Opinion | Adam Hadwin takes another playoff hit, falling to Rickie Fowler at the Rocket Mortgage Classic

In a three-man playoff with Collin Morikawa and Rickie Fowler at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit on Sunday, Adam Hadwin had two big obstacles in the way of his second career PGA Tour victory.

In the end, he could not dodge Fowler, golf’s perennial people pleaser, as the Rocket Mortgage pitchman provided his sponsor with the perfect story by making a 12-foot birdie putt on the first extra hole to secure his first victory since 2019.

It was the second runner-up finish this season for Hadwin, who paired with RBC Canadian Open champion Nick Taylor to place second at the Zurich New Orleans Classic team event in April.

Hadwin, from Abbotsford, B.C., was trying to become the fifth Canadian to win on the PGA Tour since October, joining Mackenzie Hughes, Adam Svensson, Corey Conners and Taylor. He was mistake-free in the final round, carding a 5-under 67 to match Morikawa and Fowler at 24 under. Richmond Hill’s Taylor Pendrith, who was in the final group with Hadwin and Fowler, struggled to a 1-over 73 to tie for 14th.

In the playoff, Fowler was in the worst position off the tee by far, but hit a marvellous recovery shot from the gallery to set up his winning putt. Hadwin’s 20-foot birdie attempt burned the edge.

“That putt on the playoff there looked really good, just a little bit hard,” Hadwin said. “But yeah, I mean, I did a lot of really good things today. I’m proud of the way I kept going and had some fun with it, stayed loose and just enjoyed the moment. Hopefully, this is a sign of good things to come.”

Hadwin is projected to move to 35th from 51st on the FedEx Cup ranking with just seven tournaments remaining on the PGA Tour’s regular-season schedule. Those who finish in the top 50 of the FedEx Cup will guarantee their spots in next year’s big-money designated events.

“I’m stoked, I’m through the roof right now,” said Hadwin, whose Tour win came at the 2017 Valspar Championship. “I mean, I got myself into a playoff at the end of the day, that’s what you want. You want a chance, you want a chance to win a golf tournament and I guess I kind of had a chance coming up 18, an outside chance. Then I hit two of the best golf shots I’ve hit all day in a playoff and really, even that putt, it just didn’t go in. You know, I can take nothing but positives away from this week.”

Hadwin shared the tournament lead in strokes gained and led in both total putts and putts per green in regulation. He noted earlier in the week that his good play was in part inspired by some advice from his wife Jessica to be more decisive on the golf course.

Fowler’s win came after some serious struggles the last two years that saw him plummet from a top-10 player to 185th the world rankings in September. But he has rebounded this season, with 14 top-25 finishes in 19 starts before his Rocket Mortgage win. He was in the final group on Sunday at the U.S Open last month before fading to fifth with a final-round 75.

“I had a sneaky suspicion Rickie was going to make (the winning putt) right after seeing my ball kind of roll right past that,” Hadwin said after applauding Fowler’s birdie conversion. “Give him all the credit, he birdied 18 to get into the playoff and then he birdied the first playoff hole. Yeah, he’s been knocking on the door for a while.”

Jason Logan is the editor of SCOREGolf magazine, which is co-owned by Torstar, the Star’s parent company. He is based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @jasonSCOREGolf

SHARE: