Mickelson went at the flag and made birdie

He wound up using a two-shot enlighten Wi, who four-putted for double bogey on the opening hole rather than recovered.

Mickelson, who finished at 17-under 269, became merely the ninth player in PGA Tour history with 40 career wins. This place was special for a lot of reasons, and also the thrashing he gave Woods was but a small part of computer.

His wife, Amy, flew up for that weekend and gave him encouragement Friday in the rain at Monterey Peninsula when Titleist 712 AP1 Irons Mickelson was going nowhere. He ran off five birdies, got in in the tournament and found a win he didn't see coming.

As much as Woods discusses his game staying close, Mickelson felt much the same way. His last win was the Houston Open last April, even though he thought he was putting well, his scores didn't reflect it.

``It's among the more emotional victories for me than I've had, along with the reason is I've had some doubt these past few weeks, because of the scores I've shot,'' Mickelson said. ``Having these great practice sessions, I started to wonder if I shall be discount golf clubs capable of carry it for the course. So this provides me with a great deal of confidence and erases the doubt.''

The final shred of doubt came about the 14th, a diabolical green that turn birdies into bogeys without caution. Woods hit a wedge that transpired along side it of the green, requiring two chips to get around the green. He earned bogey.

Mickelson's caddie, Jim ``Bones'' Mackay got as part of his hear.

``He erased all doubt and said, `Let's get aggressive and earn birdie, we require an additional here,''' Mickelson said. ``It just got me aggressive and right into a positive frame of mind.''

Wi, who started the ultimate round using a three-shot lead, birdied his last two holes for the 72 and his fifth runner-up finish on tour. It absolutely was Titleist 712 AP2 Irons the third straight week how the winner began the final round no less than six shots behind a 54-hole leader opting for his first tour victory.

``I fought back and hung inside, for the reason that four-putt around the first hole, I became really shook up pretty badly and my strokes were pretty iffy at best,'' Wi said. ``I hung in that room for hours on end. My time should come.''