Adam HadwinDARRYL DYCK
Adam Hadwin shot a final round 73 Sunday to finish four strokes behind Andres Gonzales at the Soboba Golf Classic
Paired with Gonzales in the final group of the day, both were searching for their first career Nationwide Tour victory. Gonzales, who started the day with a two stroke lead, increased his advantage with birdies at the fifth and eighth holes. Hadwin, from Abbotsford, B.C., could not get anything going through the first nine holes, making nine straight pars.
Both bogeyed the 10th but Gonzales bounced back with a birdie on 11. He would later stumble with back-to-back bogeys on 15 and 16 but Hadwin could not take advantage, posting bogeys of his own on 14 and 17 before closing out with a birdie on 18.
Gonzales completed the wire-to-wire victory with an even-par 71 to finish at 8-under, two strokes better than Andrew Svoboda (71), who grabbed a share of the lead with an eagle on No. 6 before surrendering it with bogeys and Nos. 10, 11 and 13.
"I stuck with the same thing I was doing all week and that meant controlling what I could control," said Gonzales. "It also meant not looking at leaderboards until it came down to crunch time."
The 28-year-old former UNLV player earned $135,000 and with it a huge advantage towards finishing in the top 25 at the end of the year, which will guarantee him a PGA Tour card for next season.
For Hadwin, the tie for fifth was his first top-10 result of the season in five events. He earned $27,375 to move to 22nd on the money list.
Bryan DeCorso of Guelph, Ont., closed with a 73 to finish in a tie for 51st - his best Nationwide result since last August.
Chris Baryla of Vernon, B.C. rebounded with a 71 to finish tied for 68th - his first Nationwide result since last June.