PONTE VEDRA BEACH — While it was time to attack the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, the Canadians stayed neutral in yesterday’s PGA TOUR Players Championship. In a good position at the beginning of the finals, they reduced their chances of winning the tournament.
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Leading by two shots after 36 holes, Adam Svensson lost a lot of ground with a card of 75 (+3). At his side in the last group to start, Scottie Scheffler returned a score of 65 (-7) to lead the players ahead of Australia’s Min Woo Lee, two shots down.
Svnesson fell 13 places in the standings. He is not alone among the representatives of the maple leaf. Taylor Pendrith also helped quite a bit. His conservative play, sometimes chaotic, and an even card of 72 saw him drop 26 ranks. He is installed on Season 35 with a cumulative record of -4.
Adam Hadwin saved the day by moving up three places with a third score of 69 (-3). He is 14th at -6, tied with Svensson, among others.
Strange Zen
For the third time in his professional career, Svensson started in the last group. However, it was a first for him in Sawgrass, a place where he had his baptism of fire.
“Oddly enough, I was very calm before departure,” the golfer reports in a few words. I wasn’t nervous at all.”
And that even if he is flanked by Scheffler, the second best golfer in the world, in search of a sixth title in less than 14 months.
Oddly enough, the Canadian had no destination in mind. He started his round with a birdie from the first flag. The sauce went bad afterwards. He committed three bogeys. Bouquet appeared on the 14th pennant where he recorded a triple bogey. His carrots were therefore cooked. He finds himself eight strokes behind the leader.
“It just wasn’t my day. I made several mistakes. The triple bogey hurts a lot. Too bad because I had fun. I enjoyed this moment and this experience of the last group.”
Attack
Hadwin, the only Canadian to gain ground, capitalized on his chances by shooting five birds. Constantly watching the scoreboards at the four corners of the course, he knew he had no choice but to attack after the previous day’s heavy rain.
“I knew the other guys were playing really well and they took advantage of the favorable conditions. I hit well and the conditions were conducive to good results. I did everything I could to follow them, the British Columbia native explained.
“The fairways are softer, as are the greens,” he continued. These terms are more permissive. You forgive more. This allows us to play more aggressively because we know the ball will stop in the right place.
For his part, Pendrith said he was frustrated at not having taken advantage of the favorable conditions to move up the board. His five birdies wiped out his five bogeys.
A course record
Tom Hoge was scheduled to board a flight to Dallas on Friday afternoon. But he finally canceled his homecoming plans with the break in the game on Friday evening. When he heard yesterday morning that the ax had dropped to +2, he immediately made his way to Sawgrass.
Six hours later, he recorded the day’s round, breaking tournament records and the highest score on the Stadium Course.
A card of 62 (-10) that saw him jump 57 ranks to settle in the top 10 at -8
The American started the tournament with a score of 78 (+6)…
When his last putt hit the bottom of the cup, little did he know that he had made a real feat. It was his playmate Shane Lowry who advised him.
“I don’t know how many course records I have, but I’ve scattered a few here and there. But this one is above all. The conditions were perfect,” said the 33-year-old golfer.
The final round of the players starts on Sunday at 7:45 am.