Mahan charges his way to memorable victory

One has to wonder how Hunter Mahan's two-shot victory over Ryan Palmer in the Bridgestone Invitational yesterday at Firestone Country Club will be best remembered.

Will it be remembered that Mahan shot a closing round 6-under-par 64 to overcome a four-shot deficit on the same day Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson -- the game's No. 1- and No. 2-ranked players -- shot 77 and 78, respectively? Or will it be remembered as the tournament in which Mahan beat the defending champion -- Woods -- by 30 shots?

Either way, it was an impressive victory, one that earned Mahan $1.4 million and guaranteed him a spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team. With his first World Golf Championship title, Mahan moved to No. 12 in the world ranking and won the second time this year, joining Ernie Els, Jim Furyk, Steve Stricker and Justin Rose as the only players to do so on the PGA Tour this season.

"The last couple of weeks, the game has been good," said Mahan, a 28-year-old from Dallas who won the Phoenix Open in February by shooting 65 in the final round. "I knew it was there. I know I just had to keep going and keep trust it. This weekend, I definitely just kind of let everything go and just had some fun."

Mahan's 64 was the lowest final round by a winner since the Bridgestone Invitational became a WGC event in 1999. He ran off five birdies on the front nine and converted three clutch par putts down the stretch to record the biggest victory of his career.

Before the tournament started it would have been hard to pick Mahan, who finished at 12-under 268. Since winning in Phoenix, he had only one top-10 finish and had missed four straight cuts.

Predicting Palmer, who entered the tournament ranked 149th in the world, to finish alone in second would have required a real clairvoyant, too. But Ryan, who won the Sony Open early in the season, shot a rock-solid 69 in the final round and proved he belonged in the invitational field.

Woods, on the other hand, looked out of place on a course he has dominated in the past on his way to seven victories. He will remain atop the Official World Golf Ranking for the 270th consecutive week, despite the worst tournament of his career. But that will do little for his confidence.

Woods finished at 18-over 298 -- his highest score on the PGA Tour as a pro or an amateur -- and finished one spot out of last place. In a post-round interview he admitted he wasn't sure if he was worthy for the Ryder Cup.

"No one would help the team if they're shooting 18-over par," Woods said before flying up to Whistling Straits to sneak in a practice round for the PGA Championship next week. "Shooting 18-over par is not fun. I don't see how it can be fun shooting 18 over."

Mickelson, who shot 41 on the front nine, didn't have much fun either on his way to a closing 78 in which he sprayed shots all over the parking lot and three-putted from 4 feet. He was tied for 10th and needed to finish alone in fourth to overtake Woods at No. 1 in the world. Instead, he finished tied for 46th and in need of a lot of work.

"It was a rough day, if you couldn't tell," Mickelson said.

He wasn't alone in his misery. Sergio Garcia announced he plans to take a two-month break after next week's PGA Championship after shooting a final-round 70 that left him tied for 22nd.

Garcia, who has not won in nearly two years, likely would have to finish among the top three in the PGA Championship to have any chance of qualifying for the European Ryder Cup team. His decision will make things easier for captain Colin Montgomerie when it comes time to select three wild-card picks.

"It's been a long year," said Garcia, who has a 14-6-4 record in Ryder Cup play. "I haven't had a nice, long break my whole career. I need the break. I need to miss the game a little bit."

Indeed, it would seem that golf can wear on even the game's best players, even those named Woods, Mickelson and Garcia.

Information from Golf.com, PGATOUR.com and the Associated Press contributed to this post.