Albertans Matt Williams, Emmett Oh, Jaclyn Lee and Ethan Choi finish top 10 in respective rankings

OAKVILLE, Ont. (Golf Canada) – Josh Whalen of Napanee, Ont. and Maddie Szeryk, a dual citizen from London, Ont. and Allen, Texas, have been recognized as Canada’s top male and female amateur golfers for 2017 as Golf Canada announced the final standings for its National Orders of Merit.

Whalen claims top spot in the men’s National Order of Merit ranking after an impressive season highlighted by a 3rd place finish at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship. The 22-year-old also posted a T6 finish at the Sunnehanna Amateur and recorded six NCAA top-20s in his senior year with the Kent State Golden Flashes, including a runner-up finish at the Boilermaker Invitational.

Hugo Bernard, 22, of Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Que., finished second on the Order of Merit thanks in part to earning medallist honours at the USGA’s U.S. Amateur Qualifying event in Maine, as well as strong showings at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship (T4), the French Open (T3) and the Mackenzie Investments Open (T7).

Joey Savoie, 23, of La Prairie, Que., rounded out the top-3 after recording runner-up finishes at the Duke of Kent, the USGA’s U.S. Amateur Qualifying event in Maine and the Monroe Invitational.

Whalen, Bernard and Savoie were all recently named to the 2018 Team Canada National Amateur Squad.

The 2017 season marks the third straight year that Maddie Szeryk has finished atop the women’s National Order of Merit. The 21-year-old recorded three victories this season—the B.C. Women’s Amateur and Women’s Western Amateur Championships, as well as the NCAA’s Dr. Donnis Thompson Invitational as part of the Texas A&M Women’s Golf Team.

Naomi Ko of Victoria, B.C., finished runner-up on the Order of Merit for the second consecutive time. In February, the 20-year-old picked up her first NCAA win at the Lady Puerto Rico Classic. Other notable showings included third place finishes at the Canadian Women’s Amateur and B.C. Women’s Amateur Championships, as well as the Women’s Porter Cup.

Calgary’s Jaclyn Lee finished third on the National Order of Merit. In 2017, the 20-year-old earned a runner-up finish at the B.C. Women’s Amateur Championship and two NCAA top-5s.

Szeryk, Ko and Lee are all returning members of Team Canada’s National Amateur Squad for 2018.

On the Future Links, driven by Acura National Junior Order Merit, Christopher Vandette of Beaconsfield, Que. and Céleste Dao of Notre-Dame-de-l’Île-Perrot, Que., took home top honours in their respective divisions.

Vandette, 16, tallied five victories this season, including the Quebec Men’s Amateur Championship, Canada Summer Games and the Future Links, driven by Acura Ontario Championship. He also finished third at the Canadian Junior Boys Championship.

Rounding out the top three on the Future Links, driven by Acura Junior Boys Order of Merit are Nolan Thoroughgood (17) of Victoria, B.C. and Ethan Choi (15) of Pincher Creek, Alta.

Vandette and Thoroughgood were recently named to the 2018 Team Canada Development Squad which will train out of Bear Mountain Resort in Victoria.

Dao topped the junior girl’s Order of Merit after a prolific 2017 season where she picked up wins at the Canada Summer Games, Quebec Junior Girls Championship, NIVO Quebec Women’s Provincial Championship, U.S. Junior Girls Qualifier at Fitchburg, Ma., Future Links, driven by Acura Quebec Championship and the CJGA Quebec Junior Open. The 16-year-old also represented Canada at the World Junior Girls Championship in late September.

Finishing runner-up behind Dao is 16-year-old Monet Chun from Richmond Hill, Ont., while Susan Xiao, a 15-year-old from Surrey, B.C., rounded out the top-3.

Dao and Chun were recently named to the 2018 Team Canada Development Squad.

Golf Canada’s National Orders of Merit are used to identify and give recognition to top-performing amateur golfers from across Canada. They also provide an objective national comparison and ranking system, enabling Canada’s top players to compare themselves to counterparts across Canada.

Golf Canada also uses the National Order of Merit to assist with the Team Canada player selection and International event player selection process. For full Order of Merit standings and a points breakdown, please visit www.golfcanada.ca/nationalordersofmerit/.

The following are top-10 National Order of Merit finishers from each respective division:

Men’s National Order of Merit Top-10

Women’s National Order of Merit Top-10

Future Links, driven by Acura Junior Boys Order of Merit Top-10

Future Links, driven by Acura Junior Girls Order of Merit Top-10

March 3, 1922 – December 5, 2017

E. William “Bill” Tait passed away peacefully on Tuesday, December 5, 2017 at the age of 95 years.

Bill was born in the Elbow Park community of Calgary on March 3, 1922. Following his graduation from Western Canada High School, like many people his age, he joined the Canadian Armed Forces to serve in WWII. During his military service Bill was stationed in England, Belgium, France and The Netherlands before crossing the Rhine in 1945.

Upon returning to Calgary he joined his father C.E. Tait in the insurance brokerage business. He and his business partner George Morrison later formed Morrison & Tait Insurance Agency, which was eventually acquired by a large national firm.

Those who knew Bill know that he had a passion for the game of golf. He was an accomplished amateur golfer. Bill was one of the few Albertans to win the Alberta Amateur Golf Championship, The Alberta Open and The Alberta Senior Championship. He was a member of the Alberta Willingdon Cup Team, several Alberta Senior Men’s teams, and was a runner up in the Canadian Senior Men’s Championship. Bill also served as president of the Alberta Golf Association and was inducted into the Alberta Golf Hall of Fame in 2008.

A life-long member of the Calgary Golf & Country Club, Bill holds the rare distinction of having eagled every hole on the golf course over the span of the eighty plus years he played at the club.

Bill was also active in the Calgary business community; he served as the President of the Downtown Calgary Rotary Club and was a past director of the Calgary Foundation.

Bill is survived by his wife of 68 years Valerie; his children, Peter, Barbara, Gordon and Carolynn and grandsons Kevin and Ryan Wisener. At his request, a private funeral service was held and a celebration of Bill’s life will be held at a later date. Condolences may be forwarded through www.mcinnisandholloway.com. In lieu of flowers, for those wishing to make a donation please do so to the charity of their choice. In living memory of Bill Tait, a tree will be planted at Fish Creek Provincial Park.

Alberta Golf Hall of Fame Plaque

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.

Click here for full scoring.

FAR HILLS, N.J. USA and ST ANDREWS, SCOTLAND – A working group led by the USGA and The R&A has unanimously agreed to adopt a new set of protocols for video review when applying the Rules of Golf.

The group, consisting of the PGA TOUR, LPGA, PGA European Tour, Ladies European Tour and The PGA of America, as well as the governing bodies, will implement the following measures from January 1, 2018:

• Assign one or more officials to monitor the video broadcast of a competition to help identify and resolve Rules issues as they arise
• Discontinue any steps to facilitate or consider viewer call-ins as part of the Rules decision process

In addition, the USGA and The R&A have approved the adoption of a Local Rule, available from January 1, to eliminate the additional two-stroke penalty for failing to include a penalty on the score card when the player was unaware of the penalty. All of the organizations represented on the working group will introduce the Local Rule for 2018, and this score card penalty will be permanently removed when the modernized Rules of Golf take effect on January 1, 2019.

The USGA and The R&A established the video review working group in April to initiate a collaborative discussion on the role video footage can play when applying the Rules, including the challenges and benefits of its use and also the issues that arise from viewer call-ins.

“The level of collaboration with our partners has been both vital and gratifying as we look to the future,” said Thomas Pagel, USGA senior director of the Rules of Golf and Amateur Status. “As technology has continued to evolve, it has allowed us to evolve how we operate, as well.” [To watch an interview on usga.org with Pagel on Video Review, plus a copy of the protocols and full Local Rule, click here]

David Rickman, Executive Director – Governance at The R&A, said, “This has clearly become an important issue in the sport that we felt we should address at this stage ahead of the implementation of the updated Rules of Golf in 2019.

No more call-ins ✅
Local Rule eliminates scorecard penalty ✅
Big changes are coming to video review for televised golf events in 2018.https://t.co/RWaKDgdFpw pic.twitter.com/xfXb9D3M66

— USGA (@USGA) December 11, 2017

“We have concluded that whilst players should continue to be penalized for all breaches of the Rules during a competition, including any that come to light after the score card is returned, an additional penalty for the score card error is not required.”

The new protocols also recognize the importance of limiting video review to material obtained from the committee’s broadcast partner. Other video, such as from an individual’s smartphone or camera, will not be used under these protocols.

The new protocols and Local Rule are the latest measures announced by the USGA and The R&A to address concerns related to video evidence. In April, Decision 34-3/10 was issued to limit the use of video through the introduction of a “reasonable judgement” standard and a “naked eye” standard.

For more information, see usga.org or randa.org.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – The Shaw Charity Classic, Dominion Energy Charity Classic and DICK’s Sporting Goods Open were among the award winners for the PGA TOUR Champions 2017 season. In all, six awards were presented by PGA TOUR Champions at the TOUR’s Tournament Meetings on Thursday, Dec. 7 in Boca Raton, Fla.

At the annual gathering, six specific tournament categories were recognized:

• President’s Award – Shaw Charity Classic
• Players Award – Dominion Energy Charity Classic
• Sales Award – DICK’s Sporting Goods Open
• Bruno Award – Gene Smith (PGA TOUR Champions Rules Official)
• Outstanding Achievement Award – Tiffany Nelson (Charles Schwab Cup Championship)
• Volunteer of the Year – Maggie Hatcher (Boca Raton Championship)

President’s Award
For the third time in its five-year history, the Shaw Charity Classic in Calgary, Alberta, was named the recipient of the prestigious President’s Award, which captures the criteria of all PGA TOUR Champions awards, as well as the intangibles that make it stand out amidst a plethora of successful tournaments.

“It is remarkable to see a tournament win the President’s Award for the third time,” said PGA TOUR Champions President Greg McLaughlin. “On behalf of PGA TOUR Champions, it is an honor for me to present the President’s Award to the Shaw Charity Classic. This event has achieved great success very quickly and continues to raise the bar every year. Shaw Communications has been a tremendous partner in allowing this event to support the local Calgary community, and the charitable impact throughout Alberta has been extraordinary.”

The 2017 edition of the Shaw Charity Classic carried on the tournament’s tradition of extraordinary charitable giving. The tournament exceeded its fundraising goal by nearly 30 percent, raising more than $8.3 million for children’s charities across Alberta. In all, the tournament secured donations from more than 2,400 donors that ultimately impacted the lives of more than 480,000 children, and in five years, the tournament has raised more than $22 million and donated to more than 150 charities.

Once again, the community came out in droves, as more than 1,200 people volunteered, and the weekly attendance exceeded 45,000 fans. During the tournament, fans were treated to several off-course activities in the Fan Zone, which included a petting zoo, crafting stations, golf simulators, and an interactive Shaw experience where fans had the opportunity to interface with newest home entertainment and communications technology.

“We began our five-year celebrations by encouraging the public to find a small way to make their mark on this powerful event in Alberta. Receiving the President’s Award for a third time is recognition that needs to be celebrated by communities across Alberta who have generously supported our mission,” said Sean Van Kesteren, Executive Director of the Shaw Charity Classic. “We have not wavered in our goals of bringing world-class golf to Calgary, while raising more than $20 million in an effort to provide hundreds of thousands of Alberta kids hope and the opportunity to live a better life.”

Organization-wide culture of commitment to supporting players, coaches and facilities committed to high performance athlete development

Tiered program offering increases access to world-class support to a growing number of athletes across the entire province

Team Alberta players and coaching staff to be announced in early 2018 following a comprehensive application and selection process

Alberta Golf is pleased to announce an expanded high performance athlete development offering in 2018. In all, five tiers of programs will provide a circle of support for golf athletes in the province.

“Supporting athletes who intend on competing at the highest levels in their chosen sport begins with the establishment and management of an organization-wide commitment to high performance,” said Phil Berube, Alberta Golf’s CEO. “These athletes, from the introduction to competition to the compete to win stages of Long-Term Player Development, are a product of a circle of support that includes personal instructors, coaches, parents and club programs and will proudly represent Alberta as they compete on the provincial and national stages.”

Alberta Golf invests $280,000 annually in sport development programs and services. The goal is to support 100% of athletes who make an application to enter the program at any tier, with the superior level of coaching they desire and the resources to assist them succeed in their journey.

2018 PLAYER, COACH AND CLUB SUPPORT PROGRAMS

Alberta Golf provides investment to players, clubs and coaches in support of our athlete development programs. Our objective is to ensure that all athletes who have been identified on world golf rankings have access to High Performance Coaching. Alberta Golf monitors ranking systems from around the globe as well as our National Golf Canada Rankings and invites players to apply to our tiered support programs.

PLAYER SUPPORT

If you are interested in pursuing a pathway to becoming an elite golfer, speak with your local golf professional about Alberta Golf’s Player Support Program. Our staff work with athletes by providing funding and resources to assist individuals in reaching their performance objectives. This includes: skills assessment, performance planning, sports psychology, nutrition, strength & conditioning, travel, equipment, grants and scholarships.

CLUB SUPPORT

If your club is interested in Alberta Golf’s High Performance strategy, please contact us to learn how we can work together to grow your facility’s development programs. Our Get-Linked granting program provides facilities with co-operative funding to complement existing golf programs and our Future Links, driven by Acura resource library outlines a pathway to help golf facilities initiate and promote a successful program.

COACH SUPPORT

If you are interested in pursuing a career in coaching and developing local athletes in your region, contact us to find out more about Alberta Golf’s High Performance strategy. Our staff work with coaches by providing funding and resources to assist individuals in reaching their career objectives. This includes: coaching requirements, training, career planning, team support, travel, equipment, contract fees.

Alberta Golf will be inviting identified athletes and interested clubs and coaches to apply to the High Performance Athlete Development programs throughout the remainder of 2017. For more information please follow the links below:

2018 High Performance Athlete Development Program Outline
2018 Application Form

2018 PLAYER SUPPORT TIERS

TIER 1: NextGen Local Program

• The NextGen program is a local club level program designed by Alberta Golf to initiate a relationship between athletes showing interest in developing their skills and the local golf professional. Resources are made available by Alberta Golf to assist the local golf professional in showcasing golfers at their facility and provide athletes with a roadmap to success. This includes available competitions, clinics, training programs and shadowing opportunities.

• Athletes registered for the NextGen local program are invited (along with their parents) to two optional team competitions throughout the year (spring and fall) which are followed by an information session about Alberta Golf’s High Performance Athlete Development Program.

TIER 2: Regional Player Development Program

• The Regional Development program introduces coaching on a regional basis to individuals registered for selected camps which are offered four times throughout the season.

• Players in the Regional Development program are invited to participate in provincial team challenges and competitions organized by regional coaches.

• All players who have qualified for an interprovincial team at any time in their playing career are invited to participate in the Regional Player Development program.

• This program is ideal for individuals looking for additional coaching without the time commitment of Team Alberta, or those who are over the age of 19.

TIER 3: Team Alberta Provincial Program

• The Team Alberta Provincial program is the marquee component of Alberta Golf’s Player Support Program. 2018 marks the program’s tenth year with a proven track record of success enjoyed by athletes currently on the post-secondary circuit.

• Alberta Golf’s stable of world class coaches meet with all qualifying athletes on a regular basis to provide performance plans and review feedback during camps, competitions and at practice sessions on a year-round basis.

TIER 4: Alberta High Performance Squad Program

• The High Performance Squad program aims to support athletes who have met or surpassed the Tier 3 requirements but are ineligible for the support category based on age restrictions.

• Access to coaching, equipment, apparel and grants is made available to athletes who are invited to participate in this program.

TIER 5: Alumni Program

• The High Performance Alumni program aims to support athletes who have qualified for an interprovincial team during their playing career with Alberta Golf and/or have been in the top 50 on Golf Canada’s Order of Merit.

• High Performance Alumni Athletes will be invited to events throughout the season, as well as training camps at various locations in the province.

• Access to coaching, equipment, apparel and grants is made available to athletes who are invited to participate in this program.

ABOUT ALBERTA’S HIGH PERFORMANCE ATHLETE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Alberta Golf’s High Performance Athlete Development program is designed to support athletes across the province by providing programs and services that ultimately help them reach their competitive goals in the sport. Support is provided to athletes, coaches and facilities who are committed to high performance. Alberta Golf invests nearly $300,000 annually in sport development programming. Team Alberta, the pinnacle of Alberta Golf’s High Performance program, provides access to world-class resources including coaching, nutrition, sport science, mental management, equipment and elite competitive opportunities. The program builds on the support team members have received in their development years from their family, clubs, personal instructors, and coaches. Alberta Golf’s High Performance Athlete Development program and Team Alberta are proudly supported by Golf Canada, Titleist, FootJoy, and Alberta Sport Connection.

Contact:
Jennifer Davison
Alberta Golf
(t) 403-236-4616
(e) jennifer@albertagolf.org

MEN’S AMATEUR TOP 10

Hugo Bernard was one of three players in the Top-10 to make a positive gain in this week’s world rankings. The Quebec golfer will finish the year as the only other Canadian amateur ranked inside the Top-10. The Golf Canada National Squad member solidified his standing with a number of top 10 performances this past year, including medalist honours at the Palm Beach County Four Ball. He also recorded his third straight top-5 result at the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, finishing in a tie for fourth. A tie for third at the Murat Cup, tie for ninth at the Terra Cotta Invitational and a tie for seventh at the South American Amateur also highlight his resume in 2017.

One significant change outside the Top-10. Steven Diack climbs five places to move into the the top 20, replacing Golf Canada Development Squad member Johnny Travale.

Former Golf Canada National Team member Stuart MacDonald will be among the Canadians attempting to improve his playing status on the Web.com Tour at this week’s qualifying school. He’s already assured a tour card for making it to the Final Stage and if he can finish in the top 45, he’s assured of a healthy number of starts through the first part of the 2018 season to try and further improve his standing.

Complete World Amateur Golf Rankings can be found here.

WOMEN’S AMATEUR TOP 10

Maddie Szeryk maintained her top 30 standing in the world rankings and will finish as the top ranked amateur in Canada. The dual-citizen currently sits at No. 29 in the world, up three places from where she ended the year in 2016. The four-year Golf Canada National Squad member boasts 10 Top-10 results in 2017 including titles at the B.C. Women’s Amateur Championship, Women’s Western Golf Association and medallist honours at the Dr. Donnis Invitational. She also has runner-up finishes in three other NCAA events. In fact, the senior at Texas A&M has finished in the Top 10 in all five collegiate tournaments she has played this season, and has Top 5 results in four of those tournaments.

Complete World Amateur Golf Rankings can be found here.

MEN’S TOP 10

No notable changes in the Top 10 but this week is notable for what happened outside that list.

Sunil Richard Jung Bell makes his debut in not only the Canadian rankings but the official world rankings after finishing in a tie for seventh at the Asian Tour’s KG S&H City Asian Golf Championship. That was good for a 696 place jump in the world rankings, putting him inside the top 20 in Canada at No. 19. The 2.38 world rankings points earned were the first of Jung’s career in just his third career professional tour start – the previous two coming on the European Challenge Tour.

Mike Weir re-enters the Canadian rankings, picking up 603 spots  after finishing in a tie for 15th at the Australian PGA Championship. The result was worth 1.96 world ranking points, his first points-paying finish since 2014. If you’re keeping count, that’s a stretch of 38 tournaments. Since 2011, Weir has missed 71 cuts through various injuries and poor form. The Australian event marked the second weekend cut he has made in his last three tournaments and third in his last six starts. After finishing 2016 outside the world rankings, the 2003 Masters champion now finds himself up to No. 23 in the Canadian table.

Click here for Men’s Official World Golf Rankings.

WOMEN’S TOP 10

Both Maude-Aimée LeBlanc and Brittany Marchand have earned LPGA Tour status for 2018. Both LeBlanc and Marchand finished in a tie for 32nd at the final stage of Qualifying School, giving them conditional status for next season.

They will join LPGA Tour regulars next year Brooke Henderson, Alena Sharp and Anne-Catherine Tanguay, who graduated after finishing eighth on the Symetra Tour money list this past year.

Click here for full Women’s Rolex World Rankings.

CHANDLER, ARIZ. – The final stage of Web.com Tour qualifying school begins Thursday, December 7th at Whirlwind Golf Club, where the winner will earn full exempt for the 2018 regular season and those finishing second through 10th (including ties) receives exempt status for the first 12 events of 2018. Finishers 11th through 45th, plus ties, will receive exempt status for the first eight events, while the remainder of the field receives conditional status.

Four Canadians are in the field, including Team Canada Young Pro Squad member Albin Choi from Toronto, as well as Seann Harlingten and Stuart Macdonald of Vancouver, and Calgary’s Ryan Yip.

Scoring is available here.

NASSAU, Bahamas – Rickie Fowler and Tiger Woods each had cause for celebrations large and small Sunday in the Hero World Challenge.

Fowler rallied from a seven-shot deficit by starting his final round with seven straight birdies at Albany Golf Club and closing with an 11-under 61 for a four-shot victory over Charley Hoffman. It was the second victory of the year for Fowler, and the second time he has ended a year with multiple victories worldwide.

“Finally just kind of got everything to piece together,” said Fowler, who moves to No. 7 in the world.

In a week that began with so much curiosity over how Woods would perform, he had his best result in four years. More than his score, he looked just as strong at end, including a vicious recoil on a 2-iron he hit from 265 yards on the third hole that ran through the green.

Playing for the first time in 10 months while recovering from fusion surgery on his lower back – his fourth back surgery in three years – Woods shot another 31 on the front nine, closed with back-to-back bogeys and shot a 68.

He tied for ninth in the 18-man field, his best result since a playoff loss at this holiday event in 2013 at Sherwood Country Club in California.

“I’m excited,” Woods said. “This is the way I’ve been playing at home.”

WHAT. A. DAY.@RickieFowler beats the world’s best to win the Hero World Challenge. pic.twitter.com/iemJ7vIEIc

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) December 3, 2017

He still finished 10 shots behind Fowler. Then again, Fowler didn’t give anyone much of a chance.

Fowler, whose lone PGA Tour victory this year was in the Honda Classic, was close to flawless on the front nine. He holed birdie putts of about 12 feet on the first two holes, hit a gap wedge to 3 feet on the par-5 third, made his toughest putt into the green from 15 feet on No. 4, and then holed a bunker shot on No. 5. He followed that with another wedge that spun back to a foot on the par-5 sixth, and he hit out of a bunker to about 7 feet on the next hole.

“I knew I needed to get off to a quick start to at least show Charley I was there,” Fowler said.

By then, he was tied for the lead as Hoffman, who birdied his first hole, began to drop shots and work to make par. He never caught up and shot 72. Fowler went out in 28 and then added birdies on the 11th and 13th holes to stretch his lead.

Fowler finished at 14-under 274.

Tommy Fleetwood, the Race to Dubai winner from England who is getting married Tuesday in the Bahamas, closed with a 67 and tied for third with Jordan Spieth (69), who has not finished out of the top 10 since the PGA Championship.

A year ago, Woods returned from a 15-month hiatus from back surgeries and showed flashes of his old self, particularly when he shot 65 in the second round and ended the week with 24 birdies. Woods said nothing about his health that week, though his back couldn’t withstand the rough at Torrey Pines and the 16-hour flight to Dubai. He withdrew after one round at Dubai with back spasm and had the fusion surgery in April.

This return was different from how far he hit the ball with plenty of speed in his swing (his ball speed approached 180 mph), and he made putts from the 8- to 15-foot range than he has in recent years.

Conditions were far tamer for the final round and Woods got off to a start strong, buoyed by driving the par-4 seventh green and curling in a 25-foot eagle putt. His birdie on No. 9 gave him another 31 on the front – his second such score in two days – and never ending interest from the gallery. On Sunday, that included his two children dressed in red shirts, and tennis great Rafa Nadal.

He just couldn’t keep it going. Woods chopped up the 10th hole on his way to double bogey, and while he added three birdies with his power and putting along the back nine, he three-putted the 18th from about 15 feet for his second straight bogey.

“He’s obviously a lot more upbeat, a lot more positive, a lot healthier than he was last year at this time,” said Justin Thomas, the PGA Tour player of the year who was paired with him in the first and final rounds. “He’s got a lot of energy. It’s just so weird to say that you’re excited for somebody else’s year, but it will be a fun year. And I hope we dual it out a lot this upcoming year.”

Woods appears to be back, at least to playing.

He has not said where he will start in 2018, though he made it clear he plans on not being a stranger. The best bet is the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, where he has won eight times and considers a hometown event from his roots in California.

“I don’t know what my schedule is going to be, but my expectations are we’ll be playing next year,” he said. “How many? Where? I don’t know yet, but we’ll figure it out.”

Can it really be 21 years since Tiger Woods made his RBC Canadian Open debut in only his second start as a PGA TOUR pro?

In 1996, at the age of 20, the man who would galvanize the sport came to Glen Abbey in his fifth start that season. Despite coming off a missed cut at The Masters, a T82 at the U.S. Open, a T22 at The Open Championship and a T60 at the Greater Milwaukee Open where he turned pro, expectations were off the chart.

He would finish 11th at Glen Abbey and use that as a springboard to win twice that season.

Maybe “springboard” is an understatement. It was more like a rocket launcher that would revolutionize the sport.

Tiger blew up golf. He did so unabashedly and to some, arrogantly. Remember “Hello, world,” his announcement when he turned pro at the Greater Milwaukee Open? But if there is an instance where arrogance can be justified, that was it.

In 1997, less than a year after turning pro, he was the world’s top-ranked golfer, an honour he regained multiple times, including five-year spans from 1999 to 2004 and then 2005 to 2010. He has been the PGA Player of the Year a record 11 times, won 14 majors and 79 PGA TOUR events.

Yes, Tiger Woods galvanized and revolutionized golf, immeasurably raising the profile of the game and expanding its horizons.

But, as his career progressed, he also polarized it.

Mention his name to a group of golfers and you will get a cacophony of opinions. Yes, he is, arguably, the best the game has ever seen. No, he’s always thought he was about more than the game, he’s a serial adulterer, he’s a pill-popping shadow of the icon he once was.

As the 41-year-old prepares to make his return this week to competitive golf in an elite 18-man field at the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, those opinions are being voiced even louder.

Many will watch for the same reason viewers tune into a NASCAR race, less for the competition than in anticipation of the inevitable fiery crash.

Those folks should be reminded of one of the many admirable attributes of sport: its redemptive power.

Multiple knee and back surgeries, plus other ailments, not only hobbled Tiger and crippled his game, but made him susceptible to a reliance on prescription medications. His public humiliation in 2009 that led to his divorce plus his recent arrest for reckless driving have given the naysayers more negative ammunition. (For a comprehensive list, click here)

But, on the upside, he says he is pain-free for the first time in years and swinging well, although that swing now is a shadow of him at his pinnacle. Having said that, many knowledgeable observers feel it may be good enough to win again on TOUR. As he once said, he can win, even with his “C” game. There has been much money lost betting against Tiger.

Love him or hate him, no one can deny Tiger Woods was a golf god. But, as the Bible says, gods have heads of gold but feet of clay, an inevitable weakness that reveals their human vulnerability. Tiger, now ranked 1,193rd in the world, is but the latest evidence of that.

Given that undeniable truth, as we prepare to witness “Hello World 2.0”, let’s focus less on the clay and more on the gold.

And, perhaps, we will have the opportunity to watch him relive his golden moments at Glen Abbey at the 2018 RBC Canadian Open. Not only would it revive memories of the 1996 bedlam that accompanied him but also that unforgettable 6-iron out of the bunker on 18 that won him the 2000 RBC Canadian Open.

Redemption?

Stay tuned.