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Mahan misses out

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The Associated Press

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 23, 2009

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. - No golf tournament ends without a number of players able to say "What if?" over one hole or one swing.

Hunter Mahan may have the best reason to ask that question after the U.S. Open.

Mahan's ball was sitting in the fairway after his tee shot on the par-4 16th at Bethpage Black. He was 2 under par for tournament, just one stroke out of the lead.

But a great swing produced a terrible result and effectively ended his chance at his first major championship.

"We had a good number. I think it was like 172 yards," Mahan said. "Had an 8-iron downwind and just flushed it."

If Mahan's ball had hit any part of the green, he would have been looking at a makable birdie putt, but the ball hit the flag stick - and hit it squarely.

"I hit that thing pretty hard and it ricocheted off the green," he said. "That happens. It's a U.S. Open. You're going to get stuff like that. The green is just fast. I thought I hit a pretty good 5-wood runner up there, but the green was pretty fast."

Instead of a chance at tying for the lead, Mahan made a bogey. Then he had another on the par-3 17th when his birdie attempt caught a ridge and left him with a long par putt.

He finished tied for sixth at even par.

SAME MONEY: The total purse for the tournament was $7.5 million, the first time since 1981 there was not an increase from the previous year. Glover received $1.35 million as the champion and Fred Funk, who finished last among the 60 players making the 36-hole cut, earned $19,921.

BIG PUTT: Ricky Barnes' missed birdie putt on the 18th hole wound up costing him $250,170. Make it and he would have finished second alone at 277 and would have won $810,000. Instead, he finished in a tie for second with Phil Mickelson and David Duval and won $559,830.

TRACKING TIGER: Since Curtis Strange repeated as Open champion in 1989, no defending champion had finished in the top 10 until Tiger Woods this year.

Woods was seeking his fourth Open title, which would have tied him for the record with Willie Anderson, Bobby Jones, Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus.

SHORT ENDING: The 18th hole on Bethpage Black was the source of most concern during the weather-plagued tournament since it was the one fairway that did not drain well and faced having quite a bit of casual water on it.

For the final round, it played just 364 yards, the shortest closing hole in a major since the 2005 British Open, when the 18th at St. Andrews played 7 yards shorter.

For the tournament, the 18th played to an average score of 4.1227, the 11th-toughest hole on the course. In the final round it was the third-easiest with an average score of 3.883.

LOW AMATEUR: Nick Taylor, a native of Canada and a first-team All-American at the University of Washington last season, finished as the low amateur, closing with a 5-over 75 for a 288 total, one shot better than Drew Weaver of Virginia Tech, who had a final-round 74.

The Associated Press

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