Fan To James Hahn Before NoTrust Open Playoff: "It's Dustin Johnson, Paul Casey and some other guy."
The golf knowledge of last week's Northern Trust Open fans left a lot to be desired. Pretty much any shot not holed from the fairway earned a light applause (at best), even if it was to three feet on the 240-yard fourth.
Sadly the tournament had nice momentum fan-wise until this year, when fewer everyman's promotions and light local advertising/non-existent local television coverage combined with LA's viewing Super Bowl (the Oscars) to sport tiny crowds. And all at the best spectator viewing course on the PGA Tour. Such a waste, especially with the antics that true golf fans would have found so appealing Sunday.
Either way, the ignorance did have its benefits, as noted by Bill Dwyre in his LA Times wrap of the event. Before the fan ignorance part, there was also this from Hahn, a breath of fresh air who moved from 297th in the world to 86th:
After college, he couldn't make it in golf. So, much of 2006, he sold shoes at Nordstrom in Walnut Creek and Pleasanton.
"I was pretty good at it," he said. "Sold a lot."
He was asked if he is a shoe guy.
"I don't think we can afford Nordstom's," he said. "We are more Foot Locker kind of people."
And there was this from Hahn about his post-round autograph signing and question to a fan, noted by Dwyre and the PGA Tour's DJ Piehowski, and Instagrammed by the tour(!):
Though Hahn's trophy ceremony speech isn't available, AP's Mark Terrill captured a tremendous image (embedded above) to capture the fun that witnesses said was evident.
Golf Central aired this from the post round presser:
Reader Comments (11)
It's a hard part of LA to get to, and the spectator parking is truly horrific.
It's played in the wettest coupe weeks of the year, insuring wide swaths of bad weather. We're in an historic drought, yet it still managed to attract the biggest rain storm we've had in a month.
Finishing on Oscar Sunday is crazy. The LA Super Bowl is the perfect comparison. Try going to s grocery store mid Sunday morning on Oscar Sunday and you'll find a special level of hell, with everyone stocking up for parties.
And just as important, the ones not having parties are the ones who have to work. If you're upper middle class in LA, there's a decent chance you work in entertainment, which means you're probably either working on having/going to a party on Oscar Sunday.
All you need to know about the casual fan or the sort of adult who wants autograph from player he doesn't know or recognize:
Totally clueless.
Wonder if that fan realizes by now who was signing his hat ....
A well-spoken young man. Wishing him continued success.
Here's a blast from the past:
http://www.geoffshackelford.com/homepage/2010/11/1/one-way-to-make-a-lay-up-or-go-for-it-decision.html#comment10377308
Me: James, it's so cool to meet you, my son is a huge fan of yours and will be thrilled.
James: Dude, you should be talking to Sang Moon. He's the real star here. He's won twice out here.
James then proceeded to brag about how good his friend Sang Moon is and what a rising star Sang-Moon is. Then he spoke with a lot of insight and humility on how hard it is to win on tour, and how much he respected Sang Moon for his two wins. In case I didn't know, he wanted to make it clear that he hadn't won a PGA event yet.
Super guy, love the way he won and the way he handled it.