It was almost a month ago that Long Beach Wilson grad John Merrick took sixth at the Masters, the highest finish of his young career—now, another Long Beach product (this one a Long Beach State 49er) has finished strong, as John Mallinger took third place at this weekend’s Players Championship.

The third place finish was his highest this season, and tied his career best—he’s finished in third six times now since joining the tour in 2005. “For some reason I can’t get off these third place finishes,” Mallinger said in a PGA interview.  “I think I have six of them. But when you’re playing against a field like this, you’re playing against the best players in the world. When you compete at that level and you perform well and you execute coming down, I think that’s the big thing.”

For his time, he won $551,000, as he moves up the top 100 earners list.  He shot a -2 on the day to finish at -7, five strokes off the lead and one stroke off of second place.

Merrick finished at +7 after shooting that score on Sunday, tying him for 66th near the bottom of the leaderboard.  He still made nearly $20,000, which isn’t too bad for a weekend playing golf.  Paul Goydos, Wilson and Long Beach State grad and last year’s Players Championship hero, missed the weekend cut.

Mallinger was happy with his performance, and already looking forward to 2010. “I feel comfortable out here,” he said.  “I always have. I haven’t had many good finishes, but for some reason none of the holes bothered me. I’m definitely looking forward to coming back next year.”