Rookie Hahn already showing off deft moves
Former Cal golfer not only playing well but also a Youtube sensation
PEBBLE BEACH — Like any PGA Tour rookie, James Hahn wants to keep making cuts and earning a decent living.
He’s OK with going viral as well.
The former Cal player, who will make his debut in the AT& T Pebble Beach National Pro- Am, shook up the golfing world — and his hips — with a snappy Gangnam Style dance after nailing a birdie putt Sunday at the notorious 16th hole at the Phoenix Open.
The Pebble Beach event will boast towering four- time champion Phil Mickelson, along with Dustin Johnson, a two- time winner fresh from a week off. But the tournament also has its zany side, which makes the 31- year- old Hahn a good fit in the salty air.
The fact that Hahn, of Alameda, shot a final- round 62 and finished tied for 16th in Phoenix was overshadowed by his dance, which, as of late Tuesday afternoon, had more than 190,000 views on YouTube.
Hahn said he was inspired after learning from Bubba Watson, whom he follows on Twitter, that everyone was trying to come up with unique antics on the 16th hole — a stadium hole in which fans, some inebriated, boo anyone who misses the green off the tee.
“There’s so many ideas,” Hahn said. “I’ve watched that golf tournament for the last 10 years. Everyone growing up as a kid is saying: ‘ What would I do if I was on 16 in the final round and made birdie?’ I knew I wanted to do something special, something fun. But I knew it would only happen if I made birdie.”
There were a couple of other ideas he considered.
“The Aaron Rodgers Discount Double Check,” he said. “There’s also the Tebow. Everybody knows the Tebow. … The Beyonce: ‘ If you like it, put a ring on it.’ … And then the Gangnam Style dance. I made birdie, lifted up the putter, walked off the green, and I was possessed.”
So much for staid golfers. Hahn described the atmosphere as incredible.
Out- of- body experiences aside, Hahn had already made a name for himself with a fi-nal- round 62 at the Humana Challenge on Jan. 20, when he finished tied for fourth and earned $ 246,400.
He has made four cuts in four attempts this season, one year removed from having to grind out a spot in the top 25 on the Web. com tour to earn his card. He was fifth on the money list.
Hahn said he did not play Pebble Beach as a junior, playing it for the first time only three years ago.
“I was going to wait until I made it on the PGA Tour to play the rotational golf courses,” he said. “It was kind of a reward for me. I’ve gotten a lot of offers. Friends would want to take me out to Pebble Beach, and I’d always decline and say, ‘ No, that’s the holy ground. I’m not allowed to step foot on there unless it was a professional event.’ I think I’ve earned my way up here and I’m enjoying every experience.”
Hahn, born in Seoul, South Korea, jokingly said his friends now call him up requesting dance lessons and threaten to heckle him with signs during his rounds.
His agent, Ben Walter, says the tour is now promoting a more athletic, outgoing type of player — such as Johnson, Watson and Keegan Bradley.
Hahn fits the profi le. Plus, he has a charitable side. During the 2010 season, Hahn fashioned an Oakland Children’s Hospital logo and donated $ 100 for every birdie he made that year ( 350) to the hospital.
Walter says Hahn is living his dream on tour, something he’d probably hoped to do a few years ago.
“First of all, he’s got the game to back up his personality,” Walter said. “He’s got a lot of feel. He’s got a lot of creativity. He practices a lot on his short game, so he’s a feel player by trade, and so that kind feeds into his personalty and who he is. He’s not going to change anything. He’s just a fun guy, too.”
You need only to visit YouTube to see that.
Mickelson will begin the defense of his title Thursday at 9: 50 a. m. on the Shore Course at Monterey Peninsula Country Club.
Because he is starting at MPCC, Mickelson, whose amateur partner is banker Skip McGee, will play Pebble Beach Golf Links on Saturday, annually known as celebrity day on the famed links.
Other featured firstround pairings at MPCC include Johnson, the 2009 and 2010 Pro- Am winner, and his amateur partner Wayne Gretzky, 2011 Pro- Am winners D. A. Points and Bill Murray, and Jason Day and 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh.
Webb Simpson, who won last year’s U. S. Open at The Olympic Club, will also open at MPCC with actor/ partner Andy Garcia.
Those opening at Spyglass Hill, normally considered the toughest of the three venues, include 2006 U. S. Open winner Geoff Ogilvy, Jim Furyk and three- time major winner Padraig Harrington.
At Pebble Beach, Lee Westwood, playing in the AT& T Pro- Am for the first time since 2005, will tee it up with former Pro- Am champ Vijay Singh. Westwood’s amateur partner is his father, John.
Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who’s a member at nearby Cypress Point Club , will also open at Pebble Beach with pro partner Jason Bohn.
A bespectacled Harrington spent about an hour on the practice green at Pebble Beach. The three- time major champion recently began wearing glasses to help with his putting.
Harrington, however, said he won’t be wearing them at this week’s Pro- Am.
At last week’s Phoenix Open, the Irishman explained how it’s been a task to find the right pair.
“They’ve managed all the way through my practice round up until I started hitting wedges on the range, and I could have been sowing potatoes after a while in the divots I was taking,” Harrington said. “I don’t know if those glasses will make it.”
In the offseason, Harrington began working with an eye specialist.
“It’s kind of the way these days, you know, you’re looking for specialists in every area of the game, whether it’s short game specialists, putting, long game coach, psychology, everything is par for the modern game, and this is just another little addition,” Harrington said.
Wednesday’s main event will be the 3M Celebrity Challenge, which will also feature a hole- in- one challenge. Celebrities slated to play include Murray, Kenny G, Huey Lewis, Ray Romano, Rodgers and Garcia. The event, to be held on holes No. 1, 2, 3, 17 and 18 at Pebble Beach, begins at 11 a. m.