All across the United States, Fourth of July celebrations are underway.
But in Detroit, it was the neighbors to the north — or to the south, considering Windsor’s relation to the city — who did their best to steal America’s thunder (and oh how much thunder there was, with play temporarily suspended on Saturday afternoon) at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Perhaps the smoke from wildfires in Ontario that scorched the region’s air quality over the past week wasn’t just a health concern, but a sign. See, July 1 was Canada Day, the anniversary of the country’s foundation back in 1867.
And so before we in Detroit could get to the boats and the barbecue and Joey Chestnut pounding hot dogs in New York, the Detroit Golf Club was inundated by Canadians — including but not limited to teens walking the course draped in Canadian flags, women wearing miniature Canadian flags in their hats and Canadian golfers Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith climbing into spot Nos. 2 and 3 on the third-round leader board.
It’s also why Windsor resident Adam Wagner was escorting his two boys around in maple leaf-festooned shorts.
“We’re here to support our fellow Canadians, Hadwin and Pendrith,” he said, his hands on the shoulders of sons Ben, 8 and Nick, 6. “Have watched these guys for years on PGA Tour Canada. It’s a cool progression to see the success these guys are having on the PGA Tour, knowing how they got their start in Canada.”
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‘A pretty fun leaderboard’
So far this week, the pair are doing more than fine on this side of the border.
Pendrith, who was tied for the 36-hole lead, had his first miscue of the week when he bogeyed the par-3 15th. He bogeyed again on 18, but still carded a 5-under 67 to move to 18-under for the tournament, two strokes off the lead and in the final group for the second straight year.
He’ll be joined by Hadwin, his countryman who tied a tournament record with a 9-under 63 to get to 19-under on the tournament.
The third member of their group (thanks to the tourney opting for threesomes to try and beat the bad weather forecast)? Fan favorite Rickie Fowler, who birdied six of his final eight holes Saturday to hold a one-stroke lead, at 20-under.
Hadwin’s record-setting day started with a birdie on No. 1, followed by another nice look on No. 3 when his wedge settled just a few feet below the hole. At that point, one uninhibited patron couldn’t help himself.
“He’s on fire!” the man screamed. “Just the right amount of smoke on that one!”
Hadwin rolled in the birdie, which not only elicited another yell from the man, but garnered a high-five between a pair of Canadian cape-wearing Windsor natives: Nathan White, 18, and Christian Morneau, 17.
The pair also came with family to last year’s tournament, when they began the collection of signatures on the brim of their red bucket hats adorned with “Canada” on the crests. By mid-Saturday, they’d already collected a John Hancock — or should that be John Macdonald, Canada’s first prime minister? — from Tony Finau, Wesley Bryan, Max Homa and of course, Pendrith.
The hope is Hadwin will be there by the end of the weekend.
“I don’t think I have a favorite (golfer),” Morneau said. “I mean, all the Canadian guys.”
Who are they rooting for?
“Rickie is still up there, because he’s Rickie Fowler,” White said. “His turnaround is great. But ideally, it would be Pendrith.”
The recent high school graduates grew up playing golf — not necessarily because of Hadwin or Pendrith, but their success is boosting one of Canada’s fastest growing games.
Walking along the fourth fairway, the two did their best to bury the notion that Canadians don’t like golf as much as Americans — and the notion that there’s a gap between the two nations’ sporting cultures. Just across the Detroit River, they’re fans of the Lions and Tigers, too.
“It’s pretty much the same; the money and stuff is different, but we still have summer,” White said. “It’s not always snowing. I feel like people think it’s always snowing. We actually have great weather in Canada.”
Hadwin could feel the love all day.
“I certainly don’t want to be left behind,” he joked after his round. “It’s a pretty fun leaderboard right now with Taylor and I at the top — on Canada Day as well.”
‘We’ve hit a home run’
Hadwin has yet to win on the PGA Tour, but he was central to one of the more noteworthy finishes this year, at the RBC Canadian Open just outside of Toronto.
After countryman Nick Taylor rolled in a 72 foot putt for eagle on the fourth playoff hole to become the first Canadian in 69 years to win his country’s Open, Hadwin immediately ran from the side of the green to celebrate. A security guard had other ideas, tackling Hadwin and creating a clip that quickly went viral, both for the humor and the national pride.
“It was really symbolic for Canada and the boom that golf is having in Canada,” Wagner said. “If the RBC Canadian Open was any measuring stick, I mean, we’ve hit a home run.”
Few Canadians are more qualified to make such an assessment — he’s the tournament director for the Windsor Championship, PGA Tour Canada’s event that’s slated for next month on the other side of the Detroit River.
In fact, Wagner had met Hadwin before — on Canada Day in 2019. He and the country’s most successful golfer, World No. 37 Corey Conners, played in a nine-hole pro-am for the “Canada Day Charity Challenge” at Ambassador Golf Club in Windsor.
He hadn’t met Pendrith, however, until Saturday morning, when he stopped him on the way to the driving range to grab signatures for his boys. The Kent State graduate happily obliged.
Pendrith, wearing a red-and-white polo, fired birdies on Nos. 5 and 7 once play resumed following the storm, then picked up strokes on Nos. 10 and 12. After he failed to get up and down from the green-side bunker on No. 15, he made amends with consecutive birdies on Nos. 16 and 17, only to finish with a bogey.
Hadwin? Flawless. After the two early birdies, he picked up strokes on Nos. 7, 10 and 12, then added an eagle on No. 14 when he sent a long iron pin-high from 229 yards. He added birdies on 15 and 17 to tie his best round of the season.
In all, 156 golfers started the week at Detroit Golf Club. Four were Canadian. Three made the cut. Two are in the final group.
Not bad, eh?
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Rocket Mortgage Classic 2023 gets a buzz from Canadian crossovers