Travelers Championship round four: Not quite a fairy tale, but close

Jay Williamson’s wobble, when it finally came, was understandable. Yes, he tells us, he let nerves get to him with that birdie putt for victory on the 72nd hole, and it was goodbye to the breakthrough win he so desperately wanted and richly deserved.

Full marks for his sporting reaction, allowing himself just the tiniest whinge about the rules official who wouldn’t give him relief when he landed on a drain at the first hole Sunday. On the tenth another official gave Hunter Mahan a free drop in similar circumstances.

Trouble was, both players richly deserved victory for some exceptional golf and a nail-biting finale. A glance at the stats shows them head and shoulders better than anyone else over the four days. Mahan was top 20 all round (well 21st for accuracy off the tee) and, crucially, second with the putter. Williamson was top 10 in everything except driving distance. The manner in which they attacked the greens, often matching each other shot for shot, was exceptional stuff likened by commentators to a boxing slugfest.

But how on earth did we end up getting such an exhilarating performance from a journeyman with just one Nationwide win to show for 13 years of toil, and a greenhorn rival as likely to miss a cut as make it? Desire for a start. No one wanted this victory as much as these two. This wasn’t about money and FedEx points. For Williamson it was about Tour exemption, for Mahan simply wining his first PGA event. So they were not frightened of attacking each other.

But Mahan also gave an interesting insight into the positive mindset needed to unlock a positive game. He tells how his psychologist, caddying for him at the US Open qualifier, was so disgusted with Mahan’s opening 73 he said he’d be better off quitting than play so badly. “It was nice for someone to say that to me, since I needed to tell myself that.” Mahan subsequently hit a 63 to qualify, came 13th in the Open and the rest is history. Not quite the Williamson fairy tale most people were rooting for, but not a bad substitute.

Also, let’s face it, they were never put under any pressure from the chasing pack. That was a pretty dismal performance all round. David Toms was a total washout and Fred Funk’s putter simply gave up on him - 33 putts in round four against an average of 28 for the previous three - to the point that he even allowed Vijay Singh to nick a place from him. Now you can’t tell me Fred was suffering from the Sunday wobbles!

PS: Another good performance from Steve Marino, with three rounds in the sixties for his sixth top 20 in his rookie year. He was 14th for greens in regulation and sixth for putting and distance off the tee. One to watch.