Despite all the big names near the top of the leaderboard, it came down to James Hahn and Roberto Castro.
Hahn, from Alameda and Cal, knocked in a five-foot par putt on the first playoff hole to turn back Castro and win the Wells Fargo Championship at the Quail Hollow Club in Charlotte, N.C., for his second PGA Tour victory.
“I’m surrounded by a great team and I had to just keep believing,” said Hahn, who won the Northern Trust Open last year in a playoff over Paul Casey and Dustin Johnson, but missed the cut in his last eight tournaments.
“Eight straight missed cuts is tough, honestly (when you’re not playing well), it’s the most difficult thing in what we do. You question yourself and wonder if you’re good enough or if you have to go back to selling shoes (at Nordstrom, which he once did).
” … It’s crazy. Now I’m a two-time champion on the PGA Tour.”
The 34-year-old Hahn had a chance to win in regulation, but three putted from 39 feet for a bogey that left him at 2-under-par 70, which included a 51-foot eagle putt on the seventh hole.
Castro, 30, who has won six times as a pro but never on the PGA Tour, hit his tee shot on the playoff hole into the water and scrambled to save a bogey with a seven-foot putt but it wasn’t enough.
The former Georgia Tech All-American held a one-stroke lead after making birdies on the 14th and 15th holes, but fell back with bogeys on Nos. 16 and 17 before sinking a six-foot par putt on the final hole to get into the playoff.
“I’m really excited about the rest of the season,” said Castro, who equaled his best PGA Tour finish, second in the 2013 AT&T National. “This is my fifth season out here and I’ve always played my best as the year goes on. I’m excited for next time.”
Justin Rose of England held the lead at one time but made two bogeys on the back nine to shoot 71 and finish one stroke back in solo third.
Third-ranked Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland made bogeys on the first and last holes in a 66 that left him another shot behind in a tie for fourth with Phil Mickelson, who also had a 66, Andrew Loupe, who carded a 71, and 54-hole leader Rickie Fowler, who faded with a 74.
Lucas Glover made a bogey on the last hole to finish three shots back in solo eighth after a 71, while Danny Lee of New Zealand posted a 67 and was one more stroke down in a tie for ninth with Fabian Gomez of Argentina, who came in with a 70 that included an eagle on the seventh hole after he hit his approach from 201 yards to within three feet.
