Too Many Bogeys Cost B.C.'s Hadwin At Sentry Birdie-Fest
By Brad Ziemer, British Columbia Golf
January 6, 2025 (KAPALUA, HAWAII) - 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.
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.
CHIP SHOT: 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.