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PGA Tour Bubble Boys: Chesson Hadley needs a rally

By Tim Letcher

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 23: Chesson Hadley plays his shot from the second tee during the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open on Torrey Pines South on January 23, 2020 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 23: Chesson Hadley plays his shot from the second tee during the first round of the Farmers Insurance Open on Torrey Pines South on January 23, 2020 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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Chesson Hadley appeared to be headed for stardom on the PGA Tour

As we continue to look at the 2020 PGA Tour bubble boys, the players who currently sit on the FedEx Cup playoffs bubble, we come to Chesson Hadley. And once again, we run into a player who came to the tour with great promise, only to run into difficult times once reality hit.

Hadley had a successful career at Georgia Tech, where he was named All-American on multiple occasions. Upon graduation from Tech in 2010, Hadley turned pro and began his climb up the professional ranks.

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The climb eventually led Hadley to the Korn Ferry Tour in 2013. There, Hadley had a huge season, finishing third in the tour standings and earning his PGA Tour card for the following season.

That’s where Hadley appeared to be on the path to stardom. His rookie season was outstanding and it included four top 10 finishes, including his first career win, which came at the Puerto Rico Open. Hadley advanced in the playoffs to the Deutsche Bank Championship and finished 49th in the final FedEx Cup standings. He was named PGA Tour Rookie of the Year that season.

His sophomore season was a bit of a letdown after his very strong rookie campaign. Still, Hadley had three top 10s and made the playoffs again, finishing in 98th place.

The slide continued in 2016, when Hadley had just four top 25 finishes in 27 starts. He finished 159th in the FedEx Cup standings and was forced to go back to the KFT.

In 2017, Hadley played on the KFT again and once again, he did big things. He won twice and had two runner-up finishes on his way to the top of the KFT money list. He easily earned his way back to the big tour.

Hadley made the most of his second chance

He notched his best year on tour thus far, with a second at the Sanderson Farms Championship and a T3 at the Safeway Open. He added five more top 10s and ultimately finished a career-best 44th in the FedEx Cup standings.

Last season, Hadley slipped back a bit, despite some strong showings. He had a T2 at the CIMB Classic and a T9 at the U.S. Open. However, he had only one other top 10 finish. He would be 80th in the FedEx Cup standings at season’s end.

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This year, Hadley has made the cut in seven of 12 starts, but has not yet registered a top 10. His best finish was a T18, which he did at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Hadley currently sits at 129th in the FedEx Cup standings, just outside the cut line. He needs to have some big things happen this summer to just make it into the playoffs. For a player who started with such promise, it has been a disappointing few seasons for Hadley.

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