Biggest Takeaways from Phil Mickelson's Poor Masters Performance

It wasn't a Masters performance to remember for Phil Mickelson, but one positive from his play was that he has plenty to learn from his struggles.

Lefty finished with a nine-over score of 297, seemingly playing his way out of contention on Friday with a round of 76 that included five bogeys and one double bogey. 

Though Mickelson was in a tough spot heading into weekend play and perhaps had already squandered his chance at winning a fourth green jacket, he only hurt himself with an even uglier round of 77 on Saturday. A back-nine 40 didn't help that performance.

He got somewhat back on his feet during the final round as he posted a 73, but it still wasn't the type of golf we've come to expect from Lefty or the type of golf that will win you a major.

Mickelson spent the days leading up to the Masters working on finding the proper three-wood driver for the tournament. Maybe if he'd focused more on his short game, he could have had more success.

At one point in the tournament, Mickelson had putted 30 times on just nine greens. Compare that to 14-year-old phenom Tianlang Guan, who didn't three-putt all tournament, and you have yourself some major problems.

This isn't just some solid golfer who struggles on the green, either. Mickelson is heralded as one of the game's best putters, and even wrote a book on it. Seriously, check Amazon if you don't believe it.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves—Lefty has more problems than just his putting game. He struggled mightily with iron play all tournament, missing fairway after fairway in every direction.

Mickelson wasn't shy about it, either. According to Brent Mayock of The Washington Times, he admitted his shot is all over the place and is becoming more and more unpredictable. 

"

I don’t know what’s been going on, but I’ve been struggling with my ball striking. It’s not knowing where it’s going to go.

If I look back on it, it’s my iron play that’s been very poor. Poor iron shots in the water, poor distance control missing in the wrong spots. I’ve just had poor iron play this week.

"

Recognizing the problem is the first step to recovery. It's a promising sign for Mickelson's fanbase that he knows what the problems are out there, because we've all seen how Lefty can bounce back and fix his issues.

Playing so poorly at his likely favorite course must be a tough pill to swallow for Mickelson, but one glimmer of hope is that it's so early in the year.

Three majors are left in 2013, which means three chances for Mickelson to show he's still a contender.

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