In the end it was Rickie Fowler who broke a winless drought of 1,610 days on Sunday with a slick birdie on the first playoff hole at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit.
But Canadian Adam Hadwin was right there at the end, with a birdie try of his own after “two perfect shots” and an opportunity to become the fifth Canadian this season alone to find the winner’s circle on the PGA Tour.
Although he would finish tied for second with Collin Morikawa, another week on the PGA Tour went by with a Canadian (two, actually, with Taylor Pendrith in the final group alongside Hadwin and Fowler) with a real chance for a victory.
It’s a celebratory time in men’s Canadian golf at the highest level, with more opportunities to come.
“It was a lot of fun,” Hadwin, 35, said. “I looked at (caddie Joe Cruz) on I think 15 and said, ‘Why don’t we do this more often? This is fun.’”
For Hadwin, it was his best individual result on the PGA Tour since a second-place finish at the 2019 Fortinet Championship. Earlier this season he finished tied for second alongside Nick Taylor at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans — a team event.
Hadwin’s seen four of his countrymen (Mackenzie Hughes at the Sanderson Farms Championship, Adam Svensson at The RSM Classic, Corey Conners at the Valero Texas Open, and Taylor at the RBC Canadian Open) win this season. Had he become the fifth Canadian to win, it would have been the most Tour victories by men from a country not the United States since 2013-14, when six Australians did it.
“I certainly don’t want to be left behind,” Hadwin said. “I feel like those guys — Mac and Corey and Adam and Nick — they’ve played great golf. It’s a great group to be part of.”
Hadwin, who was born in Moose Jaw, Sask., but spent time in Abbotsford, B.C., and Vaughan, Ont. growing up, was as steady as he needed to be in the final round at Detroit Golf Club. Tee times were moved up due to threatening weather, and Hadwin, Pendrith, and Fowler made up the final triumvirate of the day. Pendrith — after finishing tied for second at this event last season — was searching for his first Tour title, while both Fowler and Hadwin (who last won in 2017) were looking to break some long-time droughts. Pendrith would go on to shoot 1-over 73 and finish tied for 14th.
Hadwin made three birdies on his front side but couldn’t add any circles to his scorecard until he rolled in a 13-footer on the par-3 15th. He added a birdie on the par-5 17th but was left scrambling on his closing hole after finding the rough off the tee. He muscled his approach to 25 feet and knocked his birdie try to just three feet before calmly making par and finishing at 24 under for the week, tying Morikawa, who had shot an 8-under 64 and was in the clubhouse.
“I did a lot of really good things today. I’m proud of the way I kept going and had some fun with it, stayed loose and just enjoyed the moment,” Hadwin said. “Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come.”
Fowler, meanwhile, birdied three of his first seven holes before rattling off 10-straight pars, including missing a four-footer for birdie on No. 14. He made his best swing of the day on No. 18, however, knocking his approach to just three feet to make birdie and get himself to 24 under as well.
Fowler’s tee shot on the first playoff hole was well offline, but it was so offline that he found some trampled-down grass. He hit it to 11 feet from the favourable lie and after Hadwin missed his birdie attempt, the door was open for Fowler to find the winner’s circle.
“That putt on the playoff there looked really good, just a little bit hard,” Hadwin said of his extra-frame effort.
Hadwin, who tied the course record at Detroit Golf Club with a 9-under 63 on Saturday, notched his fifth top-10 finish of the season. He’ll get a hearty bump in FedExCup points this week — needed, as now only the top 70 earn spots in the FedExCup Playoffs versus the top 125 — and despite falling just short of his second Tour title, he’ll take plenty of positives away from this week.
“I’m stoked, I’m through the roof right now. I mean, I got myself into a playoff at the end of the day, that’s what you want,” Hadwin said. “You know, I can take nothing but positives away from this week.”
Another week of positive moments for a Canadian on the PGA Tour, in a season chalk full of them.
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