Mickelson ready to rival Woods; the rise of Rory

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Phil Mickelson shot a final-round 69 to win in China, while Tiger Woods struggled to an even-par 72 to tie for sxith.

At one point this year, we weren't sure how much golf Phil Mickelson would even play. Now, we (and he) can't wait for 2010. The one player who's been the most consistent rival/threat to Tiger Woods, Mickelson ended his year with a spectacular one-stroke victory at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions. It marked the first time in Mickelson's career that he'd won a tournament when paired with Woods in the final group.

For those of you who saw it -- be it live in the wee hours of the morning or on replay later in the afternoon -- it was vintage Mickelson. As good as Tiger Woods is (except for in the aforementioned final round), Mickelson for my money remains the most entertaining player in the game.

Case in point: Mickelson whiffed on a flop shot on No. 16 Sunday, yet still made par. One hole later, he poured in a 10-footer for birdie. Saturday, Mickelson's ball was trapped in some bushes on No. 9 and he inverted his wedge and hit it out right-handed. Mickelson bogeyed the hole, but bogeys like that hurt a lot less when you birdie three of your first five holes and three of your last five holes.

"I'm excited about 2010 because I'm starting to play the best golf of my career," said Mickelson, who added that his ball-striking has been much improved since he began working with Butch Harmon earlier this year.

For final-round highlights from the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions, click here.

After the victory, Mickelson, who ends his season with four wins, including two World Golf Championships, called his wife, Amy, who was back home in California as she continues her battle with breast cancer.

"It's been a fun way for us to end the year," said Mickelson.

It looks like 2010 will be a lot of fun, too.

Editor's note: Because there was no PGA TOUR event last week, Stock Up and Stock Down will resume after the Children's Miracle Network Classic with a look at who played their way in and out of the top 125 on the money list.

A Quick 18

Front Nine Back Nine On the flip side of Phil Mickelson's win was Tiger Woods failing for the third time in his last four tries to win when playing in the final group on Sunday. Not that Woods was overly concerned about it, nor should anyone else be. "Just one of those days," he said. One of the reasons I think McIlroy will only get better from here is because aside from his prodigious talent, McIlroy's management team has brought him along slowly, being careful not to overexpose him and stretch him thin. Just ask Anthony Kim about that. Mickelson has now gone lower than Woods on four of the last five occasions the two have played together, dating back to the 2007 Deutsche Bank Championship. That's something that didn't happen very often for Mickelson prior to the last couple of years. Kim, who finished in a tie for 10th in China, said, "I was all over the place this year. I didn't do a good job of scheduling." As a result, he decided to skip some late-season events he originally had on his schedule, though he'll still play in the Kiwi Challenge and the Chevron World Challenge. As mentioned, the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions was the final event of the year for Mickelson. He'll take the rest of the year off, which will include a couple of family vacations, before returning at Torrey Pines at the end of January. Or just ask Ty Tryon about being burned out. "I really didn't understand what I was getting myself into," Tryon told colleague Craig Dolch. No, he didn't. One minute he's a 17-year-old wunderkind who dropped out of high school, the next he's a cautionary tale. Woods never had a chance Sunday. Not with a missed 4-footer for birdie on the second hole, a missed 10-footer for birdie on the third hole and a tee shot into the water en route to a double bogey on No. 4, all of which contributed to a front-nine 39. Tryon, now 25, remains an interesting story, by the way, and could be on his way back. He may never be the star some expected or hoped he would be, but he made it through to the second stage of q-school and will continue his pursuit later this week. Unlike Mickelson, there's no rest for Woods. He'll head Down Under for the sold out Australian Masters, where, according to the Daily Telegraph, 100,000 fans are expected to watch Woods on two different big screens that will be set up in Sydney. Tweet of the Week: "Felt the same pain in the ribs on the 2nd hole today that I felt in Akron when I tore my muscles. Scared I've torn them again." -- Paul Casey just after withdrawing from the final round of the WGC-HSBC Champions. On one hand for Ernie Els was a final-round 63 on a difficult day of scoring at Sheshan International. On the other was that fanned 5-wood that found the water and cost Els the tournament. There won't be too many more opportunities for the 40-year-old. If Casey has indeed torn those muscles, it's going to be a long offseason and you wonder how much this will set him back. Casey first injured his ribs at the British Open and hadn't played until last week in China. One thing's certain: He's out of the Race for Dubai. As for Els' final-round 63, it tied a course record at Sheshan International Golf Club -- one that was set earlier in the day by Daisuke Maruyama (no relation to Shigeki Maruyama, by the way). Rory McIlroy also shot a 63 on Sunday. Some thoughts on the recently released 2010 schedule: The changes were small, but notable. The most significant of them wasn't a change at all, though. The PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup will have the same set-up as this year -- three weeks on, one off before THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. The more I see of Ryan Moore, the more I like. He has enough length off the tee to compete anywhere, is a good ball-striker and a very good putter with an ability to make a lot of birdies. His solo third in China was his sixth top-10 of the year and fourth since late August. The other notable change to the schedule was the move of the Turning Stone Resort Championship from the Fall Series to the FedExCup season. The only thing that will hurt what's quickly become a very popular event is being opposite a World Golf Championships event. As good as Moore has been, no young player is more promising than Rory McIlroy. In a recent PGATOUR.COM poll, the vote was nearly split on who would have a better career -- McIlroy or Ryo Ishikawa. Based on 11 top-10s this year, though, I'd have to go with McIlroy. One last non-change for 2010: The FedExCup points system, which was not on the agenda and not discussed at a recent policy board meeting, according to TOUR COO Rick George, appears it will remain as is. "We don't anticipate it changing," George said.

The Forward Spin

As the final Fall Series event, the Children's Miracle Network Classic represents a sort of last chance for those trying to secure their TOUR cards for 2010, or move into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings. In other words, David Duval, who is 125th on the money list, would like to play well this week, something he doesn't have a terribly good history of doing in this event with a missed cut in 2004 as his only result there this decade. Some other notables on the outside looking in include Chris Riley (No. 126), Todd Hamilton (No. 133), Joe Ogilvie (No. 135), Chris DiMarco (No. 138) and Rocco Mediate (No. 141).