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PGA Tour veteran Adam Hadwin loves hearing “O Canada” when he hits a good shot in the coliseum-like 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale. When he sank a 13.5-foot birdie putt on Friday morning, the Saskatchewan native gave the rowdy crowd a reason to erupt.
That electrifying putt contributed to a near-historic run for the 37-year-old Canuck as he birdied seven straight holes during the second round of the WM Phoenix Open — falling just two short of the PGA Tour’s all-time longest birdie streak. He was one of four Canadians in the top 20 after the second round and all six Canadians in the field made the weekend cut, a sight that is becoming more and more common.
“Every single week people are saying ‘Wow, it’s great to see Canadians on the first page of the leaderboard,’” Golf Canada president David McCarthy said. “The fact that we have so many good professionals playing well has really helped spur the interest of golf in Canada.”
That stretch between the 15th and the 3rd holes propelled Hadwin to climb up to a tie for seventh heading into the weekend.
With his second-round 66, Hadwin put himself in contention Friday to become the second consecutive Canadian to win the WM Phoenix Open after Nick Taylor claimed last year’s title in a thrilling playoff victory.
Hadwin, from Moose Jaw, said he could hear the cheers from the droves of Canadian golf fans who traveled to Arizona for the tournament.
“The Canadian support down here is incredible … walking really this entire golf course, they’re cheering you on the whole way,” Hadwin said. “It’ll be a lot of fun this weekend, hopefully I’ll keep on doing what I’m doing, make birdies and see how close we can get.”
Fellow Saskatchewanian Brent Goeres, attending the WM Phoenix Open with his dad and a few buddies for his 40th birthday trip, are rooting for the Canadian golfers here.
“It’s fantastic to see Canadian golfers grow and start to get more wins on tour,” Goeres, a Regina-based pharmacist. “I watch a lot of golf at home and it’s really nice to see these guys break through and have some good seasons.”
Hadwin wasn’t the only Canadian pro to shoot up the leaderboard on Friday, thanks to an impressive stretch of birdies. Adam Svensson of Surrey, British Columbia, had five between the 8th and 13th holes, highlighted by a 31-foot chip-in on No. 12 on his way to shooting his best-ever round at TPC Scottsdale.
“It’s nice, especially playing on the weekend when there will be more fans and it will be a little bit more rowdy, so it should be a fun time,” Svensson said after his second-round 66, which helped him rise to a tie for 12th going into the weekend.
McCarthy says there are more Canadians on the Tour (seven) and attributes the rise to Mike Weir receiving the coveted green jacket from Tiger Woods after winning the 2004 Masters. But he says the increase isn’t only seen on the men’s side. Brooke Henderson, a 13-time LPGA champion, with two wins at majors, has created a golf movement among Canadian girls.
“If you’re a young golfer who has an interest in being a professional golfer and you see a fellow Canadian who has made it to the top of the mountain, you then believe you can make it to the top of the mountain,” McCarthy said.
Golf Canada has a player development program, which is looking to grow the number of Canadians on the PGA and LPGA Tours from the current 12 to 30 by 2032.
PGA: At Phoenix Open’s famous 16th hole, boos are part of the deal
McCarthy said the organization has a “Next Gen” program, which identifies top-level junior Canadian golfers and provides coaching and housing in Arizona and Florida so they can work on their game during their school breaks in the winter.
The National Sporting Federation also developed a “Young Pro” program, which receives funding to help players early in their careers, so costs don’t become a barrier to making it on the professional tours.
However, golf isn’t just becoming more popular among aspiring professionals in Canada, as McCarthy said more than 5 million golfers played at least six rounds last year.
“We have the highest per capita participation rate for golf of any country in the world,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy credits that participation in the sport to a spike of interest during the COVID-19 pandemic and the emergence of more players aged 21 to 35 hitting the links. Golf Canada is also supporting initiatives to get more women and underrepresented populations into the game.
Hadwin said he and the other Canadian golfers on the PGA Tour are a close contingent playing lots of practice rounds and having dinners together while preparing for events. That friendship was on full display as he was one of the first to celebrate with Taylor after he won the 2023 Canadian Open — even though Hadwin was tackled after being mistaken for a fan.
“If we’ve had a small impact in getting people in (to golf), that’s amazing,” Hadwin said, “but I think it’s more grassroots level, the initiatives that Golf Canada and RBC have supported.”
Will McLernon is a graduate student at Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Canadian PGA Tour players at WM Phoenix Open make weekend cut
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