MEXICO CITY: Five-time major winner Phil Mickelson seized his first title in nearly five years on Sunday as he edged Justin Thomas in a playoff to win the WGC Mexico Championship.
Mickelson, who hadn’t won since his victory at the Open Championship at Muirfield in 2013, parred the first playoff hole, the par-three 17th at Club de Golf Chapultepec, where Thomas missed the green and was unable to get up and down for par.
Thomas, one of the hottest young stars in golf and the reigning US PGA Tour Player of the Year, was coming off a victory at the Honda Classic last week.
He made six birdies and holed out from the fairway for an eagle at the 18th for a closing seven-under 64 that put him atop the leaderboard on 16-under 268.
With Thomas in the clubhouse with a two-stroke lead, Mickelson birdied 15 and 16 to reach 16-under and parred the last two-holes to cap a 66 and force the playoff.
England’s Tyrrell Hatton was 16-under through 17 holes, but bogeyed the last to miss the playoff.--AFP