TOUR Insider: Is Mahan ready for a repeat?

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Coming off a heartening performance at the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines Golf Course, Hunter Mahan makes his first foray into the arena of defending champion at this week's Travelers Championship in Cromwell, Conn., near Hartford.

Mahan, 26, said he is prepared. He couldn't have said that a few weeks ago.

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Hunter Mahan's win last year came on the heels of a strong U.S. Open finish. He put on a good show at the national championship last week, too, so is it time for another?

LOOKING BACK

Video: Mahan's first win

Since a tie for sixth at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, Mahan hadn't had much going for him. Although he tied for 12th at the Wachovia Championship, his other seven starts had produced nothing better than a tie for 42nd, and he missed four cuts. He also had to withdraw from THE PLAYERS Championship with an illness.

"I haven't been having much fun," he admitted.

That was until the U.S. Open on Torrey Pines' South Course, where he was in contention up to the final round before settling for a tie for 18th place, his second straight top-20 finish in the event. Winner of the 1999 U.S. Junior Amateur and a runner-up in the 2002 U.S. Amateur, Mahan is an enthusiastic fan of USGA tournaments.

Going to Torrey Pines, outside San Diego, was a blessing.

Refinements he had been making in his golf swing finally started to congeal on the tough Open layout. He had been losing many shots to the right. "Just weak right shots, not very good, but I've figured out what was causing that," Mahan said. "I'm making adjustments, and I'm encouraged."

Just in time. Mahan came into the Travelers last year on a strong run, including a tie for 13th at the U.S. Open at Oakmont. He opened with an 8-under-par 62 at the relatively short (6,844 yards) but strategically demanding TPC River Highlands, the first of three scores that low he carded in a seven-week span. He finished strong, too, making birdie on the 72nd hole for a 65 to force a playoff with Jay Williamson. He then made another 3 on the first playoff hole to become the youngest winner of 2007.

"I was playing really well, and I was building momentum towards it," he said. "I feel like I'm doing that again. River Highlands is a great course for me, and it's nice to be going back there to defend. Obviously, it's my first time as defending champion, and I really want to do well."

Mahan, who made the U.S. Presidents Cup team as one of two wild-card picks by captain Jack Nicklaus, seeks to become only the second man, after Phil Mickelson, to win back-to-back titles at the Travelers Championship. Woody Austin did an admirable job in 2006 in finishing tied for fifth, only the third defending champion to place in the top 10 the following year. Stewart Cink was second in 1997 after his '96 triumph.

He said he has not so much changed his swing as he has refined it slightly. "You have to do that continually, I think," he said. "You have to try to get better, and I think I'm heading in that direction."

FEDEXCUP POINTERS

• Eight-time PGA TOUR winner Brad Faxon, who won the 2005 Travelers Championship and lives in nearby Barrington, R.I., is expected to make his season debut this week. Faxon, 46, is exempt this year by taking his one-time exemption for being in the top 25 in career earnings. He underwent foot surgery last August but then had to undergo his second knee operation in three years in January, which has kept him on the bench. His right knee problems date back to 2004.

• Mahan became the 13th player to make the Travelers Championship his first career victory. J.J. Henry, Olin Browne, Stewart Cink, Mark Brooks, and Brent Geiberger are the others who join Mahan in the field this week.

• Dean Wilson has been playing with greater success in recent weeks after switching to a TaylorMade Tour Burner driver and irons. "When I started this stretch, I was struggling earlier in the year," Wilson said. "So I was outside the top 125, but I had a good finish at Wachcovia, followed up with a good finish at THE PLAYERS Championship. So I bumped myself up into a little more comfortable zone." Wilson

• The University of Hartford products Jerry Kelly and Tim Petrovic return to their stomping grounds, where they hope to have more success than in past visits. Kelly had his best finish in the event last year, a tie for 15th. Petrovic tied for 33rd.

• The veteran contingent obviously loves TPC at River Highlands, not only because of recent victories, but also for the boost in scoring morale. There have been 16 rounds of 63 or better in the last four years, including the opening 62 by Mahan last year (the only such score). Players over 40 carded seven of those, including 61 by Brad Faxon, 62s by Corey Pavin and Joey Sindelar and 63 by Kenny Perry.

• After taking off the U.S. Open, Perry resumes his march towards an automatic Ryder Cup berth at the Travelers Championship. Perry has posted six top-10 finishes in his 19 appearances.

• Speaking of first-time winners, could Bo Van Pelt be the next at the Travelers? He tied for sixth last year after shooting 9 under par (67-64) on the weekend after making the cut on the number. Van Pelt's 64 was the best round of the final day, equaled by Henry, the '06 champion, and Arjun Atwal.

• There are 37 tournaments in the PGA TOUR's Regular Season. Last week's U.S. Open was the 26th, so we are more than two-thirds of the way along towards the FedExCup playoffs.