Golf

Lefty makes West Coast mark

ADVERTISEMENT [Getty Images] Phil Mickelson shoots 1-under 70 for a two-stroke victory - the 33rd of his career - in the Northern Trust Open at Riviera.

LOS ANGELES - It has been 20 years since Phil Mickelson first stepped inside the ropes at Riviera, a 17-year-old amateur in awe of the fabled course off Sunset Boulevard, inspired by names such as Hogan, Snead and Nelson that were on the trophy.

Lefty finally joined them Sunday, adding to his impressive collection of PGA Tour titles on the West Coast with a win in the Northern Trust Open.

Mickelson made two clutch putts on the back nine, seized control when Jeff Quinney self-destructed with the putter and took a relaxing walk up the 18th fairway with a victory he felt was a long time coming.

He closed with 1-under 70 for a two-shot victory, the 33rd of his career, with 16 of those in California and Arizona.

"The fact I haven't won this and it has taken me so long to win makes it that much more special," Mickelson said.

Quinney (71) struggled down the stretch, with three straight bogeys starting on the 13th.

Mickelson, who finished at 12-under 272, made his tour debut at Torrey Pines at age 17, then showed up a week later at Riviera. As much as the course impressed him, it confounded him, and he played there sparingly until returning last year, when he lost in a playoff.

"I didn't understand the nuances of this golf course, where you can and can't hit it," he said. "And learning those nuances and how to hit the shots into some of these greens has helped me over the years. Last year was when I started to put it together, and I'm fortunate to break through this year."

Mickelson has won in every city of regular tour stops on the West Coast, from ocean courses of Torrey Pines and Pebble Beach, to soggy La Costa Resort, to desert courses in Phoenix, Palm Springs and Tucson - and now the famed Riviera.

Champions: Hoch wins second event in a row

NAPLES - Scott Hoch, 52, made an 8-foot birdie putt on the last hole of regulation to get in a four-way playoff, then made an 8-footer on the first playoff hole to win the ACE Group Classic, his second title in a row.

Tom Jenkins, Tom Kite and Brad Bryant had made par before Hoch putted.

"I just said, 'Look, let's end it here. I don't want to play anymore; anything else can happen,'" said Hoch (68), who won the Allianz Championship in Boca Raton.

All four had finished at 14-under 202, with Kite and Bryant shooting 7-under 65s. Jenkins closed with 2-under 70.

NATIONWIDE: Darron Stiles, 34, a native of St. Petersburg, shot 4-under 68 for a one-stroke victory at the HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship in Christchurch. Stiles, a graduate of Florida Southern, won the rain-shortened, 36-hole event at 10-under 134, holding off New Zealand's David Smail (66). "From now on, I'll have that much more confidence the rest of the season," said Stiles, who earned an official $117,000 but will be credited with an unofficial victory.

EUROPEAN: Chile's Felipe Aguilar, 33, won the Indonesia Open by one stroke after a birdie at the final hole for his first tour title. Aguilar, who shot 2-under 68, finished at 18-under 262 to beat India's Jeev Milkha Singh (67), who bogeyed the 18th.

[Last modified February 17, 2008, 22:57:17]