DETROIT — Forget Canada Day. This has been Canada Year on the PGA Tour.
Already, four Canadian golfers have won on the PGA Tour this season — believed to be a record — and the land to the north (or south, if you're entering via Detroit) has two good cracks at adding a fifth.
Adam Hadwin matched a Detroit Golf Club record with a 9-under 63 and was at 19 under following Saturday's third round at Detroit Golf Club, while Taylor Pendrith carded a 67 and was at 18 under.
They're both chasing Rickie Fowler, who enters Sunday's final round with a one-stroke lead at 20 under.
"Yeah, I certainly don't want to be left behind," Hadwin said of joining his Canadian brothers Mackenzie Hughes, Corey Conners, Adam Svensson and Nick Taylor as PGA Tour winners in 2023. "It's a great group to be a part of.
"It's a pretty fun leaderboard right now, with Taylor and I at the top, on Canada Day, as well.
"I haven't been in this position in a while."
Hadwin, 35, has won once on the PGA Tour, at the 2017 Valspar Invitational. He set the tone early in Saturday's third round, especially with a back-nine 30 that included eagle-3 at No. 14 and birdie-2 at No. 15.
He had a chance to own the course record all to himself, but an 18-footer just slid by on the 18th hole.
Pendrith, 32, from Richmond Hill, Ontario, has been in this position before — just last year, when he was in the final pairing on Sunday with eventual champion Tony Finau. Pendrith shot a final-round 72, and tied for second.
Pendrith was 5 under through 12 holes in the third round, but then made par at the easy par-5 14th, and then found the greenside bunker at the par-3 15th, leading to his first bogey all week. He bounced back with a stiff approach for birdie at the par-4 16th, but then bogeyed the last.
Still, his first PGA Tour victory is within grasp.
"Last year on Sunday, obviously, didn't go how I wanted to, but I got to watch Tony win the tournament and learned a ton from that," said Pendrith, who was followed by many friends and family Saturday, some of his fans even wrapped in Canadian flags on Canada Day. "He was super-aggressive all day, so that's kind of how I've been trying to play this week, stay aggressive. Obviously, I knew the scores were going to be low.
"A couple back, but should be fun tomorrow. Just got to stay aggressive and try to make some more birdies."
Pendrith has struggled this season, with no top-10s since February, and two missed cuts in a row entering Rocket Mortgage Classic week.
Hughes got the Canadian party started this season, winning the Sanderson Farms Championship in October. Then it was Svensson at the RSM Classic in November, and Conners at the Texas Open in April.
More recently, and most importantly, was Taylor's win at the Canadian Open this month.
That was the first win by a Canadian in the Canadian Open since 1954, and it triggered a huge celebration — which Hadwin was in. He famously was steamrolled by a security guard who didn't recognize him, sending the video and photographic images viral.
Hadwin was asked after Saturday's round if he finds himself wearing his player-ID badge more since the incident.
"I don't have to as much, because everybody knows who I am, because I'm the guy who got tackled," Hadwin, who tied for 12th at that Canadian Open, said with a sheepish grin. "Yeah, wild incident."
Springer penalized
The Monday qualifiers are making their presence felt this week at DGC.
Peter Kuest led after the first round and is within striking distance again after the third-round, firing a 7-under 65 to enter Sunday three shots off the lead.
Kyle Reifers, meanwhile, was tied for 26th at 11 under after a 6-under 66, and Brett Stegmaier was tied for 30th at 10 under after a 3-under 69.
Both qualified for the Rocket on Monday, at Fieldstone Golf Club in Auburn Hills. Reifers was medalist, while Kuest survived a four-for-three playoff. After the four players hit their tee shots on the first playoff hole, Hayden Springer realized he had a 15th club in his bag and alerted an official. That led to a two-stroke penalty and a double bogey, and Kuest, Stegmaier and Andy Spencer advanced.
"I feel really bad for Hayden," said Kuest, 25, of California. "He's such a good dude. I mean, all to him for coming out and saying he had 15 clubs. You hope everyone out there does it if it happens to them."
Kuest would have survived the playoff anyway. He made par on the extra hole; two pars and a bogey advanced. Now, a top-10 finish this week will get him into the John Deere Classic next week.
As for Monday, Springer finished his qualifier round early and while waiting around, he got another club out of his car and started working with it. When it came time for the playoff, he forgot to take it out of his bag.
Chips & divots
— There were a couple early 59 watches in Saturday's round. Peter Malnati came out of the shoot with three birdies and an eagle in his first four holes, but finished with a 5-under 67. Then, Dylan Wu (who made double-eagle earlier in the week) started his third round with birdies on his first five holes, but finished with a 6-under 66.
— Nothing looked to faze Taylor Moore early. He made eagle on the long, par-5 fourth hole, then hit his tee shot on the par-3 fifth to 22 feet — just before the weather horn blew to halt play. After a delay of one hour, 42 minutes, he rolled in the birdie putt on the fifth. But he went even-par the rest of the way for a 3-under 69.
— Chase Johnson's dream week continued Saturday morning, with the winner of the John Shippen firing a 4-under 68 to move into a tie for 51st. He's due another nice check, after receiving $20,000 for winning the Shippen to earn his way into the Rocket.
