Wells Fargo Championship:
With a par on the first hole of sudden death, James Hahn defeated Roberto Castro in a two-man playoff and won the 14th playing of the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina.
This is Hahn’s second PGA TOUR title in 97 career starts. Both have come in extra time and both have been come-from-behind, having also won the 2015 Northern Trust Open in a three-man three-hole playoff after erasing a four-shot deficit.
This week, he entered the finale two back of 54-hole leader Rickie Fowler. While Fowler was limping home in 2-over 74, Hahn circled three birdies and an eagle-3 to offset three bogeys for 2-under 70, matching Castro with 72-hole aggregates of 9-under 279.
Entering the week off EIGHT consecutive missed cuts, the 34-year-old won in his fourth appearance at Quail Hollow Club with a previous best of T50 on debut in 2013. He missed the cut in 2014 and finished 73rd (LAST) in 2015.
With this win, the UC-Berkeley alum improves to 2-0 in playoffs and logs his second top 10 of the season on 15 starts, first since solo sixth at the CIMB Classic six months ago. He jumps from No. 134 in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) to a career-best 55th and vaults from 120th in the FedExCup standings to No. 26.
The South Korean-born Arizonian heads to TPC Sawgrass for his fourth straight appearance in THE PLAYERS where he’s 2-for-3 with a best of T30 last year. His scoring average in 10 rounds over the par-72 layout is EXACTLY 72.00, with a closing 69 last year his best.
Hahn opened 175/1 outright this coming week at Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, after winning the Wells Fargo as a pre-tourney 400/1. He is the “longest” of long shots to win on TOUR this season, supplanting Jim Herman who was the surprise winner at the Shell Houston Open at 300/1.
The Winner’s KEY Stats (ranking of 78 players):
Par-4 Scoring: 3.88 (T1)
Par-5 Scoring: 4.44 (T5)
Birdie or Better Percentage: 27.78 percent (T2)
Greens in Regulation (GIR): 47/72 (T13) at 65.28 percent
Proximity to Hole: 38’7” (T13)
Putts per GIR: 1.638 (5th)
Total Putts: 111 (T14); by round: 27-26-30-28
Strokes gained: putting (SGP): 6.108 (8th)
Strokes gained: tee-to-green (SGTTG): 6.804 (10th)
Sand Saves: 5/5 (T1)
Double bogeys or worse: 0 (T1)
Other Stats:
Driving Distance: 290.6 yards (23rd of 78)
Driving Accuracy: 32/56 (T20) at 57.14 percent
Scrambling: 14/25 (53rd) at 56.00 percent
Par-3 Scoring: 3.31 (T74)
Eagles: 1 (T5)
Birdies: 19 (T3)
Bogeys: 12 (T31)
Golf Channel Perfect Picks ($2,886,238):
Group 1: Justin Rose (3rd): $496,400
Group 2: Phil Mickelson (T4): $287,438
Group 3: James Hahn (P1): $1,314,000
Group 4: Roberto Castro (P2): $788,400
Draw:
The draw was basically neutral with 40 (of 78) early/late making the cut versus 38 (of 76) late/early (two WD’s).
That said, three of the four top finishers in Golf Channel came out of the PM/AM ranks, including the champion.
Castro, third threesome off No. 1 tee (7:20 a.m. ET) on Thursday bucked the trend.
James Hahn (P1): Late/early
Roberto Castro (P2): Early/late
Justin Rose (3rd): Late/early
Phil Mickelson (T4): Late/early
Other top-5 finishers:
Rory McIlroy (T4): Early/late
Rickie Fowler (T4): Early/late
Andrew Loupe (T4): Late/early
Yahoo! Low Rounds:
R1: Steve Wheatcroft; Andrew Loupe (65)
R2: Roberto Castro (66)
R3: James Hahn; Rickie Fowler (68)
R4: Jason Gore (65)
Bogey-free Rounds:
R1: THREE: Andrew Loupe (65); Anirban Lahiri (66); Ian Poulter (70)
R2: NONE
R3: NONE
R4: THREE: Jason Gore (65); David Lingmerth (68); Sean O’Hair (71)
The Champion’s Recap:
9-under 279 (70-71-68-70)
James Hahn: Playing out of the penultimate twosome, the Scottsdale, Arizona, resident began the final frame on 7-under (T3), two back of 54-hole leader Fowler.
Hahn split nine (of 14) fairways and hit 11 GIR, posting 1.727 putts per GIR and totaling 28 putts. He circled the par-4 eighth from 4’9” for his only par breaker of the round NOT on a par 5.
The 34-year-old penciled ‘4s’ on the par-5 fifth and 15th from 8’4” and 26 inches respectively, and with his shot of the day, dropped a 51’3” bomb for eagle on the par-5 seventh.
He bogeyed holes 6 and 12 on failed scrambles, and 3-putted the 18th from 39’9” for bogey-5, first to post 9-under 279. Castro, one group behind in the final twosome with Fowler, was on 11-under total thru 15 holes, but bogeyed the 16th and the 17th. Castro got up-and-down on the 18th, needing a 6’1” par-saver to get into the playoff.
The duo headed back to the par-4 18th for sudden death and Castro went first, pulling his tee shot into the water. After a penalty drop, he was able to salvage a bogey, but the door had been opened.
Hahn seized the moment and the trophy with a routine two-putt par.
The Runner-up:
9-under 279 (71-66-71-71)
Roberto Castro: The Web.com Tour grad began the finale in solo second on 8-under, one shy of 54-hole leader and playing partner Fowler. He was bogey-free 2-under thru 11 holes, circling the par-5 seventh from 6’2” and the par-4 11th from 3’3” respectively, and led outright on 11-under after back-to-back birdies on 14 and 15, but gave both shots back with the aforementioned bogeys on 16 and 17.
The 30-year-old was chasing his maiden TOUR title but settles for his second runner-up in 116 career starts, joining solo second at the 2013 AT&T National where he co-led thru 54 holes.
The transplanted Georgian notches his third top 10 of the season (16 starts) and first since T8 at the AT&T Pebble Beach in mid-February. He jumps 64 places to 33rd in the FEC standings and catapults 160 spots to No. 122 in OWGR.
When THE PLAYERS field was published on Friday, Castro was eighth alternate and needed a win this week to get in.
Third Place:
8-under 280 (70-70-69-71)
Justin Rose: The Englishman settled for a 1-under-par 34-37=71 in the final round for a 72-hole total of 8-under 280, good for solo third and one shot shy of the two-man playoff.
The seven-time TOUR winner entered off a disappointing missed cut in his Zurich Classic title defense last week so a rebound was class, and just what the doctor ordered. He’ll be somewhat disappointed again however, after playing his final eight holes in birdie-less 2-over with a failed scramble on the 12th and a 3-putt bogey from 17'7" at the par-4 16th. Rose also missed birdie putts from inside eight feet at the 11th and 15th.
He began the finale T3 on 7-under, two back of 54-hole leader Fowler. Playing out of the penultimate twosome with the eventual champ, the 35-year-old was tied for the lead on 10-under after his third birdie of the round on the par-5 10th before the indifferent finish.
Rose settles for a personal best at Quail Hollow in his seventh appearance, supplanting solo fifth on last visit in 2014, and a season best in his 10th start. He was No. 1 in SGTTG at 13.964, including 5.232 on Sunday, but 66th in SGP at -2.052, low lighted by a dismal -3.822 in R4.
Surprises:
Andrew Loupe: Other than Hahn and Castro, the Web.com Tour grad gets the nod in this section with a four-way T4 on 7-under 281 (65-71-74-71). It’s his fourth top 10 in 2015-16 on 16 starts and first since a season-best T3 at the CareerBuilder.
Making just his second visit to Quail Hollow after a missed cut in 2014, Loupe co-led after 18 holes and led outright thru 36 after opening in a week-tying-low 65 and tacking on a 71. He stumbled to a 74 in R3 to begin the finale on 6-under (T5).
The 27-year-old mustered just TWO (of 14) fairways and 10 greens in regulation but circled five for a tidy 1.500 putts per GIR. He bogeyed the first and 13th on failed scrambles and doubled the 11th after taking four to get on and missing bogey from 45 inches.
However, connecting three straight circles on Nos. 14-16 and holing a one-putt par from 11'2" on the 18th got him back inside the top five. Loupe was third alternate for THE PLAYERS when the field was published on Friday.
Disappointments:
Rory McIlroy: The defending champ was top-ranked at No. 3 OWGR and the pre-tourney fave at 4/1. He ultimately back-doored a four-way T4 on 7-under 281 with a final-round 66 on eight birdies against book-end bogeys on holes 1 and 18.
The newly minted 27-year-old (May 4th) led in total birdies with 22, but was T43 in bogeys with 13 and T48 in double bogeys with two. He’s an 11-time winner on TOUR but is now 0-for-11 when defending.
McIlroy headlines the field at THE PLAYERS where he’ll be making his seventh appearance and opened an 8/1 favorite. He missed his first three cuts at TPC Sawgrass but has since posted three straight top 10s.
Phil Mickelson: Were it not for a third-round 76 that ended with an ugly quadruple bogey-8, Mickelson may have finally been the winner at Quail Hollow in his 13th visit. He instead settles for a back-door four-way T4 on 7-under 281 (69-70-76-66), his second straight T4 in Charlotte and ninth top 10.
The Hall of Famer rebounded on Sunday to circle five on 12 greens in regulation, all from inside of 11 feet, and added an eagle-3 at the seventh from 27 inches. His one blemish was a 3-putt bogey-5 at the eighth from 23'3". Despite that hiccup, he led in SGP with a cumulative 8.589, including 2.523 in R4.
The 45-year-old heads to THE PLAYERS where he’s the 2007 champ but has missed his last three cuts.
Rickie Fowler: The overnight leader back-pedaled to a 2-over-par 39-35=74 in the final round and was the last member of a four-way T4 on 7-under 281.
Fowler has won three times on TOUR in 164 career starts but each has been come-from-behind. This was his third 54-hole lead/co-lead, first since the 2011 Quicken Loans National, and he’s now 0-for-3, relinquishing a one-stroke lead with a patchy final frame.
The 27-year-old managed just six (of 14) fairways and nine greens in regulation, posting -1.775 SGTTG. He lost the lead from the get-go with a failed up-and-down at the first, missing his par putt of 3'8", and retreated another on the fourth with another failed scramble.
Fowler circled the fifth from 4'0" but hit his second from the fairway on the par-5 seventh OB right leading to double bogey-7 and he was pretty much done.
What We Learned:
The pre-tourney odds-favorites have won just ONCE this season thru 26 events (Spieth- Hyundai TOC). As mentioned, Hahn was a 400/1 outright.
Twenty-one (21) of the Top 50 OWGR were in the field:
Eight (8) missed the cut: Henrik Stenson snapped a TOUR-leading 35 consecutive cuts made streak and was joined by: Kevin Kisner, Byeong-Hun An, Jim Furyk, Bill Haas, Shane Lowry, Justin Thomas and Ryan Moore.
Five (5) finished in the Top 10: Rose (3rd), McIlroy, Fowler, Mickelson (T4) and Danny Lee (T9).
There were 28 first-timers in the max field of 156 with 10 (of 17) TOUR rookies playing.
Francesco Molinari: The 33-year-old led the debutants with T17 on 2-under 286 (72-70-73-71). He’s connected four straight paydays but this was just his second top 25 of the season on 10 starts, joining T9 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
The Italian was 78th (LAST) in total birdies with only seven but was T4 in bogeys with just four and had no doubles or worse. He also carded a pitch-in eagle-2 from 27’6” away at the drivable par-4 14th on Sunday.
Harold Varner III: For the third straight week, the 25-year-old claimed or shared top rookie honors, this time at T24 on 1-under 287 – and for the second time in as many weeks, shared the top spot with Patton Kizzire.
Varner III was top rookie as well as top first-timer with T9 at the Valero and shared T8 in New Orleans with Kizzire, using the top-10 exemption to make his second start at Quail Hollow (CUT/2014).
The Jacksonville Beach, Florida, resident is set to make his debut at THE PLAYERS along with Kizzire.
Tim Wilkinson: This week’s shout out goes to the Kiwi who finished a season-best T11 on 4-under 284 (68-73-70-73) despite playing his final three holes in bogey, par, double bogey-6.
The 37-year-old cashed at Quail Hollow for the first time in five tries and nets his second top 25 of the season in 10 starts (T21, Puerto Rico Open). The TOUR-leader in scrambling led in one-putt percentage at 56.94 percent (41/72).
Up Next:
The TOUR heads to Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, for THE PLAYERS at TPC Sawgrass where Fowler is the defending champion. After a three-hole aggregate playoff with Kevin Kisner and Sergio Garcia, Fowler dispatched Kisner with birdie on the first hole of sudden death.
Stay tuned to this space for all the latest player news and opinions as the TOUR readies for its 27th tournament of the season.
