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Mickelson takes Players' title

14/05/2007

Phil Mickelson has won the Players' Championship at the TPC Sawgrass after a superb final round of 69.

The American, who went 26 holes without a bogey until he hit a five at the par-four 18th on the final round, finished two shots clear of Spain's Sergio Garcia (final round of 66) and three ahead of his countryman Jose Maria Olazabal (67) and American Stewart Cink (66).

Overnight leader Sean O'Hair was in contention towards the finish but hit the water twice on the famous 'island hole' at the 17th.

England's Luke Donald finished on three-under for the tournament and Ian Poulter finished on one-under, while world number one Tiger Woods completed a disappointing weekend to finish on level par and well out of contention.

Mickelson, regarded as something of a wild cannon who has bouts of brilliance but suffers from his lack of control, showed another side to his game as a consistent final round helped him over the line.

He hit 14 of the 18 fairways off the tee and made 16 greens in regulation, which he said made for a "stress-free type of round".

"I'd like to have four days of ball-striking like today's final round and then it takes a lot of pressure off my short game," he said, before confirming the relative importance of the Players' as one of the biggest events on the calendar.

"I'll look back on this tournament victory in the same light as the majors," he added.

As a result of his victory, Mickelson moves back up to number two in the golf world rankings as well as the FedEx Cup standings and the PGA Tour money list.

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