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TSN Senior Reporter

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On Friday afternoon, after a frustrating round of 74, Adam Hadwin was so sure he would have the weekend off, he went back to his Santa Monica hotel and packed his bag.

His two-round total of two over was firmly outside the cut line. But after a late dip in the scores kept the twos alive, he turned disappointment into opportunity, sailing up the leaderboard on the weekend for his second top-10 finish in his last four starts.

“I was obviously hoping for two more days,” Hadwin said. “I didn’t think it was going to happen. I didn’t have a flight booked or anything – I didn’t go that far. But I knew I was playing well so I just wanted two more days to go out there and move up. I took advantage.”

He sure did.

The Abbotsford, B.C., product put together two rounds of 66, finishing at eight under and into a tie for sixth. He made 11 birdies and just a single bogey over the last 36 holes, those red numbers keyed by his play into the greens.

In his first two rounds, he hit 21 greens in regulation. In the last two he improved to 27. With as strong a putter as he is, every extra green he hits means a genuine opportunity.

And it also helped that he also didn’t fall victim again to Riviera’s famed 10th hole, a devilish par 4 that’s been driving golfers nuts since the course opened in 1926.

On Friday, Hadwin put his tee shot in the front bunker and needed four more swings to extract it and keep it on the slippery putting surface before making a triple-bogey seven.

“Honestly there wasn’t too much of a difference,” said Hadwin of his first two rounds compared to the last two. “The weekend I didn’t take four times to get out of the bunker on 10 -- that always helps. I was close Thursday and Friday. A couple of putts here, a shot or two there. But really solid all four days and luckily they all kind of went in on the weekend.”

Taking advantage of an extra two rounds over the course of a long season may not seem that important but a golfer such as Hadwin knows that what he accomplished at the Genesis Open could make a huge difference when the FedEx Cup playoffs come around and there is jockeying for position to try and get into the final 30.

“As competitive as this tour is, something as simple as that, a cut line moving in your favour and playing well on the weekend, for sure,” agreed Hadwin. “It’s honestly sometimes as small as plugging in a bunker and not plugging in a bunker, the margins are that slim out here. “I felt good in Phoenix as well and didn’t have a good weekend so it’s nice to come here and see the game continue in the right direction, trending in the right direction.”

The finish is important for Hadwin for another reason as it moves him to 51st on the Official World Golf Ranking from 57th.

The top 64 players on that list will earn spots in the World Golf Championship-Dell Technologies Match Play starting March 21.