James Hahn joyously running up the 18th fairway looking for a 2-putt for his tour card in the 2009 Q-School.
Back in the day when there was a Q-School that led professional golfers directly to the PGA TOUR I was assigned to James Hahn’s group. The year was 2008, it was the Q-School Finals at Bear Lakes and it was late on the afternoon of the final day. Hahn was in the hunt to make the Top 25 & Ties and earn himself a tour card for 2009. There was no wrap-around season back then either.
Coming off the tee at the par-4 18th hole he asked me if I knew what he needed to make it. I did know but I hesitated to tell him but I did—you need a par 4. I don’t want to interfere with any professional golfer’s golf game but he asked me so I felt obligated to tell him what I knew to be reasonably true.
On the right a dejected James Hahn after 4-putting for a double bogey to miss out on his tour card.
His tee shot was bunkered right. Not too severe of a bunker but there was water to carry to get to the green and it was probably a 6 or 7 iron for him. The youngster, a month after he turned 27, then hit a great shot onto the green about 40 feet away from the hole. A reasonable 2-putt would give him his first tour card. I was so excited for him. He was so excited for himself that he literally ran down the fairway and leapt for joy along the way.
Then he 4-putted for double bogey, a T34 finish and a card on the then Nationwide, not Web.com Tour.
In 2010 he played in 28 events, had five Top-10s and finished 29th on the Money List, not good enough for a PGA TOUR card. Then he finished T41 at the 2010 Q-School, not good enough for a PGA TOUR card.
The final standings has Hahn in the red indicating a card on the Web.com Tour not the blue coded PGA TOUR.
In 2011 he played in 25 events, had one Top-10 and finished 67th on the Money List. No tour card.
In 2012 he played in 24 Web.com events, caught fire, won The Rex Hospital Open in a playoff, finished 5th on the Money List and earned his tour card for the 2013 PGA TOUR season!
In 2013 he played in 26 PGA TOUR events with two Top-10s early in the year with a T4 at Humana Challenge and a T3 at Pebble Beach. I was at both those tournaments and had an opportunity to speak with the tour rookie at the Humana Challenge. My impression was that of a fine young man who had his humble head on straight with an open-minded approach to golf and life. That double bogey to miss his card back in 2009 was surely to be just a stepping stone in the big picture. It was an exciting year to be at the Humana with their sponsorship from the Bill Clinton Foundation and fitness advice from Mr. Gary Player himself. The light-hearted tournament in the desert where Bob Hope’s spirit is always lingering around any small or large gathering of people. After the fast start, Hahn would fade a bit missing seven of the last ten cuts he faced in 2013. and he finished No. 110 in the FedEx Cup Standings, which was good enough to keep his card for the newly format 2014/2015 wrap around season on the PGA TOUR.
It was a great honor for Merri Daniel and I to meet and interview Gary Player at the 2013 Humana Challenge.
In 2014, the now famous ‘Gangnam-style dancer’, would miss 13 of 27 cuts faced and again finish the year with two Top-10s and barely keeping his card. This time the peak performance came later in the year with a T5 at the HP Byron Nelson Championship and a T6 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Yet he missed three of the last seven cuts and squeaked in at No. 123.
In his breakthrough year of 2015, Hahn would trade in one of those reoccurring pair of Top-10s for a win at the Northern Trust Open in a playoff with Paul Casey and Dustin Johnson. He would win by canning a 25-footer on the third playoff hole. His second Top-10 came with a T6 finish at the Greenbrier Classic. With the early season win, Hahn played in his first Masters and missed the cut there and at the U.S. Open and British Open. Earning over $2 million for the year, the Korean-born American finished No. 51 making it through the first three FedEx Cup playoff events but failing to reach the Select 30 for the Tour Championship at Eastlake in Atlanta.
James Hahn, 2016 Wells Fargo Champion! Photo Credit: ESPN
So far this season, Hahn has duplicated his pair of Top-10s with a 6th place finish last November in the CIMB Classic and his one-hole playoff win today over Roberto Castro at the Wells Fargo Championship. His win came after a streak of eight straight missed cuts that goes all the way back to the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am! That makes him 3-for-3 in playoffs and 52-for-96 in cuts made on the PGA TOUR. His cuts made percentage of roughly 50% was slightly better on the Web.com Tour ( 48-for-97) and while playing in Canada (16-for-24).
Bottom line is that James Hahn, now 34-years old and known to me as Mr. Passion & Perseverance never let that Q-School double bogey at the last phase him one iota. Maybe he doesn’t consistently make cuts but when he gets in a playoff he consistently wins!
Congratulations to James Hahn on his second career PGA TOUR victory!
With my buddy Frosty documenting Troy Merritt’s win at the 2009 Q-School. We didn’t compete but we did have the opportunity to play the Jack Nicklaus designed Lakes Course the next morning!
Bear Lakes Country Club, host to the 2009 Q-School.
Commemorative flag!
