Phil Mickelson still has a shot at Augusta after strong 2015 showing

Once he hit his 40s, it looked like Phil Mickelson’s chances of winning the Masters Tournament for a fourth time were over.

Then came last year at Augusta National and the start of this season, which has been shaping up as a renaissance of sorts for the 45-year-old.

Mickelson tied for second place in the Masters last year at 14-under par, thanks to rounds of 70-68-67-69. He lost by four to Jordan Spieth, who tied the tournament scoring record, but it was still Mickelson’s best showing since 2012.

The second-place finish showed what three-time Masters champ could still do at Augusta National after he missed the cut in 2014 and tied for 54th in 2013.

Mickelson’s 14-under was five shots lower than his winning score in 2004, seven better than 2006 and two more than 2010. Mickelson said he “played really well to shoot 14‑under and I just simply got outplayed by a young player who just played some incredible golf.”

That strong play didn’t carry over into the rest of his season. For the second consecutive year, Mickelson didn’t win. The Masters was his best of the year and one of just three top-10s as he finished 61st in the FedEx Cup standings. In 2014, he had just one top-10 and was 68th in the FedEx Cup standings.

His last victory was the 2013 British Open.

Mickelson changed coaches in the off-season, going from Butch Harmon to Andrew Getson in an effort to regain the form that helped him win 42 times on the PGA Tour. They mainly worked on Mickelson’s setup and his swing plane.

“It wasn’t so much the not winning,” Mickelson said of the coaching change. “It was the searching and the frustration of knowing that I could play and compete at a certain level and not doing it. And that was the challenging thing for me to deal with.”

Mickelson admitted he was nervous his first month back, but in the tour event at La Quinta, Calif., he shot 31 on his first nine holes of competition since the Presidents Cup in November and tied for third. He also tied for 11th in Phoenix and finished second at Pebble Beach.

“Now that I know that I’m on the right track and I’m starting to hit shots again the way I used to and even better, that’s what’s exciting for me,” he said. “So it’s not frustrating showing up at a golf course. It’s not frustrating if I happen to not win or fall a shot shy, because I know that the next week I’m going to have another chance.”

The work Mickelson did with Getson has brought a new consistency to his game, he said.

“I would show up at a course and I just was trying to find something, and I would be out on the course, I didn’t know which way the miss was going to be; it could be left, it could be right,” he said. “It caused a lot of frustration knowing that I’m able to hit these shots and not pulling it off.”

Even during that time, Mickelson never lost his enjoyment of the game.

“I just love playing golf and competing,” he said. “I love every aspect of the game. I love going home and practicing in solitude or playing late in the evening by myself or with my kids, having a competition, or playing with my dad or brother, or the little games with some of the fellow tour players. I love the smack talk and the fun that we have amongst each other, but then I also really enjoy the opportunity to play against the best players in the world and see if I can compete and to win at the highest level. That’s a great feeling of accomplishment.”

In the first leg of the 2016 season, Mickelson said he is trying to be patient, just like he was when he was chasing his first major championship. That happened in the 2004 Masters when he was 33. He’s won four majors since.

“I know that I’m playing at a level that’s high enough to win,” Mickelson said. “The challenge is to not think about the results and just play. I know that it’s just a matter of time. It’s going to happen because I’m just playing too well for it not to.”

If that victory comes in Augusta, Mickelson would be second oldest Masters champion, behind Jack Nicklaus, who was 46 when he won in 1986. The next-oldest is Ben Crenshaw, who was 43 when he won for the second time in 1995.