Pro golfer rugby tackled to ground by security thinking he is intruder

12 June 2023 , 11:03

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Security tackled Adam Hadwin as Nick Taylor celebrated winning the Canadian Open (Image: @TSN_Sports)

Canadian golfer Adam Hadwin had his plans to join the celebrations at the 18th hole of the Canadian Open quickly cut short after being taken down by a security guard.

Hadwin, 35, ran onto the course at the Oakdale Golf and Country Club in Toronto while spraying champagne and running towards fellow Canadian Nick Taylor, who had just sunk a spectacular 72-foot putt for eagle and victory over Tommy Fleetwood. But before getting within touching distance of Taylor, Hadwin was forcefully stopped by a security guard.

Seeing what they presumably thought was an intruder spraying a substance towards the winner, the security person intervened. After curling around Taylor, they tackled a casually dressed Hadwin around the waist, sending him staggering backwards onto the green.

With Hadwin flat out on his back, several others arrived to de-escalate the situation. His wife, Jessica, took to Twitter in the aftermath offering an update.

"Sorry to leave y’all hanging, had to get the toddler ready for bed," she tweeted. "I’m thrilled to report that (he) is still among the land of the living and in true Canadian form, apologized to the security guard for being tackled."

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Hours later, wife Jessica added another comment after being tagged in an alternate angle of the incident by the RBC Canadian Open Twitter account. "Omg I can’t handle these different angles," she said.

"The security guard’s laser focus on his target. Adam’s commitment to the giant bottle of champagne. So many things to take in with every new POV."

Adam Hadwin was tackled to the ground by security (@TSN_Sports)

Security restrained Adam Hadwin before others came over to diffuse the situation (@TSN_Sports)

Hadwin also took to the social media platform in the aftermath of the incident and saw the funny side of it. The golfer posted a photograph of the tackle while Taylor was looking on celebrating in the background with the caption: "Put it in the Louvre!"

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Adam Thielen even joined in on the jokes, claiming that: "[He] did ask me what it feels like to get tackled for a living, well here ya go haha." Hadwin replied: "I think I’ll stick to golf!"

Sticking to the golf, he did congratulate Taylor before addressing his viral part in proceedings. "Words cannot describe the magnitude of what you just accomplished. So proud of you," Hadwin tweeted.

Taylor made history by becoming the first Canadian citizen to win the Canadian Open since Pat Fletcher in 1954. You have to go back another 40 years for a Canada-born winner when Karl Keffer won the 11th edition in 1914.

The winner was short on words at the magnitude of the moment. "To kind of break that curse, if [that's] you want to call — I'm pretty speechless," he told CBC Sports. "I don't think it's going to sink in for quite some time what happened today."

Taylor achieved it in some style. After finishing level at 17-under-par with Fleetwood following four rounds, the pair could not be separated over the first three playoff holes, beyond Taylor's astonishing moment on the 18th green. The 72-foot eagle putt was the longest successful putt of his 13-year professional career.

Matthew Abbott