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Posted April 1, 2012, 11:34 pm
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Winning early helps Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson entering Augusta

For the first time in three seasons, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will enter the Masters Tournament with victories in the first three months of the PGA Tour.

History suggests that matters for America’s two leading players. Woods has won four green jackets, preceding each with a victory entering the tournament. Mickelson has won three Masters and only once, in 2010, was that his first victory of the season.

Woods won his first PGA Tour title in nearly three years March 25 at the Arnold Pal­mer Invitational. Mickel­son captured the AT&T Pebble Beach Nation­al Pro-Am on Feb. 12 for his first victory in nearly a year.

Both have also had close calls. Woods fired a career-low Sunday round of 62 on March 4 before losing by one shot to Rory McIlroy at the Honda Classic. Mickelson made a three-way playoff Feb. 19 at the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles, won by Bill Haas.

Those victories should be a clear omen to the rest of the field at Augusta.

Woods won twice before capturing his 2001 and 2005 Masters championships, and once before winning at Augusta in 1997 and 2002. Mickelson won once before winning the 2004 and 2006 Masters.

Playing well on the PGA Tour’s Florida Swing, which the game’s top players have always used to build momentum for Augusta, also has seemed to help both players.

In 2001, 2002 and 2005, Woods won on the Florida Swing before winning the Masters. Mickelson has yet to precede a Masters title with a Florida Swing victory, but in the years he won at Augusta, he finished 24th or better in five of his six Florida starts – including a tie for third at 2004’s Players Championship.

Woods seemed to downplay going to the Masters with a victory under his belt for that season. But it also wasn’t lost on him that he’s won two of his green jackets coming off a victory at Bay Hill.

“I’ve gone into Augusta with wins and without wins,” Woods said. “You’re looking for one week, that’s all. Hopefully, everything comes together for that one week.”

Mickelson also said it can work both ways and, unlike Woods, he’s actually done it both ways. But he clearly prefers to have had a victory heading to the season’s first major.

“If I can get some good ball-striking and some good momentum … like I did in 2006 … I think it would be a much easier route and a better route to try and capture a fourth green jacket,” Mickelson said at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

He pointed out that before winning the 2010 Masters he had only one top-10 finish that season before April and had finished tied for 35th at Houston the week before.

“When I drove down Magno­lia Lane, I just have this ease going to Augusta because you don’t have to be perfect there,” he said. “You can make some mistakes. You can make some loose swings and still have a shot to get close to the green and let my short game make par.”

TV ratings are up dramatically this year when Woods and Mickelson have won or been in contention deep into Sunday afternoon.

The final-round ratings for NBC at the Palmer Invitational were up 129 percent over last year, when it was Martin Laird and Steve Marino going down the stretch. Woods’ comeback in the Honda Classic generated ratings 78 percent higher than last year, and NBC’s overall ratings on the Florida Swing were up 42 percent over last year.

When Mickelson won at Peb­ble Beach (playing with Woods in the final round), CBS ratings spiked 113 percent over 2011. The final round of the Northern Trust Open got an 83 percent bump with Mickelson making a playoff.

“I’m looking forward to my opportunities this year,” Woods said after winning at Bay Hill. “There’s four of them (majors) and hopefully I can peak at the right times for all four of them.”