Friday at the Phoenix Open is one giant Happy Hour.
All day.
A record crowd of 160,415 turned out to prove it.
James Hahn, who made a birdie at the 16th hole three years ago and delighted the crowd with a “Gangnam style” dance, danced his way into the 36-hole lead on Friday.
Hahn’s 65 got him to 10-under par, a shot in front of the player many feel is the favorite to win this championship on Sunday. Rickie Fowler is in at nine-under after a round of 68 and a three-putt at the drive-able par four 17th cost him a share of the lead. “A bad three-putt” is what Fowler called it but otherwise he was good with his round. “It wasn’t playing easy out there,” he observed. “With the wind it was tough to hit fairways. I made a couple of birdies coming in.”
Hahn knows the TPC Scottsdale well. “I live 10 minutes away, I get to play here a lot. It’s a big advantage for me,” he said after his 65 was the low round of the top contenders. “I played well today. I hit a lot of good shots.”
Hahn leads Fowler and Danny Lee by a shot. Hideki Matsuyama went out in the early morning wave and post seven-under then saw Shane Lowry and Harris English join him there in the afternoon.
Defending champion Brooks Koepka has some ground to make up over the weekend if he wants to repeat as champion. A one-over par round of 72 left him at three-under, tied for 21st.
The 36-hole cut came at even par.
