Mickelson's poor putting ends Masters bid

In the dying moments of the Masters' thirdround a distinguished gent dressed all in blacklabored toward Augusta National's 18th green.

"This hill feels a lot steeper right now," saidPhil Mickelson Sr., leaning on his daughter-in-lawAmy for support.

On the other side of theropes his namesake was making his own dispirited trudge.During a wild Masters moving day, the younger Mickelsonwas the most riveting story, flying up and down the leaderboard with golf that was by turns inspired, unlucky and,in the end, fatal. Well-positioned to make a run at his thirdgreen jacket, Mickelson was sabotaged by a balky putterand some overly aggressive play that recalled the Old Phil,circa 2003.

When it was finally, mercifully over, Mickelson'sthree-over 75 had not only blown him out of the tournamentbut also revealed some larger ills in his game. Afterward,even he seemed stunned by how quickly this Masters hadslipped away.

"I don't know what happened," Mickelsonsaid. "I felt as if I was going to have a good round today.I don't know what to say."

Phil's folly was all the moresurprising given the bogeyless 68 he had shot the day beforeto surge into a tie for third, three strokes back of leaderTrevor Immelman. One of the key moments of the roundwas his second shot at the par-5 13th, which drifted toward Rae's Creek but somehow Velcroed on thegrassy bank, allowing Mickelson to get upand down and turn a bogey into a birdie.

This stroke of good fortune recalled hisvery first hole of the tournament, whenhe overcooked a recovery shot from wellbehind the green that surely would haverolled all the way off the front of the puttingsurface had the ball not banged intothe flagstick and disappeared for an unlikelybirdie. Mickelson called it a two- orthree-stroke swing and couldn't resistciting these lucky shots as omens.

The third round began with promise too,as Mickelson made an easy birdie at thepar-5 2nd hole and saved par on number 3with a 15-footer. At that point he was sixunder par and only two off the lead, and hisswollen army of fans was delirious.

The momentum began to shift on thepar-3 6th, where Mickelson went after asucker pin set on a tiny shelf on the backof the green. He missed on the short side,the kind of mistake you don't expect froma man playing in his 16th Masters. Mickelson's12-footer for par hung on the lip butwouldn't fall. That missed putt was symbolicof Phil's struggles on the greens, a malaisethat has lasted for more than two months,encompassing three previous tournamentsat which he failed to finish better than 20th.

Those close to Mickelson are calling thisthe worst puttingslump of his career, andthe numbers back it up. He came into theMasters ranked 72nd on the PGA Tour inputtingaverage. He usually resides amongthe top 10. On putts of 10 to 15 feet he ranks111th, and from 15 to 20 he's 142nd.