CareerBuilder Challenge 2017: Saturday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights

Canada's Adam Hadwin shot up the leaderboard Saturday at La Quinta Country Club in California, carding a 13-under 59 to take sole possession of the lead in the third round of the CareerBuilder Challenge.

At 17 under overall, Hadwin—who opened the day barely inside the top 50—will enter Sunday's final round with a one-shot lead over Dominic Bozzelli:

The 29-year-old became the first Canadian and eighth golfer overall to shoot a round of 59 or better in a PGA Tour event, as the tour's official Twitter account shared:

According to ESPN Stats & Info, Hadwin is part of an even smaller group of players who have managed to card a 59 on a par-72 course:

Hadwin also tied Chip Beck's PGA Tour record of 13 birdies in a single round, per Golf Channel.

While Hadwin accomplished a rare feat, the 2016-17 season has been more conducive to low scores than previous years, as ESPN Stats & Info showed:

Hadwin shot a 29 on the front nine with seven birdies, including six straight from Nos. 2 through 7. He then strung together five more in a row on the 11th through 15th holes to give himself a chance at history.

The unheralded veteran needed to play the final three holes at one under to shoot a 59, two under to tie Jim Furyk's single-round record of 58 or three under to break it.

His first opportunity came on the 16th hole, but one of his few misses forced him to settle for a par, as the PGA Tour showed:

Hadwin managed to regroup, though, and nailed a slightly shorter birdie putt on No. 17 to move to 13 under for the round, via the PGA Tour:

Although Hadwin was unable to join the 58 club, he showed nerves of steel in knocking down his final putt to clinch a 59, as the PGA Tour shared:

While Hadwin wasn't perfect Saturday, the following stats suggest he was as close to that mark as almost anyone else in the history of the sport, per the PGA Tour:

The rest of the field paled in comparison to Hadwin in the third round, but several other golfers made moves to put themselves in contention.

South Korea's Whee Kim moved from one under to 10 under with a 63. India's Anirban Lahiri sits at 11 under following an eight-under 64, and American Bud Cauley trails Hadwin by just two strokes by virtue of a seven-under 65.

With five golfers within two shots of the lead, it's far from guaranteed that Hadwin will leave La Quinta with a victory.

He played the first two rounds at four under, and if he returns to that form Sunday, the door will be open for someone else to seize the trophy.

Phil Mickelson may have played his way out of that conversation, though, as he put up a one-over 73 and dropped outside the top 20 at nine under overall.

Momentum is on Hadwin's side entering the final round, which gives the two-time Web.com Tour winner the best chance of his career to triumph on the PGA Tour.

Post-Round Reaction

Following his historic round, Hadwin described his surreal experience, according to ESPN.com:

"

Wow! I don't really know what to say just yet. I think it's still sinking in. I think everybody talks about kind of they were in a zone and I think that's kind of what happened. I was thinking about it. I knew exactly where I was. I knew exactly what I needed to do. It just didn't seem to matter.

"

While Hadwin enters the final round as the favorite to win with a one-shot lead, he knows that closing the deal will be a major challenge, per the Associated Press (h/t Sportsnet):

"

The Stadium Course is a much tougher course than La Quinta. It's a Sunday. I got a chance to win a golf tournament. That's what you want going into Sunday, and I'm excited about that. ... They say one of hardest things in golf is to follow up a low round. I have to figure out a way to convince myself that I just shot 67.

"

Hadwin won't have much time to celebrate his accomplishment, as he needs to turn in another strong showing Sunday to secure the win.

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