Notes: Dyson's 64 moves him into top 10 finish

TULSA, Okla. -- Simon Dyson had been so worn down playing golf that he decided to take three weeks off before the PGA Championship. He came back thinking "a top 30 would have been a dream."

The Englishman easily surpassed that goal, shooting a 6-under-par 64 Sunday for the low round of the day to finish in a tie for sixth place.

"One of the best days I've had for a long time," said Dyson, who has won twice on the European Tour and four times on the Asian Tour.

Dyson carded the best front nine total of the week with a 4-under 31, then added three more birdies on the back nine. All that kept him from matching the major championship record of 63 was a three-putt for bogey on No. 10.

"Everything just seemed to click today," Dyson said.

Dyson had played eight tournaments in a nine-week span, missing the cut in the final two, before deciding to take the break. While he continued to work out, he put his clubs away for two full weeks before resuming practice last week. In the meantime, he went out a few nights with friends and took his girlfriend on vacation for a few days.

"Nothing felt good. My head was somewhere it shouldn't be," Dyson said. "And I just thought I needed to recharge the batteries and get my appetite back."

Dyson said he may work more down time into his schedule, particularly if the result is such a strong finish in a major. Dyson's best finish at a major had been a tie for 34th at the 2005 British Open. He'd missed the cut at his only trip to the U.S. Open and his other three British Opens.

"It's something I'll savor for a long time," Dyson said. "Unless I do something better the next couple of years."

Phil's major

Having failed to win a major for the first time since 2003, Phil Mickelson said his win at The Players Championship -- the so-called fifth major -- was "what salvaged the year for me."

After tying for 24th at the Masters, Mickelson injured his left wrist while practicing for the U.S. Open, then missed the cut at Oakmont and at the British Open. He shot a 1-under 69 Sunday to end the PGA Championship at 6-over 286 in a tie for 32nd place.

"My other four performances in the majors were not what I wanted obviously, but I don't want to be too hard on myself because for a couple, I wasn't able to make the swings and hit the shots I needed to try to hit," Mickelson said.