Phil Mickelson: 5 Reasons to Take the Defending Champ in Your Masters Pool
There are many favourites for this year's Masters. One of the front-runners has to be Phil Mickelson.
Mickelson is coming off an impressive win at the Shell Houston Open just last week. He tied the course record in the third round (63), and had five-straight birdies in the final round.
With the victory, Mickelson vaulted to No. 3 in the Official World Golf Rankings, passing Tiger Woods (No. 7) for the first time since 1997.
There is no doubt that Phil is coming into form just at the right time.
This slideshow will feature the five reasons to pick Phil to preform well in the season's first Major.
5. Short Game Creativity
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Phil is arguably the best around the greens in the world.
He has a creativity when chipping or pitching that few others have.
As a kid, Phil used to practise his short game in the long grass of his backyard. These countless hours have rewarded him with some of the greatest hands in the business.
So far this season, Phil ranks 31st in scrambling. 63.16% of the time that Phil has missed the green in regulation, he has walked away with par or better.
Augusta's greens are some of the nicest and trickiest in the world. Phil will need every bit of is expertise to bring home his fourth green jacket.
4. Confidence
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Phil is coming off a win in the Shell Houston Open just last week.
He played astonishingly well over the weekend, with a course record-tying 63 on Saturday, and an impressive 65 on the final round.
Phil finished with a score of -20 (268) and a three stoke victory over Chris Kirk and Scott Verplank.
This will give added confidence in his game coming into Augusta.
In 2006, Phil won the BellSouth Classic before taking home the green jacket the very next week.
Phil likes to play the week before a major to gain confidence for it. This year, he has certainly done so.
3. Run-and-Gun Mentality
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Phil is one of the longest players on TOUR. Unfortunately, he is not nearly the most accurate.
Phil ranks 14th in driving distance, but 181st driving accuracy.
Despite his wayward tee shots, Phil can easily make up for it with his aggressive approach shots and risky plays.
Last year, Phil hit an incredible shot from the trees of the 13th hole en route to his third green jacket. This ranks as one of the greatest shots in Masters history.
As much as these incredible recovery shots help nullify Phil's off-line drives, his run-and-gun mentality can sometimes go wrong and, therefore, be his downfall.
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2. Putting
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Phil is one of the all-time great putters.
Currently, he ranks 20th on TOUR in putting, with an average of 1.733 putts per GIR.
Phil is also third in birdie average.
To tame the undulated greens of Augusta National, a hot putter is necessary.
There is no Masters winner in recent memory that has won the green jacket with just average putting.
The Augusta greens demand excellence, and Phil has proven he has the level needed to succeed.
1. Experiance
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Phil Mickelson already has three green jackets to his name (2004, 2006 and 2010). One more, and he will join a club that houses only Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.
Being a three-time champion, it is easy to assume that he has a familiarity with the course that few other people have.
Knowledge of Augusta's greens, angles and conditions is a key factor in taming Augusta National.
Very few people play well in their first few attempts at the Masters, let alone win.
It is the experience of already being there late Sunday afternoon that helps all past champions.
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