Mickelson Wins in L.A.; Choi Ties for 7th

Phil Mickelson, who ranks second to Tiger Woods in the world golf rankings, won his first tournament of the U.S. PGA season at the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles.

Mickelson finished at 12 under-272 to win by two strokes over Jeff Quinney at the Riviera Country Club for his 33rd career victory.

Woods missed the event but the tournament attracted eight of the world’s top ten golfers and 17 out of the top 20. The former Nissan Open saw a name change last year after Northern Trust took over as sponsor.

A year ago, Mickelson was on the verge of winning the tournament, but bogeyed the 18th hole and lost in a playoff against Charles Howell III. This year, Howell tied for 55th.

Mickelson last week failed to make the cut in the third round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. But he rebounded Sunday with his 16th win on the West Coast.

As a high school golfer, Mickelson was disqualified in the same tournament in 1988. He laughingly said his goal then was making the cut, but this time it was winning.

K.J. Choi of Korea led on the tournament’s first day but was hampered by poor putts. He finished tied for seventh and Charlie Wi tied for 14th.

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