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DESERT CLASSIC

January 20, 2019

Adam Hadwin

La Quinta, California

Q. Just a tough finish. You certainly played well enough to win the birdie just dried up after the 11th it seemed.
ADAM HADWIN: Yeah, it's golf. I made a bunch of putts all week and then honestly I was kind of battling it a little bit swing wise, didn't quite have it like I did the first three days. Got it around nicely, hit a great wedge on 11 and had a good look there on 12 and it just kind of flat lined on me there in the last few.

Q. This is the third year in a row you've had a chance to win this tournament. You keep getting closer and closer. I know it obviously has to be frustrating right new but the big picture you're on the right track.
ADAM HADWIN: Oh, for sure. You're right, it is frustrating. It was nice going into the last hole this year being tied not 1-down or 2-down. So that was getting better there. But what a tremendous learning experience, guys making putts all over and having to -- somebody had to win it today and Adam went out and did that.

Q. What did you see on your pitch on 16?
ADAM HADWIN: Honestly, the short game is where I lack the most skill. I struggle with it. It just wasn't a good enough lie that I thought I could spin it enough by flying it up on top. So I just felt more comfortable trying to bump it in the hill, I caught it a little heavy and it kind of came out stubby and it just didn't climb up the hill.

Q. And then your approach on 18, getting a little bit of an adrenaline kick there?
ADAM HADWIN: Might have. We felt a little breeze in at 160, thought we had to try to hit the 8 good, so I was aimed a little right trying to play for a little draw, kind of came on top of it, shut the face and of course it's going to fly a little bit further. But thankfully there was a bunker back there. Didn't even know it.

Q. Are you a leaderboard watcher?
ADAM HADWIN: Oh, yeah.

Q. Did you have any idea you were 3-up could have gone 4-up?
ADAM HADWIN: Oh, yeah, of course. I'm a leaderboard watcher Thursday morning first hole, so it's just one of those things that my gaze naturally goes there, I knew it was a big putt, I could go 4-up, I hit a good putt, it just didn't break. I mean, there are lots of good finish holes, too, so no lead's safe, anything can happen, 16, 17, 18. And I had a chance to win the golf tournament. So second event of a new season, a new calendar year and here I am. So it's a good start.

Q. Adam Long seemed to play today like a guy who had been in that position a million times before and obviously he's never been close. I guess that's not surprising because you guys all are playing at a level that that can happen. But did he impress you today with his -- I mean he seemed to be in the game the whole time, he didn't really lose anything.
ADAM HADWIN: No, not at all. He was solid all day. His putter was perfect. I mean that's the way you got to play when you're going to win a golf tournament. He went out and shot 65 on a good golf course, a number was there, but you still got to shoot it. You got to hit the shots. The putts he made down the stretch as well, hat's off to him.

Q. Do you feel more pressure with all the Canadians in the crowd there?
ADAM HADWIN: Certainly a little bit, yeah, for sure. It's like playing back in Canada, to be honest with you. Canadian Open, there's always that added pressure. You want to win in front of them. It would have been a special moment if I could have pulled it off but there's always next year, I guess.

Q. Phil was your main challenge at the turn, nothing against Adam, but did it ever kind of sneak up on you guys that, oh, he's in this now?
ADAM HADWIN: I mean, you could certainly look at it that way, I guess, but like I say, I mean he played solid all day. You knew he wasn't going to go away, it was just a matter of if he hit a couple good shots and made some putts he was going to be right there again. So with the way the scores were going, I knew I still had to make a few birdies out there and I tried my best, they just didn't go.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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