Jeff Quinney pleased with runner-up finish at Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club

From WorldGolf.com News Services

As Phil Mickelson started to pull away from him in Sunday's final round of the Northern Trust Open, Jeff Quinney said he knew he was playing to protect second place.

Starting with his first three-putt in 215 holes at No. 13, Quinney made three consecutive bogeys and had another bogey at the 17th before closing with a birdie at 18 to finish two strokes behind Mickelson and earn a runner-up finish at Riviera Country Club. It was a career-best performance for the Arizona State graduate. He collected a $669,000 paycheck and improved to No. 68 in the world golf rankings and 13th in the FedEx Cup standings.

"It's huge," Quinney told reporters when asked about the second-place showing. "I kind of knew that I was out of winning the tournament the last couple holes. I just wanted to make sure I didn't do something silly. Second place is a big check this week, so I know it secures my job, and it's just going to give me that much more confidence the rest of the year."

Despite coming in second place behind Mickelson, Quinney said he hopes he can learn some valuable lessons from playing the final two rounds of last weekend's tournament in the same group with a big-name player like Mickelson.

"I actually felt better than I thought I would," said Quinney, a 29-year-old Oregon native. "I had not necessarily had a hard time sleeping because I was so tired (Saturday) night, but I was up early and kind of anxious to get going. I just wanted to get back in the ropes again. Once I get in there in the playing field, I feel great."

Quinney said he felt he did a good job of not being intimidated by Mickelson, a three-time major champion.

"I think there's always a danger, but I don't think I really gave him that power," Quinney said. "I could see where he was human at times because I don't think he was quite on his A-game because he had missed a few shots here and there.

"You could see on 17 and 18 where he really took a rip at it, and I think that's his confidence swing and maybe when he knew he had it in the grass, but sometimes he was kind of shaping shots. That's the difference. He doesn't have to be at his best to win, and I think the rest of us do."

Phil Mickelson on the rise

Despite missing the cut the previous week in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, Phil Mickelson said he clung to the belief that his game wasn't that far away. He proved it Sunday, shooting 1-under-par 70 to finish at 12-under 272 to win by two strokes.

Mickelson, who has been working on swing changes for the past year under the direction of Butch Harmon, said he has been encouraged lately.

"I can see the difference, or I can see the improvement," Mickelson told reporters Sunday. "It's not quite to where I believe I can get it, but I feel like it's been much better than in the past, so I feel like I'm getting better. I can taste where I want to get to, but I'm not quite there yet."

Mickelson now has three top-10 finishes in four starts this year, including a win and a runner-up effort at the FBR Open. The world No. 2-ranked player leads the PGA Tour in FedEx Cup points (8,069) and earnings ($1.94 million).

Master of preparation

The Masters is still a month and a half away, but Padraig Harrington said it's never too soon to begin preparing for golf's first major, which will be played April 10-13.

"All tournaments lead to the Masters at this time of the year," Harrington told reporters after his third-place tie in the Northern Trust Open. "Out here, that's what you're thinking about. You're thinking about getting your game in shape so when the Masters comes around, you're ready."

The trick, the defending British Open champion said, is not to peak too early.

"It's an interesting balance," Harrington said. "Because you don't want to come out too early, but you want to have enough tournaments under your belt so you feel competitive, so that's interesting."

Briefly

• Sunday at the Northern Trust Open, Mickelson became the fifth 36-hole leader/co-leader this year on the PGA Tour to go on and win that week, joining K.J. Choi (Sony Open), D.J. Trahan (Bob Hope Chrysler Classic), Tiger Woods (Buick Invitational) and J.B. Holmes (FBR Open).

• Mickelson has now won 17 of 24 times when holding at least a share of the 54-hole lead in PGA Tour stroke-play events. He has won 14 of 25 times when holding at least a share of the 36-hole lead on tour in stroke-play events.

• Mickelson moved into 13th place on the list for career PGA Tour victories with his 33rd victory. Mickelson moved past Horton Smith, who had 32 victories.

• Ryuji Imada tied for fifth place in the Northern Trust Open, marking his second top-five performance of 2008, as he was also second in the Buick Invitational. It's the first time in his four-year PGA Tour career that he has recorded multiple top-five finishes.

February 19, 2008