Phil Mickelson Outshines Tiger Woods, Wins Pebble Beach Pro-Am With Strong Sunday

Phil Mickelson won his 40th career title on Sunday, staving off Tiger Woods in the final round of the 2012 Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. The final round was supposed to be a another great duel between Mickelson and Woods, but it turned into a one-sided round of golf in the favor of Mickelson. The turning point for “Lefty” didn’t come on Sunday against Woods however, according to Mickelson it came on Friday afternoon from his wife, Amy Mickelson.

“She said, ‘Come on now, cheer up, let’s go make some birdies,’” Mickelson told Stephanie Wei. “She was so positive, and it just changed my attitude, playing one of my favorite courses. It was really an attitude change that she instilled coming out with her bubbly, positive attitude that got me going. I told her in the car that it wouldn’t have been possible without that talk.”

After going 15-under on the tournament’s first three days, Charlie Wi might have guessed that even par on the final day would be good enough to allow him to hang on for the title in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Instead, Phil Mickelson made an incredible surge, shooting an eight-under 64 on Sunday to best Wi by two strokes as he finished at 17-under.

The win was Mickelson’s fourth at Pebble Beach and his 40th career PGA Tour win. He played the final day with Tiger Woods, who actually started two strokes ahead of him on the day. Woods wasn’t anywhere near his best and ended up shooting a three-over 75, which dropped him down to eight-under and a tie for 15th place.

Phil Mickelson matched his largest final day comeback in a PGA Tour win Sunday at the 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Lefty entered the day at 9-under for the tournament, and six shots behind Charlie Wi. He shot an 8-under 63 for the day, the best score for the round by any golfer by three strokes.

Mickelson’s big day stood out in sharp contrast to Tiger Woods, who shot 3-over Sunday. After a birdie on 6, he and Mickelson were seemingly headed for a duel atop the leaderboard. Woods would go on to bogey three straight holes to close out the front nine and effectively knock himself out of contention. Mickelson made eagle on 6 and finished out the front nine in first place at 5-under on the day.

Clint Eastwood has been hanging out in the CBS tower at Pebble Beach randomly throughout the week and it’s been quite entertaining. Eastwood isn’t providing much commentary or anything, but simply having his presence around gives a little more weight to the broadcast. He was also present for one of the more ridiculous moments of the broadcast on Sunday.

As Nick Faldo was bantering about in the tower, filling gaps with the tournament winding down, a lightbulb went out on the set. It didn’t just go out, though: it shattered, frightening Faldo as he was mid-phrase.

A pretty shot from the bunker for birdie on 12 set Tiger Woods up for what could have been a run at Phil Mickelson atop the leaderboard at the 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Sunday. Instead, Woods fell apart on 14 and 15, bogeying both to put himself 8-under for the tournament and eight shots back from Mickelson.

Woods hit a camera man on his third shot of the 14th hole. He hit the green from the gallery on his fourth shot, but he misplayed the pitch and the ball rolled back onto the edge of the rough. Two shots later and he finally made bogey. He bogeyed on 15 after missing a 3-foot putt for par.

Tiger Woods bogeyed three straight holes to close out the front nine at the 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Sunday, giving himself in an uphill fight back to the top of the leaderboard. A birdie on 12 gave him a small breath of life, however, moving him a stroke closer to Phil Mickelson who is still four strokes ahead.

Woods holed-in on a chip shot from the bunker. At the time, it looked like he would make a two-shot dent into Mickelson’s lead, but Lefty made a long putt for an unlikely par on 11. With both golfers through 12, Mickelson still sits at 14-under for the tournament, one shot ahead of Kevin Streelman and two ahead of Rick Barnes and Charlie Wi.

Phil Mickelson wasn’t getting many mentions as Day 3 came to a close at the 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Saturday, but Lefty’s making up for lost ground on Sunday afternoon. The back-nine still remains, but Mickelson currently holds the lead in this week’s PGA Tour event.

Mickelson has shot a five-under through his first nine holes on Sunday, giving him sole possession of first place at Pebble Beach in the annual Pro-Am event. Lefty birdied three of his first five holes and then shot an eagle on Hole 6, putting him in excellent position as the tournament comes to a close. He overtook Kevin Streelman and Charlie Wi as the lone golfer ahead of the pack at 14-under after previously being tied with the two earlier in the day.

The 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am seems to be on its way to a pretty exciting finish. Tiger Woods didn’t begin Sunday like he originally planned, but Phil Mickelson is off to a hot start in the final day of the PGA Tour event.

Mickelson wasn’t the golfer expected to make headlines in the fourth round as it seemed Woods was primed for a breakout on the final day of the Pro-Am event, but Lefty’s been exceptional early at Pebble Beach. They’re only through five holes on Sunday thus far, but Mickelson’s birdied three of them to put himself in a tie for first with Day 3 leader Charlie Wi.

If Tiger Woods being in contention and a lack of sports action doesn’t give you enough incentive to watch the Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Sunday, perhaps Tiger’s partner will. Woods will be playing with Phil Mickelson, who like him, is a bit off the pace but still in the hunt on Sunday. Tiger will enter the day at 11-under par, while Mickelson enters at nine-under.

Both are chasing leader Charlie Wi, who is currently at 15-under. Alone in second place is Ken Duke, who currently has a score of 12-under. Both their group and the group containing Mickelson and Woods will tee off from the first tee at Pebble Beach on Sunday.

Noted golf enthusiast Tiger Woods is getting back to top form, or thereabouts. His five-under 67 on Saturday at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am was his best round of the tournament, and it didn’t come out of the blue. He shot 68 on both Thursday and Friday, and sits four strokes off the lead of Charlie Wi. It shouldn’t be surprising, then, to hear that Tiger is feeling confident and happy with his game heading into the final round at Pebble Beach.

Tiger was asked about how it feels to be in contention on Sunday once again this year, and what’s different about his game from before his injury problems and his break from golf.

Charlie Wi posted a bogey-free, three- under 69 Saturday to maintain his three-stroke lead after three rounds of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Tiger Woods, who is making his first PGA Tour start of the year, carded a five-under 67 at Pebble Beach to move into third place at 11-under-par 203. And now there’s only one more day for Woods or anyone else to catch Wi.

Though he was playing well through the first two rounds of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, his first PGA Tour event of 2012, Tiger Woods wasn’t even in the Top 10 on the leaderboard after the first two rounds. After Round 3, however, Woods is right in the thick of things. Tiger shot a five-under 67 to move to -11 in the tournament and just four strokes behind leader Charlie Wi.

Woods is now third in the tournament after starting the day 17th. Sitting in between Wi and him is American Ken Duke, who shot a 65 (different course than Woods) to go five-under, and he sits at -12. Just two strokes behind Woods sits Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, among others, and it should be an interesting Sunday. All eyes will be on Woods as he tries to capture his first PGA event in more than a year.

Just another reminder -- the second in as many days -- that Bill Murray is the best, especially when he’s on a golf course. His Pebble Beach Pro Am antics are second-to-none and he’s always good for some ridiculous moments.

On Saturday, Murray came prepared for the rain and poor weather at Pebble Beach, breaking out ... a ghillie suit. I’ve never seen a golfer in a ghillie suit, so this was a new phenomenon.*

Hoodies aren’t usually golf course attire, but don’t tell that to Bill Belichick. He’s playing in the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and, in the spirit of the event, has taken a casual approach to it all. That means the hoodie is on, and of course it’s Pebble Beach themed.

↵Look at the Pats coach wandering off the green. Looks like he’s just taking a stroll on the sidelines, sleeves rolled up and all.

In his first PGA Tour event of the 2012 season, Tiger Woods is making a charge on moving day at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. It’s the first time he’s played in this event in a decade. Woods, who began the day nine shots back and tied for 17th, is five under through 11 holes at Pebble and is now tied for second place. He recorded five birdies in a six hole stretch on a golf course that he’s dominated over the years.

Tiger, who went off the back nine, is now entering a stretch of the front nine where you can typically go on a nice birdie run, so his number could be really low by the time his round is over. With eight holes to play, he is 11 under and two shots behind Charlie Wi.

As Day 3 of the 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am is set to get underway, Charlie Wi is on top of the leaderboard. Dustin Johnson is hot at his heels, three strokes behind in second place and gunning for his third title in the event. Plenty of other notables are in the Top 20, including Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson and of course, Tiger Woods.

Here are the tee times for Saturday. All times are Pacific. Amateurs are the second name in each pair.

Charlie Wi carded a three-under 69 on Friday at Pebble Beach to take a three-stroke lead after two rounds of the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Wi, who was one of three first-round leaders, finished 36 holes at 12-under- par 130. Having played Monterey Peninsula and Pebble Beach in the first two rounds, Wi will move to Spyglass Hill for round three.

Bill Murray will forever be the best part of the AT&T National Pebble Beach Pro-Am. His golf game isn’t the greatest, but Murray is always an entertainer on the course. And hey, he even won the pro-am last year, partnered with D.A. Points.

So you know Murray will always be up to the same antics at Pebble Beach. He’s danced with a woman in a bunker (and accidentally knocked the woman over), hula hooped on the course and has been at the center of countless other fun moments at the somewhat serious, somewhat not event. He’s a staple of the pro-am, and rightfully so.

Tiger Woods’ second day at the 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am took him to the Monterrey Peninsula Country Club where he hoped to improve on his opening-round 68. He ended up shooting a 68 once again, though this one came on the par-70 course instead of yesterday’s par-72.

Tiger is now 6-under after two rounds and went into the clubhouse six-back of leader Charles Wi (-12).

Tiger Woods is at 2-under through nine holes on Day 2 of the 2012 Pebble Beach Pro-Am. He sits five shots back from Charlie Wi and Dustin Johnson, who are currently tied atop the leaderboard at 11-under for the tournament and 2-under through 11 and nine holes on Friday, respectively.

Woods finds himself in a pack of nine players all tied for 11th at the moment. That pack includes Vijay Singh (also at 2-under for the day) and Nick Watney (even). Padraig Harrington has been among the biggest movers of the day, shooting 5-under on five birdies through just seven holes. He is now four shots off the lead.

The 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am is underway, with Danny Lee and Dustin Johnson shooting nine-under 63s at Pebble Beach Golf Links and Charlie Wi shooting a nine-under 63 on the Monterey Peninsula Shore Course during round one on Thursday.

Round two gets underway at 8:00 a.m. on the west coast. You can catch coverage on the Golf Channel beginning at 3:00 p.m. ET. Sirius-XM coverage will run from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET.

Ken Duke had one heck of a day to open the AT&T National Pebble Beach Pro-Am. His front-nine was unremarkable -- even-par 36 with one birdie and one bogey -- but his back-nine was something else. With a birdie on 18, Duke finished with a back-nine 28, a Pebble Beach record. At 8-under for the day, all on the last nine holes, Duke sites one shot back of the lead.

But it was his hole-out on No. 16 that will serve as the highlight of the day. His two, an eagle, may have been the shot of the day and came in the midst of an impressive streak of birdies as he powered to the finish line. He carded just two pars on the back, with five birdies and the aforementioned eagle making up the rest of the scorecard.

Ken Duke and Brian Harman are right behind them at eight-under. Duke’s scorecard is especially notable considering his back-nine run that includes six birdies and an eagle.

Noted golf enthusiast Tiger Woods returned for is first event of the year and shot a four-under with six birdies and two bogeys. Woods has been hitting about 71 percent of the fairways and nearly 78 percent of the greens in regulation on the 6,953-yard course.

Tiger Woods may not be looking quite like his old self during his 2012 PGA Tour debut, but at 2-under through nine holes of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Thursday, he’s not looking bad either. Woods currently sits in a tie for 35th, five strokes behind the current leaders.

Teeing off on No. 10 at Spyglass Hill, Woods got off to a strong start with birdies on his first two holes: the 407-yard par-4 10th and the 528-yard par-5 11th. He pared the par-3 No. 12 before settling for his first bogey of the season the 460-yard par-4 13th. Woods eventually got that one back, though, when he birdied the 325-yard par-4 17th.

The 2012 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am will kick off its first round on Thursday at 8:00 a.m. PT, but the activities and festivities surrounding the event are already in full swing. Practice rounds continue and Wednesday will also see the charity 2012 3M Celebrity Challenge.

The annual tournament has been an institution on the Central Coast since Bing Crosby launched the event in 1937. The Pro-Am is played on Pebble Beach Golf Links, Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula Country Club. Every winter, casual and hardcore fans alike descend on the area, in one of the busiest tourist weekends of the year for Monterey and the rest of Steinbeck country.