Phil Mickelson got his season on track on Sunday by closing with a 6-under 66 under surprising sunshine to tie the tournament record at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and win by five shots for the 30th victory of his career.
Mickelson overcame a double bogey with a lost ball early in the round with three birdies in a four-hole stretch along the ocean, turning a tight race into another runaway. He matched the largest margin of victory at this tournament, winning by five shots over Kevin Sutherland.
It was the 11th time in 15 seasons that Mickelson won on the US PGA Tour's "West Coast Swing." He had started his season slowly, renewing criticism of his collapse at the US Open, when he chopped his way to a double bogey on the final hole to lose the title.
PHOTO: EPA
Mickelson finished at 20-under 268, tying the tournament record at Pebble Beach set in 1997 by Mark O'Meara. He earned US$990,000, making him the third person in US golf tour history to surpass US$40 million in career earnings.
Sutherland, in the final group for the second time in three weeks, hit over the ninth green and took double bogey to fall out of contention.
He also missed a half-dozen putts inside 8 feet, but his birdie on the 18th for a 71 gave him second place and kept Mickelson from the largest margin of victory since singer Bing Crosby created this tournament in 1937.
"This is exciting," Mickelson said. "I've gotten off to a good start. It gives me momentum, and I can't wait for next week and the upcoming majors. I'm really excited about the year."
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but