Add Adam Svensson to the list of Canucks to crack the PGA Tour. A former Canadian National Amateur Team member, Svensson won The Great Abaco Classic in the Bahamas earlier this year to vault up the Web.com Tour money list and gain status for the PGA Tour.
A terrific ballstriker who seemed destined for the PGA Tour since leaving college early to pursue professional golf, Svensson had five Top 10 finishes on the Web.com Tour last year.
Svensson joins seven other Canadians with status on the PGA Tour. Among those playing in golf’s big league this year are:
Adam Hadwin
The top-ranked Canadian in the world at No. 58, had three Top 10 finishes and earned nearly $2-million. Hadwin’s year didn’t measure up to the 2016-17 year when he carded a 59 and won for the first time. Look for a rebound as he attempts to play his way back on to the Presidents Cup team.
Corey Conners
After an up-and-down rookie season, Conners, from Listowel, Ont., returns with some status after finishing 130th in the FedExCup standings last year. The highlight of the year was his performance at the Valspar Championship, but a poor Sunday derailed what could have been a great week.
David Hearn
A veteran who had limited status on the tour last year, Hearn had two Top 10 finishes, and finished 138th on the FedExCup. That should give the 39-year old similar status to last season, meaning he’ll have to play well to sneak into events while he tries to regain full status on the PGA Tour.
Mackenzie Hughes
A largely miserable season for the Dundas, Ont. resident who broke through with a win during his rookie year. But there were significant improvements later in the year once he returned to working with Canadian swing instructor Scott Cowx. The highlight of the year was his Top 10 finish at the RBC Canadian Open.
Nick Taylor
A 63 during the final round of the final regular event of the 2017-18 season—that’s what it took for British Columbia native Nick Taylor to retain his playing privileges on the PGA Tour for this season. Taylor, who won in his rookie season on the PGA Tour, struggled to find a level of comfort on the greens throughout the year. But he still managed two Top 10 finishes while playing a lot of events—Taylor tipped it up in 30 tournaments last season. That’s not unusual for Taylor, who played 29 the year previous.
Ben Silverman
With a couple of Top 10 finishes in his rookie year, the Toronto native finished 136th on the FedExCup standings. That forced him back to the Web.com Tour Finals, where he regained status on the PGA Tour thanks to a tie for third at the Web.com Tour Championship.
Roger Sloan
Sloan, who made only seven of 20 cuts during his rookie season on the PGA Tour in 2015, rebounded with a great finish at the Boise Open in the Web.com Tour Finals that gives him status on the PGA Tour this year. A strong putter, look for Sloan to do better during his second stint on the PGA Tour.
Question marks:
Mike Weir
Weir, who is nearing 50 when he could move to the Champions Tour, plans to continue playing Web.com Tour. He’ll tee it up on the PGA Tour whenever his status as a past champion allows.
Graham DeLaet
Back injuries, and a recent surgery to deal with the nagging issue, means the Saskatchewan native is on the shelf indefinitely. There’s no timeline for a return, but if he does come back to play, DeLaet will have a medical exemption that will allow him to access to a number of tournaments to regain his status.