Tiger vs. Phil: Coming Soon?

Even comedian Bill Murray was somewhat subdued much of a week in which the spotlight belonged mainly to Mickelson. Murray’s best moment? Probably Saturday at Pebble Beach when he surprised a woman outside the ropes by stealing a kiss. On the lips.
 
Murray missed his next putt and blamed the woman. “She’s too hot,” Murray said, massaging his mouth. “I got second degree burns.”
 
Kevin Sutherland, who won the Match Play at La Costa in 2002, birdied the 72nd hole to edge rookie John Mallinger by a stroke for sole second place. Mallinger, meanwhile, hung in all four days and finished third ahead of Davis Love III and Greg Owen. Furyk tied Corey Pavin for sixth.
 
And, no, it didn’t have to be You. But it was. Mickelson and amateur partner Harry You, the CEO of consulting firm Bearing Point, won the pro-am portion of the event.
 
You is a Harvard grad. Mallinger is graduate of the 2006 Q-school (all three stages) who shows terrific promise. “I took some (good) stuff this week,” Mallinger said. “And, hopefully, I’m going to grow on that.”
 
Pavin managed to stay bogey free for the last 38 holes of the tournament. The 1995 U.S. Open champion is still a master of shaping his golf ball and controlling its trajectory. The fact that Pebble Beach measures a relatively short 6,816 yards works in the diminutive Pavin’s favor as well.
 
Mickelson has now won 30 PGA TOUR events which ties him for 16th all-time in that category with Leo Diegel and Vijay Singh. Singh, by the way, now leads the nascent FedExCup points race.
 
The rust is officially off now for Lefty, who will make it five straight weeks in the field at Riviera and six at the Match Play.
 
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