Hahn’s win shows: Beware the Bay Area golfer

[...] after missing the cut in eight consecutive starts — a dubious streak that started at Pebble in February — Hahn found his groove over the weekend in Charlotte, N.C. Most impressively, he won on a tough track (Quail Hollow) against a strong field (Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson all finished in the top seven).

[...] as Hahn, 34, and his family drove from Charlotte to Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., for this week’s Players Championship, he and Stephanie tested out his new professional cachet.

“That’s got a good ring to it: two-time PGA Tour champ,” Hahn told reporters Tuesday at the Players.

Maybe this circuitous route helped Hahn when he kept missing cuts this year.

Inbee Park, ranked No. 2 in the world, will play a practice round at CordeValle on Thursday in advance of the upcoming U.S. Women’s Open (July 7-10).

Park is the latest in a parade of top women’s players to take a scouting trip to the course; top-ranked Lydia Ko stopped by there last month after the LPGA event at Lake Merced.

The USGA, incidentally, accepted 1,855 entries for this year’s Women’s Open — the second-most ever, behind last year’s record of 1,873.

McIlroy, at 8-to-1, is the favorite to win this week’s Players Championship, according to Bovada.

San Jose State will hold a groundbreaking ceremony Friday for its Spartan Golf Complex, a $10.2 million, privately funded, on-campus practice facility.

SJSU alums include Venturi, Oberholser, Juli Inkster, Patty Sheehan and Pat Hurst.