Hunter Mahan was the man of the week at the World Golf Championship-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club but you wouldn’t know it. Mahan won by five shots, dominating with a final round 64. But, Tiger Woods shot 77 on Sunday to finish second…to last, while Phil Mickelson finished tied for 46th after rounds of 71 and 78.
Mahan got better ever round at Firestone. After a first round 71, he shot 67 and 66 before a bogey-free final round 64. He started the round three shots behind leaders Ryan Palmer and Sean O’Hair. After two pars to start, made three straight birdies to get into contention. He added birdies on the eighth and ninth holes before adding another on the 13th.
Palmer made pars on the final six holes and was unable to catch Mahan. Palmer finished in second place. Retief Goosen moved up 13 spots to toe Bo Van Pelt for third place at nine-under par. O’Hair fell to sixth place with a final round 71. Jim Furyk and Jeff Overton, two of the best players in the game right now, tied for sixth place at seven-under par. Peter Hanson finished in eighth place with six players tied for ninth a shot behind him. In ninth place at five-under par were British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, Rory McIlroy, Padraig Harrington, Matt Kuchar, Adam Scott and Steve Stricker.
As for Woods and Mickelson…
Mickelson looked poised to take over the top spot on the Official World Golf Rankings after starting the tournament 66-68. But, a rough final round that featured seven bogeys, a double-bogey and one birdie put the stamp on his number two ranking. Will Phil ever move into the top spot? Or, does he really want it?
Woods all but handed Mickelson the reigns to the PGA TOUR with another lackluster performance. It is obvious that the off-course issues have made their way inside the ropes. We were blinded by the tie for fourth at the Masters, his first tournament of the season. Woods may miss the PGA TOUR Playoffs but, more importantly, he may not play in the Ryder Cup. With two tournaments left to qualify for the Ryder Cup, Woods is on the outside looking in and would, more likely than not, have to rely on Captain Corey Pavin to select him as one of his two picks. Admittedly, Woods knows he is not playing well enough for the Ryder Cup. But, maybe…
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