Masters 2012: Preview of Phil Mickelson's 2nd-Round Performance

Phil Mickelson is preparing for his second round at the 2012 Masters tournament as we speak.

Round 1 wasn't a good one from Phil's perspective. 

With the rest of the field playing well and the cut line conceivably hovering right around where Mickelson currently stands at plus-two, it will take a strong outing in Round 2 for Phil to right the ship and not find himself on the outside looking in after the second round is in the books.

One way to fix things today is by getting off to a better start. Yesterday, Phil started out his round by bogeying the first hole, never a good way to begin any round, let alone a major championship.

Mickelson's front nine was littered with bad shots. 

According to the Associated Press, per The Washington Post, Mickelson said : 

"

Throughout the round on the front nine, I hit three or four shots in spots ... where I know I can’t miss it. And strategically made some mistakes, Mickelson said. I knew walking off the green at 4 over I wasn’t going to get them all back before the round was through. But if I could just get a couple back, I felt like I could get some back on the following day.

"

At least he knows what he's doing wrong and isn't trying to get it all back at once.

Mickelson's bad day wasn't relegated to the front nine, however. He completely tanked on the 10th hole yesterday, shooting a triple-bogey after his tee shot went off his club face and into the woods, never to be found again.

From that point, Mickelson managed to settle down and get into a rhythm, shooting two under the rest of the way to finish the day at plus-two.

Phil is confident he'll bounce back. Again, per The Washington Post:

"

So as poorly as I played and some of the poor shots I hit and the mishaps, missing on the wrong spot, I’m right there. With a hot round tomorrow, I’ll get right back in it for the weekend. I know that heading in I’ve been playing well. So I’m going to fire at it tomorrow and see if I can do that.

"

It's nice to see him so upbeat about his chances, but the truth is that Mickelson won't be able to hang around through the weekend unless he gets his driver figured out. 

When Phil's driver works, he's deadly. When he's spraying the ball all over the course off the tee, he struggles. 

Sounds like the plight of golfers everywhere, right?

Mickelson will need to tighten up his game and put on a show on Friday if he hopes to move on to the weekend. Chances are he will do so, and I won't be surprised to see Phil shoot a low number today after struggling yesterday.

All he needs to do is cut down on his mistakes. After all, despite shooting four bogeys and one triple-bogey, Mickelson still managed to shoot four birdies. 

As always, Mickelson is going to be fun to watch. He is aggressive to a fault sometimes, but he'll never apologize for being that way.

Stay tuned for all the latest news, analysis and highlights as the 2012 Masters rolls on Friday and into the weekend.

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