on this Tour or the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada, I watched the highlights of Steve Marino and Patrick Rodgers from this tournament,” said Taylor, who was a Mackenzie Tour member in 2016.

“I saw how big the crowds were and I thought, ‘Man, that’s quite cool. I’d love to be there and do that one day.’ When I walked up and all the crowd were applauding for me; that was pretty cool.”

Canada’s Roger Sloan, of Merritt, B.C., continued his momentum with a second-straight top-20 finish (after missing the cut in the season’s first two events). The 30-year-old finished the tournament at 6 under par (69-66-71-72) to finish with a share of 16th. On the heels of two strong performances, Sloan finds himself at No. 17 on the money list—in line for one the coveted top-25 spots to earn PGA TOUR cards. As it stands, Sloan is joined by fellow countrymen Adam Svensson (No.2) and Ryan Yip (No. 20).

BOGOTA, Colombia – Former LSU golfer Ben Taylor opened his week at the Web.com Tour’s Club Colombia Championship with a 4-under 67 to sit one shot off the 18-hole lead entering Friday’s second round at host Country Club of Bogota. The 25-year-old, who spent much of the day flirting around the top of the leaderboard, took outright control of the tournament with birdies on Nos. 15, 16 and 17 to post 5-under 66 and 9-under 133 through 36 holes, good for a two-shot lead entering weekend play at the ninth annual event.

Taylor, who originally hails from London, England, was one-over par through three holes in his second round, but rallied early with birdies on Nos. 4 and 8 to turn in one-under 34.

A birdie on the par-5 10^th pushed him to two-under for the day, but it was a par save on the narrow par-4 13^th that kept the round going.

“I hit my tee shot left on 13, and I had to hit a good second shot knowing that I couldn’t go long of the green, and I managed to hit a chip-and-run 180 yards to the middle of the green, and from there two putt to keep the momentum going,” he said.

The clutch save on the back nine gave way to a torrid finish for the Orlando resident, as birdies on 15, 16 and 17 moved him from the role of hunter to that of hunted, thanks to a 9-under 133 tally and a two-shot advantage with 36 holes to play.

“I knew I was close, but I’ve been in this situation a couple of times now having played my rookie year last year, so I learned to stick to the game plan and close out a good finish, which we managed to do,” said Taylor when asked if he was looking at leaderboards.

Taylor, in his second full season on the Web.com Tour, entered the week with one top-25 in three starts this year – a T19 at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic.

As a rookie in 2017, he recorded three top-25 finishes in 22 starts, including a career-best T7 at the Knoxville Open in August. One of Taylor’s three top-25s came at the Club Colombia Championship, where a final-round 65 propelled him 24 spots up the Sunday leaderboard and into a tie for 21^st.

“I like that it’s challenging, so if you have a couple of bad holes, you know you’re not going to fall down as far as you would on a golf course where it’s a birdie-fest,” Taylor said of the demanding Country Club of Bogota. “I really like the golf course and I’m very excited for the next couple of days.”

Argentina’s Augusto Nunez, Canada’s Roger Sloan and Conner Godsey of the United States are tied for second, two shots back of Taylor at 7-under 135.

Nunez, who was one of four players to share the opening-round lead, birdied three of his first six holes on his way to a 2-under 69.

Beginning his round on the opening nine, Nunez birdied Nos. 2, 3 and 6 to race out to a three-under-par start, immediately seizing the outright lead at eight-under for the week.

“I felt very good today on the golf course, especially on the front nine,” he said. “When I started the back nine, I saw the crowd and I felt some nerves. That’s normal when you have fans following you.”

Friday’s large crowds, which dotted the fairways and stands of the prestigious club located in the heart of downtown Bogota, triggered a few less-than-stellar holes for Nunez, as bogeys on the par-5 10^th and par-4 14^th dropped him down to 6-under par.

A late birdie on the par-4 17^th righted the ship for the Buenos Aires resident, who finished the day with a 2-under 69.

In 61 career starts on PGA TOUR Latinoamerica between 2012 and 2017, Nunez recorded 15 top-10 finishes, including a victory at the 2016 Flor de Cana Open, where his 25-under-par total set the Tour’s all-time scoring record. The $121,173 he earned that season gave way to a second-place finish on the Order of Merit and a Web.com Tour card for the 2017 season.

Nunez made 7 of 20 cuts on the 2017 Web.com Tour, recording a career-best runner-up at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship. Nunez missed the cut in Bogota with rounds of 72-82—154, a full 19 shots higher than his 2018 tally at the event’s halfway point.

“I started pretty well this season, but I need to continue working on my game. Like I said yesterday, my goal is get one of the PGA TOUR cards through this Tour,” he said. “Now, in 2018, I have more experience and I already know the courses, so that is so helpful.”

Sloan, who finished solo-fourth at last week’s Panama Championship, was even par through four holes today before playing his final 14 in 5-under par to move into a tie for second.

The former University of Texas-El Paso golfer is making his 94th career Web.com Tour start this week and looking for his first victory since the 2014 Nova Scotia Open.

Of the three players tied for second, Godsey is perhaps the biggest surprise, as the week marks just his sixth career start on the Web.com Tour. The 25-year-old finished T16 at Q-School in December to earn status for the 2018 season and entered the week with made cuts at The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic and the Panama Championship.

He is currently No. 81 on the money list with $3,534 in earnings.

#ShotOfTheDay

Canadian @RogerSloan87's monster birdie putt from 50+ feet away at the #ClubColombiaChampionship! pic.twitter.com/47rwOsb1vc

— Web.com Tour (@WebDotComTour) February 10, 2018

BOGOTA, Colombia – West Virginia native Christian Brand began the 2017 Web.com Tour Season with conditional status, trying to make the most of each sponsor exemption he received. Brand was able to record four top-25 finishes but the performance wasn’t enough to earn him a spot in the Web.com Tour Finals. Come December, the 29-year-old found himself back at the Web.com Tour Qualifying Tournament. This time, however, Brand’s play was enough to earn him a T23 finish and guarantee him starts at the beginning of the 2018 season.

The job security that came with his December finish is allowing Brand to play more stress-free golf, and it’s showing, as the Marshall University alum opened play at the Club Colombia Championship with a 5-under 66 to take a share of the lead alongside international players Rhein Gibson, Augusto Nunez and Albin Choi.

Brand, who began play on the back nine at Country Club de Bogota, opened with four-straight pars before carding a birdie on the par-4 14th. He went on to pick up five more birdies and a lone bogey during his opening round. As for what was clicking Thursday, Brand gives all the credit to his short game.

“The putter [was key],” Brand commented. “I putted well today. I kept it in play, which you have to do around here. We just kind of hit our numbers. With the greens being so firm, you have to land it on specific numbers and get the correct bounces, and we did that today, so that was good.”

Tied with Brand atop the leaderboard is Australian Rhein Gibson, who is looking to pick up his fourth-consecutive top-25 finish. The 32-year-old hit 17 of 18 greens during the opening round, allowing him to pick up seven birdies along the way. Gibson opened 2018 with a T3 finish at The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay and went on to pick up a solo-third place the following week at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club and a T17 finish at last week’s Panama Championship. The start of the season is a relief for the Oklahoma Christian University alum, who currently sits at No. 5 on the money list.

“It has taken a lot of pressure off,” Gibson said of the start. “Last year was a bit of a struggle as I only just kept my Tour card, but to know I’ve pretty much solidified my spot in the Web.com Tour Finals this year – it just means I can make a good run at the top 25 (on the Regular Season money list).”

Argentinian Augusto Nunez joins the group atop the leaderboard as the highest-ranked Latin American player entering Friday. Nunez, who picked up his first professional win two years ago at the Flor de Cana Open presented by The Mortgage Store, currently holds the PGA TOUR Latinoamerica 72-hole record, earning his inaugural win after shooting a 25-under 259 for the week. Nunez made 20 starts on the Web.com Tour in 2017, picking up two top-10 finishes and ending the Regular Season at No. 39 on the money list.

Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Albin Choi rounds out the top of the leaderboard, claiming a piece of the first-round lead for the first time in his Tour career. The 25-year-old carded a bogey-free back nine to finish the day with a 5-under 66. Like the other tournament leaders, Choi knew coming into the week that the tight fairways and firm greens would prove to be a challenge for the field.

“The course really firmed up,” Choi remarked, “So I really took some conservative clubs off of the tee and it really paid off. Just being in the fairways and trying to hit as many greens as possible. You can really get in some trouble out here when you start missing greens, so I just stuck to the game plan and it worked out great.”

PANAMA CITY, Panama – The Canadian trio of Roger Sloan, Ryan Yip and Adam Svensson all finished inside the top 10 on Sunday at Web.com Tour’s Panama Championship.

Sloan, a Merritt, B.C. product, paced the Canadians with a final-round 66 to climb into sole possession of 4th place at 4 under par for the tournament. The finish marks his first top-10 finish early into the 2018 season (he collected four in 2017).

Yip, also of Calgary, finished the event at 3 under par. A final-round 72 (+2) pushed the 33-year-old down two spots into a share of 5th. After three events this season, Yip sits at No. 11 on the money list.

Team Canada graduate Adam Svensson maintained his hot play of late with four steady rounds (71-71-67-69) to finish tied for 7th. With the finish, the Surrey, B.C. native maintains his No. 2 standing on the money list—heavily influenced by his January victory at the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic.

The trio gave chase to American Scott Langley, who collected his first Web.com Tour victory on the strength of a come-from-behind 65 on Sunday, closing at 7 under. Langley’s come-from-behind victory is the largest in tournament history, surpassing Miguel Angel Carballo’s five-stroke record from 2007. He also became the first player in tournament history to record an over-par score in the opening round and go on to win the tournament.

All three Canadians will be in action later this week at the Club Colombia Championship in Bogota, Colombia.

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GREAT ABACO, The Bahamas – Canadian Adam Svensson picked up his first Web.com Tour win at The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club in his 58th career start. The Surrey, B.C., product carded a final-round, 4-under-par 68. His 17-under-par 271 total was good for a one-stroke victory over rookie phenom Sungjae Im, who missed a 10-footer on the 72nd hole to force overtime.

“It’s a relief,” said Svensson, who couldn’t see Im’s birdie bid at the last. “Your heart is racing and when it’s over it slows down, and you realize what you’ve done. I just so thrilled I got the win and just so happy.”

What a difference a year makes. Svensson missed the cut at both Bahamas events to start the 2017 season and found himself behind the 8-ball all year. He ultimately made it to the Web.com Tour Finals but finished one spot out of securing his PGA TOUR card.

The Team Canada graduate thought about it all offseason but used it as motivation this year.

“It stings a little less,” said Svensson, about the disappointment of not getting his TOUR card last year. “I’ve still got a lot of work to do going forward, but it’s nice.”

After a tie for 13th in The Bahamas Great Exuma Classic and a win in Abaco, Svensson has moved to No. 2 on the Tour money list, firmly inside the top 25.

“Obviously you want to get into the No. 1 spot, which is very difficult,” said Svensson, who collected a $108,000 first-place prize. “You want to try and get inside the top five or as high as you can.”

Down the stretch, Svensson got nervous and it showed on his tee shot at the 16th hole. With driver in hand, the West Palm Beach, Florida resident hooked his drive into the trees on the left. Svensson took a drop, in which his ball plugged in the sand, and hit his third to 33 feet and drained the par-putt to remain in the lead.

“That was wild,” said Svensson. “I told my caddie, ‘I’m not leaving it short. It’s either in or going by.’”

Sungjae Im misses the birdie putt to force a playoff.

And @adamsvensson59 has won his first #WebTour event at -17.

?????????? pic.twitter.com/2qBqWXIrNk

— Web.com Tour (@WebDotComTour) January 24, 2018

Having made bogey at the par-3 17th, Svensson needed a birdie at the last to close out the tournament. He flared his second at the par-5 finishing hole right of the green in a deep swale. Svensson then sailed his chip past the pin just off the green.

Left with a slippery downhill putt, Svensson nestled his putt to within tap-in range to finish at 17-under-par.

“I wasn’t trying to make it,” said Svensson, about his birdie putt on 18. “I knew I had to two-putt and somehow I just nestled it down there.”

The top of the leaderboard had an international flair to it with Svensson winning, Im finishing runner-up and Australian Rhein Gibson ending the week in solo third.

With Svensson’s victory in The Bahamas, 18 players from Canada have won 25 tournaments on the Web.com Tour. Ben Silverman was the last to add to the total with his triumph at the Price Cutter Charity Championship presented by Dr Pepper. Silverman and Corey Conners finished inside the top 50 to earn their PGA TOUR cards and join fellow Web.com Tour alumni Adam Hadwin, Mackenzie Hughes and David Hearn on TOUR.

Svensson, 24, was one of three team members that won the men’s silver medal for Canada at the 2014 World Amateur Team Championship in Japan.

Svensson hopes to be the next star from the Great White North.

“There are so many good Canadians coming up right now,” he said. “Canada has a lot of good players because of the programs they have in place. The Team Canada program is awesome.”

Calgary’s Ryan Yip finished T10 at 11 under par for the tournament.

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O Canada!

24-year-old @adamsvensson59 (-17) has won the 2nd #WebTour event of 2018 by one stroke over last week’s winner Sungjae Im.

He talks about gutting it out down the stretch. pic.twitter.com/fDxvG4lFBu

— Web.com Tour (@WebDotComTour) January 24, 2018

CHANDLER, Ariz. – Four Canadians finished inside the top 45 in the final stage of Qualifying School at the Whirlwind Golf Club on Sunday to earn guaranteed Web.com Tour starts next season.

Leading the Canadian contingent was Calgary’s Ryan Yip, who played his way into a six-way tie for 10th at 18 under (73-65-67-65), earning guaranteed starts for the first 12 events.

Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Albin Choi (Toronto) and graduate Stuart Macdonald (Vancouver) closed the 72-hole stroke play event at 16 under par, tied for 23rd. Rounding out the quartet was Vancouver’s Seann Harlingten, who finished tied for 30th at 15 under par.

Choi, Macdonald and Harlingten earned exempt status for the first eight events by finishing between places 11-45 (plus ties).

Champion Lee McCoy of Dunedin, Fla., will be fully-exempt next season.

#TeamCanada alum @stuart_mac_golf with a ?? chip-in on 18… In great position to earn #WebTour status.

? from @BlairHamilton12

Full scoring: https://t.co/hUUONo6sam pic.twitter.com/Ob210iWzRo

— Golf Canada (@TheGolfCanada) December 10, 2017

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