Phil Mickelson energized at Masters by first victory in nearly five years

Now that he has tasted victory for the first time in nearly five years, Phil Mickelson is ready to win his fourth Masters Tournament.

Mickelson, who won the Masters in 2004, 2006 and 2010, defeated world No. 2 Justin Thomas in the WGC-Mexico Championship in March to win for the first time since the British Open in 2013.

"There were some difficult times and there were some challenges, but I always believed I would overcome them," he said Tuesday. "I knew that once I achieved that level and I finally did break through and win, I'm going to peel off quite a few more. So I've just had the first one, and it's time to start peeling off a few more."

Mickelson can't think of a better place to start than at Augusta National.

"I think it was important for me to get that first win,'' he said. "I had talked about it, as we head into the Masters, to get that first win out of the way since it had been a while since I had won and to relieve the feeling and the pressure of coming down the stretch and be able to not have to deal with that for the first time here at Augusta, but also have some success.

PHOTOS: Tuesday's Practice Round at Augusta National

"It validates your ability to perform under pressure. So I've already now performed and executed shots at the highest level under pressure, and doing it at the Masters that final nine is the most difficult time to do it. So having the confidence that I've already done it at such a recent moment has been a huge thing. Every year that I won here, I had won before. And I think it's an important part of being successful here."

Mickelson, who played with four-time Masters winner Tiger Woods, 1992 champion Fred Couples and Thomas Pieters during Tuesday's practice round, said consistent putting is the difference. He ranks second on the PGA Tour in putting (1.172) and third in birdie average (4.83) this season and has four other top-10 finishes in addition to his win.

"I remember I go back to this point on my putting green four years ago or so with Dave Pelz and thinking that I need to become a consistent great putter to be able to achieve what I want to achieve still in the game, and I was struggling then," he said. "We discussed just about every aspect of it, from technique to green reading to lag drills, how to practice, what to practice, all the variables.

"Now I've been able to kind of put it together and implement it. So I'm very excited about what that means because week-in and week-out, I've been putting great, with an occasional off week, whereas before I would putt average week-in and week-out with an occasional great week."

Mickelson hopes it all adds up to another Masters title, which at age 47 would make him the oldest winner of the tournament. Jack Nicklaus holds the record, winning his record sixth green jacket at age 46 in 1986.

But Mickelson said there would be no comparison between the two if he does win.

"No, no, because the longevity of careers are different," he said. "This is another effect that Tiger had on the game of golf as being aware of fitness, and more specifically golf fitness now. It (golf fitness) has allowed me to elongate my career because of that."

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