If you took a minute to go down the list of Masters favorites prior to Sunday's final round of the Shell Houston Open, chances are you wouldn't have had Hunter Mahan in your top 10. That's not to say he wasn't a decent pick, but even with his win earlier this year in the desert at the Accenture Match Play, there were still a host of big names you would have picked over Mahan. Guys with major championship pedigree, and local Augusta National knowledge always top the list. But following his win on Sunday, the sweet-swinging Mahan appears to be peaking at just the right time before the first major of the year. Mahan, who started the day two shots back of Louis Oosthuizen, wasn't spectacular during the final round, only carding a 1-under 71 on a day when conditions appeared to for a low round. But unlike a number of the guys in the pack, Mahan stuck to his game plan and parred the field to death, stringing together eight straight to start his round before he birdied the ninth and 10th holes to move in front. From there he kept the damage to a minimum and pick up his second win of the season, making him the only multiple winner on the PGA Tour this year. Not only that, Mahan is now the top ranked American in the golf rankings with his victory. There used to be a point a couple years back when we wondered if Hunter Mahan had the chutzpah to be a truly great player. Sure, he had a couple of wins and a WGC victory, but every time he appeared to be on the verge of breaking out, he'd collapse on the weekend or just go MIA for a handful of tournaments. The consistency was never there. But four months into the 2012 season, it's clear Mahan is a different player. The confidence is there and the swing has looked incredibly solid during pressure-packed situation -- so much so that it'd be crazy not to talk about Mahan as a favorite going into the Masters. When you've played as well as he has over the last couple of months, you certainly deserve to be in the discussion for the Green Jacket.
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