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Mickelson Shoots a 59 to Win PGA Grand Slam

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From Times Staff and Wire Reports

Phil Mickelson ended his magical year with golf’s magic number.

The Masters champion shot a 13-under-par 59 on Wednesday to win the PGA Grand Slam of Golf, a two-day competition at Poipu Beach, Hawaii, for the year’s four major winners.

“It was certainly unexpected,” said Mickelson, who hadn’t touched a club for two weeks before the tournament. “I didn’t hit it great today and somehow I shot 59. So go figure. It just all kind of came together.”

Al Geiberger, Chip Beck and David Duval are the only players to shoot 59 on the PGA Tour, and Annika Sorenstam shot a 59 on the LPGA Tour. Mickelson’s score will not count in the record books because the PGA Grand Slam is not an official event.

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Shigeki Maruyama shot a 58 at Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, Md., during qualifying for the 2000 U.S. Open.

Mickelson barely missed a nine-foot eagle putt to the left on the last hole that would have given him a 58. He tapped in for birdie.

Mickelson’s 59 moved him from third place to first, with a 17-under 127 total, which tied the course record and beat PGA champion Vijay Singh by five strokes.

Mickelson had 11 birdies, an eagle and no bogeys to win $400,000. He putted only 24 times, 11 on the front nine.

Mickelson’s previous competitive low was 61 at the 2001 Greater Hartford Open. His season low was a 63 at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.

Singh, the No. 1 player in the world, shot a 66 and earned $250,000, and first-round leader Retief Goosen, the U.S. Open champion, closed with a 68 to finish at 11-under. British Open champion Todd Hamilton finished last at one-over 145 after a 75.

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Baseball

Three-time All-Star catcher Jason Kendall was close to being traded from the Pittsburgh Pirates to the Oakland Athletics for two pitchers, a baseball official told Associated Press.

The Pirates would get left-handed starter Mark Redman and left-handed reliever Arthur Rhodes from the A’s, the official said.

Kendall, 30, has a no-trade clause, but his agent told the Pirates that Kendall would waive the clause to play for the A’s, a person close to Kendall said.

The Pirates wouldn’t confirm that a deal was nearly done. The A’s wouldn’t comment.

A .306 hitter in nine seasons with Pittsburgh, Kendall has caught more games than any player in team history.

Starting next season, he is due to make $34 million in the last three years of a $60-million deal he signed in 2001.

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The Milwaukee Brewers canceled a news conference to announce the signing of free-agent catcher Damian Miller, 35, because it could not complete its medical evaluation, the final step needed to finalize an $8.75-million, three-year deal.

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The Brewers said they probably could not finalize the deal until next week.

Miller batted .272 with 25 doubles, nine home runs and 58 RBIs in 110 games last season at Oakland.

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Minnesota and catcher Mike Redmond agreed on a $1.8-million, two-year contract, giving the Twins veteran insurance behind Joe Mauer.

Redmond, who played the last six-plus seasons with the Florida Marlins, batted .256 with 15 doubles, two home runs and 25 runs batted in last year for the Marlins.

Mauer tore cartilage in his left knee and played only 35 games last season.

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Closer Bob Wickman agreed to a $2.75-million, one-year deal to stay with the Cleveland Indians.

Wickman, 35, sat out the 2003 season after reconstructive elbow surgery and was sidelined for the first three months of the 2004 season.

The right-hander finished with 19 saves, giving him 79 -- fourth on the Indians’ all-time list -- since joining the team after a 2000 trade with the Brewers.

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Former Colorado general manager Bob Gebhard was hired as assistant general manager by the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Miscellany

The United States lost to Germany, 3-1, in the semifinals of the FIFA Under-19 Women’s World Championship at Bangkok, Thailand.

The U.S. goal came on an own-goal by Germany.

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LeRoy T. Walker, president emeritus of the U.S. Olympic Committee, has been presented with the North Carolina Award, the highest civilian award the state can bestow.

Walker, from Durham, N.C., was USOC president from 1992 to 1996.

Walker has been inducted into 19 halls of fame, including the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in the Special Contributor category in 1987.

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