James Hahn wasn’t on anyone’s pre-tournament radar last year before he won the Northern Trust Open for his first PGA Tour title. He defeated Dustin Johnson and Paul Casey in a playoff, and his winning smile and wide-eyed expressions were notable during his winner’s press conference.
Hahn, 34, had only played Riviera in competition twice before his victory, and his life changed drastically after his Cinderella triumph. His wife Stephanie was pregnant with their first child as he hoisted the trophy and, in his excitement, Hahn suggested that Riviera might be a good name for the baby.
So what was Stephanie’s response?
“She felt like I shouldn’t name her after a golf course,” Hahn said with a chuckle. “She’s the boss. Happy wife, happy life.”
When the Hahns welcomed their daughter the Sunday after his victory, they agreed on Kailee the following day. Hahn took a month off to spend time with his pride and joy before returning to competition and teeing it up at the Valero Texas Open where he shot a first round 80 and missed the cut by a mile.
“Anytime you take that long of a break you get a little rusty,” he said. “I just wasn’t very mentally strong. I wasn’t grinding enough in my practice sessions. All I wanted to do was come home and hang out with the baby.”
Hahn also regrets not playing in Houston the week before his first Masters, where he missed the cut in Augusta by a shot and didn’t finish a tournament inside the top 30 until he tied for sixth at the Greenbrier in July. Kailee and Stephanie got to wear white caddy bibs and walk with Hahn during the Masters’ Par 3 Contest the Wednesday before the tournament, so that was special, but Hahn’s other major tournaments last year included not qualifying for the U.S. Open and also missing the cuts at the British Open and PGA Championship.
“But all in all it’s golf,” he said. “I’ve been playing since I was four years old and I can handle any situation or circumstance that I face.”
That perspective has been hard earned. Hahn left Cal in 2003 to turn pro and struggled initially. He moonlighted with other jobs to keep his PGA Tour dream alive, trying his hand at everything from stocks and real estate to selling women’s shoes at Nordstrom. But he eventually made his way to the Web.com Tour (2010-12) and earned his PGA Tour card in 2013. His victory last season at Riviera accomplished one of two objectives.
“I grinded out there all year long,” Hahn said. “My goal last year was winning my first tournament on the PGA Tour and making it to the Tour Championship. To accomplish one of those two goals, I feel like I had the best season of my life.”
Hahn’s throwback tendencies include not having a swing coach. He takes video of his swing and uses Trackman when he feels the need to troubleshoot. At times he’ll have swing consultants, but there’s no official instructor by his side or psychologist in his ear. Hahn’s inspiration for his mental game comes from YouTube and motivational speaker Eric Thomas, who posts videos each week.
Hahn didn’t let last year’s victory at Riviera go to his head, and he didn’t go on any wild shopping sprees.
“I bought my wife an iPhone 6,” Hahn said when asked about any uptick in spending. “Paid in full! I wish I could tell you different, but we’re not the splurging type.”
He can, however, be the nervous type. When he proposed to Stephanie at Point Reyes Lighthouse he said he was nervous that he might drop the ring in the ocean. He also forgot to get down on a knee when popping the question, but no worries. Stephanie now has her ring, phone, and 11-month-old Kailee, and the Hahns will celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary this month.
Hahn, who now lives in Scottsdale, loves to follow the Golden State Warriors and his favorite player, Steph Curry.
“He’s young, fast, fearless, so much fun to watch,” said Hahn, who remembers watching the Northern Trust Open on television while growing up.
It’s a tournament he most looked forward to playing as a rookie in 2013. When he returns this year, that excitement level will no doubt be elevated.
“I love the grass, the smell, the morning dew on the course,” Hahn said of the course in Pacific Palisades. “I enjoy the greens out there. It’s just an old course and I love the history behind it. From the locker room to the course itself.”
And since he has never defended a PGA Tour title, he won’t have a gauge on his feelings until his arrival.
“I don’t know if it will be more pressure or less,” said Hahn, who was born in Seoul, South Korea. “I just want to make sure that I’m healthy and well-rested because there’s going to be a lot of autograph signing. … With L.A.’s big Korean population I’m sure they’re going to be coming out to support me. It will be fun to see.”
NORTHERN TRUST OPEN
When: Feb. 18-21
Where: Pacific Palisades
Course: Riviera Country Club
Format: 72 holes; stroke play
Pro-am: Feb. 17
Purse: $6,700,000
Defending champion: James Hahn, who won in a playoff for his first victory on the PGA Tour in his 65th start.
Miscellaneous: Last year was the third time in the past four that the tournament was decided in a sudden death playoff. John Merrick defeated Charlie Beljan in 2013 and Bill Haas beat Phil Mickelson and Keegan Bradley in 2012.
History: The Northern Trust Open began in 1926 and is the fourth-longest running PGA Tour event behind the Texas Open (1922) Canadian Open (1904) and BMW Championship (1899).
Rare feat: If Hahn defends his title he will become only the sixth player to do so at the event. Those with successful title defenses are Paul Harney Arnold Palmer, Corey Pavin, Mike Weir and Mickelson.
Tickets or more information: northerntrustopen.com
