tim rosaforte
positive thoughts from a big loss
behind the sunglasses and
usually speaking in quiet
tones, hunter mahan is not
an easy read through a tv
screen or camera lens. last
monday, for all to see, he
broke down and cried in
front of the world.
dallas. “i think of how much
it was a team, and how much
we bonded. i don’t think it
has ever been like that.”
singles draw for the u.s. to
illustrate their togetherness,
then all the suffering he
went through was worth it.
ever experience like that
again, with so much on the
line,” he said. “i’ll remember
it forever and know how to
handle it better next time.”
it was from that takeaway
moment, so raw and reveal-
ing at celtic manor, that
everyone was given the
truest understanding not
only of mahan’s commit-
ment to the ryder cup, but
that of his american team-
mates as well. when phil
mickelson grabbed the
microphone from a speech-
less mahan, and was
backed up by Jim furyk and
stewart cink, it was as if a
curtain was pulled back on
a team that had not only
heart, but also compassion.
so in defeat comes victory,
at least when it comes to
the public perception that
the united states doesn’t
have the same passion for
ryder cup as europe. at the
core of that belief two years
ago was mahan, who was
critical of being held slave
to the “massive dinners”
that make the days long and
the preparation for such an
energy-sapping competition seemingly impossible.
although spot on, mahan
knew these were damaging
words not just to his image,
but the u.s. team’s as well.
and there was suffering not
only at the news conference
but also in the team room
and at the hotel monday
evening. it wasn’t until he got
back to the states that
mahan could stop beating
himself up and start drawing
positives from his experience. on saturday, he shared
these thoughts with the 70
aJga players gathered at
oklahoma state for the ping
invitational at his college
course, karsten creek.
all week, ryder cup highlights were played in the
team room. mahan saw the
agony bernhard langer
experienced after missing a
putt to decide the matches
at kiawah island. part of
langer’s legacy is that he
won the next week. part of
mahan’s is that he showed
he cared.
“what came out of me was
pure emotion for how much i
care about golf, the ryder
cup, my teammates, my
country,” mahan said sun-
day from his home outside
as he said, “they think of us
as a bunch of individuals
and don’t realize how much
it actually means to us.”
as mahan reflected on it six
days removed, if it took
losing to graeme mcdowell
in the final match of the
next time he would take
more time. mahan fatted
the tee ball and chunked the
chip on the 17th hole by not
controlling his adrenaline
and rushing through both
shots after mcdowell went
dormie with a birdie at 16.
“what i learned from it—
after moving on from it—is
that there will not be that
many pressure situations i’ll
contents //10 things // pga tour // lpga tour //champions tour //european tour //equipment // tim rosaforte
