Mickelson's caddie tending

SAN DIEGO - Bubba Watson tempered his celebration when he rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole on Sunday at Torrey Pines, knowing Phil Mickelson could still make eagle on the par-5 closing hole to catch him.
It played out just as Watson imagined, right down to Mickelson's caddie tending the pin on the eagle attempt.
There was just one twist - Mickelson wasn't anywhere near the green.
In a surprising decision that gave way to brief drama, Mickelson laid up on the 18th hole and had to settle for a birdie when his lob wedge from 72 yards away stopped 4 feet short of the hole.
The winner of the Farmers Insurance Open turned out to be Watson, who made clutch putts on the final two holes for a 5-under 67 and was sitting in the scoring trailer at the end, oblivious to how the final hole played out.
"I don't know how close he hit it. I don't know what he made on the hole," Watson said. "I just know that I won, because that's all I was worried about. If he makes it, I'm getting ready for a playoff. So I'm trying not to get too emotional. I realize it's Phil Mickelson. He can make any shot he wants to."
Just not this one.



So ended a bizarre week along the Pacific bluffs. A lefty won at Torrey Pines, just not the one Mickelson's hometown gallery wanted to see. Mickelson, the ultimate risk-taker of his era, opened himself up to criticism on the final hole because - get this - he played it safe.
As for Tiger Woods?