Hadwin one of 15 Canadians culled at Canadian Open
DeLaet, Hughes four back of leader Flores at RBC Canadian Open, writes Dave Hilson.
OAKVILLE, ONT. He is literally one of the faces of the RBC Canadian Open.
It’s up there on a billboard at the entrance to Glen Abbey off of Doral Drive.
And while his face will still be there Saturday if you happen to drive past, Adam Hadwin won’t be found battling on the 7,253yard Jack Nicklaus-designed course.
Hadwin, the top-ranked Canadian at the 108th running of this tournament and the man who shot 59 earlier this season to become only the ninth player in PGA Tour history to do so, failed to make the cut on Friday after firing a respectable 3-under-par 69 for a two-day total of even-par 144.
“It is disappointing not to play well,” Hadwin said after his round.
“I fought hard today.” Luckily for those hoping a Canadian will finally win this tournament for the first time since Pat Fletcher did so in 1954, there is still reason for optimism.
Graham DeLaet and Mackenzie Hughes are right there in the thick of things.
DeLaet, a native of Weyburn, Sask., fired his second consecutive 4-under-par 68 to get to 8-under and make it through to the weekend. It was the same for Hughes of Hamilton, who posted a 3-under 69 Friday to also sit at 8-under, good for a tie for 14th.
“Just keep doing what I’m doing,” DeLaet replied when asked about his plan for the weekend. “Obviously, it’s easy to say, but my game feels good. It’s just solid all around. I’m driving it nicely and if you can hit it in the fairways here, it’s soft enough that you can attack almost every single hole.”
DeLaet’s card included five birdies and a bogey, while Hughes’ card was a little more uneven with seven birdies and four bogeys.
The pair weren’t the only ones to go low on this day, though.
With all the recent rain, Glen Abbey was ripe for the picking and the cut line was set at 4-under, compared to last year when it was 3-over par.
American Mark Flores emerged as the leader at 12-under after shooting a 6-under 66 that included four birdies and an eagle. Fellow American Gary Woodland posted a sizzling 63, the low round of the day and one stroke off the course record, to sit in a second-place tie with compatriots Matt Every and Brandon Hagy at 11-under.
“This has been a long time coming,” said Woodland, whose card included 10 birdies and a bogey. “I’ve been playing well for a while. I just haven’t put things together and today I finally put all aspects together, and if I continue to do that, things should be pretty good.”
A group of five other players, including former champion Vijay Singh, was at 10-under, while four golfers were grouped at 9-under.
“Just to make the cut here is pretty good for me,” joked DeLaet, ranked No. 110 in the world, who hasn’t always had the best results at this tournament despite having been one of Canada’s top golfers for several years.
Hughes, who won on the PGA Tour back in November at the RSM Classic, said he felt like he left a few strokes out there again on Friday.
“I was on, but I was also off at times,” said Hughes, who had a huge throng following him and playing partners Ernie Els and Tom Hoge as they made their way through the valley holes as the sun began to set and the shadows got long.
The Canadian herd got culled considerably. Fifteen homegrown players, including veteran David Hearn, PGA Tour winner Nick Taylor, and last year’s amateur sensation Jared du Toit, didn’t make the cut.
Hearn and Taylor both will be kicking themselves after failing to pick up birdies on No. 9, their finishing hole, which would have got them to 4-under.
Taylor pushed a short iron from the left rough just right of the putting surface and had to settle for par, while Hearn missed a three-footer for birdie.
“I was really rooting for him to make that putt on the last hole. I hope it didn’t cost him,” DeLaet said before knowing what the final cutline was.
It was Hadwin’s opening round that cost him.
Hadwin, a two-time winner of the Rivermead Trophy as low Canadian at this tournament, shot an opening-round 75 to make it an uphill battle.
“Obviously, I just shot myself in the foot yesterday,” said Hadwin, who was paired with fellow Abbotsford, B.C. golfer Taylor. “But I’m happy with the progress and hopefully it will continue into the WGC tournament next week.”
Hadwin had been motoring along nicely, but a bogey on the par-4 third, his back nine, hurt his cause. A three-putt bogey on the par-4 fifth — where he blew his first putt past the hole after a remarkable shot out of the right rough where he had to contend with a sprinkler head — really sealed his fate.
“My (putting) speed wasn’t great all day, to be honest with you,” Hadwin said. “Almost every putt, it either went in or went three feet by. … That one just kind of got away from me a little bit. It basically sealed my fate because I kind of needed to get on a run.”
Now it’s up to DeLaet and Hughes to carry the Canadian torch.