Mickelson makes it look easy, takes home 2nd green jacket

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Phil Mickelson is a Masters champion again, and now he's making it look easy.\nOnce known as a lovable loser who went a dozen years and 42 majors before figuring out how to win golf's biggest events, Mickelson captured his second straight major Sunday at Augusta National without needing a nail-biting finish. He closed with a 3-under 69 for a two-shot victory over Tim Clark and his second green jacket in three years.\nThe only surprise was the way he won.\nThere were no thrills for Phil, but calculated shots that forced Fred Couples, Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh to try to catch him. Instead, they stumbled along with three-putts and a litany of other mistakes that allowed Mickelson to stroll up the 18th fairway with no worries.\nHe won his first major at Augusta two years ago with an 18-foot birdie putt on the final hole. He added the PGA Championship last year at Baltusrol with a flop shot to 2 feet for another decisive birdie on the final hole.\nMickelson's only bogey on a breezy afternoon at Augusta National came when it no longer mattered. He missed the 18th green to the left, chipped to 20 feet and settled for two putts.\nThis time, he didn't leap with arms thrust into the air, as he did two years ago. Mickelson simply smiled and walked off the green and into the arms of his wife and children.\nHe finished at 7-under 281 and earned $1.26 million, putting him atop the PGA Tour money list. The victory also moved him up to No. 2 in the world ranking behind Woods.\nMickelson also emerged as a major threat to Woods' pursuit of Jack Nicklaus' record 18 victories in Grand Slam events. This was the third straight year Mickelson has won a major -- Woods is the only other player to have done that in the last 20 years. Only five others have won majors in three straight seasons since the Masters began in 1934.\nClark holed a bunker shot from across the 18th green for birdie that left him alone in second with a 69.\nWoods, trying to become the first player to twice defend his title at the Masters, could only blame his putter. He had two eagle putts inside 15 feet on the back nine and missed them both, and he had seven three-putts this week. He holed a 25-foot birdie on the 18th hole that just about made him curse, even though it gave him a 70 and a tie for third.\nJoining him at 4-under 284 were Couples (71), Retief Goosen (69), Chad Campbell (71) and Jose Maria Olazabal, whose 66 was the best score all week on the super-sized course.\nBut it was Couples who had the best chance to challenge Mickelson, and had he won it would have been especially \npoignant.\nThis is the 20-year anniversary of Nicklaus' stunning back-nine charge to win his sixth green jacket at age 46. Couples was poised to become the oldest Masters champion, and he hung with Mickelson until his putter betrayed him.\nFirst came a three-putt on the 11th, his 3-foot par putt spinning around the cup. On the 14th hole, Couples had a 4-foot birdie putt to pull within one shot. It caught the lip and spun 6 feet away, and he missed that one, too.\nMickelson poured it on with an eagle chip that caught the lip on the 15th and steady pars the rest of the way until the 18th.\nThen it was off to Butler Cabin, where Woods slipped the green jacket on Mickelson's shoulders.\n"Great playing," Woods told him.\nIf Woods bothers to look at the highlights, they will look awfully familiar.\nThe last time Augusta National was overhauled to add length, Woods built a big lead and let an All-Star cast of contenders collapse around him with shots into the woods and the water.\nThe course was stretched even more for this Masters -- at 7,445 yards, the second-longest in major championship history. And Mickelson played it impeccably. The longest par putt he had all day -- besides the meaningless one on the 18th hole -- was the 5-footer he made after a solid bunker shot on the 10th.\n"I knew it was going to be a tough day," Mickelson said. "Fred and I kept saying how much fun it was to be in the final group at the Masters. I was sorry to see what happened at 14. I think we would have had a great duel coming down those last four holes."\nMickelson won for the 29th time on the PGA Tour, tying him for 17th on the career list.\nAnd he became the first Masters champion since Sandy Lyle in 1988 to win the week before coming to Augusta. Mickelson captured the BellSouth Classic last week by 13 shots.\nThis one was closer, but it sure didn't seem that way.