American Express: Struggle is Real for Hunter Mahan
By Tim Letcher
Hunter Mahan was once a world-class golfer on the PGA Tour. On Thursday at the American Express, he proved that those days are long gone.
Mahan has six PGA Tour victories, though none since 2014. He was a member of four Presidents Cup teams (2007, 2009, 2011, 2013) and three Ryder Cup sides (2008, 2010, 2014).
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But the veteran has run upon very hard times in recent years. In the last six seasons on tour, over the course of 129 starts, Mahan has just one Top 10 finish. That came in 2018 when he tied for seventh at the Barbasol Championship.
Since that time, he has made just 11 cuts in 36 starts. And his struggle continued on Thursday in his native California.
His struggles were summed up by his front nine in his first round Thursday. Mahan opened with a bogey on the par-4 first hole. He followed that with another bogey on the par-4 second. Two holes, two over par already.
Mahan did par the par-3 third hole. However, he followed that with another bogey, this one on the par-4 fourth hole.
He also bogeyed the par-4 fifth hole to slip to 4-over par through five. He seemed to bounce back, at least a little, with pars on the sixth and seventh holes.
Then came the par-3 eighth hole, where Mahan’s hope of making the cut slipped completely away.
His tee shot landed in the water. His third shot, from the drop zone, got him to the green and he two-putted for a double-bogey five. He was 6-over par through eight holes.
After a par to close his front nine with a 42, Mahan bogeyed the 10th hole to drop to 7-over par. However, he did birdie the 11th and 12th holes to get back to 5-over on his round.
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Mahan would birdie the 15th hole as well and would finish with a 4-over par 76. At the time he finished, he was ahead of only three players in the 156-player field.
Unfortunately for Mahan, it was much of the same on Thursday. As he has had to do many times in recent years, he will need a big round just to make the cut on Friday.