Wells Fargo Recap: Hahn Wins at Quail Hollow

Imagine going on eight job interviews in a row and not getting so much as a callback. If on the ninth try you are hired for your dream job, it was all worth it. And imagine going on eight straight first dates that end in disaster (we're not talking arrests, mind you, just maybe humiliation on social media), but you meet your future spouse on the ninth, well, again, it was all worth it.

Which brings us to James Hahn.

Hahn, who hadn't made a cut in his eight prior events dating to early February, won the Wells Fargo Championship on Sunday, defeating Roberto Castro on the first playoff hole.

These would be the same James Hahn and Roberto Castro who aren't top-10 golfers Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and Justin Rose, or now-No. 17 Phil Mickelson, all of whom finished within two shots of the playoff (Rose was one back, alone in third).

For Hahn, it's his second PGA Tour win, having captured the Northern Trust Open in 2015. But he had had only two top-10s in the ensuing 15 months. After tying for 17th at Phoenix on Feb. 7, his final Sunday in action before the fourth round at Quail Hollow, Hahn had endured more cuts than a five-year-old boy at the playground. (No? Doesn't work? How about more trunk slams than a mob hitman disposing of the body? No? Oh well, that's all we got.)

For the umpteenth time in this space, we'll say it just goes to show how deep the tour is, how the 134th-ranked golfer can come out of nowhere for one week to beat a bunch of world-class superstars before returning to nowhere for the foreseeable future. And it goes to show how difficult it is pick the winner in fantasy golf in any given week. In DraftKings, the beauty is, you don't have to pick the winner; you pick six guys, and they have to aggregately beat someone else's six guys. If an opponent happened to pick Hahn or Castro – but especially Hahn after his past three months – you just shake your head, wonder what in the world prompted that pick, and move on to the next week.

But in a 235-player GPP I entered (and finished 70th), no one in the top-10 had Hahn – that's how out of left field his win was. Three of the top four cashes had Castro, which is still like spinning straw into golf, er, gold.

If anyone has won a tournament coming off eight successive missed cuts, we can't recall. But very little surprises anymore. Heck, Hahn is Tiger Woods compared to Brian Stuard, who won the week before at New Orleans at No. 513 in the world.

Hahn moved from No. 134 to No. 55, and don't be surprised when his ownership rate goes up this week.

MONDAY TAKEAWAY

Roberto Castro

Castro hadn't had so much as a top-25 since Pebble Beach – the same week Hahn missed his first of eight consecutive cuts. He had to play his way back to the tour for 2015-16 via the Web.com Tour, but now it looks as if he'll stay based on his play. This was his third top-10 of the season, and he sits 33rd in the point standings. He's still, however, seeking his first win, and this may have been his best shot for some time. It would be a small miracle if he could crack the top-30 in the fall to get to the Tour Championship. But it was a huge miracle when he did just that in 2013. A victory would've gotten Castro into The Players this week; instead, he sits on Monday morning as the eighth alternate.

Rory McIlroy

McIlroy is now winless on the PGA Tour since last year's Wells Fargo. He tied for fourth this time around, but with a pressure-free 66 on Sunday for another backdoor top-10. The top-ranked golfers are good enough to come close when something is amiss in their games, as McIlroy did at Quail Hollow. But with the best of the best at The Players Championship this week, and the U.S. Open and other big tournaments ahead, that won't get it done. McIlroy won on the European Tour in November – six months since a win anywhere.

Phil Mickelson

Oh, Phil. Like McIlroy, Mickelson again played well enough to come close, finishing with a 66 to tie for fourth. That was 10 shots better than Saturday, when he ended his day with a quadruple-bogey-8 on 18. You don't often win golf tournaments with quads. Maybe Mickelson again is gearing for that elusive U.S. Open title next month, but it seems more likely that if he does win a tournament, it will be in a non-major without an elite field.

Rickie Fowler

Unlike McIlroy and Mickelson, Fowler actually blew it at Quail Hollow. He was the 54-hole leader and shot 2-over 74. He now has six top-10s on the season, but no wins, and lost another Sunday lead to Hideki Matsuyama at Phoenix in February. Lump him in with McIlroy and Mickelson (and Jordan Spieth, while we're at it): Something is missing from his game. Fowler heads to Sawgrass as the defending champion. Interestingly, no winner there has so much as finished in the top-10 the following year since Adam Scott in 2005.

Andrew Loupe

Some gamers finally jumped off the curiously popular Loupe bandwagon after last week's missed cut. Others said they were sticking with him one more week. If you were in the latter camp, put a checkmark next to your name. Loupe led for much of the tournament before finishing with the aforementioned three superstars at T4. This course was suited to a tee for Loupe, so it's still anybody's guess where he goes from here. Right now, he's third alternate looking to get into The Players.

Robert Streb

Streb this year is reminiscent of Castro in 2014: A year after coming out of nowhere to make the Tour Championship, Streb has fallen hard this season. Streb tied for 28th at the Wells Fargo, one of his better showings so far. He has only two top-25s and sits 107th in the point standings. Unlike Castro, he has a victory under his belt, so his card is secure for next year; otherwise, it might not be. It's looking as if last year was a big aberration for Streb.

Ollie Schniederjans

Schniederjans was the PGA's Flavor of the Month last July, tying for 12th in the Open Championship, then for 22nd at the Canadian Open and 15th at the Quicken Loans National. As such, he was a hot sleeper pick come draft time. He's been comatose ever since. Splitting his time between the PGA and Web.com Tours, Schniederjans missed the cut at Quail Hollow, his fourth MC in seven PGA starts. No finish in the top-35. Just another example of how hard it is to come in and make a dent, as last month's Flavor of the Month, Bryson DeChambeau is finding out now. He also missed the cut in Charlotte, his second straight MC.

Henrik Stenson

For some reason, Quail Hollow is one of the few places Stenson doesn't play well. So don't fret his missed cut. The Swede won The Players in 2009, and has been top-20 there three of the past four years and could very well do that again. Just don't expect him to win again.

Kevin Kisner

Kisner is fifth in the point standings and 22nd in the OWGR, and he's doing it with mirrors. He had a win, a runner-up and another top-10 in the fall season, added a T5 at the Sony in January and hasn't done squat in the four months since then. Kisner missed the Wells Fargo cut, his fourth in nine starts since the Sony. He has one top-25 since then. Really, there's nothing in his game to suggest a turnaround anytime soon, even though he tied for second last year at The Players, losing to Fowler in a three-man playoff that also included Sergio Garcia.

Zac Blair

Blair wins the Bonehead of the Week award. He whacked himself in the head with his putter after missing a putt on the fifth hole on Friday, damaging the club. He unwittingly used a damaged club on the next hole, resulting in disqualification for playing with a nonconforming club. To Blair's credit, he noticed on the sixth hole that the club was bent and brought it to a rules official, who gave him the heave-ho. Blair later joked about it on Twitter:

Hey everyone my heads ok 😂😂😂 I didn't hit it that hard. @TheBuckClub#TBCpic.twitter.com/OQKIV1OoFt

— Zac Blair (@z_blair) May 6, 2016

And he also tweeted this blast from the past of Woody Austin whacking himself in the head so hard the putter bent. Blair said he couldn't believe how many on Twitter thought it was him. Enjoy.

@PGATOURmedia@WellsFargoGolf@PGATOURpic.twitter.com/fRuNZp6Lwe

— Zac Blair (@z_blair) May 6, 2016