South African golfer Tim ClarkNathan Denette
Canadians are hungry for success at their national golf championship.
So hungry that someone, anyone, with a passport and the ability to shoot something under par gets elevated during the course of the RBC Canadian Open as a possible candidate to keep the title at home for the first time in 56 years, and counting.
So Canada, with little further adieu, meet Adam Hadwin, 22, a Canadian Tour rookie playing in his first PGA Tour event and the one closest to the lead, thanks to his four-under-par 66 in the second round at St. George's Golf and Country Club, which put him at six under and tied for 14th place with two rounds yet to play.
"When I get out on the golf course, it's all business, but off the course, I kind of have to pinch myself and think, is this really real? Am I really doing this right now? So it's been a lot of fun" said Hadwin, a rookie pro who qualified for the tournament based on his standing on the Canadian Tour.
Can he win? Why not, said Hadwin, of Abbotsford, B.C., who planned to celebrate his play by having a few beers at the B.C. Lions-Toronto Argonauts game Friday night.
But the smart money would be wiser to follow the South Africans, starting with Tim Clark, who has shot 66-64, four shots clear of Hadwin and tied with Dean Wilson (65-65) at 10 under, one shot ahead of first-round leader Brent Delahoussaye (62-69) and Steve Wheatcroft (65-66) at nine under, and two shots clear of four other golfers at eight under.
Clark, who earned his first PGA Tour win after years of knocking on the door at the Player's Championship this spring, is just continuing a trend: Countryman Louis Oosthuizen shredded the field at the British Open last week and Ernie Els leads the FedEx Cup standings. The two other South Africans in the field this week, Trevor Immelman (tied for 21st) and Retief Goosen (tied for 68th), have three majors between them. A nation of about 49-million - and a golfing population of much less than that - currently boasts five of the world's top 30 players.
Theories abound to explain their success, from the patriarchal influence of legend Gary Player to the quality of the domestic Sunshine Tour, which provides a venue for aspiring professionals to harden their game close to home to the mettle required to travel so far to play at the top levels.
Clark isn't much a flag waver - "When I'm out there it's me on my own, unfortunately" - and his best guess for the bulge of talent from a relatively small golfing nation is fairly straightforward: "I think the main reason is South Africa has great weather all year round," he said. "In the winter you can still put on your shorts and T-shirt and go out and play golf. I'd like to see you do that here in Canada."
Like nearly everyone else in the field, he's surprised that the 7,025-yard, par-70 layout at St. George's has allowed the field to have a bit of alaugh at the old course's expense.
The course isn't long, and after an early morning rain that delayed play for two hours, the field was allowed to play lift, clean and place. The deep and dense rough, everyone agreed, was penal, but the fairways were wide enough that golfers could find them, and from there the greens, which were rolling favourably.
"I certainly didn't expect to be scoring on this course," said Clark, who hit 92 per cent of his fairways Friday and posted six birdies. "[But]driving the fairway, I think, is a huge key on this golf course."
Clark can at least relate to most of the players trailing him, the majority of which are looking for their first PGA Tour win, a burden Clark shed just this year, but for others this is a chance to break through.
"It's tough," said Wilson, who has won just once in seven years on the PGA Tour, not since 2006. "Once you get your game up there and you're playing well and at the top of the leaderboard is one step and [then it's]being able to sleep with the lead of just feel comfortable doing it."
For a Canadian at their home championship, it's tougher still. Hadwin is well behind Clark, and Canada well behind South Africa on the golf stage. But even if Clark heads into the weekend as the favourite and Canada stays searching for someone to lead them home, Hadwin is sure of one thing: "I've slept well the last two nights," he said. "That's one thing I've never really had an issue with is sleeping."
Clubhouse Blog: Friday at the Canadian Open
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Lorne Rubenstein: Missed cut a mere bump in the road
Beverley Smith: Hadwin leads Canadian contingent into the weekend