Gad, what a tough defeat for journeyman golfer at Hartford

[Awsi Dooger]

A lesser event the week after a major, but that was great theater, maybe the best finish of the year.

Jay Williamson is 40 and had never finished higher than 3rd. He wasn't even tour eligible this year, and was playing on a sponsor's exemption.

Yet he took a 1 shot lead to 18 and hit a 7 iron within 10 feet. At that point Hunter Mahan was undecided on club selection and backed off. He's a 25-year-old future star with one of the fundamentally best swings in the game, but also a non-winner. Mahan changed from a 9 iron to 8 but his caddie wanted no part of it. The caddie took the 8 iron from his hands and stuffed it in the bag, and told Mahan to start over. I've seldom seen a caddy so aggressive when the tournament was at stake. He told Mahan a hard 9 iron was the right choice, the best chance to get it close.

Mahan knocked it 6 feet from the hole.

Williamson putts crosshanded and left the winning putt below the hole. At that point he did something I'm not sure I've ever seen in a PGA tournament. Instead of calmly standing alongside his caddy while Mahan putted for a playoff, Williamson sat in the short cut and partially in the rough around the green. He put his head down and didn't try to conceal that he was rooting for Mahan to miss. When Mahan's putt drained into the center of the cup, Williamson had a noticeable deflated reaction before springing to his feet.

It was almost cruel on the playoff hole, again on 18. Williamson was 45 yards behind Mahan but hit a terrific iron to 6 feet, the same putt Mahan had. But Mahan responded with a brilliant shot that spun back to within 18 inches. Williamson was tentative and missed the putt on the high side, giving Mahan the victory.

I'm normally not a sentimental sap but this time I rooted for Williamson. Most likely he'll never have another opportunity like this while Mahan will have dozens. Plus, Williamson's wife and little blonde daughter were greenside on 18, openly rooting for him with great stuff like folded hands. The daughter told him recently she wanted a trophy. She fell face down into the grass when her daddy missed the 6 footer on the playoff hole.