PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — He knew his game was getting close, and he broke through with flair Sunday in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
He turned out to be Phil Mickelson, not Tiger Woods.
Mickelson went from a six-shot deficit to a two-shot lead in six holes, closed with an 8-under-par 64 for a two shot victory over Charlie Wi on Sunday.
Mickelson and Woods played in the second-to-last group behind Wi and Ken Duke (Arkadelphia, Henderson State), and Mickelson beat Woods by 11 shots on the day. Mickelson won for the fourth time at Pebble Beach, and became the ninth player in PGA Tour history with 40 career victories.
“Pebble Beach ... it feels awesome no matter what number it is,” Mickelson said.
It was anything but awesome for Woods. Right when it looked as though Woods might still be in contention after holing a bunker shot for birdie on the par-3 12th, Mickelson answered by rolling in a 30-foot par putt, gritting his teeth and pumping his fist for emphasis.
Mickelson took control for good with a 40-foot par save on the 15th hole, and he played it safe on the par-5 18th and still made birdie.
Wi, who started the final round with a three-shot lead, four-putted for double bogey on the opening hole. He closed with back-to-back birdies for an even-par 72 and his fifth runner-up finish on tour.
Duke, who entered the day alone in second, shot 74 and finished tied for seventh at 10-under, seven shots behind Mickelson. Duke had bogies on Nos. 4, 11 and 12 before making his lone birdie on the par-4 16th. He earned $206,400.
It was the third consecutive week that the winner started the final round at least six shots behind a 54-hole leader going after his first tour victory.
Mickelson started his season sluggishly, failing to crack the top 25 at the Humana Challenge and Phoenix Open,and missing the cut at Torrey Pines. He said his putting was as good as ever, and it was a matter of getting his game in sync. On Sunday, he had a long eagle putt at No. 2 that caught part of the hole, two long putts for par and enough birdies to make him a winner at Pebble Beach again.
“It feels just amazing,” Mickelson said. “I felt like my game was there, but coming out the first couple of weeks, I posted some horrendous scores and started to question it. To be able to play the way I did the last 18 holes really means a lot.”
Mickelson finished at 17-under 269 and earned $1.152 million for his first victory since the Houston Open last year.
Woods looked poised to break through after a 67 in the third round at Pebble Beach that put him to within four shots of the lead. But he failed to make birdie on the opening stretch at Pebble Beach, and even when he made his first birdie at the par-5 sixth, Mickelson dropped 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 [Saturday], I felt bad today. Anything I tried to do wasn’t working. Consequently, I made a ton of mistakes on the green.”
When Mickelson nearly holed his eagle on No. 2, Woods missed a 5-foot birdie putt that stayed two inches above the hole. Mickelson holed a 15-foot birdie putt down the hill at No. 4, and Woods had a 30-foot putt up the hill that was left three feet short. Mickelson’s tee shot on the par-3 fifth settled a foot from the cup, while Woods missed his birdie putt from 12 feet.
Woods then vanished in a series of blunders - missing a three-foot par putt on No. 7, missed a five-foot par putt on No. 8, and a third consecutive bogey at No. 9 when he hit his approach into the bunker. The only hope for Woods came on the 12th, when he holed his bunker shot. It looked like it might be a two-shot swing, pulling him to within three of the lead, until Mickelson made his 30-footer for par.
“It’s frustrating because I had a chance,” Woods said. “All I had to do was get off to a good, solid start. And I didn’t do that.”
This was the fifth consecutive time Mickelson posted the better score when playing in the same group as Woods in the final round. Mickelson has won three of those tournaments, dating back to the2007 Deutsche Bank Championship, but they have yet to be in the final group on those occasions.
“I just feel very inspired when I play with him,” Mickelson said of the pairing with Woods. “I love playing with him, and he brings out some of my best golf. I hope that he continues to play better, and better, and I hope that he and I have a chance to play together more in the final rounds.”
Ricky Barnes closed with a 67 and finished third at 13-under. Aaron Baddeley shot 67 and finished fourth at 12-under. Kevin Na (70) and Dustin Johnson (70) tied for fifth.
EUROPEAN TOUR
Cabrera-Bello wins
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Rafael Cabrera-Bello won the Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday, shooting a 4-under-par 68 to beat Lee Westwood and Stephen Gallacher by one shot for his second European Tour victory.
It appeared to be Westwood’s tournament to win, with the third-ranked Englishman taking a one-stroke lead over Cabrera-Bello into the final round. But after making a 35-foot eagle putt on the second hole to go up by two, Westwood struggled with his putting the rest of the way.
Cabrera-Bello birdied No. 17 for the outright lead and then made a short par putt on No. 18 to finish with an 18-under total of 270.
Westwood (70) had a chance to force a playoff, but his chip rolled past the hole. He then missed a 25-foot birdie putt. Gallacher (69) also had a chance to tie but missed a 15-footer for birdie.
John Daly (Dardanelle, Arkansas Razorbacks) shot 73 and finished tied for 37th at 5-under.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Pavin wins playoff
BOCA RATON, Fla. - Corey Pavin made a 12-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole Sunday to defeat Peter Senior and win the Allianz Championship for his first Champions Tour title Sunday at Broken Sound.
Both players shot a final round 71 to finish tied at 11-under 205. Senior forced the playoff with a birdie on the last hole of regulation, but his birdie try in the playoff stopped an inch short of the cup.
Mark Calcavecchia appeared to be cruising to the victory when he birdied the par-5 11th hole to take a three-shot lead over Pavin. But Calcavecchia, who was 5-under for the day at that point, bogeyed six of his last seven holes to finish tied for seventh after a 73.
Bernhard Langer (71) and Michael Allen (69) tied for third place, a shot ahead of Jay Haas (69) and John Cook (69).
PGA TOUR SCHEDULE DATE TOURNAMENT/ LOCATION FEB. 16-19 Northern Trust Open Pacific Palisades, Cal.
FEB. 23-26 Mayakoba Golf Classic Riviera Maya, Mexico FEB. 22-26 WGC-Accenture Match Play Champ.
Marana, Ariz.
MARCH 1-4 The Honda Classic Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
MARCH 8-11 Puerto Rico Open Puerto Rico MARCH 8-11 WGC-Cadillac Championship Miami MARCH 15-18 Transitions Championship Palm Harbor, Fla.
MARCH 19-20 Tavistock Cup Orlando, Fla.
MARCH 22-25 Arnold Palmer Invitational Orlando, Fla.
MARCH 29-APRIL 1 Shell Houston Open Humble, Texas APRIL 5-8 Masters Tournament Augusta, Ga.
Leaderboard
PGA TOUR
Pebble Beach Pro-Am Pebble Beach Golf Links Monterey Peninsula CC, Shore Course Spyglass Hill Golf Club Pebble Beach, Calif.
Purse: $6.4 million
Final round played on Pebble Beach
Phil Mickelson 70-65-70-64-269
Charlie Wi 61-69-69-72-271
Ricky Barnes 70-66-70-67-273
Aaron Baddeley 66-72-69-67-274
Kevin Na 66-69-70-70-275
Dustin Johnson 63-72-70-70-275
Ken Duke 64-73-65-74-276
P. Harrington 68-66-72-70-276
ALSO Tiger Woods 68-68-67-75-278
MADE CUT, DID NOT FINISH
Bryce Molder 67-74-73-214
Complete results, 3C
Sports, Pages 13 on 02/13/2012