PHOENIX – When Thomas Sutton left the Arizona State men’s golf program in the summer of 2026 to become the golf coach at the University of Washington, Sun Devils coach Matt Thurmond quickly tabbed PGA golfer Richard Lee as his potential replacement.
Thurmond had coached Lee during Thurmond’s tenure (2001 to 2016) at Washington.
“I know he knows golf, I know he’s a really high-character person, I know he’s fun to be around, I know he’s got great golf experience,” Thurmond said. “I know he’s a guy that has the golf credentials where this group, the best amateur golfers in the world, will respect. They know he knows.”
Unfortunately for Thurmond, and despite all those accolades, the timing wasn’t right for Lee.
“That was a tough phone call to make back to Thurmond,” Lee said. “I just had too many other commitments. The chapter of my life that I’m in right now was just too hard for me to pick up and make a career change, but I think coach Thurmond reached out to me because he respects my experience as a former player and I’m heavily involved in coaching myself.”
Thurmond also respects Lee’s opinion, so when Lee recommended two-time PGA Tour winner James Hahn, the Sun Devils made the hiring official on Sept. 22.
“We hang up the phone, and I’m literally in the kitchen with my wife,” Lee said. “I’m like, ‘I told Thurmond I can’t do it, but he understood. He asked me if I had anyone in mind.’ My wife actually goes ‘Hey, how about James?’ And I’m like, ‘Oh yeah! How about James?’ Then a light bulb went (on) and I immediately was like, ‘I think this could be a match.’”
After two decades of fully focusing on his professional career, the stars aligned for Hahn to take his first coaching position where he hopes to develop the next generation of golfers. Thurmond now views Hahn as a no-brainer, and given the approach that Thurmond takes with his program, Hahn’s duties will be substantial.
“I would say historically over the years at ASU, it’s been kind of two head coaches from a roles perspective,” Thurmond said. “With James, I think he can do everything, but we might have him focus a little bit more initially on just the coaching golf side.”
As the hiring process began, Hahn’s initial conversation with Lee was a bit confusing.
“I initially thought he was asking me for advice on whether or not he should do it,” Hahn said. “So I was all in on him, like that’s a great opportunity. ASU men’s golf is an elite program in the country, and I was more encouraging him to do it.”
Hahn said he was surprised when Lee made it clear he was trying to recommend Hahn for the position instead.
“I’d be a hypocrite to not think seriously about the job because of how much I talked it up,” Hahn said. “It quickly jumped (from), ‘Man, I’m so happy for you that you would even consider it,’ but now it switched to, ‘Man, I feel so grateful to have that opportunity.’ To this day I’m still grateful that Richard thought of me.”
Thurmond trusted Lee’s suggestion, but he still needed Hahn to go through the vetting process.
“Richard was a player on my team; he knows how I coach and what it feels like on the team,” Thurmond said. “He would not recommend someone that wouldn’t fit with me and fit with how I run the program.”
Thurmond and Hahn had an hour-long talk and Thurmond said he immediately knew that Hahn was the guy, but he still had to let him tour the facility and meet the players.
“The truth is, it’s been 20-plus years since I was a really good golfer playing at a high level,” Thurmond said. “I’ve coached all these guys since, so I can probably share some things with James about that side of it, but he has been in the arena. He held the club on the 18 hole. He has stood on the first tee with a big crowd. His experience is current and relevant, probably more than mine, and the guys know that.”
Before establishing himself on the PGA Tour, Hahn spent years grinding through the lower circuits, earning two wins on the Canadian Tour and one on the Web.com Tour. Hahn joined the PGA Tour in 2013 and won both the 2015 Northern Trust Open and the 2016 Wells Fargo Championship. In his time on the tour he has racked up about $12.9 million in prize money.
He also went viral during his rookie season at the WM Phoenix Open. After draining a long birdie putt on the famous 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale, he celebrated with PSY’s “Gangnam Style” dance.
Hahn was an immediate hit with ASU’s players. Thurmond said some Sun Devil golfers even asked for Hahn’s autograph when he was introduced to the team.
“It’s honestly pretty unique,” senior Connor Williams said. “Given that he played the PGA Tour for 15 or so years, and he kind of went through the whole cycle of what I would like to do in my career and am getting close to really doing here, so I think it’s a really cool opportunity to have a guy like that who knows the pressure, who knows kind of what we’re going through.”
Williams said he and his fellow Sun Devil golfers have already felt they can lean on Hahn’s warmth, expertise and guidance, which is one of the main reasons Hahn took the position.
“Without naming names, there were some coaches in my life that did the exact opposite,” Hahn said. “They pushed me away from the game. They made it difficult for me throughout my junior and college career – making me not want to be part of the team.”
Hahn said he feels a great responsibility to lift up his current players, not only during their collegiate careers, but for their futures.
“The immediate goal obviously would be to win tournaments here in college,” Hahn said. “But the ultimate goal is to get them ready to win on the PGA Tour and win majors on the PGA Tour. To sum it up in a nutshell, I want them to know that there’s a great opportunity in golf, that if they make the right decisions that they could have the life that they want.
“I’m kind of setting the stones up for further success for sure because these guys are only here for four to five years. I want the impact that the coaching staff has on them in these four to five years to last the next 20.”
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