It’s not surprising Phil Mickelson is in contention and in the week before the Masters and the year’s first Major.
Mickelson added a round of 67 to his opening 66 to move to 11-under par after two rounds of the Shell Houston Open.
It gave the five-time Major winner the lead before fellow American Andrew Putnam shot a round of 65 to seize a one stroke advantage and a third American in Austin Cook, who was a Monday qualifier for the $US 6.6m event also shooting a 65 to join Mickelson in second place.
And on a day when the four-time Masters winner Tiger Woods looked set to capture all the headlines with confirmation he will contest the 2015 Masters and it was Mickelson, also a three-time Masters champion, who grabbed the late headlines as he seeks to win for a first time in 2014.
Mickelson is not only a former Shell Houston Open winner (2011) but the now 44-year old has made a habit of winning in either the week before a Masters as he did in 2006 in winning the week before at the BellSouth Classic in Atlanta.
Phil Mickelson moves one shot clear of the field on day two of the 2015 Shell Houston Open. (Photo – www.pgatour.com)
In fact, 23 of Mickleson’s 36 PGA Tour counting victories have come before the Masters.
“You have to be in contention in tournaments and play well heading into the Masters,” he said.
“Although it’s happened in the past where guys have out of nowhere played great that week and have had a magical week and won, the odds aren’t in your favour.
“You’ve got to kind of build your way into the tournament and continue to play better, better each week and get in contention, have opportunities to win. Because the pressure that you feel trying to win the Masters is greater than just about anything we have.
“Certainly there are a couple of events, other Majors, Ryder Cup. For the most par you want to experience being in contention and dealing with that as you enter the Masters. You don’t want to just hope for blind luck.”
However specifically asked by www.golfbytourmiss.com if he would be ready to head to Augusta National after two rounds here in Houston or does he need all four rounds to be Masters sharp Mickelson said: “I’ve been playing what I feel is good golf.
“I haven’t been scoring well. I haven’t been focusing as well as I would like. That’s starting to get better. The only way to play Augusta effectively is to have good visualization, see the shots and have confidence in your swing. As I continue to play well, I am building more and more confidence each day.
“You can never have enough heading into the Masters. So these next two days are important to me to continue that momentum of working on my game, hitting the shots, seeing it well, and not just playing a certain way but really mentally staying sharp, and that’s what I’ve done fairly well this week.”
