Mastering greens is key to success, says Mickelson

Learning how to handle the subtleties of the putting surfaces at Augusta National took Phil Mickelson a lot longer than he ever thought it would. Now he gets a kick out of seeing newcomers trying to figure them out.

AUGUSTA, Ga. (PA) -- It took Phil Mickelson 12 attempts to win the first of his two Masters titles. Looking back, he can understand why.

"I don't know if you ever feel totally comfortable," Mickelson says of the Augusta National course. Or, to be more precise, the Augusta National greens.

"It did take me a lot longer than I thought it would," he added. "I remember showing up the first year thinking, 'Oh, I can play this golf course no problem."'

That was 1991. He was the reigning U.S. Amateur champion and three months earlier had won his first PGA TOUR title while still a psychology student at Arizona State University.

"I think I opened with a 69 and was excited. First competitive round ever there," he explained. "But the fact is, when you start using four, five different pins, the breaks, the subtleties in those greens, places to miss it that you just can't go, some places where you need to go, it really took me almost a decade to learn or to understand exactly how I want to attack each hole for each pin placement and feel comfortable doing so."

From two off the lead that opening day 16 years ago, Mickelson did not break par the rest of the week. He eventually finished in a tie for 46th spot, 13 strokes behind winner Ian Woosnam.

Clearly a quick learner, though, he has only ever missed the halfway cut once. And since that early exit in 1997, he has a superb record -- 12th, sixth, seventh, third, third, third, first, 10th, first.

Now, at 36, Mickelson gets a kick out of seeing newcomers trying to cope with the demands of golf's most atmospheric setting.

"I remember last year -- this is one of my favorite stories," he smiled. "I'm not going to say who, but I was playing a practice round. We came to the 11th hole. I put a little hole down in the front left pin position, went 40 feet back right, where a very common shot would go.

"I said, 'Here, hit this putt.' The player had never played there," he added. "He aimed about four feet to the right of the cup, was expecting it to break a little bit left because he thought the green was pitched back-to-front.

"I said, 'No, no, no.' He hit the putt, missed it way right. I said, 'It's over here.' I aimed 18 feet left of the cup. The ball tracked down and hit the cup.

"My point is that you have a first-time player that misread a common 40-footer by 22 feet," he said. "That happens at Augusta. That's not the only hole that that happened on in this practice round.

"He said, 'Oh, it goes the other way.' I said, 'What do you mean the other way? It breaks 18 feet to the right and you're seeing it go to the left?'

"I mean, that just happens at Augusta," he said. "The first time I played it, I saw what he was seeing. So it happened to me. Until you see these breaks, it's very difficult. You just can't pick 'em up in the first couple of rounds.

"It takes years of repeatedly having this happen over and over before you finally grasp it."

And it explains why only three players have ever won the Masters in their first tries -- Horton Smith and Gene Sarazen in the first two Masters, and Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.

None of this year's rookie contingent, which includes England's Kenneth Ferrie, Welshman Bradley Dredge, Scotland's U.S. Amateur winner Richie Ramsay and Swedes Robert Karlsson and Johan Edfors, can be sure that they will ever be back for another try, of course.

Mickelson's victory in 2004, though, earned him a lifetime exemption and for that he is extremely grateful.

"I just love being a part of the history of the Masters," he said. "It's fun to go back, whether it's just to play Augusta National or reminisce on the shots I hit.

"It's fun to be part of the Champions Dinner, and it's just fun to be part of the tournament because history is made there every year," he added. "To be part of that is one of the greatest feelings of accomplishment that a player can have."

Now he aims to add to that accomplishment -- by joining Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as the only back-to-back winners. Not a bad little group to join.

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