Canadian Adam Hadwin shoots 13-under 59 in CareerBuilder

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January 21, 2017

LA QUINTA, CALIFORNIA – Adam Hadwin shot a 13-under 59 on Saturday in the CareerBuilder Challenge for the ninth sub-60 round in PGA Tour history and the second in 10 days.

January 21, 2017

LA QUINTA, CALIFORNIA – Adam Hadwin shot a 13-under 59 on Saturday in the CareerBuilder Challenge for the ninth sub-60 round in PGA Tour history and the second in 10 days.

Adam Hadwin poses for a picture with a golf ball after shooting a 59 during the third round of the CareerBuilder Challenge at La Quinta Country Club on Jan. 21, 2017.

In cool, clear conditions in the desert after rain the previous two days, the 29-year-old Canadian reached 13 under with a 7-foot birdie putt on the par-4 17th and got up-and-down for par — making a 3-footer — from just off the green on the par-4 18th at La Quinta Country Club.

Justin Thomas had an 11-under 59 last week in Hawaii in the first round of his Sony Open victory. Hadwin matched David Duval's tournament record, a 13-under 59 on the Arnold Palmer Private Course in the final round of his 1999 victory. Jim Furyk shot a tour-record 12-under 58 last year in the Travelers Championship.

Hadwin took the lead at 17-under 199 after starting the day in danger of missing the cut at 4 under. He played the first two days at PGA West, shooting 71 on the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course and 69 on the Stadium Course.

The former Louisville player is the first Canadian — he was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, and grew up in Abbortsford, British Columbia — to break 60 on the tour. He's also the first player to accomplish the feat on a par-72 course since Duval, and the only non-winner to do it.

Hadwin had 13 birdies in the bogey-free round, running off six in a row on the front nine and five straight on back. He opened with a par with the temperature in the low-50s, birdied the next six and added a birdie on No. 9 for a front-nine 29. He birdied Nos. 11-15 to get to 12 under with snow-capped peaks sparkling in the background.

Rookie Dominic Bozzelli was a stroke back after a 69 on the Nicklaus layout.

Second-round leader Hudson Swafford was another shot behind at 15 under with Bud Cauley and Brian Harman.

Swafford shot a 71 on the Stadium Course, making a double bogey after hitting left into the 18-foot deep bunker on the par-5 16th and dropping another shot on the par-3 17th after barely reaching the island green.

Cauley and Harman played at La Quinta, the easiest of the three courses. Cauley had a 65, and Harman a 69.

Phil Mickelson closed with a watery double bogey for a 73 on the Stadium Course, leaving him eight strokes back in his return from two sports hernia surgeries. The 46-year-old Hall of Famer had surgery Oct. 19 — three days after tying for eighth in the season-opening Safeway Open — and again Dec. 12. Caddie Jim "Bones" Mackay also is making a comeback after having both knees replaced.


Courtesy: AP