Adam Hadwin was about to go to sleep when he got a text message from a PGA Tour official informing him that The Players Championship had been cancelled. The 32-year-old from Moose Jaw, Sask., was T-22 through Round 1.
Since that last round on Thursday March 12, the Tour has announced players won’t be teeing it up in an official capacity until mid-May, at the earliest. The Masters, April’s staple, has been moved back to a date yet to be announced.
Hadwin, a one-time winner on Tour who’s ranked 55th in the world, is now relaxing at home in Wichita, Kansas, with his wife, Jess, and their newborn daughter, Maddox. Sportsnet caught up with him to talk about what he’ll be doing between tournaments, fatherhood, the weirdest Players he’s ever been involved in, and how he’ll find motivation with no events on the horizon.
SPORTSNET What are you up to?
HADWIN Just laying low. Hanging out. Really not a whole lot, to be honest.
You’re not alone there. Any training or practicing?
I haven’t done anything yet. I’ve been a little bit lazy. I find it difficult, especially with this latest announcement that we’re not playing until at least mid-May — we’ve got two months, minimum. I find it really hard to get motivated because there’s really not much to play for right now….
Being in Wichita, I’m sure once the weather starts to warm up a little I’ll get out to the golf course and start to practice. I did buy a few things so I could work out at home, with all the gyms closing. I’ll maybe be doing some virtual training with my trainer, or following the program he’s set out. We’re slowly getting back into it. But, again, I find it difficult, not because of what’s going on, but the uncertainty of when things are going to start happening again. I find it difficult to get motivated and really get into it.
Maybe a good time to rest up any sore muscles or nagging injuries?
I mean, it would be. I had no such problems. Jess had Maddox the first week of January, so I’ve only played three times since then. I haven’t played that much, I haven’t travelled that much. Mentally and all that I’m probably as fresh as I would ever be. But it’s always nice to have a break — I’m sure once we do get playing again, it’s going to be busy. So far they’ve only talked about postponing the Masters and the PGA Championship. At some point it sounds like they’re going to try and make those up, which is probably going to jam the schedule a little bit.
How’s Maddox doing?
She’s good. She’s 10 weeks today [Wednesday], so still super newborn. She’ll do tummy time and lift her head — she likes to be entertained, likes to be talked to. She’s already growing too fast. We’re just trying to keep her safe as best as we can. Since we’re in Wichita, the population density here isn’t huge like New York or anything, so we’ll certainly go for walks and get outside while we can.
You have a place in Phoenix as well, right?
Yes, but once the Players was cancelled, I came back here. In Phoenix we’re kind of all alone. It’s nice to have family here and, even if it’s just to go run errands for an hour or two, to get out of the house together. It’s a really big help. We’re definitely comfortable in our own space.
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Do you have enough toilet paper?
We haven’t been able to buy any more since I’ve been home because none has been on the shelves. It’s just the two of us, so luckily we’re not going to go through that much. My wife just happened to buy a package of toilet paper when she got here, just to make sure we had some extras. So we should be okay for a while, but if it lasts too much longer we might have to go fight some people for some toilet paper.
Oh yeah. Maybe for baby wipes too.
That’s what we’ve been stocking up on are the baby supplies, just in case. Diapers, wipes, formula, that sort of thing. When we have run errands we might grab an extra thing of wipes or some extra formula just to make sure we have extra for her.
Smart. Are you enjoying the early days of being a dad?
Certainly the good times are more than enjoyable. When she’s playing and smiling and laughing, it can be really fun. As somebody who was used to his sleep and sometimes requires more than others, it’s been a little bit more difficult on that front. When you hear her crying, it’s a little harder — you know that she doesn’t know what’s going on. You’re not sure how to help her feel better or help her stop crying, that type of thing. But the learning curve is pretty quick. I’m lucky, my wife has 15 nieces and nephews, so she’s been around kids her whole life. I ask a lot of questions and I get told to do a lot of things, which I’m quite alright with. She certainly knows more than I do. You learn fast. It’s nice to be able to spend more time with them at home.
What was it like at The Players last week?
It was a pretty crazy few days to be honest. Obviously the events in the country unfolded really quickly. You go from having a pretty status quo week, then everything started to happen on Wednesday, really. Wednesday night they cancelled basketball games and by the end of the evening they had postponed the NBA season. By Thursday night the NHL had postponed its season. While we were playing Thursday, the Tour announced they were going to go no spectators at The Players. And that night — I wasn’t even asleep yet, I had such a late [Round 1] tee time that I was still up when they cancelled. I’m sure it would’ve been really weird for guys that had already gone to bed and woken up with the text message that they weren’t playing in the morning. Everything just happened so fast. Even now, I’m not sure everything’s really sunk in. It continues to seem like we’re living in a movie, like it’s something we’d be watching on screen.
Were you anticipating that The Players would be cancelled before Sunday?
I was in the camp that figured we would play and finish the event. I figured things would be cancelled after that. I guess as a Tour they decided to err on the side of caution. At that time we were pretty much the only sport still playing, which isn’t a good look in itself. But it would’ve been a really bad look had volunteers come down ill or players come down ill or staff or anything like that as we continued to play. I’m a little surprised a player hasn’t tested positive yet. It’s still possible over the next little bit. At least if it comes out now, the Tour took all the precautions.
Have you been tested?
No. I won’t be able to be tested, unless I show symptoms. There’s not enough test kits for the people who are showing symptoms, let alone somebody in my age bracket with no symptoms. I haven’t travelled out of the country, nobody that I’ve been around has tested positive. I would love to get tested, to know. I’ve somewhat self-isolated in the house anyway, besides running a few errands here and there. Just a bit of a crazy world right now.
How often are you hearing updates from the PGA Tour?
The only updates we’ve gotten are the same ones that they’ve put out to the public. We get an email with the press release maybe 20-30 minutes before they sent it to the public. It’s kind of all quiet right now, and especially with no golf until at least the middle of May. I wouldn’t expect to hear from them for at least another month with regards to events or anything like that.
What’s the longest layoff you’ve ever had between tournaments, since you turned pro?
I think this is going to be it. I had three weeks off before going to The Players, so all combined, if you don’t count the one round [there], I’m going to be off for three months. I definitely think this is going to be the longest stretch, and who knows how long it continues.
Your schedule was a little lighter early this year since Maddox was born, right?
Yeah, that was the original plan. Looking back I really only missed one week I would’ve normally played, which is Palm Springs, so the week after she was born [Maddox’s birthday is Jan. 8]. I might’ve played the Honda Classic this year to keep playing, but I decided to stay home with Jess and Maddox. I haven’t taken a ton off that I would’ve played, but maybe a couple [weeks].
Your next tournament is at least two months away. How are you going to find motivation?
Yeah, it’s a good question. I’m not sure. Hopefully what I can do is start to develop a bit of a routine here. I think that’s the easiest way for me. We’ll get back into it, whether I work out in the mornings or night or in the afternoons, just develop a daily routine where I’ve got stuff I need to accomplish and I get up and I do it and once I do that I’m free to spend as much time with Jess and Maddox as possible.
That’s one of the things that helps, and I’m used to, in a sport where there’s no required practice. I don’t have to be at the gym at 2 p.m. for shootaround or a skate, it’s really up to me when I go. It’s a lot easier to be more regimented on the road, like, ‘Okay, I’m going to play nine holes, so I have to do this before and I want to practice.’ That’ll be the challenge over these next couple weeks, just to get into a good routine. Once that’s set, it’ll be a lot easier to follow up with things.
Have you set up the new workout equipment you bought?
Yeah, it’s just in the basement. And when I say equipment, I bought a set of dumbbells and I’ve got a medicine ball and I’ve got a band, which I always travel with anyway [laughs]. It was more onus on my trainer to put together a program with the equipment that I had. And now it’s up to me to follow it and try to touch base with him as much as we can and see if we can’t get two Skype workouts in a week to make sure I’m doing it, and that my form is okay. It’s kind of the same thing everybody’s going through right now. I think a lot of trainers are offering online stuff and trying to stay busy and do what they can for clients. We’re no different.
A lot of sports fans are sad and bored. Any series you want to recommend?
On Netflix, if you haven’t already, Breaking Bad is a must. Ozark is really good. Suits — I really like Suits. Narcos and Narcos Mexico, which just released its second season. I’m sure a lot of people, especially if they’re doing self-isolation or even quarantine, they’re going to be cruising through a lot of these pretty quickly.
How about golf specific workouts? People might be swinging the club to cure boredom.
I think anything just to get you moving. There’s lots of YouTube yoga videos you can do. Spend 20-30 minutes every few days, even if it’s just a beginner’s yoga, that’ll get your body prepped for swinging the club. If you think of it in terms of working out, target any muscle group from your knees to your chest, really. Your core and your glutes. Anything you can exercise, doing some squats in the house or some lunges in the house, even unweighted, will go a long way to helping you get ready to go hit some balls.
And how about you? Maybe you’ll be hitting the workout room tomorrow?
[Laughs] I mean, that’s a positive thought. Never quite sure when it’ll start, but hopefully it’ll start soon.
