Swing shift bad news for Canadian Hadwin
Newlywed rookie sensation runs into major trouble at unforgiving Augusta
AUGUSTA, GA.— It’s been a heady few months for Adam Hadwin. In January he became just the eighth PGA Tour player to shoot a round of 59 or better. In March he scored his first PGA Tour victory.
A few weeks ago, the 29-year-old from Abbotsford, B.C., made his debut in the top 50 of the world golf rankings. And last week he got married and closed the deal on a house in the Arizona desert.
Having piled up all those milestones in short order, it’s been dispiriting for Hadwin to acknowledge the state of his swing at his first Masters. On Saturday, after Canada’s only remaining player in the field shot a third-round 75 to sit at eight over par after 54 holes, he described himself as “searching” for his swing. Unfor- tunately the unforgiving grounds of Augusta National aren’t an ideal place to find such a thing.
Not that he didn’t hit plenty of excellent shots in a round that included three birdies. The problem was Hadwin also hiccuped through plenty of unintended ones. He hit at least a couple of hooks (which curve right to left) when he was aiming to hit cuts (which curve left to right). Instead of playing the golf course, he said he found himself playing “golf swing” — too caught up in his technical problems to truly do his best.
“I’m just disappointed that this is the game I brought to the Masters,” said Hadwin. “I’m really fighting things right now, trying to battle through it. This is probably the first time I’ve been in this position in (a long time). I’ve been playing such good golf. I’ve known exactly for the most part where the ball is going. But I’ve got a pretty nasty miss right now.”
To wit, Hadwin hit just eight of 14 fairways and nine of 18 greens in reg- ulation — numbers that put him toward the bottom of the 53 men remaining in the field. And maybe the struggle was contagious. On Saturday his playing partner, Daniel Summerhays, found himself in similar straits.
“(Friday) I felt like I couldn’t miss a fairway. Today I felt like I couldn’t hit one,” said Summerhays. “There’s a quote I love — no one will ever have golf under his thumb. It’s fleeting.”
It certainly wasn’t exactly the Masters debut Hadwin had been hoping for.
“I’ve been playing such good golf all year that I really felt I could come in here and play well,” Hadwin said. “I mean, I know I’m a rookie. I understand we’re not supposed to play well, or it’s difficult to play well. But I feel like the way that I putt suits these greens . . . I feel like I see the breaks really well. I feel like I can kind of imagine, kind of play off the slopes, (with) a little bit of imagination on the greens.
“I feel like I can play the golf course if I’m playing well. It’s extremely difficult to go out and play golf swing around this golf course.”
What’s the prescription for the thing that’s ailing him? Hadwin said he and his caddie took some video of his swing on the driving range before Saturday’s round. Perhaps closer examination of that evidence will reveal the root of the problem.
“But I have a feeling I’m going to look at it and say that there’s really nothing wrong with it,” he said. “I would imagine it could be something as simple as my left shoulder’s too far open or too far shut, something small like that. But I would imagine it may even be some rhythm, or some tempo, or that sort of thing.”
In any event, Hadwin had another 18 holes to play — his first Sunday at a Masters — and even if he’s currently unsure of where every shot is going, he’ll surely be out on the course chasing every last one around.
“We’ll see what happens,” Hadwin said. “Maybe I’ll try something (different) on the range (Saturday) afternoon. If not, hopefully (Sunday) morning. If not, we’ll guess again (Sunday).”