Adam Hadwin shoots 59 to mark second sub-60 score in as many weeks

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On Saturday in the California desert, Adam Hadwin shot the second sub-60 rounds in 11 days on the PGA Tour and catapulted into the lead at the CareerBuilder Challenge.

The Canadian, who became just the second non-American (Stuart Appleby, 2010, Greenbrier Classic) to break 60 on the PGA Tour, made a record-tying 13 birdies in the round (Chip Beck did it, too, when he shot 59 in 1991) at La Quinta Country Club to join elite, rare company.

Hadwin offered no illusions about how nervous he was as he stood over the 3-foot par putt on the final hole to shoot 59. Nor did he downplay the accomplishment in suggesting that he just kind of stumbled upon a historic round. Perhaps because that’s what made Hadwin proudest: He knew early enough in the round what was at stake, and, where so many of his peers and predecessors faltered in the past, he didn’t.

“Everybody talks about kind of they were in a zone and I think that’s what happened out there,” Hadwin said. “I was thinking about it. I knew exactly where I was. I knew exactly what I needed to do. It just didn’t seem to matter.”

Following a birdie on the 11th hole, Hadwin had gotten it to 9 under par, meaning he needed to find four more birdies in seven holes. Possible, certainly, but it didn’t seem likely.

“After hole 11, I said to my caddie (Joe Cruz), ‘We need four more,” Hadwin said. “I’m not sure he knew what to respond to me at that point, because he knew I was playing well and he knew that clearly I was thinking about it. But we just went about our business and kept making putts.”

And when a 6-foot birdie putt dropped on the 17th hole — right after playing partner Colt Knost affirmed the line in missing the same putt — Hadwin knew he needed a mere par at the finish to beat 60. If he could muster a 14th birdie, he’d shoot 58 at tie Jim Furyk’s months-young PGA Tour record for lowest-ever round of 58, which he shot last August in the final round of the Travelers Championship.

Then Hadwin duck-hooked his drive, and the tee-box microphones picked up an audible curse word. Ultimately, Hadwin found the fairway but missed the green pin-high and a little right.

“It wasn’t until walking up 18 where my amateur partner told me that I was in the lead and (Knost is) telling him to shut up,” Hadwin said. “I’m like, ‘It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s fine.’”

He chipped to within a yard, a putt PGA Tour pros make 95 percent of the time. He did and made history, shooting the ninth sub-60 round in PGA Tour history, albeit the second in 11 days, following Justin Thomas’ first-round 59 en route to destroying the field at last week’s Sony Open in Hawaii. Thomas walked away with the 36- and 72-hole scoring records on his own, as well a share of the 54-hole scoring record.

Now, leading by one with a final round at PGA West’s TPC Stadium Course, Hadwin has a chance at his first PGA Tour title. Hadwin is hoping a little self-delusion will be enough to get him to squeeze out one more good round.

“I have to figure out a way to convince myself that I just shot 67 and took a one-shot lead,” Hadwin said. “Because I’m not going to make 13 birdies again. I mean, I could, I guess. But chances are pretty low, pretty slim. I don’t know if anybody’s shot two 59s?”

Jim Furyk beat 60 twice. He won the tournament neither time.

Devil Ball Golf – Golf – Yahoo Sports

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