Phil Mickelson is embraced by his caddie and brother Tim Mickelson on the 18th green of the Pebble Beach Golf Links after winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am tournament on Monday in Pebble Beach, Calif. (AP photo)

He was at his best at Pebble Beach, and no one had a chance.

A Monday finish brought on by rain and a freak hail storm was only a minor inconvenience for the 48-year-old Mickelson. He played two holes just as well as the previous 16 and polished off his bogey-free final round with one last birdie for a 7-under 65 and a three-shot victory over Paul Casey in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Mickelson won at Pebble Beach for the fifth time, matching the record set by Mark O’Meara. He has gone 28 years between his first PGA Tour victory and his 44th, and he joined Tiger Woods as the only players to surpass $90 million in career earnings.

“It’s a lot more work and effort to play at this level,” Mickelson said. “And I have believed for some time that if I play at my best, it will be good enough to win tournaments. The challenge is getting myself to play my best. It’s a lot more work off the course, it’s more time in the gym, it’s more time eating, it’s more time focusing, it’s all these things that go into it.

Phil Mickelson poses with his trophy on the 18th green of the Pebble Beach Golf Links after winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on Monday in Pebble Beach, Calif. (AP photo)

“And so it’s gratifying to see the results and to finish it off the way I did.”

Making it even more special is Pebble Beach, where he made his pro debut at the U.S. Open in 1992, where he won the first of his five titles in another Monday finish in 1998, this one in August because of rain.