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SPORTS Tuesday 12 February 2019
Mickelson finishes off a 5th win at Pebble Beach

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP)
— Phil Mickelson is closing
in on three decades on the
PGA Tour and a half-cen-
tury on Earth, and he still
feels his best golf is good
enough.
He was at his best at Peb-
ble Beach, and no one
had a chance.
A Monday finish brought
on by rain and a freak
hail storm was only a mi-
nor inconvenience for the
48-year-old Mickelson. He
played two holes just as
well as the previous 16 and
polished off his bogey-free
final round with one last
birdie for a 7-under 65 and
a three-shot victory over
Paul Casey in the AT&T
Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Mickelson won at Pebble
Beach for the fifth time,
matching the record set
by Mark O'Meara. He has
gone 28 years since his first
PGA Tour victory and his
44th, and he joined Tiger
Woods as the only players
to surpass $90 million in ca-
reer earnings.
"It's a lot more work and
effort to play at this level,"
Mickelson said. "And I have
believed for some time that
if I play at my best, it will be
good enough to win tour-
naments. The challenge is
getting myself to play my Phil Mickelson poses with his trophy on the 18th green of the Pebble Beach Golf Links after winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am
best. It's a lot more work off golf tournament Monday, Feb. 11, 2019, in Pebble Beach, Calif.
the course, it's more time in Associated Press
the gym, it's more time eat-
ing, it's more time focusing, a bogey and built a three- On Monday morning, he less Mickelson. holds the record with six
it's all these things that go shot lead through 16 holes had a change of heart and This was the fourth time that runner-up finishes. He fin-
into it. on Sunday night when it said he thanked Casey for Casey had a 54-hole lead ished three shots behind
"And so it's gratifying to see was too dark to finish, no standing his ground. of at least two shots on the Graeme McDowell in 2010,
the results and to finish it off matter how hard he lob- "Paul made the tough call, PGA Tour and failed to win. the last U.S. Open at Peb-
the way I did." bied to keep going. but it was the right decision The other three times he ble.
Making it even more special The final round Sunday in that he protected himself was 2-over par or worse in And while the fairway lines
is Pebble Beach, where he had been delayed at the and myself for the competi- the final round. This time, already have been cut
made his pro debut at the start by one hour because tion," Mickelson said. "I just he closed with a 71 and much tighter at Pebble, the
U.S. Open in 1992, where he of rain, and then sunshine get in my own little bubble lost to Mickelson's 65, which conditions were so soft that
won the first of his five titles quickly gave way to hail and I don't see the big pic- matched the low score of balls plugged in the fairway
in another Monday finish in that covered the greens in ture." the final round. when they landed and
1998, this one in August be- a sheet of white and led to It worked out well in the "A phenomenal round of greens easily held shots
cause of rain. It's where his a two-hour delay. end. golf," Casey said. even from the rough.
grandfather, Al Santos, was Mickelson said he could Mickelson finished at 19-un- Mickelson's longest putt for "It's nothing like the course
among the first caddies "see just fine" even after der 268. Casey needed par was 4 feet. He played we'll see," Mickelson said.
when the course opened sunset, knowing darkness Mickelson to make a big the final 26 holes in cold, "I'll deal with that in six
in 1919, and Mickelson still falls quickly on the Mon- blunder on the two closing damp and windy weather months."
uses as a marker the 1900 terey Peninsula. Casey holes, and there was little without a bogey. Mickelson lives for the mo-
silver dollar his grandfather could barely see the 3 feet chance of that. Casey at How it bodes for the rest of ment. He says he had as
kept in his pocket to remind of grass between his ball least birdied the 18th for a the year — particularly in much fun winning at Peb-
him he was not poor. and the cup on the 16th 71 to finish alone in second, June when the U.S. Open ble Beach as when he fin-
There was plenty of sunlight hole and said there was the difference of $152,000. returns to Pebble Beach ished one shot behind in
for the Monday morning no way to complete two He also won the Pro-Am — was of little concern to the Desert Classic three
finish, just no drama. holes in six minutes. Mick- with Don Colleran, the Mickelson. The U.S. Open weeks ago.
Mickelson, who started the elson was on the 17th tee, chief sales officer for FedEx. remains the final piece of It's the thrill of competition.
final round three shots be- shaking his head when he But the final day, and all the career Grand Slam for And even at 48, that never
hind, never came close to heard the siren to stop play. week, was about the age- Mickelson, who already gets old.q