Hadwin takes second place at PGA West
Hudson Swafford won the fittingly named Career-Builder Challenge on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title, following three straight birdies with a closing par for a one-stroke victory.
Swafford shot a 5-under 67 on the Stadium Course at PGA West to finish the three-course pro-am event with a 20-under 268. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford came back with a 70 after his third-round 59 to finish second.
Brian Harman and Bud Cauley each shot 69 to tie for third at 18 under.
But people were still buzzing about what Hadwin accomplished Saturday in the third round. He shot a 13-under 59 for the ninth sub-60 round in PGA Tour history and the second in 10 days.
Justin Thomas had an 11-under 59 last week in Hawaii in the first round of his Sony Open victory. Hadwin matched David Duval’s tournament record, a 13-under 59 on the Arnold Palmer Private Course in 1999.
On Sunday, Swafford tied Cauley for the lead with a 12-foot birdie putt on the par-4 15th, then pulled away on the 16th and 17th — a day after he dropped three strokes on the holes.
On the par-5 16th, he hit a threewood to 12 feet — staying out of the 18-foot deep bunker that he hit into Saturday en route to a double bogey — and two-putted to take the outright lead. He hit to a foot and a half on the par-3 17th, with the rocky island green called Alcatraz, but playing partner Hadwin made a 15-footer to stay within a stroke.
Swafford found the fairway on the par-4 18th with water along the left side, then avoided the water again with an approach to the right of the green. He lagged his 20-footer to two inches for the victory.
On Saturday, Hadwin took the lead at 17-under 199 after starting the day in danger of missing the cut at 4 under.
“I think everybody talks about kind of they were in a zone, and I think that’s kind of what happened,” the 29-year-old said Saturday. “I was thinking about it. I knew exactly where I was. I knew exactly what I needed to do. It just didn’t seem to matter.”
Hadwin is the first Canadian — he was born in Moose Jaw, Sask., and grew up in Abbotsford — to break 60 on the tour. He’s also the first player to accomplish the feat on a par-72 course since Duval, and the only non-winner to do it.