CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- James Hahn said the anxiety was creeping in after missing eight consecutive cuts on the PGA Tour, causing him to wonder if he'd ever get his game straightened out.
But after a long talk with caddie Mark Urbanek last week, Hahn came to Quail Hollow Club with a renewed confidence and determination to end the streak.
He did that and more.
Hahn beat Roberto Castro with a par on the first hole of a sudden-death playoff Sunday in the Wells Fargo Championship to snap the three-month slump and earn his second PGA Tour title.
"It was going bad for a while," Hahn said. "Just didn't have the confidence, didn't believe in myself. I felt like I was putting in the work but wasn't getting any reward for it. ... You're playing bad and you're missing cuts and there's nothing funny about that."
The anxiety appeared a distant memory Sunday as a smiling Hahn cracked open a can of Bud Light as he sat behind the podium and asked the media, "You want one?"
In winning, Hahn picked up the $1.3 million prize and an automatic two-year extension on the PGA Tour, not bad for a former Bay Area women's shoes salesman.
"You have to keep believing in yourself and keep grinding. I constantly remind myself that I am good enough and belong out there," Hahn said.
Hahn said he never looked at the scoreboard all day and didn't know that if he'd made par on the 72nd hole that he would have likely sealed the tournament. Instead, he 3-putted and made bogey, opening the door for Castro.
Castro, playing in the final group behind Hahn, made par to force a playoff.
But Castro's tee shot on the playoff hole found the creek on the left side of the fairway and his third shot landed in a spectator's shoe on the side of the green, leading to a bogey. The ball hit a spectator in the head before landing in the loafer.
"I was worried he was going to be laid out when we got up there," Castro said. "He'll ice it down and he'll be OK, I hope. But I felt bad about that."
Hahn shot 2-under 70 on Sunday, and Castro had a 71 to finish at 9 under, one shot ahead of Justin Rose (71). Hahn also won the 2015 Northern Trust Open at Riviera.
Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson both shot 66 to tie for fourth at 7 under with third-round leader Rickie Fowler (74) and Andrew Loupe (71).
The 18th hole ultimately proved to be the undoing for McIlroy and Mickelson, too.
McIlroy played the 493-yard hole in 4-over par for the week, including a bogey Sunday when his approach shot landed behind a rock on the other the side of the creek that runs along the left side of the hole. Lefty was left to ponder what could have been had it not been for a quadruple-bogey 8 on the hole Saturday.
"I hit a lot of good shots over the weekend, but unfortunately, one bad hole yesterday kind of cost me," Mickelson said.
McIlroy had seven birdies in between his bogeys the first and last holes.
"Anytime you walk off the golf course and shoot 66, you can't be too disappointed," McIlroy said. "But I think in the circumstances having a feeling like I had a chance on the back nine to post a number for the guys to at least think about it and I didn't."
Fowler got off to a poor start, shooting 39 on the front nine and never mounted a challenge.
David Lingmerth (Arkansas Razorbacks) shot a 4-under 68 and finished tied for 17th at 2 under. He won $95,526.
YOKOHAMA TIRE LPGA CLASSIC
Jutanugarn first Thai champion
PRATTVILLE, Ala. -- Ariya Jutanugarn held on to become the first Thai winner in LPGA Tour history, closing with a 1-under 71 on Sunday in the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic.
Jutanugarn, 20, beat Amy Yang, Morgan Pressel and Stacy Lewis (Arkansas Razorbacks) by a stroke after losing two shots off her third-round lead.
Jutanugarn had four birdies and three bogeys a day after tying the tournament record with a 63.
Yang bogeyed the 17th in a 67. Lewis shot her third consecutive 68. Pressel also had a 68.
Lewis had her 10th runner-up finish in a 49-event drought dating back to the 2014 Northwest Wal-Mart Championship. The 11-time tour winner has 23 career second-place finishes. She won $91,733 on Sunday.
Gaby Lewis (Razorbacks) tied for 33rd with a 3-under-par finish and earned $7,805.
INSPERITY INVITATIONAL
Parnevik wins; Daly 17th
THE WOODLANDS, Texas -- Jesper Parnevik won the Insperity Invitational for his first PGA Tour Champions victory, shooting a 5-under 67 for a four-stroke victory.
Parnevik, 51, won in his 23rd career start on the 50-and-over tour. The five-time PGA Tour winner finished at 12-under 204 at The Woodlands Country Club.
Local favorite Jeff Maggert, first-round leader Mike Goodes and South Africa's David Frost tied for second.
John Daly (Dardanelle, Arkansas Razorbacks) tied for 17th at 2 under in his PGA Tour Champions debut. The two-time major champion closed with a 71 after opening with rounds of 70 and 73 and won $27,900.
Glen Day (Little Rock) finished a stroke behind Daly at 1 under after a 4-over 76. He won $20,076.
Sports on 05/09/2016