Live Report: Waste Management Phoenix Open, Round 4
| Live Report essentials | ||
|
TRUST US (8:15 p.m.): Hunter Mahan's victory in the Waste Management Phoenix Open on Sunday was a tribute to perseverence.
He was even par for the tournament midway through the second round when he made bogey at the first hole, which was his 10th of the day. The cut would eventually come at 3 under, and Mahan knew he needed to start making birdies.
So he did. Mahan proceeded to play his next 44 holes in 16 under to seal his second career victory. He shot a par of 65s on the weekend and outlasted Rickie Fowler, winning by one stroke.
"I felt the game was pretty good," Mahan, who was tied for 54th after the second round, said. "Physically the swing was good and the short game was pretty good. Everything was pretty good, I just wasn't putting it together.
"... All of a sudden just relaxed and started playing golf, started trusting myself and what I was doing, made a few birdies and got to 4 under and then obviously had a good round yesterday. I knew if the leaders were going to run away from us early, we had kind of a chance at 10 (under).
"But I just started playing golf and trusting what I was doing." -- Helen Ross
HORSE'S MOUTH (7:54 p.m.); Here's what Rickie Fowler had to say about his decision to lay up on the par-5 15th hole when he trailed by one stroke.
"I was a little farther out than I would have liked to have been to go for it," he said. "Obviously if I was a couple back in that position and feeling that I needed to make a few birdies coming in, I would have gone for it. But being that I was at the time, I think, just one back, putting a wedge in my hand from 80 yards, a lot of times I do make birdie there.
"I played 16 well all week. I had a look at birdie there. With 17 being a short hole, there's a birdie chance. So I felt that instead of bringing trouble into play, in a way which a lot of times I don't play, I took the safe route, easy lay up, and like I said, I had an easy wedge shot with soft greens. I just hit it a little soft." -- Helen Ross
HERE ARE THE ODDS (7:14 p.m.): People may question Rickie Fowler's decision to lay up at the par-5 15th hole but here are the numbers. A total of 246 players went for the green in two there this week and only 76 made it. -- Helen Ross
GOOD TRY (7:07 p.m.): Rickie Fowler found the right rough off the tee on the 72nd hole. He had a sidehill lie, and the ball had settled down in the grass. It was a tough shot, but Fowler gave himself a chance with a 30-footer up the hill for birdie.
Fowler got the putt there but the ball veered underneath the hole and ran 4 feet by. So Hunter Mahan wins the Waste Management Phoenix Open -- his second victory on the PGA TOUR. He did not make a bogey on the weekend as he shot 12 under over the final 36 holes.
Fowler ended up making the par putt to finish at 15 under and take sole possession of second place. He also tied for fifth at the Farmers Insurance Open earlier this year. -- Helen Ross
NEW DRIVER (6:58 p.m.): Hunter Mahan just told GOLF CHANNEL that he cracked his driver -- the one that he's used for the last two years -- on the second hole Sunday. His girlfriend went back to his car, got his other driver and brought it to him, and Mahan didn't miss a beat.
SAFELY IN (6:45 p.m.) Hunter Mahan has just two-putted for par at the 72nd hole -- but it wasn't easy. He left his 45-footer for birdie 6 feet short of the hole.
When the par putt buried in the cup, Mahan had a 65 and preserved his one-shot lead over Rickie Fowler. Fowler had just maneuvered a difficult chip through the green to the fringe at the 17th hole, setting up a 17-foot birdie putt for the tie.
Fowler's birdie effort trickled left of the hole, though. He tapped in from 16 inches so Fowler has one chance now to catch Mahan. -- Helen Ross
LONG AND SHORT OF IT (6:30 p.m.): Hunter Mahan sent his 38-foot birdie putt 5 feet past the hole at No. 17 but made it coming back to preserve his one-stroke lead. At roughly the same time, Rickie Fowler had a 15-foot birdie opportunity at No. 16 but left it 4 inches short. -- Helen Ross
SURPRISE MOVE (6:18 p.m.): Rickie Fowler has just elected to lay up at the par-5 15th hole. He had 230 yards to the pin and 210 to carry the water. Both his playing partners, Camilo Villegas and Mark Calcavecchia, who were further back in the fairway, went for it and landed safely on the island.
Fowler's third shot, from 82 yards, spun back off the green and settled 24 feet from the pin. Fowler chipped on and left himself a 4-footer for par, which he made so he heads to the 16th hole still trailing by one stroke. -- Helen Ross
WAIT FOR ME (6:08 p.m.): Charles Howell III birdied both par 5s on the back nine to move to 13 under and two strokes off the lead. Minutes later, though, Hunter Mahan made a 15-footer at the par-3 16th hole to move to 16 under -- assuming sole possession of the lead in the process.
Mahan celebrated with a slight skip and a fist pump as he distanced himself by a shot from Rickie Fowler. He leads Y.E. Yang by two and Howell, now, by three. -- Helen Ross
TWO AT TOP (5:52 p.m.): Rickie Fowler has just made a 20-footer for birdie at the 14th hole to sieze a share of the lead at 15 under with Hunter Mahan.
Fowler, who lost in a playoff at the Frys.com Open in his second start as a pro last year, is trying to become the youngest winner on TOUR since Tiger Woods at the 1996 Las Vegas Invitational.
Fowler is 21 years, 2 months and 15 days old while Woods was 20 years, 9 months and 6 days. Sergio Garcia was 21 years, 4 months, 11 days when he won the 2001 Colonial. -- Helen Ross
CATCH UP (5:42 p.m.) Rickie Fowler pulled even with Y.E. Yang at 14 under after he rolled in a 7-footer for birdie on the 13th hole. He has another par 5 and the driveable par-4 17th, among other prime opportunities, remaining as he chases Hunter Mahan, who is one shot ahead.
Yang, on the other hand, has run out of holes. He just missed a 12-footer at the 18th hole that would have given him a share of the lead. Yang, who defends his title at The Honda Classic next week, finished with a 65. -- Helen Ross
FIRST LEAD (5:32 p.m.): Hunter Mahan is on a roll. He just made an 18-footer for birdie at the 14th hole to grab sole possession of the lead at 15 under. Mahan is trying to win for the first time since the 2007 Travelers Championship and the second time in his career. -- Helen Ross
INTERESTING SWING (5:25 p.m.): Hunter Mahan rolled in an 8-footer for eagle at No. 13 right after Y.E. Yang hit his tee shot in the water at the driveable par-4 17th hole.
Yang took his drop and chipped 25 feet past the pin, then nearly made his putt for what would have been an all-world par. A bogey on the next-to-easiest hole on the golf course, though, could come back to haunt him.
Mahan and Yang are now tied at the top of the leaderboard at 14 under -- one stroke ahead of Rickie Fowler. -- Helen Ross
PADDING HIS LEAD (5:10 p.m.): A 9-footer for birdie at the par-5 15th hole has given Y.E. Yang a two-shot cushion over Rickie Fowler and Scott Piercy. He celebrated by tossing balls to the crowd as he walked to the 16th tee. -- Helen Ross
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE (4:53 p.m.): Phil Mickelson has finally gotten the kind of round going that he was hoping for all week.
Lefty, who started on the back nine, is 5 under for the day and 10 under for the tournament after making birdies on three of his last four holes. He's only got three remaining, though, and Y.E. Yang is four strokes ahead.
Mickelson is taking next week off to go to Houston with his wife, who is still recovering from breast cancer. He is slated to defend his title at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship in two weeks. -- Helen Ross
TWO-FER (4:50 p.m.): Y.E. Yang has recorded three 2s in his round today -- with the par-3 16th and driveable par-4 17th among the holes he has remaining. He did not make a 2 in any of his three previous rounds at TPC Scottsdale this week. -- Mark Williams
ALONE AT TOP (4:40 p.m.): Wait just a minute. Y.E. Yang has now made his third birdie in a row, a 24-footer at the 14th hole, and he owns sole possession of the lead. The Korean is 14 under with four holes remaining as he pursues his third PGA TOUR win in 52 weeks. -- Helen Ross
THREES NO CROWD (4:35 p.m.) Y.E. Yang has joined the group at the top with a birdie at the par-5 13th. His second shot was just right of the green and he chipped up to 7 feet to move to 13 under with Rickie Fowler and Joe Ogilvie.. -- Helen Ross
MORE ON FASHION (4:30 p.m.): Who says real men don't wear pink? Four of the eight players who have won PGA TOUR events this year have sported the color on Sunday -- Bill Haas, Steve Stricker, Cameron Beckmen and Ian Poulter.
Could there be another? Robert Allenby, who is one stroke off the lead held jointly by Joe Ogilvie, Y.E. Yang and Rickie Fowler, is wearing a pink shirt today. -- Lauren Deason
APPLES AND ORANGES (4:20 p.m.): Once again, Rickie Fowler is giving Ian Poulter a run for his money in the style department. The rookie is wearing orange slacks, white sweater and an orange cap. His shoes are white with a -- you guessed it -- orange inset. -- Helen Ross
QUICK FIX (4 p.m.): Last night, Y.E. Yang tweeted that he was "seriously considering withdrawing -- will have to see if the cold medicine does its job."
Looks like whatever he took did the trick. Yang, who will defend his first PGA TOUR title at The Honda Classic this coming week, is making a strong run at another at the Waste Management Phoenix Open.
Yang, who took down Tiger Woods at last year's PGA, is 4 under through 12 holes and one stroke off the lead held by Joe Ogilvie and Rickie Fowler. He made an 18-footer for birdie at No. 4, holed out for eagle from 110 yards at the par-4 10th and drained a 22-footer at the 12th. -- Helen Ross
PAYBACK TIME (3:30 p.m.): Rickie Fowler and Joe Ogilvie each received a sponsor's exemption to play in the Waste Management Phoenix Open this week.
They are making the most of the opportunity, too -- the two are tied with Scott Piercy for the lead at 13 under right now. The last player to win a tournament while playing on a sponsor's exemption was Jason Gore at the 2005 84 LUMBER Classic. -- Helen Ross
SERENDIPITY (3:15 p.m.): The folks at Waste Management have to be happy about the way Joe Ogilvie is playing. Ogilvie is one of two players -- Charley Hoffman is the other -- who represents the company on the PGA TOUR.
He's been among the leaders at the Waste Management Phoenix Open since shooting consecutive 66s in the second and third rounds, and Ogilvie has just moved into a tie for first with Brandt Snedeker and Scott Piercy.
The Duke grad has made three straight birdies to surge to the top -- making putts of 11, 13 and 3 feet. Maybe it's the green glove. -- Helen Ross
NUMBERS GAME (3:05) Of the top six players on the leaderboard, Brandt Snedeker stands the highest in the Official World Golf Ranking at No. 74. No one else is higher than 190th. -- Mark Williams
MAKING HIS MOVE (3 p.m.): Skip Kendall's round didn't get off to an auspicious start as he three-putted from 90 feet at the first hole. He birdied four of his next five holes, though, to pull within a shot of the lead.
Kendall bounced back from that opening bogey with a 25-footer for birdie at No. 2. He holed out from 27 feet at the par-5 third hole, then made a 4-footer at the fourth and sank a 19-footer for his fourth birdie at the sixth hole.
Kendall, who tied for fourth at the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya-Cancun last week, is looking for his first PGA TOUR win. That finish was his best since he was second at the 2004 Bob Hope Classic and the top-10 punched his ticket for Phoenix. -- Helen Ross
FALL BACK (2:40 p.m.): Brandt Snedeker bogeyed the second hole when he couldn't get up and down from the right side of the green, missing a 6-footer for par. So the leaderboard has tightened up considerably.
Snedeker is now tied with Scott Piercy at 13 under while Joe Ogilvie and Rickie Fowler are one stroke back. The group at 11 under consists of Pat Perez, Skip Kendall, Robert Allenby, Charles Howell III, Camilo Villegas and Matt Every.
There are five more players at 10 under -- including last week's winner, Ian Poulter. -- Helen Ross
EASY PICKINGS (2:25 p.m.) Look for lots of excitement as the Waste Management Phoenix Open winds to a conclusion this afternoon -- and not just because of the 16th hole, either.
Five of the last six holes are averaging under par, and three of them are among the four easiest of the week. The par-5 13th ranks 18th and has yielded 15 eagles so far this year. The driveable par-4 17th and par-5 15th have given up seven eagles each and rank 17th and 15th, respectively. -- Helen Ross
MORE ON NO. 16 (2:10 p.m.); Scott Piercy, who just teed off in the final group with Brandt Snedeker and Matt Every, may have summed up the feeling a player gets when he steps to the 16th tee better than anyone.
"It's like the one time a year you get to feel like a rock star," said Piercy, who trails Snedeker by one stroke. -- Helen Ross
FAN FARE (2:02 p.m.): The fans at the 16th hole always do their research. College fight songs, unusual hobbies, even pets are fair game as the PGA TOUR's best players make their way into the coliseum-like arena that is normally an innocuous 162-yard par 3.
Every player who has ever competed in the Waste Management Phoenix Open has a story to tell. And it goes beyond the fashion critiques like "you've wearing an ugly sweater," too.
"I think they had a computer out and Googled my name," defending champion Kenny Perry said. "But they knew I liked old cars, they knew I liked motorcycles, what college I went to, I went to Western Kentucky. They knew my fight song, they knew who the mascot was. It was pretty neat.
"They kind of pull up little odds and ends stuff and they're yelling at you the whole time, which is cool. They're not yelling anything negative at you, they're just telling you what you already know, and I think that's pretty neat."
Brandt Snedeker, who is bidding to follow Perry as the winner at TPC Scottsdale, said the game needs people having fun like they do at the 16th hole. "If you can't take it for one hole, good God, get over yourself and have some fun," he said.
And what did the fans have in store for Snedeker on Saturday?
"They pulled out my high school motto, which was: gentleman, scholar, athlete," Snedeker said. "You can't help but laugh. ... You've got to give them credit for doing the extra work." -- Helen Ross
FEDEXCUP SHIFT (1:45 p.m.): If Brandt Snedeker goes on to win the Waste Management Phoenix Open, he could take over the No. 1 spot in the FedExCup standings. You can follow the projected points by clicking here.
Snedeker, you might remember, is the player who cost himself a chance to advance to THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola last year when he four-putted the final hole at the BMW Championship. -- Helen Ross
GIVING IT THE GAS (1:30 p.m.): While most everyone else is stuck in neutral, Tom Gillis has made a quantum leap up the leaderboard. He's birdied three of his first four holes and is 11 under, three shots behind Brandt Snedeker, who tees off at 2 p.m. ET.
Gillis has played in 26 countries during a career that has spanned two decades. He earned his TOUR card for 2010 by finishing fifth on the Nationwide Tour money list last year. He was first in birdie average, second in scoring and tied for second in putting average while earning more than $325,000, the third best season financially of his career. -- Helen Ross
GOING SOUTH (12:55 p.m.): Ryan Moore, who had started the third round one stroke off the lead at 10 under, continues to head in the wrong direction on Sunday.
He ran into trouble on the back nine in the third round -- making two bogeys and a double bogey in a three-hole stretch -- and Sunday has brought more of the same. He was seven strokes back at the end of 54 holes.
Moore, who started on the back nine Sunday, just made another double on the 11th hole, his second one there this week, and bogeyed No. 12. A birdie at the par-5 13th has gotten him back to 5 under for the tournament but he's well off the pace now. -- Helen Ross
RAIN SUBSIDES (12:40 p.m.): The rain arrived later than expected Saturday evening. The skies were clear and the moon shone full over the nearby mountains as the festivities wound down at the Bird's Nest after the third round was completed.
By midnight, though, the rain had begun with a vengeance and it continued to fall -- albeit lightly -- as the players with early tee times embarked on their third rounds. TPC Scottsdale had absorbed .64 inches by 9 a.m. local time.
The clouds were lifting, though, and blue skies have begun to peak out. The temperature should top out around 60 and the winds will be southwesterly from 10-15 mph. -- Helen Ross
| Groups We're Watching | ||||||||||||
|
| Going for the Green | |
|
| Going for the Green -- current standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| Play TPC Scottsdale | |
|
| Live Essentials | ||||
|
Shop your favorite brand name golf equipment and accessories at SHOP.PGATOUR.COM
PGATOUR.com is part of Turner - SI Digital, part of the Turner Sports & Entertainment Digital Network 