No longer Hunting for answers, Mahan's game on the rise
HARRISON, N.Y. -- More than a few world-class golfers have spent their entire careers trying to change a sour attitude, knock a few degrees off the internal thermometer or flush negativity down the commode.
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| That's a fist-pump worthy finish there, Mr. Mahan. (AP) |
It sounds almost comical, but Hunter Mahan pushed his hot button for the last time between rounds of a U.S. Open qualifier three months ago. Now his ascent, unlike his former temperament, is the only thing about him that's meteoric.
Providing yet more proof that he's the hottest American player in the world not named Eldrick T. Woods, Mahan eviscerated storied Westchester Country Club on Saturday, matching a course record with a 9-under 62 that left him two shots off the lead heading into the final round of The Barclays, the first installment of the lucrative FedEx Cup series.
The Mahan makeover stands as one of the most remarkable in years, not to mention one of the most abrupt. In the time that it takes to eat lunch, he was transformed from a discontented player who beat himself up so severely after poor shots that it was ruining his career, into a fount of positivity.
He can pinpoint the precise date, place and time of the turnaround. There was no hypnosis, voodoo incantations or animal sacrifice required, either.
"My other clients keep saying, 'Where's my magic dust?'" said Neale Smith, Mahan's mental-game coach.
Mahan traces the tsunami of change to a brutally frank heart-to-heart with Smith in early June. Smith, a former pro who was caddying for Mahan during a 36-hole U.S. Open qualifier, pulled Mahan aside after the promising 25-year-old shot a sloppy 73 in the morning round and gave him a well-intentioned earful. It included terminology not suited for all audiences.
"It probably wouldn't have been something you'd have wanted your 15-year-old daughter to hear," Smith said Saturday. "But it came from a place of care."
Said Smith, recalling the lecture: "'Your attitude is crap and you are never going to play any better unless something major changes.' The tone was pretty pissed off, really."
Mahan, who had grown increasingly frustrated with his game, hadn't been playing well early in the year and needed to find a fix, or he risked losing his tour card. Smith had been preaching to him about his attitude -- this time he got an up-close view of how bad Mahan was bashing himself in the head -- and laid down the law.
"It was a long time coming," Mahan said. "That round was just symbolic of the first part of my year."
Just like that, Mahan lopped 10 shots off his score and shot 63 in the afternoon session to earn medalist honors, then finished 17th his next time out at Memphis. At the U.S. Open, he finished in a tie for 13th, then recorded his first victory in his next start, at the Travelers Championship. Since Mahan's light went on and he lightened up on himself, he hasn't finished worse than 22nd and has four top-eight finishes this summer.
