Mickelson warms up for Augusta Masters

For Mickelson,the victory marked his 39th PGA Tour title. The left-hander now heads to Augusta,the seasons first major,riding the momentum of his first victory since winning at the Masters in 2010 but insists that does not necessarily make him the favourite.

I dont know if I am favourite,thats not for me to say, Mickelson said. Im just trying to get my game ready and its just not the physical ball striking,short game,putting and so forth.

Verplank,who started the day as joint-leader alongside Mickelson,had been working on a flawless round going six under through 13 to grab the lead but stumbled at the finish with bogeys at 14 and 16 to return a four-under-par 68.

Kirk closed with a five-under 67 to join Verplank in second on 17-under-par 271. Australian Aaron Baddeley 71 and American Steve Stricker 69 finished seven shots off the pace in a tie for fourth.