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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

McIlroy meets his match

Mahan derails Irishman’s bid for No. 1 ranking

Hunter Mahan holds the Hagan Cup after victory. (Associated Press)

Even as Hunter Mahan motored his way through the Match Play Championship by beating one tough opponent after another, he had reason to feel he was just along for the ride in the final match Sunday afternoon.

All the chatter was about U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy and his march to No. 1 in the world.

All the chants Mahan heard as he walked down the first two holes at Dove Mountain in Marana, Ariz., were for McIlroy.

With a little extra motivation he didn’t need, Mahan won three straight holes on the front nine to seize control and answered McIlroy’s charge with birdies of his own for a 2-and-1 victory.

“Deep down, you wanted to postpone that crowning of the No. 1 player in the world for Rory,” Mahan said. “He’ll get there. I mean, he’s phenomenal. He’s really talented. He’ll be No. 1 eventually. But yeah, when you’re a player, and I listen to Johnny Miller and Nick Faldo and all those guys, they had him picked to win. And that’s what everybody was talking about.

“There was absolute motivation in that.”

It proved to be too long of a day for McIlroy, the 22-year-old from Northern Ireland, who put so much energy into a high-stakes semifinal match against Lee Westwood earlier Sunday. If either of them won the tournament, they would go to No. 1 in the world.

McIlroy, explosive as ever, ran off seven birdies in a 10-hole stretch to overcome an early deficit and beat Westwood. He looked flat in the championship match, made a series of mistakes to lose back-to-back holes, and fell too far behind to catch Mahan.

Mahan delivered his best golf, with 35 birdies in 96 holes over six matches.

PGA

John Huh parred the eighth hole of a playoff to beat Robert Allenby and win the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

The 21-year-old Huh parred all eight holes in the playoff that matched the second-longest in PGA Tour history.

Huh closed with an 8-under 65 to match Allenby at 13-under 271 on the seaside El Camaleon course. Allenby had a two-stroke lead with a hole to play in regulation, but made a double bogey.

LPGA

Angela Stanford won the HSBC Women’s Champions event in Singapore on the third playoff hole, her first victory since 2009 and her fifth on the LPGA Tour.

The 34-year-old Texan parred the last playoff hole, beating South Koreans Jenny Shin and Na Yeon Choi and China’s Shanshan Feng.

Wendy Ward of Edwall, Wash., shot a final-round 76 for a 297 total to tie for 50th. She won $5,083.