Masters 2012: Phil Mickelson's Latest Choke Job Won't Be Easily Forgotten

Phil Mickelson should have won the Masters. It's as simple as that.

He had everything lined up going into Sunday, but like major moments past, Lefty left an opportunity on the table.

Mickelson was on a roll heading into the final day. He shot a 74 in the first round, but he followed that up with a 68 on Friday and a hot 66 on Saturday.

Trailing by only one shot to the lesser known Peter Hanson, it seemed Mickelson's building-championship pedigree would guide him.

I believed it would, but I was wrong.

As I imagined, Hanson would come back to Mickelson, but Mickelson's play didn't continue to improve, nor did it stay consistent.

Mickelson conjured up memories of past fails with ill-advised risky shots, and poor execution. No moment better displayed this occurrence than the triple bogey on the fourth hole.

The world's most famous left-handed golfer hit his tee-shot and second shot so poorly, he was forced to take the next two right-handed due to the difficult placement.

He landed in bamboo, hit a spectator and nearly hit himself as he labored through the fourth.

That hole effectively cost Mickelson his fourth green jacket.

He didn't have another bogey for the remainder of the day. In fact, he birdied three holes the rest of the way.

Still—he didn't do anything championship-worthy to make up for his mistake on the fourth hole.

There have been more monumental slip-ups at Augusta. Look no further than Rory McIlroy's meltdown last year.

Even Mickelson has fallen flat in a more grand fashion than this. But this one will be memorable because he didn't lose it to another established superstar.

Bubba Watson may reach that status one day, but he isn't there yet.

It'll also be memorable because it's Augusta National. This is the place where he originally got the monkey off his back. In 2004, he dropped the label "greatest golfer never to win a major," with a Masters championship.

Through three rounds, it appeared this was going to be yet another affirmation that Mickelson is big-time.

It wasn't to be, and that is as big a story as Watson's emotional and well deserved victory.