THE FRESH EXPRESS CLASSIC AT TPC STONEBRAE
Playing professional golf, James Hahn and the Fresh Express Classic

The PGA Nationwide Tour produced three winners in April 2010 at the Fresh Express Classic at Stonebrae Country Club in Hayward: Kevin Chappell, who shot a tournament record 20-under 264; Pro Football Hall of Fame legend Jerry Rice, who hosted the Fresh Express Classic Pro-Am golf tournament and entered his first-ever career title as a professional golfer; and, finally, the East Bay community in Northern California!

Tournament host Jerry Rice with author. Photo: Ann Cooke

Northern California has a rich golf history. We are blessed with year-round good weather, great golf schools, competitive arenas and beautiful golf courses. We're home to famous golfers and professional golf tours. This year we were privileged to again have the Fresh Express Classic and the Nationwide Tour at TPC Stonebrae the week following the Masters, the tournament that makes us all yearn for a better game.

Jerry Rice once again played at TPC Stonebrae, as did Alameda's James Hahn, a UC Berkeley standout before he turned pro in 2003. Hahn made the cut this year at the Fresh Express and is continuing his quest to become part of the PGA tour.

USF alum Todd Fischer, who lives in Pleasanton, received a restricted sponsor's exemption this year. Fischer won the Nationwide Tour's Fort Smith Classic in 2002. He has played on both the Nationwide Tour and the PGA tour. Recently, he made 21 Nationwide Tour starts and made eight cuts, with a top-10 finish at the Price Cutter Charity Championship in Missouri.

Just exactly what is the Nationwide Tour and how does one get there? Prior to 1990, the step-down tours were consecutively known as first the Ben Hogan Tour, then the Nike Tour, and then the Buy.Com tour, until the naming rights were purchased in 2003 by Nationwide Insurance. The Nationwide Tour is owned and operated by the PGA tour and was founded in 1990 to help identify players who are ready to compete and move into the next level of professionals. It has become the official proving ground; 2 out of 3 current PGA tour players are Nationwide Tour alumni. Additionally, there are 63 international members from 17 countries outside the U.S. on tour this year. This year there will be 26 golfing events and at stake will be the coveted PGA tour cards, which will be awarded at the end of the season to the top 25 money winners.

Nationwide Insurance is the umbrella sponsor for this level of golf and will remain so through 2012. The three tours and the tournaments associated with them always make charitable giving a priority. To date, 2,000 local organizations throughout the country have been recipients of more than $1.6 billion. The reader can follow all aspects of the tours for 2011 on Twitter, Facebook or pgatour.com.

I chatted with Hahn after his finish at the Fresh Express. He now plays golf full time and practices six to eight hours most every day. There was a period in his career when he realized he had to prepare for his current schedule, so he went to work at Richmond Country Club while he was playing on the mini-tour, then quit golf for several years to save the money he knew he would need to go further on the tour. He also worked for an advertising agency and at Nordstrom, selling women's shoes. He has started playing full time again and is now well on his way. His biggest thrill in golf was winning for the first time on the Canadian Tour the day of his father's birthday.

Last year, Hahn's rookie season on the Nationwide, he made the cut in 18 of 28 starts and wound up No. 29 on the final-money list with $196,475. He had 11 top-25 finishes and five top 10s during 2010. During his years on the mini-tour, he played on the Korean Tour, the Pepsi Tour and the California Players Tour. He entered the PGA Tour Q-School in 2008, then played in it 2008-10. He earned his Nationwide Tour status in 2009. He failed to earn his PGA Tour card in 2010 Q-School, but he's back in 2011 with a vengeance. He will be playing all over the U.S. this summer and into the fall. He must play in a minimum of 15 tournaments to keep his Nationwide Tour card. I'll be watching and tracking his progress and hoping we'll see him at the U.S. Open when it comes to San Francisco in June 2012 at the Olympic Club.

Hahn gave back in his rookie year by wearing the Oakland Children's Hospital logo on his shirt, and he donated money to the hospital for every birdie he made during 2010 (350). He can often be found at home practicing at Metropolitan Golf Course, near the Oakland airport.

At the Fresh Express Classic at TPC Stonebrae, golf was cancelled late Sunday, April 17, because of fog. Daniel Chopra was declared the 54-hole leader and winner. His final score was 12-under for a purse of $108,000. Not bad for a couple of days' work and a lifetime of commitment.

Hahn finished in the top 20. He left soon after for his next stop on the Nationwide Tour. We will see him again.

Postscript: Hats off to Ed Vyeda of Hunter Public Relations for arranging a great opportunity to attend the Fresh Express Classic at TPC Stonebrae. We accepted the invitation, met some wonderful people and thoroughly enjoyed watching the PGA stars of tomorrow.

"The most important shot in golf is the next one."
— Ben Hogan