Blue Flu

What will Phil do next? Probably order a big meal and hold the calamari. Running on liquids and fumes when he wasn't running to lavatories and hospitals, the famished left-hander walked very slowly to the WGC-CA Championship. He fended off plumbing problems and Nick Watney by one stroke at Doral's Blue Monster, where the two Butch Harmon classmates virtually deserted a stellar field to engage in a weekend of match play. Mickelson shot a final-round 69 for 19-under 269 to secure his first WGC title, although if Watney's putt for birdie on No. 18 had one more revolution in it, they would have gone overtime—not exactly what the doctor ordered for Phil, who dined with friends Thursday evening and did not look at a menu for the remainder of his South Florida visit.

It was uncertain, only speculated, that the squid appetizer did the damage. Mickelson's famous caddie, Jim Mackay, also indulged, and he wasn't feeling too chipper, either. But Mickelson got progressively weaker, and his inner circle grew increasingly concerned. Mickelson was in the bathtub Saturday evening trying to cure the shakes as friends banged on his hotel door, fearing he might have passed out. Eventually, Mickelson was taken to Baptist Medical Plaza for two IV bags, but when he was still in bed at 1 p.m. Sunday with a 2:45 tee time, trainer Sean Cochran wondered whether his man would be able to finish what he had started.

"Beware the ailing golfer," rasped Mickelson, who canceled a scheduled Monday business trip to New York and instead commanded wheels up for his San Diego home. In due time he will reflect on how effectively he performed, particularly with a peg in the ground. Only a few drives went awry—notably Sunday's on No. 12, where Mickelson thrashed right-handed toward an escape route—justifying his faith in Harmon, who recalled "hooking up with Phil right here [in 2007], sort of on the sly at another course." Now, two years later, for all his weakened condition, Lefty is oozing confidence with Augusta on the near horizon.

If Mickelson wasn't eating, a very game Watney wasn't blinking, and after trading leads and birdies, the marquee pairing was seven shots wide of everybody else after No. 10 Sunday. Both men bogeyed the 12th, where Watney was forced to implement one in a series of awkward catcher's crouches to address his ball in a bunker. Strangely enough, the status remained quo for the next two hours. All pars, and Watney had 70, while Jim Furyk grabbed a quiet third with 67 for 272—a rather sedate conclusion after days of Camilomania, another impressive showing by Irish teen Rory McIlroy and, of course, the inevitable warning sirens from Tiger Woods.

He opened with a serviceable 71, then gradually polished rough edges such as distance control as he went through his first full tournament since June. With weekend 68s, Woods recorded a T-9, then expressed disappointment "because I hit it a lot better than I scored." Tiger has been known to putt Doral's greens as if he owned them, but this year, he clanked off more rims than Shaquille O'Neal from the foul line. Woods repeatedly seemed frustrated and amazed when his ball was not dropping, but as one adversary moaned, "Now he knows how the rest of us feel." Then again, instructor Hank Haney thinks he knows how his prized pupil feels about the rest of his arsenal: "Tiger says he's never been this excited about his swing."

It is anticipated Woods will play next at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He did not commit to that yet, but did, generously and almost out of nowhere, heap praise on McIlroy, saying, "He has all of the components to be the best player in the world, there's no doubt. Hopefully, when I'm not around."

McIlroy cooled off after two rounds but drew high praise from Woods.

Sergio Garcia could have dislodged Woods as No. 1 after 196 straight weeks, but the Spaniard finished T-31 at Doral and was instead bumped from the No. 2 spot by Mickelson. After a modest takeoff—he was even par after eight holes—Mickelson percolated Thursday with three chip-ins, including at Nos. 17 and 18, for 30 on the back. He required only 20 putts for 65. Calamari or no calamari, Mickelson authored another chip-in at No. 7 Friday, when he used but 22 putts toward 66. Mickelson was up by two over Watney, but begged off the perfunctory post-round mass interview, the first clue that he was ailing. Mickelson disappeared for so long after signing his scorecard, it was speculated he had been selected for random drug testing. In fact, he was experiencing the gamut—chills, overheating, dehydration and fatigue.

Mickelson's other issue was Watney, winner of the Buick Invitational last month and a fellow mounting a challenge to Steve Stricker for nicest/friendliest/most popular guy among PGA Tour peers. Still mistaken for Bill Haas on occasion, Watney's today-is-going-to-be-a-happy-day countenance reminds you of a kid who discovered where Mom hides the candy bars. That, too, is a false front because Watney appears to be a heat-seeking competitor. "This is why I play," he said after two trips around Doral before large and demonstrably pro-Mickelson gatherings. "People watch Phil for a reason and with so many people pulling for him, I treat it like an away game."