Hunter Mahan romps in at Firestone
It looked like it might be a difficult day. The world number and the man who had never finished out of the top five on this course, Tiger Woods, shot seven over par on Sunday. The man who would have taken the number one spot today with a decent round, world number two, Phil Mickelson, shot an eight over par.
But for Hunter Mahan, who started the day ranked 31st in the world, it all looked very easy. Six birdies, a dozen pars, and $1.8 million in prize money: that was his day. The 64 followed a 66 on Saturday, which was easily the best weekend recorded at the Bridgestone Invitational World Golf Championship event at Firestone Country Club.
He set the stage with five birdies in six holes on the front nine that propelled him into a two-shot lead that no one else really ever looked like bridging. He kept it up on the back nine with a single birdie, but mostly with a string of par saves, most notably on 16 where he also had a bit of luck. He went for the green in two, but pushed it wide right where it landed in a flower bed off the course proper. A few feet to the left or right and his ball would have hit the cart path, and where it would have bounced is anyone’s guess, but out of bounds was one very real possibility. If that had been the case, his two-shot lead could have evaporated fast.
Mahan recovered to par the hole and from that point on, all he had to do was play solid over the final two holes to take the win, which also happened to vault him up the Ryder Cup standings to number two from the 10 spot he held before the start of the tournament.
It was Mahan’s second win this year, having already won at the Phoenix Open.
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