After epic two-week run, Phil to take time off

• By Randall Mell
• Feb 19, 2012 9:49 PM ET

LOS ANGELES – Phil Mickelson’s hard run the last two weeks didn’t end with back-to-back victories, but he heads into a break feeling good about his momentum.

“These last two weeks have been good,” Mickelson said of winning the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am last week and coming up short in a playoff Sunday at the Northern Trust Open. “I’ll take two weeks off here. I’ve got some work to do to get my game sharp.”

Mickelson is skipping the Accenture Match Play Championship to spend time with his family. He plans to return at the WGC-Cadillac Championship at Doral in three weeks.

Mickelson closed Sunday with an even-par 71, igniting roars burying a 27-foot birdie putt at the 72nd hole to force the playoff, a birdie matched moments later by Keegan Bradley.

In the end, though, Mickelson’s putter wasn’t as cooperative as it was in Sunday’s stirring finish at Pebble Beach. Mickelson made back-to-back bogeys with three putts at both the 14th and 15th holes. He left a good birdie chance a half-roll short of the cup at the 17th.

“It was very U.S. Open-esque,” Mickelson said of Riviera's conditions. “It was very defensive because the greens were so firm.”