The day after winning his first PGA tour, a professional golfer from Abbotsford, B.C. said it still hasn't sunk in that he'll be heading to the Masters.
Adam Hadwin, 29, emerged the victor this weekend, beating out American Patrick Cantlay by one stroke on the last day of the Valspar Championship with a score of 14 under par.
His win at the Innisbrook Golf Club in Palm Harbour, Fla. means Hadwin will be heading to the Masters Tournament scheduled for the first week of April, something he says "hasn't sunk in yet."
He told CTV News Channel he hasn't had much time to process the details, especially because he's in the middle of preparing for his wedding.
"Emotions have been all over the place. Just really not sure what to think," he said Monday.
"I'm not sure where to place my energy right now. Whether I should be looking forward to this week in Bay Hill and getting ready for that or whether I should be thinking ahead to my wedding... It's a very busy time right now, but I'm certainly doing my best to try to soak it all in."
Hadwin will marry his fiancée Jessica Kippenberger on March 24, and the pair had planned to go to Tahiti the week of the Masters.
"We just have to postpone the honeymoon a bit," he said, laughing.
"Jess and I get to plan a trip to Augusta now which, for any golfer out there, they know it's pretty much the spot that you want to go to the first week of April. I'm really looking forward to having to make those plans."
Hadwin finished Saturday in the lead, but a few slips on Sunday meant the tournament wasn't decided until the last few shots.
In particular, he struggled with Hole 16, and was seen flipping his club and swearing in frustration.
He'd gone onto the hole with a two-shot lead – "Exactly where you want to be," he said – but victory seemed to be slipping away after a loose swing that landed his ball in the water.
"I just hit probably the worst shot of the tournament at the most inopportune time. As soon as I hit it I knew it was in the water," he said.
"At that point it was just about getting focused. I still had a tournament that I had to go out and try to win and I could have very easily let it all slip away there."
He credits his caddy for helping him refocus, but added that he feels "fortunate" to have won in the end. After regaining his composure and made par on the 17th and 18th. Cantlay ended the last hole with a bogey, and Hadwin took the win.
He became the 14th Canadian to win on the PGA tour, joining Mackenzie Hughes as the only golfers from Canada to win this season.
Hadwin's fellow Canadians David Hearn, Graham DeLaet and Nick Taylor finished at -4 (tied for 18th), -3 (tied for 22nd) and +5 (tied for 62nd) at Innisbrook.
Born in Moose Jaw, Sask., Hadwin moved to B.C. and grew up playing at the Ledgeview Golf Club along with Taylor.
With files from CTV News Channel and The Associated Press
