Pettersson Wins Canadian Open, Hadwin Low Canadian

(Photos: GolfCanada)

The 22-year-old Canadian Tour rookie won the hearts and admiration of many of the spectators at the Canadian Open this past week and openly enjoyed the biggest experience of his new career while winning The Rivermead Cup as Low Canadian for the tournament.

The tournament winner was Sweden's Carl Pettersson, who set a Canadian Open record Saturday by shooting 10-under par 60 followed by a 3-under par 67 Sunday at St. George's Golf and Country Club in Toronto, to overcome a four shot deficit on the back nine and win the $918,000 first place cheque by one shot. Sweden becomes the eighth foreign country to claim the title in 102 Canadian Open championships.

However, for many Canadian golf fans, and particularly those who support the Canadian Tour on it's cross country trek each summer, the story of this Open was the magnificent performance and result enjoyed by Hadwin, one of 18 Canadians who qualified or received sponsor exemptions to play in the third oldest national open championship in all of golf. Adam's standing on the Canadian Tour's Order of Merit list earned him this chance to play in his first Canadian Open and make his first PGA TOUR appearance.

At the beginning of the week it didn't look like his father, Gerry Hadwin, who works in the pro shop at BC's Morgan Creek golf club, would be able to attend the Open, but after his son fired opening rounds of 68-66, was four shots off the lead and Low Canadian going into the weekend, he began to have second thoughts. Finally, Saturday afternoon he decided he just had to be at St. George's to watch and support his son's final round.

Adam didn't disappoint his father or Canadian golf fans. He wound up with a pair of birdies on the 17th and 18th holes to finish with a 71 and low Canadian at 5-under-par 275 and tied for 37th, making his father's trip a total success

"Absolutely," the elder Hadwin said Sunday. "Especially to watch that finish. That was huge."

Adam Hadwin finished his first visit to the Canadian Open in style, narrowly missing an eagle with his approach shot from 182 yards out on 18. The crowd roared its approval as he walked up the fairway. One might have thought he'd won the tournament.

"I didn't know what to think, it was an amazing feeling," Hadwin said. "The fans have kind of taken me in as the Canadian favourite this week and I can't thank them enough for that."

Hadwin finished nine shots behind Carl Pettersson, who closed with a 67 for a one-shot victory at 14-under-par 266.

"I wanted to come in and play well and show that the Canadian Tour really does deserve these exemptions," Hadwin told the Globe and Mail's Lorne Rubenstein. . "They say that Nationwide Tour is a proving ground for the PGA Tour. I think the Canadian Tour is just as good."

Two other Canadians made the cut for weekend play. Jon Mills of Bellevile, Ont., bogeyed his last two holes for a 72 and 4-under-par 276 overall. Calgary's Stephen Ames finished with a 70 for a 278.

Hadwin, who earned $19,890 and received the Rivermead Cup for best score by a Canadian, said he was pleased that he closed out a mediocre round with a strong finish.

"A 71 always feels better birdieing the last (hole) then bogeying the last," he said. "It's the same score but for some reason, birdieing the last, you feel a sense of accomplishment, you stuck in the round and were able to fight it out.

"I've got the biggest smile on my face, I'm sure you guys can tell and it's going to stay the rest of the week."

Not bad for a 22-year-old rookie who has spent this past season honing his skills on both the Canadian Tour and the local Vancouver Golf Tour.

Note:
The Rivermead Cup was originally awarded in 1920 to the winner of the Canadian Open until 1935. Seagam Distillery took over sponsorship in 1936. From 1936 through 1961 the Rivermead Cup was awarded to the leading Canadian Professional, won seven times between 1945 and 1961 by Vancouver's Stan Leonard. It was then discontinued. In 2007 the Ottawas Golf Club announced Rivermead Challenge Cup would return to honour the Low Canadian in the national championship..

2010 RBC Canadian Open
St. George's Golf & Country Club · Toronto, Ontario

1 SWE Carl Pettersson -14 71 68 60 67 266 $ 918,000
2 USA Dean Wilson -13 65 65 65 72 267 $ 550,800
3 ENG Luke Donald -12 69 66 67 66 268 $ 346,800
T4 USA Michael Letzig -10 66 70 69 65 270 $ 165,750
T4 AUS Greg Chalmers -10 66 69 70 65 270 $ 165,750
T4 USA Charley Hoffman -10 65 71 69 65 270 $ 165,750
T4 KOR Charlie Wi -10 69 68 67 66 270 $ 165,750
T4 USA Matt Kuchar -10 70 67 66 67 270 $ 165,750
T4 USA Jeff Quinney -10 71 66 64 69 270 $ 165,750
T4 USA Bryce Molder -10 70 67 63 70 270` $ 165,750
T4 USA Bob Estes -10 66 67 66 71 270 $ 165,750
T4 RSA Tim Clark -10 66 64 69 71 270 $ 165,750

CANADIANS

T37 *Adam Hadwin, (Abbotsford, BC) 68 66 70 71 -- 275 - $19,780
T48 Jon Mills (Oshawa, Ontario) 67 71 66 72 -- 276 - $13,818
T59 Stephen Ames, (Calgary, Alberta) 67 68 73 70 -- 278 - $11,067
*Wins Rivermead Cup as Low Canadian in the Open.

CUT
Graham DeLaet, (Weyburn, Saskatchewan) 70 70 -- 140
Ted Brown (Calgary, Alberta) 71 69 -- 140
Christopher Ross, (Dundas, Ontario) 72 68 -- 140
Matt Hill, (Brights Grove, Ontario) 69 71 -- 140
(a) Cam Burke, (New Hamburg, Ontario) 71 70 -- 141
(a) Dave Bunker, (Woodbridge, Ontario) 71 71 -- 142
(a) Nick Taylor, (Abbotsford, B.C.) 71 71 -- 142
David Hearn, (Brantford, Ontario) 72 70 -- 142
(a) Eugene Wong, (North Vancouver, B.C.) 71 72 -- 143
(a) Beon Yeong, Lee (Montreal, Quebec) 78 65 -- 143
Jeffery Puska, (Ladysmith, B.C.) 73 72 -- 145
Barrett Jarosch, (Edmonton, Alberta) 72 73 -- 145
Mike Weir, (Brights Grove, Ontario) 72 74 -- 146
Jim Rutledge, (Victoria, B.C.) 76 71 -- 147
Ben Boudreau, (Longueuil, Quebec) 74 82 -- 156