Phil Mickelson had the smaller cheque and felt like the biggest winner. Tiger Woods was congratulated after he finished second in the Tour Championship tournament.

Sunday was the ninth time that golf's two biggest stars finished 1-2 in a tournament.

Never have they shared the spotlight, each going home with a trophy that was meaningful in its own way.

Mickelson capped off a tumultuous summer at home with a spectacular rally at East Lake, closing with a 5-under 65 to go from four shots behind to a three-shot victory, his first since his wife and mother were diagnosed with breast cancer in the spring.

Woods made two late birdies, not enough to put any heat on Mickelson, but enough to secure the FedEx Cup and its $10 million bonus. It finished a season in which he won six times and was no worse than second in nine of his 17 tournaments.

"I like the way today went," Mickelson said. "I was two back of him, I beat him by three. He gets the $10 million cheque and I get $1 million. I've got no problem with that. I just love holding this finally."

He motioned toward the crystal trophy of the Tour Championship, which has not belonged to him since he won in 2000 at East Lake by again rallying in the final round to beat Woods.

Mickelson finished at 9-under 271 and earned $1.35 million. He also collected $3 million for being second in the FedEx Cup. It was his third victory of the year, the 37th of his career and it lifted him back to No 2 in the world rankings.

"It means a lot to finish the year off on such a good note," Mickelson said. "We've been through a lot and I'm very proud of my wife and my mom on the fight that they've been through. We're in good shape. Although day-to-day is tough, and it's not easy for them, we're fortunate that our long-term outlook is good."

Woods stood on the 18th green with his biggest rival, perturbed by his inability to make putts inside 20 feet, trying to remind himself that he had a remarkable season coming off major knee surgery.

"I'm sure I would probably be more happy tomorrow than I am right now because you're in the moment trying to win this event," Woods said. "Winning takes care of everything. But when you're in the moment out there, I'm trying to win a golf tournament. I'm trying to beat Phil, he's trying to beat me ... we're all there, and it was just a great leaderboard."

Mickelson's only hope for the FedEx Cup was for Woods to finish eighth or worse, a remote possibility until Woods made his first birdie of the final round at No 15, then ended a bizarre drought with a 35-foot birdie on the 16th. It was his first one-putt birdie in 24 holes.

Woods wasn't paying a lick of attention to the FedEx Cup, only that other trophy.

"All I know is I was three and four back, I just needed to push, needed a run of two or three birdies to get me right back in the ball game," Woods said. "Unfortunately, that run didn't happen until 15. And that's a little late."

Mickelson seized control with a 31 on the front nine and his lone birdie on the back came from a chip-in out of a nasty lie behind the 16th green that essentially secured his victory.

Confident as ever from his putting tips from former PGA champion Dave Stockton, Mickelson rolled in consecutive birdie putts of 15 feet on No 3 and 30 feet on No 4, then pulled into a share of the lead with a pitching wedge that caught the lip at No 8 for a tap-in birdie.

Mickelson played the final 20 holes of the Tour Championship without a bogey.

Woods only cared about the Tour Championship, believing the FedEx Cup would take care of itself. When he captured the Cup two years ago under a different points system, he won the final two events, including a seven-shot win at East Lake.

"It feels certainly not like it did a couple of years ago when I won the tournament," Woods said. "That felt a little bit better."