Mickelson wins as Woods falters late

Tiger Woods had two incredible streaks going this year. Phil Mickelson ended both of them.

If Mickelson had bothered to do his homework before the final round of the Tour Championship, he would have had to flip back through four years and 19 tournaments to find the last time Woods had at least a share of the 54-hole lead in a PGA Tour event and failed to win.

Trailing by one shot going into the final round today, all Mickelson cared about was putting pressure on the No. 1 player in the world.

"I didn't really expect him to win,'' Mickelson said. "I thought I had a pretty good chance. And I really like the position I was in, being one group in front and having them watch me make birdies.''

With four birdies on the front to take the lead and no mistakes over the final five holes to keep it, Mickelson closed with a 4-under-par 66 and took advantage of sloppy play by Woods for a two-stroke victory at East Lake Golf Club.

In the Year of the Tiger, Mickelson earned one distinction -- the only player to beat Woods twice down the stretch.

"It's a wonderful way to end the year,'' said Mickelson, who finished at 13-under 267 to break by one stroke the Tour Championship record set by Tom Watson in 1987.

It was the first time in 20 PGA Tour tournaments, dating to his third tournament as a pro in 1996, that Woods took a lead into the final round and didn't hoist a trophy at the end of the day.

And it was the second time this year Mickelson was the man responsible for stopping a Woods streak. In February, he came on strong down the stretch to win the Buick Invitational in San Diego and stop Woods's PGA Tour winning streak at six.

Woods, who shot a 69, has one tournament left -- the American Express Championship, which begins Thursday in Spain -- to try to become the first player in 50 years to win at least 10 times in one season.

As for his streak of protecting third-round leads, Woods figured it had to end sometime.

"I've had a loot of good things go my way," said Woods, who was 1-over pr on the back nine. "I've been able to make key shots at the right times, and it has added into victories. Sometimes, I have played poorly coming down the stretch and have somehow snuck out a win.''

This wasn't one of those days.

Poised to become the first back-to-back winner of the Tour Championship, Woods struggled off the tee and missed all the important putts he has made all year.

None was bigger than the par-5 15th.

Playing in the twosome in front of Woods, Mickelson took the lead for good with an 8-foot birdie putt. This time, Woods couldn't match him. He chipped 12 feet past the hole and his birdie putt slid by.

"We were even with four holes to go, and that's where each shot was critical," Mickelson said. "To make that one and force him to make birdie to tie is a lot different that forcing him to make birdie for a one-shot lead. That turned out to be a critical shot."

Woods still had three more chances, but couldn't hit a fairway to give him a clean lie and a chance to hit it close.

The end came on the 17th. From a fairway bunker, Woods pulled his 9-iron left of the green into shin-high grass framing the lake. He chopped it out 45 feet past the hole and two-putted for bogey.

His last hope was to make a hole-in-one on the 239-yard closing hole. Given the year he has had, no one put it past him.

Still, that was asking too much.

"That's the way it goes when you don't have your best stuff," Woods said. "I grinded my butt off just to give myself a chance.''

Mickelson earned $900,000 from the $5 million purse and won for the fourth time this year, two of those in Atlanta. Mickelson also won the BellSouth Classic in a one-hole playoff over Gary Nicklaus.

Masters champion Vijay Singh, tied with Woods at 10-under at the start of the day, fell behind after a bogey on the first hole and dropped out of the picture for good when he failed to make birdie on the par-5 ninth.

Singh had a 73 and finished in a tie for third at 273 with Nick Price (67) and Ernie Els (69).

The last player to come from behind in the final round to beat Woods in a PGA Tour event was Ed Fiori in the 1996 Quad City Classic. Since then, Woods has proven to be one of the greatest frontrunners in golf, finding a way to win or letting those around him collapse.

Fiori is known in tour circles as "Tiger Slayer.'' Add Mickelson to that list.

He had the advantage of playing in the group in front of Woods, staying away from the hype over a head-to-head duel, and getting off to a fast start to put the pressure on Woods.

Mickelson holed a 10-foot birdie putt on the first hole and took the lead when Woods failed to save par from the bunker on No. 3. He made the turn in 31 and took a one-stroke lead over Woods into the back nine.

He never gave it back.

The 30-year-old left-hander was flawless on the closing holes. Just like in San Diego, it was Woods who made the mistakes in the closing holes.

It was the second time in his career that Mickelson had a four-victory season. That's normally considered a stellar year, but pales in comparison to the Year of the Tiger -- nine victories, just over $9 million in earnings, and three major championships.

Woods can still become golf's first $10 million man by winning at Valderrama next week. And he can still join Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, and Sam Snead as the only players to win at least 10 times on tour in one season.

"It would be nice if I did,'' Woods said. "But the fact that I won three majors in one year is not a bad thing, either."

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