Mike Cormack

One week ago we all but wrote off Phil Mickelson's chance at winning a third green jacket.

We were aware that Mickelson had posted 11 career top 10 finishes at the Masters and that he remained the second favourite in Las Vegas and elsewhere behind you-know-who.

But after watching Mickelson struggle en route to a T35 the week before the Masters at the Shell Houston Open, and given that his best finish on Tour this year had been a T8 at Pebble Beach in February, we concluded that the big left-hander simply wasn't sharp enough to tame the ultra-demanding Augusta National.

Our bad.

In fact, it's hard to think of a better advertisement for Mickelson's all-or-nothing approach, his Houdini-like short-game and why his chances should never be discounted at the Masters, than his bogey-free, final round 67.

On holes nine and 10, he made two extremely challenging pitch shots from short of the green look routine to escape with a pair of pars and keep pace with co-leader Lee Westwood.

At the par-3 12th, he took an aggressive -- some might say reckless -- line right at the pin. But when he pulled it off, and followed up by making his 15-footer for birdie, the lead was his alone and for good.

But the decisive shot of the tournament came on the par-5 13th, where from under a tree and on top of pine needles, Mickelson slashed a 6-iron from 207 yards to 10 feet, setting up a tap-in birdie.

It was a bold play (reckless?), but it was also the type of shot that defines the risk-reward nature of the course and Mickelson's game overall. Few would be willing to take it on, and even fewer could pull it off.

Throughout the week leading up to the tournament, Mickelson kept reiterating that despite his recent struggles on Tour, there is no course in the world where he feels more comfortable or confident than Augusta National.

Message delivered, loud and clear.

What we also learned last week:

The new, kinder-gentler Tiger is a work in progress. During his Monday press conference, Woods talked of toning down his on-course antics -- good and bad -- and a desire to be more respectful to his fans.

But as CBS came on the air Saturday afternoon viewers got a good dose of vintage Tiger, as the microphones caught his verbal disgust with an errant tee shot on No. 6.

The outburst even drew the ire of the normally reverential Jim Nantz, who surprised many by calling out Tiger during the opening of Sunday's broadcast and then took him to task again during a Monday radio interview on New York's WFAN.

Perhaps Tiger has forgotten it was he who promised a changed man on and off the golf course, because he sure looked and sounded like the same old Tiger on the course, and especially during a snarky post final-round interview with Peter Kostis of CBS.

When Kostis gave Woods the perfect opportunity to put a final, positive spin on the week (say, by thanking his fans for the support and talking about how good it was to be playing competitive golf again), a sour Woods could only speak of his disappointment with finishing fourth.

If nothing else, it showed that even though he can smash a 350-yard drive with ease, he has yet to master a softball right down the middle.

Other stuff

For all you Mickelson junkies out there, Sports Illustrated has compiled this list of their work on him over the years.

In case you missed Adam Scott's incredible eagle two on the par-4 7th on Sunday, here it is again. Poor Peter Kostis gave up on it way too early.

Fred Couples' sockless Paul Beeston impersonation attracted plenty of attention at Augusta. Are they shoes? Cleats? Slippers? We have the answers for you here.

We're big fans of Peter Alliss' wit and grumpy old man shtick on ABC, but across the pond in his native Britain, it appears his act is beginning to wear thin with viewers on the BBC.

Dear Diary, it's Tiger. Gene Wojciechowski of espn.com imagines what a glimpse inside Tiger's Augusta diary might have looked like.

The award for worst golf attire of the week (perhaps ever) goes to Ryan Moore. Nick Faldo summed it up best when he asked: "Is he doubling as a bar man this week?"

Wayne Gretzky, Drew Brees and Mark Wahlberg will take part in the 2010 Golf Digest U.S. Open challenge at Pebble Beach. NBC will air it June 20th prior to the final round of the championship.