Hadwin Starts Strong At Sentry
- Details
- Category: Inside Golf
- Published: 2025-01-04
By Gord Montgomery, Senior Writer, Inside Golf
KAPALUA, Hawaii — Taking advantage of sunny skies and light winds, Adam Hadwin raced to the top of the leaderboard in early action at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. While his standing didn’t last through the day, he still ended up tied for seventh. The thing is, he noted, there’s a long way to go.
Hadwin, one of four Canadians in this year’s event, started quickly plateauing a bit in the middle of his round, then finished strong.
“I hit it really well, but the conditions had a lot to do with that,” he said after signing off on the round. “With less breeze, it was a lot easier to control the golf ball and so I was able to take advantage of a bunch of those holes early, make some putts. Then we kind of made the turn and that’s when things (wind) started to pick up a bit. Made controlling distance a little bit more difficult,” he relates, noting that the approaches into holes 10 and 13 in particular were challenging.
After making what he called, “a silly bogey on 12, I fought through that,” and got things going in the right direction again as he started the homeward trek. “I got one back on the par-5 and made one on 16 as well,” and then just missed an eagle putt on the dramatic closing hole to round out his day at which time he sat in a tie for second. Of course, that placing did come with a bit of a caveat seeing as how he was in the first group out in the 2025 PGA TOUR season opener.
In regard to having seen the track before and knowing the issues it can toss one’s way, Hadwin said he wouldn’t change his game plan even though the Sentry is a no-cut event. “You take every shot for what it is. I’m certainly no more aggressive than I am normally. I don’t change anything, but the conditions, the wind, the course is a bit softer maybe than we’ve seen it in the past, so you try to hit good shots and give yourself chances.”
Speaking after his round and how he approaches things from here on, Hadwin smiled, saying, “The week is young! We were the first group out, and there are a bunch of birdies to be made. I’ll just keep playing the way I’ve been playing and enjoying the week here in Maui.”
Needless to say, he was indeed enjoying his first competitive round of the 2025 season.