Golf

Woods outduels Mickelson

Mickelson just misses a 30-footer on 18, giving Woods a win at Doral.

By BOB HARIG
Published March 7, 2005

MIAMI - The alleged rift, the obvious rivalry - those are subjects Tiger Woods downplays as deftly as the putt he stroked to win the tournament Sunday.

But when it was over, when there was nothing else Phil Mickelson could do, when the sound of the cheering masses beside Doral's 18th green filled his ears, Woods unleashed his toothy smile and a huge sigh of relief.

Woods didn't need to say anything to Mickelson throughout their duel at Doral - they barely uttered a word to each other.

But a one-stroke victory at the Ford Championship spoke volumes.

"What a day," Woods said after shooting 6 under par on Doral's "Blue Monster" course to claim a riveting one-stroke victory and reclaim the No.1 ranking in the world. "To go head to head against Phil like that and just to play that well. ... If you're not nervous on a day like this, you're not alive."

The battle between two of golf's top draws was captivating from start to finish. Woods began the round two shots behind, tied it with a birdie at the 10th, went two ahead with an eagle at the 12th, saw Mickelson come back with consecutive birdies, then took a one-shot lead with a birdie at the 17th.

It came down to a chip and a putt - a 30-foot chip shot for birdie that Mickelson saw lip out and a 5-foot par putt by Woods to clinch his second victory of the year and 42nd of his PGA Tour career.

The only thing better would have been such a matchup in a major championship.

"It's Jack and Arnie, Watson and Nicklaus. Incredible stuff," said Rick Smith, Mickelson's swing instructor. "It really had a feeling like a major championship. It was just a different feeling all day. That was impressive, and that's what's so difficult for Phil."

Mickelson, ranked fourth and bidding for his third victory this season, thought he had made the chip that would have sent the tournament to a sudden-death playoff. And that came after an approach shot that went right over the flag and was just a bit long.

"It was right in the heart," Mickelson said. "It was tracking with 3 or 4 feet to go. It looked like it was going right in the middle. I was a little in disbelief that it didn't go in."

No doubt. Mickelson has had so much success lately that it was difficult to conceive anything going wrong. He shot 60 during the FBR Open in Scottsdale, Ariz., to win there and 62 on his way to victory at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. For 10 consecutive stroke-play rounds on the tour, he led or was tied for the lead.

Then Sunday came the opportunity he openly relished - a showdown with Woods, who has gotten the best of him for most of their careers. It was just the third time the two had been paired together in the final group on the final day.

"It's pretty deflating," Mickelson said. "I really thought I was going to do it. I enjoyed going head to head with Tiger. I'm really in disbelief I fell short. I thought it was going to be my day."

Woods finished at 264, setting the tournament scoring record of 24 under par. Mickelson, with a final-round 69 and a total of 265, matched the previous record set by Greg Norman in 1993 and Jim Furyk in 2000. Vijay Singh shot 66 and tied for third with Zach Johnson, five strokes behind.

The victory, worth $990,000 from the $5.5-million purse, helped Woods regain the No.1 spot in the Official World Golf Ranking, a place he relinquished to Singh in September in the midst of the Fijian's nine-victory season.

But it took an epic battle before a boisterous gallery to get it done. Fans had bought the remaining tickets starting at 7 a.m. and lined the fairway ropes several deep the length of the first hole as the combatants emerged for the start of what would be a 4-hour, 15-minute round. Mickelson approached Woods on the first tee to get the obligatory pleasantries out of the way, and from there, the chatter was minimal.

Not that they could have heard anything.

"It was electric. There's no doubt about it," Woods said. "It was definitely bipartisan out there. You could hear Phil's fans. You could hear Tiger fans. They were both yelling at the top of their lungs.

"When we get to the tee box, my ears are ringing. They are screaming 2 feet away from you, screaming right in your ear."

Both players missed their share of opportunities on the front nine, and it wasn't until Woods birdied the par-5 10th hole that he finally caught Mickelson at 22 under.

The 603-yard 12th was huge for Woods, who knocked a 300-yard 3-wood second shot onto the back of the green and drained a 27-foot eagle putt to take a two-shot lead.

But Mickelson responded with birdies at the 13th and 14th. Their only bogeys of the day occurred at the shortest par 4 on the course, the 372-yard 16th, where both players missed the green. Mickelson's 5-foot par putt would have given him a one-stroke lead, but instead they remained tied.

At the 17th, Woods again hit a monster drive, 311 yards. His approach to 28 feet was not spectacular, but he made the birdie putt for what turned out to be the margin of victory.

For Ford executives, it was a little awkward handing the keys to a Ford GT super car to Woods, who has a lucrative endorsement deal with Buick.

Then again, Woods will be back next year. And they can only hope for as much excitement.

[Last modified March 7, 2005, 01:58:12]