Phillin’ Good: Mickelson Wins the Phoenix

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.