Vaughn Taylor in shock after stunning AT&T Pebble Beach Pro

Phil Mickelson was poised to strike for a record-tying fifth Pebble Beach Pro Am crown after seizing a two-shot lead on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) with a third-round 66.

Earlier this month, Taylor was in Bogotá, Colombia, to play in a Web.com Tour tournament. “I didn’t think it was going to happen”, said Taylor as he celebrated his first PGA Tour event since 2005.

The year before that, his best chance was the PGA Championship at Valhalla, where he was tied for the lead on the back nine until Rory McIlroy pulled ahead and Mickelson’s last chance was to chip in for eagle (he nearly did). It took a missed Phil Mickelson 5-footer on the final hole before he could breathe easy, but then the tears flowed.

It had been more than a decade since he won. “I could just feel it. I had to keep my emotions under check, and I kept just trying to stay calm, and I can’t believe it happened”.

“It’s absolutely fantastic”, Taylor said of winning the tournament. “I get to play in the Masters. It’s a dream come true”. He made birdie on all but one of the par 3s, scrambled for par on half of his holes and wound up with his first 54-hole lead since the 2013 U.S. Open. He fell one shot short after a 72 and was second.

“To be even par, I mean I should be really, I would say average for me there would be 7- or 8-under”, he said.

Iwata said he was calm playing in the final group with Mickelson.

At 16, a putt of more than 20 feet got the crowd, and Vaughn, going.

“I also know that I am close”. I know I’m on the right track…. He then played par golf up to the finish for 74 and 280, seven-under par overall.

“It’s fun to be back in the thick of it”.

Jonas Blixt finished in third after his final-round 69, becoming the only person to finish with scores of under 70 in all four rounds.

Couples (66) made $140,800.

One reason for the confidence is that there are a lack of star names who look to be in a position to challenge. He battled a loss of game.

In addition to struggles on the course, he endured a frightening boat accident while fishing on a river near his home in 2014 – one in which he feared he would drown. Heck, last week he was hooked up to an IV in a Colombian hospital to combat food poisoning or a flu bug that bit hard. Oh man, a lot of dark days and nights.

After successfully scraping it around Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula, Mickelson found only 18 of 36 greens in regulation over the weekend at the host course, including nine of 18 on Sunday.

On Valentine’s Day, he gave special tribute to his wife.

“There are so many ups and downs in this career”, Leot Taylor said when she’d wiped the tears from under his sunglasses. I was going to drive up [to Los Angeles, site of this week’s Northern Trust Open] to Monday qualify.