Oklahoma State University Athletics
Hunter Mahan Earns Second Career PGA Win
February 28, 2010 | Cowboy Golf
Feb. 28, 2010
Sunday's leaderboard at the Waste Management Phoenix Open looked more like the pairing sheet for an Oklahoma State alumni match than the first page of scores at a PGA Tour event.
Former Cowboy All-Americans Hunter Mahan, Rickie Fowler and Charles Howell III all earned top-four finishes with Mahan capturing his second career PGA title.
To say the OSU trio played well in the event would be a major understatement considering the highest number out of their 12 combined rounds was a 1-under 70.
When it was all said and done on Sunday afternoon at TPC Scottsdale, Mahan had outdueled Fowler down the stretch to earn his first win since claiming the 2007 Travelers Championship title. The 2003 consensus national player of the year during his final season in Stillwater, Mahan finished at 16-under 268 and one shot clear of his Cowboy counterpart.
Through two rounds, Mahan was in decent position after rounds of 68 and 70, but caught fire over the weekend.
On Saturday, Mahan lit up the back nine with a 4-under 32 that included three birdies over his final four holes to post a 5-under 65 and move within striking distance of the leaders.
Sunday provided more of the same from Mahan as he turned up his game on the back nine with an eagle at the 13th and birdies at Nos. 14 and 16 en route to his second-straight 65.
In fact, Mahan's play was nearly perfect over the final two days as he finished as the only player in the field without a bogey over the final 36 holes.
For Mahan, who now has nearly $12 million in career earnings on Tour, it is no surprise that he has now won multiple times professionally. What may be surprising is the timing of Sunday's victory. Mahan came to the desert with four starts in 2010, but his best finish being a tie for 27th in his first start of the year at the Farmers Insurance Open.
Unlike Mahan, Fowler was near the top of the leaderboard all week after firing an opening 65 on Thursday. A first-team All-American the past two years for the Cowboys, Fowler followed with rounds of 67 and 69 before his closing 68. The runner-up finish was his second top-five showing in just six starts as a full-fledged member of the Tour.
Not to be forgotten was the performance of Howell, who finished at 13-under par. The 2000 NCAA Champion strung together rounds of 69, 66, 68 and 68 to tie for fourth place. Howell has quietly enjoyed a productive start to his 2010. His showing in Phoenix gives him three top 10s in six starts thus far.
