Dean & Deluca Invitational power rankings
3. Adam Hadwin
Official World Ranking: 48, FedEx Cup: 6
Colonial History: T-22, 2016; T-5, 2015
With his remarkably strong play so far this year, Adam Hadwin has earned his place as a high-level TOUR pro. The third-year PGA TOUR veteran has yet to make a major blunder, and I like riding the hot hand into this week at Colonial.
Although two tournaments is a painfully small sample size, we look at Hadwin’s history at Colonial to carry over this year. In his 2015 tournament debut, Hadwin shot all four rounds under par, going 69-66 on the weekend to finish in a tie for fifth. Oh, and he did that after missing his previous four cuts in a row. 2016 wasn’t quite as good to the up-and-coming star, but he was still able to put together a respectable performance, tying for 22nd place.
While Hadwin won’t wow galleries with his distance off the tee, he makes his money with his wedges and putter, and Colonial rewards that type of old-school ball striking. Hadwin ranks seventh on Tour in approach proximity from 50-125 yards, and on the off chance he misses a green, he’s also fourth in scrambling. Once he’s on, Hadwin is tenth in one-putt percentage.
Sooner or later, Hadwin’s bandwagon is going to be full. I suggest you hop on this week, if you haven’t already.