Year Gets Off to Good Start for Mickelson

By J.A. ADANDE

Jan. 12, 1998 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

CARLSBAD —

There are two ways to get a new car when you’ve got Phil Mickelson’s golf game and the more than $5 million in career earnings it has brought.

You can walk into the showroom and buy one, or you can win the Mercedes Championships and the complimentary convertible that comes with it.

The latter is what Amy Mickelson had in mind before her husband wrote the check for her new automobile last month.

“She said, ‘I think you should wait two more weeks,’ ” Mickelson said. “I said, ‘Amy, don’t put that kind of pressure on me.’ ”

The only pressure on Mickelson now is finding room in the garage for the new car he won at the La Costa Resort and Spa on Sunday with his four-under-par 68 in the final round. He won this tournament for the second time in five years with an overall score of 17-under 271.

“Once again, the wife was right,” Mickelson said.

But she wasn’t the one who had to birdie four holes on the back nine to hold off a hard-charging Tiger Woods.

Mickelson led by a stroke after three rounds, but his day got off to a bad start. He had to postpone his first tee shot twice because of a ringing cellular phone in the gallery. Once he reached the green he three-putted for a bogey, dropping him into a tie with his playing partner, David Duval.

At one point, Mickelson, Duval, John Cook and Nick Price were in a four-way tie for first.

But Duval, who was trying to become the first player to win four consecutive tournaments since Ben Hogan in 1953, kept finding the rough and bogeyed the fifth hole and the eighth hole and dropped out of of contention, finishing in a four-way tie for sixth at 11-under.

Price stood at 12 under after six holes, then managed only two more birdies the rest of the way. He bogeyed No. 13 and finished at 13 under. Cook, after a bogey on four, picked up two more birdies and also finished at 13 under, tied for fourth with Price.

Woods began the round at eight under, five shots behind Mickelson and tied with his neighbor, friend and playing partner for the day, Mark O’Meara.

The pairing, which also brought together to the two previous winners of this tournament, made for some friendly chatter and good competition, inspiring both to shoot a six-under 64 for the day and finish at 16 under, a stroke behind the lead.

“I was pulling for him, he was pulling for me,” Woods said. “But we were still very focused. It was give-and-take, give-and-take, I make a birdie, you make a birdie.”

Woods birdied the first two holes and O’Meara made birdies on the second and third. O’Meara birdied the sixth and Woods birdied the seventh, which brought them within three of Mickelson.

Woods scored an eagle on with a 35-putt putt on the par-five ninth hole and pulled within one stroke.

Mickelson was at the nearby seventh tee box, heard the roar go up from the huge gallery and saw the change on the leader board.

“After I saw he made eagle, my mind-set for not just that shot but for the rest of the round changed,” Mickelson said. “I knew I had to attack.”

That mind-set resulted in a birdie on that hole and continued for a run of four of birdies in five holes.

He needed it to stay ahead of Woods and O’Meara. The two buddies pulled into a three-way tie for first when they each made a birdie on the 10th hole. O’Meara did it by sinking a 50-foot shot out of the bunker and Woods did it by sinking a 12-foot putt. They high-fived on their way to the 11th tee.

Woods birdied the par-five 12th despite a second shot that hit a tree. But on the 13th, his 25-foot putt for birdie rolled around the rim of the cup and out. His par on the hole left him at 14 under. Meanwhile, Mickelson was sinking a nine-foot putt for a birdie on the 10th hole that dropped him to 16 under.

Mickelson knows Woods is a strong closer, but playing behind Woods he reassured himself with this thought: “I had something he didn’t have, and that was three extra holes. Sixteen, 17 and 18 can all be birdied, if need be.”

No need.

Despite a birdie on 15, Woods had to make up two strokes on the last three holes. He could not take advantage of his mighty swing to go for another eagle on the par-five, 569-yard 17th hole because of a strong wind coming in from the ocean.

He and O’Meara both landed well short of the pin on their approach shots, which pretty much killed their chances of winning.

They made par, leaving Mickelson a two-stroke cushion that made his bogey on the last hole irrelevant.

There’s plenty of meaning in this victory for Mickelson, who wants to make sure that when people talk about the talented young players in 1998 they mention his name along with Woods, Justin Leonard and Ernie Els. Although Mickelson won two tournaments in 1997, he didn’t fare well in the majors.

“In college, I had a pretty good record against a lot of those guys,” Mickelson said. “For me not to be competing on the tour level was disappointing.”

One event into 1998, no one is off to a better start. It was Mickelson’s 12th PGA Tour victory. The $306,000 winner’s check brought his career earnings to $5,433,731. All that’s missing is that major championship.

“That will come very shortly,” Woods said. “There’s no doubt about that.”

The only question left after the day’s events was which convertible does Amy prefer, the red one or the white one?

She grinned.

“I like ‘em all.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The Top Five

Final leaders in the $1.7-million Mercedes Championships on the par-72 La Costa Resort and Spa course:

271 (-17)--$306,000

Phil Mickelson: 68-67-68-68

272 (-16)--$149,600

Mark O’Meara: 71-70-67-64

Tiger Woods: 72-67-69-64