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By John Maginnes
PGATOUR.com Contributor

PEBBLE BEACH -- One of the most unlikely things I have ever seen in golf happened on Sunday on the fifth hole during the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

Phil Mickelson and his caddy Jim MacKay look for Mickelson's ball on the fifth hole Sunday. (Reuters/WireImage)

GETTING HIS PHIL

He may have hiccupped a bit Sunday, but Phil Mickelson did anything but collapse in the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Brett Avery says one thing is certain: Reports of Mickelson's demise have been greatly exaggerated.  • Complete story,  click here • Video:  Mickelson locks it up • Audio:  Mickelson on his win

The fifth hole is a par 3 of a little more than 200 yards. The dramatic cliffside hole was rerouted along the ocean for the 2002 U.S. Open by Jack Nicklaus. It fits seamlessly with the original 17 holes.

When the final group arrived on the tee on Sunday the grandstand that sits behind the left side of the green was full of spectators. The cart path was two and three people deep all trying to get a look at tournament leader Phil Mickelson. The trio of pros in front were still on the tee when Phil and Kevin Sutherland arrived so they had the benefit of seeing three good shots by the penultimate group. Some 20 minutes later the tee belonged to the leader.

Phil hit his tee shot directly over the flag that was located in the back portion of the green. Behind the green between the grandstand and the cliff's edge is an area with a few knotted seaside oaks and tall grass that is left unkept. From the grandstand to the edge of the cliff is only about 12 yards. With all of the spectators, officials, volunteers and members of the media surely the ball could be found.

A seach party commenced after Harry You and Bob Gross, the amateur partners of Phil and Kevin, respectively, slashed their way toward the green.When Phil made his way to the front of the green he looked confused. "Bones, are they looking for us?" he called ahead to his long time caddy, Jim Mackay. Bones let him know that the party was indeed formed to find his rogue Callaway and Phil joined the search.

The area behind the green where the suspicious pellet hid could be accessed only by those wearing inside the ropes badges. Everyone with such a badge -- including the CBS camera crew -- was bent over the tall grass parting it to unearth the incognito orb. Despite the best efforts of the three dozen or so who made up the posse, the ball won this game of hide and seek.

After five minutes of searching the ball was left for dead and Phil and Bones made the loneliest walk in golf. They walked back to tee to play their third shot. For a PGA TOUR player to lose a ball on any Sunday is unlikely. Unless he sends his ball for a swim or off the property (OB) there are usually enough eyes to find the disrespecting balata-covered escapee. The fact that this episode happened on Sunday with the final group makes it even that much more astounding.

Several folks from the grandstand were trying to direct traffic behind the green, giving their opinion of the ball's location. The image of so many people in such a small area unable to find the ball is a rarity on TOUR.

In the end Phil made a double bogey 5 and dropped back to even par for the day and 14 under for the tournament. Phil would go on to make seven more birdies, nine in all for the final round and claim his first title of the year. Although the route to the winner's circle was a bit more circuitous than Phil probably would have like the victory was a popular victory among the fans. Even if they all managed to miss one particular shot.