By David Kraft
 ESPN.com
 Wednesday, April 4
AUGUSTA, Ga. - The Masters seems made for Phil Mickelson.

 Phil Mickelson
Phil Mickelson has four top-10 finishes in the past six Masters.
The conventional wisdom:

  • Long hitters thrive at Augusta National.

  • So do precise shot-makers with imagination around the greens.

  • Ditto for guys with nerves on the lightning-fast greens.

    Mickelson's answers:

  • He's a combined 57-under on the par-5s during his 30 rounds at Augusta, including five eagles at No. 13. He's finished lower than 14th in driving distance only once in eight Masters appearances.

  • Nobody is more creative with his wedges, and Mickelson's iron game from 150 yards has improved dramatically.

  • Mickelson was third on the PGA Tour in putting a year ago.

    But still, no Masters titles. No majors of any kind.

    Which begs the question: At age 30, on a course seemingly suited to his game, at a time when he's won five times on the PGA Tour in the last 14 months, less than a month after he battled Tiger Woods in a thrilling final round at Bay Hill, should the Augusta National tailors be measuring Mickelson for a green jacket?

    "I don't feel like it's that far away," Mickelson said. "I feel like it's soon. I really feel as though I've been playing a little bit better, a little bit different than I have in the past. It would not surprise me to be in contention."

    It's not that Mickelson hasn't been a factor at The Masters. In eight trips -- seven as a professional -- he's finished third, sixth, seventh and 12th. He's been in the final three groups on Saturday and Sunday five times.

    Ask Woods, Vijay Singh and David Duval for players to watch, and Mickelson's name isn't far down their lists.

    Mickelson at Augusta
    Hole Par Score
    1 4 2-over
    2 5 11-under
    3 4 2-over
    4 3 6-over
    5 4 6-over
    6 3 8-over
    7 4 Even
    8 5 9-under
    9 4 1-over
    10 4 4-over
    11 4 3-over
    12 3 8-over
    13 5 27-under
    14 4 4-over
    15 5 10-under
    16 3 1-over
    17 4 1-over
    18 4 2-over

    But Mickelson has failed on the weekends, never mounting a serious charge. He shot 66 in the opening round in 1995 and led, but shot 70-73 on the weekend. A year later, he shot 65 in the first round, but went 73-72-72 to finish third. Last year, he was in second place after a second-round 68, but shot 76-71 to tie for seventh.

    He's bettered par only twice on Sunday, and then only by a shot. He's never been better than 2-under over the final 36 holes.

    Last year, he took 125 putts, a personal worst at The Masters, and lost by eight strokes to Singh.

    A green jacket? This year? Why should anyone buy in now?

    "I've been winning a bunch -- five in the last year," Mickelson said. "When I'm not winning, I feel like I'm in contention a lot more. I'm really not worried about being in contention. I don't feel so hit-or-miss. ... The anxiety and the uncertainty is removed. I have a lot of confidence right now in the way I've been playing."

    Mickelson says he's altered his approach in two ways this year.

    First, he's played four straight weeks, trying to stay sharp. He played the week before every major last year and was pleased with the results, so he extended it this year in Florida and Georgia. He wasn't a factor at the Honda Classic, then finished second at Bay Hill, 33rd at The Players Championship and tied for third last week at the BellSouth.

    Mickelson says he's also changed his thinking at Augusta National, the ultimate risk-reward layout where eagles are available, but at the cost of the occasional double-bogey. Mickelson has had both -- while he's 57-under on the par-5s in his career, he's 23-over on the par-3s and 24-over on the par-4s.

    And on the back nine, he's over par on every hole except Nos. 13 and 15, both par-5s. And that's the same back nine where conventional wisdom says The Masters is won -- or in Mickelson's case, lost.

    "I've made a bunch of mistakes here in the past while making more birdies in some years than anybody," Mickelson said. "And it has cost me tournaments because of some poor decision-making.

    "This year, I'm going in there with the mindset as though I don't need to birdie every par-5. I don't need to attack every pin. I'm going to try to make four or five birdies a round, instead of trying to make seven or eight, and I'm going to take some of those holes and just accept par now."

    Mickelson says he'll aim for the middle of greens and look to putt uphill, leaving himself 30 feet instead of trying to hunt down the flag. He said he'll hit an iron off the tee if the mood strikes him.

    "Aggressive play does not always mean driver," he said. "Sometimes an aggressive play is a 2-iron off the tee, so I can be aggressive into the pin."

    Very un-Mickelson-like, especially here.

    "Easier said than done," he said, looking down as if trying to convince himself.

    But he knows it has to be this way. The other method didn't work. Thanks to it, Mickelson keeps facing the question of why he hasn't won a major.

    "I think for the next 10 years, what I do, how I play and the things I accomplish will ultimately decide how I'm looked at as a player generations from now," Mickelson said. "And so these next 10 years are very important to me, because I want to be looked at in a certain light.

    "I feel as though in these next 10 years, if I'm able to win some majors, I can be looked on differently than as a player who won a lot of events, but never won a major."




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