Hadwin heads to the weekend at PGA Championship

TSN Senior Reporter

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High expectations for the Canadian contingent at the PGA Championship were blown away on Friday as only Adam Hadwin managed to survive the 36-hole cut at Southern Hills Country Club.

One of the pre-tournament favourites, Corey Conners, and Mackenzie Hughes, who has battled for several major championship titles the last year, were both well outside the cutline which came at four over.

Hadwin held on to his second round with a one-over 71 to get through to the weekend, making the cut on the number. The Abbotsford, B.C., product played his first seven holes in one under before making bogey on three of his next four. A final birdie on the fifth hole (his 14th) left him on the safe side of the cutline.

“It was kind of a tale of three separate sections,” he admitted. “Started off really well, hit the first five greens in reg, had some good looks. Then had some trouble finding fairways which led to trouble finding greens, the next six greens, but I bounced back and hit the next six.”

Hadwin battled the stiffest of the winds, which gusted to more than 50 km/h in the morning. Pulling a club became a chore and Hadwin and caddie Joe Cruz had numerous conversations before making a selection.

“A lot of it is just a big giant guess,” he admitted. “Don’t let us kid you guys. We’re picking a number and we’re hoping it’s right.”

Even when he missed the green, Hadwin was able to recover a majority of the time, saving par on five of eight opportunities. While he was happy to be playing the weekend, he wasn’t completely pleased with his game over the first 36 holes.

“I thought I did a really good job both days of hitting a lot of really good quality golf shots,” he stated. “I kind of let both rounds get