AUGUSTA, Ga. — Phil Mickelson wasn't expected to make much noise at the 79th Masters, not after the year he was having.
But this is Augusta National and Mickelson naturally made his presence felt on another Masters on Sunday.
He began the day 11 strokes behind eventual winner Jordan Spieth, but found himself trailing by just four strokes after making an eagle at the par-5 15th hole. Mickelson moved to 14-under with the eagle, causing a roar that could be heard by just about everyone on the golf course, including Spieth who was at the 14th hole converting a par to remain 18-under.
But that was as close as Mickelson would get as Spieth moved to 19-under with his own birdie at the 15th before settling for bogey at the 18th. Mickelson finished with a 3-under-par 69 to finish tied for second with Justin Rose at 14-under.
"I would have taken 14-under at the start of the week and would have thought that would have won," Mickelson said. "I just got out-played."
Still, it was Mickelson's best showing of the year. And easily his best performance in a major since winning the 2013 British Open. The three-time Masters champion had only one top-10 finish last year and none this season before the Masters. Of his seven previous events this year, he had missed the cut twice with his best showing being a T17 most recently at the Shell Houston Open.
But there he was on the Back Nine of another Masters Sunday, making two birdies and an eagle to climb the leaderboard.
"I played just a good, solid round of golf," Mickelson said. "But I needed something exceptional. I needed to shoot something in the middle to low 60s and didn't quite get it. I made some birdies, but every time I got a birdie here or there, I stalled with a bogey. It was a really fun tournament. I thought I played great golf. I got out-played. Jordan played terrific."
Charley Hoffman, playing in his second Masters, was a factor all week, yet he ended up being a completely forgotten figure. Hoffman followed his 67-68 start with 71-74 on the weekend to fade from contention.
But Hoffman did not leave Augusta empty-handed. His tie for ninth earned him an invite into next year's Masters. The top-12 finishers and ties are exempt for next year.
"It's nice to get a trip back here, but the position I was in I would have liked to have made a little better run at Jordan [Spieth],'' Hoffman said.
Among the other players in the top 12 to get to come back included Paul Casey, Hideki Matsuyama, Ian Poulter, Hunter Mahan, Kevin Streelman, Bill Haas, Kevin Na and Ryan Moore.
Hoffman attributed his so-so weekend to "nerves'' on the putting greens, saying, "Jordan putted like he wanted to make the putt and I putted like I just wanted to get the ball close.''
Among the other players in the top 12 to get to come back included Paul Casey, Hideki Matsuyama, Ian Poulter, Hunter Mahan, Kevin Streelman, Bill Haas, Kevin Na and Ryan Moore.
Defending champion Bubba Watson, who entered the week having won two of the previous three Masters, was never a factor in his second defense, finishing 1-over after shooting 74.
"I thought I would have a better chance of playing a better score than I had this weekend,'' Watson said. "Not that I was going to win.''
Spieth's win made it 21 of the last 25 Masters winners coming from one of the final two pairings on Sunday.
Darren Clarke, the 2016 European Ryder Cup captain who finished 6-over this week, believes he might actually start playing better golf with the Ryder Cup responsibilities taking up his time.
"Invariably in the past, whenever I played my own best golf is when I haven't really cared about it,'' Clarke said. "When I do, I tend to enjoy it a little more. Certainly, I've got other things maybe a little more important than my own golf.
"Don't get me wrong, I still want to compete, I still want to play, but the Ryder Cup is obviously at the forefront of it all.''
Adam Scott, the 2013 Masters winner, finished 1-over for the week despite having returned to his belly putter after experimenting with the short putter for much of the spring. The anchored, belly putter will be banned beginning in 2016.
Scott said he's "pretty sure'' he'll keep putting with the long putter for the U.S. Open in June at Chambers Bay.
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