posted August 12, 2009 at 21:00 EST in Golf Props
PGA Championship Matchups - Hunter Mahan vs. Steve Stricker
by Charles Jay
PGA Tournament Matchup
STEVE STRICKER -120
HUNTER MAHAN -110
STEVE STRICKER, the -120 favorite in the BetUS PGA Championship golf matchup betting odds, has been around for 19 years as a professional, but he is perhaps on his way to his best year ever on tour. Not that Stricker did not experience success early in his career; in 1996 he really busted out, winning the Western Open and Kemper Open, grabbing six top ten finishes and placing fourth on the money list at year's end. He tied for fifth at the 1998 U.S. Open and was the runner-up at the PGA Championship that same year, a tournament he may have won if Vijay Singh hadn't launched such a charge on the back nine.
His best win on tour may have been at the Accenture Match Play Championship in 2001, but he slumped from 2002-2005, making the cut in only two majors during that period. He didn't even play in any majors in 2003 or 2005. In '03 he was 188th in earnings, and 162nd in '05.
Then he came roaring back. Stricker posted top ten finishes in both the U.S. Open and PGA again in 2006, and has placed in the top ten in a major nine times overall. He accomplished the unusual feat of being the PGA Tour's comeback player of the year for TWO straight years (2006 and 2007), as he went from 162nd on the money list to 34th to fourth.
This season he has won at Colonial and in the John Deere Classic, and was tied for sixth at the Masters. At last week's Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone, he tied for sixth. Stricker has won almost $4 million on tour this season, a result of finishing in the top ten eight times, and that is good for second on the money list. He is sharp with the putter, ranked tenth on tour, and if not for a guy named Tiger Woods, he would be leading the tour in scoring average. Stricker's problem is his driving; he is not a particularly long hitter, averaging less than 286 yards.
HUNTER MAHAN, the -110 underdog at BetUS, has exactly one win on the PGA Tour, but he is considered a threat right now because he is quickly emerging as one of the top players in the world. An All-American at Oklahoma State, Mahan lost to Ricky Barnes (who was second at this year's U.S. Open) in the 2002 U.S. Amateur. He won the 2007 Travelers Championship, then tied for sixth at the British Open, and he was chosen by Jack Nicklaus for the Ryder Cup team.
Mahan was 30th on the money list last year, although he did not perform very well in the majors. Yes, he was tied for 18th at the U.S. Open, but missed the cut in the other three majors. This year that changed somewhat. Mahan's game was strong in the Masters, where he tied for tenth, and the U.S. Open, where he was tied for sixth. He joined Tiger Woods in failing to make the British Open cut, but in his last five tournaments, he has finished among the top six four times.
Mahan is currently 17th on the money list, 24th in the World Golf Rankings, 11th in scoring average, 8th in birdie (or better) conversion percentage, 3rd in birdies per round, 11th in sand saves, and 8th in total driving.
You know, the British Open was the only cut Mahan has missed all year, so there's a pretty good chance you'll be seeing him on the weekend. He is a guy who is going to be a star (we think), along with others like Anthony Kim. He has some authority with the driver, and you're not going to be able to win on this lengthy course unless you can do that. Don’t sell Mahan short on his putting, either. Questions have to linger about whether Stricker is long enough for Hazeltine.
We're going with Hunter Mahan, the -110 underdog in the BetUS PGA Championship odds.
JAY'S PLAY: MAHAN (-110) ***
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
