Phil Mickelson won the Green Jacket for 2nd time in 3 years. He was so comfortable by the end that he could bogey the 18th in the final round without much cause for concern.

Damon Hack in The New York Times reports:

ince April 2004, Mickelson has gone from a golfer with no majors in 42 tries as a professional to a golfer to winning three of the last nine, more than any competitor during that stretch.”In ‘04 when I won, I felt this great feeling of relief,” said Mickelson, 35, who ended the tournament at seven-under-par 281 and took home $1.26 million. “This time, it’s a great feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment to come out on top.

Jim Litke of CNNSI focusses on Mickelson playing with two drivers in his bag:

The last somebody to play a major with two drivers in the bag was Ian Woosnam in the final round of the 2001 British Open. He was trying out both at the range and his caddie forgot to leave one behind - a mistake that cost the Welshman a two-stroke penalty, a shot at winning, $300,000 in prize money and the chance to lock up a spot on Europe’s Ryder Cup team. Mickelson, on the other hand, never, ever does anything accidentally.

Mickelson looked solid right through the little play on Day 3 and the marathon day 4. A deserved winner. From being arguably the best player not to win a Major, Mickelson has gone on to win twice now. Thomas Boswell of The Washington Post writes:

Few had the gall to speak the words aloud with so many years remaining in Lefty’s career, but the possibility existed that, despite his enormous gifts and even greater popularity, Mickelson might end his career with the most disappointing record in the history of major tournament golf. The more he didn’t win such crowns, the more Mickelson tied himself into a psychological pretzel by deflecting questions on the subject, resorting to “joy of competing” pop psychology and saying his time would come… Now, with plenty of prime seasons ahead of him, Mickelson and his fans can wonder where he will finish in the list of long-hitting multiple-Masters winners such as Sam Snead, Seve Ballesteros and perhaps someday even Tom Watson and Arnold Palmer.

With rain being the most significant feature on Day 3 at Augusta, Day 4 will see golfers having to play a lot more than the routine 18 holes. A marathon day of classic golf lays in store. CNNSI’s Chris Lewis sums up the situation:

One thing’s for sure: Sunday will be a long day for the leaders. Playing 30 or so holes will be bad news for some, and good news for others. Gym-rats like Singh (2 under) and Tiger Woods (2 under) will have a clear advantage. At the other end of the spectrum are the ailment-addled. Couples and Mediate, a two-man cranky-back brigade, figure to have a rough time. Ernie Els is admittedly still on the rebound from July 2005 knee surgery, and Augusta National, wet or dry, is a tough walk.

Chad Campbell still has a 1 shot lead. The leader board is tight:

-6 Chad Campbell (after 4 holes*) (US)
-5 Tim Clark (SA) (5), Rocco Mediate (4) (US)
-3 Tiger Woods (9), Padraig Harrington (Ire) (6), Phil Mickelson (5) (All US)
-2 Stephen Ames (Can) (9), Retief Goosen (SA) (9), Ernie Els (SA) (5), Vijay Singh (Fij) (4), Fred Couples (4) (US)

This means that quite a few people have the chance to win the Augusta. But the spotlight is on Campbell. Thomas Boswell of The Washington Post writes at length on Campbell.

In 17 majors, Campbell has missed the cut nine times. He has cracked the top 15 once. Yet on that occasion, he was a gritty runner-up to Shaun Micheel in the ‘03 PGA Championship at Oak Hill. “He played great at Oak Hill,” Mickelson said. “He’s won some big tournaments — Bay Hill, the Tour Championship. “Now, Campbell seems to understand that he is at a crossroads where high-powered talent and low-wattage temperament must make peace with each other if the whole person is to move forward to his normal goals.

The question on every one’s mind is ‘Who will be wearing the green jacket at the end of the final day?’ The fascinating aspect is no one is quite sure. This isn’t a new phenomena as Augusta more often than not manages to build up to a memorable final day. Every one is big on the anticipation given the history and the present leaderboard. I can’t wait to see what happens!

First the uncool new hairstyle of Marat Safin:

I dread what the Anti Foolish Haircut Association would say on this. And I have not shown pictures of the Safin hair with the hair band yet from his recent Davis Cup match.

Okay here it is:

Now that I have completely spoiled your mood, here is Sergio Garcia and his cool orange pants from Day 1 at Augusta:

Images courtesy Eurosport, Davis Cup and Golf365 respectively.

Augusta Masters main draw sees no Jack Nicklaus or Arnold Palmer for the first time in over 50 years. The tournament will be off a bit of the usual sheen because of this despite them competing in the par-three contest which precedes the actual tournament. It is always a great site to see Nicklaus and Palmer compete at Augusta even though they do not make the cut for the last two days.

The crowd cheering, the old men still showing sparks of brilliance - has been a pleasure to watch.

Update: Cam Cole from National Post has written on his memories of Jack Nicklaus at Augusta in a piece titled One for the Ages which is quite a good read.