It took Hudson Swafford 93 PGA Tour events to build himself into a winner.
On Sunday, the former Georgia Bulldog broke out and broke through at the appropriately named CareerBuilder Challenge with a flurry of birdies down the stretch that earned him his first victory on the PGA Tour.
“They don’t give ’em away out here,” Swafford said, talking about tournament victories. “It’s very difficult and it’s a dream come true.”
It was difficult for Swafford on Sunday. For most of the day, there were at least a half-dozen solid contenders looking to hoist the trophy.
One by one they fell by the wayside and then Swafford put them all out of their misery with a three-hole stretch to remember.
His run to victory started at the 15th hole when he sank an 11-footer for birdie to get to 18-under par. At the long par five 16th, he smashed a drive well past the 300-yard mark then stuck a four-iron from 232 yards out a mere 12-feet for eagle. He would miss but had a simple tap-in that got him to 19-under and in the lead by two. At the 17th he pretty much slammed the door when he stuck his tee shot inside two feet and tapped in to get to 20-under.
Adam Hadwin, who rolled in 13 birdies on Saturday and shot 59, could only muster four on Sunday when he needed more. He made it close, holing a 25-footer for birdie at 17 to get to 19-under, just a shot back from Swafford.
But it came to an end for Hadwin when his drive at 18 missed the fairway and his second missed the green. He ended up having to hole an 11-footer for par to finish solo second, his best finish ever on the PGA Tour.
Swafford nearly made it four straight to finish after a perfect three-wood then an approach to 20 feet that he nearly holed.
“I had a great rhythm all day and good posture,” Swafford said. “I’ve been working on my posture. I hit it beautifully. To birdie three of the last four and almost getting the fourth was pretty special.”
Swafford became the ninth player from the University of Georgia to win on tour.
Hadwin became the first Canadian player to shoot 59 and after his close call on Sunday, he remains the only 59 shooter without a win.
