Hahn pulls out a "miracle" and wins in a playoff!
Seventeen year old David Hahn of Henderson, NV (2007) started the day four strokes back of overnight leader Steve Ziegler of Broomfield, CO, but finished the 36th hole in a tie for the lead. On the playoff hole, Hahn's tee shot went into a fairway bunker about 80 yards short of the green then his approach shot came out way short, but "miraculously" he pitched in from about 60 yards to win over Ziegler.
Sunday's final round of the Sun Devil Junior Golf Classic, began with very windy conditions - for most players about a two club wind. Around 12:30 the wind calmed down and stayed that way for the rest of the afternoon. After a great day for golf on Saturday, the leaderboard was packed with possibilities. Junior Steve Ziegler of Broomfield, CO, who fired a 4 under par 68 on Saturday, had a two shot lead over Mike Greene, a senior from Overland Park, KS. Just behind Green in a tie for 3rd at one under par (71) were. Connor Alan-Lee of Solano, Beach, CA (2007): Spencer Anderson of Pacific Palisades, CA (2008); Austyn Karle of Scottsdale, AZ (2007); Jack Paton of Hillsborough, CA (2007); Tyler Smith of San Juan Capistrano, CA (2006); Chase Yacko of Toledo, OH (2007); and senior Trevor Carle of Santa Rosa, CA. Another group was right behind after posting even par on Saturday (72): Paul Berry of Steamboat Springs, CO; Michael Casca of Camarillo, CA; Michael Garden of Scottsdale, AZ: Ryan Hoskins of Scottsdale, AZ; Billy McKay of Grand Rapids, MI; Brad Nicholson of Chandler, AZ: Chase Hite of Tucson, AZ; and David Hahn of Henderson, NV. Twenty-five players started the day within 5 strokes of the Ziegler, it was Hahn who made the move.
Hahn opened with three pars in a row, then bogeyed # 4. That was the last bogey he would make in the final round. He went on to make 3 birdies and 14 pars which was enough to put him in a tie for the lead with Ziegler at the end of 36 holes. Then on to the playoff where his dramatic pitch shot would have made the Monday morning ESPN highlight film, except we don't have video cameras on site! For Ziegler, it was a disappointing loss, but this young man is doing what many others have done before him: STAYING IN CONTENTION. This is his second Top 3 finish in as many events - his day will come. Maybe at Las Colinas in December. Meanwhile, Hahn has earned an automatic exemption to the FCWT National Championship and will march on to his next event the FCWT Tucson Jr. Golf Classic which begins on Friday.
Finishing in a tie for third place were Austyn Karle of Scottsdale, AZ (2007) and Tyler Smith of San Juan Capistrano, CA (2006). Austyn has made tremendous strides in his game over the last year as evidenced by his improved finish at this event from last year to this. Last year he finished T57 with rounds of 80-78. This year his 71-72 brought him in just one stroke out of the playoff! Smith also improved his finish in this event going from T21 last season to T3 this year and reducing his score by 5 strokes from 148 to 143. Finishing tied for 5th at even par in this field of 67 boys from more than 10 states and Canada, were Brad Nicholson of Chandler, AZ (2006), Connor Alan-Lee of Solano, Beach, CA (2007) and Michael Casca of Camarillo, CA (2007). Benjamin Murray carded the 2nd lowest round of the day (Hahn's was the lowest) with a one under par 71, a 5 stroke improvement over Murray's Saturday round. Murray won this event last year in the 13-15 division.
On Saturday in the Boys 13-15 division, Al Jennings III of Fort Wayne, IN (2010), carded a 69 three under par to lead by one stroke over Trent Sanders from Scottsdale, AZ going into the final round. Jennings, who had two 2nd place finishes already this season, added a third one after Sanders was able to card a final round of even par under windy conditions to overcome Jennings lead. Sanders, the only player to card an eagle in this division, doing so on the par 5 14th hole on Sunday, also carded 8 birdies for the event, second only to Jennings who carded 9 for the weekend. This was Sanders first FCWT win and a great improvement over his 7th place finish here last year. Jennings has won on the FCWT at the 11-12 division, but is still looking for his first win at the 13-15 level. It will happen -- he has too much talent for it not to! Finishing in third place and tying for the low round of the day (with Sanders) was Christopher Walker of The Woodlands, TX, who has earned 2 FCWT wins on the season already. Brian O'Regan of Walnut Creek, CA (2008), finished in 4th place and William Appleby of Rancho Santa Fe, CA (2008), William Skinner of Boulder, CO (2009) and Ryan Blair of Omaha, NE (2009) finished T5. Blair, along with Sanders, will represent the FCWT US team in the 13-15 division of a match play competition which will coincide with the ASU Jr. Golf Classic next month.
In round one of the Boys 11-12 division, 12 year old Zachary Wright of Phoenix, AZ, fired a round of two under par to take the lead over Austin Quick and David Lowe both of Scottsdale, AZ. Wright made 3 birdies in a row on Saturday on #2, 3, and 4 (part of his back nine). On Sunday, he added two more birdies to his scorecard and came in at one over par 73 to earn his second FCWT title after winning the ASU Jr. Golf Challenge last December. Next month, Zachary will try his hand at the Grayhawk Jr. Golf Classic. |
