At 48, Phil picks up another 6 mph of swing speed

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – Phil Mickelson is excited about the new power surge in his game.

He showed it off winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, uncorking some bombs on his way to the three-shot victory he closed out Monday. He finished eighth in the field in driving distance. He won playing a bomb-and-gouge game.

“I had a 5-, 6-mile an hour jump in [swing speed] last year, in really the last three or four months,” Mickelson said.

How did he get it?

Full-field scores from the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am

AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Articles, photos and videos

“It's not really a secret,” Mickelson said. “It was nine months of hard work, and then overnight I was swinging 6 miles an hour faster. ... It was biometric swing studies of my swing, taking weaknesses, making them strengths. It was time in the gym. It was a whole workout process. It’s been a lot of work, but days like this make it worthwhile.”

Mickelson is fifth on the PGA Tour in driving distance so far this season, averaging 316 yards per drive. He was 57th last year, averaging 300.3 yards per drive.

“It’s been a lot of work,” he said. “It’s been a long process.”

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