James Hahn Sinks 25-Foot Birdie Putt on Third Playoff Hole to Win in Rain at Northern Trust Open
When he was signing autographs after his final round Sunday at the Northern Trust Open, James Hahn asked a spectator if there was going to be a playoff.
The man answered “Yeah, yeah, it’s Dustin Johnson, Paul Casey and some other guy.”
That “other guy” was Hahn and although he was a virtual unknown at the start of the week, he escaped from anonymity after rolling in a 25-foot birdie putt for his first PGA Tour victory on the 14th green at Riviera Country Club.
Eight years ago Hahn, now 33, was selling shoes at Nordstrom’s in Walnut Creek. Now he’s a champion at the highest level of professional golf.
“I haven’t even thought about it,” he said.” The biggest thing in my life right now is the birth of my daughter in three weeks. That brings me down to reality and I couldn’t be more excited about it.”
Hahn was more than excited after his second shot on the third extra hole fell into the cup and Johnson missed his ensuing putt that would’ve extended the playoff.
“I was just excited that I made it, whether or not Dustin made his,” said Hahn, who finished the tournament at 6-under par. “I couldn’t look. I was nervous. My heart was going 120 beats per second. I put a good putt on it and it was good speed, just enough to catch the left corner.”
Hahn almost had to pinch himself to believe he was in the interview tent answering questions about his improbable win.
“I look at myself in the mirror some days and tell myself I’m not even supposed to be here. I come from a small town, I didn’t do well in college, was never an All-American. I sold shoes for a living and then one day the putts started going in and I started playing a little better. I can still remember grinding in the mini-tours and I didn’t have any money. I played a year in Korea, two years in Canada, three on the Web.com Tour and this is my third season on the PGA Tour. So I think I’m trending in the right direction.”
Hahn, Johnson and Casey all parred the first sudden-death playoff hole, Riviera’s famed No. 18, but Casey missed his birdie putt at the 10th, leaving Johnson and Han left to battle it out for the first-place prize.
Both players landed their approach shots on the green but Johnson’s ball stopped about six feet from the cup. Fate, however, was on Hahn’s side.
“At one point I had $200 in my pocket and was going to borrow money from my parents to pay my caddie and book a flight home,” Hahn recalled. “I’m sitting there on the computer going on Craigslist and I start looking for jobs. It just kind of hit me, like, hey, you have an opportunity to do something with your life. And I was wasting it just hanging out with friends, partying on the weekends. I wasn’t putting the time in.”
Hahn finished eighth that week in Edmonton, winning about $3,000 that in retrospect, he said, felt like “at least $1 million.” He kept his card that year, his career continued and Sunday, in his 65th career start on the world’s premiere circuit, he earned a nice check he said “will buy a lot of diapers.” The victory also vaulted him to eighth in the FedExCup standings and earned him a spot in this year’s Masters Tournament in Augusta, GA.
The Korean-American is also the first Cal alumnus to win a PGA Tour event.
“Back when I was grinding on the mini-tours I’d write down on a sticky note, ‘I will putt great today,’” Hahn said. “I put that everywhere I would possibly go for the entire day. I’d put it next to my toothbrush, on the mirror in the bathroom, on the toilet seat, even on the door before I left. I kind of did a little bit of that yesterday. I just told myself, ‘I will putt great tomorrow. I will putt great tomorrow.’’
Johnson, whose fiance is Paulina Gretzky (daughter of hockey Hall-of-Famer Wayne Gretzky), narrowly missed getting his ninth PGA Tour victory. He nearly won in regulation, missing a birdie try from just inside 10 feet at No. 18. Casey, meanwhile, closed with a 68 to earn a place in the playoff.
As usual, Riviera’s narrow fairways got the better of the field. Blayne Barber posted the lowest round of the week – a bogey-free, 6-under 65 Sunday that left him tied for 12th.
“It was the toughest test since probably the U.S. Open last year that I can remember,” said Canadian Graham DeLaet, who shot 73 and tied for eighth.
Johnson had to settle for second place for the second straight year. He finished two strokes behind Bubba Watson last February.
“I feel like I played solid all week,” he said after the final round. “Even today I played well. Obviously 17 cost me, making bogey out of the middle of the fairway with a lob-wedge. You just can’t do things like that if you want to win. Then I hit two great shots into 18 and thought I’d made the putt but two feet from the hole it just snapped hard and hit the left edge. Hats off to James for making a long putt like that in the playoff. I played with him all day, so I knew he was rolling the putter really well. I hit a good putt too, I just misread it. I had it breaking right and it broke left. That’s how it goes.”
Johnson and Casey are new fathers themselves and Hahn admitted talking to Johnson about it during the final round.
“On the first tee I asked him how his son was doing and he said ‘Get as much sleep as you can.’ He also said to hire help because it’s a lot of work. To me it was very calming, if anything, to talk about being a dad. I’m lucky to play golf for a living but to have the opportunity to be a father is absolutely crazy.”
Once the playoff started, however, conversation ceased.
“There wasn’t a whole bunch of talking in the playoff – there never is,” Casey said. “I love this golf course. I’ve always played well here. The crowds are great and it’s just nice to get an opportunity to win this. Maybe one day I can get my name in the clubhouse. This place, I love it to death.”
The tournament was seemingly Sergio Garcia’s to win on the back nine Sunday and he held a one-shot lead walking to the 17th tee, but the Spaniard bogeyed the last two holes and wound up in a four-way tie for fourth at -5. Afterwards, he wasn’t too upset because he didn’t think he deserved to win.
“I didn’t play well at all this week,” Garcia said. “It was already a good effort for me to have a chance, but I’m not going to lie to myself. I’ve always been truthful to myself and I didn’t play well enough.”
Thursday’s first round ended with Hahn, Retief Goosen, Vijay Singh, Nick Watney, Daniel Summerhays and Derek Fathauer all tied atop the leaderboard at 5-under. Goosen rolled in a 30-foot birdie putt on the final hole to finish 1-under Friday good enough for a one-stroke lead at the halfway mark. The South African shot 2-under Saturday to reach -8 and carried a two-shot lead into the final round. DeLaet was alone in second and 12 others were within four shots.
“I was 9-under through six but I used the wrong clubs into the greens at 7 and 8 and that cost me three shots,” said Goosen, who closed with a +4 and finished tied for eighth. “I thought 8-under was going to be the winning score, but it shows you those holes on the back nine into that rain play tough.”
The playoff was the 19th in the 89-year history of the tournament and the eighth since 1998, when the event was moved to Valencia Country Club in Santa Clarita because Riviera was being groomed for the U.S. Senior Open. Los Angeles native John Merrick beat Charlie Beljan on the second playoff hole in 2013 and the year before Bill Haas sank a 43-footer to birdie the second playoff hole and defeat Bradley and Phil Mickelson.
This year’s playoff was Hahn’s moment and he made the most of it.
“Growing up in Northern California this is one of the tournaments I watched on TV as a kid,” he said. “There are a lot of legends that came through here and seeing all the murals and pictures of past winners, I never thought I’d be up on the same wall. I’m speechless.”
The win not only made Hahn $1.2-million dollars richer, it also gave him an idea what to name his daughter.
“I’m going to have to talk to my wife about Riviera,” he said, laughing. I think that’s a good name, but we’ll see what she says when I get home.”
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