Tiger Woods claimed his second Fedex Cup title, Phil Mickelson won THE TOUR Championship

Phil Mickelson rallied from 4 shots behind Kenny Perry and 2 behind Tiger Woods to win by 3 over Tiger.Phil’s 5 under par 65 on Sunday at East Lake was the best round of the day by 2 strokes (Jim Furyk and Zach Johnson shot 67).With his 4th birdie of the front nine at the 9th hole Mickelson took control of the tournament,his lone birdie on the back nine came at the 16th, where he chipped in from the back of the green, and merely secured his victory as nobody threatened his lead. This is Phil’s third title this season,the first since his wife and mother were diagnosed with breast cancer in the spring.Things are better at home and he’s been working on his putting stroke with PGA champion Dave Stockton with great success as he finished 1st in putting for THE TOUR Championship. Mickelson’s comeback to the winner circle looked unlikely after the first round on Thursday when he took an 8 at the 14th hole and finished 3 over par. He worked his way back into contention with 67 on Friday,66 on Saturday and closed the deal in style on Sunday with a 65 that nobody could match.This is Phil’s second victory at East Lake,he won in 2000 again coming from behind to beat Woods.

Mickelson moved from 14th to second in the Fedex Cup standings,a $3 million bonus on top of the $1.35 million Tour Championship first prize and regains the #2 place in the world’s ranking. “I like the way today went”said Phil with the crystal trophy in his hands “I was two back of him,I beat him by three.He gets the $10million check and I get 1million.I’ve got no problem with that.I just love holding this finally.”

Tiger Woods was standing with Phil on the 18th green for the presentation but didn’t look like a guy about to receive a $10 million check. “I am sure I will be happier tomorrow than I am right now,because you are in the moment trying to win this event..” said Tiger “It feels certainly not like when I won the tournament 2 years ago.That felt a little bit better.” Woods putting let him down on Saturday and he struggled with his whole game on Sunday,his first birdie of the last round coming on the par 5 15th hole,followed by another one on the 16th with a 35’putt (his only one-putt birdie in 24 holes).

Kenny Perry had a 2-shot lead to start the final round and made it 4 after a birdie at the second hole but a combination of bad approaches and then bad tee shots and missed putts led to a 74 for -4 total and 4th place finish.

Steve Stricker had a hold on the Fedex Cup when he birdied the 15th and got to -5,one shot ahead of Tiger Woods then in 4th place,but that didn’t last as Steve bogeyed the next hole and gave the top spot back to Tiger.His final round 69 was good enough for 6th place at -3 and the 3rd spot in the Fedex Cup standings. 27 year-old Sean O’Hair also shot 69 on Sunday,he finished solo 3rd of THE TOUR Championship and 5th in the Fedex standings. Padraig Harrington only got the 7th spot in the final Fedex standings with his 4th place finish on Sunday but must be very happy of this season ending with 6 top ten in his last 6 events,after a a very shaky beginning of the year. Jim Furyk with a 3 under par last round,second best on Sunday,finished T 7th with Steve Marino and salvaged a 4th place in the Fedex Cup.

Tiger Woods was rewarded with his second Fedex Cup in two attempts (he sat out last season) for a very consistent season following his knee surgery last year.After an 8 months layoff his return was bringing many questions but with 6 victories in 17 starts the world #1 showed that nothing had changed and that he was still the man to beat. The resurrection of Phil Mickelson in THE TOUR Championship revives the rivalry of the tho biggest stars in golf and holds the promise of great battles for the 2010 season.

Next week from the 6 to the 11 of October the U.S. Team will face the International Team for The President’s cup at Harding Park Golf Course in San Francisco.Fred Couples is the U.S. captain,Greg Norman the International Team’s one.

This week the seniors will be playing in the last major championship of the year ,the Seniors Players Championship at Baltimore Country Club.

Check out the odds and pairings at BetPhoenix.com,there is still plenty of golf left this season.