Mickelson carried similar optimism into Sunday's final round

Phil Mickelson's malaise was bearing down on a full year. This happens from time to time, but it seemed reasonable to wonder if he had started his slow, inexorable descent toward sporting irrelevance at age 41.

Then, abruptly, Mickelson found the magic formula. He merely needed a pep talk from his wife, Amy, and a final round alongside Tiger Woods.

The sight of Woods on Sundays - red shirt, cold stare, purposeful stride - once meant imminent doom for Mickelson or any other player. No longer. Mickelson's resounding romp in Sunday's final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am extended a striking trend in recent years, leaning Lefty's way.

First, the details: Mickelson zoomed to his fourth AT&T title by shooting 64 on a gray, gloomy day on the Monterey Peninsula. He raced past Charlie Wi to finish at 17-under-par, two strokes ahead of Wi (final-round 72) and four clear of Ricky Barnes (67). Woods wobbled around in 75 shots and wasn't a factor.

Woods mattered only because he played in the next-to-last group alongside Mickelson. This was the fifth time in the past five years that they played together in the final round of a PGA Tour event - and Mickelson has posted the lower score all five times, with a cumulative edge of 19 strokes.

Remember when Woods made Mickelson and others quiver on Sundays?

Now he motivates them.

"I'm inspired playing with Tiger," Mickelson said. "He seems to bring out the best in me the last four or five years. I've played some of my best golf with him. ... It just forces me to focus on my game more intently and hit more precise shots.

"It's only been the past five years. Before, I got spanked pretty good."

Woods usually stirs nostalgic references to golf's rich history, but Mickelson awoke the ghosts this time. This win was No. 40 of his PGA Tour career, breaking a tie with Tom Watson and Cary Middlecoff and vaulting Mickelson into sole possession of ninth place on the all-time list.

Or, in our little corner of the world, consider this: His haul in the Crosby-turned-AT&T puts him above any player not named Mark O'Meara, who won the tournament five times. Mickelson had been tied with Jack Nicklaus and Johnny Miller - they could play a little - with three wins each.

Even so, Mickelson arrived at Pebble in a rut. He always has lacked Tiger-like ruthlessness, floating to the middle of the pack, occasionally missing cuts and appearing disinterested. In 16 starts since his previous win, in Houston in April, Mickelson had finished in the top eight only once (tie for second at the British Open).

This season had been especially frustrating, with three starts and no top-25 finishes. Mickelson's funk worsened by the midpoint of Friday's round at Monterey Peninsula, where he stood 2-under for the tournament.

And then Amy Mickelson arrived.

She came from their home in San Diego for a rare weekend without their three kids. Phil Mickelson chatted with his wife during his round, and she encouraged him to make birdies. He complied, reeling off five in his final eight holes to complete an invigorating 65 in chilly, misty, rainy weather.

"I was moping," Mickelson said. "Amy was so positive, it just changed my attitude. I didn't even really think I was in position to win at that moment. ... It wouldn't have been possible without that talk."

Mickelson carried similar optimism into Sunday's final round, knowing Pebble is vulnerable over the first seven holes. Maybe he could make a move right out of the gate and bring Wi into his sights. It happened in reverse in 2001, when Davis Love III shot 63, including 28 on the front nine, to chase down Mickelson.

And it happened again.

He started the day six shots behind Wi - and walked off the No. 6 green with a two-shot lead. Mickelson went par-birdie-par-birdie-birdie-eagle - capped by a 21-foot putt, rolling straight and pure and disappearing into the hole.

One factor: Mickelson doesn't play as recklessly as he once did. He made the eagle at No. 6 despite playing conservatively off the tee, hitting 5-wood to reduce the chance of his ball scooting into Stillwater Cove. Then he planted another 5-wood safely on the green, hoping to set up a two-putt birdie. The eagle was a bonus.

Mickelson, often shaky on the greens, putted extraordinarily well Sunday. He made a 31-footer to save par on No. 12, right after Woods holed a bunker shot. Mickelson also drained a 38-foot, par-saving putt on No. 15, allowing him to walk down the final fairway with a two-shot lead, all but assured of victory.

Those are the kinds of things Woods used to do on Sundays.