Ziemer's B.C. Golf Notes: Too Many Bogeys Cost Hadwin At Sentry Birdie-Fest
Adam Hadwin Is Shown Here In 2024 Sony Open In Hawaii (Image Credit: Bryan Outram/BC Golf)
Ziemer's Notes: Macdonald heads to Bahamas for Korn Ferry Tour opener; Zalli about to become a world traveller on DP Challenge Tour; Humphreys top-10s at Thunderbolt Invitational; Clara Ding impresses in Florida
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
(January 6, 2025) - A four-round total of 18-under par will usually get you a top 10, maybe even a win, most weeks on the PGA TOUR.
Not at Kapalua’s Plantation course, where the season-opening Sentry tournament is an absolute birdie-fest.
Abbotsford’s Adam Hadwin had 24 birdies and an eagle in his 72 holes of golf at the Plantation and just eked out a top-30 finish by finishing 29th at 18-under par.
His eight bogeys — half of which came in Sunday’s final round when he shot a three-under 70 — prevented Hadwin from sneaking into the top 10.
Still, it was a positive start to the season for Hadwin, who took a lot of time off this past fall. He played in only two of the fall season events, so the Sentry tourney was just his third start since late August. Hadwin finished 17 shots behind winner Hideki Matsuyama, who set a PGA TOUR 72-hole scoring record with a winning score of 35-under.
Hadwin earned a tidy $148,000 in what was the first of eight Signature events on the PGA TOUR this season. Fellow Abbotsford product Nick Taylor did not have as good a week. Taylor tied for 48th in the 59-man field at 11-under par. He made $57,000.
The other two Canadians in the field, Corey Conners and Taylor Pendrith, both played well in Maui. Conners tied for fifth at 24-under, while Pendrith tied for 13th at 22-under. Pendrith’s final round included the first albatross of the season on the PGA TOUR. It came when he holed his second shot from 203 yards on the par 5 fifth hole.
Hadwin, Taylor, Conners and Pendrith are all in Honolulu for this week’s Sony Open in Hawaii, where Surrey’s Adam Svensson will make his first start of the season. Taylor has tied for seventh the past two seasons at the Sony. Svensson tied for seventh at the event in 2022.
LOUISVILLE SLUGGER: Hadwin couldn’t resist getting a dig in at Taylor after the Louisville Cardinals edged the Washington Huskies 35-34 in the recent Sun Bowl college football game. “Hey @ntaylorgolf59, I’ve got some Cards gear you can wear tomorrow…,” Hadwin posted on the X social media platform. Hadwin, of course, played his collegiate golf at the University of Louisville, while Taylor competed for the University of Washington.
BAHAMAS DOUBLE: The Korn Ferry Tour begins its 2025 season later this week with the first of back-to-back events in the Bahamas. The Bahamas Golf Classic at Atlantis Paradise Island goes Jan. 12-15 and will be followed Jan. 19-22 by The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic at The Abaco Club.
Vancouver’s Stuart Macdonald is in the field for both events after learning just before Christmas that he now has exempt status for 2025. Macdonald was bumped up to 10th from 11th on the 2024 PGA Tour Americas points list when Norway’s Frederik Kjettrup, who was No. 2, accepted an invitation to join LIV golf. That gave Macdonald his full KFT status for 2025.
WORLD TRAVELLER: Vancouver’s Ilirian Zalli figures to collect plenty of air miles as he begins his first season on the DP Challenge Tour. The Challenge Tour, which is the DP World Tour’s version of the Korn Ferry Tour, just released its 2025 schedule.
It begins in late January with a four-event swing in South Africa. It then heads to India for two events in March. That is followed by two tournaments in mid-April in the United Arab Emirates. The Challenge Tour begins an 18-event swing through Europe in early May before ending its regular season with two stops in China in October.
Its season-ending Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final is scheduled for Oct. 30-Nov. 2 in Mallorca, Spain. Most purses are in the $300,00 to $350,000 US neighbourhood with some offering as much as $500,000. Zalli, a 22-year-old former B.C. Junior Boys champion, earned full status at qualifying school in November. Before heading to South Africa, Zalli will travel to Dubai, where the tour is holding orientation meetings for new members.
TOP 10: Kelowna’s Cooper Humphreys tied for 10th at the Thunderbolt Invitational in Surprise, Ariz. The two-time B.C. Amateur champion, who is a freshman at the University of San Diego, shot rounds of 69, 70 and 74 to finish the event at four-under par. That was six shots behind winner Zander Grant of the University of Denver.
DING THIRD: White Rock’s Clara Ding tied for third at the Citrus Golf Trail Open in Sebring, Fla. Ding completed the 72-hole event at Deer Run Golf Course with a score of three-over par. That was three shots behind co-winners Shauna Liu of Maple, Ont., and Sophie Renner of Germany.
COLLEGE COMMITMENTS: Surrey’s Mandy Wang has committed to join the UBC Thunderbirds in the fall of 2026. Wang, a Grade 10 student at Southridge School, finished second at last year’s B.C. High School 1A Championship last year. . .Vancouver’s Thomas Zhang is joining Amherst College, a NCAA Division III school in Massachusetts, this fall.