LOS ANGELES (AP) — Phil Mickelson had played 10 tournaments at Riviera dating to his first appearance 20 years ago as a teenager. Never before had he arrived with such good vibes, mostly because of a minor change that he didn't reveal until he won.

It wasn't his close call last year, when he bogeyed the final hole and lost in a playoff.

Nor was it the playoff loss two weeks ago in Phoenix, a sign that his game was on the right track.

Rather, it was a noise only Lefty could hear.

He switched golf balls this year to a softer cover for more spin, and figured he had made all the adjustments until he struggled with his speed on the greens at Pebble Beach last week, which held him back. That's when he decided to change the insert in his putter.

``When I had putted with the insert I had, it was a quieter sound when the ball was coming off and I couldn't hear it, and I was giving it a little too much,'' Mickelson said. ``Consequently, my speed was going well by the hole. By putting in the firmer insert, I was able to hear it, and my speed and touch came back.

``Now I hear it and it feels great.''

The putter was key for Mickelson, who closed with a 1-under 70 for a two-shot victory over Jeff Quinney that gave him yet another PGA Tour title on the Left Coast.

He now has 33 career victories, with 16 of them in California and Arizona.

But as much as the putter helped Mickelson, it went from a magic wand to a ball-and-chain for Quinney.

He made four straight putts, three of them for birdie, from outside 10 feet that took him from a two-shot deficit to a brief lead and ultimately to a duel alone the final seven holes. But Quinney again had trouble down the stretch.

He bogeyed three straight holes, starting with back-to-back par putts that he missed from 7 feet, that gave Mickelson a two-shot lead and some comfort as he played the final holes. Quinney lost all hope with a three-putt from 20 feet on the par-5 17th, and his 25-foot birdie on the final hole only made it look close.