Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin show that local courses can produce great golfers
Abbotsford golfers Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin grew up playing golf at Ledgeview Golf and Country Club, and they qualified for the Masters in 2020. Not only did they qualify, but the Canadian team in general played well, including a top-10 finish from Listowel, Ontario golfer Corey Conners. Taylor and Hadwin have demonstrated that local golfers can compete for the biggest prizes in the sport, and that players in local programs, such as UFV’s golf teams, can feel confident knowing that courses they play have produced high-ranking professionals.
Some sports have championships once per year, and some sports have multiple big tournaments. For the sports who have the latter, it becomes difficult to understand which tournaments mean more than others. Having said that, it’s hard not to say that the Masters is the most prestigious event in the sport of golf, and maybe the most prestigious tournament in American sports.
Though golf has four major tournaments (the Open Championship, the PGA Championships, the U.S. Open, and the Masters) each tournament is different and means more to some depending on the perspective. For example, the Open Championship is the oldest major tournament, and therefore can be argued to stand as the most important. That said, the Masters is special regardless. Golfers often say that their dream is to win the Masters, and that’s exactly what Dustin Johnson said this year as Tiger Woods gave him the “green jacket.” Whoever wins the Masters gets a special tournament jacket, known as one of if not the single greatest prize for the sport. It’s complete with a ceremony where the previous Masters champion gives the player the jacket, and it’s quite the spectacle for golfers and golf fans.
The point? This kind of exposure changes the way people view golf locally. Nick Taylor’s T-29 may not be a top ranking, but to make the cut at arguably the most prestigious tournament in the world is quite the feat by a golfer from a small city. This doesn’t just change the way people see Nick Taylor, Adam Hadwin, or Ledgeview golf — it changes the way people see themselves, as they too may have green jacket dreams in the Fraser Valley.
