Final-round recap: Lefty escapes with Colonial victory

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Phil Mickelson saved birdie after driving into the trees on the 72nd hole.

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- Another memorable shot, and another victory, for Phil Mickelson's impressive ledger.

Not the 9-foot birdie putt on the final hole that gave him a one-stroke victory at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial on Sunday. Instead, it was the 140-yard wedge from heavy rough that set it up: when Mickelson had to hit under one tree and over another, the ball clipping branches while headed sky-high.

"Just lucky," Mickelson said, with a smile. "I'm as surprised as anybody I was able to make a 3 from over there."

Once Mickelson hit the ball -- "it just came off perfectly," he said -- he couldn't see it through the branches. So he took a couple of steps before jogging through the trees into an opening just in time to see the ball fall back to earth near the flag.

One of Mickelson's best shots ever?

"Probably top five," Lefty responded, pointing out that he had already discussed that with his wife, Amy.

"That's what No. 2s in the world do," said Rod Pampling, who blew a two-stroke lead on the back nine. "Those guys make those kinds of shots."

The birdie closed out a round of 2-under 68 that got Mickelson to 14-under 266, a stroke better than Pampling (68) and Tim Clark (66) for his second victory at Colonial.

It was the 34th career victory for Mickelson, who also won the Northern Trust Open in February and is the only person on the PGA Tour with multiple victories in each of the past five seasons.
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WHAT'S NEXT FOR PHIL?
He's hit miraculous shots-- backwards.

He's pulled off jaw-droppers by skipping the ball across the water.

He's parted branches on trees. Thick, old, can't-see-through-them-trees.

He can make a ball dance. Pirouette, mind you, and stop on a blade of grass. Or his instructor's hand.

And he can take down just about any course with his wedge. Well, one of the five.

Yes, Phil Mickelson has hit some incredible shots in his career and his wife Amy has seen almost every one of them. So when she saw him in the trees at 18 -- well, almost the 10th fairway -- the first thing she did was ask where the playoff holes were.
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SHOT OF THE DAY
Might be shot of the year. Phil Mickelson's approach at the 18th hole. After losing his drive way left in a Winged Foot deja vu, he came under one tree and over another -- from 140 yards out -- to bounce one off the edge of the green and cozy it up, 9 feet, 1 inch from the pin. He made the birdie putt for the win.
• Video: See the shot

SHOT OF THE DAY, PART II
Rod Pampling's bunker shot at the 16th. It was impossible -- even Mickelson said so. But Pampling dug it out and plopped it to three feet to save par.

SHOT OF THE DAY THAT DIDN'T REALLY HAPPEN
For a few minutes Sunday morning, it was a shot for the record books. Scoreboards popped up an ace for Heath Slocum at the 432-yard, par-4 seventh hole. Yes, it was an oops -- not the shot of a career. Slocum actually hit it 323 yards off the tee and wound up with a par.

ROUND OF THE DAY
Low round belonged to Pat Perez with a 65, but how can you not give this one to Mickelson? It was a closing 68 that could have been so much better, but he hung in there, battled back from a wayward driver to pull off the shot of the year.
• Scorecard: Mickelson

QUOTE OF THE DAY
"What? From the trees?" -- Phil Mickelson, when asked if he'd shown players another way to play Colonial Country Club

QUOTE OF THE DAY, PART II
"I like that old Phil is in reserve when he needs it." -- Amy Mickelson, on how her husband is playing more under control, but can still go for it.

Mackay

THREE THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW
1. The only putt Jim "Bones" Mackay didn't read this week was the last one. Why? Mickelson saw the line and didn't want to over-think it.
2. Jeff Quinney birdied to tie for seventh and move to ninth on the PGA TOUR money list. That qualified him for the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines next month.
3. Mickelson has won 10 different events (see list at bottom of the page) at least twice in his career and ranks 13th on the all-time PGA TOUR victory list with 34.

SCRATCH THAT IDEA
Had Tim Clark pulled off a win at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial, he would have been wearing the red-plaid jacket at his wedding Oct. 11. His fiancee' Candice came with the idea.

"I'll have to find another jacket to win now,'' he said.

I WOULD KNOW -- I WAS HURT LAST YEAR
When asked if he was surprised that Tiger Woods was skipping next week's Memorial Tournament because his knee wasn't ready and that his next tournament back might be the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, Phil Mickelson shook his head.

"I think it's more important not to rush back from an injury,'' Mickelson said. "More rest will make him more effective when he comes back."

Mickelson

PERFECT PROMOTION
It's been 24/7 Phil Mickelson in Fort Worth this year.

Crowne Plaza designed a marketing strategy for the tournament around him. He was in or around the lead all week. There were a minimum of eight Phil commercials during each telecast.

And then he wins? Talk about your dream scenario.

"It's cool to see what Crowne Plaza has done with this tournament to get this historical event back to the status of a premier TOUR event,'' Mickelson said. "(Tournament director) Peter Ripa has done a great job of getting us there as well. And I think the players are going to be taking note, and I think it's going to get better and better each year.''

Pampling

MR. SANDMAN
Rod Pampling's bunker shot at the 16th was second only to Phil Mickelson's wedge at the 18th.

At the time, Pampling was hanging onto a one-shot lead.

"It was really a hit-and-hope one there,'' said Pampling, who finished third in 2006 and tied for sixth in 2005. " Obviously, it was buried in there. I was just trying to keep it out left so I had maybe a 10 foot putt for par. Obviously, it squirted a little bit to the right. But it had a fantastic bounce, just nice and soft.

"I actually thought it had a big chance of going in. It breaks a lot to the right there. It just didn't seem to break as much. To make a bogey there, certainly I was really jacked after that. I wiped out a couple of bad swings the last two holes and felt good about myself again. Obviously hit a good tee ball off of the next."

Clark

CLARK COMES UP SHORT AGAIN
The runner-up finish was the sixth of Tim Clark's career on the PGA TOUR. Without a win.

But he can, perhaps, take a bit of consolation in the fact that his tie for second makes him the leading money winner -- $10.6 million -- among players without a win.

He came close to at least a playoff when his 14-footer on the 72nd hole came up a foot short. But instead, he kept loose while Mickelson and Pampling played the final hole. Then he heard the roar.

"You got to give yourself the best shot,'' Clark said. "I made some saves on the back 9 that kept me in it. I could have lost some shots there and that could have been the end of me. But making those par saves is very important. That can often give you a little bit more confidence.

"You know, this is a course that doesn't only suit the long hitters. I wasn't too worried about Phil having a huge advantage over me today. Like I said, this course really suits everyone. That's why I think it's one of the best ones that we play. I knew by hitting fairways I would give myself enough chances for birdie. If I play a great round, I can catch him. ''

MR. CONSISTENCY
With his second career victory at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial (2008, 2000), Phil Mickelson has now won 10 events more than once over the course of his career.