The Memorial was arguably the toughest challenge on the PGA Tour so far this season and Adam Hadwin rode its ups and downs to his best showing of the year.
Only 11 players finished under par at the Memorial, with only six shooting under par in the final round at Muirfield Village Golf Club. Hadwin, from Abbotsford, B.C., finished third at the signature event to rocket up the FedEx Cup standings to 24th, leapfrogging Taylor Pendrith, Nick Taylor and Corey Conners to become the highest-ranked Canadian on tour.
But the U.S. Open, traditionally the most punishing course setup on the men’s golf calendar, now looms.
“It’s going to be a very similar test, let’s be honest,” said Hadwin after finishing his round at the Memorial on Sunday after a 2-over round put him at 4-under overall. “You’re going to hit some good shots that don’t get rewarded and you’re going to have to scramble and stay patient and do all the things that I tried to do today.
“I’ve got to keep grinding, just keep doing what I’m doing and it will come.”
Hadwin’s showing at the Memorial moved him 24 spots up the official world golf rankings into an Olympic berth with one week before the men’s qualifying deadline. He also moved up to seventh for the Presidents Cup international team rankings, one spot out of an automatic berth for the prestigious international tournament.
He said that the challenges of the Memorial are good preparation for the U.S. Open at Pinehurst Resort & Country Club in Pinehurst, N.C., where the United States Golf Association typically prefers tight fairways and long rough to put an emphasis on accuracy.
“You could look at it one of two ways; either (the Memorial) is good prep for next week or we just got our butts kicked before going into next week,” said Hadwin. “I expect the USGA to do what the USGA does, make it very difficult on us, challenge us mentally more than anything.
“I feel like I’m in a pretty good spot. I’m just going to have to rest up and, again, just keep doing what I’ve been doing.”
Seven Canadians are in the field at Pinehurst, tying the U.S. Open record set in 1912 and matched in 2023.
Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., and Taylor of Abbotsford are the second and third highest-ranked Canadians on the PGA Tour, 35th and 36th on the FedEx Cup standings respectively. Conners (43rd) of Listowel, Ont., Mackenzie Hughes (46th) of Dundas, Ont., and Adam Svensson (87th) of Surrey, B.C., round out the pro contingent from Canada at the U.S. Open.
Svensson and amateur Ashton McCulloch of Kingston, Ont., qualified for the U.S. Open together at Cherry Hill Club in Ridgeway, Ont., on June 3, a day after the RBC Canadian Open was completed at Hamilton Golf and Country Club. Svensson finished in a tie for 51st at the Canadian Open while McCulloch missed the cut, giving him two days to rest before the U.S. Open qualifier.
“It was more mentally exhausting than anything,” said McCulloch, a junior at Michigan State University, about making his Canadian Open debut. “Playing in my first PGA Tour event, I didn’t know everything that came with it. There’s a lot of pressure when you do play for your first time.
“That Saturday I was exhausted. I didn’t do a whole lot that day. It all worked out, and I ended up qualifying for the U.S. Open, so not a bad way to spend your weekend recovering before a U.S. Open qualifier.”
The 21-year-old McCulloch is the first Canadian amateur to qualify for the major since NHL referee Garrett Rank did it in 2018.
Canadians across major professional golf tours:
LPGA TOUR — Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., is sixth in the Race to CME Globe standings heading into the Meijer LPGA Classic. She’s one of five Canadians in the field at Blythefield Country Club of Belmont, Mich. Savannah Grewal (81st) of Mississauga, Ont., Hamilton’s Alena Sharp (140th), Maude-Aimee Leblanc (143rd) of Sherbrooke, Que., and Maddie Szeryk of London, Ont., will also tee it up.
KORN FERRY TOUR — Myles Creighton of Digby, N.S., is the highest ranked Canadian heading into this week’s Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas Wichita Open. He’s ranked 20th on the second-tier tour’s points list. He’ll be joined at Crestview Country Club by Etienne Papineau (45th) of St-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Que., Sudarshan Yellamaraju (94th) of Mississauga, Ont., and Jared du Toit (115th) of Kimberley, Ont.
EPSON TOUR — Brigitte Thibault of Rosemere, Que., is 107th in the Race for the Card, the points list for the second-tier Epson Tour. She’ll play on Friday when the Otter Creek Championship tees off in Columbus, Ind. Selena Costabile of Thornhill, Ont., Vancouver’s Leah John and Kate Johnston of Ayr, Ont., are also in the field but unranked.