Adam

Hadwin

The Canadian split just 8-of-14 fairways but managed 16 GIR, gaining nearly three strokes on approach in the final round. For the week, he ranked 10th in that approach category but the putter was the key weapon. He gained 9.8 strokes putting on the week, second best in the field. Hadwin didn’t walk away with a win but still enjoyed the week, “I’m stoked, I’m through the roof right now. I mean, I got myself into a playoff at the end of the day, that’s what you want. You want a chance, you want a chance to win a golf tournament and I guess I kind of had a chance coming up 18, an outside chance.”

The Canadian didn’t impress with his ball-striking today (6 fairways, 10 GIR) but he made the most of his scoring chances. It was his wedges that were particularly dialed in. There were three wedges from inside of 130 yards that he stuffed inside of four feet. “For hitting six fairways and 10 greens I think 3-under par is really good. I didn’t drive it as well as I needed to today. Having 26 putts helps. Made a bunch there and kind of saved myself.” Hadwin arrived with just two top 50s in eight tries at this event but both of those doubled as top 20s which is where his current pace would have him landing.

The Canadians posted sub-68s in each of the first three rounds but saved their best for last. Despite it being alternate-shot format, they racked up 10 birdies on Sunday to erase a lone blemish. Speaking on the round, Hadwin said the following, “I would say that we kind of picked who would go odds and evens about perfectly today. I drove it pretty well. I drove it in play. His irons were great today, gave me a lot of looks, and I had a great feel for the greens. I rolled in a lot of putts there, especially on that middle stretch when we went on a run.” They matched the foursomes scoring record for the event, set earlier this week by Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay.

The local resident traded six birdies with one bogey today while battling tougher-than-usual conditions at TPC Scottsdale. “Living here and playing this course as much as I have, I’ve seen a lot of it, but yeah, it definitely -- you had to be a lot more patient than you normally do around this place. You couldn’t really chase birdies like we typically do out here.” Hadwin walked off the course ranked 1st in strokes gained putting (+3.1). If this lead holds then it would be third time posting a lead or co-lead after round one of a PGA TOUR event (T7/2022 Valspar; T7/2022 U.S. Open).

The Canadian put on a clinic with his irons this week. He gained 4-plus strokes on approach in rounds two and three, ultimately ending with +7.6 strokes gained approach, second best in the field. He pelted 54 greens in regulation (T3) but lost more than a stroke putting on the week. It was a good ending to his fall schedule, vaulting him from 60th to 38th in the early FedExCup standings.

This is the 34-year-old’s third appearance with top 10s in both of the prior two, including a T6 last year as a 36-hole co-leader (67-65-73-68), and a solo 4th at the inaugural in 2019, where he was in the top 5 after every round (64-66-69-67). On 11 (of 14) fairways and 16 greens in regulation, he began his scoring with double bogey-6 at hole 2 (watered second) before playing his final 16 in error-free 5-under, circling 6, 7, 14, 16 and 18, three from between eight and 13 feet. The Canadian, who gained 3.872 strokes tee-to-green and 0.910 on-the-green, arrived off a missed cut by three at the John Deere three weeks ago (75-67), and a major-best T7 at the 122nd U.S. Open two weeks prior to that as an alternate -- his first top 10 in 20 overall majors -- where he was the 18-hole leader by one (66-72-70-71).

A total of 69 pros from a field of 155 pros and one amateur made the 36-hole cut of 3-under 139, 16 (T54) on the number. Hadwin, a pre-tourney 18/1 outright, checked in off a major-best T7 at the U.S. Open two weeks ago (as an alternate), and had been 2-for-2 at the Deere with a pair of top 20s, including a T8 on last visit in 2016. After beginning behind the 8-ball with a 4-over 75 (3 birdies, 5 bogeys, 1 double), the Canadian made a run at the cut line with a first-half 33 (4 birdies, 1 bogey), but after a fifth birdie, and third straight around-the-turn at 1, ended with eight consecutive pars, part of that interrupted by a weather delay of 1 hour, 16 minutes. For the short week, he cancelled eight birdies with six bogeys and a double, and ranked 112th SG: Approach (-1.244) and 113th SG: Putting (-1.663). Other notable early exits include: 140- John Huh; Lucas Glover; Nate Lashley; Nick Taylor .. 141- Webb Simpson .. 142- Cameron Champ; Chez Reavie .. 143- Lanto Griffin; Doug Ghim.

The morning forecast called for “little, to no, precipitation development expected” but Mother Nature changed her plans. There is no current timetable for play to resume but this is not expected to be a large storm. Adam Hadwin was probably one of the golfers out on the course that was sad to hear the horn sound. He swallowed an opening 75 but roared out of the gate this morning to reach 4-under thru 13 holes today. He was standing over a 13'6" birdie attempt when play was halted. He will likely need two or three more if he wants to play his way to the weekend.

The World No. 105, who falls to 0-for-2 as an 18-hole leader/co-leader (both this season), was making his seventh U.S. Open appearance and 20th start in majors overall, and finally bags a top 10, supplanting a prior-best T24 at the 2018 Masters 13 majors starts ago. For the week, he handed in laps of 66-72-70-71, tallied 14 birdies against 13 bogeys, three versus four in R4, and ranked 32nd SG: Off-the-Tee (0.83), 29th SG: Approach (2.15), 5th SG: Around (3.19), and 11th SG: Putting (5.21), highlighted by a +4.18 SGP on Sunday with 27 total putts. The Canadian, who improves to 16-for-21 on the season with five top 10s, did not conduct any post-round press (that we’ve seen), and is not in the published field at this coming week’s Travelers.

The World No. 105 was the first-round leader with 66, fell to T13, three adrift after a Day 2 70, and jumps back into contention with a hard-fought 70 today, lifted by a pitch-in birdie-4 at 14 and a conventional birdie-3 at 17 from 12'5". He’ll be in the third-to-last pairing in R4 with World No. 1 and reigning Masters champion Scottie Scheffler, eyeing a second TOUR victory in 212 events, first since the 2017 Valspar 134 starts ago as the 54-hole leader by four. The Canadian, whose best in 19 prior majors is a T24 at the 2018 Masters, has totaled 11 birdies versus nine bogeys, three against three on Saturday, and ranks 25th SG: Off-the-Tee (1.21), 14th SG: Approach (4.17), 2nd SG: Around (3.90), and 39th SG: Putting (1.03). See link below to post-round comments.