Story By: Erin Zollars
Photos By: Sol Tucker
Irving, TX–
James Hahn was a able to fight off some tough competition on Saturday in the second round of the AT&T Byron Nelson Classic, but he will have his work cut out for him on Sunday with a strong field right behind him.
Hahn shared the first-round lead after an opening 64, but slipped back with a 70 on Friday before another impressive round for him at TPC Four Seasons that included a 65-foot chip-in birdie at the par-4 No. 3 hole. This is Hahn’s fourth Nelson, and he has shot 64 or 65 in half of his 14 rounds there.
The big news was Jason Kokrak, who had his first bogey in 34 holes after missing the fairway at No. 3, then three-putting on the sloping green. He quickly made up that stroke with a 15-foot birdie at No. 4 and was back to 12 under with a five-stroke lead. But his advantage was down to one by the time he finished his next hole, the par-3 5th, with a triple bogey.
After the round Hahn didnt seem worried, as he feels his game is ready for Sunday.
“With DJ and Jason Day,” Hahn said, “… I don’t think there’s going to be people watching the final group tomorrow.”
OK, Hahn was only kind of joking about that. That’s certainly a lot of notable firepower going into a final round that could very well become a shootout.
Despite the other players like Day and Kokrak being right there in contention, don’t be surprised to have a Sunday run by Sergio Garcia, who made huge run today to advance him closer to another title here.
Thanks to six birdies in his final eight holes, Garcia’s 6-under 64 has him just four shots off the lead. That gives him a chance to successfully defend his AT&T Byron Nelson title. He can also become just the third player in tournament history to win this event three times. The other two are Tom Watson and Sam Snead.
“If I can play the same way I played the last couple of days and hopefully put another good round, see what happens,” said this year’s Masters champ. “… Still going to be a little bit of ground there to make up, quite a bit more than I would like to, said Garcia.