Hunter Mahan wins Shell Houston Open – Golf News
Hunter Mahan carded one-under par 71 in the final round of the Shell Houston Open, which was enough for him to take a one-stroke margin victory over Carl Pettersson on Sunday, April 1, 2012.
It would not be wrong to say that it was Louis Oosthuizen who lost the tournament rather than Mahan winning it.
Oosthuizen had a two-stroke lead over Mahan while entering the final round at the Redstone GC Tournament Course in Humble, Texas.
However, he completely faltered in the final round and carded three bogeys and two double bogeys against four birdies.
His poor performance took him from 17-under to 14-under at the end of the tournament.
Meanwhile, Mahan only focused on making par shots throughout the round. In total, he managed to score only two birdies and a single bogey to move up the leaderboard and earn a victory prior to the Masters Tournament.
Apart from his win, he also earned the status of being the highest ranked golfer of the United States by taking the fourth spot in the Official World Golf Rankings.
“That's a pretty surreal thing to think about,” Mahan said. “It shows me what I can do, shows me what I'm capable of”.
While talking about the Masters Tournament, he said that the win in the Houston Open will really help him in boosting his morale for the first major event of the year.
“I feel like for my mind and ball-striking, everything feels good,” Mahan said. “I feel like I can play well and play well in many different ways, so that's nice”.
Ernie Els, on the other hand, scored 10-under par to tie for the 12th position. He desperately needed a win in the tournament in order to qualify for the Masters.
Therefore, he will not be a part of the Augusta National field for the first time in the last 19 years.
“It's not going to change my life, either way. I’ve played many out there. It's one of those things,” he said.
The only way he can get a chance to play the event is through a special invitation from the event.
“To go through all of this, and then get an invite, I wouldn't take it,” he said. “They can keep it”.
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