Bubba Watson tops Mickelson in dramatic ending at Torrey Pines

Bubba Watson tempered his celebration when he rolled in a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole yesterday 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 in San Diego 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 he played it safe.

As for Tiger Woods?

His five-tournament winning streak at Torrey Pines ended without hardly anyone noticing. Woods was done some two hours before the finish, and his 75 put him in a tie for 44th. He had never finished outside the top 10 at Torrey Pines, and it was his worst start to his golf season since he turned pro.

"Bubba played some terrific golf," said Mickelson, who scored a 69. "I did what I thought would be enough, and it just wasn't. Bubba played too good. He made great shot after great shot, and made putt after putt. It was a wonderful round for him."

Watson finished at 16-under 272 for his second victory, although this one came against a much stronger field than his playoff win at the Travelers Championship last summer.

"It showed I can do it," he said. "I've done it twice now. I'm only 50 behind Phil and about 80 behind Tiger. So they better watch out."

In other tournaments:

 * At Riffa, Bahrain, England's Paul Casey sank a 5-foot par putt at the last hole to win the inaugural Volvo Golf Champions for his first title in 20 months. Casey closed with a 4-under 68 to finish at 20-under 268.

* At Kaanapali, Hawaii, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson successfully defended their Champions Skins Game title, finishing with seven skins and $310,000 to edge Mark O'Meara and Bernhard Langer by $10,000.