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Sun, Oct 25th 2009, 10:01
Tough competitors mates since juniors
When they come to New Zealand next month for the Kiwi Challenge at Cape Kidnappers, top US golfers Sean O’Hair and Hunter Mahan will not only be facing off to win US$1m. They will also be maintaining a longtime friendship.
Part of the four-way US$2m challenge – also involving Colombia’s Camilo Villegas and another US hotshot Anthony Kim – at the striking Cape Kidnappers course, O’Hair and Mahan, both 27, are examples of the different ways US golfers can unlock the riches of the US PGA Tour.
Mahan went the college scholarship route – studying at University of Southern California. He is ranked 25th in the world, has had one PGA Tour win, won the Kiwi Challenge last year and has earned US$10.6m since coming onto the tour in 2005.
O’Hair turned professional at 17, eschewing the college route and had some nightmare years as he battled to keep his head above water, also working through a relationship with a controlling father. He has three PGA Tour wins, is ranked 14th in the world and has earned US$12.2m since joining the tour in 2005.
They have ended up in much the same place – and have maintained a friendship forged when they were about 11.
“He grew up in the east side of Texas and I grew up in the west side of Texas. Basically we kind of met playing junior golf,” says O’Hair. “I think our fathers got along well and we got along well. We were pretty much best friends out on the junior ranks for quite some time.
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