Phil Mickelson warmed up for his defence of the US Masters with a three-shot victory at the Houston Open on Monday.
American left-hander Mickelson carded a seven-under-par 65 during his final round in Humble, Texas, to reach 20-under overall and collect the US$1.4 million first prize.
The four-time major winner topped the leaderboard at the Redstone Golf Club Tournament Course ahead of a two-way tie for second between Chris Kirk and Scott Verplank, who finished 17-under par.
Steve Stricker and Australian Aaron Baddeley shared fourth place at 13 under, with Canadian David Hearn and another Australian, Robert Allenby, a shot back in a tie for sixth.
Defending champion Anthony Kim was in contention after three days, but a one-over final round of 73 saw him finish 10 shots back in a share of 13th place.
Mickelson equalled the course record at the tournament with a bogey-free nine-under 63 on Sunday, and he came close to matching that achievement with an impressive final round.
The 40-year-old made the perfect start with a birdie at the par-four first.
Two bogeys at the second and third might have proven costly, but subsequent birdies at four, seven and nine helped him reach the turn two under on the day.
And there was no hesitation on the way in, as Mickelson strung together four consecutive birdies between 10 and 13 to move clear of the chasing pack.
Verplank remained within a stroke going into the last three holes.
But he dropped crucial shots with bogeys at 14 and 16, while Mickelson birdied the latter before sinking routine pars at 17 and 18 to seal the victory.
The 39th title of his career lifts Mickelson above arch-rival Tiger Woods and into third place in the world rankings.
And he will now arrive at Augusta National Golf Club aiming to become the first man to defend the US Masters since Woods in 2002.
"I'm very pleased to have played well," Mickelson said.
"I'm just trying to get my game ready and it's not just the physical ball-striking and short game and putting and so forth."
"I've got to maintain my focus throughout the round. There were two points out there where I just lost focus. Next week at Augusta, that golf course can be very penalising."