10B
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY.FEBRUARY 12.2007
PGA TOUR
Mickelson wins Pro-Am, ties record
Tour veteran ties tournament record at Pebble Beach, captures 11th West Coast victory in 15 seasons
Phil Mickelson hugs his children, daughters Sophia, left, and Amanda, right, and son Evan, center, after finishing the 18th hole at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am golf tournament in Pebble Beach, Calif. Sunday, Mickelson finished二十-under 246 for the victory.
Jeff Chiu/ASSOCIATED PRESS
BY DOUG FERGUSON ASSOCIATED PRESS
PEBBLE BEACH, Calif.
— Anone worried that Phil Mickelson was emotionally scarred by that U.S. Open collapse can relax.
Mickelson finally got his season on track Sunday by closing with a 6 under 66 under surprising sunshine to tie the tournament record at the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and win by five shots for the 30th victory of his career.
Mickelson overcame a double bogey with a lost ball early in the round with three birdies in a four-hole stretch along the ocean, turning a tight race into another runaway.
He matched the largest margin of victory at this tournament, winning by five shots over Kevin Sutherland.
It was the 11th time in 15 seasons that Mickelson won on the West Coast Swing, and the timing couldn't have been better. He had started his season slowly, allowing the conversation to linger on his gaffe last summer at Winged Foot, when he chopped his way to a double bogey on the final hole to lose the U.S. Open.
Now, he looks as if he's about to hit his stride.
Mickelson finished at 20 under 268, tying the tournament record at Pebble Beach set in 1997 by Mark O'Meara.
He earned $990,000. making him the third person in tour history to surpass $40 million in career earnings.
Sutherland, in the final group for the second time in three weeks, hit over the ninth green and took
double bogs to fall out of contention. He also missed a half-dozen
he missed six puts on the first 10 holes. On hole No. 8, he missed from 7 feet as Mickelson took the lead for good.
The only suspense was whether he would tie O'Meara's scoring record, and Mickelson didn't disappoint.
putts inside 8 feet, but his birdie on the 18th for a 71 gave him second place and kept Mickelson from the largest margin of victory since Bing Crosby created this tournament in 1937.
Sutherland knew his chances came down to making putts, and
DAVIS CUP
BY RAF CASERT ASSOCIATED PRESS
America advances
Roddick helps U.S. reach quarterfinals
Roddick beat Tomas Berdych 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (4) Sunday to lead the United States to a 4-1 victory over the Czech Republic in the first round of the World Group.
The United States will next play Spain in Winston-Salem, N.C., in April. It will be a rematch of the 2004 final in Seville, when the Spanish hosts beat the Americans on clay spread so thick it took any sting out of the U.S. game.
The victory gave the Americans an insurmountable lead in the best-of-five format, and Roddick ran his record to 8-0 in Davis Cup matches with victory on the line. In the final match, which had no bearing on the outcome, Bob Bryan beat Lukas Dlouhy 7-6 (5), 6-4.
OSTRAV, Czech Republic — Andy Roddick kicked the red powder off his shoes one last time Sunday, happy to be done with clay and ready to return to the hard-court back home for the Davis Cup quarterfinals.
"As far as the weight of the situation goes," Roddick said, "it definitely could be one of my best matches on clay."
"It was similar to a sandbox." Roddick recalled.
Now the Spaniards, likely led by Rafael Nadal, can expect something faster.
"I'm sure we will return the favor, and I'm sure the court probably won't be too slow," Roddick said.
Other World Group winners in the first round were; defending champion Russia (at Chile), Sweden (at Belarus), Germany (home against Croatia), Spain (at Switzerland), France (home against Romania), Argentina (at Austria) and Belgium (at home against Australia).
The other pairings for the April
6 quarterfinals are France-Russia Germany-Belgium and Sweden-Argentina.
"It is a statistic I don't like," the 24-year-old Roddick said. "Especially considering I have been on the team for my seventh year now."
The United States leads all nations with 31 Davis Cup titles. But the Americans are looking to end their longest Davis Cup drought, which dates to 1995.
On Friday, Roddick downed two Minar in four sets before Bordych beat James Blake in four sets. The U.S. went up 2-1 Saturday on a doubles victory by twins Bob and Mike Bryan.
"We saw today why Andy Roddick is the fourth best player in the world." Czech coach Jaroslav Navratil said.
The Americans had not won a Davis Cup World Group series on clay in a decade, but Roddick broke the streak when Berdych netted a return of serve in the fourth-set tiebreaker.
Roddick, ranked No. 4 and winner of the 2003 U.S. Open, displayed an overpowering serve and a solid baseline game. He mastered not only the clay but a partisan crowd and one of the game's rising stars to raise his Davis Cup record to 22-9.
"It is one of his biggest wins, certainly in Davis Cup _ one of his most impressive wins," captain Patrick McEnroe, said
The Roddick-Berdych match featured two tall players wielding big serves, Berdych, ranked No. 12 and his country's biggest star at 21, maintained the pressure and Roddick was the first to crack.
In the seventh game, the Czech hit a couple of baseline winners and sealed the game with a subtle drop shot. The home crowd sensed another victory from Berdych and the prospect of a decisive fifth match.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
12:30-5:00 p.m.
Kansas Union Ballroom
"I played almost without mistakes in the first set," Berdych said. "I got one chance and used it, but then I started making mistakes and he improved his play."
Roddick seized the initiative. He broke at the first opportunity and suddenly the Czech was making errors. Roddick started winning the longer rallies and evened the match.
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Roddick broke again in the first game. His growing confidence silenced the crowd, its home player having lost his touch. Berdych even dropped serve on a love game. In the fourth set, neither could figure out how to counter the other's serve until the tiebreaker.
At that point, Berdych showed his age and Roddick his experience, and it was not long before Roddick raised his fists in victory.
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