"What a great round! Are you kiddin' me?"

The cameras zeroed in on a private moment between Phil Mickelson and his wife Amy in what has become a very familiar scene. She whispered to Phil: "What a great round! Are you kiddin' me?" as the two embraced in a prolonged hug near the 18th green.  Many memorable hugs have been had between the two at the end of a PGA Tour event when Phil has come out on top.  Few will forget the scene at the 2010 Masters, when Amy rushed onto the final green while still fighting a public battle with breast cancer after Phil secured his third career green jacket.  This year at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am happened to be milestone win number 40 for Phil. He has now passed passed greats Gene Sarazen and Tom Watson on the list of career victories and has tied Cary Middlecoff for ninth, making him only the tenth player to reach this plateau in a lifetime.  To top it off, he did it in style by winning this iconic event for the fourth time, dusting his arch rival Tiger Woods in a head-to-head pairing, and by shooting a smooth 64 to erase a six stroke deficit to third round leader Charlie Wi.

The Famous and Picturesque 7th

Phil and Amy Mickelson

The blow-by-blow: Amy couldn't have said it any better.  What a great round.  Phil came out of the gate hot, making birdies at 2, 4, and 5.  Third round leader Charlie Wi, playing behind Mickelson, made a devastating double bogey by four putting the tricky green at the first hole.  The six shot lead that he had built over Mickelson was basically erased by the time Phil had reached only the sixth tee.  On the sixth, Phil made a 20 foot eagle putt that he said made him feel as if he was now in control of the golf tournament.  The putt may have been aided by Dallas Cowboy quarterback Tony Romo, who was playing in the group as the amateur partner of Tiger Woods.  Romo's ball had been on a similar line and Phil seemed to get a good read from his putt.  Phil then navigated the tough stretch of holes from 7-11 with five straight pars.

The world was eagerly watching Woods, playing with Phil, and starting just four shots off the lead.  Tiger's start did not match Phil's, but he made par on the first five holes, and birdied the sixth, moving to within one stroke of the lead thanks to the early collapse of Wi.  Woods' putter let him down all day, missing short birdie putts under ten feet at the second and the fifth.  He also made a three putt bogey on the seventh, capped by a missed three footer, and also missed a short putt for par at the eighth.  On the ninth, he found the sand greenside after a bad drive into the rough, and made his third straight bogey, putting him five strokes behind Mickelson at the turn.

The difficult par-3 twelfth may have been the final tipping point for the tournament.  Woods hit his tee shot into the front bunker and Phil hit a poor tee shot that was well short and left of the green.  Phil played his second shot well past the flag and stopped at 25 feet, which looked like a sure bogey.  Woods responded by holing his bunker shot, hoping to make up two shots on the leader in one swoop.  Mickelson responded by knocking in his long putt to keep the lead at four.  Add birdies at 13 and 14, combined with Woods making bogey at 14 and Phil had little left to do but cruise to the finish.  Tiger added insult to injury by missing a two foot par putt at 15 after a nifty pitch shot from behind the green.  On the 18th, Phil stuffed his approach shot to three feet and holed out to finish off the final round 64 and post a -17 score for the week.  In his wake, Tiger fittingly three putted 18 for par, blowing a two foot birdie putt four feet past the hole.  Wi would end up making birdie on the last three holes to finish in second alone at -15, two shots ahead of Ricky Barnes.  Tiger carded a final round 75, getting trounced by 11 shots against Phil, and finishing T15 for the week.

Phil birdied the fourth hole on his way to a 64.

What does this mean for Phil?   Mickelson seems to be on track for a stellar year on tour.  Personal and health problems have plagued him and his family for much of the last two or three years.  Amy's well documented battle with breast cancer and his own bout with rheumatoid arthritis both seem to be in the past.  There were also wild and unsubstantiated rumors about gambling debts, Phil having an illegitimate child, and Amy having an affair with Michael Jordan that now seem to have lost all credibility.  Phil told reporters following his round that he felt like the worst was behind him and that the was starting to enjoy life again.  Perhaps this will translate into better results on the golf course.  Phil posted only one win in 2011, and was a non-factor at three of the four majors.  He is at an age now where PGA Tour pros generally start to lose some of their game before reaching out to the Champions Tour, but he has shown that he still has the length, short game, and experience to beat the best.  He has now beaten Tiger five straight times when they have been paired together in a final round.  Fans used to say that Tiger "owned" Phil, but it seems now that he relishes and thrives in this scenario.  His career is winding down but he has a chance to make one last three or four year push to put the cap on a celebrated resume.  It starts in 2012.

What does this mean for Tiger?  Overall, this week was looking as if it was going to end in a positive way for Woods.  He played solid golf for three rounds, worked his way into contention on a course that he feels very comfortable on, and seemed poised to make a run at a victory.  However, he came wildly undone when his putting stroke completely failed him on Sunday.  In recent events, he has had similar problems.  He is able to play three good rounds, but seems to put out one stinker that costs him the tournament.  Glimpses of greatness are still there, such as the holed bunker shot on 12 in the final round.  The old Tiger may have used that shot as a springboard to gain momentum and go on a birdie run.  He also hit several close iron shots but could not convert those opportunities with the putter.  What Tiger desperately needs is a win.  A real win, against a full PGA Tour field.  It has now been 29 months since his last win on the PGA Tour.  It is obvious that he is pressing and that he wants to get the monkey off his back.   Once he is able to break through, look for him to break off a few wins in a short period of time.  The distractions regarding his infidelity and divorce seem to have diminished.  We have also heard no mention of his surgically repaired knee being a factor in his play.  He is healthy and focused and poised to make a dent this season.

What does this mean for golf?   Pebble Beach was a special place on Sunday.  It always is, but this time, it was the venue for yet another memorable day of golf.  The AT&T has been plagued by bad weather and bad luck for so many years.  There have been Monday finishes, three round events, and we even missed a whole year in 1996 after El Nino rains wreaked havoc on the Monterey Peninsula.  Many of the top players in the world have been absent from Pebble over the years, choosing not to play because of the weather issues and the challenge of playing with celebrity partners for three or four days.  Tiger had not played in an AT&T at Pebble since 2002.  Sunday was different.  Perfect weather, and a duel between the two biggest stars on the PGA Tour for the last 15 years.

CBS reported that this year's event was the highest rated AT&T in over 15 years.  The network said Monday the overnight rating from final round was 5.1 with a 10 share, which was up 96 percent from last year.  It should come as no surprise to golf fans that any event with Tiger in contention will get better ratings.  Add in the majestic setting at Pebble Beach and Phil Mickelson and you have television gold.  Nothing captivates the general TV audience like Tiger Woods in contention.  When you add in Phil, it makes things even more exciting for the more avid golf fans.  Let's face it, last year was a bore with major winners like Charl Schwartzel, Darren Clarke, Rory McIlroy and Keegan Bradley taking center stage.  None of those players are a household name.  All of them were first time major winners and three were European. The American golf public typically does not embrace European players when it comes to viewership and overall interest in the sport.  When Phil and Tiger did not have prominent seasons last year, the void was not filled by Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler. Hunter Mahan, Bubba Watson, Nick Watney, or Matt Kuchar.  All are likeable in their own way, but none have that heroic quality that golf fans crave.

Augusta National, Olympic Club, Royal Lytham, Kiawah Island, Medinah Country Club.  There could very possibly be five epic golf events this year with Phil and Tiger leading the way.   Tiger had four wins at The Masters and Phil has three.  Imagine a final round with both of them in contention.  Phil trying to equal Tiger.  Tiger trying to get one closer to Jack Nicklaus, who has six green jackets.  The stage is set.  Phil has never won a U.S.Open despite coming agonizingly close.  He finished tenth at Olympic in 1998.  Tiger of course played college golf at Stanford and has played a lot of golf at Olympic.  He will have a home field advantage and a win there might be extra special in his mind.  Kiawah Island has never hosted a major, but was the site of the "War on the Shore" in 1994, one of the most dramatic Ryder Cup events in memory.  And lastly, Medinah, where Tiger became the only player to win two PGA Championships on the same course, will serve as host to the 2012 Ryder Cup matches.  We will all be tuned in to see if  Tiger and Phil can erase the demons of 2010 and snatch the cup back from the Europeans on home turf.

2012 should be a great year for golf.  Let's hope for more days like Sunday!