Jordan Hahn Gets Redemption at Illinois Am
7/19/2018 | by Chicago District Golf Association
see also: View results for Illinois State Amateur, Stonebridge Country Club
After losing a four-shot lead in the final round of last years event, he made the 6-footer of his career on No. 18 to erase it all
“That's probably the toughest one,” Hahn said of the six-foot bender standing between him and victory in the Illinois State Amateur Championship, one year after he lost a four-shot final-round lead en route to a runner-up finish. “That wasn't an easy putt.”
The Spring Grove native calmly rolled in the clincher to save par and finish the 72-hole championship at 3-under-par 277, one shot better than Bloomington's Rob Wuethrich.
Earlier in the day, it looked as if Hahn would not need dramatics at the last to emerge victorious. The University of Wisconsin rising senior entered the 36-hole final day with a three-stroke advantage and built his lead to six shots heading to the back nine of his fourth round. However, bogeys on Nos. 10, 15 and 17, combined with two birdies over the final five holes from Wuethrich, resulted in Hahn needing par on No. 18 to win the championship.
At 6-feet-8-inches tall, Hahn had previously utilized his prodigious length with driver off the tee to notch birdies on the 346-yard finisher in his first three rounds. Nursing a one-shot lead, Hahn changed course and teed off with a 4-iron, but his shot leaked into the trees right of the fairway. His punch-out settled just short of the green, leaving Hahn needing an up-and-down to clinch the title.
“I was on the fringe and the leave I gave was not good,” Hahn recalled. “I didn't want to leave it short of the hole, because I knew I had a downhill slider. Unfortunately, that's where I left it, but my caddie and buddy Pete Kuhl gave me a good read. I was just committed to that line and poured it in.”
About the Illinois State Amateur
Must be a resident of the state of Illinois and advance through an 18-hole qualifier prior to the event. Format is 72-holes of stroke play over three days. The low 35 after round 2 will advance to the 36-hole final day.
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