Phil Mickelson Wins at Doral

Posted Mar 15, 2009 7:00PM By Shane Bacon (RSS feed)

Filed Under: PGA

When Phil Mickelson's birdie putt on the 18th hole rolled near the lip, followed by a tap-in for par and the title, it meant a few things. It meant Mickelson won his first World Golf Championship event of his career. It meant he got to hoist the trophy at Doral for the first time ever and it meant that he has quickly and firmly become the best player in the world, rankings be damned.

Mickelson shot rounds of 65-66-69-69 while fighting dehydration to win his second straight stroke play event by a shot over a feisty and sometimes brilliant Nick Watney. His win at the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles could be considered a little shaky. This was not. Mickelson's 36th career PGA Tour victory, 12th all-time, was all controlled golf shots, incredible short game and the ability to think (yes, think) his way around Doral better than anyone else in the field.

This is not to say it was all snores for the final round. Watney, who won his second PGA Tour victory earlier this season at Torrey Pines, hit probably the shot of the year on the par-3 9th hole, holing a pitch shot from over the green that was nearly unholeable. Nick, who is normally calm and collected, flipped his shot near a television camera up in the fringe, let it release to the hole and when it jarred the stick and went in reacted with a little "Tiger Woods on the 16th at Augusta National."

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DORAL, FL - MARCH 15: Soren Hansen of Denamrk plays a shot on the second hole during the final round of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa March 15, 2009 in Doral, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

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DORAL, FL - MARCH 15: Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark plays a shot on the second hole during the final round of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa March 15, 2009 in Doral, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

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DORAL, FL - MARCH 15: Tiger Woods reacts after chipping in for birdie on the 6th hole during the final round of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship on March 15, 2009 at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Doral, Florida. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

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DORAL, FL - MARCH 15: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland hits a shot on the second hole during the final round of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa March 15, 2009 in Doral, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

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DORAL, FL - MARCH 15: Ernie Els of South Africa hits his first shot on the 2nd hole during the final round of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship on March 15, 2009 at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Doral, Florida. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

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DORAL, FL - MARCH 15: Alvaro Quiros of Spain hits a shot on the second hole during the final round of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa March 15, 2009 in Doral, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

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DORAL, FL - MARCH 15: Tiger Woods walks off the 5th hole during the final round of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship on March 15, 2009 at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Doral, Florida. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

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DORAL, FL - MARCH 15: Charley Hoffman hits a shot on the second hole during the final round of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa March 15, 2009 in Doral, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

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DORAL, FL - MARCH 15: Tiger Woods hits his second shot on the 7th hole during the final round of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship on March 15, 2009 at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Doral, Florida. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)

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Lefty made it interesting on the par-5 12th hole, when he pulled his tee shot into some bushes right of the fairway. Mickelson, who was being advised by his caddy, Jim MacKay, to possibly take an unplayable lie, decided to flip his club around and go after the barely visible golf ball right-handed, slapping it out of trouble and eventually making bogey. Watney made bogey as well on the hole and it allowed Mickelson to par his way to victory the rest of the day.

This was a coming out party for Phil. It was Tiger's week but Phil quickly stole the spotlight, chipping in three times on Thursday and keeping the lead basically all week long.

Woods continued his streak of top-10s at Doral with a t-9 after he closed the weekend with rounds of 68-68. Visibly frustrated with the putter, Tiger looked to be hitting the ball fine, but couldn't get any putts to drop.

Now, with the Masters as the next big stop, people better understand that it is Phil's tournament to lose, and we all (myself included) need to make sure not to forget that leading up to the year's first major championship.

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

3-15-2009 @ 7:18PM

kmgolf said...

Whoa...all controlled golf shots? Really? First, great tournament by Phil, and yes he is currently the best player out there. However, do you realize that his swing on the tee of 12 was anything but controlled? Furthermore, the second shot was even less controlled. He was saved by an ok bounce off the tree. If that kicks right, this article is talking about how the same demons haunt him. Also, he did not hit it out of trouble. He was still behind a tree and was fortunate his third shot ended up in a good spot.

I'll also add Doral, as a course, isn't a huge thinking course. If windy, it becomes about yardage control, which revolves around thinking. But as a course, it is far from a thinking course IMHO.

3-15-2009 @ 7:54PM

Buzz Cisler said...

"kmgolf" I'm almost too flabergasted to make a comment to your idiotic piece of crap...but if I must.
You're just another Tiger, Obama man who doesn't know diddley about the game or what it takes to be a great golfer. So, shut your pie hole and move on to commenting on something you might know something about! UMM...say bad mitten!

3-15-2009 @ 8:12PM

Fair enough Buzz. You are entitled to your opinion. I'm not a Tiger, Obama man though, whatever that means. Actually pull for Phil when it comes to the good of the game.
Also, I much appreciate the personal attacks. You've really hit the nail on the head with the "doesn't know diddley about the game or what it takes..." comment; considering I've competed at a level higher than most, which is beside the point. And I'm referring to golf rather than badmitten.

Also, if you look at my post, it wasn't so much a rip on Phil (I take it that is how you interpreted it). All I pointed out was that he showed he still will play a similar game to 5 years ago and if he had a bad bounce opposed to a good bounce, the article would have been completely different. Thus, I thought this piece should have discussed how great of a tourny he played EXCEPT for the one instance where he got lucky old Phil didn't cost him the tourny.

3-16-2009 @ 1:22AM

I'll also clarify my comment as Doral as a thinking course. Doral is set up a little more towards a bombers course and a course that keeping the ball pin high is not overly important. You are able to miss on about any side of the pin at Doral as long as you don't get a poor lie in the bunker. I believe, in the past if my memory serves me close to right, that Doral has had the highest % of putts holed from the 4-10 feet range, which speaks to the fact that there isn't a heavy emphasis on what side of the hole you miss it on. In addition, there isn't too much of a premium of placement off the tee relative to other big tourny courses (e.g., U.S. Open courses, Augusta, Firestone).

Still interested on what it means to be a Tiger, Obama man. Not sure how you go from discussing Phil's great tournament sans 12 to paralleling Tiger and Obama. I hope that isn't because of skin color or an over-generalization. If that is the case, the a Phil fan is really a Phil, Scott, Daly, Watney, etc. man.

3-15-2009 @ 8:33PM

Bob said...

A hearty congratulations to Mr. Mickelson. Every round in the 60's showed incredible consistency, something usually lacking in Phil's game. While I wouldn't "bet the farm" on it, maybe something has clicked on inside him, showing him how to subdue his gut, and resist the urge to go for broke. Once Tiger is up to speed, this may make for some interesting matches. It would be great to see two top talents going toe-to-toe in golf.

3-16-2009 @ 9:17AM

linkslifer said...

Phil is killing the ball!! he may be ready to take Tiger down. Check it out.
http://tinyurl.com/dh9yao

3-16-2009 @ 10:39AM

dinohealth said...

Take Tiger down? Lol....Right!!!! Keep on dreaming! 71, 70, 68, 68....it appears he is steadily healing! I can't wait for the yelling and the fist pumps! He will probably go off and practice a bit more, get a grip on his understandable control issues, and will be ready to be what he does best at the next one....Chairman of the Board! Great show, Tiger, for the first time out! It must have felt strange for him after such a long layoff! Third and fourth rounds sure looked familiar to all of us! Funny thing, he did not even dehydrate...maybe he broke a bit of sweat!

3-16-2009 @ 10:31AM

"kmgolf" Thanks for the clarification. :o)You were doing so well till you try and bring in the race thing. Why is it when people mention Obama...it's a race thing?Last time I checked... they're both only half Afro-American.

3-16-2009 @ 11:48AM

So why did you bring up Obama at all, Buzz? You're the one who mentioned him first, not kmgolf. Since his comments about Phil had no political tone, there's only one way to interpret what you said, which makes YOU the one who brought race into it, not km. Way to try to stir up something, and then try to weasel out after you figured it wasn't a good idea.

3-16-2009 @ 6:54PM

Bob and kmgolf, the Obama correlation was about a guy who writes crap about a game(PGA)he knows nothing about, because of lack of experience(i.e.Obama).I can't believe I'm explaining this now to two idiots. :o)

3-16-2009 @ 9:57PM

Well, a lack of experience is far from me first of all. Second, looking back on your first "response," you never really responded to anything that I claimed. Rather, your response could be classified as an attack on character opposed to what was said. I still don't find that saying Phil was one bounce away from a major mistake and that Doral is not a thinker's golf course relative to other big PGA events that outlandish. His swing off the 12th tee was less controlled than nearly all swings that day.

And, if your response was just about the Obama correlation, why would you say "Tiger, Obama man." You were the one that used that phrase rather than "Obama man." So, you added Tiger's name in there for no reason? Or was that just trying to generalize me as a Tiger lover because I criticized Phil? Although I really criticize the approach of the article opposed to Phil.

3-16-2009 @ 10:46PM

Buzz, just keep trying to dig out of that hole you dug for yourself--no amount of name-calling and story spin is going to change the fact that you stuck your foot in it. First you make a rude, insulting comment using comparisons that have no bearing on the post you're attacking, and then you try to justify your comments with explanations that have no bearing on your prior poor choice of wording. If you're going to pick fights, at least make sure your gun is loaded next time.

3-16-2009 @ 11:27PM

Well said Bob.

3-17-2009 @ 10:12AM

Ouch! I'm hurt! :o) Don't you guys have better things to do? I will give you one thing kmgolf. Your first post about Phil. It did read like a hit piece. I disagree totally with your post. Get over it. By the way, I'm glad you two have all this time...but, I don't. Good luck to both of you on your stimulating slants on the world of golf. :o/

3-17-2009 @ 12:56PM

Like they say, Buzz, if you can't stand the heat...

3-17-2009 @ 4:13PM

gushowie said...

I enjoyed watching Phil win- very humble, no obvious cursing, no throwing the clubs as Tiger did (golfers who toss their club on the green as Tiger did on that one hole should be reprimanded.) Phil is my favorite & is playing well right now, but I'm not sure he should be #1.Having said that though, he should definitely be higher than Tiger. Something is wrong with a system that allows a player who hasn't won in months to keep his #1 ranking. Guess the saying "what have you done for me lately?" doesn't to the PGA.

3-17-2009 @ 4:57PM

Great points, gushowie. Phil always has displayed excellent character--ironically, I think that's part of what puts off some people about him, the old "goody-two-shoes" stigma.

I'm not sure what the criteria is for the rankings, but it is surprising that someone who hasn't won in so long can stay atop the list, when others have won multiple times in that span. Anyone know the specifics of how they rank the players?

3-17-2009 @ 6:32PM

The rankings are calculated over a 2 year period I believe, with some tournys getting greater value than others. Also, as the time passes, the number of points you get from a tourny decreases. So lets say you win the CA and get something like 75 points. Well, those 75 points stay for so many weeks (like one-fourth of a year), but then decrease past that time period (e.g., becomes 65 points 4 months after winning the tourny). Now, the numbers I just used probably aren't exact, but the principle is. Of course, the ranking number is calculated by averaging the points gained from tournaments that count.

3-17-2009 @ 8:35PM

Bob, the only heat I can't stand is the hot air you two emit on all your postings. :o)

3-18-2009 @ 2:33AM

Buzz, give it up--every time you open your mouth, you invalidate your previous post, and make yourself sound even dumber. Now, after stating that you don't have the time, that you have better things to do, here you are once again to spew your hate. Since you supposedly know golf so well, then enter into an intelligent conversation about it, and we can all put this in the past--you clearly will make the time for insults, so how about making the time for sanity next go round.

Thanks for the rankings input, kmgolf.

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