HONOLULU – Aaron Baddeley has only made the FedExCup Playoffs once in six years and doesn’t hold much PGA TOUR status. His hair is down to his shoulders at 41 years old. His career thus far: Four TOUR wins, including the 2016 Barbasol Championship and one Presidents Cup appearance. It is easy to forget that he was once considered Australia’s next great player. Perhaps the best is yet ahead. Baddeley was one of the last to enter the field at the Sony Open Hawaii. His exemption came on Sunday. Baddeley shot 65-65 over the weekend to finish T7. He booked a tee at The American Express Palm Desert, California starting Thursday. He said, “Ball-hitting today was very spot on.” “I can honestly state that I believe I hit one shot offline this morning. This is the first time I’ve done it in forever. It was nice to come in, as I wasn’t 100% comfortable beginning the week. Wasn’t quite right. He said, “It was just a small goal to try to improve every day.” Once, good shots seemed effortless. Baddeley became the first amateur champion in the Holden Australian Open 1999 at 18 years old. Baddeley was a hot commodity, and in 2000 became the first person to be granted a Masters exemption for an amateur since 1976. He admits that his professional career was not up to the expectations. He said, “I mean, I’d be honest and say that I was disappointed.” “Sortof coming out if my age was 18, 19, 20; if you told me that I had won only four times and not won a major at 41, then I would have said – I would never have agreed with you.” Baddeley, who is currently the 535th-ranked player worldwide, started working with Mike Adams last autumn and noticed improvement. At the Butterfield Bermuda Championship, he finished at T6 and had some of his best ball-striking ever. On Sunday, he hit 12 of 14 fairways at Waialae County Club’s course. This is a difficult course to achieve. He combined his improved tee to green play with his usual short-game magic (16 of 18 scrambling) made for a powerful combination. Baddeley stated that his unpredictable, unpredictable lifestyle over the past three years, which included Monday qualifiers and occasional sponsor exemptions, was hard on his family. But things are improving. He said that he feels like his best golf is ahead of him, because Mike simplified the game. “And to be able, to come into this week not really hitting it very well, and then have one of my most ball-striking rounds, that’s pretty awesome.”
By: Cameron Morfit
Title: Aaron Baddeley parlays late exemption to top-10 finish at Sony Open in Hawaii
Sourced From: www.pgatour.com/news/2023/01/15/aaron-baddeley-parlays-late-exemption-to-top-10-finish-at-sony-open-in-hawaii.html
Published Date: Sun, 15 Jan 2023 17:00:00 -0500
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