Phil Mickelson defeats Justin Thomas in playoff to win WGC-Mexico Championship
Phil Mickelson wasn’t going to let Justin Thomas waltz to another win. Mickelson forced a playoff in the WGC-Mexico Championship on Sunday, and needed just one more hole to take home the win.
Mickelson got off to a strong start over the first two days of the event, but Thomas pulled into the lead by shooting 62 and 64 over the final two days. Mickelson wasn’t going to go quietly, and managed to force a playoff.
The move set up quite the matchup. Thomas came in on one heck of a run, winning the 2017 PGA Player of the Year award as well as last week’s Honda Classic. Mickelson, despite his long history of success, hadn’t won an event in over 1,600 days.
It's been 1,687 days since Phil Mickelson's last win.
Tied for the lead, two holes to play.
— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelESPN) March 4, 2018
That drought finally came to an end. On the first playoff hole, the par-3 17th, Mickelson put his tee shot on the green, then barely missed his putt, which curved around the edge of the hole. Thomas missed the green, left his chip well short and missed the par putt. All Mickelson had to do was lightly tap the ball in to pick up his first win in almost five years.
It was Mickelson’s first win since the 2013 British Open, and his 43rd PGA victory.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
