Phil Mickelson clinches second Masters win in three years

A controlled final round performance gave Phil Mickelson his second Masters win in three years.

The 2006 Masters tournament took place over a readjusted Augusta National course, the lay-out having been tightened up and also lengthened by approximately 150 yards on the previous year to provide a sterner test.

But the added length held no fears for Phil Mickelson who, with two drivers in his bag to help combat the extra distance, walked away with his second Green Jacket after producing an imperious final-round display.

Vijay Singh, champion in 2000, led the way after the first round, posting a 67 to finish one clear of the field, while defending champion Tiger Woods opened with a level-par 72 that featured a pair of three-putt bogeys.

After a solid 70 in the first round, Mickelson followed it with a 72 to find himself four shots behind halfway leader Chad Campbell whose superb 67 - one of only three scores in the 60s that day - helped him move three clear after 36 holes.

But Campbell found the going much tougher in a third round which was postponed by heavy thunderstorms and, by the time it was completed on Sunday morning, he had relinquished the lead to Mickelson following an untidy 75.

Campbell slipped back into a share of second alongside Fred Couples, just one behind Mickelson at three-under, while Tiger Woods and Darren Clarke spearheaded a six-man group a shot further adrift that also included Singh and Tim Clark.

With the leaders tightly bunched and a number of big names in contention, everything appeared set up for a tense final day shoot-out, but Mickelson had other ideas.

Lefty found himself reeled in by the chasing pack early on as he made a steady start to his fourth round and, as he played the seventh, was part of a five-way logjam at the top of the leaderboard with Woods, Singh and Retief Goosen also within range.

But Mickelson assumed control of proceedings with back-to-back birdies at eight and nine and then produced the kind of patient, methodical and seemingly risk-free golf that had for so long been the hallmark of his great rival, Woods.

As he cruised serenely along keeping bogeys from his card, his rivals - most notably Couples and his stone-cold putter - contrived to beat themselves as the back-nine developed into something of a procession. By the time Mickelson reached the 16th he held a commanding four-shot lead and the tournament was as good as over.

In the event only an inconsequential bogey at the last denied him a bogey-free round, but it proved the only minor blot on a day when Mickelson cemented his reputation as one of the modern-day greats with a second consecutive major win and the third of his career.

Although never a threat, a hole-out for birdie from the sand at 18 saw Tim Clark finish second, while Woods, Couples, Goosen, Jose Maria Olazabal and Campbell shared third three shots back.

WINNING WAYS

Mickelson put two drivers into his bag for the 2006 Masters - one to hit controlled fades and the other to get some "extra pop" and help him attack the par fives. The plan worked a treat. He topped the Driving Distance stats and played the four long holes in a combined 13-under - his joint best showing on the par fives and better than anyone else in the field that week. His putting was solid (seventh in Putting Average) but perhaps just as important was the self-belief he'd gained from his breakthrough 2004 Masters triumph.