Mahan edges Fowler to win Phoenix Open
Hunter Mahan has been one of the most successful golfers not to win
a tournament the past two years.
That's not the case anymore.
Mahan came from four strokes back to win the Phoenix Open by
a shot over Rickie Fowler on Sunday in a 1-2 finish for former
Oklahoma State players.
``It's always a little better to lose to a Cowboy,'' Fowler
said.
Mahan, 27, had an eagle and a pair of birdies in a late
four-hole span to finish at 16-under 268. Mahan, whose first
victory came at the 2007 Travelers Championship, closed with
consecutive bogey-free, 6-under 65s.
He's the eighth U.S.-born player still in his 20s to win more
than one tournament.
Fowler, just 21 and a tour rookie, had a final-round 68 for
the second runner-up finish of his young career, both of them in
Arizona.
In his second PGA Tour event Oct. 25, Fowler lost in a
three-way playoff to Troy Matteson in the Frys.com Open just down
the road at the Grayhawk Golf Club.
South Korea's Y.E. Yang also shot a 65 to finish at 14-under,
two off the pace. Last year's PGA Championship winner, Yang led
until his tee shot went in the water at No. 17.
Mathew Goggin, Chris Couch and Charles Howell III tied for
fourth at 13-under.
Third-round leader Brandt Snedeker struggled mightily with a
78 to wind up far back at 7-under.
The win was worth $1.08 million.
Although he hadn't won, Mahan had played well the past two
years. He played on the 2008 Ryder Cup team and had six top-10s in
2009, including a runner-up finish at the AT&T National. His
earnings the past two years topped $5 million.
``It's just finding a way to win. I just haven't been able to
do it,'' he said. ``So obviously it feels great to get off the year
on my fifth tournament to win. It gives me a lot of confidence in
myself that I'm doing the right things in my game, and it feels
great, it really does.''
Rain and winds reaching 47 mph hit overnight at TPC
Scottsdale, and sprinkles lingered Sunday morning. But the rain
subsided by the time the leaders teed off at noon.
The tournament, in its 75th year, was known as the FBR Open
but returned to its longtime Phoenix Open name when Waste
Management Inc. took over as the title sponsor this year.
The poor weather held the estimated final-round crowd to just
under 44,000, well off last year's 60,000-plus. That brought the
week's total attendance to nearly 426,000, down from 470,000 a year
ago at the rowdy event that always draws the biggest crowds on the
tour.
Yang, whose PGA Championship victory made him the first
Asian-born golfer to win a major, eagled No. 10, then reeled off
four consecutive birdies to take the lead at 15-under through 15
holes.
Trouble came, though, at No. 17, where his tee shot bounced
into the water. Yang's 25-foot putt for par was on line but stopped
an inch short of the cup, and the bogey left him at 14-under.
Mahan, meanwhile, hit his second shot on the par-5 13th 250
yards within 7 feet and made the eagle putt to reach 14-under.
His 18-foot birdie putt on the par-4 14th moved him ahead of
Yang at 15-under.
The clincher came at the notorious 16th, the par 3 surrounded
by bleachers filled with noisy, irreverent fans who cheer and boo
with equal enthusiasm.
Mahan's tee shot caught the edge of the green, and he made
the subsequent 14 1/2-foot putt to regain the lead at 16-under.
``You still have a tournament to win; you can't really worry
about the people,'' he said. ``You just kind of have to block it
out, but at the same time kind of enjoy it because you don't have
that opportunity to have so many people watching you on one hole.''
At the 15th, the open desert course's final par 5, Fowler
chose to play conservatively and lay his shot up rather than go for
the green, which is surrounded by water. He said he felt he was a
bit too far away from the pin to go for it, considering he was just
one shot back and had what he felt were good birdie chances on Nos.
16 and 17.
``I felt that instead of bringing trouble into play ... I
took the safe route,'' Fowler said.
That left him with a par, and he missed birdie putts of 14
1/2, 17 and 30 feet on the last three holes.
Mahan sent his girlfriend to his car after he found a crack
in his driver early in his round.
``Luckily, the rules staff ran her out to the car and she got
it before the next tee shot,'' Mahan said, ``because the next hole
is a par 5. I really didn't want to hit a 3-wood off the par 5.''