The Masters: Phil Mickelson relishing Augusta National return
"It's so fun for me to come back to this special place and reminisce and think about those special victories"
Tuesday 9 April 2019 21:17, UK
Phil Mickelson is celebrating the 15th anniversary of his first Masters victory this year and he is relishing the chance to play Augusta National once again after returning to winning ways earlier this year.
The 48-year-old American, who followed up his 2004 Masters success with wins in 2006 and 2010, will play his 100th career round at the course on Friday.
He said: "It's so fun for me to come back to this special place and reminisce and think about those special victories. But the 2004 Masters was one of the greatest moments of my career, and the excitement of winning, as well as having the pressure put off, to finally win a major, felt great.
"I look back and relive that jump and relive that moment. It was just a special, special time.
"This is a place that you drive up Magnolia Lane and things just change for everyone. You just have that special feeling, that special remembrance of when you were a kid and dreaming of coming here and playing, and it brings out oftentimes the best in everyone."
Mickelson has not been at his best in recent weeks, missing the cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Players Championship, but he reckons his victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February - the 44th of his career - will stand him in good stead this week.
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"I enjoyed that tournament, AT&T, very much," he added. "I think there's a very similar style of play during those weeks as there is here, and I'm looking forward to getting on this golf course where I don't feel so handcuffed that I can go ahead and let loose a little bit."
Mickelson revealed he has altered his preparation routine this year due to the schedule changes on the PGA Tour, and he was at Augusta National last week.
He said: "There are some individual challenges that I've had to deal with, and one of them is that I usually like to play a week before the major and I'm having to alter that a little bit this year.
"So I came here four days last week and spent four days on the course, and did a lot of course prep and so forth. Then went home and worked on my game and so, we'll see.
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"I think that I'm just as curious as anybody. It's a chance to be fresh and ready, but it's also a chance to be maybe not as sharp. I'm just not quite sure how it's going to play out."
Looking ahead to his landmark 100th round on Friday, the world No 22 added: "I've been fortunate to play a lot of rounds here, and I cherish and love every one of them, even the practice rounds."
