RBC CANADIAN OPEN

June 9, 2023

Adam Hadwin

Oakdale Golf & Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Nice solid round. You find yourself in contention. How does it feel to be up at the top?

ADAM HADWIN: Yeah, it's great. It was nice to put together some birdies there. Keep it going through the tough stretch on the front. That 3 through 6 stretch is very tough. So to sneak one out on 5 and nice to get one on 8 as well. So, yeah, I'm pleased with where I'm at. Obviously I got some work to do this weekend. I don't think I'm going to be two back by the end of the day. But I'm certainly in the golf tournament going into the weekend.

Q. Obviously, you're in a Canadian trio today and yesterday. How does it feel to be with your fellow Canadians for 36 holes?

ADAM HADWIN: Yeah, it's a lot of fun. I love that they have done this the last couple years. I was in the Canadian group last year with Mike and Mac. It's a blast. What I think is really cool is we're at a point now on the PGA TOUR where they can do that and it's like a respectable group. There's enough of us out there and obviously Mac and Svennie have both won this year and there's a lot of good talent. So it's a lot of fun to play a round with them for 36 holes.

Q. You're 8-under for your last 27 holes after opening up in 3-over. Is that just a product of starting on that front nine or is there something that turned your game around specifically?

ADAM HADWIN: Yeah, I mean, I definitely think part of it is starting on that front nine. Obviously, I'm sure everybody's been saying it, but 3 through 6 is really the difficult stretch on this golf course. Doesn't help when you shank it. But I knew that just keep hitting good shots I would have chances on the back. I turned it around nicely. And, again, starting on the back you would have a few chances starting off. I took advantage of a few. Then played that stretch a lot better today. So yeah, I think the course is gettable today. It's a little bit softer. Balls might not run out as much in the fairways and you can attack a little bit more for the pins. So good spot going to the weekend, but we'll see how many I'll be back.

Q. When you have that late/early draw and now you're in and you have a good score like just how much does the rest of the day feel good now and you can rest and relax and know you're going out probably fairly late tomorrow?

ADAM HADWIN: Yeah, I mean, it's certainly a lot better than stressing over a cut line, I know that. I've been doing that a lot lately. So it's a lot nicer to know that I'm going to have a tee time tomorrow and probably a decent one. Yeah, get some rest, prepare for tomorrow. That quick turnaround can either be a good thing or a bad thing sometimes. If you're struggling it can be bad. You don't have enough time to kind of figure things out. But I kind of turned it around yesterday to end the day on a pretty good note and I kind of kept that going today.

Q. The weather this morning obviously not great. Would you classify today as a grind or was it okay for you?

ADAM HADWIN: No. Yeah, I mean, obviously didn't start off as the greatest. We were in rain gear and umbrellas. But the clouds, the sky kind broke open a little bit, we got a little bit more later. But, no, today wasn't a grind. The PGA a few weeks ago was a grind. We had the umbrella out the entire round. I haven't done that in a long time. I mean, the last, what, probably nine holes we didn't have a drop of rain. So I think if anything it's probably just making the golf course easier.

Q. The birdie on 5, how important was that to add that to your scorecard?

ADAM HADWIN: Well, it was --

Q. A bonus one?

ADAM HADWIN: Definitely a bonus birdie, for sure. Everything that you can make between 3 and 6 I think is a bonus birdie. It was probably double bonus points for having shanked the same 6-iron yesterday that I had today. So to have a look and then just roll it in was a bonus.

Q. What did you make of 18? I know a bunch of players have said it's a quirky golf course and an interesting finishing hole there. What are your thoughts on it?

ADAM HADWIN: You want the politically correct thoughts?

Q. Never.

ADAM HADWIN: No, I really dislike golf architecture that forces guys to lay up. It's just, it's one of my pet peeves. I don't like taking options out of guys' hands. And 18 certainly does it. With that being said, I do think there's a good chance that you can see fireworks coming down the late Sunday. Two-shot lead might not be safe. So I think it's going to, it's probably going to provide for a dramatic finish, which I guess is what you want from a 18th hole. But from a design standpoint it's not my favorite.

Q. How have you approached it the last two rounds and how much can weather and the conditions affect how you approach it over the weekend?

ADAM HADWIN: I don't think anything will change. I think everybody's just trying to hit it between the bunker and right rough and get it as close to the end of the fairway as you can so you can have a shorter shot in. But there's really nothing you can do on that hole other than that. It's just not worth the risk taking it over the bunker left.

Q. Can you comment on Rose Zhang's start as a, her first career start as a professional two weeks ago on the LPGA?

ADAM HADWIN: Oh, man, that's pretty -- you know, the scary thing is it was like expected of her. I think that's probably what makes it even more impressive is that she came out with those expectations placed on her. I don't think anybody would be, would have been completely shocked if she didn't play well under that scrutiny. Then she goes out and wins the golf tournament. So you're probably looking at, I mean, the future is obviously a long way away, but potentially one of the greatest women to ever play the game.