Mickelson watches 4-shot lead evaporate, then wins in crunch time

Phil Mickelson nearly blew the biggest lead of his career, then had to scramble for par to avoid a playoff.

When his roller-coast week at Riviera ended Sunday in Los Angeles, the Northern Trust Open turned out to be one of his more satisfying victories.

After watching tee shots sail in every direction, turning a 4-shot lead into a 2-shot deficit with three holes to play, Mickelson recovered with back-to-back birdies and stepped to the 18th tee with a 1-shot lead.

Then, he had to bury some demons.

Two years ago, Mickelson had a 1-shot lead until making a sloppy bogey on the historic finishing hole and losing in a playoff. This time, he poured his tee shot down the middle of the fairway and 2-putted for par from 60 feet, making a tough 6-footer for the win.

"I'll take a lot out of this," Mickelson said after closing with a 1-over 72. "To be able to heart it out on 16 and 17 with two birdies, then to make that par on 18 when two years ago I didn't, that meant a lot to me."

So ended his West Coast Slump.

Mickelson arrived at Riviera having failed to crack the top 20 in his first three tournaments, missing the cut in Phoenix and making it on the number with a birdie on the last hole at Pebble Beach.

But when one of his wildest weeks was over - 63-72-62-72 - Lefty won for the 35th time in his career, with 17 of those victories on the Left Coast.

"I'm pleased to be sitting here as the champion," Mickelson said. "And it was not easy. I had a 5-shot lead and I let it slide. The good thing was that I was able to fight hard. Even though I didn't have my best stuff, I was able to fight through it."

Stricker closed with a 67 and was on his way to the range to get ready for a playoff when he saw Mickelson leave himself a tough par putt on the final hole, and stopped when he heard the cheer.

But the real heartache belonged to Fred Couples.

A two-time winner at Riviera, his favorite golf course west of Augusta National, the 49-year-old had a chance for one last victory in his final full season on the PGA Tour. Couples was 1 shot behind when he fanned his approach to the 18th green and watched in disgust as it struck a eucalyptus tree. He finished with a bogey for a 69 to tie for third with K.J. Choi (69) and Andres Romero (70).

Couples learned earlier in the week that his estranged wife, Thais Baker, died

Tuesday of breast cancer. They never divorced after splitting up nearly four years ago, and Couples said he is not welcome in their home in Santa Barbara.

"She was a nice person," he said. "She did everything she could to make it another month."

The ACE Group Classic: Loren Roberts thrust both arms toward the sky, and let out some emotion. He knew he earned his ninth career victory on the Champions Tour.

Roberts made a 3-foot birdie putt on the last hole to win The ACE Group Classic in Naples, Fla., beating Gene Jones by 1 stroke.

Roberts shot a 68 to finish at 7-under 209. Jones, who led by a shot coming into the final round, put up a 70. Roberts won $240,000 out of the $1.6 million purse. It was his fifth professional win in Florida.

Johnnie Walker Classic: U.S. Amateur champion Danny Lee birdied the final two holes for a 5-under 67 and a 1-stroke victory in the Johnnie Walker Classic at Perth, Australia. The 18-year-old New Zealander, set to turn pro after the Masters, had a 17-under 271 total.