Adam Hadwin made history already in 2017, joining the elite company of players who have broken 60 on the PGA Tour. His third-round 59 in the CareerBuilder Challenge was a huge catalyst to a second-place finish behind Hudson Swafford in the California desert. The Canadian didn’t pierce 60 this week near Tampa, but he’s played the best golf in the field by far at Innisbrook’s Copperhead Course, and he’s now in position to pick up his first PGA Tour win.
Hadwin carries a four-shot lead over a resurgent Patrick Cantlay heading into the final round of the Valspar Championship. His 4-under 67 on Saturday has him in position to become the latest PGA Tour winner to cruise in a Sunday blowout.
A hot putter helped Hadwin out in the third round, with a pair of clutch 40-plus-foot bombs keeping the momentum alive.
“Every time I got off-line, I got myself back in position and when I was able to be aggressive, I was aggressive and hit good shots,” Hadwin said. “Just striking it real solid right now, which is what you need it do around this Copperhead golf course.”
A key putt on No. 18 kept the edge at four over Cantlay, who is trying to complete a major medical extension to retain his PGA Tour status after battling a debilitating back injury and a personal tragedy in the last four years. Hadwin’s closest pursuer, Cantlay can benefit tremendously from hanging on to second place.
“It’s just shooting numbers. It doesn’t really matter. It’s just a numbers game,” Cantlay said. “I’ve been playing good, so doesn’t really surprise me. I’ve played some good rounds in practice, and my prep’s been good. So I’m very happy but not too surprised.”
A win on Sunday would land Hadwin in the top 64 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and it would earn a berth into the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play in two weeks. However, Hadwin’s got something better to do. He’s getting married that week. However, he would also get an invitation to the Masters, and the honeymoon plans will change if he hoists the trophy on Sunday.
“The honeymoon right now is booked for French Polynesia. We get married on Friday the 24th and we leave the 26th. But she knows that we’ll cancel if all things go well tomorrow,” Hadwin said. He added, laughing, “We’ll take a few days to get prepared for the greenest place on earth at Augusta if all goes well.”
Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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