Golf results, Feb. 22: Cal alum James Hahn wins at Riviera - SFGate
Former Cal player James Hahn beat Dustin Johnson on the third hole of a playoff.
Photo: Todd Warshaw / Getty ImagesSurrounded by stars in the city and on the golf course, James Hahn turned in the performance of his life Sunday at the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles.
In trouble behind the 10th green at Riviera on the second hole of a three-man playoff, he hit a flop shot over the back bunker and made a 10-foot birdie putt to stay in the game against Dustin Johnson, as Paul Casey bowed out. On the third extra hole, Hahn remembered the subtle break and holed a 25-foot birdie putt.
He was too nervous to watch Johnson try to match the birdie from 12 feet.
And Hahn was too stunned to dance.
By closing with a par for a 2-under-par 69 and making two birdies in the playoff, Hahn grabbed his first PGA Tour title, earned his first trip to the Masters and became the first Cal alum to win a tour event.
Until Sunday, he was best known as the man who did the “Gangnam Style†dance before the crazies on the 16th hole at the Phoenix Open two years ago. On Sunday, he was amazed and humbled at what hit him at Riviera just as the Academy Awards ceremony was getting started a few miles away.
His story is fit for Hollywood.
Hahn once sold shoes at a high-end department store to make a living. He was on the verge of giving up on golf in 2008 when he was down to his last $200 and decided then to work a little harder.
On Sunday, he weaved his way through traffic on the back nine of a round in which seven players had at least a share of the lead.
“I never would have thought I would win this tournament,†Hahn said.
Johnson narrowly missed a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th that would have won it. He shot 69. Casey made a late surge only to bogey the last hole for a 68. Hahn joined them at 6-under 278 with a tough up-and-down for par on the 18th. Four others finished one stroke behind.
So much went right for Hahn, a 33-year-old born in South Korea and raised in Alameda.
“Hats off to James, making a long putt like that,†Johnson said. “I played with him all day, so I knew he was rolling the putter really well.â€
Hahn was excited about what happens next, and he wasn’t talking about his first trip to Augusta National. His wife, Stephanie, is expecting their first child next month, the week after the World Golf Championship at Doral. Even if Hahn stays eligible, he said he won’t play.
LPGA Tour: New Zealand’s Lydia Ko made her second start as world No. 1 a winning one, shooting a final-round 2-under 71 for a two-stroke victory over South Korea’s Amy Yang in the Women’s Australian Open.
Ko finished with a 72-hole total of 9-under 283 at Royal Melbourne.
European Tour: Anirban Lahiri grabbed his second European Tour title as he beat overnight leader Shiv Chowrasia on the first playoff hole at the Hero Indian Open in New Delhi. Lahiri, who won the Malaysian Open two weeks ago, shot a 2-under 69 to overcome a seven-stroke deficit and finish at 7-under 277.
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