Lefty understands Augusta, but what about himself?

Having won the Masters two out of the last three years, Phil Mickelson says he has finally figured out how to tame a treacherous Augusta National Golf Club. But has Phil figured out Phil yet? His two green jackets and Wanamaker Trophy tell us yes. But his meltdown at Winged Foot says otherwise. Who we see the next few days will go a long ways in telling us the truth.

By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Phil Mickelson is one of those glass half-full kind of guys. Even when the aforementioned tumbler seemingly has sprung a leak.

The man who called himself an "idiot" that Sunday after making double-bogey on the 72nd hole at Winged Foot now sees a year that "almost was." Sure, Mickelson squandered a chance to win his third straight major -- but at least the opportunity was there.

He's had eight months to put that difficult loss behind him and prepare to begin a new chapter as he defends his Masters title this week. And if the truth be told, that enormous sense of resiliency just may be the key to Mickelson's success.

"Dealing with good and bad is just part of everyday life, especially in golf," he said. "You have to deal with failure so often in golf as an individual sport. One out of 156 guys is usually all that wins. So most everybody is dealing with failure every week, and so it's just part of the game.

"Certainly that was a hard loss. I'm not trying to downplay it any; it stung. It also has challenged me to improve in areas, specifically driving, so that that doesn't happen again. And you try to learn from your mistakes."

Just like he did in 2001 after three-putting the 16th hole at the Atlanta Athletic Club during the final round of the PGA Championship. The gaffe increased his prodigious 0-for streak in major championships that eventually grew to 42 and sent him running off to his putting guru, Dave Pelz.

"(The) first thing Pelz and I did was start working on lag putting and that helped me win the Masters last year especially, because I had a lot of long putts that I was able to two-putt," Mickelson said, in full glass half-full mode.

His second win at Augusta National wasn't as convincing as the 13-stroke victory at the BellSouth Classic the previous week. Nor was the final putt, which was for par, after all, not 2004's birdie, greeted with the same endearing flat-footed leap of joy.

This time, Mickelson was in complete control. He'd been there, done that. Padraig Harrington said the left-hander was so solid on the back nine Sunday, "he won this tournament doing hand stands."

Mickelson's two-stroke victory was his second at Augusta National in three years after a string of three straight third places. He and the game's No. 1 player, Tiger Woods, have now won five of the last six Masters and there is no reason to doubt they'll both be a factor in the 71st renewal. 

"I think once you understand how to play the golf course, you start -- if you look at the course of the history of this event, you start seeing the same guys win this event multiple times," Woods said.

"I think it's just understanding how to play it, where to miss it, shot selections. But once you figure it out, you see the same guys up there at the top of the board. 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."

Mickelson agreed. He has liked Augusta National since the first time he played the course so lovingly tended by Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts. The key, he says, is learning to trust what you see and the shots you have to hit.

"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 '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 that I feel very good on, but so does Tiger. I mean, he plays this course very well. He's very tough to beat out here."

Mickelson enters his title defense somewhat under the radar. Sure, he's won once this year and lost in a playoff the following week. Mickelson's last three tournaments, though, have been a mixed bag with nothing higher than a tie for 23rd at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship.

Not to mention, this year's Masters marks the 10th anniversary of Woods' historic first win. And the game's No. 1 player comes to Augusta National seeking the third leg of his second "Tiger Slam."

Mickelson totally understands the attention placed on Woods, though. He missed the cut in 1997 and was watching on TV when the 21-year-old phenom won by 12 shots that year.

"I mean, it's one of the most memorable events in golf watching Tiger win his first major here at Augusta," he said. "I remember Jim Nantz ... he said: 'Let it be known that on such and such a date that Tiger Woods takes the lead for the first time in the Masters.'

"It was a monumental event. The guy shot 40 on the front nine (the first round), 40, and he still broke the record. Incredible."