Proof for Mickelson came in 2003, his worst season on the PGA Tour. He still only finished two shots behind.

“It’s certainly a course that I feel comfortable on and have played well here, whether I’ve played well going in or not,” Mickelson said. “I remember in ’03, I was playing terrible and was able to finish third. And when I’ve entered it playing well, like last year, I’ve been able to win. It’s a course I feel very good on.

“But so does Tiger,” he quickly added. “He plays this course very well. He’s very tough to beat out here.”

It’s hard to take inventory of Mickelson’s game at this point. He was unstoppable at Pebble Beach, where he missed only one fairway in the final round. He was leading at Riviera until a bogey on the 18th hole, which led to a playoff loss to Charles Howell III.

SPECIAL FEATURE His best score on each hole at Augusta

Mickelson played a practice round two weeks ago and, despite missing putts inside 15 feet on the last three holes, shot 65. He ate lunch, played nine holes in the afternoon and shot 31. But at Doral and Bay Hill, his scoring suffered.

Woods has not been unbeatable in recent weeks. Sure, he won for the third straight year at Torrey Pines (his seventh straight PGA Tour victory) and for the third straight year at Doral, but his putting cost him at Dubai, Bay Hill and Match Play.

His biggest concern at Augusta National, naturally, is with the flat stick.

“I just have to get the speed of these a little bit better,” he said. “They have changed every day. Come Thursday, they are always a little bit different. They just turn the vacuums on these greens and suck all the moisture.”

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As much as Woods and Mickelson have dominated the Masters this decade (for trivia buffs, it was Mike Weir who interrupted their reign by winning in 2003), they rarely go head-to-head. The only occasion was in 2001, when Woods won by two.

Of the U.S. majors, the Masters has the most players who have won at least three times — Nicklaus, Palmer, Woods, Gary Player, Nick Faldo, Sam Snead and Jimmy Demaret.

“Once you figure it out, you see the same guys up there at the top of the board,” Woods said. “Phil has been up there many a times, and once he won a few years ago, all of a sudden it gave him the confidence to do it again last year.”

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