Mickelson wins in Houston, moves to No. 3

Phil Mickelson won the Houston Open on Sunday to jump to No. 3 in the world heading into his Masters title defense.

Mickelson had weekend rounds of 63 and 65 at Redstone in Humble, Texas, to finish at 20-under 268, three strokes ahead of Chris Kirk (67) and Scott Verplank (68).

While Mickelson moved to No. 3 with his 39th PGA Tour victory, Tiger Woods fell to No. 7. It’s the first time Mickelson has been ahead of Woods in the ranking since the week before Woods won the 1997 Masters for his first major championship.

Lefty is the …

Phil Mickelson won the Houston Open on Sunday to jump to No. 3 in the world heading into his Masters title defense.

Mickelson had weekend rounds of 63 and 65 at Redstone in Humble, Texas, to finish at 20-under 268, three strokes ahead of Chris Kirk (67) and Scott Verplank (68).

While Mickelson moved to No. 3 with his 39th PGA Tour victory, Tiger Woods fell to No. 7. It’s the first time Mickelson has been ahead of Woods in the ranking since the week before Woods won the 1997 Masters for his first major championship.

Lefty is the last player to win the week prior to a Masters victory, doing so in 2006 before earning his second green jacket.

Champions Tour

Tom Lehman won the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic for his second victory of the season, closing with a 3-under 69 for a four-stroke victory at Saucier, Miss.

Lehman, the Allianz Championship winner in February, finished at 16-under 200 at Fallen Oak. Nick Price (67), David Frost (69) and Jeff Sluman (72) tied for second.

European Tour

England’s David Horsey won the Trophee Hassan II in Agadir, Morocco, for his second European Tour title, making a hole-in-one and winning with a birdie on the second hole of a playoff.

Horsey closed with a 3-under 69, acing the par-3 second, to match Wales’ Rhys Davies (69) and Dutchman Jaco Van Zyl (68) at 13-under 274.