Mahan Takes Down McIlroy in Accenture World Match Play

35 birdies in 96 holes is pretty good golf. Certainly good enough today for Hunter Mahan to best Rory McIlroy 2 and 1 and capture his 2nd  WGC event, the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. His efforts landed him a cool $1.4 million along with the accompanying hardware. Mahan was 4 up through 10 holes after a stretch of taking 4 out of 5 on the front nine. McIlroy  applied some pressure on the back nine, but Mahan continued to answer with timely birdies. It was more than obvious that Mahan was the best player here this week. Mahan defeated Mark Wilson in the semis to reach the final match. Wilson was the only opponent Mahan had that wasn't a former Ryder or Presidents Cup member.

Mahan's win denied McIlroy the #1 spot in the OWGR. That I assume will be left for Luke Donald who packed his rental car here on Wednesday. There's no clear cut #1 in this writer's mind. I'd give it to McIlroy anyway since he defeated Lee Westwood, #3, in today's semi-final, and he has a major championship. Mark Wilson defeated Westwood in the "kiss-your-sister" match for 3rd place. In sum I've always thought you shouldn't be considered a world #1 without a major.

Average Golfer's been on a bit of a break of late. Expect some renewed interest as winter passes where we're located and I can see the sun for more than two hours a day. The Honda Classic is up next with a stronger field than one normally sees at this weak sister event. All 2011 major winners will be there along with Westwood and Woods. May be worth the effort.







Swing hard, they'll make more.

Hunter Mahan Cruises to Bridgestone Invitational Win

Hunter Mahan shot 66, 64 on the weekend to lock up the WGC Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club. Only 25 putts, many of the 10-20 foot variety, contributed to his Sunday 64, -12. Mahan waited near the 18th green to watch Ryan Palmer's eagle attempt from the fairway fall short. Palmer finished two strokes back in solo 2nd at -10. Retief Goosen's closing 65 left him in a tie for 3rd with Bo Van Pelt. Sean O'Hair took fourth alone at -8. Palmer's first hole birdie had given him a brief lead. He followed with a bogey on the 2nd hole. Mahan rattled off five birdies on the front nine and cruised to a clubhouse lead that was never in serious jeopardy. Mahan cemented his Ryder Cup spot and won his second event of the year having previously won in Phoenix. At first glance this morning there appeared to a bevy of players with a chance. Mahan separated himself from the pack and shot down any notion of a playoff. The win should put a little extra wind in his sails heading into this week's PGA Championship. Final Full Field Scores.

Woods Hits Rock Bottom, Mickelson Tries To Follow

Tiger Woods teed off this morning to a less than Woodsian gallery. Makes sense, since you could have gone to your local muni and watched any number of players shoot 77. Woods finished at +18 with Henrik Stenson, +20, to thank for keeping him off the bottom. When asked if he planned on practicing at Whistling Straits for the upcoming PGA, Woods quipped that he was flying there this afternoon and would have time to play 18 and still catch the leaders finish at Firestone. True. With the world #1 ranking in his sights Phil Mickelson took the gas pipe enroute to a final round 78. Had Woods and Mickelson played best ball for the Bridgestone final round they'd have shot 70, middle of the pack. Ernie Els' round four 76 beat them both. Ladbrokes has Woods and Mickelson as 8:1 co-favorites for the PGA. That says tons more about the betting public than the state of either player's games.

Til' next,

Calcavecchia Wins Waist Management Phoenix Open

Mark Calcavecchia, despite finishing 9 strokes behind the title event winner Hunter Mahan, captured the adjunct tournament, the Waist Management Open, with a final round 74, -7 total, and 250+ pounds at Thursday's weigh- in. Calc's 1st victory of the season proved he's still a force to be reckoned with as he approaches 50 and that "other" tour. Calc was quoted as remarking after his victory, "Hey, just walking 18 holes should count as a win. If it's hilly it should count as a major." Pre-tourney favorite John Daly was disqualified for having lost too much weight after his recent lap band surgery. There's no truth to the rumor though that Daly, Camilo Villegas, and Charles Howell III will be forming a separate tour for players under 135 lbs. By the way, Hunter Mahan captured his 2nd career PGA win in the regular event, finishing at -16. Final WMPO results.

Ice Cream! Get Your Ice Cream!

Make mine a double scoop with sprinkles. Who could fault the uninitiated from mistaking this pair for a couple of ice cream vendors. I'm no fashion plate and have no bone to pick with tour pro's ensembles, but does the likes of Puma, et al, expect these get ups to translate to public sales? Color me skeptical. What I'd really love to see is Calcavecchia in Fowler's duds. On second thought...

Til' next,

Not Your Father's Ryder Cup - Sunday Singles to Decide 37th Winner.

The Cup remains the same, the faces change. An injection of new blood from both squads has staged a drama to be decided tomorrow in singles play at the 37th Ryder Cup at Valhalla. Europe gained a point in the morning foursomes despite sitting Cup heroes Garcia and Westwood. That kept captain Faldo from being disdained for one of the most surprising moves in Cup history. Owen Wilson and Henrik Stenson dropped Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim in the foursomes in a key match with the Americans coming in as heavy favorites. Wilson's 30 ft. birdie putt on the 17th hole was the sealer. The Euros had been down three after seven holes. Forget everything you've heard, there's absolutely no truth to the rumor that Wilson and Stenson had hidden doughnuts around the back nine to distract Phil.

The afternoon fourball matches were filled with drama and highlighted the new blood. J.B. Holmes and Boo Weekley ended Lee Westwood's 12 match unbeaten string when they defeated him and Soren Hansen 2 and 1. Holmes and Weekley never trailed in the match. Rookie and controversial captain's choice Ian Poulter, with Graeme McDowell got one back for the Euros besting Kenny Perry and Jim Furyk. Garcia/Casey halved with Ben Curtis and Steve Stricker with Stricker holing a pressure packed putt on the 18th hole to salvage an extremely important 1/2 point. Mickelson/ Mahan halved with Stenson/Karlsson to give the US a 9-7 advantage leading into singles play on Sunday.

The youth on both teams played very, very well. Mahan, Holmes, Weekley, Kim, Poulter, Wilson, McDowell, all acquitted themselves well on the big stage. They are the faces of future Cups. Better get used to them.

If the first two days signaled a changing of the guard, then Sunday should be a blast. The Euros need to win 7 of the 12 matches to retain the Cup. The match ups will be fascinating, especially with so many new faces. It's great to see the Ryder Cup boil down to singles with both teams having a legitimate chance. Tee it up, get the balls in the air!

Til' next,

*Just Announced from Captains Faldo and Azinger, Sunday Pairings link.

Leaders Play "Hot Potato" at The Barclays.

Little did Steve Stricker know that the lead is the worst thing to have at The Barclays. After grabbing the 2nd round lead, Stricker coughed it up with emphasis after a 3rd round, back nine 43 derailed his chances. A triple bogey 7 on the par four 11th hole just made the hole in his boat much larger. He ended up in a tie for 11th place. Aiming for a Ryder Cup bid from Paul Azinger, Stricker became the 2nd man in a row to spit the leader's bit. Similarly, Hunter Mahan, following a 1st round 62, ballooned with a 73, 74 to drop him into a tie for 11th with fellow plunger Stricker. Kevin Streelman inherited the 3rd round lead with a superb 68 today and sits overnight at 205.

Four players took advantage of moving day with excellent rounds to form a logjam for 2nd place at 206. They were Paul Casey, 69, Sergio, 69, Vijay, 66, and Mike Weir, 67. All were prudent to play well enough to be right there in contention, but without assuming the jinxed position of being in the lead. I sure hope that nothing unfortunate happens to the winner of this event on Monday. Two more strokes back at 205 was the foursome of Robert Allenby, Angel Cabrera, Jason Day, and Kevin Sutherland.

It'll be fun to see how tour rookie Sutherland handles the lead. A win here might lock up rookie of the year honors for him. The paycheck and exemption wouldn't hurt either. He's made impressions with his play this year coming out of nowhere to be paired with Woods at Torrey Pines in January and holding the first round lead at the US Open. Gut check time now. Average Golfer says he better double team Sergio and Vijay.

Til' next,

Stricker Hunts Down Mahan at Barclays.

Count Steve Stricker among those that love the FedExCup. Hearkening back to his performance of last year, Stricker fired a nifty 64 to overtake 1st round leader Hunter Mahan at The Barclays. Stricker punched out after his day's work at -10, while Mahan slipped precipitously with a 2nd round 73 that left him three in arrears at -7. A hole out eagle on the 3rd hole, coupled with a birdie on the 2nd jump started Stricker's day. Four more birdies and nary a bogey finished his clean card. Five bogeys today prevented Mahan from hanging on to the advantage he'd earned with his 1st round 62. "Sybil golf", just like my game.


Behind the two leaders saw a knot for 3rd featuring Angel Cabrera, 67, Dudley "Dooright" Hart, 69, and Kenny Perry, 67, doing his best Hume Croyn impression that we've seen all year. Hey Kenny! You've already made Azinger's squad. A quad at -5 included Paul Casey, 71, Sergio, 67, Anthony Kim, 67, and Kevin Streelman, 70, who is highly regarding in my rookie of the year debate. Barclays sign wearer, Phil Mickelson, paired rounds of 70,70, to end up tied for 21st.

Bombers and Crashers.....

Players missing the cut at +1, with the Americans in the group failing to impress captain Azinger include, Woody, Baddeley, Els, O'Hair, Villegas, Harrington, Ogilvy, Zach Johnson, Goosen, Couples, DiMarco, and Pat Perez.

Most players are commenting on the superb conditions at Ridegewood Country Club. It favors positioning and placement. The greens are immaculate and no one seems to miss Westchester. Moves are made tomorrow. Tune in.

Til, next,

Hunter Mahan Blitzes Barclays - Reluctant Ryder Cupper?

“And from what I’ve heard, the whole week is extremely long,” Mahan said in the interview. “You’ve got dinners every night – not little dinners, but huge, massive dinners. I know as players, that’s the last thing we want to do. We want to prepare ourselves. That’s part of the whole thing: You’re just a slave that week.”

Ah, portions of the youthful expressions from Hunter Mahan quoted in Golf Magazine in an interview originally conducted in the spring, but printed during the PGA Championship week. To his credit he apologized quickly to both Ryder Cup captain Paul Azinger and the PGA. A straight apology for once. No nonsensical double talk or Clintonesque musings about what "is" really "is".

Mahan's 62 today at The Barclays, the 1st of four FedExCup playoff events, would make you think he possessed with earning Azinger's favor. Four shots better than Paul Casey, five ahead of Bo Van Pelt, (Lucy's cousin), Kevin Streelman, Mathew Goggin, Charly Hoffman, and Dudley Hart. The resurgent Rich Beem was one more back with a 68. Mahan spun a 98 yd. wedge into the hole for an eagle 2 on the 1st hole. That's the way to get out of the gate. That couples with 8 birdies will get you well on your way to a 62. Tons of golf left. It'll be interesting to see how he holds up for the coming rounds. Just make your your butt can cash the checks that your mouth writes.

Azinger is expected to make his 4 captain's picks on September 2nd. That leaves 7 more rounds for the hopefuls to impress the boss. Mahan certainly got out of the gate better than could be expected. If he makes the team, pair him with Furyk or Woods. Then there will be no doubt in his mind about the meaning of the Ryder Cup.

Other Tours....

LPGA - Safeway Classic, 54 holer, Lorena Ochoa defends.

Champion's Tour - The Boeing Classic, Denis Watson defends.

European Tour - KLM Open, Ross Fisher defending.

Nationwide Tour - Northeast Pennsylvania Classic, Justin Bolli won last year.

Til' next,