Mickelson flips switch to get in position for fourth green jacket

Click. Phil Mickelson just flipped the switch.

After 45 holes of not seeing his name on the ever-changing leaderboards around Augusta National, the three-time Masters champ came out of nowhere Saturday like a sonic boom.

“I have not seen Phil all day, and there he is on the leaderboard,” Hunter Mahan said. “I think that’s the greatest example of Augusta in its purest form right there. You know, he birdies 10, and then makes the next birdie on 12 and then eagles 13. That’s the back nine at Augusta in a nutshell right there. ... He’s probably at 13th place or whatever, and then all of a sudden has a good stretch there and he’s in first. That’s very Phil, and that’s very Augusta.”

Mickelson’s Saturday surge was eerily reminiscent of two years ago when, in a span of 25 minutes, he erased a five-shot deficit to Lee Westwood with an eagle-eagle-birdie burst from 13-15. This time, he went from off the leaderboard to on top of it with a 4-under run from 10-13.

If we didn’t see this coming, that’s our problem. Mickelson basically told us his blueprint Thursday as he walked off the 18th at the end of the day with the biggest smile of anyone who shot 74.

“I’m right there,” he insisted after rallying from 4-over through 14 holes with a couple of late birdies.

Mickelson didn’t look right there in the first round when he and a small battalion of patrons were kicking around in the underbrush left of 10 looking for a lost drive that led to triple bogey.

He still didn’t seem right there when he ran off nine consecutive pars on the front nine Saturday to keep his name out of sight if not out of mind.

“He has complete faith in himself, and he knows this golf course so well that he’s never out of it here,” Mahan said.

Indeed, Mickelson was just lurking all week – and loving it.

“I think I’ll go back to Thursday and the way I fought hard those last eight holes to stay in it as being the critical eight holes to give me a chance on Sunday,” Mickelson said.

Fred Couples called Augusta National a “playground” for Mickelson, and on Saturday he was showing off all his toys. It was classic Phil being Phil that left his career caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay shrugging.

“I’m not surprised by his ability to pull off shots that involve a lot of creativity,” Mackay said.

There was the driver off the pine straw that salvaged par on No. 2 after a penalty drop.

“Unfortunately, I’ve had that shot quite a bit over the years,” he said.

There was the aggressive 8-iron dart to five feet on 10.

“He needed to do something to get the round going and he did it,” Mackay said.

There was the slow hooking 20-foot putt on 13 for eagle that woke up the echoes of 2010.

“When that putt went in, that was such a good feeling,” Mickelson said.

There was low rope hook 7-iron from 198 yards on 18 that rolled up to 12 feet to set up his third consecutive birdie on a hole that’s given everyone else fits.

“I think that I felt the need to birdie that 18th hole,” he said.

Most of all, though, there was the unheard-of full-swing flop shot from behind the green on 15 that led to a birdie instead of a potential train wreck.

“He’s the only guy in the world who would take that shot,” said Rick Smith, Mickelson’s friend and former swing coach.

“Thing is, if he missed that shot he would never have heard the end of it,” said Mickelson’s father, Phil. “He would have been crucified.”

That Mickelson would even attempt such a shot after “nuking” his 5-iron 240 yards over the back of the green speaks to his confidence on this course.

“There was just no way I should be able to hit 5-iron that far and I did,” Mickelson said. “There was a lot of risk. It wasn’t the safest shot, and that’s not where I want to be.”

But Mickelson took a full turn with his 64-degree wedge and flopped the ball to 5 feet.

“Gosh darn it, what a shot,” Mackay said. “As soon as you hear that noise – that noise that you and I don’t make – then you knew it was going to be OK.”

All the heroics led to an inward 30, igniting roars that had been mostly dormant on a seemingly perfect scoring day.

“It. Was. Awesome,” Mickelson said of the red-hot finish that kept pace with Peter Hanson dropping birdies by the bushel himself right in front of him. The two of them will go off in the final pairing that has delivered 19 of the previous 21 Masters winners.

“I love it here, and I love nothing more than being in the last group on Sunday at the Masters,” he said. “It’s the greatest thing in professional golf.”

Mickelson began this Masters standing behind the first tee in his green jacket watching the ceremonial starters. Now he might end it slipping his arms into a fourth coat.

“As great and as fun a round as this was, it just makes it possible to have something really special tomorrow,” he said. “I still have to go out tomorrow and do it.”

Anyone really willing to bet against him?