Phil Mickelson settled for a 1-over-par 36-37=73 in the final round of the Wells Fargo Championship and missed out on a playoff with David Lynn and Derek Ernst by a stroke at 7-under 281.
Mickelson was one clear with three to play, but dropped into a tie for the lead with a bogey at the par-4 16th and then fell out of the lead entirely with another bogey on 17. Needing a birdie on the long par-4 18th to join the playoff, he hit his approach just over the green but couldn't chip in. This goes down as another close call for Lefty at Quail Hollow. He now heads to TPC Sawgrass for THE PLAYERS.

Phil Mickelson's 1-over-par 35-38=73 in the third round of the Wells Fargo Championship drops him into a share of the lead with Nick Watney at 8-under 208.
Mickelson was cruising along and had distanced himself from the field a bit in the third round before a debacle at the par-5 15th changed the dynamics of the entire tournament. After pulling his drive right of the cart path, he took a risk and went for the green in two. When that shot went out of bounds, he eventually wound up with a seven. He then pulled his approach on the par-4 16th, striking a fan, and made a bogey. He escaped with pars on his final two holes, but because of his late-round drama he's allowed 19 players to creep within four of the lead. That sets up an unpredictable final round that is already expected to be impacted by deteriorating weather.

Phil Mickelson chased his opening 68 at the Wells Fargo Championship with a 5-under-par 32-35=67 to assume outright possession of the 36-hole clubhouse lead at 9-under 135.
Once again, Mickelson didn't do himself many favors today in hitting only 12 greens in regulation (after finding just 10 on Thursday), but he limited the damage to one bogey while circling six birdies during his lap of Quail Hollow. The set included tone-setting conversions from 13'6" and 14'5" at holes 1 and 2, respectively, but the gem of the day was a bender that disappeared from 39'3" at the par-4 ninth. Overall, he's 31-for-31 from inside 11 feet.

Phil Mickelson stumbled to a 4-over-par 36-40=76 in his second round of the Masters, reaching the midpoint in 3-over 147.
Mickelson vowed to get aggressive today, but he hit only 10 greens in regulation and converted three birdies (at Nos. 3, 8 and 13). He still required 29 putts thanks to five bogeys and a double. With windier conditions in the morning, scoring was much more challenging than anticipated, but it's still the latest in a growing list of underachieving results by the lefty.

Phil Mickelson opened the 77th Masters with a 1-under-par 38-33=71.
Given he hit 15 greens in regulation, this was about as high as he could have scored. To that end, we've seen a little too much of this kind of wasteful playing from the lefty in the last year or so. His enthusiasm remains high but the execution doesn't match. Mickelson squared four bogeys today and took 34 putts. He did manage to convert five birdies, including four in a five-hole stretch coming in (Nos. 12, 13, 15 and 16). He signed his card sitting five back of the overnight co-leaders.

Phil Mickelson circled seven birdies in his third round of the Shell Houston Open en route to a 5-under-par 35-32=67.
The hottest round of the early morning wave moves the 2011 champion to 6-under 210. After opening with a calm two birdies and one bogey in his first 11 holes, business picked up. He drove the green on the par-4 12th and managed to two-putt from from 81 feet. He followed with a birdie at the 13th before failing to get up-and-down out of a greenside bunker at the par-3 14th. He would circle birdies on three of his remaining four holes, including a 7'2" birdie on the par-4 18th, which is playing as the most difficult at Redstone. He will finish up his preparation for the Masters in Sunday's finale.

Phil Mickelson took 79 swings in his second round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational en route to an early exit.
Mickelson carded nines of 40 and 39 and totaled a trio of 7s during his loop of Bay Hill today. The first was as a result of a four-putt from 59 inches at the par-4 13th hole. He added a double bogey at the par-5 sixth, where he rinsed his tee ball, and a triple bogey at the par-4 ninth where he took an unplayable lie after driving well left of the fairway. Overall, he hit 21 greens in regulation this week and converted an eagle and seven birdies, but swallowed nine bogey in addition to today's big numbers. He goes in the books at 8-over 152. Lefty will compete in next week's Shell Houston Open before departing for Augusta and the Masters.

Phil Mickelson signed for a 1-under-par 34-37=71 in the final round of the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship to tie for third at 14-under 274.
Lefty has been unpredictable all year, so about all that can be gleaned from this is that his game is certainly good enough to contend at the Masters in a few weeks. Reading anything into it other than that would be a waste of time. After opening with two birdies in his final lap around TPC Blue Monster at Doral, he would alternate three bogeys with two birdies the rest of the way. We will not see him at the Tampa Bay Championship.

Phil Mickelson spun a 3-under-par 36-33=69 in the third round of the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship to reach the 54-hole mark at 13-under 203.
For a brief time, it looked like Mickelson would have a chance at a coveted final-round pairing with Tiger Woods. It now appears he will need some help to accomplish that, but he still kept pace relative to most of the leaderboard. The only blemish of his round came at the par-4 third hole, 3-putting from 4'9" after missing the GIR. He added five birdies to go with 12 pars the rest of the way. Already a winner in this event, he will try and add another in Sunday's final round.

Phil Mickelson carded his second straight 5-under-par 67 in the second round of the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship.
The lefty turned in nines of 33 and 34 today. He bogeyed the only two holes on which he failed to hit the green in regulation; he's missed just five GIR all week. Meanwhile, he picked off seven birdies today, including respective conversions of 13'10" and 15'8" at the 14th and 16th holes. Mickelson nearly recorded a walk-off hole-in-one as his tee ball at the par-3 ninth was tracking before coming to a rest just eight inches from the cup. He signed his card sitting 10-under 134, one stroke behind the 36-hole clubhouse lead.

Phil Mickelson posted a bogey-free, 5-under-par 33-34=67 in his opening round of the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship, finishing one stroke off the pace of the overnight co-leaders.
Mickelson hit 15 greens in regulation to threaten early. None of his first four birdies measured longer than six feet and he missed a pair of birdie chances from inside eight feet, but the story of his round was what happened at the par-4 17th hole. His drive landed on a cart path and didn't deviate until it finally came to rest 450 yards from the tee. Electing to play the ball off the concrete, he chipped to within 10 feet and sunk the birdie. It was vintage Mickelson on a day when the course relented to the touring pros.

Phil Mickelson makes a familiar trip to TPC Blue Monster at Doral for the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship.
Lefty has been absent for a few weeks after his T21 at the Northern Trust Open, skipping the Match Play and The Honda Classic. While his form has been hard to pin down in 2013, his record at Doral has some promise. He won this event in 2008.

Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press reported that Phil Mickelson will not compete in the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship on Feb. 20-24.
Ferguson relayed the news on Twitter, thus confirming the rumor. Mickelson took a pass on the event in 2010 and 2012 as well to take a family vacation. Next week's Northern Trust Open will be the golfer's fifth consecutive start.

Phil Mickelson opened his title defense of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am with a 1-under-par 32-37=69 at Monterey Peninsula Country Club's Shore Course.
Not only is the lefty gunning for a second consecutive victory at this event, but it would be his fifth career at the tournament. He's also trying to go back-to-back in consecutive weeks. Today's start looked more like the Hall of Famer that opened the season, not the machine that ripped apart TPC Scottsdale last week. Mickelson sat bogey-free 3-under after 13 holes at MPCC but stumbled home with two bogeys. He'll give Spyglass Hill a go on Friday.

Phil Mickelson will try and quickly move on from his win at the Waste Management Phoenix Open to defend his title at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Normally it's a bit risky to play a guy in fantasy formats who is either defending a title or coming off a win. That shouldn't be the case with Mickelson. For starters, he's a four-time winner at Pebble Beach. He also followed up his win at Pebble Beach last season with a playoff loss at Riviera CC the very next week, demonstrating that he is able to turn the page. A constant tinkerer, Lefty seems to be onto something with the new driver he put in play last week at TPC Scottsdale. He must be at or near the top of your list this week.

Phil Mickelson took care of business, holding off Brandt Snedeker for the Waste Management Phoenix Open title with a 4-under-par 34-33=67 in the final round.
Mickelson finished the week at 28-under 256 to tie Mark Calcavecchia's tournament scoring record (2001) and secure his 41st career win. Lefty started his final round a little slow, squaring what would be his only bogey of the week at the par-4 second hole. (He concluded his second round with a double bogey.) He would birdie both of the par 3s on the front nine, including an unlikely bomb that crept through the fringe on the seventh hole. He didn't exactly step on the gas down the stretch, but he converted on the three easiest holes coming in which included the two par 5s and the short par-4 17th. When everything was added up, he finished the week four strokes clear of second place. Mickelson now heads to defend his title at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am with his game clicking on all cylinders.

Phil Mickelson is easing his way towards a victory at the Waste Management Phoenix Open thanks to a 6-under-par 33-31=64 in the third round, matching Mark Calcavecchia's 54-hole record of 24-under 189 for the tournament.
Mickelson started off a little flat, finding just two birdies on his first 12 holes. He would heat up just in time to take advantage of TPC Scottsdale's inviting finishing stretch. He got up-and-down from a greenside bunker for birdie at the par-5 13th and did it again on the par-5 15th. The magic would happen on the infamous par-3 16th where, to the delight of the raucous crowd, he hit his tee shot to 18 inches for a kick-in birdie. He then added a final birdie at the par-4 17th, hitting his 3-wood to pin high and again getting up and down. He would finish things off with an unlikely birdie on the 18th from 15'4". He needs a 67 in the final round to match Calcavecchia's tournament record of 28-under 256 in Sunday's final round, while a 64 would give him the all time PGA TOUR scoring record for an event.

Overnight leader Phil Mickelson answered his opening 60 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open with a 6-under-par 33-32=65 in his second round to post the 36-hole lead at 17-under 125.
On the whole, that's an impressive number at any midpoint, but for the second straight day he walked off TPC Scottsdale wondering what could have been. Mickelson hit 15 greens today and poured in an eagle and six birdies. The most notable par breaker was his first, a birdie from 23'11" at the seventh hole. He'd step onto the tee at the par-4 18th in bogey-free 19-under and needing only par to establish the PGA TOUR record for low 36 holes to begin a tournament. Alas, he leaked a 3-wood into the pond left of the fairway. After taking a drop, his approach landed short and spun back off the putting surface. A so-so chip left him 7'2" from the cup, but he'd two-putt and fail to even tie the record. At the time he signed his card, he held a four-stroke lead.

Phil Mickelson matched the course record at TPC Scottsdale in his opening round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open, signing for a bogey-free, 11-under-par 29-31=60.
The Hall of Famer turned in a performance that was nearly one for the ages. After sinking seven birdies on the back side, including respective conversions of 16'8" and 15'10" at the 16th and 18th holes, he picked off another from 22 feet at 1. A par save from 11'1" at 2 kept his card clean but it also kept alive his run at a sub-60. Three more birdies ensued to reach 11-under, the longest of which from 13'10" at 4. Then, after he left his birdie try from 17'9" short at 8, his last chance at a 59 measured 25'5" at the par-4 ninth. Mickelson gave it a great ride, but the ball curled around the right edge and did a 180, stopping in the front-left area of the hole. A small portion of the ball actually dropped below the level of the green, but it had too much velocity. Along with the clubhouse lead, his consolation prize is that he's the fourth to shoot 60 on the track. It's a list that include himself in 2005. It's also the 27th 60 in PGA TOUR history.

Phil Mickelson bogeyed the final two holes of his second round of the Farmers Insurance Open, but still survived the cut on the number at 1-under-par 72-71=143.
Mickelson played Torrey Pines South today. He sandwiched two bogeys with five birdies before limping in on the 17th and 18th holes. He's one of 19 golfers tied for 69th place at the midpoint; therefore a second cut of low 70 and ties will occur after 54 holes. This is otherwise known as the Made-(cut)-Didn't-Finish (MDF). Cool and wet conditions are expected to persist through Saturday. There may be some clearing midday but it's unlikely that anyone of the 87 remaining in the field will avoid the use of an umbrella.

Phil Mickelson will start off the 2013 season at the Humana Challenge, in a carbon copy of how his 2012 schedule kicked off.
Lefty has twice been a winner of this event, with his 2002 and 2004 triumphs opening those respective season's. It's hard to peg him going just off of form, so that this is his first appearance of 2013 is of little relevance. Per usual, nothing would surprise us out of Mickelson this week.