Hunter's Bio
Hunter Myles Mahan was born May 17, 1982 in Orange, California to parents, Cindy and Monte. His family then moved to Texas. Hunter excelled in golf during his high school years at McKinney High in McKinney, Texas. He looked up to David Duval, Ernie Els, and Tiger Woods as role models for his game. In his senior year, Hunter won the 1999 Texas Division 5A High School Championships and the 1999 USGA Junior Championship. He then enrolled in USC as the top ranked junior golfer in the country.
At USC, Hunter continued to shine winning Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, 1st Team All-Conference, and 2nd Team All-American honors. He then transferred to Oklahoma State University where he accumulated more accolades. During his two seasons playing for OSU, Hunter placed 3rd in the 2002 NCAA championships, was a two-time Big-12 Player of the Year, a two-time 1st team All-American, and a two-time member of the Palmer Cup Team. In 2003, he won the Jack Nicklaus Award, the Fred Haskins Award, and was the co-recipient of the Ben Hogan Award. Rounding out his junior year, Hunter was the number one amateur in the Golfweek/Sagarin Ratings.
In 2003, still as an amateur, Hunter entered the Masters where he finished tied for 28th. He decided to forego his last season of college eligibility and turn pro at 20. In the Qualifying Tournament, Hunter finished tied for 16th which earned him his first tour card for the 2004 season.
When the season kicked off, Hunter was the second youngest player on Tour at 21-years-old. Age wasn’t a hindrance, however, as Hunter finished tied for 36th in the British Open and saw three top-10 finishes. In 2005, he finished tied for 9th place in the Qualifying Tournament. That season, Hunter also tied for 9th in the FBR Open. 2006 was an even more successful year because Hunter finished tied for 26th place in the British Open, placed in the top-10 for two events, and broke into the PGA Tour Money List at number 83.
2007 was a strong season for Hunter as he moved up to number 32 on the Money List and was ranked number 41 on the Official World Golf Rankings. These rankings came after winning his first PGA Tournament: the Travelers Championship. He also had six top-10 finishes and participated in four prominent events. In the U.S. Open, Hunter tied for 13th, in the British Open he tied for 6th, in the PGA Championship he tied for 18th and in the Tour Championship he finished tied for 5th. After doing so well in the 2007 season, Hunter was selected by President’s Cup team captain Jack Nicklaus to participate on the U.S. team. He finished the President’s Cup with a 2-3-0 record.
In 2008, Hunter continued his streak of impressive performances with six top-10 finishes, including a 2nd place finish at the Travelers Championship. He finished tied for 18th at the U.S. Open en route to an 18th place finish in the final FedExCup Standings. Hunter’s 2008 season came to an end with a thrilling Ryder Cup win as the U.S. team beat the heavily favored European team by 5 points – 16.5 to 11.5. Hunter led the U.S. team in scoring by tallying 3.5 points and was the only player, along with Phil Mickelson, to play in all five possible matches. Hunter looks forward to an equally exciting 2009 season.
The 2009 season has started off with a bang as Hunter finished tied for 10th at the Masters, his best finish yet in his three career attempts. Before that, he finished tied for 6th at the Shell Houston Open.
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