Phil Mickelson shot a 65 to earn his first victory in the Masters final round, 2011 Shell Houston Open.
Mickelson, the defending Masters champion out dueled Scott Verplank to win the Houston Open by three shots. Moments later, Mickelson was already thinking about Augusta.
The win moved Mickelson’s world ranking to No. 3, while Tiger Woods dropped to No. 7. It’s the first time Mickelson has been ahead of Woods in the ranking since the week before Woods won the 1997 Masters for his first major championship.
The 40-year-old Mickelson shot a 7-under 65, the lowest closing score by a winner this year, to finish at 20 under.
