Canadian Hadwin roars into midway lead with birdie blitz

PALM HARBOR, FLA.— Adam Hadwin knows all about going low on the PGA Tour.

Still to be determined is whether that translates into a victory.

The Canadian, who shot a 59 at the CareerBuilder Challenge two months ago, ran off five straight birdies to start the back nine Friday at the Valspar Championship and posted a 7-under 64 to take a one-shot lead into the weekend.

Even playing in the afternoon in a strong breeze with crustier putting surfaces, Hadwin one-putted every hole on the back nine until he had no choice but to lag a 20-foot birdie attempt on the 18th hole, to make sure it didn’t race all the way off the green and into the fairway.

He shot 29 on the back and reached the halfway point at Innisbrook at 132, one up on Jim Herman.

“You can’t go out and shoot 7 under on the Copperhead Course without doing everything right,” said the na- tive of Abbotsford, B.C. “I put myself in position off the tee box, hit a ton of fairways, then just really hit the irons solidly today . . . and here I am going into the weekend.” And he still has a long way to go. Herman, coming off a 62 in the opening round, began with11straight pars before trading birdies and bogeys and settling for a 71. Tyrone Van Aswegen had a 65 and was two shots behind, followed by a group at 7-under 135 that included British Open champion Henrik Stenson (71) — the highest-ranked player left at No. 6 in the world.

Hadwin could make his way into the Match Play Championship in two weeks with a runner-up finish, though now it’s all about winning: “I’m excited for this weekend, what it will bring.”

Also at stake is a spot in the Masters for the winner. Only three players in the top 12 going into the weekend — Stenson, Hudson Swafford and James Hahn — have already punched their tickets for Augusta.