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| August 16, 2005 | Tuesday | Rajab 10, 1426 |
Last-hole birdie gives Mickelson title
SPRINGFIELD (New Jersey), Aug 15: A dramatic last-hole birdie saw Phil Mickelson capture his second major title when he won the storm-delayed 87th PGA Championship on Monday.
The 35-year-old American carded a closing two-over par 72 to finish on four-under 276 for the year’s final major tournament, one shot clear of Australian Steve Elkington and Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn.
Another shot back were Tiger Woods, who finished his final round on Sunday before a thunderstorm forced organizers to cancel play for the rest of the day, and fellow American Davis Love.
For Mickelson, the victory was worth 1,170,000 dollars. But more importantly, it salvaged his season. In the three previous majors this year, Mickelson was never a factor.
It was a nerve-wracking last hole for Mickelson, who knew he needed a birdie to win but nearly blew it when he hit his second shot into the deep rough guarding the par-5 18th.
Mickelson, needing to get up and down for the victory, kept his nerve and blasted the ball out, then gave a victory wave as he watched it roll up to only three feet from the pin.
The New Jersey crowd roared their approval, the left-hander having become the adopted son of the New York-area fans.
Final scores:
276 - Phil Mickelson 67-65-72-72
277 - Steve Elkington 68-70-68-71, Thomas Bjorn 71-71-63-72
278 - Tiger Woods 75-69-66-68, Davis Love 68-68-68-74
279 - Geoff Ogilvy 69-69-72-69, Michael Campbell 73-68-69-69, Retief Goosen 68-70-69-72, Pat Perez 68-71-67-73
280 - Ted Purdy 69-75-70-66, David Toms 71-72-69-68, Steve Flesch 70-71-69-70, Dudley Hart 70-73-66-71, Vijay Singh 70-67-69-74.
NAKHABINO (Russia): Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg gave himself a perfect birthday present by clinching his maiden European Tour title in dramatic fashion at the Russian Open on Sunday.
The Swede, who turned 32 the day before, edged out Britain’s Andrew Butterfield in a sudden-death playoff on the fourth extra hole at the Moscow Country Club.
The pair had completed the 72 regulation holes in 15-under-par 273, Butterfield covering the back nine in just 30 strokes on his way to a six-under 66 to take the tournament into extra time.—Agencies
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