Canadian Adam Hadwin within sight of first PGA win at CareerBuilder Challenge

When Adam Hadwin came out of nowhere to make a run at the Canadian Open in 2011, most golf fans asked, ``Adam Who?"

Five years later, not many more know his name. But if he can continue the run he's had at the PGA CareerBuilder Challenge this week, he could soon be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Mike Weir, Graham DeLaet and David Hearn.

The Moose Jaw, Sask., native made quite a splash on Saturday, registering a sizzling 29 on the front nine on the Nicklaus Tournament Course at La Quinta Country Club, highlighted by an eagle and five birdies. That put him in a tie with leader Jason Dufner, who had his own hot streak in birdieing seven of the last nine holes on the Stadium Course.

But while a couple of bogeys on the back nine -- including a literal splash on 15 -- took the shine off that hot start and a string of three straight birdies, Hadwin ended the day with an eight-under 64 and stands in third place at 20-under, three strokes behind Dufner. His first PGA win is certainly within range.

American Jamie Lovemark stands between Hadwin and Dufner, two strokes off the lead.

"It's just going to be a question of handling the nerves and making sure those putts kind of keep hitting the lines," Hadwin told the Associated Press.

Regardless of how Hadwin fares in the final round on Sunday at the Stadium Course, he has demonstrated the depth of Canadian golf. With DeLaet and Hearn now mainstays on the tour, the arrival of Hadwin and Nick Taylor has sprinkled more maple leaves on PGA leader boards.

And if he manages to overcome Dufner's lead, he will become the second Canadian in 14 months to record a tour victory. Taylor broke a seven-year drought for Canadian-born playerswhen he won the Sanderson Farms Championship in November of 2014.

Things started to go sideways for Hadwin on the tenth, when his 102-yard approach shot landed just off the green. He opted to putt, but came up short and then missed a short putt to record his first bogey of the tournament.

The 28-year-old resident of Abbotsford, B.C., has had an up-and-down start to the 2015-16 season. He's made the cut in four of the six tournaments he's entered but finished no higher than a tie for 28th at the Sanderson Farms Championship in November.

DeLaet is in a tie for 35th spot at 11-under. Taylor and Hearn missed the cut.