David Hearn is the only Canadian still in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup. For Adam Hadwin and Graham DeLaet, the 2014-15 season has successes and struggles.
“It was a tough year from the start,” said DeLaet, from Weyburn, Sask., who struggled with injuries throughout the season.
Hadwin, from Abbotsford, B.C., had an up-and-down rookie campaign on the PGA Tour, and like DeLaet, was knocked out of the FedEx Cup playoffs after the first tournament. But he wasn’t entirely disappointed by the way the year played out, with three Top 10 finishes.
“I get to keep my job for next year,” Hadwin said. That’s not a simple task on the PGA Tour these days. By making the FedEx Cup playoffs, Hadwin retained his playing privileges for next year, making $937,611, with DeLaet just ahead of him in the standings at $988,349. Both golfers had some standout moments in the year, with Hadwin’s tie for seventh at the RBC Canadian Open coming as a standout. DeLaet’s best finish was a fourth at the Travelers Championship in June.
Hadwin was hopeful heading into the FedEx Cup given his success at the Web.com playoffs last year, which he won. However, he recognized you can’t change your approach to tournament golf.
One thing is clear—with the PGA Tour’s wrap around season, neither golfer will have much time off.
For DeLaet, his fall schedule is significant because he and his wife, Ruby, are expecting twins later in the year. DeLaet said he’ll likely play in Las Vegas and is considering the timing for the tournament Kuala Lumpur.
“The timing works well because I’ll have a few weeks off in December before getting back at it in January,” DeLaet said.
Despite a nagging wrist injury that he incurred at the RBC Canadian Open, DeLaet said he’s feeling healthy these days, though he admitted time away from the course certainly can’t hurt.
WATCH: DeLaet makes an early exit from RBC Canadian Open
Next year, with children in the mix, will be different, DeLaet admits — but being healthy for an entire year would benefit the Canadian, who was talked about as being one of the best in the world in recent years. DeLeat’s struggles means he won’t be part of the Presidents Cup, where he emerged as one of the standouts two years ago, and he said getting back to the team competition is one of his goals. If healthy, that’s achievable—DeLaet remains among the statistical leaders in both driving and ball striking this year, something that makes him a factor in any tournament.
For Hadwin the year was about getting to know the courses he’d play. His game didn’t measure up to his expectations, he said, but he is confident in his progress. Hadwin had two of his best finishes—at the Canadian Open and the Crowne Plaza Invitational—by going low on the weekend.
“It shows that if you get to the weekend you can make a move and really jump up the leaderboard,” he said.
With Hearn progressing into the third tournament of the four events that make up the Fed Ex Cup, there will be at least four Canadians on the PGA Tour next year. Abbotsford, B.C.’s Nick Taylor won late in 2014, and has an exemption through to 2017 and Masters winner Mike Weir is expected to return with limited exemptions next year after leaving the sport for personal reasons.
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