AUGUSTA, Ga. -- When he won the Masters in 2004, finally ending a drought in which he had failed to win a major championship in 42 attempts, Phil Mickelson jumped in the air and raised his arms in emphatic triumph. It was a spontaneous reaction to the relief Mickelson felt of finally quieting his detractors, finally breaking through.
It was a different Mickelson who celebrated his second green jacket Sunday at the Augusta National Golf Club. Maybe it was because he bogeyed the 18th hole, his only bogey of the final round. Or maybe it was because, unlike his other major victories, he walked up the steep hill to the 18th green holding a three-shot lead, robbing the moment of suspense.
Whatever, Mickelson looked more as though he won a regular PGA Tour event than the 70th Masters when he picked his ball from the cup at the final hole. A warm smile. A tip of the visor, to be sure.
But there were no leaps. No fist pumps. No snapshots to be captured for a lifetime. Not even a big, warm, fuzzy embrace
"The difference is I felt that sense of relief after I broke through and won a major," Mickelson said. "[Sunday], I had this great feeling of accomplishment to be able to beat guys like Tiger [Woods] and Retief [Goosen] and Ernie [Els] and Vijay [Singh] and Fred [Couples] and some incredible and talented players.
"And to come out on top, it's a great feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment."
Mickelson was in total control at Augusta National, from the time he teed off as the third-round leader until the moment he finished his near-perfect round of 3-under 69. Faced with a leader board that included four of the other top five players in the world, Mickelson never flinched, never backed down, in posting a two-shot victory that made him the first player since Woods in 2002 to win consecutive major titles.
It also brought him a little closer to Woods, who remains golf's most dominant player. Not so much in the world rankings, where Woods is No. 1 and Mickelson was No. 4 before the Masters. But as the player most likely to beat Woods at his own game, which is winning major championships.
This is the third in the past nine starts for Mickelson, who was 0 for 42 before winning the Masters in 2004. And he might have had a fourth if he didn't three-putt the par-3 16th at Shinnecock Hills for double bogey in the 2004 U.S. Open. Mickelson was tied at the time with Goosen, who won the championship two holes later.
"He's an incredible player, no doubt," said Fred Couples, who was paired with Mickelson in the final round and finished tied for third with Woods and Goosen, among others. "He's got more talent than maybe anyone out here in his hands and is his game. You've obviously got Tiger, but you've got Ernie Els and Retief and those are great, great players. But I think Phil can overpower a golf course like Tiger can."
Maybe it was appropriate Woods, who shot a final-round 70, slipped the green jacket on Mickelson in a ceremony outside the clubhouse at Augusta National. A year earlier, it was Mickelson holding the jacket for Woods.
"I don't really want to trade next year," Mickelson said, drawing laughter. "But I certainly enjoyed having the jacket put on me rather than putting it on [someone else]."
Woods and Mickelson have shared the green jacket the past three years and six times in the past 10 years. It is reminiscent of the 1960s when Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer combined to win five Masters in a row (1962-66) and six in seven years. But Woods (4) and Mickelson (2) already have combined for more than half of the 10 Masters titles won by Nicklaus and Palmer in their respective careers.
And, after winning five of the past nine major championships overall, Woods and Mickelson have heightened the anticipation of a showdown in the U.S. Open at Winged Foot in June like no tandem since Nicklaus and Palmer.
"I suppose you could really say that," Palmer said yesterday before playing in a charity golf tournament in Myrtle Beach. S.C. "Tiger won [the Masters] last year, Phil won this year, and Phil won two years ago. It certainly has potential for a pretty good rivalry. I think it will create a lot of interest in the Masters."
Mickelson is no longer the player who took terrible risks and made bad decisions.
His swing coach, Rick Smith, an Upper St. Clair native, said Mickelson played a "perfect" final round in a major. Indeed, he drove the ball without problem, using his "draw" driver more than his "fade" driver, even on holes such as Nos. 14 and 17 when he felt length was more necessary than accuracy.
And he rarely missed a shot. When he missed the green at No. 18 and made his only bogey, it was because he had a twig behind his ball in the rough and didn't remove it, for fear of incurring a penalty.
"I had a great experience in the 2004 U.S. Open when I lost to Retief, having the opportunity to compete," Mickelson said. "I think it's more than whether you win or lose; it's having that opportunity on that final round, final nine, to come down the stretch with a chance to win. And to make the turn on the back nine at Augusta on Sunday, and be in the lead, was just a great feeling and a lot of fun."
Even if he didn't show it.
First Published: April 11, 2006, 4:00 a.m.