Andrade edges out Mickelson

Roger Clemens didn't only win a playoff game Saturday night for the New York Yankees. He also helped Billy Andrade win a golf tournament.

Clemens gave Andrade a whispered pep talk from the clubhouse just before he went out to pitch the first inning against the Seattle Mariners, telling his golfing buddy to go out and win one himself.

Andrade did just that today, shooting a 68 to hold off Phil Mickelson to win the Invensys Classic at Las Vegas and salvage what had been the most miserable year of his career.

"He went out and had his career game. I felt I had to go out there today and duplicate it," Andrade said. "He told me to just finish it up, and I did.''

The call from Clemens came after Andrade finished tied for the lead Saturday, and just after Clemens came from the bullpen after warming up for what would be a one-hitter against the Mariners

"He said he had just finished warming up and was changing his shirt," Andrade said.

It wasn't the first pep talk from Clemens, who became friends with Andrade while pitching for the Boston Red Sox.

Last month in Texas, Clemens tried to urge his friend out of a terrible slump that had seen him shoot 75 in the first round of the Westin Texas Open. Andrade came back with a 66 the next round, but didn't make the cut.

"Roger chewed me out for a half hour then," Andrade said. "He said you just got to keep it simple, stupid. He just gave me a good pep talk."

The way Andrade played this week, it seemed the message worked. Coming to Las Vegas, he was 159th on the money list and had already sent his check to the PGA Tour for qualifying school.

But after winning the $765,000 first prize to add to his $187,027 in earnings, he moved to 43rd on the money list and no longer has to worry about where he will be playing next year.

"I'm speechless the way the whole week went," Andrade said. "I'm near tears after having such a bad year to do this."

Andrade, tied for the lead with Tom Byrum to begin the day, shot a final-round 68 to hold off Mickelson, who birdied the final hole for a 66.

It wasn't easy, though, as Andrade, coming off back-to-back birdies on 16 and 17, hit his 3-wood off the tee into a desert canyon on the 18th hole. After taking a penalty stroke and a drop outside the hazard, he then had to had to hit a 6-iron 199 yards from a sidehill lie over water to get it on the green about 50 feet from the hole.

Andrade left his first putt about 3 feet short, then calmly knocked in the bogey putt to finish 28-under.

"I knew if I got it anywhere on the green I would 2-putt,'' he said. "Putting has been the one thing I've been very confident in.''

Mickelson was returning to the tour after a six-week layoff, trying to get in shape for the Presidents Cup, which begins on Thursday in Virginia.

Mickelson finished the weekend with a pair of 66s, but a missed 3-footer on 17 and a bogey on No. 9, one of the easiest par-5s on the course, did him in.

"The final straw was the putt on 17," Mickelson said. "I kept kind of not taking advantage of some great opportunities, but I capitalized on some to keep in it.''

Byrum, who led or shared the lead from the second round on, shot even-par 72 and tied for ninth place. He began the tournament shooting three straight 65s.

Andrade, who hadn't won since the 1998 Bell Canadian Open, started poorly today, making bogey on the first and fourth holes. He made the turn in even par, then birdied three of his next four holes.

His 15-foot downhill birdie putt on the 13th hole put him ahead for good, and he managed to keep the lead with an up-and-down from under a tree on the next hole.

Andrade finished with all five rounds in the 60s, with his final 68 his highest round of the tournament

Jonathan Kaye finished in a tie with Stewart Cink for third after tying the course record at TPC Summerlin with a 10-under 62 that briefly put him in a tie for the lead.

"I tried not to look at any boards," Kaye said. "And even when I did, they didn't have what I was looking for.''

DIVOTS: First prize was $765,000, more than the entire purse of $725,000 in the LPGA World Championship, which was won today by Juli Inkster. ... Andrade's previous best payday was the $396,000 he got for winning the Bell Canadian. ... Brad Faxon completed his round of 66 to finish at 19-under, then went out and walked the final holes with Andrade, cheering on his close friend. ... The win was the fourth for Andrade in 10 years on the tour. He won the Kemper Open and Buick Classic in consecutive weeks in 1991, and also won the 1998 Canadian Open.

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