Mickelson shows youthful energy

Phil Mickelson enters his 24th Masters Tournament as a three-time champion and one of the most successful golfers in the field, yet there will be something new for him as he approaches the first tee Thursday.

“We’re here on a golf course that has suited me well in the past and, for the first time, I really feel like coming into this tournament, I’m not trying to find anything or search for anything,” Mickelson said. “I feel like my game is coming along. I feel like the game is starting to be easy again.”

Mickelson, 45, isn’t showing signs of wear as he approaches the age Jack Nicklaus last won the Masters at 46. He has a second- and third-place finish, and three top-10 finishes, among his eight events this year.

That youthful energy also showed in the 2015 Masters when he tied for second, and he attributes some of his more recent success to better nutrition and a smooth swing that’s easy on the body.

“I was looking at some of the highlights 10 years ago when I played in one, and I just thought, ‘Gosh, I wish I had known then what I know now about nutrition and about all aspects.’ I think I could have saved myself from grief in the last 10 years.”

Mickelson has also allowed a youth movement in golf to keep him feeling young. That showed during Tuesday’s practice round as he joked with playing partners Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau.

Mickelson and DeChambeau, the 2015 U.S. Amateur champion, talked during the round in scientific terms on putting, and Mickelson said Johnson offered the “line of the day.”

“Dustin kind of shook his head and he said, ‘If I hang around you guys much longer, I’ll never break 100,’” Mickelson said.

Mickelson said he uses the green jacket as a way to give other golfers grief in a joking way. The lefty, who slipped on the green jacket in 2004, 2006 and 2010, said he targeted Johnson on Tuesday.

“We were walking down 1, and I just said, ‘So, what are your plans tonight?’” said Mickelson, referring to the Champions Dinner. “I might have been a little too subtle.”