Huh. What do you know. Sometimes a slow start ... is just a slow start.

A lot of people were interpreting Phil Mickelson's terrible 2007 start as a sign of psychic damage - a failure, perhaps permanent, to recover from the U.S. Open collapse of 2006.

Not so much.

Mickelson tied the tournament record in pulling away to a five-shot win at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Sunday. And with the win, he buried any talk that Phil "might never be the same" after that implosion at Winged Foot last year.

Not that there wasn't some reason to wonder about Phil. After that 2006 U.S. Open, Mickelson hadn't finished any higher than 16th place in any tournament. And he missed the cut last week.

Today, though, Mickelson's outlook is much like Pebble Beach's weather on Sunday: bright and sunny.

Good to have you back, Phil.

Pebble Beach Pro Am: Story | Scores