Phil Mickelson Wins Northern Trust Open For Second Straight Year

It was a tale of two Phil Mickelsons this week at Riviera Country Club. Two days, Thursday and Saturday, he had the game that won him three majors and 34 PGA Tour tournaments over his illustrious career. The other two days it seemed like anything could happen on any given hole.

The real Phil showed up at the end of Sunday's final round, with a stealth 9-iron on the 16th hole, a two-putt birdie on the 17th hole and a sneaky par putt that found the center of the cup for a par on the 18th and gave him his first win of 2009 at the Northern Trust Open.

More Coverage: Northern Trust Open Leaderboard

It wasn't all peaches and cream for Mickelson in the final round. His eagle on the first hole was his third consecutive on that hole, which he played 9-under for the week, but Lefty made five bogeys over his next 13 holes, leaving the door open for Steve Stricker, Fred Couples and Andres Romero.

Mickelson's aforementioned 9-iron on 16 stopped five feet away, which he happily stroked in for his first birdie of the day. The birdie on 17 and eventual bogey by Stricker on 18 left Mickelson a shot up on the field, but he had a lot of work on the 18th to secure his par. He two-putted from off the green and wrapped up a victory in L.A. for his second straight year.

Something can be said for his resilience this week. A lot of guys on tour would have probably folded after the tough start on Sunday, but Mickelson hung in there, waiting for something good to happen. Stricker's sloppy bogey on 18 helped, leaving the door open for Phil to make some noise in the last group and come out on top.

Next week Phil gets to join the Tiger Woods circus. He will be but a side show to Woods' heroic comeback, and a side story to what will now be "Tiger Woods 2.0." Nobody will care who Phil is playing for the most part and the focus will be all on Sir Swoosh whether he impresses after eight months on the injured reserve or struggles in his return. Sunday, however, Mickelson is on top of the PGA Tour and is the first huge name to tally a victory in '09.

It might not seem like a lot, but winning the week Tiger announced he was coming back is a pretty impressive feat for a guy that has always seemed to come up short when Woods was around. Maybe this is a little bark from Phil or maybe it was just a fortunate week on a course he enjoys. Whatever it is, the PGA Tour can use some old school Phil vs. Tiger and even if it is just a battle for headlines, I'm sure the golfing boys will happily take it.

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NAPLES, FL - FEBRUARY 22: An American Bittern hides in the marsh during the final round of the ACE Group Classic at the TPC Treviso Bay on Februrary 22, 2009 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

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NAPLES, FL - FEBRUARY 22: Mark Wiebe plays a shot on the 1st hole during the Final round of the ACE Group Classic at the TPC Treviso Bay on Februrary 22, 2009 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Mark Wiebe

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NAPLES, FL - FEBRUARY 22: Jeff Sluman plays a shot on the 1st hole during the final round of the ACE Group Classic at the TPC Treviso Bay on Februrary 22, 2009 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jeff Sluman

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NAPLES, FL - FEBRUARY 22: Bernhard Langer plays a shot to the 2nd hole during the final round of the ACE Group Classic at the TPC Treviso Bay on Februrary 22, 2009 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Bernhard Langer

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NAPLES, FL - FEBRUARY 22: Don Pooley plays a shot on the 2nd hole during the final round of the ACE Group Classic at the TPC Treviso Bay on Februrary 22, 2009 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Don Pooley

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NAPLES, FL - FEBRUARY 22: James Mason hits a shot on the 2nd hole during the final round of the ACE Group Classic at the TPC Treviso Bay on Februrary 22, 2009 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** James Mason

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NAPLES, FL - FEBRUARY 22: Gene Jones hits a shot on the 2nd hole during the Final round of the ACE Group Classic at the TPC Treviso Bay on Februrary 22, 2009 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Gene Jones

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NAPLES, FL - FEBRUARY 22: Loren Roberts plays a shot on the 2nd hole during the final round of the ACE Group Classic at the TPC Treviso Bay on Februrary 22, 2009 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Loren Roberts

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NAPLES, FL - FEBRUARY 22: Loren Roberts plays a shot on the 5th hole during the final round of the ACE Group Classic at the TPC Treviso Bay on Februrary 22, 2009 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Loren Roberts

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NAPLES, FL - FEBRUARY 22: James Mason hits a shot on the 12th hole during the Final round of the ACE Group Classic at the TPC Treviso Bay on Februrary 22, 2009 in Naples, Florida. (Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** James Mason

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