He knew that his game was getting close, and he broke through with a lot of flair Sunday in the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.

That “he” turned out to be Phil Mickelson, not Tiger Woods.

In a big, big way.

Mickelson went from a deficit of six-shots to a two-shot lead in just six holes, and closed with an 8-under 64 for a two-shot victory over Charlie Wi and gave Tiger a Sunday thrashing not many saw coming.

Mickelson and Woods were playing in the second-to-last group, and Mickelson beat him by 11 shots. He won for his fourth time at Pebble Beach, and has became only the ninth player in PGA Tour history with 40 wins.

“Pebble Beach … it feels so awesome no matter what number it is,” Mickelson said.

It was anything but awesome for Woods, who was reduced to a supporting role on a overcast, cool day along the Pacific Ocean. When it sure looked as though Woods might still be in the game after holing a bunker shot for birdie on the par-3 12th, Mickelson answered back by pouring in a 30-foot par putt.

Mickelson took over control for good with a 40-foot par save on the 15th hole, and he played it safe as Mickelson is capable of that every once in a while, on the 18th hole and still shot for birdie.

Wi, who started his final round with a three-shot lead, four-putted for double bogey on the opening hole and never did quite recover. Wi closed with back-to-back birdies for an even-par 72 making it his fifth runner-up finish on tour.

The shocker, though, was how Woods just fell apart.

He has been making big strides with his game over the past few months, and Woods looked poised to break through after a 67 at Pebble Beach in the third round that got him to within four shots of the lead.

But Tiger failed to make birdie on the easy opening stretch at Pebble Beach, and even when he shot his first birdie at the par-5 sixth, Mickelson landed in a 20-foot eagle putt to take the outright lead.

In his 2012 debut two weeks ago at Abu Dhabi, Woods was tied for the lead with unsung Robert Rock going into the final round and didn’t break par, tying for third.

Mickelson started the season sluggishly, failing to crack the top 25 at both the Humana Challenge and Phoenix Opens, and then missing the cut at Torrey Pines. He said that his putting was as good as ever, and it was a matter of getting his game in sync.

His game simply sang on Sunday, mostly his amazing touch on the greens, at No. 2 hole, a long eagle putt that caught part of the hole, long two-putts that resulted in par and enough birdies to make him a winner at Pebble Beach again.

Mickelson finished at 17-under 269 and he earned $1.152 million for his first win since the Houston Open last year. He will now move to No. 11 in the world.

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