Hunter Mahan defeated Rickie Fowler this past Sunday to win the 75th annual Phoenix Open (formerly known as the FBR Open) in Scottsdale, AZ, and took home the winning prize of $1.08 million. Former Oklahoma State player Mahan was 4 strokes back at one point but rallied and pulled ahead to clinch the victory by one shot. This is his first tournament win in 2 years.
This tournament belonged to the 20-somethings. Mahan may not have won for 2 years, but he's still only the 8th player born in the US to win more than a single tournament while in his 20s--no small accomplishment in today's PGA. His first win was in 2007 at the Travelers Championship. At the Phoenix Open, he finished without a single bogey at 16-under 268. He managed 2 birdies and an eagle within 4 holes to defeat Fowler.
Fowler, only 21-years-old and fairly new to the PGA tour, finished the second round at 68. Despite being a rookie, this is his second runner-up standing on the tour, which is also impressive for his age. He managed his first runner-up finish on only his second PGA event. In October he played in the Frys.com Open also in Arizona at the Grayhawk Golf Club. Troy Matteson won that tournament, but Fowler was one of the second-place finishers.
Mahan, even though he hasn't won in the last two years, was on the team for the Ryder Cup in 2008, and finished in the top 10 standings six times during 2009. He was even the runner-up at the AT&T National tournament. He managed to earn over $5 in two non-winning years, and had played very well between his first win and now.
At one point during the final round, Mahan discovered his driver was cracked and sent his girlfriend to get him a different one out of his car. The staff hurried her there and he got a new driver before the next par-5 shot. Fowler might have done better if not for the 15 hole where he said he didn't feel confident he could reach the green, which was surrounded by water, so he played safe golf thinking he could birdie holes 16 and 17. But he missed the last 3 putts of the game and came in second.
Coming in at third place just 2 strokes from to the top was Y.E. Yang of South Korea, who is the first PGA golfer born in Asia to win a major tournament. Yang was the PGA Championship winner last year and was ahead in this tourney thanks to an eagle on hole 10 and birdies on 11-15. But at hole 17 his ball went into a water hazard, he ended up missing the putt and bogeyed, putting him behind. Fourth place was a 3-way tie at 13-under. Mathew Goggin, Charles Howell III and Chris Couch all fell just 3 strokes short. Brandt Snedeker, the leader during the third round of play, let his lead slip and ended up with a 7-under 78, dropping him far down the leaderboard.
Photo Credits: Rob Poetsch
Related Posts -
LPGA Tour Championship: Lorena Ochoa, Anna Nordqvist, and Jiyai Shin In the LPGA Tour Championship, a heated battle between Lorena Ochoa and Jiyai Shin for the LPGA player of the year had kept both women on their toes throughout the tourney, but it was the last hole that decided who got the title. Lorena Ochoa won the title for the...... -
Golf Pioneer Casey Martin Pulling for Erik Compton in Quest for Tour Card Admirers of Erik Compton from Miami, Florida will be following from the furthest corners of golf today, as he is beginning his quest to win a PGA Tour card only five months after undergoing a heart transplant, which was his second attempt at a transplant to date. Compton, who is...... -
Villegas Wins Honda Classic Camilo Villegas won the Honda Classic on Sunday in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. Villegas, hailing from Columbia, defeated Anthony Kim with a 13-under 267 and won his third PGA victory as well as the $1.008 million dollar prize. By the time he'd made his final shot, a 20-foot shot that...... -
Bridgestone Invitational: Firestone Golf Tournament Recap Tiger Woods manages to take the lead midway through the final round of the Bridgestone tournament. Tiger Woods managed to ride his putting stroke, allowing him to take the lead in the middle of the final round of the Bridgestone Invitational World Golf Championship on Aug 9. Woods, who currently...... -
Turning Stone's Fourth Round Wrap Up It's been a pretty long time since we saw Matt Kuchar winning anything during the PGA Tour. It is because of this that we are not surprised he had a serious case of nerves when he ended up in a sudden death playoff during the fourth round of the Turning......
Related Websites -
Nadal Back to Number 2 with Madrid Masters Win Rafael Nadal, previously ranked 3rd in the world, has now earned the number 2 spot by defeating the number 1 player in the world and winning the Madrid Masters for the second time. Nadal beat Roger Federer on Sunday, 6-4, 7-6 (5) and took home 18th Masters win, breaking Andre...... -
2009 Purse for the US Open Tops the Records at $21.6 Million The US Open purse for the 2009 competition is going to top $21.6 million, which is going to mark the third year in a row that the prize money for this tournament has increased by a sum of $1 million dollars. In addition to this base $21.6 million dollar purse,...... -
Rafael Nadal Wins the Monte Carlo Masters Rafael Nadal hasnât been a winner for almost a year. But he won the Monte Carlo Masters on Sunday and become the only player to win a single event 6 times in a row since tennis became a professional sport over 40 years ago in 1968. Thatâs quite a comeback...... -
Federer Wins BNP Paribas Open Roger Federer defeated Victor Hanescu in round 2 of the BNP Paribas Open last weekend in Indian Wells, California. They finished 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1, with Hanescu offering much more challenge for Federer in the middle of the match and fading pretty quickly in the end. Hanescu, a Swiss...... -
Roddick wins Brisbane International Andy Roddick won the Brisbane International this past Sunday at the Pat Rafter Arena by defeating the defending champ Radek Stepanek in two sets, but it wasn't easy. A tiebreak was needed both times. This was Roddick's first tournament after his knee injury last year that ended his season......
- Pinnacle New Golf Balls Golf
- Jerseys Phoenix Suns Basketball-NBA Fan Apparel & Souvenirs Sports Collectibles
- HVC Titleist New Golf Balls Golf
- Phoenix 99608 Magnetic Recumbent Exercise Bikes Cardiovascular Equipment Gym, Workout & Yoga Exercise & Fitness
- Road Runner 5 Stands & Hangers Acoustic Musical Instruments
Categories:
Golf Ball Driver, Golf News, Golf Tournaments
Tags:
0 comments ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.
Leave a Comment