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Thu, Aug 21st 2008, 15:30
Hunter's red hot first round at The Barclay puts him in first
By Helen Ross
PARAMUS, N.J. — Hunter Mahan wanted to get it all out of his system.
He wanted to distance himself from those dismal rounds of 81 and 79 he shot at the PGA Championship two weeks ago. He wanted to forget the ill-advised words he had spoken about the Ryder Cup.
So the best thing to do was let his clubs do the talking, and the 9-under 62 he shot during the first round of The Barclays spoke volumes about Mahan as the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup kicked off a Ridgewood Country Club.
The round of one eagle, eight birdies and a lone bogey was the lowest opener on TOUR this year and marked the fifth time the talented 26-year-old had shot 62, including one in The Barclays last year. Mahan owns a four-stroke advantage over Paul Casey and the rest of a field that features 136 of the top 144 players in the FedExCup.
Mahan, who entered the week ranked 31st in the FedExCup standings that will determine the winner of the $10 million bonus next month, couldn’t help but take a small measure of redemption from Thursday’s performance.
“I played so bad at the PGA, I wanted to get that out of my system and just play golf today, and I did,” Mahan said. “I was looking forward to this week and today. It’s a great venue, great golf course, and (I’m) looking forward to the next couple of days.”
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