Hadwin in the hunt at the U.S. Open

TSN Senior Reporter

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Two years ago when Adam Hadwin decided to make an overhaul to his golf swing, one of the improvements he was after was his play in the wind. He lacked that piercing ball flight that would cut through the breezes instead of being at the mercy of it.

Those alterations paid off on Saturday in the third round of the U.S. Open as the Canadian used that swing as well as a deft putting touch and an overall gritty game to produce a round of 70, one of only 11 rounds of par or better in exceptionally difficult conditions. As a result, he finds himself two back of the lead and with a legitimate shot to win a major on Sunday.

“Just kind of a scrappy round,” said Hadwin after closing out his day with a par on 18. “Hit a lot of good quality golf shots. Felt like I left a couple out there early on, and then just kind of kept fighting through. Just kept hitting decent golf shot after decent golf shot. Made some nice sort of three- to six-footers on the back to kind of keep things going.”

With gusts up to 35 kilometres and temperatures hovering around 14 degrees, it felt more like an early winter day in Abbotsford, B.C., than June in Boston. Coupled with a hard and fast course, scores soared as players tried to navigate the challenge provided by The Country Club layout. The conditions took a toll on some notable players. Third-round co-leaders Collin Morikawa and Joel Dahman, who shot 77 and 74 respectively, were among the. many to fall off the pace.

Hadwin began his day with bogeys on two and four, before getting one back on the par-3 sixth where he drained a 16-foot putt.

On the par-5 14th his drive hit a tree limb up the left side of the fairway forcing him to lay up on his second shot. His third