The 72nd hole

Charles Howell chipped to 10 feet and sneaked the par putt into the left side of the cup. he's smiling for the first time in an hour. Phil Mickelson sets up from the left rough, the ball a little above his feet ... and leaves his approach shot short and left of the green. Mickelson must get up and down to win in regulation. Otherwise, it could be the Nissan Open's fifth playoff in the past decade. One of those, in 2003, Howell lost to Mike Weir. He's called it his most frustrating defeat.