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 It shouldn't be a surprise, however. Mahan, who lived in Orange before his family moved to McKinney, Texas, when he was 12, has had success on every level of golf. He was the No. 1-ranked junior and won the 1999 U.S. Junior Amateur, defeating Camillo Villegas, who so far is winless on the PGA Tour. Mahan dominated as a junior and in collegiate golf, but for some reason other young phenoms, such as Ricky Barnes and Ryan Moore, always got more publicity. "I felt like I had that capability," Mahan said recently. "I felt like I was somewhat close to doing something like this." When Mahan, 25, turned professional after the 2003 U.S. Open, it barely registered in the golf world. There was no press conference, and Mahan concentrated on earning his card for the following year. He did by finishing tied for 16th at Qualifying School, but 2004 was mostly uneventful until he put together three rounds in the 60s at the Reno-Tahoe Open before losing to Vaughn Taylor in a four-man playoff. It was a good learning experience, and Mahan maintained his conditional status in 2006 with five top-15 finishes, including a tie for second at the Buick Championship. He finished 83rd on the money list with more than $1 million and entered this year full of confidence. "My mind has been catching up with my game," Mahan said. "I've been out there being a cheerleader for myself, instead of being an enemy of myself." The motivational speeches worked. Mahan tied for fifth at the Shell Houston Open in April and won two months later at the Travelers Championship. "Knowing that you can win and actually winning are two different things," said Mahan, who has played well at the majors this year with a tie for 13th at the U.S. Open and a tie for sixth at the British Open. At the Canadian Open in July, Mahan posted his fourth consecutive top-10 finish and continued to move up in the standings for a potential spot on the Presidents Cup team. "It [was] in the back of my mind, but I [had] a long way to go before that," Mahan said of the possibility of representing his country at the biennial event. And while he didn't make the team on points, his play over the summer was good enough for Jack Nicklaus to select Mahan as a captain's pick. "If there's been a player who has played better, a young player who's played better in the last six months, I don't know who it is," Nicklaus said. Mahan's strength is his driver. He ranks third on tour in all-around driving by averaging 294 yards off the tee and finding the fairway 68 percent of the time. Other areas of his game are fairly strong as well. Mahan is ranked 30th in greens in regulation and 76th in putting. "You know, golf is a funny game," Mahan said. "Sometimes you have it and sometimes you don't." Mahan definitely has it, and it only looks like it's going to get stronger in years to come. SG John Reger has been covering professional golf since 1995. He can be reached at cascribe@aol.com. |
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