Hunter Mahan

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - Hunter Mahan was bracing for the worst of Pebble Beach, his golf bag weighed down with rain gear and everything else to handle nasty weather. Instead, he was reminded how much he loves this place. It helps that Mahan drilled a 3-wood onto the 18th green for a 2-putt birdie that gave him a 6-under 66 and a share of the lead to par with Russell Knox in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Better yet, the rain everyone was expecting early in the afternoon never showed up. So when Mahan was asked about the most interesting part of the day, all he could think of was that it was boring - in a good way. "I had a good time with my partner.

MARANA, Ariz. - Matt Kuchar finally put Hunter Mahan in a hole and went on to capture the Match Play Championship on Sunday. Mahan went 169 straight holes without trailing in this event until Kuchar won the fourth hole with a par and was on his way. He built a 4-up lead at the turn, and then held off a noble rally by Mahan at Dove Mountain. For all the great shots, the match ended when Mahan went from bunker to desert in taking 4 shots to reach the 17th green. Kuchar won, 2 and 1, when Mahan conceded his birdie putt.

Hunter Mahan won the Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale for his second PGA Tour title, coming from four strokes back to beat Rickie Fowler by a shot in a 1-2 finish for former Oklahoma State players. Mahan, 27, had an eagle and a pair of birdies in a late four-hole span yesterday to finish at 16-under 268. Mahan closed with consecutive bogey-free 6-under 65s. Also the 2007 Travelers Championship winner, he is the eighth U.S.-born player still in his 20s to win more than one tournament.

Hunter Mahan shot an 8-under 62 yesterday to take the first-round lead in the Travelers Championship before rain suspended play with 39 golfers still on the course. The round was one stroke off the course record and it was his sixth consecutive round in the 60s at the TPC at River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn. "It's one of the courses that you look at it and you feel comfortable," said Hunter, who finished second in last year's tournament. "There's not really a shot here that I worry about.

MARANA, Ariz. - Hunter Mahan stopped Rory McIlroy's march to No. 1 by winning the Match Play Championship. Mahan built a 4-up lead through 10 holes at Dove Mountain, then held off the 22-year-old from Northern Ireland to capture his second World Golf Championship title. McIlroy defeated Lee Westwood in a semifinal match Sunday morning. He could have replaced Luke Donald at No. 1 in the world by winning the tournament. But he fell behind with a series of mistakes on the front nine and could never catch up. With his 2-and-1 victory, Mahan becomes the first American to win the Match Play Championship since Tiger Woods in 2008.

BETHESDA, Md. - On a day when temperatures topped 100, Hunter Mahan still managed to make Friday at Congressional feel like a breeze. Mahan made seven birdies in the stifling heat for a 6-under 65, giving him a 2-shot lead at 7-under 135 going into the weekend at the AT&T National. Robert Garrigus had a a 67 and finished in second, along with Jimmy Walker and Brendon De Jonge, who each had a 69. Chris Couch sought medical attention and struggled to finish in the oppressive conditions.

DORAL, Fla. - Tiger Woods was on his game, and so were most of the world's best golfers Thursday in the Cadillac Championship. Except for the world's No. 1 player. Woods made nine birdies on the Blue Monster at Doral for a 6-under 66 that put him in a five-way share of the lead with Masters champion Bubba Watson, former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell, Sergio Garcia, and Freddie Jacobson. This World Golf Championship lived up to its name with Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker, and Hunter Mahan among those 1 shot behind.

Ricky Barnes switched from a plain black shirt to a festive Hawaiian number between the morning and afternoon rounds of the U.S. Amateur championship match. Good thing he was ready to party, too. Barnes, using a dazzling combination of power and finesse, beat Hunter Mahan 2 and 1 yesterday at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., where the 2004 Ryder Cup Matches will be played. "I'm on top of the world right now," said Barnes, a senior at Arizona. "I'm sure we will stay up and have some fun tonight.

ATLANTA - Aaron Baddeley wanted to make a good impression on Greg Norman with hopes of being picked for the Presidents Cup. He wound up impressing a lot of people Saturday in the Tour Championship in Atlanta. Baddeley holed out for eagle on the fourth hole and then lit up the back nine of East Lake with four straight birdies on his way to a 6-under 64 that put him atop the leader board with Hunter Mahan. Mahan holed a birdie putt just over 20 feet on the par-3 18th for a 66. They were at 9-under 201, both poised to capture a meaningful cup - even if it isn't the same one. Mahan is No. 21 in the FedEx Cup and didn't think he had a chance at the $10 million prize at the start of the week.

By Saturday, the stars were gone from the Match Play Championship in Marana, Ariz. But still remaining were Ian Poulter and Hunter Mahan , two of the best in match play. Poulter beat Steve Stricker to raise his record in match play over the last four years to 19-3-2. Mahan beat U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson , to put himself in position to join Tiger Woods as the only repeat winners of this World Golf Championship. Poulter and Mahan meet in one semifinal Sunday morning.

DORAL, Fla. - Tiger Woods was on his game, and so were most of the world's best golfers Thursday in the Cadillac Championship. Except for the world's No. 1 player. Woods made nine birdies on the Blue Monster at Doral for a 6-under 66 that put him in a five-way share of the lead with Masters champion Bubba Watson, former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell, Sergio Garcia, and Freddie Jacobson. This World Golf Championship lived up to its name with Phil Mickelson, Steve Stricker, and Hunter Mahan among those 1 shot behind.

EVEN IN THE most stressful form of golf, Matt Kuchar and his easy smile made the Match Play Championship in Marana, Ariz., look like a weekend game with his buddies. It was fun when he built a 4-up lead at the turn. And when Hunter Mahan threw his best golf at him during a wild back nine Sunday at Dove Mountain, Kuchar never looked rattled, never felt as if the match belonged to anyone but him, and never lost the lead. Kuchar kept momentum on his side with four birdies on the back nine, the last conceded on the 17th hole for a 2-and-1 victory.

By Saturday, the stars were gone from the Match Play Championship in Marana, Ariz. But still remaining were Ian Poulter and Hunter Mahan , two of the best in match play. Poulter beat Steve Stricker to raise his record in match play over the last four years to 19-3-2. Mahan beat U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson , to put himself in position to join Tiger Woods as the only repeat winners of this World Golf Championship. Poulter and Mahan meet in one semifinal Sunday morning.

MARANA, Ariz. - Matt Kuchar finally put Hunter Mahan in a hole and went on to capture the Match Play Championship on Sunday. Mahan went 169 straight holes without trailing in this event until Kuchar won the fourth hole with a par and was on his way. He built a 4-up lead at the turn, and then held off a noble rally by Mahan at Dove Mountain. For all the great shots, the match ended when Mahan went from bunker to desert in taking 4 shots to reach the 17th green. Kuchar won, 2 and 1, when Mahan conceded his birdie putt.

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - Hunter Mahan was bracing for the worst of Pebble Beach, his golf bag weighed down with rain gear and everything else to handle nasty weather. Instead, he was reminded how much he loves this place. It helps that Mahan drilled a 3-wood onto the 18th green for a 2-putt birdie that gave him a 6-under 66 and a share of the lead to par with Russell Knox in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Better yet, the rain everyone was expecting early in the afternoon never showed up. So when Mahan was asked about the most interesting part of the day, all he could think of was that it was boring - in a good way. "I had a good time with my partner.

THE BEST RYDER CUP in history is over. It was thrilling; it was unexpected; it was a bookie's nightmare, an all-time comeback, an upset for the ages. The undermanned European squad's Sunday comeback from four points down was better than the uncomfortable Belfry tie in 1989; better than the War by the Shore in 1991, a jingoistic embarrassment at Kiawah Island; better than the United States' four-point comeback in 1999, forever tarnished by a premature celebration. What did we learn this year?

BETHESDA, Md. - On a day when temperatures topped 100, Hunter Mahan still managed to make Friday at Congressional feel like a breeze. Mahan made seven birdies in the stifling heat for a 6-under 65, giving him a 2-shot lead at 7-under 135 going into the weekend at the AT&T National. Robert Garrigus had a a 67 and finished in second, along with Jimmy Walker and Brendon De Jonge, who each had a 69. Chris Couch sought medical attention and struggled to finish in the oppressive conditions.

As host of the U.S. Open on four previous occasions, the Olympic Club in San Francisco has been known in the annals of golf not for who won the championship, but for who did not. Your Open champions at Olympic have been Jack Fleck over Ben Hogan in 1955, Billy Casper over Arnold Palmer in 1966, Scott Simpson over Tom Watson in 1987, and Lee Janzen over Payne Stewart in 1998, with Fleck and Casper winning in an 18-hole playoff. Together, the four winners captured a total of seven major titles in their careers.

HUNTER MAHAN doesn't dwell on bad shots anymore, and he says that's leading to more good ones. Mahan shot a 1-under 71 on Sunday to win the Houston Open in Humble, Texas, edging Carl Pettersson by one stroke and becoming the first two-time champion on the tour in 2012. The 29-year-old Mahan finished 16 under for the tournament and moved to No. 4 in the world ranking, the first time he's ever been the highest-ranked American. "That's a pretty surreal thing to think about," Mahan said.

RANCHO MIRAGE, Calif. - Sun Young Yoo won the Kraft Nabisco Championship with an 18-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole Sunday, earning her first major title after I.K. Kim missed a 1-foot putt on the final hole of regulation. Yoo won the LPGA Tour's first major of the season with steady play down the stretch, but she got to make the traditional leap into Poppie's Pond only after Kim's mind-boggling miss on the same green minutes earlier. Yoo and Kim finished at 9 under, but Kim could have all but wrapped up her first major with the tap-in putt.