American Hunter Mahan has produced another year of consistently excellent performances,
his form carrying him through all four FedEx Cup playoff tournaments and to the
season-ending Tour Championship, finishing 27th in the FedEx Cup standings.
Mahan appeared destined for golfing greatness after a glittering amateur career in
which he won the US Junior Amateur title, finished runner-up to Ricky Barnes in the 2002
US Amateur Championship and third in the NCAA Championships in the same year.
He also played in the Masters at Augusta as an amateur in 2003, making the cut and
finishing in 28th place. Although missing the cut at the US Open two months later, Mahan
took the plunge into the paid ranks after his second major and secured seven sponsors’
invitations to compete in PGA Tour events in the latter part of the year, making four
cuts.
Not having earned enough money in those events to secure playing privileges for the
following year, Mahan endured the test of the end-of-year Qualifying School, finishing in
a tie for 16th place and earning his full tour card for 2004.
He was just 21 years old in his rookie season, the second youngest player on tour after
Kevin Na, but he certainly showed no signs of youthful nerves. He secured three top ten
finishes early in the year, including a tie for second at the Reno-Tahoe Open when he
finished in a four-way tie in regulation play to earn a place in a playoff won by another
rookie, Vaughn Taylor.
After three solid years on tour, 2007 proved to be the big breakthrough year with his
first win at the Travelers Championship after he looked as though he might have blown his
chances with bogeys on the 16th and 17th holes of the final round. However, he managed a
birdie at the final hole to force a playoff with Jay Williamson, which he won on the first
extra hole with a birdie.
After a strong showing in the Open Championship – where he made the cut on the
line and then shot 69 and 65 at the weekend for a tie for sixth place – and at the
PGA Championship, he was selected by Jack Nicklaus as one of the captain’s picks for
the 2007 Presidents Cup and ended up in 15th place on the FedEx Cup standings for the
year.
2008 would bring an 18th place on the FedEx Cup rankings, a first Ryder Cup appearance
for the United States and a second consecutive year in which he banked more than $2
million in prize money. This year saw him earn just under $3 million, go all the way to
the final FedEx Cup event again, and play in his second successful American Presidents Cup
team.
One of the most notable attributes Mahan has shown in his first few years as a
professional is his ability to shoot really low scores, having recorded six 62s on the PGA
Tour, including one in the final round of this year’s AT&T National at
Congressional that left him one stroke behind eventual winner Tiger Woods.
He added a further five top-10 finishes, two of which came at major championships (a
tie for tenth at the Masters and a tie for sixth at the US Open), with his ability to
handle the biggest stages being a significant factor in his selection by Fred Couples as a
Presidents Cup captain’s pick. | 
