Thrill of the Hunter

MAHAN STOPS MCILROY IN MATCH PLAY

BY DOUG FERGUSON

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MARANA, Ariz. — Even as Hunter Mahan motored his way through the Match Play Championship by beating one tough opponent after another, he had reason to feel he was just along for the ride in the final match Sunday afternoon.

All the chatter was about U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy and his march to No. 1 in the world.

All the chants Mahan heard as he walked down the first two holes at Dove Mountain were for McIlroy.

With a little extra motivation he didn’t need, Mahan won three straight holes on the front nine to seize control and answered McIlroy’s charge with birdies of his own for a 2-and-1 victory.

“Deep down, you wanted to postpone that crowning of the No. 1 player in the world for Rory,” Mahan said. “He’ll get there. I mean, he’s phenomenal. He’s really talented. He’ll be No. 1 eventually. But yeah, when you’re a player, and I listen to Johnny Miller and Nick Faldo and all those guys, they had him picked to win. And that’s what everybody was talking about.

“There was absolute motivation in that.”

It proved to be too long of a day for McIlroy, the 22-year-old from Northern Ireland, who put so much energy into a high-stakes semifinal match against Lee Westwood earlier Sunday. If either of them won the tournament, they would go to No. 1 in the world.

McIlroy, explosive as ever, ran off seven birdies in a 10-hole stretch to overcome an early deficit and beat Westwood. He looked flat in the championship match, made a series of mistakes to lose back-to-back holes, and fell too far behind to catch Mahan.

“To me, it was like my final in a way,” McIlroy said of his win over Westwood. “That was the one I wanted all week and I got. And that’s what I got myself up for. Yeah, maybe mentally and emotionally it did take a little bit out of me. But it still doesn’t take away from the fact that Hunter played very, very solid golf.”

“Even though I threw a few birdies and an eagle at him in the back nine, he still responded well and held on,” he said. “I think during the course of the week, he had played the best golf and deserved to win.”

Mahan can easily make a case for that.

The six guys he had to beat at Dove Mountain were Zach Johnson, Y.E. Yang, Steve Stricker, Matt Kuchar, Mark Wilson and McIlroy. Three of them have won majors. Five of them have made Ryder Cup or Presidents Cup teams. The exception was his semifinal match against Wilson, who has won three times on the PGA Tour in the last 14 months.

It required his best golf, and Mahan delivered with 35 birdies in 96 holes over six matches.

“It feels good because you’re going against the game’s best,” Mahan said. “I played well from tee-to-green, putting to chipping to driving, irons, everything was there. I needed everything to win. I’m very proud of how I played. It feels great. It really does.”

Mahan won for the fourth time in his career, two of them World Golf Championships. He also won the Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone in 2010. He joins Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Geoff Ogilvy and Darren Clarke as the only players to win multiple WGC titles since these events began in 1999.

And he was the first American to win the Match Play Championship since Woods in 2008. He moves to No. 9 in the world, the first time in his career that Mahan has cracked the top 10.

Luke Donald stays at No. 1, though McIlroy is closing in quickly. McIlroy, who rejoined the PGA Tour this year, plays the Honda Classic next week against a strong field, and then has another WGC at Doral.

He never led in the championship match against Mahan, losing an opportunity on the opening hole when he missed a 4-foot par putt. Mahan took the lead with a 9-iron into 2 feet for a conceded birdie on the par-3 sixth.

On the seventh hole, with Mahan already in trouble in a deep collection area left of the green, McIlroy pulled his short iron and joined him there. But it took McIlroy two chips to get on the green, and he lost the hole with a double bogey.

Then McIlroy’s sand wedge hopped over the green on the par-5 eighth, and he lost that hole with a bogey.

Mahan’s big lead was enough to withstand the McIlroy charge. McIlroy played the opening six holes on the back nine in 5-under par, but still picked up only one hole on Mahan.

“I tried to claw myself back, but I left myself too much work,” McIlroy said.

He also got off to a slow start against Westwood, 3 down through four holes, before roaring past him. McIlroy didn’t have the shots, and didn’t appear to have the energy, to do that twice in one day.

STANFORD WINS HSBC

ON 3RD PLAYOFF HOLE

SINGAPORE — Angela Stanford won the HSBC Women’s Champions on the third playoff hole Sunday, her first victory since 2009 and her fifth on the LPGA Tour.

The 34-year-old Texan parred the last playoff hole, beating South Koreans Jenny Shin and Na Yeon Choi and China’s Shanshan Feng.

“It’s a big deal,” Stanford said. “I’m just thinking about home and everybody there.”

Stanford, who earned $210,000 for the victory, trailed Shin by a shot after the 17th when play was delayed about 90 minutes because of lightning. When play resumed, Shin hit her tee shot out of bounds, leading to a double bogey. Stanford bogeyed No. 18 to fall into a four-way tie at 10-under 278.

“I felt for her (Shin) because we’ve all been in that position,” said Stanford, who shot a 1-under 71 in the final round. “I didn’t think I’d be there at the end. I was all over the map today.”

The 19-year-old Shin turned professional in 2010 and has competed in 18 LPGA tournaments. She said her inexperience may have led to jitters at the 18th.

HUH BEATS ALLENBY

ON 8TH EXTRA HOLE

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico — John Huh parred the eighth hole of a playoff to beat Robert Allenby and win the Mayakoba Golf Classic on Sunday.

The 21-year-old Huh parred all eight holes in the playoff that matched the second-longest in PGA Tour history.

“It’s amazing,” Huh said. “It’s my rookie year, especially, and playing in my fifth event on the PGA Tour. I just couldn’t put it in words. … It’s really hard to explain this. It’s major. I mean, it was my dream.”

Huh closed with an 8-under 65 to match Allenby at 13-under 271 on the seaside El Camaleon course. Allenby had a two-stroke lead with a hole to play in regulation, but the 40-year-old Australian drove into the trees on the right and made a double bogey.

“Obviously, disappointed, disappointed that I didn’t like hit 3-wood off 18 in regulation, like I should have,” Allenby said. “But that’s the way it goes. You make some mistakes sometimes, and that was a major one, obviously.

“I mean, I had this tournament in the bag, a two-shot lead with one hole to play and just played it like a rookie, pretty much.”

The playoff fell three holes short of the PGA Tour record of 11 set in the 1949 Motor City Open when Cary Middlecoff and Lloyd Mangrum were declared co-winners. The playoff was the fifth to go eight holes and first since the 1983 Phoenix Open.

The playoff alternated between the par-4 18th and par-3 10th.

It ended on No. 10 when Huh, seven strokes behind leader Daniel Summerhays after three rounds, chipped from the right rough to 21/2 feet and made his par putt. Allenby drove into the hazard on the right, chipped to 15 feet and missed his par try.

“I was nervous, especially when you’re playing out there against Robert Allenby,” Huh said. “I was trying to calm down myself, but it was hard.”

The victory followed two strong performances last month when Huh tied for sixth at Torrey Pines and tied for 12th the following week in the Phoenix Open.