LA QUINTA, Calif. — Adam Hadwin shot a 13-under 59 on Saturday in the CareerBuilder Challenge for the ninth sub-60 round in PGA TOUR history and the second in 10 days. In cool, clear conditions in the desert after rain the previous two days, the 29-year-old Canadian reached 13 under with a 7-foot birdie putt on the par-4 17th and got up-and-down for par — making a 3-footer — from just off the green on the par-4 18th at La Quinta Country Club. Justin Thomas had an 11-under 59 last week in Hawaii in the first round of his Sony Open victory. Hadwin matched David Duval’s tournament record, a 13-under 59 on the Arnold Palmer Private Course in the final round of his 1999 victory. Jim Furyk shot a TOUR-record 12-under 58 last year in the Travelers Championship. Hadwin took the lead at 17-under 199 after starting the day in danger of missing the cut at 4 under. He played the first two days at PGA West, shooting 71 on the Jack Nicklaus Tournament Course and 69 on the Stadium Course. The former Louisville player is the first Canadian — he was born in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, and grew up in Abbortsford, British Columbia — to break 60 on the TOUR. He’s also the first player to accomplish the feat on a par-72 course since Duval, and the only non-winner to do it. Hadwin had 13 birdies in the bogey-free round, running off six in a row on the front nine and five straight on back. He opened with a par with the temperature in the low-50s, birdied the next six and added a birdie on No. 9 for a front-nine 29. He birdied Nos. 11-15 to get to 12 under with snow-capped peaks sparkling in the background. Rookie Dominic Bozzelli was a stroke back after a 69 on the Nicklaus layout. Second-round leader Hudson Swafford was another shot behind at 15 under with Bud Cauley and Brian Harman. Swafford shot a 71 on the Stadium Course, making a double bogey after hitting left into the 18-foot deep bunker on the par-5 16th and dropping another shot on the par-3 17th after barely reaching the island green. Cauley and Harman played at La Quinta, the easiest of the three courses. Cauley had a 65, and Harman a 69. Phil Mickelson closed with a watery double bogey for a 73 on the Stadium Course, leaving him eight strokes back in his return from two sports hernia surgeries. The 46-year-old Hall of Famer had surgery Oct. 19 — three days after tying for eighth in the season-opening Safeway Open — and again Dec. 12. Caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay also is making a comeback after having both knees replaced.
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