Hunter Mahan is back on the golf course. What remains to be seen is if his golf game sticks with him.
When last we saw Mahan swinging a club, he was coming up painfully short in the Ryder Cup, flubbing an approach that would have kept pace with Graeme McDowell in the Cup's final singles match. A few moments later, and McDowell had won their match and, as a result, Europe claimed the Ryder Cup.
In a later press conference, Mahan broke down in tears, feeling he'd let his team down. Obviously, that wasn't the case at all, and his teammates rushed to defend and support him.
He's in the field at the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals Open, and he'll no doubt say all the right things about being prepared and putting the past out of his mind. Still, failing under that kind of pressure can weigh on a man. How will he react to the next pressure situation? Will he be stronger as a result of what he went through, or will his failure at Celtic Manor haunt him?
If there's any saving grace about Mahan's failure to come through, it's that it could have been much worse. Mahan was simply trying to keep pace with McDowell; it wasn't like he gave away the Cup with his missed chip. And, in a team framework, it's obviously not all his fault. (Stewart Cink, we're looking at you.) So it's not like he gave away a championship all on his own; Dustin Johnson, for one, would have a lot more of a claim to that dubious act.
Even so, there is precedent here. In the 1995 Ryder Cup, Jay Haas needed a win on the 18th against Philip Walton to give the United States the cup. But Haas miserably flubbed his tee shot, only hitting it about 150 yards, and the Europeans would win the Cup. Haas was coming off a year in which he had three top 10s in majors, but after that, he'd never win another PGA Tour event. Still, he's won 11 Champions Tour events, including three Champions majors, so there's hope.
And in 1991, Mark Calcavecchia and Bernhard Langer both took turns wearing the goat's horns. Calc was dormie with Colin Montgomerie (whatever happened to that guy?) with four holes to play, and ended up halving the match. But a few minutes later, Langer missed a 6-footer that would have given Europe the Cup. A few months later, Calcavecchia won the Phoenix Open, and less than two years later, Langer won the Masters, so again, both rebounded well enough.
Mahan is young, and there's a reason U.S. captain Corey Pavin put him in that anchor position -- he's confident and secure in his own skills. He's had three top-10 major finishes in the last two years, and he should be just fine.
Still, we won't know -- indeed, probably he won't know -- what will happen until Mahan gets out there and starts swinging again. As long as he's not paired with McDowell again anytime soon, he should be fine.
Related: Colin Montgomerie, Corey Pavin, Graeme McDowell, Hunter Mahan, Stewart Cink, Jay Haas, Dustin Johnson, Mark Calcavecchia Email Devil Ball Golf Buzz up! digg add to facebook delicious Twitter
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