PGA Golf Talk

Hunter Mahan has had a pretty good summer. The 28-year-old PGA golfer got engaged to his Dallas Cowboys cheerleader girlfriend in June, finished a career-best 8th at the Masters, and won his biggest PGA event to date last weekend- the Bridgestone Invitational. The former Oklahoma State first-team All-American felt right at home in Akron, Ohio. Mahan captured the $1.4 million prize shooting a 64 on the final day of the PGA tournament. The victory also guaranteed Mahan a spot on the USA’s Ryder Cup team. In 2007, Mahan was apart of the winning USA team at the President’s Cup. The headline story at Firestone Country Club was the horrific tournament Tiger Woods had. Woods shot 18 over PAR for his worst PGA finish in his career. The PGA will now sets course for Whistling Straits-where the 2010 PGA Championships will be held. The golf world will see if Woods can get his game together or if a lesser known name like Mahan steals the show once again.

PGA golfer Arjun Atwal might be having the tournament of his life. The Indian golfer has never won a PGA Tournament, but through the first day at The AT&T National, Atwal is the leader along with American Joe Ogilive. Atwal has one win to his name on the Nationwide Tour, but the closest he’s ever come to winning a PGA Tour event was this year at the Tavistock Cup where he was the runner’s up. When Atwal earned his PGA Tour card in 2004 he became the first East Indian to do so in history. Atwal recorded one of his best performances at the Byron Nelson Championship, finishing in 7th place. Atwal’s winnings this year have already trumped his total winnings of his past two seasons combined. If Atwal can pull off the victory in Newtown Square, PA it would be a big step forward for the 37-year-old. The tournament concludes this Sunday.

After a rough 2009 PGA Tour season, K. J. Choi is playing some of the best golf of his life. The South Korean golf star returned to the Asian Tour to win the Iskandar Johor Open in Malyasia, and has done everything but win in 2010 on the PGA Tour. Choi has 7 wins on the PGA Tour in his career and finished fourth this year at The Masters. A second place finish at the Transitions Championship in March sets up Choi to make a real push at the U.S. Open. Choi finished tied in 15th at the US Open in 2005 and has played at Pebble Beach in a number of tournaments. Choi struggled last weekend at the Memorial, but still finished in the money but had a nice showing the Colonial the weekend prior, placing in 13th. Choi’s next chance to win his first major will be at the US Open on June 14th.

At just the age of 16, Jordan Spieth grabbed headlines today by shooting a 68 at the Bryon Nelson Championship today. The Dallas native finished in 17th place at -2 under par in Irving, Texas at TPC Four Seasons Resort and Club. Spieth won the 2009 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship and has committed to playing golf at Texas in college. Spieth might be good enough to skip school if he keeps playing like he did today. The teenager had a big group of fans following him, erupting with every birdie he made. If Spieth makes the cut at the Bryon Nelson, he will become the sixth=youngest golfer to make the cut at a PGA Tour event. Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who has played with Speith previously, stopped in to watch him play a few holes. A junior at Dallas’ Jesuit College Prep, Jordan Spieth is a name to keep your eye on in the year’s to come.

Tiger Woods will unquestionably be the big story next week when The Masters take place starting Monday at Augusta National Golf Course. However, there will be all of golf’s best on display at Augusta and we at PGA Golf Talk thought we’d kick around who we think could win the tournament. Steve Stricker has been one of the most consistent golfers on the tour the past four years finishing second only to Tiger in winnings in 2009. Stricker came in 6th last year at The Masters and has finished in the top ten in four tournaments already this season, winning the 2010 Northern Trust Open. Englishmen Paul Casey has finished in the top ten in all four of the PGA Tour events he’s played in this year including a second place showing at the Accenture Match Play Championship. The golf tournament will truly be memorable if Tiger is in the running to win, but it being his first professional event in some time, most experts don’t expect much from the troubled superstar.

It was a day for the youngsters at the 2010 Waste Management Phoenix Open in Scottsdale, Arizona with twenty-eight year old Hunter Mahan outlasting twenty-one year old Rickie Fowler. Mahan has been playing really great golf the last two years on the PGA tour, but hasn’t been able to win a tournament before last Sunday. Finishing sixth at the U.S. Open and tenth at the Masters last year, it was a matter of time before Mahan lifted another trophy on the PGA tour. His last win prior to the Phoenix Open was in 2007 when he took home the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Connecticut. Mahan did not win without incident on Sunday, as he found crack in his driver early on his day. Having to get the rules committee to allow his girlfriend to go retrieve another driver from his car, Mahan was able to avoid penalty helping him claim the $1,080,000 winner’s prize. It doesn’t hurt that she’s also a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. Sounds like a keeper Hunter!

Not even Tiger’s friends have any idea when he will return. The past few months for the greatest golfer in the world have been dreadful. Since the conga line of mistresses formed confirming Woods’ infidelities starting back in November, the 34-year-old hasn’t played any professional golf. Instead Woods has been sequestered in a Mississippi sex rehab facility. Once thought to be one of Tiger’s best friends and mentor, Mark O’Meara, hasn’t seen him since last July. Early on in his career, Tiger was aided by O’Meara’s advice and friendship, but hasn’t reached out to him throughout the scandal. Tiger or any of his representatives have publicly addressed the reports fueling the speculation. No one knows when the world’s best golfer will return to the game, but when he does it will be a momentous event. Sooner or later Woods will have to face the media and return to doing what he does best.

Host country favorite David Smail shot a 65 to grab a share of the lead at the Nationwide New Zealand Open in Queenstown. Smail is tied with Australian Andrew Dodt and American Robert Gates after the first round of play. Smail won the New Zealand Open in 2001 and throughout his career he’s won five times on the Japan Golf Tour. The 39-year-old hit the fairway 86 percent of the time and putted extremely well on Thursday. Having made the cut for the PGA Championship this past season, Smail is confident going into the second round saying he hasn’t putted this well in awhile. The New Zealand Open is the oldest tournament in the country being first played in 1907 with the last New Zealander winning in 2003 when Mahai Pierce won.

With his memorable run at this past year’s British Open still fresh in people’s memory, Tom Watson has put on another tremendous performance winning the 2010 Mitsubshi Electric Championship in Hualalai, Hawaii. Defeating Champions Tour debutant Fred Couples by a single stroke shooting a 64 on Sunday. The title was bittersweet for the 60-year-old who captured the attention of the sports’ world in Ayrshire turning back the clocks to his major-winning days before falling in a playoff to Stewart Cink. However, in Hualalai the American finished with a inspiring back nine featuring five birdies inching his way over Couples on the final hole. Watson was coming off a recent Skins game victory with fellow golf great Jack Nicklaus in Kaanapali, Hawaii at the Wendy’s Champions Skins Game. The victory also holds special significance to Watson as the Kansas City native recently purchased a home in Hualalai. Golf fans will see if Tom Watson can continue his renaissance as the rest of the 2010 Champions Tour season plays out.

With the Sony Open for the PGA, the predictions that I brought up last week seem to be coming true. There are six different players tied for the lead in the tournament. Love and Allenby are right at the top of the standings along with several others. On top of that, there are 10 players in second place and several more in 3rd. Hopefully we’ll be able to get to know these players a bit more over the next few months. But this is an exciting way to start off the year. If I were into conspiracies, I would almost believe that it was set up this way to keep the buzz. But I know about Allenby, Love, Zach Johnson, Troy Merritt, Ryan Palmer, etc and that they wouldn’t be able to just hit the same score in a tournament. Neither would they want to because they have a great chance to really win.