Shell Houston Open 2012: Hunter Mahan Wins Final Event Before The Masters

Hunter Mahan leads by one stroke overall (16-under) over Sweden’s Carl Pettersson through 15 holes at the 2012 Shell Houston Open. Both golfers have shot 1-under so far on the day. Mahan had been leading by two strokes, but bogeyed on No. 14 to set up what could be a wild finish as Petterson needs a win to earn a spot in the 2012 Masters Tournament.

James Driscoll was also vying for a spot at Augusta, but is now four shots off the lead at even-par through 16 holes. Keegan Bradley has moved up three spots on the day, pulling within three shots of Mahan at 2-under through 17 holes. He is tied with Louis Oosthuizen for third place at 13-under overall.

The final PGA tournament before the Masters, the Shell Houston Open, has been delayed multiple times, but after Saturday evening, everybody has finished 54 holes and is ready for the final round on Sunday. Though no one has won both tournaments since the Shell Houston Open moved to its current location, the winner still gets a check for more than $1 million, plenty of incentive for any golfer to shoot a fine final round.

Louis Oosthuizen, the South African, is two strokes ahead of the field going into the final round, shooting a 17-under. On his tail is Hunter Mahan, who has gotten better as the weekend has gone along, with rounds of 69, 67 and 65, and is now -15 for the tournament. Right behind him is a tie between Carl Petterson and Brit Brian Davis at 14-under.

With rain forcing the Shell Houston Open to squeeze the end of the second round and the entire third round into Saturday, the entire leaderboard began play early Saturday morning.

Jeff Maggert came on strong, moving up the leaderboard to first place with at 12-under before the start of the third round on Saturday afternoon.

Rains once again suspended play on the second day of the 2012 Shell Houston Open in Humble, Texas. A full 70 players will need to complete their second round on Saturday, as the first two days of the annual Augusta tune-up have both been suspended due to weather.

As of Friday afternoon, when play was suspended, Brian Davis and Louis Oosthuizen are tied atop the leaderboard at 11-under. Both players have finished their first two full rounds of play. Threatening to catch them is Jeff Maggert, who is at 10-under with eight more holes left to play in his second round.

The Shell Houston Open tees off on Thursday from Redstone Golf Club in Humble, Texas. There’s always a mixed approach to the tournament before Masters week, with some players enjoying the routine and opting to play while others take an extra week of rest and practice.

Phil Mickelson has traditionally played in the tournament the week before Augusta, and has had ton of success whether it was the old BellSouth Classic in Atlanta or the more recent Shell Houston Open. He enters this week as the defending champion and will be paired with defending Masters champion, Charl Schwartzel. Rounding out Phil’s group will be fan favorite Fred Couples. The Shell was the last tour win for Freddie, when the former Houston Cougar broke down in tears upon winning in 2003 after coming back from persistent back problems. Their pairing tees off at 12:40 on Thursday.