PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Jordan Spieth knew the pin position on the ninth hole at Spyglass Hill as much by memory as by sight, which was a good thing considering the fog creeping across the Monterey Peninsula on Friday.

The crowd behind the green couldn’t see Spieth, only a golf ball that landed behind the flag and spun back 3 feet below the cup. Spieth tapped that in for his eighth birdie of the round and a 7-under 65 that put him atop the leaderboard in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Spieth was at 10-under 133.

Derek Fathauer was 8 under for his round at Pebble Beach and tied with Spieth at 10 under. Fathauer had to return Saturday morning to finish his round on the ninth hole. The bigger threat might be Jason Day, the world’s No. 1 player, who was 7 under through 12 holes at Spyglass when play was stopped. Day was at 9 under.

Patrick Reed, who withdrew two weeks ago from the European Tour event in Australia next week because of a respiratory infection, was at 7 under and had one hole to play at Monterey Peninsula.

Spieth mainly was thrilled that he finished just before the horn sounded to suspend play again, this time for fog.

It’s hard to know where anyone stands until three rounds are completed, let alone when only 33 out of 154 players were done with the second round. Spieth only knew that his swing was dialed in and his putter – the most dangerous club in his bag – was coming around.

“I didn’t feel any nerves out there, even though I knew I was toward the lead, just because so much could happen with three courses,” he said. “The first two rounds, it’s been easy. Tomorrow might feel a little different. But in my opinion, I’m at 10 under now. If I can try and just make two (birdies) a side at Pebble Beach each time, and make up for the bogeys with maybe another birdie, it may be good enough.”

The sun, rarely seen this week, is supposed to be make an appearance this weekend. Spieth and Day will play Pebble the final two rounds, and it typically is the easiest when the weather is benign.

What helped Spieth was going off in the third group at Spyglass and having what he considers the best greens on the rotation.

He picked up birdies on both par 3s on the back nine, had a two-putt birdie on a par 5 and made the turn in 4 under to take the lead. Then, he started to get hot with the putter. Spieth rolled in a 12-footer on No. 2, a 25-footer on No. 4 and he saved par with a 15-footer after finding a bunker on the par-3 fifth.

The most flush shot he hit all day might have been with the putter.

Spieth barely reached the front of the green on No. 6, leaving him a 60-foot putt up the hill on a soft, spongy green, Dustin Johnson was right next to him after his approach pitched 3 feet from the hole and rolled all the way back.

Johnson hit his putt so hard that he said, “I thought it was going into the crowd.”

“Second row,” Spieth said in agreement.

It was still 5 feet short.

Spieth followed with what he thinks might be the hardest he ever swung a putter, and it stopped a few inches from going in. He wasn’t so fortunate from the front of the eighth green, a similar putt up a ridge that he left 15 feet short. It led to his only bogey.

That birdie on the ninth was a good way to finish. Spieth had to wait to see how Day finished at Spyglass Hill. That was the mostly likely the only chance of anyone catching him going into the weekend.

Day’s fortunes turned on the par-5 seventh, which began a streak of four straight birdies. Only the fog delay stopped him.

Seung-Yul Noh was at 7 under with five holes, including a par 5, still to play at Pebble Beach. Pat Perez, who had to withdraw last week when he felt his surgically repaired shoulder acting up, was at 6 under at Monterey Peninsula with the par-3 ninth and its devilish green still to play.

A pair of two-time Pebble winners were still in the mix. Brandt Snedeker was at 5 under with four holes remaining at Spyglass, while Johnson shot 69 and was at 4-under 139 heading to Pebble Beach with Spieth.

Spieth will not tee off until noon, with plenty of players and footprints ahead of him.

Among the Canadians, Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., shot 2-under 70 on Friday to sit T23 at 3-under heading into the weekend. Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., was also T23 at 3-under through 12 holes before play was suspended.

Adam Hadwin, also of Abbotsford, was 1-under through 17 (T42), Brad Fritsch of Manotick, Ont. is even through 15 holes (T55), Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont. finished at 3-over (T103) and David Hearn of Brantford, Ont.is at 4-over through 12 holes (T119).

DIVOTS: Spieth and country singer Jake Owen were atop the leaderboard in the pro-am. Owen holed a 40-foot putt on the third hole, raising the putter in a pose made famous by Jack Nicklaus. … Phil Mickelson had three birdies and three bogeys in his round of Spyglass, leaving him at least nine shots out of the lead. … Torrey Pines winner Jon Rahm ran off six straight birdies through the seventh hole at Pebble Beach. He played the rest of the way with 10 pars and a bogey and shot 67. He was at 4 under.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. _ Jordan Spieth could barely stand up and worried his hat would fly off in the middle of his swing.

From 176 yards downhill to the par-3 11th green at Monterey Peninsula, he ripped a 4-iron and hoped for the best. When he saw it land about 6 feet from the flag, he declared to anyone within earshot, “That’s the best shot I’ve ever hit.”

This was a snapshot of the nasty side of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Thursday, with severe conditions that once led to the term “Crosby weather” from the days when Bing Crosby was the host and Pebble could be a blend of beauty and beast.

The PGA Tour moved up tee times by an hour to try to beat the storms, but it wasn’t enough. Already saturated, the greens on all three courses began holding enough water that play had to be suspended.

Seung-Yul Noh, Joel Dahmen and Rick Lamb each shot a 4-under 68 at Spyglass Hill to share the lead, and more importantly, they were among the 75 players who finished. The rest had to return at 7:30 a.m. Friday _ with lingering rain in the forecast _ to finish the round before moving on to another course.

Spyglass has the most shelter from the wind because of the inland holes cut through a forest.

Mark Hubbard had a 3-under 69 at Pebble Beach, which is exposed along the coast. Only three players reached the green on the par-4 ninth hole into the wind. Hubbard finished his round there with a bogey and treated it like a par.

“It played more like a par 5 than any of the actual par 5s,” he said.

Spieth, even though he missed four putts inside 6 feet on the bumpy greens, was at 3-under par with two holes to play on the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula. And as he walked in the final two holes in the rain, tilting his umbrella to fight the wind and rain, he was quite pleased.

“We thought it would be this way, but just rain,” Spieth said. “We didn’t expect that.”

The “that” was what amounted to a four-club wind, and the best example was the partner he has had the last three years _ Dustin Johnson, the U.S. Open champion and among the most powerful players in golf.

Johnson could barely hold up his umbrella in the wind when he stepped out from under it and smashed his drive on the 599-yard 12th hole. From the first cut of rough, he then hit a full 3-wood. And for his third shot, he had 4-iron into the green. And he was still short.

Asked if that ever happened to him on a par 5, Johnson didn’t blink before saying, “Never.”

On the next hole, typically tame at 434 yards, Johnson hit driver and had 190 yards left. He hit a 3-iron _ he normally hits 7-iron from that distance _ to the back pin to about 5 feet and made it for birdie.

“Eagle,” Johnson said when he walked off the green.

It was like that all over.

Hubbard started on the back nine at Pebble, before the strongest of the wind and the rain arrived. He made three short birdie putts, made the turn and then holed a 15-foot eagle putt on the par-5 second hole to reach 5 under. And then it was time to hang on.

“At that point, I was glad I had a cushion,” Hubbard said.

With 104 players on each course _ half of them amateurs _ footprints pile up on the soggy greens and every putt is bouncing any direction. Hockey great Wayne Gretzky, playing with Johnson, missed badly from 8 feet right before Spieth’s 4-foot par putt took a bounce to the left and lipped out.

“If the best players in the world can’t make ’em, how am I supposed to?” The Great One cracked.

Spieth had a short birdie putt on the par-5 sixth hole and declared it to be “the hardest, straight 4-foot putt I’ll have all year.” He missed it.

But he did enough right, including that 4-iron on 11th hole.

Best ever?

After play was suspended, and he was out of the moment, he backed off such a proclamation.

“Not the best I’ve ever hit in my life,” he said. “But that was up there. In competition on a Thursday? For sure. I roasted a 4-iron. My hat was flying off, or felt like it was going to. In the air, you don’t know if it’s going to be 20 yards long or 20 yards short. I can’t hit another one like that if I hit 100 of them.

“I just wish,” he said with a smile, “I had made the putt.”

Among the Canadians, Nick Taylor finished his round at 2-under (70) for a share of eighth, tied with Mackenzie Hughes who was 2-under through 17 holes (T8) when play was suspended. Adam Hadwin is 1-over through 15 holes (T58) followed by Mike Weir at 2-over 74 (T82), Brad Fritsch at 2-over through 16 (T82), and David Hearn at 5-over 77 (T138).

DIVOTS: Phil Mickelson had seven birdies through 17 holes at Monterey Peninsula. He also had two double bogeys and was 1 under with one hole to play. … Shane Lowry of Ireland opened with a 70 and said while he is accustomed to the wind and rain at home, “We wouldn’t play golf on some days like this.” Lowry and his wife are expecting their first child at the end of the month. … Danny Lee was 5 over through 12 holes when he withdrew. J.J. Henry withdrew after an 84.

TOKYO _ Board members at the club that will host the 2020 Olympic golf tournament failed to make a decision about changing their policy of excluding women as full members.

The Kasumigaseki Country Club came under scrutiny recently when the International Olympic Committee inquired about the club’s membership practice. The issue surfaced in mid-January when Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike urged Kasumigaseki to admit women as full members.

The club’s board of directors convened a meeting in Tokyo on Tuesday to discuss the issue but didn’t reach any conclusions.

All 15 board members have to agree to change the club’s by-laws. Kiichi Kimura, the chairman of the board, expressed bewilderment at the predicament.

“We discussed how we should respond after we ask our members how they feel,” Kimura said. “It’s extremely annoying the situation has evolved into what it is so quickly. Right now, we’re confused.”

Founded in 1929 as a private club funded by about 300 wealthy men, Kasumigaseki is one of the oldest and most prestigious clubs in the country and has hosted more top level tournaments than any other Japanese course.

To join Kasumigaseki, an applicant needs to obtain a reference from a current member and pay 8 million yen ($70,800) to become a regular member first, then pay additional 4 million yen ($35,400) to be a full member.

The club does not allow women to become full members or play on Sundays. Only full members can play any day of the week.

OAKVILLE, ONT. – The RBC Canadian Open has launched a new VIP corporate hospitality offering for this year’s championship, which runs July 24-30, 2017 at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont. The Courtyard Cabanas, located between No. 16 and 17 fairways and adjacent to the new Courtyard Games area, are all-inclusive private cabanas featuring alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as full lunch and afternoon hors d’oeuvres.

The Courtyard Cabanas offer a private, Vegas-style venue featuring a sheltered interior with plush seating and outdoor patios. Available on a per day or weekly basis, hospitality buyers must pre-book Courtyard Cabanas, which includes 10 tickets per day, preferred parking, as well as wait staff for food and beverage delivery.

“The Courtyard Cabanas feature VIP amenities and are paired with views of some of the most exciting golf Glen Abbey has to offer,” said Dave Kay, Director of Business Development for Golf Canada and the RBC Canadian Open. “Whether you want to take in the action on the reachable par 5, 16^th hole, enjoy sightlines of the tricky tee-shot on No. 17, Courtyard Cabana patrons can be sure terrific golf is never too far away.”

Courtyard Cabana attendees can also enjoy friendly rivalry at the new Courtyard Games area, where guests can challenge each other to cottage-style games such as Giant Jenga, Bean Bag Toss, Washers and more.

Kay has no doubt Courtyard Cabana customers and their guests will enjoy this fresh hospitality offering.

“The initial response to our RBC Canadian Open corporate hospitality offerings for 2017 has been tremendous – from both past and new partners,” noted Kay. “The cabanas are a hip addition to our corporate hospitality product line up and I’m sure this limited opportunity will sell out. If companies are interested in acquiring one, I encourage them to secure theirs soon.”

To reserve a Courtyard Cabana call Dave Kay at 1-800-263-0009 ext. 228 or email dkay@golfcanada.ca.

For more information on RBC Canadian Open Corporate Hospitality options, please click here. 

Golf Fore the Cure presented by Subaru is pleased to announce WayPoint Golf as the official tournament registration software for the program for 2017.

WayPoint Golf’s core focus will be to provide its dynamic platform to all Golf Fore the Cure participants, with goals of simplifying the registration process in the most efficient way possible—freeing up time for further planning and fundraising efforts.

“We are incredibly excited about being partners with Golf Canada and the Golf Fore the Cure presented by Subaru program. The funds that have been raised through these national tournaments is truly inspiring, and we’re excited to work together with all of the people involved for this common goal.” said Joe Velacich, CEO and Founder, WayPoint Golf.

As a Pink Partner of Golf Fore the Cure, WayPoint Golf provides a software platform that seamlessly connects tournaments to players, courses and sponsors.

“We are very excited to be able to offer the use WayPoint Golf software through the Golf Fore the Cure platform.  We believe this will be a great addition to the support that is provided to over 145 sites running the program on an annual basis,” said Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s Chief Sport Officer and interim CEO. “Golf Fore the Cure presented by Subaru, owes a great deal of its success to the support and engagement of partners like Waypoint, and we are looking forward to continuing to grow the program with them for many years to come.”

Golf Fore the Cure presented by Subaru continues to make strides in providing a seamless process for running events, offered at no cost to participants or host clubs. Upon registration, program coordinators receive a complimentary event kit including prizing and fundraising materials

For more information and to register your club please contact gftc@golfcanada.ca or visit the website.

About WayPoint Golf™

At WayPoint, we’re a golf lifestyle brand that’s providing a fresh new way of delivering golf tournament marketing and player registrations. The WayPoint platform empowers tournament organizers by reducing the time required to coordinate and manage golf tournaments. The result, is increased engagement, with less administrative burden for the organizer. By combining an amazing team with software that seamlessly connects tournaments to golfers, courses and sponsors, we create more successful events, while promoting the game of golf.

ABOUT GOLF FORE THE CURE PRESENTED BY SUBARU
Committed to growing women’s participation in golf, the Golf Fore the Cure program has welcomed more than 110,000 participants over 13 seasons. During that same period, over 5.9 million dollars has been raised for the Canadian Cancer Society and Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation at over 1900 events run by volunteers. Golf Fore the Cure is conducted by Golf Canada and proudly sponsored by Subaru, adidas Golf and WayPoint Golf. To learn more about Golf Fore the Cure,  please visit www.golfcanada.ca/golfforethecure.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Hideki Matsuyama was the last man standing at golf’s biggest party – again.

Matsuyama won the Waste Management Phoenix Open on the fourth hole of a playoff for the second straight year, outlasting Webb Simpson on Sunday at TPC Scottsdale.

Matsuyama won with a 10-foot birdie putt on the short par-4 17th, the same hole where the 24-year-old Japanese star finished off Rickie Fowler a year ago.

“I just had faith and believed that my chance would come again, and I just waited and waited, had patience,” Matsuyama said. “Finally, that last one went in.”

Matsuyama closed with a 5-under 66, parring the final three holes to match Simpson at 17-under 267. On the par-4 18th in regulation, Matsuyama’s 20-foot birdie try to win in regulation stopped just short.

“I don’t know how it stayed out,” Matsuyama said. “But you can’t be short on a putt like that.”

Simpson birdied three of the last four for a 64, the best round of the day.

“To shoot 7 under on Sunday, birdieing 17 and 18 is a great feeling, knowing I had to do it,” Simpson said. “But Hideki is a great player, obviously. I knew he’d be a tough competitor in the playoff. I wish I could have a couple of putts back and hit them a little harder.”

Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., entered the day tied for third but shot a 71 in his final round to finish tied for ninth. Adam Hadwin (66) of Abbotsford, B.C. tied for 12th.

The tournament drew an estimated 58,654 fans Sunday to break the weekly record with 655,434. The previous mark of 618,365 was set last year. A record 204,906 packed the grounds Saturday.

Matsuyama has thrived in the party atmosphere, tying for fourth in 2014 and tying for second in 2015 before winning the last two years.

“There’s nothing like it in golf,” Matsuyama said. “Playing in front of the number of fans and gallery this past week, great motivation. I just try to have fun with it, and at the same time, keep my focus.”

Matsuyama and Simpson took advantage of third-round leader Byeong Hun An’s collapse. Three strokes ahead of Matsuyama and four ahead of Simpson with nine holes left, An bogeyed Nos. 10 and 11 and closed with two more on 17 and 18. The South Korean player had a 73 to finish sixth at 14 under.

“Just didn’t work out today,” An said.

Matsuyama won his second PGA Tour title of the season and fourth overall. He has won five worldwide events in the last 3 1/2 months, also taking the WGC-HSBC Champions in China, two tournaments in Japan and Tiger Woods’ unofficial Hero World Challenge.

“It’s been a good run,” Matsuyama said. “I’m going to ride it as long as I can.”

He becomes the sixth player to successfully defend a title in the event and the first to do it at TPC Scottsdale. The other five are Hall of Famers Ben Hogan (1946-47), Jimmy Demaret (1949-50), Lloyd Mangrum (1952-53), Arnold Palmer (1961-63) and Johnny Miller (1974-75).

Matsuyama broke a tie with Shigeki Maruyama for the most victories by a Japanese player, and became the first to win playoffs in an event two straight years since Ernie Els in the Sony Open in Hawaii in 2003-04.

Matsuyama and Simpson matched pars on the first three extra holes, playing the 18th twice and the par-4 10th before heading to 17. Simpson’s drive on the 332-yard hole ended up on the right edge of the green, with a bunker blocking his path to the back pin position.

“That pin is so hard,” Simpson said. “That is the one place you can’t really be.”

Instead of trying to hit over the bunker, he putted and left himself a 25-footer that burned the right edge.

Louis Oosthuizen finished a stroke back after a 65. The South African birdied Nos. 14, 15 and 17, then hit in the right bunker on 18 and scrambled to save par.

“I will take a lot out of this week, especially on putting,” Oosthuizen said.

Fowler also shot a 65 to match J.J. Spaun (67) at 15 under.

Phil Mickelson tied for 16th at 10 under after a 71. He made a run with four front-nine birdies, then played the back nine in 4 over with a double bogey on 17, four bogeys and two birdies. The 46-year-old former Arizona State star played his 100th round in the event he won in 1996, 2005 and 2013.

“It was a disappointing way to finish it, but it’s very encouraging with the way I have been playing,” Mickelson said. “And the way I got myself into contention there with nine holes to go was fun.”

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. – Byeong Hun An took a one-stroke lead Saturday in the Waste Management Phoenix Open in front of a golf-record crowd of 204,906.

The South Korean player shot a 6-under 65 at TPC Scottsdale to reach 16-under 197. An won the 2009 U.S. Amateur at 17 to become the youngest winner in event history, and took the European Tour’s 2015 BMW PGA Championship for his biggest professional victory.

Scotland’s Martin Laird was second after a 65. Defending champion Hideki Matsuyama (68) was 12 under along with John Peterson (63), Canadian Graham DeLaet (65) of Weyburn, Sask., and Michael Kim (66).

Adam Hadwin (70) of Abbotsford, B.C., is 6 under and tied for 35th.

The event has drawn 596,880 for the first six days, setting records each day. With 70,000 to 90,000 expected Sunday, the tournament will shatter the overall record of 618,365 set last year.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Tiger Woods withdrew from the Dubai Desert Classic on Friday with back spasms after shooting an opening-round 77 a day earlier, marking another frustrating start to his return to golf from a lengthy injury layoff.

Woods’ manager, Mark Steinberg, said Woods had back spasms on Thursday night after dinner.

“Tiger Woods went into a spasm in his lower back fairly late last night … got treatment done early this morning for 3 1-2 hours, but can’t get it out,” Steinberg said. “He says it’s not the nerve, but back spasm, and he can’t get the spasms to calm down. He can move around, but he can’t make a full rotation in his swing.”

Woods made a comeback after multiple back surgeries after a 16-month layoff, and was expected to play four times in five weeks, starting from last week’s Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines, where he missed the cut.

The European Tour, without giving a reason, announced his withdrawal on Friday before Woods began his second round in Dubai.

After his opening round, Woods said: “I wasn’t in pain at all … I was just trying to hit shots and I wasn’t doing a very good job.”

Last week in San Diego, Woods returned to the PGA Tour and lasted only two days.

Woods never got anything going after starting with a birdie in the Farmers Insurance Open and didn’t come close to making the cut. He missed a 12-foot birdie putt on his final hole on the North Course for an even-par 72 and missed the cut at Torrey Pines for the first time in his career.

Woods was coming off the longest layoff of his career as he recovered from two back surgeries. He had last played on the PGA Tour in August 2015 at the Wyndham Championship, where he tied for 10th. He played in the Bahamas the first week of December in an unofficial event with an 18-man field and no cut.

After Dubai, Woods has a week off before playing back-to-back weeks on both ends of the country, Los Angeles (Genesis Open) and Florida (Honda Classic).

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. _ Brendan Steele and Byeong Hun An led the way at golf’s biggest party, Phil Mickelson had a classic Lefty adventure, and Justin Thomas cooled off in the desert.

An ran in a 35-foot birdie putt on the par-4 18th Friday for his second straight 5-under 66 and a share of the Waste Management Phoenix Open lead. Steele had a 67 to match An at 10-under 132 at TPC Scottsdale.

Mickelson bogeyed the final two holes for a 70 that left him six strokes back, while playing partner Thomas had a 73 to miss the cut by a stroke. Thomas was coming off a two-week break after sweeping the Hawaii events _ and shooting 59 at Waialae _ for his second and third victories of the season.

Mickelson tried to pull off a low-percentage shot from the left rough on the par-4 eighth _ his 17th hole. Behind a small tree nearly 200 yards from the green, Lefty attempted to hit a sweeping slice with a driver, but the line drive didn’t cut as much as he wanted and rocketed through the large gallery lining the right side.

“I didn’t really have much,” Mickelson said. “I was trying to get something that would cut it. It was sitting in the rough. The only play was to pitch out, but that’s not really, you know, what I like to do.”

On the par-4 ninth, he took two shots to escape the right greenside bunker.

“It sucks, finishing with two bogeys,” Mickelson said.

The 46-year-old former Arizona State player won the event in 1996, 2005 and 2013. He’s making his third start in his return from two sports hernia surgeries.

“There’s no reason why I couldn’t get it going tomorrow and be in it,” Mickelson said.

An had a far better finish, holing the long putt on 18 for his third birdie in four holes.

“I look forward to playing those holes, 16, 17, 18 _ great finishing holes,” the South Korean player said. “I love people making noise. I really don’t mind, as long as they don’t make sudden noise.”

There were a lot of people to make noise. The crowd was estimated at 169,004, breaking the Friday record of 160,415 set last year and pushing the five-day total to 391,874. Saturday is the biggest day for spectators, with a record 201,003 packing the massive grounds last year. The week mark of 618,365 was set a year ago.

Graham DeLaet (69) of Weyburn, Sask., is tied for 11th at 6-under par, while Adam Hadwin (66) of Abbotsford, B.C., jumped up the leaderboard and into a tie at 21st at 5 under. David Hearn (70) of Brantford, Ont., Nick Taylor (71) of Abbotsford, and Mackenzie Hughes (71) of Dundas, Ont., all missed the cut.

Steele also birdied three of the last four, holing an 18-footer on the short par-4 17th and a 15-footer on 18.

“I played well the last few weeks,” said Steele, the winner of the season-opening Safeway Open. “Obviously, the win a couple months ago, and then I’ve got good results on this course before. Everything feels pretty good.”

Defending champion Hideki Matsuyama was a stroke back at 9 under along with first-round leader Matt Kuchar, Martin Laird and Sung Kang.

Matsuyama bogeyed the 18th for a 68 after his 132-yard shot to the back right pin fell short into a small bunker.

“I thought I could go for the pin and came up a little short,” Matsuyama said through a translator. “Little disappointing, but I played well all day.”

Last year, Matsuyama beat Rickie Fowler in a playoff. The Japanese star won four times worldwide late last year.

Kuchar followed his opening 64 with a 69. He’s coming off a seven-week break.

“It’s one thing to play at home and feel pretty good about your game,” Kuchar said. “It’s another thing to come out on the PGA Tour and compete in a tournament. I come with little expectations.”

Martin Laird (66) and Sung Kang (65) joined Kuchar at 9 under.

“It was a clean card in terms of bogeys, but my golf game wasn’t very clean,” Laird said. “I struggled a little bit with my irons all day, but my putting was probably the best I’ve putted in a long time.”

Fowler (68), Louis Oosthuizen (67), J.J. Spaun (64) and Michael Kim (66) were 7 under. Oosthuizen closed with a double bogey after hitting left into the water on 18.

Jordan Spieth was 4 under after a 68. He was 6 under on the first 13 holes, dropped a stroke on the difficult par-4 14th and made a double bogey on 18 after driving into the water.

“I have been hitting the ball great this whole year and going back into late last year,” Spieth said. “I have just been kind of looking for that groove putting, and it’s almost there.

John Rahm, playing with Fowler and Spieth, shot a 69 to reach 3 under. The former Arizona State player won last week at Torrey Pines for his first PGA Tour victory.

Team Canada’s Young Pro Squad was established four years ago to provide an avenue for top-performing amateurs looking to make the difficult transition into the professional ranks. As a member of the Young Pro Squad, athletes receive assistance in many areas of high performance training including: coaching, strength & conditioning, sport psychology and nutrition.

In addition to providing ongoing coaching assistance, each athlete receives financial support to help with the costs of travelling to and competing in various events across the world. In just four years, the program has seen 26 professional wins, including victories on both the LPGA and PGA Tours by graduates Brooke Henderson and Mackenzie Hughes, respectively.

In January, the 2017 team selections were announced here.

Team Canada Head Coaches Tristan Mullally and Derek Ingram weigh in on the success of the program thus far and what’s ahead for the future: