General / Editor / 12 February 2007 /

Phil Mickelson was delighted to have exorcised the ghosts of the US Open with victory in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am on Sunday.

The 36-year-old looked to have sealed the US Open at Winged Foot last summer only to drive out-of-bounds and throw away the title at the final hole.

His form dipped following the disappointment of failing to secure back-to-back major victories, after claming the Masters back in April, and he failed to contribute much to the US cause at the Ryder Cup in September.

But the left-hander looked back to his best at the weekend with a final round 66 to claim victory by five shots in California.

The three-time major winner has looked below-par in his early outings this year but was right at the top of his game as he secured his 30th PGA Tour title with a 20-under par four-round total.

"I'm really excited with how I played this week," he said. "To come out on top and get '07 started off right, it gives me great momentum for the rest of the year."

Mickelson revealed that he tried to put the US Open disappointment out of his mind over the weekend and focussed on getting his touch back on the greens.

"I didn't want to think about it (the US Open)," he confessed. "I looked at it at the end of the year and how I drove the ball so awfully for four days and was still in contention.

"I really worked on my putting. Dave Pelz came up and looked at my putting and I worked very hard at improving it."

Kevin Sutherland finished second on 15-under, while PGA Tour rookie John Mallinger was a shot further back.

England's Greg Owen tied for fourth on 12-under with Davis Love III, with Jim Furyk a further shot back alongside veteran Corey Pavin and Matt Kuchar.

The players now head to Los Angeles for the Nissan open with Mickelson trading as the 10 favourite, with Australian Adam Scott on offer at 12 and Furyk available at 14. Vijay Singh trades at 15 while Ernie Els can be backed at 15.5.

Mickelson's victory has seen the Californian's odds to win the PGA Tour money list cut to 7.6 after punters traded to small stakes at 38.

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