Northern Trust Open: Mickelson birdies 18th for one-shot lead

Phil Mickelson birdied his final hole Thursday, the 18th, to take a one-shot lead over Hunter Mahan, who was born in Orange,  and J.B. Holmes in the first round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club.

Mickelson shot a five-under-par 66. Mahan birdied  four of his last five holes to shoot a 67 and tie Holmes.

Mickelson is trying to win for the second week in a row on the PGA Tour.

He shot a final-round 64 on Sunday to take the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am while playing in the final group with Tiger Woods.

Sunday is a long way off, but Mickelson has won consecutive tournaments three times in his career.

The last player to win in consecutive weeks on the PGA Tour was Woods, who did it in 2009 at the Buick Open and Bridgestone Invitational.

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Photo: Phil Mickelson watches his tee shot on the second hole Thursday during the first round of the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club. Credit: Chris Carlson / Associated Press

Phil Mickelson vs. Tiger Woods: Can we still call it a rivalry?

Phil Mickelson must have been pretty psyched when he learned he would be paired with Tiger Woods for Sunday's final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

And he was, but not because he seems to have owned Woods any time the two golfers play in the final round of an event together in recent years.

“I just feel very inspired when I play with him,” said Mickelson, who left Woods — as well as the rest of the field — in the dust by shooting an eight-under-par 64 to win his fourth Pebble Beach tournament and 40th PGA Tour title.

“I love playing with him, and he brings out some of my best golf. I hope that he continues to play better and better, and I hope that he and I have a chance to play together more in the final rounds.”

Woods may not agree with the last part of that statement. He shot a three-over 75 and finished tied for 15th, nine shots behind Mickelson. That makes five straight times Woods has been bested by Mickelson in head-to-head competition, dating to the 2007 Deutsche Bank Championship. Mickelson has gone on to win the tournament three of those times.

But although the rivalry between the two players may have been a bit one-sided lately, keep in mind that Mickelson's recent streak of good fortune against Woods has merely evened the score between the two golfers. In 30 pairings against one another, each golfer now has a record of 13-13-4.

Mickelson is well aware of this fact, and he wants to make sure that everyone remembers that it wasn't  long ago that the rivalry between the two golfers was one-sided in the other direction.

"It's only been the past five years — before, I got spanked pretty good," Mickelson said. "Let's not forget the big picture here. I've been beat up. But the last five years, I've been able to get some of my best golf out when we play together.”

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— Chuck Schilken

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Photo: Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson wait on the seventh-hole tee during the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Sunday. Credit: Jeff Gross / Getty Images

Pebble Beach: Phil Mickelson wins, Tiger Woods fades

Phil Mickelson, who made par putts of 31 and 38 feet, also made some birdies as he won his fourth AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am title Sunday and his 40th PGA Tour title.

Mickelson, whose wife, Amy, was teary-eyed in the crowd, shot an eight-under-par 64, the best round of the day.

"This feels just amazing," said Mickelson, who won $1.152 million. "It feels awesome and hopefully it's just one of a few to come this year because I'm starting to feel pretty good."

Mickelson was playing in the second-to-last group with Tiger Woods, who shot a 75 and finished tied for 15th at eight under after surging into third place Saturday, a shot ahead of Mickelson. But Mickelson's play Sunday seemed to demoralize Woods, whose body language by the finish was that of a man who didn't much like the game.

"I didn't hit it as bad as the score indicated," Woods said, "but I putted awful. I could not see my lines, I could not get comfortable. Consequently, I made a ton of mistakes on the greens. It's frustrating. I had a chance. I had to get off to a good start to have a solid chance, but I didn't do that.

PHOTOS: Pebble Beach National Pro-Am

"I was one under through six but Phil was five under through six. I thought I had to shoot 67, 66 today, and that wouldn't have been good enough. It was a fun day to be out there but very frustrating also."

Mickelson last won here in 2007 and won only a single title last year while watching his world ranking drop out of the top 20. He has played every California tournament this year, almost missing the cut before finishing 49th at the event in La Quinta and missing the cut at Torrey Pines two weeks ago.

The 41-year-old started Sunday tied for fourth, six shots behind third-round leader Charlie Wi and two shots behind playing partnerWoods. Mickelson birdied the second,fourth and fifth, then eagled the par-five sixth to take a strong hold on first place, a spot he never lost.

As Woods faded with his three consecutive bogeys to end the front nine, Kevin Streelman hung within a shot of Mickelson for a while before closing with two bogeys and a double bogey. Ricky Barnes, who played with amateur partner Bill Belichick all week, had three birdies on the back nine to finish third, four shots behind Mickelson, after shooting 67 on Sunday.

And Wi, a 40-year-old who grew up in Los Angeles and who had led the first three rounds, birdied the 18th and finished with a 72. That was good for second place, two shots behind Mickelson.

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-- Diane Pucin, reporting from Pebble Beach

Photo: Phil Mickelson acknowledges the crowd after making a putt at No. 13 on Sunday during the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament. Credit: Eric Risberg / Associated Press

Pebble Beach: Phil Mickelson has a one-shot lead after nine

In the battle between Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods, playing together in the second-to-last group Sunday at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Mickelson has owned all the good shots and none of the bad.

With the final groups making the turn, Mickelson has taken a one-shot lead over Kevin Streeleman after a 31 on the front nine that was highlighted by an eagle three on the par-five sixth hole.

Woods, who started the final round a shot ahead of Mickelson, had a 38 on the front nine and finished with three straight bogeys.

Woods is nine under par heading into the back nine, tied for 10th and unlikely to get a win here in his first PGA Tour start of the season.

Charlie Wi, who opened the tournament with a 61 and led after every round, double-bogeyed the first hole by four-putting and is now at 12 under, two shots behind Mickelson and tied with Ricky Barnes.

Streeleman, who like Wi has never won on the tour, is at 13 under through 12.

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Photo: Phil Mickelson hits his tee shot at No. 7 on Sunday during the final round at Pebble Beach. Credit: Ezra Shaw / Getty Images

Pebble Beach: Phil Mickelson takes two-shot lead

Charlie Wi, four-putting the first hole for a double bogey in a display of nerves that left even Wi shrugging his shoulders, finally lost the lead he'd held since the first round with a bogey on the fifth hole at the AT&T Pebblle Beach National Pro-Am on Sunday at Pebble Beach.

And it is Phil Mickelson who is starring in a glamour pairing with Tiger Woods as Mickelson eagled No. 6 to take a two-shot lead over Wi, Woods and Kevin Streelman, who played the front nine in 31 shots.

Mickelson is at 14 under for the tournament. Woods, Streelman and Wi are at 12 under.

Woods, who missed three birdie putts within 10 feet early in the final round, birdied No. 6 in an effort to keep pace with Mickelson.

Three shots off the lead are Kevin Na and Ken Duke at 11 under while Ricky Barnes, Padraig Harrington and Dustin Johnson are at 10 under.

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-- Diane Pucin, reporting from Pebble Beach

Photo: Phil Mickelson watches his tee shot at No. 2 during the final round at Pebble Beach on Sunday. Credit: Ben Margot / Associated Press

Pebble Beach: Tiger Woods within three in third round

Tiger Woods said he would need to shoot a low score Saturday to get himself into contention at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and Tiger knew what he was talking about.

Woods, playing the Pebble Beach course, birdied five of his last six holes on the back nine of Pebble, where he started the round including making a rousing 22-foot birdie putt on the par-three 17th hole.

Currently 10-under for the tournament after parring the first hole, Woods is tied for fourth, three shots behind leader Charlie Wi, the 40-year-old from Los Angeles who has never won on the PGA Tour. Wi used to play with Woods when they were kids.

Woods has been driving the ball accurately, missing two fairways and one green in regulation so far and through nine holes he had 13 putts.

Two shots behind Wi, who played his final year of college golf at University of California, are Irishman Padraig Harrington, who had shot a second round 66 to get into contention and who is three-under through six holes at Spyglass Hill; and Joseph Bramlett, also at Spyglass, who is four-under through five holes.

Pebble Beach: Charlie Wi leads by 3: Tiger Woods six behind

Charlie Wi, who played college golf at the University of California, didn't mind the suddenly cool and rainy weather that arrived at Pebble Beach during Friday's second round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Wi, born in Seoul but now a Californian, has a three-shot lead over two-time tournament winner Dustin Johnson after two rounds. Wi, who turned 40 last month, has never won a PGA Tour event. He is 12-under 130 after the first two rounds and shot a 69 Friday at the Pebble Beach course.

Tiger Woods, playing his first PGA Tour event of the year, is six shots behind Wi and tied for 16th after his two-under 68 Friday on the Monterery Peninsula course. Phil Mickelson made a move Friday, shooting a five-under 65 at Monterey Peninsula and is seven under for the tournament and tied for eighth.

Woods mentioned that he felt pain in his right wrist when his club hit the ground hard on the eighth hole.

"It hurt like (heck) when I did it," Woods said. He said the pain disappeared quickly. "Hurt just that one shot. Once I popped it back in, it was good. It was just a joint. No big deal. The problem was, I was in a divot. So I was in a divot on an uphill slope, and it was a tough combo."

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Photo: Charlie Wi hits off the 18th tee of Pebble Beach Golf Links during the second round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am tournament on Friday. Credit: Ben Margot / Associated Press

Pebble Beach: Tiger Woods birdies, moves into 10th place

Tiger Woods birdied the par-five 12th hole on the Monterey Peninsula course Friday at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, which drew a huge roar and pulled Woods to seven-under for the tournament, tied for 10th overall.  Woods is four shots behind co-leaders Dustin Johnson, a two-time winner here, and Charlie Wi, who is trying to become the first University of California alum to win on the PGA Tour.

Johnson is through 11 holes on Spyglass Hill and Wi is through 14 at Pebble Beach.

Woods hit his approach shot on the 12th to within about two feet of the cup. He had chosen to lay up rather than go for the green with his second shot. Friday he has birdied two of the three par-fives on Monterey Peninsula. Unfortunately for Tiger, he has no more par-fives left this afternoon.

Umbrellas are coming out as a misty rain has begun.

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Pebble Beach: Tiger Woods into top 10

Tiger Woods, working on a round of two-under par through nine holes at the Monterey Peninsula course, a course that joined the rotation only last year at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament, has also hoisted himself into a tie for ninth in the second round Friday.

He has birdied back-to-back holes including a crowd-pleasing two on the par-three seventh after his tee shot landed to within 15 feet of the pin. On the par-five sixth hole, Woods teased the large gallery with a chance at a 10-foot eagle putt. He had to "settle" for a birdie.

Leading the tournament right now is first-round co-leader Charlie Wi who is at 11-under through 10 holes of the Pebble Beach course. He is a shot ahead of two-time champion Dustin Johnson, who is through eight holes on Spyglass Hill, and Kevin Na, who is through nine on Monterey Peninsula and who played that nine in four-under.

Clouds have covered the sun and it has become sweater weather though the wind is calm. In the gloom, though, you can't miss Ricky Fowler, whose outfit is somwhere between electric yellow and some mad scientist's creation of greenish-yellow. In any case, the color is brighter than the day or his score, so far of even-par for the tournament, good only for a tie for 92nd at the moment.

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Pebble Beach: Tiger Woods birdies first hole, bogeys fourth

It's another beautiful day at Pebble Beach, and for Tiger Woods it's a new experience. The last time Woods played the AT&T Pebble Beach  National Pro-Am 10 years ago, the Monterey Peninsula course wasn't part of the three-course rotation.

This year it is, and Woods promptly birdied the 391-yard par-four first hole there Friday. It put him at five-under for the tournament at the time, but he bogeyed the par-four fourth when he drove into a fairway bunker and could not make a 10-footer to save par.

Charlie Wi, also playing Friday's second round at Pebble Beach, is the leader at 11 under. Danny Lee, playing Spyglass, is 10 under.

Among other notable happenings, 49-year-old Steve Elkington withdrew after five holes Friday with a rib injury. He was four over par during his round at Spyglass.

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What kind of year will Tiger Woods have in 2012? [Poll]

Tiger Woods is at Abu Dhabi this week, in good health and even better spirits as he kicks off his 2012 season.

Basically he's ready to kick some butt!

After enduring a rather miserable year for most of 2011, which included injuries and poor play, Woods appeared to turn things around with a strong final month or so, which concluded with a victory at the Chevron World Challenge, his first win in more than two years.

So can we expect more of the same from Woods now that he appears to have gotten over the hump? Is he back to the Woods that was a threat to run away with every event he entered, and quite often would do just that?

It was once seen as a given that he would eventually break Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 major tournament victories. But the 36-year-old Woods has been stuck on 14 for quite some time now -- will he be any closer by the time this season is over?

How do you think he will do this year? Vote in the poll, then leave a comment explaining why you voted the way you did.

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Photo: Tiger Woods enjoys himself during the pro-am event at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club on Wednesday. Credit: Ross Kinnaird / Getty Images