Hunter Mahan put Rory McIlroy's No. 1 coronation on hold at Dove Mountain.
Feb. 26, 2012
By By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM
MARANA, Ariz. -- Rory McIlroy went to bed Saturday night focused on his upcoming match against Lee Westwood, playing the necessary mental games he hoped would translate into a winning performance. It was the match he wanted all week, the only one that mattered to him, going toe-to-toe with Europe's most consistent performer of the last 15 years.
He didn't just want to beat Westwood. He needed it. Craved it, really. Then he woke up at 5:15 a.m. local time, teed off two hours later and went out and got it, rallying from 3 down on a perfect Sunday morning at Dove Mountain. Goal achieved.
One problem. It wasn't the championship final.
Actually, it was -- in McIlroy's mind.
Having defeated Westwood, the 22-year-old from Northern Ireland had difficulties gearing back up for the decisive match at the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship against Hunter Mahan, who had knocked off fellow American Mark Wilson in the other semifinal.
Mahan, taking control of the final during a five-hole stretch in which he went 4 up, held off the reigning U.S. Open champ 2 and 1 for the fourth title of his still burgeoning PGA TOUR career. McIlroy settled for second place while wondering if he expended too much mental energy against Westwood.
"No disrespect to the other two guys in the semifinals, Hunter and Mark, but ... to me, it was like my final in a way," McIlroy said of his 3 and 1 win over Westwood.
Some athletes and teams get caught looking ahead to the championship matches and fail to take care of immediate business, but did McIlroy not look far enough ahead? Tough to say, and he certainly wasn't about to use that as an excuse.
Besides, the shift in Accenture Match Play schedules -- with the semifinals and finals played on the same day instead of devoting all Sunday to a 36-hole finish -- requires a different approach for the four players left standing. Instead of focusing on winning a championship, you now have to focus simply on getting there.
Mahan said he didn't let his overnight thoughts drift to the finals, that all his attention was on Wilson, a player he hopes will be his Ryder Cup teammate this fall.
"If you thought ahead," Mahan said, "you were going to get beat."
But unlike McIlroy, Mahan didn't start the week having circled Wilson's name as a potential foe. In fact, when Mahan reached the final, he actually had an additional incentive -- to prevent McIlroy from become the world's top-ranked player.
Thanks to Luke Donald's first-round exit, the McIlroy-Westwood winner would move into the No. 1 spot with a win at Dove Mountain. Westwood has been the No. 1 player before; McIlroy hasn't.
Mahan didn't want it to happen for either guy. Not on his watch.
"Deep down, you wanted to postpone that crowning of the No. 1 player in the world for Rory," he said.
So with the match all square through the first five holes, Mahan struck the first big blow. His tee shot at the par-3 sixth landed within two feet, forcing McIlroy to concede the birdie. Now 1 up, Mahan won the next hole with a bogey. Then won the next hole with a par, as McIlroy continued to self-destruct. It was the pivotal three-hole stretch that matches sometimes can turn on.
McIlroy had bounced back from 3 down a few hours earlier against Westwood, but Mahan was simply at a level above all others this week. He made more birdies than anybody else; in fact, his total of 35 was seven more than Westwood, who had the second-highest total of the week. And he faced a Murderer's Row of world-class opponents -- Zach Johnson, Y.E. Yang, Steve Stricker, Matt Kuchar, then Wilson and McIlroy. No gimmes there.
McIlroy got the win he wanted against Westwood, but even he had to acknowledge Mahan's dominance since Wednesday.
"I think during the course of the week, he had played the best golf and deserved to win," McIlroy said. "But maybe that match this morning did take a little bit out of me."
Yet here's something that could've taken a lot out of Mahan -- his brutal schedule the past few weeks.
After playing at Torrey Pines in late January, Mahan decided to take a 15,000 mile detour to play the following week in the Qatar Masters -- "I wanted to experience golf in another place," he explained -- then fly back to California for the next two PGA TOUR events before coming to Dove Mountain.
Most pros of Mahan's caliber usually avoid playing five consecutive weeks. Given the long overseas trip, plus the fact that the fifth tournament involved six matches over five days, including 36 holes on the final day ... well, as Mahan said Sunday, "In years past, that would've beaten me up."
But he's in a good mental state right now. He's happily married to wife Kandi; he's confident in his coach, Sean Foley; and he's got a new putter that was on fire this week.
Oh, and he wasn't emotionally spent when he reached the first tee for Sunday's championship match. Just fired up.
"I knew that was going to be a big key, for me to get into the round immediately," he said. "That was the key all week. You just can't go two or three down against some of these players. You're going to get beaten."
Just ask McIlroy. He managed one big rally Sunday to achieve a personal goal, but he couldn't duplicate it to win the title. As a result, the youngster will remain No. 2 in the world ... for now.
"He's phenomenal," Mahan said. "He's really talented. He'll be No. 1 eventually. I'm not worried about it."
Frankly, there wasn't anything for Mahan to worry about Sunday night. After ending his five-week odyssey with a big win after a long, grueling week, it was time to do one thing. Rest.