Phil Mickelson: Why All Signs Point to Big Summer for Lefty

Phil Mickelson was a poor decision away from making the playoff alongside eventual champ Bubba Watson and Louis Oosthuizen Sunday at the Masters.

It was the par-three fourth hole on Sunday that prevented a fourth career Green Jacket. Tim Dahlberg of the Chicago Sun-Times describes what happened:

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He aimed where other players wouldn’t dare go on the par-3 fourth hole, certain that his calculations were better than theirs. The target wasn’t even the green, but Mickelson was sure he could escape with par from the bunker or anywhere left of there — even the grandstand.

He thought too much, and disaster ensued.

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A triple bogey later and that was all she wrote for Lefty.

So while Mickelson settled for a third place tie, it’s a reminder that Lefty is by far the best player on the tour in 2012.

He played two forgettable rounds and was still right in the thick of things at Augusta National.

With Tiger Woods a mess mentally and physically, the tour is lacking much star power.

Rory McIlroy is still too young to consistently compete and because of these circumstances there have been 15 different player’s to win the last 15 major championships.

The field is watered down right now and the elite players like Phil don’t exist.

In nine events on the tour in 2012, Mickelson has registered a win, a second and third place finish and four top 10’s overall.

Only the major-less Luke Donald and Lee Westwood come close to those numbers.

Nobody is playing more consistent golf right now and it’s going to bode well for Mickelson this summer.

With three majors still on the slate, I’d argue he’ll be favored in all of them.  

He is bound to be stung by his risk-taking approach at times, but clearly the good has outweighed the bad.

Nobody appears to have the mental makeup of Mickelson right now. This guy is one of the all-time greats and, as long as Woods continues to struggle, it's Lefty that will reap the benefits. 

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