SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda — Adam Hadwin shot a 6-under 65 in windy conditions in the first round of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship on Thursday to get the start he needed to maintain his full spot on the PGA Tour, but the round was not completed due to darkness.
Hadwin entered this week ranked 147th in the FedEx Cup standings. The top 100 players after next week’s RSM Classic will retain their tour cards for next year. He led Takumi Kanaya by one stroke. Braden Thornberry was also 5 under after two holes at Port Royal.
Hadwin, a 38-year-old Canadian and two-time Presidents Cup player, had never missed the FedEx Cup playoffs in 10 years on tour before this year.
“It’s a bit of a shock to the ego, but I’m not going to lie,” Hadwin said. “I continued to struggle a little bit and that may have held me back a little bit throughout the season. I probably got to a point in July or August, even though it was probably too late, that I just needed to accept the situation I was in and just fight through.
“I truly believe that my best golf is yet to come. I have so much more in me and I will be a better player once I get through this. It was just a matter of when I would get over this, and today was a good start.”
Kanaya and Thornberry also started the week outside the top 100. Ryo Hisatsune, Alex Smalley and Isaiah Salinda each shot 67s, and Frankie Capan III was at 4 under with two holes left.
