Phil Mickelson ends five-year drought with WGC-Mexico win

Alec Brzezinski

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Phil Mickelson ends five-year drought with WGC-Mexico win image

Phil Mickelson earned his first win since the 2013 Open Championship with a one-hole, sudden-death play-off victory over Justin Thomas at the WGC-Mexico Championship on Sunday.

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Mickelson, who became the oldest WGC winner, shot a final-round five-under 66 to force a play-off at 16 under.

Birdies on 15 and 16 helped Mickelson reach the play-off after Thomas posted an early number.

"To have the belief that I was going to get there and finally break through and do it feels incredible," Mickelson said after his round. "I believe that more is to come."

Thomas, who shot a nine-under 62 Saturday to get back into contention, looked poised to add his ninth PGA Tour win when he holed out for eagle on the 72nd hole, but Mickelson fought from two shots down to force the play-off.

A win would have given Thomas three already this season, and eight since the beginning of last season.

Mickelson has his sights set on the Ryder Cup, and he already has five top-10s this season, including four top-fives.

With this week's win, he will likely jump in position to be one of the eight automatic bids.


 

Tyrell Hatton and Rafa Cabrera Bello finished tied for third at 15 under. Hatton, after birdieing 14 and eagling 15, bogeyed 18 to fall out of the play-off. The Englishman has three European Tour wins.

Dustin Johnson and Sergio Garcia finished tied for seventh at 12 under. Johnson said he struggled with his putter this week, while Garcia was unable to get anything going in the fourth round.

After impressing through three rounds, Shubhankar Sharma fell back into a tie for ninth at 10 under after a three-over 74 on Sunday.

Playing alongside Hatton and Mickelson, Sharma struggled to find the form that helped him lead through three rounds on his PGA Tour debut.

Alec Brzezinski