Canadians Sporting Strong Presence at Augusta

When thinking about the countries that produce most of the players on the PGA TOUR, many would point to Great Britain and the United States as the most represented, along with some other European countries.  This week, however, The Masters is flush with professionals from Canada.

There are three Canadians that will be playing this week at Augusta, former Masters champion Mike Weir, Adam Hadwin and Mackenzie Hughes. Weir is by far the most experienced of the Canadians that are playing this week but expectations seem to be much higher for Hadwin and Hughes in their Augusta debut.

Hadwin, as you may remember, shot a 59 earlier this season and won the Valspar Championship a few months after to claim his first win on the PGA TOUR. Getting his first victory in his third professional season hasn’t gotten him down and he’s looking to translate his recent success into a strong Masters showing. “I’m playing really well,” Hadwin said, “I’ve had some success against great fields and it’s just a matter of preparing the best I can and seeing where my game stacks up.”

Hughes is riding on some momentum himself, as he won his first event in South Carolina last November in what was only his fifth career start on the PGA TOUR. Hughes has tried to be a sponge since arriving at Augusta, learning all that he can about the storied course and the famous event. “There are a lot of things you have to learn quickly, but one of the things that you have to be careful about is conditioning,” said Hughes. He’ll be looking to take that advice with him not only this event but for years to come.

With Hadwin, Hughes, and Weir all competing in the Masters this week, Canada is represented by its most players in the tournament in 49 years. The last three Canadians to all compete in the same Masters tournament were Al Balding, Gary Cowan and George Knudson, all of which competed in 1968.

While Weir remains the only Canadian to win a green jacket, with such young players touting great potential, Canada may soon become a strong bearer of golf talent and begin taking home more majors down the line.

Cover Image via Flickr