Canada’s Adam Hadwin: How He Joined Golf’s Elite Club

By Yash Padhye | Jan 23, 2017

Jun 24, 2016; Bethesda, MD, USA; Adam Hadwin of Canada hits his tee shot on the fourteenth hole during the second round of the Quicken Loans National golf tournament. at Congressional Country Club - Blue Course. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

Having joined the 59 club this week at the CareerBuilder Challenge, Adam Hadwin raised the ceiling of what can be expected of him in the coming months and years.

Adam Hadwin shot a 59 on Saturday at the Career Builder Challenge in the desert heat of La Quinta, California. He started his third round at 4-under par, just one stroke above the cut line and tied for 49th place. He ended the day as the leader at 17-under par.

Hadwin had 13 birdies in his round and hit 12 fairways and 15 greens in regulation. He started off his round slow with a par, but then proceeded to birdie his next six holes. He continued to birdie holes number 11 and 12 to get to 12-under par. He hit his second shot on no. 17 within six feet of the hole and then sunk the putt for his 13th birdie of the day.

Hadwin needed only 21 putts during his bogey-free round on Saturday. He is only the eighth golfer in PGA TOUR history to shoot a 59.

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He told John Nicholson of the Associated Press, “I think what gives sort of me the most confidence is that I knew exactly what I needed to do and through that whole process,” Hadwin said. He went on to tell the media source that the only thing on his mind was a 58.

He ended up matching David Duval’s Career Builder Challenge record that Duval set 18 years ago. Hadwin’s 59 was the second one in 11 days as Justin Thomas shot a 59 during the first round of the Sony Open in Hawaii last week.

Hadwin started the season at the Safeway Open, a tournament where he did not make it to the weekend. He proceeded to play in the CIMB Classic and tied for 21st after shooting a total 277. A couple weeks after that he played in the Shriners Hospital for Children Open where he tied for 27th after a score of 273.

He’s had one top-10 finish and one top-20 finish this season. He finished tied for 10th with a score of 270 at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba earlier in November. His one top-20 finish came when he finished tied for 11th after a score of 278 at the ISPS Handa World Cup of Golf in Melbourne, Australia.

Hadwin believed that the chances of a repeat 13-birdie performance on Sunday was slim. He told Yahoo Sports’ Ryan Ballengee, “I’m not going to make 13 birdies again. I mean, I could, I guess. But chances are pretty low, pretty slim,” Hadwin said.

Hadwin finished the CareerBuilder tournament on Sunday in second place behind Hudson Swafford at 19-under par. He thanked all of his supporters on Twitter after his final round.

What an incredible week! Must be all the canadians in the desert that brings out my best! Thanks for all of the support!!
— adam hadwin (@ahadwingolf) January 23, 2017

He is scheduled to play in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego, California next week. Hadwin struggled last season at the Farmers Insurance Open and tied for 63rd after shooting a nine-over par 297.

He finished the weekend last year at Torrey Pines over par shooting a pair of 78s. His putting last year at Torrey Pines was inconsistent. If he’s able to get his iron shots and putting at Torrey Pines good to go, he could be a contender next week on Sunday as well.

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Hadwin looks in top form this season and it seems like he has grown from his first tournament of this season where he didn’t get to play the weekend. He is playing at an elite level. If he keeps going on the road he’s going down, we may see more Sunday golf from Adam Hadwin in the future.