Hunter Mahan wins Phoenix Open

The 27-year-old American golfer Hunter Mahan wins Phoenix Open with an eagle and a pair of birdies in a late four-hole span to finish at 16-under par 268 his second PGA Tour victory. Another American golfer, 21 years old rookie Rickie Fowler gets the second place with a final-round 68, 15-under par 269 , for the second runner-up finish of his young career.

South Korea's Y.E. Yang also shot a 65 to finish at 14 under, two off the pace. Last year's PGA Championship winner, Yang led until his tee shot went in the water at No. 17.

The poor weather held the estimated final-round crowd to just under 44,000, well off last year's 60,000-plus. That brought the week's total attendance to nearly 426,000, down from 470,000 a year ago at the rowdy event that always draws the biggest crowds on the tour.

Yang, whose PGA Championship victory made him the first Asian-born golfer to win a major, eagled No. 10, then reeled off four consecutive birdies to take the lead at 15 under through 15 holes.

Trouble came, though, at No. 17, where his tee shot bounced into the water. Yang's 25-foot putt for par was on line but stopped an inch short of the cup, and the bogey left him at 14 under.

Mahan, meanwhile, hit his second shot on the par-5 13th 250 yards within 7 feet and made the eagle putt to reach 14 under.

His 18-foot birdie putt on the par-4 14th moved him ahead of Yang at 15 under.

The clincher came at the notorious 16th, the par 3 surrounded by bleachers filled with noisy, irreverent fans who cheer and boo with equal enthusiasm.

Mahan's tee shot caught the edge of the green and he made the subsequent 14 1/2-foot putt to regain the lead at 16 under.

"You still have a tournament to win, you can't really worry about the people," he said. "You just kind of have to block it out, but at the same time kind of enjoy it because you don't have that opportunity to have so many people watching you on one hole."

At the 15th, the open desert course's final par 5, Fowler chose to play conservative and lay his shot up rather than go for the green, which is surrounded by water. He said he felt he was a bit too far away from the pin to go for it, considering he was just one shot back and had what he felt were good birdie chances on Nos. 16 and 17.

"I felt that instead of bringing trouble into play ... I took the safe route," Fowler said.

That left him with a par, and he missed birdie putts of 14 1/2, 17 and 30 feet on the last three holes.

Mahan sent his girlfriend to his car after he found a crack in his driver early in his round.

"Luckily the rules staff ran her out to the car and she got it before the next tee shot," Mahan said, "because the next hole is a par 5. I really didn't want to hit a 3-wood off the par 5."