Adam Hadwin shoots 59 to take CareerBuilder Challenge lead

For two weeks in a row, a player recorded two 50-s shots, which were only seen under 10 times for around 1.5 million rounds at the U.S. Professional Golfers Association (PGA). The credit went to Canadian Adam Hadwin who joined the 59 club as the ninth player.

Ranked at 196th, Hadwin recorded 17-under 199 after shooting 13-under 59 at his third round at the CareerBuilder Challenge opened at La Quinta CC (Par 72), Palm Springs, California on Sunday. With 13 birdies and no bogies, Hadwin also tied with Chip Beck, who currently holds the highest birdie at 18 since 1991. As a player who was not crowned at the PGA tours, and as the first Canadian player to shoot the 50s, Hadwin said, “I was in the zone. It was my day.”

Since his debut as a professional golfer in 2009, Hadwin tried out for his first PGA Tour in 2015, and already skyrocketed from 49th (tie) to 1st. Still, Hadwin is uncertain as to whether he will grab his first trophy, as competitive peers are lined up in the top of the list, including Dominic Bozzelli (2nd) of the U.S., who is only 1 shot away from him. Moreover, the 4th round takes place at the most trickiest Stadium Course. Until now, history showed 50-percent of those who shot 50s at PGA tours won the tournament.

Jong-Seok Kim kjs0123@donga.com