Masters 2012: Phil Mickelson Will Take Advantage of Underdog Status at Masters

Pretty much all of the attention at this year's Masters has been focused on Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, which is just fine with Phil Mickelson.

He's perfectly happy to go into this year's tournament as the underdog. That way, he doesn't have to deal with any of the pressure his younger counterparts are experiencing, and it will give him ample opportunity to surprise people.

The 41-year-old is going in search of his fourth green jacket, but the world isn't focused on him. It's focused on Tiger's attempt to reverse his two-year-long fall from grace, coupled with McIlroy's bid to avenge last year's embarrassing collapse by winning his first Masters.

Mickelson's odds of winning aren't as good as either of theirs, and maybe his story can't be boiled down into a scintillating little package, but he has just as good a shot of winning as they do.

Being ignored at Augusta—along with the majority of the field—will only motivate him to prove it.

For one thing, recent history is on his side. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Steve Hummer points out that Mickelson has won each of his three Masters during even-numbered years, and during even-numbered years, his average finish is in third place.

Plus, he's taken the last few weeks as an opportunity to hone-in on his problem areas and eliminate his inconsistencies.

After his 24th-place finish at Bay Hill and before his fourth-place finish at the Houston Open, Mickelson told Hummer:

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I eliminated a lot of those loose shots [from Bay Hill] last week and steadily got better. I feel like I’m playing well, and I’m looking forward to this week.

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Nothing bad can come of the fact that Mickelson isn't being placed in the same elite category as Woods and McIlroy. In fact, those two golfers stand to be hurt by the swarm of media attention that has enveloped them for the last two weeks.

Mickelson doesn't need or want the attention; he'd rather focus on continuing his careful preparation for Augusta. He told FoxNews.com:

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I'm confident because of the way these last couple weeks have gone. I've steadily progressed at Bay Hill after hitting loose shots. I had some good momentum for next week and walk away from this week feeling really good about where my game is headed.

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This weekend, Mickelson has the advantage of decreased pressure. No one is really expecting him to win, which is exactly what will make it easier for him to do so.