Coming into this week -- his 65th career start on the PGA Tour -- he might as well have been a top-secret, covert golfing spy from South Korea, even though he had managed his way to 9 Top 25 finishes, four Top 10's and a flirtatious dance with victory at the 2013 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where he finished tied for 3rd. However, after his mildly successful stint in early 2013 -- once removed from the comforting, familiar sunshine of the West Coast swing -- Hahn faded back into anonymity despite some new-found modest fame, which resulted from a silly dance he did after sinking a nice birdie putt at the Loudest Hole in Golf at the Waste Management Open (Phoenix). From there, Hahn struggled mightily, missing the cut in 29 of his next 52 tourney starts over the subsequent twenty months of play.
Then, after a sluggish start to the 2014-15 wrap-around season, the 2015 calendar brought renewed hope for Hahn. And that hope turned to promise at the Sony Open in Hawaii (T-26) and again at the Humana Challenge in Palm Springs, where he finished with a Sunday 65 to tie 20th place. But ultimately, his star would shine the brightest when the plot thickened and the tension was ratcheted up the most at the Northern Trust Open, played annually on the famed and birdie-stingy Riviera Country Club track.
"Winning is awesome! Everyone wants me to do the dance (go here if you still haven't seen this guy bust a move that would make Young MC blush); I don't even think they know my name," Hahn quipped abashedly during his post-win presser before brandishing another Oscar-winning smile. "A couple of guys in the locker room were calling me 'John' (chuckles), like (as in) John Huh. It's amazing how many people don't know me and...I mean, that's kinda cool." With another sheepish grin, Hahn completes his aw-shucks train of thought, "They have no idea who I am!"
Well James, I think that may very well change after your heroic display of golf in a 3-hole playoff that outlasted a resurgent Paul Casey and eventually thwarted the talent of a current golfing luminary in his own right, Dustin Johnson (8 Tour wins). Hahn made two clutch putts, the first of which was on the beguiling par-4 10th hole despite DJ's almost sure-thing birdie putt from 4 feet, and the second on the par-3 14th hole from about 24 feet, a momentum-shifting putt that put the pressure squarely on Johnson's broad shoulders. Alas, it was meant to be for the Tour's "Youtube" sensation, who proudly hails as one of South Korea's "American" sons, as DJ could not summon the deft touch needed to sink a tricky left-to-right putt that would have forced a 4th playoff hole.
Talk about your Cinderella story stolen from a Hollywood script!! Oh wait, that script was already written for Kevin Costner in the movie "Tin Cup", but only this time, the real-life ending was more than just a metaphorically happy one. This time around, the pro-golfing protagonist with the winning smile triumphed in the heat of the Tour's pressure-cooking crucible. A story almost too good to be true, the 33 year-old Cal-Berkeley Bear dazzled the masses with his golfing flair instead of simply entertaining them with his Gangnam-inspired impression of Fred Astair.
Speaking of entertainment, this kid has a flair for the dramatic on grand stages. Here he is holing out for birdie from the 6th fairway of Pebble Beach in 2013:
Who knows whether this breakthrough win will end up being the foretaste of many thrilling tourney triumphs to come, but one thing is certain: this man knows how to have fun on the golf course. Perhaps his more free-spirited demeanor -- quite refreshing when cool stoicism is the preferred trait on Tour -- is rooted in the perspective he gained as a former Nordstrom's shoe salesman well before he re-launched his golf career in 2007. After hawking Jimmy Choos to discerning, fashion-obsessed women at metro LA Nordstrom stores, Hahn would go on to hone his skills on both the Korean and Canadian Tours, where he most certainly learned how to put on a show as Jimmy Hahn, the self-deprecating, happy-go-lucky touring professional.
The mettle-tested veteran of "mini-tour" golf once found himself down to his last $200 before a T-8 in Edmonton won him a $3,000 check to barely keep his Big Tour golf dreams alive. A year later, in his return to Edmonton, Hahn would win the event. After a character-building missed opportunity to earn his tour card at the 2010 PGA Tour Q-School event, he went on to the web.com Tour, where he played for 3 years, winning once (in a playoff) and finishing 2nd in the season-ending 2012 Tour Championship. Having earned his PGA Tour card the hard way, Hahn knew he would eventually be ready to seize his chance when it arrived. And arrive it did at the famed "Riv", where he seemingly relished the opportunity to take on the starring role, in the process upstaging the likes of DJ, Sergio Garcia and the already anointed next "big thing" on Tour, Jordan Spieth.
Hahn excelled in an arduous arena where most newcomers falter and, as a result, he won't ever have to sweat the small stuff. Well, at least not for the next two years of "exempt" status on Tour. Having already survived golf's gauntlet of mini-tour uncertainty, frustrating runs of missed cuts on every tour, and even the embarrassment of not having the money to pay his caddy fee as a fledgling touring pro in Canada, Hahn will now be able to treat his wife to the new car he promised her if and when he finished in the Top 5. Now, after crashing through the ceiling of hard-to-earn premier wins on the toughest tour of them all, Hahn can entertain the notion of a bigger, more improbable dream: a qualification berth into the President's Cup. As an American. Playing in Seoul, South Korea, where he was born. Fancy THAT Hollywood!! But no matter what happens going forward, he will forever have stories like this one to tell to his daughter, who is slated to "tee off" in the game of life in about three weeks' time:
"I was walking up the stairs -- and I played with Jim Furyk and Dustin Johnson -- and this little kid is like: 'Okay, YAY! Good job Jim, good job Dustin, good job uhh?'" (laughing as he goes). He had nothing to say, he was like: 'Who's that guy?'" And even when I was signing hats after the round, I asked some guy, 'Hey is there a playoff, what's going on?'" And he responded, 'Yeah, Dustin Johnson, Paul Casey and some other guy'" And I was like, (making an autograph signing motion), 'Oh yeah? Okay, cool, here's your hat.'" It's definitely humbling, I don't expect anyone to know my name...I just play golf for a living."
And play it very well indeed Mr. Hahn. Time to chase that next dream starting in April at Augusta!
No comments:
Post a Comment