Maybe there is something to this even year thing.

Phil Mickelson 4-under 68 on Friday. (Associated Press)

After shooting 4-under 68 on Friday, Phil Mickelson put himself in prime position to pull off what he's called his "Arnold Palmer." The King won each of his four green jackets in even years, beginning in 1958 and ending in 1964.

Mickelson, who has been compared to Palmer because of his swashbuckling style, has Masters Tournament wins in 2004 and 2006. His bogey-free round on Friday leaves him only three shots off the lead in a third-place tie entering today's third round.

It's a position Mickelson is comfortable with. In his two wins, he was in fourth and fifth place after the first two rounds, respectively.

"I would love to be in the lead, but I would have had to kind of press the issue at some spots and I didn't want to do that yet," he said. "So, I'm pleased that I have a good chance going into the weekend."

If he wins, the question is who is going to play Jack Nicklaus to his Palmer. Nicklaus, the owner of six green jackets, traded wins with Palmer in odd years - 1963 and 1965 - over a four-year stretch.

Zack Johnson's win last year interrupted what many thought would become a trend - Tiger Woods or Mickelson helping the other slip into a green coat. Mickelson relinquished his title to Woods in 2005 and had the honor, as Masters traditions calls for, to put the green jacket on the winner. He turned the tables on Woods the following year, forcing the four-time Masters champ to do the coat-draping.

Mickelson's two-day total of 5-under is two shots better than his two-day total in 2004 when he won his first Masters. His best total over the first two days at the Masters was 8-under in 2001, when he finished in third place.

Mickelson did most of his damage on the front nine when he made birdies on Nos. 2, 3 and 8. He also birdied No. 17. The round could have been even sweeter but he missed makeable birdie putts on Nos. 6, 15 and 18.

However, he noted, playing 18 holes without a bogey on such a tough layout is something to be proud of.

"Yeah, I thought that was pretty good," he said. "I mean, I haven't looked back on it, but I seemed to put the ball in the spots where I was able to make some easy pars..."

Things have been anything but easy recently for Mickelson. After a win at the Northern Trust Open in February, he failed to crack the top 15 in his last four PGA Tour events.

But, the Masters isn't just any stop. This is the Augusta National where magical things have happened to Mickelson. He suggested that signs may already be pointing to something special happening, offering his chipping in for birdie from the gallery on his first hole Thursday as an example.

"Well that was nice to see that one go in, " Mickelson said. That was a two- or three-shot swing right there ... Bones (his caddie) and I chuckled because in 2004 when I hadn't won a major and I came to 13, I hit a shot that we were sure went in the creek and it stayed up and I ended up with a four. And I've hit two shots now, yesterday and today, that should have been in the creek that both of them stayed up.

"And so ... I'm kind of using that as an omen as well."