Hahn struggles to a 78

Bryce Alderton

Newport Beach Country Club head professional Paul Hahn said he “never

got into his game” and finished 7-over-par 78 in Saturday’s second

round of the Toshiba Senior Classic.

Hahn, making his second Toshiba appearance, sits at 12-over 154

after two rounds following a 5-over 76 Friday at Newport Beach

Country Club.

“Am I tournament ready? No,” Hahn said. “My last real tournament

was Toshiba last year, if you don’t count the Jones Cup.”

Hahn said he missed four or five two-footers Saturday.

“Things change inside of you with a tournament of this magnitude,”

Hahn said. “I had fun despite bad shots.”

Hahn said his goal today -- he will be in the first group off for

the third straight day -- will be to hit approach shots closer to the

hole.

“You can’t have 40-foot putts and lag them,” Hahn said. “I stroked

some good ones [Saturday], they just didn’t go in.”

* First-round leader Gil Morgan struggled on the front nine, going

2-over through the first eight holes to fall to 4-under. Tom Jenkins,

who started the round 5-under and only one back of Morgan, also shot

2-over through the first eight holes to drop further behind the

leaders.

Both rebounded on the back nine, especially the final three holes

to stay within contention.

But the front nine, particularly holes 5-9, wreaked havoc on

several golfers’ scores.

The 203-yard par-3 eighth proved the most difficult Saturday,

yielding the least birdies (five) and rendering the most bogeys (25).

Nos. 6 and 5 ranked second- and third-most difficult,

respectively, in the second round.

“I think 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 are tough,” said Jay Sigel (69-69 --

138), in a five-way tie for 19th after his round Saturday. “The wind

was blasting on 5 and 6.”

Mark Johnson (12-under 130), whose three-stroke lead over Keith

Fergus is the largest in this event since Hale Irwin staked the same

margin en route to victory in 2002, tallied one of only eight birdies

on the par-4 sixth hole, a 418-yard dogleg left.

Johnson didn’t hesitate when asked which nine played more

difficult.

“The front side,” said Johnson, who tallied a 5-under 30 on the

front nine, the best of the second round.

* Dave Eichelberger’s birdie on the par-5 18th hole gave him a

one-stroke victory over Dave Stockton in the season’s first

Georgia-Pacific Grand Champions competition. Eichelberger two-putted

from 43 feet for a birdie and gave him his first win in the category.

He earned $30,000.

* In the last five years, four players who have led or been tied

for the lead after 36 holes have gone on to win the Toshiba Senior

Classic.

* Mike Reid (70-65 -- 135), tied for fifth, has the fewest putts

of any player in the tournament with 48.

He had 10 one-putts Saturday and didn’t putt on Nos. 3 and 9.

* Fuzzy Zoeller and Andy Bean’s Saturday didn’t end after

completing their second rounds.

The two helped about 200 youth golfers gathered on the driving

range at 5 p.m. Saturday for the first junior golf clinic sponsored

by Wells Fargo.

Knute Kraus, 11, of Rancho Santa Margarita and Scott Matthews, 10,

of Newport Beach each received tips from Zoeller.

“I learned to not kill the ball and stay down,” said Knute, who

plays golf about two or three times a month.

His grandfather, Arthur Kraus, once caddied for Zoeller, who

provided Knute Kraus with some set up suggestions.

“He [Zoeller] said imagine my brother or sister as the golf ball,”

Knute Kraus said. “I hit it far.” Matthews said he occasionally plays

at Mesa Verde Country Club in Costa Mesa and gained some pointers

from Zoeller.

“I learned to not swing as hard and to take my time,” Matthews

said.