Mickelson holds off Woods to win Mercedes Championships
By RON SIRAK
Associated Press
CARLSBAD, Calif. - Phil Mickelson dismissed David Duval early
and held off Tiger Woods late to win the Mercedes Championships
on Sunday for the second time in five years.
Mickelson gave up his 54-hole lead with a three-putt green
on the first hole - missing a 2-footer after twice being bothered
by a ringing cellular phone on the first tee - but made birdies
on Nos. 3 and 4 to pull away from Duval, who was trying to become
the first person since Ben Hogan in 1953 to win four consecutive
PGA Tour starts.
Then Mickelson made four birdies in five holes beginning on
No. 9 to stay ahead of Woods, who was playing three groups in
front of Mickelson and was lighting up the La Costa course and
electrifying the crowd with a 64.
Despite some shaky play on the closing holes, Mickelson finished
with 68 in the final round to be at 17-under-par 271, one stroke
ahead of Woods and Mark O'Meara.
Duval shot a 73 and finished at 277, six strokes off the lead.
"This was an important day for me," Mickelson said.
"I knew some guys were going to go low, but I didn't know
who they were going to be."
It was the 27-year-old Mickelson's 12th victory as a professional
and it was the seventh time he has won on the West Coast swing
in his career. It was also the sixth time in seven tries he has
taken the lead into the final round and won.
Nick Price and John Cook tied for fourth at 13-under-par 275.
A key for Mickelson came on No. 17, the only par-5 Woods failed
to play under par in the final round. Woods had 121 yards to the
pin but could get no closer than 30 feet to the pin from a fairway
lie O'Meara described as "being borderline casual water."
That enabled Mickelson to go to the final hole with a two-stroke
lead - and he needed both of them.
"On the 15th green I was trying to find out what Tiger
had done on 17," Mickelson said, "because I figured
he might make two more birdies going in."
Instead, Woods made a par on No. 17 and Mickelson made a 20-footer
for a birdie on No. 15 to get to 18-under par.
Mickelson missed the fairway off the tee on the last hole then
hit into the left greenside bunker and finished with a bogey.
Woods got going with birdies on the first two holes and moved
into serious contention and got the biggest roar of the tournament
on No. 9 with classic Tiger golf.
He hit a 285-yard drive on a soaked fairway that yielded no
roll then hit a 3-wood from 266 yards to 30 feet and made the
eagle putt to pull within a stroke of Mickelson, who was on No.
7 at the time.
"When I got to 5-under par, I figured the game was on,"
Woods said, referring to his 31 on the front nine. "But Mark
and I agreed we had to get to 18 under to win."
Woods' eagle on No. 9 might have given Mickelson the energy
he needed to win the tournament.
"I was right next to the ninth green when Tiger made that
eagle," Mickelson said. "After I saw him make eagle,
my mindset changed. I started to attack and try to make birdies."
O'Meara, meanwhile, Woods' neighbor and close friend from Orlando,
Fla., and playing partner for the day, matched Woods' 31 on the
front nine and was also just a stroke off the lead.
On No. 10, O'Meara holed out from 20 yards in the bunker for
birdie and watched as Woods rolled in a 12-footer to keep pace,
the two men sharing huge laughs and clearly feeding off of each
other's energy.
"It was a pretty exciting day out there," O'Meara
said. "Tiger shot a real easy 8-under par."
Duval lost the momentum of his incredible four-tournament run
early in the round and was never able to get it back. Playing
with Mickelson, he had a chance for a two-stroke swing on the
first hole when Mickelson three-putted.
But Duval missed an 18-inch birdie putt on the first hole and
a 4-footer for birdie on No. 2. Another birdie putt - this one
from 15 feet - stayed out of the hole on No. 3 and his 10-footer
on the fourth hole spun around the cup and stayed out.
"When you miss that many short ones, there's not much
you can do,' " Duval said. "It was frustrating."
Duval's confidence seemed to sag after his usually reliable
putter let him down and after that his also reliable driver began
to fail.
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