Golf

Mickelson continues uncharacteristic roll

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. - Phil Mickelson should be used to this now, but he felt a strange sensation walking up the 18th fairway Sunday afternoon at Pebble Beach with a four-shot lead.

His heart wasn't racing from the thrill of competition. He didn't need a dramatic shot, good or bad, that people would talk about for years. What now?

"Bones and I actually had a little tiff," Mickelson said, referring to his caddie. "I wanted to hit a driver."

Then he smiled, ending the only suspense of the day. "No, I'm just kidding," he said.

Mickelson became the first wire-to-wire winner over 72 holes in the 68-year history of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, never letting anyone closer than four and closing with 1-over 73 for his second straight dominant win on the PGA Tour. (Jimmy Demaret went wire to wire in 1952, when it was 36 holes.) He won by five Feb. 6 in Phoenix, the largest margin of his career. He led by seven Saturday at Pebble Beach.

"It was weird," he said. "I didn't feel the normal intensity, the normal stress. It was a very enjoyable round."

The only thing he did not do was set the tournament scoring record. Mickelson finished 19-under 269, missing by a shot the 72-hole mark set seven years ago by Mark O'Meara.

Mike Weir tried to keep it interesting, but that only lasted about five minutes. The Canadian had the best round of the day, 5-under 67, and got within four shots after birdie on No.11.

Mickelson was coming off bogeys on the ninth and 10th holes, the toughest at Pebble because of wind that blew light rain into his face. But he hit his wedge to 18 feet on the 11th to restore his lead to five and won going away despite missing six birdie putts inside 18 feet the rest of the way.

Weir also burned the edge of the cup on the next six holes, and his chip for eagle on the 18th just turned away.

"I played one of the better rounds I've ever played," Weir said. "It could have been a really special round if a few things could have dropped for me."

Mickelson won in consecutive weeks for the first time in his career. He has won the past two weeks by a combined nine shots. Entering this year, Mickelson had won his past eight PGA Tour titles by a combined nine shots.

"It's been fun," Mickelson said. "I've been playing well the last couple of weeks. I'm excited to get the year started with a couple of wins."

Mickelson won for the 25th time on tour. His $954,000 check pushed him over $2-million for the year and put him atop the money list. Greg Owen, a tour rookie playing in the final group with Mickelson, birdied the last hole for 72 and finished third.

MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP: Vijay Singh will be the No.1 seed, narrowly hanging on to the top spot in the world ranking despite missing the cut in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. The world ranking determines the 64-man field at the World Golf Championship, which starts Feb.23 at Carlsbad, Calif.

Tiger Woods, the two-time defending champion, will be the No.2 seed. The top 65 are eligible for the $7.5-million tournament because Ernie Els (No.3) has said he will not play. With Els not playing, Mickelson will be the third seed, and Retief Goosen will be No.4.

WOMEN'S WORLD CUP: Teenage sensation Ai Miyazato continued her emergence as a star, shooting 6-under 67 in difficult conditions at George, South Africa, to lead Japan to a two-shot victory. A five-time winner as a 19-year-old rookie on the Japan LPGA Tour, Miyazato was 10 shots better than the average score in the final round of stroke play, in which nine of 40 players failed to break 80. Her teammate, Rui Kitada, shot 82 to give Japan 3-over 149. They finished 3-under 289 after both birdied the 17th to surge past South Korea and the Philippines.

U.S. Women's Open champion Meg Mallon and Hall of Famer Beth Daniel had 78-80 as the United States finished 14th in the 20-team field, 12 shots back.

EUROPEAN PGA: Niclas Fasth won the New Zealand Open in Auckland for his second tour title, beating Miles Tunnicliff with a 15-foot birdie on the second playoff hole. Fasth closed with 9-under 63 to match Tunnicliff (66) at 22-under 266. Tunnicliff forced a playoff with a 20-foot birdie on the final regulation hole.

[Last modified February 14, 2005, 01:20:17]