They’re the Great White’s hopes

It’s been decades since a domestic player won national tourney, Dave Hilson writes.

OAKVILLE, ONT. It’s a year that is indelibly etched in the minds of many Canadian golf fans: 1954.

That year was the last time a Canadian golfer won our national championship, and if you really want to get picky about it, Pat Fletcher, the winner at Point Grey in Vancouver in ’54, was born in England. To find a Canadian-born champion, you have to go all the way back to 1914 and Carl Keffer, who also won it in 1909, both victories coming at the Toronto Golf Club.

To state the obvious: that’s a really long time.

There is hope. Over the past several years, there has been a growing sense that fans might not have to wait much longer for a homegrown champion at the RBC Canadian Open.

Canadians have been knocking on the door for a couple of years now, what with former amateur Jared du Toit creating a huge buzz in 2016 by making his way into the final group Sunday only to fall short and finish ninth. And then there was 2015, when veteran David Hearn went into the final round as the leader but finished third behind eventual winner Jason Day and runner-up Bubba Watson.

One man who finally could break down the door is Adam Hadwin, one of three relatively recent PGA Tour winners from Canada in the field.

“I’d love to be the first guy to kind of get that monkey off all of our backs, kind of end that question for us. It would be incredible,” Hadwin said as he made his way toward the practice area before his pro-am round on a dull and drizzly day at Glen Abbey, the Jack Nicklaus-designed course that, beginning Thursday, hosts the national championship for the 29th time.

“It’s always nice coming home, playing in front of the home fans. We get incredible support throughout the year at every event, and this week is kind of indescribable a little bit.”

The native of Moose Jaw, Sask., who grew up in Abbotsford, B.C., has been having one heck of a season. It’s hard to forget the third-round 59 he shot at the CareerBuilder Challenge in January to become the ninth player in PGA Tour history to shoot a sub-60 round. He finished that

tournament in second, but it wasn’t long before he went on to capture his maiden victory at the Valspar Championship in March.

Along with those two memorable events, the 29-year-old has four top-10 finishes, just four missed cuts in 21 starts, and US$2.8 million in earnings.

Hadwin, the world No. 54, participated in his first British Open last week. He missed the cut, but says the experience was unforgettable.

“I really enjoyed it over there. I thought it was a lot of fun, a little different from golf over here, obviously,” said Hadwin, who sits 13th in the FedExCup standings.

His result at the British Open was “kind of a continuation of the last five, six, seven weeks,” said Hadwin, who has missed cuts in three of his past five events.

“I’m hitting a lot of good shots, I feel like I’m playing really well — I’m just not getting it into the hole like I think I should be. I probably just get a little bit more discouraged and down on myself a little bit quicker than I should.”

Other notable Canadians among the 13 participating in this year’s event are Mackenzie Hughes of Hamilton, who won the RSM Classic in November and is No. 26 in the FedExCup rankings, Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., who has been among the best Canadian golfers over the past several seasons, and Hearn, of Brantford, Ont., who has a game that seems to be on the upswing of late.

Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor, du Toit of Calgary and former Masters champion Mike Weir will be at the tournament.

“This the strongest I think we’ve ever been,” DeLaet said of the Canadian contingent. “To win any golf tournament would be great, but obviously this one is special. It’s our national championship, it means a lot to me.

“We’ve seen guys come close, so I think we’re starting to see that it’s actually attainable and hopefully it happens this year.”