England's Luke Donald can thank American Hunter Mahan for the fact that he is still the World No 1.
A triumphant Hunter Mahan
Mahan made sure of that when he ended Rory McIlroy's bid to oust Donald in Sunday's final of the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship at the Ritz Carlton Golf Club at Dove Mountain in the Arizona desert country.
Mahan, who had looked impressive all week as he became the first American in four years to reach the Match Play final, upset the World No 2 and reigning US Open champion 2&1 after a super-hot front-nine that had seen him storm into a 4-up lead between the 6th and the 10th holes..
McIlroy, who had looked to some extent as if he had left his A Game at home in the early part of the week, had produced a stunning display of golf in his morning semifinal fightback against England's World No 3 Lee Westwood when he was able to turn a 3-down deficit into a 3&1 semi-final win.
Not so in the afternoon when he clearly seemed to have been left drained by his morning heroics and even though he again made up ground coming down the final stretch, it was never going to be enough.
In the end he did well to get as close as he did.
"Boy, it feels good," said 29-year-old Mahan, who never trailed and who will have gained a measure of sweet revenge for his critical match-play loss to Graeme McDowell at the last Ryder Cup win by Europe.
"I didn't realise how difficult it is to win this week because it's six matches and you're playing against the best players in the world," said Mahan, who had defeated a doggedly determined fellow-American Mark Wilson 2-1 in
their semi-final.
"I played well from tee to green, putting to chipping to driving, irons, everything was there. And I needed everything to win. I'm very proud of how I played," added Mahan who totalled 35 birdies during the week from 96 holes as he claimed his fourth US PGA title and his second WGC championship, having previously won the 2010 Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone.
McIlroy. as well as Westwood, would have replaced Britain's Luke Donald as the game's leading player had either managed to win the World Match Play title, but it was not to be
"Deep down I wanted to postpone that crowning of the No 1 player in the world for Rory," Mahan said joking. "But he'll be No 1 eventually. I'm not worried about it and I'm sure he's not."
McIlroy applauded Mahan's performance, but at the same time conceded that his mentally-draining, morning semi-final against Westwood had sapped some of his drive and energy.
"Maybe mentally and emotionally it did take a little bit out of me but it still doesn't take away from the fact that Hunter played very, very solid golf," the 22-year-old said.
"Even though I threw a few birdies and an eagle at him on the back nine, he still responded well and held on. During the course of the week, he played the best golf and deserved to win."
In hot sunny weather both players bogeyed the opening hole, McIlroy giving a hint of what was in store for when he lipped out from just four feet.
The next two holes were halved with matching birdies and McIlroy was fortunate not to go one down at the par-four fourth where he had to take a penalty drop after his tee shot ended up in desert scrub.
He bogeyed the hole, as did Mahan who had put his approach into a front greenside bunker.
But then Mahan shifted up a gear and went in front for the first time with a conceded birdie at the sixth where he put one of his many solid iron shots just two feet from the pin
Some sloppy play by McIlroy cost him another hole at the seventh where,.after seeing Mahan's approach from 135 yards pitch on and then spin back down the hill McIlroy did exactly the same thing - and then failed to reach the green with his chip and missed a 10-foot putt for a double bogey to Mahan's bogey..
The by now beleaguered Irishman got into more hot water at the par-five eighth, finding a bunker off the tee, failing to reach the green in three and then again lipping out with an eight-foot par putt to go three down.
Mahan's brilliance and not McIlroy's sluggishness had everything to do with the American going four up. He almost holed out from the fairway with a 180-yard approach at the par-four 10th and was only two feet from the hole when McIlroy conceded it
The 22-year-old Ulsterman chipped in to eagle the par-five 11th and also birdied the par-four 14th to trim Mahan's lead to two-up and give his supporters some hope, but the lightly bearded American steeled himself and held him off over the next three holes to give the USA its second victory of the final day..
Earlier Wilson had beaten Westwood one-up in the play-off for third place.
ALL THE SUNDAY'S SCORES
Semi-finals
Hunter Mahan (USA) bt Mark Wilson (USA) 2&1
Rory McIlroy (NIrl) bt Lee Westwood (Eng) 3&1
Third-place play-off match
Wilson bt Westwood 1 up
Final
Mahan bt McIlroy 2&1
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