HADWIN LEADS CANADIAN CONTINGENT.
It’s a year that is indelibly etched in the minds of many Canadian golf fans: 1954.
Etched t here because that’s the last time a Canadian golfer won our national championship.
And if you really want to get picky about it, Pat Fletcher, the winner that year at Point Grey in Vancouver, was born in England. So, to find a Canadian-born champion you actually 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 long time, a really long time.
But there is hope. Over the past several years there has been a growing sense that Canadians might not have to wait much longer to get their homegrown champion.
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 fin- ish ninth. And then there was 2015 and veteran David Hearn who went into the final round as the leader but finished third behind eventual winner Jason Day and runner-up Bubba Watson.
Both close calls, but no cigars.
But 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,” the personable Hadwin said as he made his way toward the practice area prior to his pro-am round on a dull and drizzly day at Glen Abbey, the Jack Nicklaus-designed course that beginning Thursday, plays host to 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 Moose Jaw, Sask., native who grew up in Abbotsford, B. C., has been having one heck of a sea- son so far. It’s hard to forget the third- round 59 he shot at the Career-Builder Challenge in January to become just the ninth player in PGA Tour history to shoot a sub60 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 t hose two memorable events, the 29 - year- old Hadwin has four top-10 finishes, just four missed-cuts in 21 starts, and US$2.8 million in earnings.
Plus Hadwin, who caught a charter flight over from England on Sunday night, just participated in his first British Open, won by Jordan Spieth in spectacular fashion.
The world No. 54 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 currently sits 13th in the FedExCup Standings. “I think I did a good job of adapting and learning a few shots. I didn’t execute when I needed to, but it was a ton of fun and a great experience.”
His result at the British Open was “kind of a continuation of the last five, six, seven weeks,” says 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. So I think more than anything, it’s probably just a little attitude thing. But we’re still in the middle of a big push right now, we’ve still got a lot of big tournaments to play, and I kind of have to turn it around.”
It would be nice if he could do it here.
Other notable Canadians among the 13 participating in this year’s event are Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., 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, Hearn of Brantford, Ont ., whose games seems to be on the upswing of late, Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor, who last won in 2015, and du Toit of Calgary, who is now plying his trade on the Mackenzie Tour- PGA Tour Canada.
As well, former Masters champion Mike Weir will be making his 26th appearance at the tournament.