Phil Mickelson confident he can become the oldest Masters winner ever

If Phil Mickelson is to win his fourth Masters — and tie Tiger Woods and Arnold Palmer for the second-most green jackets ever, behind Jack Nicklaus’ six — he will likely have to find a few more fairways and greens this week in Augusta than he did in Houston.

Lefty, No. 18 in the world, enters his 25th Masters after a T55 finish at the Shell Houston Open, where he compiled three straight birdies on holes 6, 7, and 8 (his back nine) in the final round, but hit only 30 of 56 fairways and 48 of 72 greens in regulation.

Such stats might make a lesser player doubt his ability to compete in the men’s first major of the season, but not a grizzled veteran with the memory of 24 Masters stints in his bag.

”Even though you might miss it big,” Mickelson said Tuesday from Augusta, “if you’re in the right spot, you can take advantage of your short game and salvage a lot of pars, and I hope to rely on that knowledge and skill to keep myself in it heading into the weekend where players less experienced with the golf course will possibly miss it in the wrong spots and shoot themselves out.”

Mickelson, the inspiration for the #PhilWasHere hashtag, knows whereof he speaks.

The always-entertaining Mickelson may have missed the cut at last year’s Masters — his second MC in three years, and just the third of his illustrious Augusta career — but he tied for second in 2015, and usually shifts into overdrive as soon as he hits Magnolia Lane.

“I always love coming here,” Mickelson said. “It’s my probably favorite place on earth.”

He also is not afraid to take the road less traveled.

“Phil Mickelson is dangerous here,” Golf Channel’s Notah Begay III said Tuesday, “because he understands how to play this golf course and he is a risk taker.”

Winless on the PGA Tour since 2013, but with five top-21 finishes in eight tourneys this year, Mickelson believes 2017, at 46 (the same age Nicklaus was when he earned his last green jacket), could be his year to make more history.

“I’ve worked really hard to get my game back to the level that I expect and the level that I’ve strived for,” said Mickelson, who would become the oldest Masters winner ever by several months. “If I can play anywhere close to the way I played at the British Open last year and the Ryder Cup, I should be able to give myself a good opportunity for Sunday.”

This week could be the last good opportunity for Mickelson to join the pantheon of superstars with four Masters trophies. Or maybe the ageless wonder has several more Augusta efforts in him.

“I look to always try to find it as we go down Magnolia Lane,” said Mickelson, who, at 77th in driving distance, can’t hope to keep up with the kids off the tee. He can, however, show them how it’s done with his short game — he ranks second in strokes gained around the green.

Let’s hope Phil is able to thrill Masters patrons with another first-place finish come Sunday night amid the azaleas. After all, who doesn’t want to see Mickelson recreate that 2004 masterful jump that he memorialized on his golf shirt?