Phil Mickelson captures Phoenix Open for 41st PGA Tour title
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| Phil Mickelson closes out the Phoenix Open. (Getty Images) |
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Phil Mickelson has had quite a last two weeks.
First there were the tax comments after the Humana Challenge, then he nearly missed the cut at the Farmers Insurance Open, then he almost shot the sixth 59 in PGA Tour history.
And now, he's your 2013 Waste Management Phoenix Open champion.
Brandt Snedeker poked and prodded at Lefty all day, dropping birdies and sticking shots that led to a 65 and kept Phil moving.
Mickelson was able to hold him off, however, with a final-round 67, narrowly missing out on the all-time PGA Tour 72-hole scoring record of 254.
Here's a look at the fewest strokes ever taken in 72-hole PGA Tour Events:
| Fewest strokes in 72-hole events | ||||
| SHOTS | TO PAR | GOLFER | TOURNAMENT | YEAR |
| 254 | -26 | Valero Texas Open | 2003 | |
| 255 | -33 | Steve Stricker | Bob Hope Classic | 2009 |
| 256 | -28 | Phil Mickelson | Phoenix Open | 2013 |
| 256 | -28 | Phoenix Open | 2001 | |
| 256 | -24 | Sony Open | 2013 | |
| 257 | -23 | Tiger Woods | TOUR Championship | 2007 |
| 257 | -27 | Texas Open | 1955 | |
The craziest part is that Mickelson fell short of even setting an outright scoring record for the Phoenix Open. As you can see above, Calcavecchia still holds that honor with his equally ridiculous -28 in 2001.
And as Shane Bacon pointed out, Snedeker was the real loser in this situation:
How insane is Mickelson playing? If Brandt Snedeker makes par here, his score would have won every Phoenix Open but two since 1932!
— Shane Bacon (@shanebacon) February 3, 2013
Lefty was tied with Calcavecchia and
As Gary Van Sickle pointed out, Mickelson loves playing this time of year.
FYI, 18 of Phil's 40 wins have come in events played during West Coast Swing.
— Gary VanSickle (@GaryVanSickle) February 3, 2013
Mickelson now has at least one win on each of his last 10 seasons on Tour, the longest such streak of any golfer. He has also now won an event in 20 different years. And that is an impressive list (via NBC):
| Most years with at least one win | |
| GOLFER | YEARS WITH AT LEAST ONE WIN |
| Sam Snead | 24 |
| Jack Nicklaus | 21 |
| Phil Mickelson | 20 |
| 19 | |
| Arnold Palmer | 18 |
| Billy Casper | 18 |
| Tiger Woods | 16 |
The crowds in Phoenix couldn't get enough of Mickelson either. From his flirty 59 on Thursday to his near-ace of No. 16 on Saturday (see below), they love their now three-time champion (Mickelson also won the event in 2005).
Mickelson made a ridiculous one eagle, 29 birdies, 40 pars, and just two bogeys or double bogeys all week. Most of them were vintage -- crazy sand saves, slick putting, driving all over the yard -- you know, Phil stuff.
Mickelson was all thumbs up and smiles on Sunday as he danced around the course for a beautifully-constructed win. After his round he told NBC how excited it was to win:
When you haven't won you want it bad. I hit a lot of good shots today and just did what I had to do to win. That's all I cared about. In general I feel like my game is on the upswing. It's important to start building momentum [towards Augusta].
The tournament as a whole was great too.
Fans gasped over Mickelson's lipout for 59 and roared as he hoisted the Phoenix Open trophy, and most everywhere they were saying the exact same thing:
"That's just Phil being Phil."
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