Phil Mickelson Lets Another Golden Opportunity Slip Away at the 2012 Masters

Whether he winds up winning 18 majors or not, Tiger Woods has already cemented his place in golf history.

Most golf historians would consider Woods to be amongst the top three greatest golfers to have ever lived.

Whether you rank him first, second or third is almost irrelevant. People will always have differing opinions when it comes to the age-old question of “who was the greatest golfer of all-time?”

But what most can agree upon, however, is that Woods is front and center in any discussion about the greatest golfers of all-time.

Phil Mickelson, on the other hand, still has much to prove.

Mickelson’s place in the game has yet to be determined.

Right now, Mickelson has 40 PGA Tour wins, including four major championship titles.

That puts Mickelson is a class of players that would include the likes of Vijay Singh, Billy Casper, Raymond Floyd, Peter Thompson and possibly Seve Ballesteros.

Early professional golfers such as Willie Anderson, Tom Morris, Sr., Tom Morris, Jr. and Willie Park, Sr. have as many major championship titles as Mickelson, but they are difficult to compare to modern-day players for numerous reasons. The fact that the game was still in its infancy during the 1800s and very early 1900s means that these players have no career win numbers to speak of outside of the professional majors, which in that era really only comprised of the Open Championship.

There is no question that if Mickelson were to retire today, he’d fall into a class of extremely respectable golfers when evaluating his career, but he he’d still be a major title or two behind the likes of Lee Travino and Nick Faldo and two to three more majors behind the likes of Gene Sarazen, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson.

Mickelson is essentially right at the cusp of breaking into that conversation of the top-10 golfers of all-time.

Two more majors and 10 more PGA Tour victories for Mickelson, and you are now talking about a player with 51 PGA Tour wins (which would tie him for seventh all-time) and six majors (which would tie him for 12th all-time).

At 41 years old and with a case of psoriatic arthritis, the hands of time are rapidly closing in on Mickelson, which is why his letting the 2012 Masters slip through his hands yesterday afternoon was such a devastating blow.

When Mickelson walked off of the 72nd hole at Winged Foot back in 2006 having just handed the U.S. Open title to Geoff Ogilvy, it was a matter of “wow, what a horrific meltdown, but he’ll have other chances.”

As Mickelson walked off the 18th green yesterday afternoon at Augusta National having let the 2012 Masters slip away with a triple-bogey six at the par-three 4th, it was more a matter of “wow, he may have few if any more of these chances left.”

If it were Mickelson and not Bubba Watson posing for pictures in a green jacket yesterday evening as the sun began to set behind the Georgia Pines, it would have been Mickelson’s fourth Masters title, which is as many as Woods and Palmer and one more than Sam Snead, Gary Player and Nick Faldo.

One more win in the career of professional golfer doesn’t sound like much, but in terms of where Mickelson currently resides in the game’s history, one more Masters title would have been HUGE.

It would have pushed Mickelson into a class of players that includes Trevino and Faldo and would have brought him within range of joining the likes of Sarazen, Palmer and Watson.

At this point in Mickelson’s career, it’s not about the fame or fortune; he already has that and more.  It’s about chasing down major championship titles in order to cement his place in the game’s history.

There’s a big difference between four majors and six, and unfortunately for Mickelson, there’s also a big difference between a 41-year-old golfer and a 42, 43 or 44-year-old golfer.

Lefty is reaching the end of the line, and each time he is in contention at a major and doesn’t get the job done, his legacy remains stagnant while the hands of time continue to rapidly close in on him.

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