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TSN Senior Reporter

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There may not have been any fans, grandstands or corporate tents but it was still golf.

For Adam Hadwin, it was also very good golf. The Canadian posted a 5-under 65 with birdies on eight holes Thursday and sits just two back of the lead after the opening round of the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas.

"It wasn’t much different than a normal day," said Hadwin of the changes brought in to allow the PGA Tour to get back to work. "I’ve played plenty of rounds with only a few people watching. I guess today it was zero people."

Well, not quite. On the fifth hole, a lone volunteer applauded as Hadwin rolled in a birdie putt. And on the 15th hole, a home bordering the course had a deck on which sat a few fans who gave a small cheer at another Hadwin birdie.

The Abbotsford, B.C., product played simple, uncomplicated golf for his first round in three months, calling his round one of solid ball-striking. He was especially pleased with his iron play, which allowed him to hit 15 of 18 greens.

His putter was also effective and he finished in 20th spot in Strokes Gained: Putting, gaining just over two shots on the field average.

In the weeks leading up to the restart, Hadwin worked with his coach, Ralph Bauer, and those changes obviously helped. He also admitted that the modifications are ongoing and that, in a strange way, helped his game on Thursday.

"It’s nice to go out and play and have a swing thought in my mind," he stated. "I think doing that took my thoughts away from the score. I know you can get too focused if you do that, but today I was hitting the ball where I wanted and that’s always nice."

Hadwin started his day by getting up and down from a greenside bunker on the par-5 first hole for birdie. After a bogey on the third and a par on the fourth, he made four birdies in five holes to close out his opening nine with a score of 31.

An errant drive on the par-5 11th led to another bogey but he corrected that by hitting his approach on the 14th to 10 fee, and to 11 feet on the next hole. He rolled in a 18-footer on the 17th hole to get to within a shot of the lead.

However, on the final hole, he hit a wild tee shot that sailed 60 yards off line and led to a closing bogey.

"It was my longest drive of the day," Hadwin joked later.

Corey Conners also had a solid day with a four-under par 66 that included a score of 30 on the opening nine. His only blip on the card came on the par-3 13th when he dunked his tee shot in the pond leading to a double bogey.

"It felt great to be back out competing," said Conners. "My game felt good and I’m excited for the next few days. It was a bit unusual without fans but the tour has done a great job setting up the event."

Mackenzie Hughes, the third Canadian in the field, fired a one-under 69 on the strength of three birdies and two bogeys.

The atmosphere of the round was one that players quickly settled into but one area where there was some difficulty was the player-caddie social distancing. The PGA Tour has urged two-person teams to try and stay apart as much as possible and, earlier this week, sent out a text message to all participants to remind them of that protocol.

But it was clear that there were infractions, some intended and others unintentional. Hadwin stated that it may seem simple on paper to keep apart, but it’s not that easy in the middle of a round.

"I thought about it a lot today," Hadwin said. "But it’s tough to do your job and keep apart."

Breaking old habits is also difficult, he added, using the handing off of a putter once a player hits a shot onto the green as a perfect example. That’s the way it’s been done for years and sometimes it’s just a natural reaction.