Rocket Mortgage Classic: Adam Hadwin celebrates Canada Day with historic round
Hadwin took advantage of the soft conditions at Detroit Golf Club, and fired one of the best rounds of the week on Canada Day.
Oh, Canada. Adam Hadwin is on fire.
The Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan native celebrated Canada Day in style, firing a 9-under 63 to vault near the top of the leaderboard at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He is one shot behind Rickie Fowler and will be paired with him Sunday.
His 63 tied the course record.
Detroit Golf Club, the host of this week’s tournament on the PGA Tour, has received plenty of rain this week—including a storm that knocked down some trees earlier in the week.
More storms rolled through the Detroit area Saturday afternoon, causing a 1 hour and 43-minute delay as the course received even more precipitation.
The players took advantage, with nobody having a better round than Hadwin.
Hadwin started the day at 10-under par and birdied two of the first three holes to get his round started.
He then birdied the 7th, 10th, and 12th. He then arrived at the 554-yard par-5 14th at 5-under for his round.
Hadwin blistered a 325-yard drive down the left-center of the 14th fairway. He then hit a terrific long iron to 17 feet, where he rolled an eagle putt to take the lead.
The Canadian then knocked his tee shot in close on the next hole, the 161-yard par 3 15th. He made the 12-footer for birdie to get to 18-under for the championship.
Hadwin added another birdie at 17 to get to 19-under overall.
He relied heavily on his putter Saturday, rolling in plenty of putts from a distance. He ended his round ranking second in strokes gained putting and second in strokes gained overall.
Hadwin last won a PGA Tour event in 2017, winning the Valspar Championship in Florida. He has a great chance to win again at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, which would mark the fifth time a Canadian won on tour this season.
It is worth noting there are nine players within three shots of the lead, including Rickie Fowler and Collin Morikawa. It shaped up to be a fantastic finish Sunday in Detroit.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.