Tiger Woods Holds Off Hunter Mahan To Win AT&T National

Sports Betting News - July 6, 2009 - Written by Jimmy

Sunday, the World's number 1 golfer, Tiger Woods, proved that the position still belongs to him, by winning the AT&T National held in Bethesda, Maryland, at Congressional Country Club. Being that the tournament is hosted by Mr. Woods, it is only natural that he'd step his game up to claim the 2009 title by shooting 13 under par, with a 67 in the final round, to hold off a charging Hunter Mahan.

Tiger entered Sunday at -10, tied with Anthony Kim for the lead. As the two went off the first tee, it really showed that Kim had never played a round with Tiger, head to head, and especially not with a tournament on the line. Facing Woods is difficult enough, but when you add the pressure of being tied for the lead, on the last day of event, the pressure is almost insurmountable.

Kim had trouble finding his swing early, which only compounded his problems, as most drives were either going left, or way left. Though Kim did birdie the first hole, to move to -11, it was only a brief glimmer of hope, that would soon fade. Bogeys on the Fifth and Eighth holes, dropped Kim to +1, for the round, which is where he would eventually finish the round with a 71.

As for Mahan, he literally came out of no where on Sunday. Beginning the day at -4, 6 shots back of the lead, Mahan posted a very low number, 62, which brought him to -8 on the round, and -12 for the tournament. At the time he posted his score, it was good enough for a share of the lead with Tiger Woods. A very impressive performance for Mahan, who also had a good showing at the U.S. Open a few weeks back, that really seemed to build confidence. Once Mahan was in the clubhouse, tied for a share of the lead, he could do nothing else except sit back and watch the World's best golfer do his thing, which is exactly what Woods did.

While Woods didn't go as low as Mahan's 62, his 67 was enough to win by one stroke. Though Tiger lost a shot, on the first hole, giving Anthony Kim a one stroke lead, he kept it together, and by the time the sixth hole came around, Woods was back in a tie with Kim. By the end of the Sixth hole at Congressional, Woods was back in control, taking a one stroke lead over playing partner Anthony Kim. As the final group rounded the turn, Tiger was 2 shots clear of Kim, a lead that would increase, to 13 under, by the time the 10th hole was over. Tiger's only bogey on the round came at Hole 11, a hole in which he had to scramble to make bogey on. The 11th hole had been Tiger's nemesis, all week, as he shot a combined +5 on it through just 4 rounds. As Woods dropped back to -12, he became tied with Mahan, for a share of lead. Woods and Mahan would remain tied until the 16th hole, one of two Par 5s, and the only Par 5 on the back 9, where Woods would hole out in 4 strokes, making birdie, reclaiming sole possession of the lead, at -13. From there, Woods only needed to make Par, and he did just that, going even on the last two holes, claiming the 2009 AT&T National.

For Tiger Woods, this is his 68th career victory, by far the most out of any active player on the tour. The victory comes the same day that his friend, Roger Federer wins Wimbledon, claiming a record 15th Grand Slam event. This is not the first time that the two have won on the same day. Earlier this year, as Federer was wrapping up the French Open, Tiger was claiming victory at the Memorial. Courtesy of the NY Daily News, Woods is quoted as saying "He won the French (Open) and I won Memorial, so it was kind of, 'Let's do it on the same day, let's do it again today. That would be nice,'" Woods said. "His are a hell of a lot bigger than mine, though. He won two Slams and I won two Tour events. Hopefully I can get the majors now."

The next event on Tiger's schedule is the 2009 Open Championship, or as Americans know it, the 2009 British Open. Tiger aims to prepare to win another Major Championship, across the pond, at Royal Turnberry which begins July 16th and goes to July 19th.