Hadwin off to a fast start as a PGA Tour regular
Adam Hadwin is not showing any rookie jitters in his first event as a PGA Tour regular.
The Abbotsford native carded a 3- under 69 Friday and is inside the top 15 at the Frys. com Open in Napa, Calif., the first event of the 2014- 15 PGA Tour season.
Hadwin’s 36- hole total of 5 under par is five shots behind leader Martin Laird of Scotland.
Fellow rookie Nick Taylor, also of Abbotsford, failed to survive the 36- hole cut after firing rounds of 74 and 72 to finish at 2 over par and three shots shy of the cut line.
Hadwin, Taylor and Merritt’s Roger Sloan earned their PGA Tour cards via the recently completed Web. com Tour season. Sloan failed to draw into this week’s event.
Taylor and Hadwin are two of six Canadians in the field this week. The Frys. com Open is the first of five fall events on the new PGA Tour season. HERE WE GO AGAIN: Surrey’s Adam Svensson has picked up where he left off at Barry University in Miami. Svensson, who won seven collegiate tournaments last year and was the NCAA Division II player of the year, won his first event of this junior season this week.
An 8- under 64 in the second round of the 54- hole Guy Harvey Invitational in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., helped propel Svensson to a three- shot win.
DUTCH TREAT: Victoria native Rick Gibson continues to light up the European Senior Tour. Gibson shot a 2- under 71 Friday and was tied for sixth heading into Saturday’s second round of the Dutch Senior Open in Amsterdam. Surrey’s Phil Jonas opened the tournament with a 1- over 74 and was tied for 22nd after the first round.
With just two events remaining on the 2014 schedule, Gibson stands third on the money list. He plans to compete at the Champions Tour qualifying school next month.
WONG WINS: North Vancouver’s Eugene Wong won the season- ending Vancouver Golf Tour Championship at Swaneset Bay in Pitt Meadows. Wong carded rounds of 69 and 65 for a two- round total of 10 under par and defeated Hazelmere’s Ryan Williams and Capilano pros Seann Harlingten and Kevin Spooner by two shots.
The win was worth $ 1,800 for Wong, who is preparing for the second stage of Web. com Tour qualifying school.
CHIP SHOTS: Surrey’s Devin Carrey and Justin Shin of Maple Ridge both survived the first stage of Web. com Tour Q school on Friday. … Olympic View’s Gordy Scutt has been named player of year by the PGA of B. C.