Taming the Tiger

It was Mickelson taking center stage Sunday,
not Tiger Woods, as many expected.

Surging to his first PGA Tour win of the 2012 season, it was Phil Mickelson that roared to the top, not Tiger Woods.

A day after Mickelson shot a two-under 70, picked up three strokes on his last 14 holes and birdied the par-three 17th, assuring himself a spot in the second-to-last group Sunday, he finished the job and tamed the tiger.

Mickelson, 41, faced a six-shot deficit heading into the final-round, but quickly turned the tables on Woods and leader Charlie Wi. Just six holes in, his six-shot disadvantage became a two-shot advantage, due to his steady hand with the putter, sinking a 21-foot eagle putt at the par-five sixth as a part of his front-nine 31.

It would be a lead the southpaw would never surrender.

Mickelson made two par-saving putts from 30-feet-plus on the back nine, coming from 30 (12th) and 38 feet (15th), respectively. He finished the tournament with a eight-under 64, capturing his fourth career AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am victory and 40th PGA Tour win.

It matched the largest final-round comeback of Mickelson's career, also overcoming a six-shot deficit at the 2000 MasterCard Colonial.

It was the third time in as tournaments that the winner started the final-round at least six shots behind a 54-hole leader only to win their first our event of the year.

The four-time major champion, along with Mark O'Meara, holds the record for the tournament's lowest score with 268 total strokes, shooting 20-under par. O'Meara set the record in 1997 with Mickelson matching that mark a decade later, in 2007.

He circled that total once more Sunday, finishing at 17-under 269.

Mickelson becomes the ninth player in history to win 40 or more PGA Tour events, and now trails Walter Hagen's 45 for eighth on the all-time list.

Wi finished second for the fifth time on the tour after starting the final-round with a three-shot lead. The South Korean four-putted the opening hole, tallying a double-bogey, setting the tone for his inevitable collapse and finishing the tournament two shots off the lead. He final round was completed with an even-par 72, his worst score of the week, that was helped out by his back-to-back birdies on 17 and 18.

As for Woods, who was paired with Mickelson for only the 10th time in a final-round, struggled on the greens. With multiple holes capped off by three-putts, Woods shot a three-over 75, finishing tied for 15th at eight-under par.

The world's former No. 1 bogeyed five holes in Sunday's final-round compared his five bogeys the previous three rounds.

It was the second time this season Woods looked to have found him stroke early, but unable to reach the finish line in front. In his '12 debut at Abu Dhabi, Woods had a share of the lead heading into the final-round only to fall short, never breaking par wearing his tradition Sunday red.

And in a rivalry that use to be one-sided and still is, finds the tide turning.

The last five time these two have been paired together in a final-round, it has been Mickelson prevailing with the better score. Three of those have come in Mickelson wins, including Sunday at Pebble Beach.

It is Mickelson's first win since the Houston Open last year and propels him to the No. 11 ranking in the world. The win gives him 500 FedEx Cup points and earns him $1.152 million.

'Lefty', as they call him, is back, but many still waiting the return of the tiger wandering in the woods.