Hadwin downplays Augusta mystique
AUGUSTA, GA.— As he navigated the up-slopes and downsides of his first Masters, at one point Adam Hadwin called the experience “a bit of a circus.”
It can certainly seem like one. Augusta National Golf Club, for all its pedigree as one of the sport’s great tests of skill, also has elements of a Disney theme park. In some ways it’s one big, elaborate TV set.
But for a pro attempting to reach the height of his craft, Hadwin tried not to see it in those ways.
“It is just another event at the end of the day. The only reason I would say that it isn’t is because of … everybody on Golf Channel and everybody on CBS telling us that it isn’t just another event,” Hadwin was saying on Sunday. “But to be perfectly honest, it is. Once you get inside the ropes, it’s just golf. You’ve got to hit the shots where you need to hit ’em.”
On Sunday, Hadwin, the 29-yearold from Abbotsford, B.C., was hitting ’em where he needed more frequently than he had all week. His final-round score of 70 amounted to his best round of the tournament, and left him at six over par all told. And if that wasn’t exactly much of a consolation for a man who’d hoped for better, it at least allowed Hadwin to prove he could reel off a departing hot streak. Sunday’s card included seven birdies, four of which came consecutively on holes seven through 10.
After Hadwin opened the tournament with rounds of 75-74-75, Sunday looked more like the player whose 2017 has already seen him win his first PGA Tour event and become just the eighth PGA player to shoot 59 or better.
“Seven birdies is exciting, especially around this golf course,” Hadwin said. “Take away a few of the mistakes (he also had five bogeys ) and I’ve got a really good round.”
A day after Hadwin seemed despondent after a third-round 75 in which he pronounced himself “searching” for his swing, he said a quick trip to the driving range Saturday afternoon provided a fix the problem. (It turned out he’d been lining up too far left.) Consider the tweak just another small lesson in the continuing education of a Masters rookie who hopes to become a Masters regular.
“It’s all about figuring out where you can go and where you can’t go. Unfortunately I still found a few places where you couldn’t go,” Hadwin said. “So I’ll mark that in the book for future years. You’re just constantly learning every day.”
Certainly his first experience at Augusta National had its eye-opening moments. He played three of his four rounds with U.S. Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, who finished second here in 2012. (“I’m watching what Louis does, how he plays the golf course.”) Hadwin also played a nine-hole practice round alongside Sergio Garcia and Rory McIlroy, which had him pulling for Garcia on Sunday.
And the lone Canadian to make the cut — this after Mackenzie Hughes and Mike Weir went home for the weekend — got another glimpse at what it takes to become the kind of superior player who finds himself perennially included in golf’s four majors. Hadwin — who has also played in two U.S. Opens, missing the cut in 2013 and tying for 39th in 2011 — has never competed in either the British Open or the PGA Championship.
He’d like to change that this summer. But to make it happen he’ll have to continue his rise through the world rankings, where he sat at No. 46 to begin the week.
“I just have to keep getting better,” Hadwin said. “I’ve played really good golf until now. I’ve kept getting better. I feel like week in, week out, I keep putting myself in position to win. I keep learning. I keep learning what kind of habits I fall into in that position, all those sorts of things, and how I handle the situation.
“I’m looking forward to other opportunities to get back (to the Masters) and hopefully take the game that I had today into all four days, and see what happens.”