Pebble Beach (AP) - He knew his game was getting close, and he broke through with flair yesterday in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in California.
That turned out to be Phil Mickelson, not Tiger Woods.
Mickelson
went from a six-shot deficit to a two-shot lead in just six holes,
closed with an 8-under-par 64 for a two-shot victory over Charlie Wi,
and gave Woods a Sunday thrashing not many saw coming.
Mickelson
and Woods played in the second-to-last group, and Mickelson beat him by
11 shots. He won for the fourth time at Pebble Beach, and became only
the ninth player in PGA Tour history with 40 wins.
“Pebble Beach . . . it feels awesome no matter what number it is,’’ Mickelson said.
It
was anything but that for Woods, who was reduced to a supporting role
on a cool, overcast day along the Pacific. Right when it looked as
though Woods might still be in the game after holing a bunker shot for
birdie on the par-3 12th, Mickelson answered by pouring in a 30-foot par
putt.
Mickelson seized
control for good with a 40-foot par save on the 15th hole, and he played
it safe - Mickelson is capable of that every once in a while - on the
18th hole and still made birdie.
Wi,
who started the final round with a three-shot lead, four-putted for
double bogey on the opening hole and never quite recovered. He closed
with back-to-back birdies for an even-par 72 and his fifth runner-up
finish on tour.
Woods had
been taking big strides with his game over the past few months, and he
looked poised to break through after a 67 in the third round at Pebble
Beach got him to within four shots of the lead.
But
he failed to make birdie on the easy opening stretch at Pebble Beach,
and even when he made his first birdie at the par-5 sixth, Mickelson
poured in a 20-foot eagle putt to take the outright lead.
“I
didn’t hit it as bad as the score indicated, but I putted awful,’’
Woods said. “As good as I felt on the greens yesterday, I felt bad
today. Anything I tried to do wasn’t working. Consequently, I made a ton
of mistakes on the green.’’
Mickelson
finished at 17-under 269 and earned $1.152 million for his first win
since the Houston Open last year. He will move to No. 11 in the world
rankings.
Ricky Barnes
closed with a 67 and finished third. Kevin Na tied for fifth and earned a
spot in the Match Play Championship in two weeks at Arizona.
American teenager Jessica Korda won the Women’s Australian Open in
Melbourne for her first tour title, holing a 25-foot birdie putt on the
second hole of a six-player playoff.
The
18-year-old Korda completed a two-sport, father-daughter Australian
double with the breakthrough victory. Petr Korda won the 1998 Australian
Open tennis tournament, also in Melbourne.
Stacy
Lewis, Brittany Lincicome, Julieta Granada, So Yeon Ryu, and Hee Kyung
Seo also were in the playoff, played in threesomes on the par-4 18th.
All six players made par on the first extra hole. On the second playoff
hole, Lewis, Lincicome, Granada, and Seo made par and Ryu had a bogey.
Rafael Cabrera-Bello won the Dubai Desert Classic in the United Arab
Emirates, shooting a 4-under 68 to beat Lee Westwood and Stephen
Gallacher by one shot for his second tour victory.
In Boca Raton, Fla., Corey Pavin made a 12-foot birdie putt on the
first playoff hole to defeat Peter Senior and win the Allianz
Championship for his first tour title.