Mickelson earns fifth Pebble Beach win.
PEBBLE BEACH >> Phil Mickelson seized his record-tying fifth AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am trophy Monday morning, then quickly cast his eye on a bigger prize, on a major championship.
But not that major championship.
Not the U.S. Open, the one major that’s agonizingly escaped him, the one that will be played in June back here on Mickelson’s friendliest confines, the one that would crown his Pebble Beach legacy.
“I would love nothing more to add to it five months from now, but that’s so far down the road,” Mickelson said Monday after finishing at 19-under par for a thee-shot win over Paul Casey. “All I’m focused on right now is the Masters.
“That’s all that’s on my mind. This adds to my opportunity at Augusta and where I’m at right now mentally.”
Mickelson will bid for his fourth Masters jacket April 11-14, two months before he returns to Pebble on June 13-16 for the U.S. Open (with the PGA Championship sandwiched in between May 16-19).
A six-time runner-up in the U.S. Open, Pebble Beach offers an especially inviting venue, as evident by his five AT&T Pro-Am titles.
So, does this layout suit Lefty better than any other course?
“I would have a hard time arguing another course does. Maybe Augusta,” Mickelson answered before noting how his “very proficient” short game is the key to his Pebble dominance.
Mickelson, even though he’s as confident as ever, would not feed into any U.S. Open hype.
“I really don’t think there’s any carry over from here to the U.S. Open,” Mickelson said. “It’s a totally different golf course. The greens will be firm. The rough will be high.
“Here, I’m trying to hit the ball as far as I can, not worry too much about the rough and the ball plugging; we’re able clean it.”
Come June, Pebble won’t have soggy soil and pillow-soft greens. It will be dry, fast, unforgiving.
“There’s really no carryover other than I really enjoy this place and I seem to play some of my best golf here,” added Mickelson.
Mickelson regaled the 1,000 or so spectators at Monday’s trophy ceremony on the 18th green by sharing how his late grandfather, Al Santos, was an original caddie here when Pebble Beach opened 100 years ago. Mickelson’s ball marker is a silver dollar his grandfather used to keep in his pocket and rub to imagine greater wealth.
“We definitely talked before how our grandpa caddied here 100 years ago and we definitely were thinking about grandpa today. We miss him,” said Mickelson’s brother, Tim, who serves as his caddie.
By making par on No. 17 and birdie on No. 18 in Monday’s two-hole finale — after darkness suspended Sunday’s weatherdelayed round — Mickelson secured his spot as the tournament’s oldest winner.
He could also become the oldest U.S. Open winner if he wins on what happens to be his 49th birthday June 16; he’d supplant Hale Irwin, who was 45 when he won in 1990.
Mickelson’s secret to continued success: better nutrition, better flexibility and even better swing speed. He claimed he’s gained 6 mph in recent months through biomechanic swing studies and time in the gym.
“It’s been a lot of work but days like this make it worthwhile,” said Mickelson.
His brother concurred and noted that all athletes are finding ways to improve, pointing to another 40-something champion: Tom Brady, who just won his sixth Super Bowl and did so at age 41.
“Honestly if they doubt him, that’s fine,” Tim Mickelson said of his brother’s U.S. Open chances. “He’s won two times in the last 11 months. To think he can’t get another win four months from now … I don’t think there’s any doubt it’s something he’s looking forward to.”
The way Mickelson raced around Pebble this tournament was definitely championship worthy. He had six birdies and no bogeys before Sunday’s weather-delayed round came to a halt amid darkness and Mickelson’s initial dismay.
Actually, it came at a terrific point for him, and not just because Monday’s weather and conditions were ideal, albeit chilly at 40 degrees. The two-hole finale also might serve as a U.S. Open playoff rehearsal.
The new playoff rule unveiled last February by the United States Golf Association: Instead of 18 holes to decide a winner in case of a 72-hole tie, a two-hole aggregate playoff will unfold. Imagine how dramatic that could be at Pebble’s legendary Nos. 17 and 18. If no winner emerges from that combined two-hole duel, a hole-by-hole sudden death would ensue.
There have been 33 playoffs in 118 U.S. Open Championships — when 18- and 36-hole playoff formats were used — so there is a reasonable chance at another this summer.
However, the last U.S. Open playoff was back in 2008, won by Tiger Woods for his 14th (and last) major championship. Woods, of course, won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in 2000, and he did so by 15 strokes to conjure no thoughts of a playoff.
Woods won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am that year. He did so on a Monday, after a weather delay.
Sound familiar?