Phillin’ Good: Mickelson Wins the Phoenix
Posted February 6th, 2005 by Erik J. Barzeski
The Phoenix son Phil Mickelson was a safe bet this Sunday as he wins the Phoenix, errr, FBR Open by five shots, the largest margin of his career.
Phil Mickelson, who has had (and by most accounts continues to have) gambling problems, would have been able to safely bet on himself today as he walked away with the Phoenix FBR Open. His final-round 68 left him five shots clear of second place.
Youngster Kevin Na, the youngest player on the PGA Tour at 21, shot a 69 to finish in a tie for second with Scott McCarron at -12. David Toms, Steve Flesch, and Tim Herron - none of which could mount a charge at all - finished at -11, six strokes back.
Despite finding the desert on the par-5 13th and the water on the par-5 15th, Mickelson made birdie and par while playing somewhat risky shots that characterize the man known on tour as FIGJAM. One has to wonder whether his success at avoiding trouble while playing dangerous shots will lead to the return of Phil's dangerous style of play - the same style of play he avoided last year while coming within five shots of winning all four majors and winning his first in Augusta.
The larger story remains the play of those following Mickelson, none of whom could make a charge. David Toms got to -13 and had a chance to birdie the 18th to put pressure on Mickelson, who at that time was only at -15. Instead, he double bogeyed - something he did more than any other player in the field this week (David Duval did not start).
The victory was Phil's 24th on the PGA Tour and his first since winning the 2004 Masters last April. His five-stroke margin of victory is the largest of his career and, with Vijay Singh and Tiger Woods having already won this year, Phil's victory marks the third time a top-5 ranked player in the world has won a PGA Tour event in this year's five tournaments.
Pos Player Final R1 R2 R3 R4 Total 1 Phil Mickelson -17 73 60 66 68 267 T2 Scott McCarron -12 72 70 65 65 272 T2 Kevin Na -12 68 65 70 69 272 T4 David Toms -11 71 66 68 68 273 T4 Tim Herron -11 73 66 67 67 273 T4 Steve Flesch -11 70 67 67 69 273 7 Kenny Perry -10 70 67 67 70 274 8 Charles Warren -9 69 68 69 69 275 T9 Hunter Mahan -8 68 69 72 67 276 T9 Mark Calcavecchia -8 74 66 65 71 276 T11 Jesper Parnevik -7 73 70 69 65 277 T11 John Rollins -7 70 74 66 67 277 T11 Vijay Singh -7 71 72 66 68 277 T11 Patrick Sheehan -7 72 66 70 69 277 T11 Tom Pernice, Jr. -7 72 68 68 69 277 T11 Joey Snyder III -7 72 68 68 69 277 T11 Stewart Cink -7 68 70 69 70 277 T11 K.J. Choi -7 72 66 66 73 277 T19 Kevin Sutherland -6 72 68 69 69 278 T19 Franklin Langham -6 70 70 68 70 278 T19 Duffy Waldorf -6 69 70 69 70 278 T19 Matt Gogel -6 72 69 67 70 278 T19 Scott Verplank -6 73 66 68 71 278
Photo Credit: © AP.
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