Vaughn Taylor snatches first win in 11 years with stunning 65

Mickelson at least left Pebble Beach believing he is closer to ending the longest victory drought of his pro career that dates to the 2013 British Open.

The 39-year-old is 447th in the world golf rankings but managed to sink nine birdies in his last round for the unlikely victory.

Jordan Spieth’s frustrating week didn’t get much better Saturday at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

NAPLES, Fla. – Bernhard Langer won the Chubb Classic for his 26th PGA Champions Tour title, closing with a 1-over 73 for a three-stroke victory.

The 45-year-old Mickelson was at 16-under 199.

And yet he left the magnificent sunshine with a mixture of excitement and concern, along with his typical fill of optimism.

“I wasn’t even thinking about making that putt”, Taylor said. “It wasn’t a pushover by any means”.

A three-under 69 took England’s Justin Rose into a tie for sixth.

Padraig Harrington finished just outside the top-20. Zero surprises if he wins soon or if he wins a major championship this year. Jacobson had a 68 at Monterey Peninsula, and Kang followed his second-round 60 at Monterey Peninsula with a 70 at Pebble Beach. He had to get up-and-down for par on the par-5 18th for a 74 to make the cut on the number.

“I’m not in contention”.

Vaughn Taylor remains one of the forgotten players from the 2006 Ryder Cup that was held in The K-Club. Just wonderful. I’m at a loss for words right now. Where he started to get going was at No. 13, where he posted the first of four consecutive birdies.

Having been subjected to the errant hacking of television presenters, comedians and captains of American industry over the last few days, it is all about the serious business of who is going to win the Pebble Beach Pro-Am from now on.

-Jimmy Walker, who won the event in 2014, went from 1 over to 9 under for the tournament with a 9-under 63 that included two eagles.

Not only has Mickelson gone 31 months since his last victory, he hasn’t really come close to winning very much.

His goal Sunday when he teed off in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, trailing Phil Mickelson by six shots, was to finish in the top 10 so he wouldn’t have to rush down to Los Angeles and try to qualify for the next PGA Tour event.

But the fading hopes changed when he sank a lengthy birdie on No. 17 to put him one shot back. On the third hole, he drove into a fairway bunker and purposely played away from the flag, chipping just short of the green for a good angle at the pin.

But from then on, Lowry got a grip on his game and notched his first birdie of the day on the par-3, 17th, his eighth hole.

Biggest disappointment: Mickelson started the day with a two-shot lead but made a bogey for each one of his four birdies to shoot even-par 72 and finish one shot out of a potential playoff.

Langer eagled the par-5 fifth and added birdies on Nos.

When Mickelson used a wedge to hit his ball 5 feet short of the flag, the large gallery cheered as if he’d hit it to tap-in range and was a cinch for extra holes.

“It tells me I need to do a little work”, Mickelson said of his final round. Weather was great, I enjoyed everything about it. I’ve heard all the negatives from all the players throughout the years and I didn’t experience one of them.