Phil Mickelson & Sergio Garcia fail to deliver showdown - Buick Invitational

The chance was there for Sergio Garcia and Phil Mickelson to show Tiger Woods they weren't intimidated, but it appears that the hold Woods has over the two continues.

After over-par final rounds Garcia and Mickelson finished in eighth place at 8-under-par, two strokes behind Woods, Jose Maria Olazabal and Nathan Green at the Buick Invitational.

Woods certainly didn't have his A game, but it didn't matter, another chance for Mickelson and Garcia to beat the No. 1 player in the world slipped away.

Garcia began the day as the co-leader of the $5.1 million event, but by the third hole had made two bogeys and struggled all day. Playing with Woods, he shot a 4-over 40 on the front nine and finished with a 3-over 75.

Mickelson was a stroke behind Woods, two behind the leaders and playing in the group in front of Woods. Mickelson couldn't make a birdie, shooting even par through six holes on the front, then made a bogey on the seventh and was 1-over for nine holes. Mickelson finished with a 1-over 73.

"Sure, I'm disappointed," Mickelson said. "I had a great chance to win the tournament."

Woods wasn't exactly tearing it up. He made two bogeys on the front nine and got a birdie on the seventh hole to shoot 37. Woods had the best score of the three, an even-par 72.

"I was able to hit the ball well in spurts," Woods said. "I putted well in spurts, but I just need to make it a little bit more consistent than I did this week."

Despite the turmoil for Garcia and Mickelson on the front nine, the two were still in contention on the back nine.

Garcia managed to shoot 1-under on the back nine and reached the 18th hole with a chance, albeit slim, to get in the playoff. Garcia needed to make a 57-foot putt for eagle but he slid it five-feet past the hole.

"It was a tough putt at the beginning," Garcia said. "It was uphill to start and then down, with a six to seven-foot break. I hit it a bit too hard but I wanted to make sure to get it there."

Mickelson got to within a stroke of the lead after a birdie on the 13th hole, but then made three consecutive bogeys to take away any chance.

"I had a bunch of three-putts, which I haven't been doing in a couple of years," said Mickelson, who hit four of 14 fairways and had 31 putts in the final round. "Still I only missed (the playoff) by two, so that is a positive."

Garcia also tried to put a positive spin on missing the playoff.

"I didn't play great all week long and unfortunately I couldn't turn it around," Garcia said. "But at least I hung in there to give myself a chance."

Ironically the one who challenged Woods was little-known Nathan Green. Playing with Mickelson, Green performed well under pressure until he reached the first playoff hole.

"I wasn't expecting to play with this many good players this early in the season," Green said. "I don't know, the crowds are unbelievable, just a totally different experience for me, well out of the comfort zone."