Phil Mickelson wows Pebble Beach fans again with amazing short-game wizardry
Watch the final round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Sky Sports Golf. Live coverage begins on Sunday at 6pm.
Saturday 8 February 2020 23:49, UK
Phil Mickelson's sublime skills with wedge in hand are legendary, but his short-game on day three at Pebble Beach was extra-special even by his lofty standards.
Time and again, Mickelson was scrambling for pars throughout his third-round 67 on the signature course, but he produced six of his very-best pitches, bunker splash-outs and, of course, a trademark flop-shot at the last as he ended the day just one shot off the lead.
The defending champion's exhibition of short-game brilliance began with a delicate 50-yard pitch at the sixth which set up his third birdie of the round, but he looked certain to give one back at the iconic par-three seventh when his tee shot skipped over the back of the green and plugged in a bunker.
But, with little green to work with and the lie of the land sloping away from him, he pitched his escape in the rough and his ball worked its way onto the putting surface and pulled up two feet from the cup for a tap-in par, a sand-save he ranked as "absolutely top-five" in his career!
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Mickelson produced some more bunker magic from longer distance at the eighth, where he splashed out to within inches of the flag, although he was unable to avoid a bogey at the 12th before hitting back with a "rather sexy" bunker shot at the next.
His approach came up short and found the deep front-left bunker, from where he hit the perfect escape which gripped and curled into the cup for birdie, and he then atoned for spinning his third shot to the short 14th back off the green by chipping in - at pace - once again.
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And, after three uneventful pars, he pulled his second to the 18th into the right rough and a closing birdie looked a tall order, but he launched a flop-shot into orbit and his ball landed softly and rolled out to just four feet beyond the pin - and the birdie putt that followed was never in doubt.
Watch the video above to see Mickelson deliver a magnificent short-game masterclass at Pebble Beach. Tune into Sky Sports Golf from 6pm on Sunday for live final-round coverage as Mickelson chases a sixth win in the event ...
