Jim McCabe

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Things had not gone particularly well for Phil Mickelson in the first round of the WGC CA Championship at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami. OK, so the birdie at the demanding par-4 18^th was one of two on the day. Big deal. There had been water balls at the par-4 third and the par-3 fourth, back-to-back bogeys early on his back nine, and, well, 77 total strokes pretty much told the story.

“I don’t know what to say,” said Mickelson, who put a hand through his ruffled hair and truly looked like he didn’t want to talk — until, that is, someone asked him about his trip to Augusta National just a few days earlier. Then, the lefthander’s head picked up and his eyes took on a sparkle.

“It was fantastic,” he said, and if words came gift-wrapped, these would have been in pure silk. When Mickelson talks of Augusta National and the Masters, you get the feeling that it’s a pure joy that rates right up there with childhood memories of those first swings in his backyard.

He had reportedly played very well at Augusta National the Tuesday before the WGC CA Championship. A round of 65, it was rumored. Then a nine-hole effort of 31. Sturdy stuff, but Mickelson didn’t go into details, except to boast that his “little bro,” brother Tim Mickelson, “shot 71 from the tips.” Oh, and to prove that it was a family affair, the two-time Masters champ glowingly said that his father, Phil Mickelson, Sr., played very well, too, on the sojourn.

But, back to his round at Doral ...

No, Mickelson shook that off and kept the topic on the Masters.

Had he mentioned that his oldest child, Amanda, 7, will caddie for him in the par-3 contest Wednesday of Masters week? No, he hadn’t, but it was duly noted, and so were his observations of this year’s edition of Augusta National — “they’ve removed a few trees from the right-side of No. 11, there’s more pine needle, and they’ve shifted the tee box at No. 15, but you wouldn’t notice it.”

Ah, but Mickelson did notice it, which is no surprise, for he has been enamored with Augusta National ever since he stepped on its hallowed ground for the first time as a competitor, in 1991. He was a hot-shot amateur back then and — except for 1994 — has made the pilgrimage every April since 1993 as a professional.

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One could make the case that Mickelson has figured the place out, too. His numbers since 1997 — the only year he has missed a cut at Augusta — are startlingly impressive, better than even Tiger Woods’ in that same time frame. Mickelson is a whopping 52-under over his last 36 rounds (Woods is 46-under), with 24 sub-par efforts (Woods has 22) and 15 sub-70s (Woods has 11). With eight straight top-10 efforts, he may be well shy of Ben Hogan’s record (14), but Mickelson has established himself as a bona fide master of Augusta National — and he has a pair of 43-long green jackets to prove it.

What he also has is perhaps the most pressure on him of any player in this year’s field, Woods included.

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No, he’s not the favorite. Woods parks in that space — for what little it’s worth, since it comes with no red numbers — but Mickelson has made no secret of his mindset to build his season around first the Masters, then the U.S. Open.

The British Open remains a mystery to him, the PGA Championship is his signal to call it a season, the fall and winter are his months to indulge in family time. Right? Wrong? Good? Bad? Who are we to judge? Self-assurance is not a commodity in short supply with Mickelson, so he’s set in his ways and goes about his business accordingly.

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It’s hard to argue with the plan, to be honest, given the fact that he’s been top 10 in six of the last nine U.S. Opens, too, but this blueprint does put even more pressure on Mickelson come the Masters. There is the chance that a poor performance at Augusta — hey, it happens; it’s golf, remember? — would deflate him terribly and take the steam out of his entire season.

Then there’s this slice of pressure — he’s so damn good at Augusta he’s the one everyone points to as “The One Guy Who Can Stand Up To Tiger.”

Vijay Singh? Ernie Els? Retief Goosen? Sergio Garcia? Great players who could win, but few are expecting them to. Same goes for the newer wave of talent — Geoff Ogilvy, Adam Scott, Trevor Immelman.

But Mickelson? He used to be saddled with “The Best Player Never To Win A Major,” so having the call letters TOGWCSUTT in front of his name now doesn’t shake him. He’s been here before, remember? In 2000, he started his season by putting a halt to Woods’ tournament winning streak and he ended it by coming from behind to overtake Woods at the Tour Championship. Chasing Tiger has torn apart Els’ spirit, but it still gives Mickelson a thrill. He knows he’ll fail more than he succeeds, but those victories stay sweet for a lifetime.

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