Only Putter Fails Mickelson

Lost amid the furor of Greg Norman’s collapse and Nick Faldo’s third Masters victory was Phil Mickelson, who had his highest finish at Augusta National.

Mickelson shot a 72 Sunday to wind up in third with a 6-under 282, six shots behind Faldo and one short of Norman.

“I feel like I played well and I was real patient throughout the four rounds,” said Mickelson, playing in his fourth Masters. “But when I had opportunities to get it going, it just stalled the last three days.”

Surprisingly, the culprit was his putter.

Mickelson missed four straight putts inside 20 feet on Saturday, when he shot 72. His chances to move into contention stalled for good when he missed a 4-footer for birdie on No. 11.

“If I can keep putting myself in position, the odds are that I’ll break through sometime,” said Mickelson, who equaled his highest finish in a major tournament.

He also finished third at the 1994 PGA Championship.

Hole in one

Ray Floyd had the 14th hole-in-one in Masters history Sunday when he sank a 5-iron shot at No. 16.

Floyd’s 182-yard tee shot landed about 25 feet above the cup and almost stopped, then slowly rolled down the slope while the fans stood in unison to cheer it toward the cup.

“I aimed at the TV camera in the background,” said Floyd, the 1976 Masters champion. “When it first landed, I thought, ‘Oh no, it’s going to stay there.’ Then it teetered toward the hole and heard the crescendo of the crowd rising. Finally, I saw a bunch of cokes and beers and sandwich wrappers going everywhere.”

Floyd said it was the 15th hole-in-one since he’s been playing golf, but his first one at Augusta National.

His ace came after he missed a 5-foot putt for eagle at No. 15.

“I figured I had to get it closer,” Floyd cracked.

Before Sunday, the last Masters hole-in-one was by Corey Pavin in the second round in 1992. Jeff Sluman made one in the first round of that same tournament.

Nicklaus flounders

As Jack Nicklaus strolled to the 18th green at Augusta National, he received his usual standing ovation. This time, though, the cheers had a hollow ring.

Nicklaus shot a 6-over-par 78 to finish with a 9-over 297 - his highest 72-hole score ever at the Masters. His previous worst was a 293 in his second trip to Augusta in 1960.

“The applause was nice and I appreciate it,” Nicklaus said, “but I played very poorly today, I played very poorly yesterday and I played very poorly the day before that.”

Nicklaus, who has made the cut in 34 of his 38 Masters, started off with a 2-under 70, but followed up with a 73, 76 and 78 to finish 21 shots behind Faldo.

Rocky rounds

Ian Woosnam and Vijay Singh learned Sunday just how brutal Augusta National can be.

Singh entered the final round with a 2-under 214, then proceeded to shoot the highest score of the day, a 10-over 82. He birdied the second hole, but had a double-bogey at the next hole and bogeyed five of seven holes starting at No. 5.

Things really fell apart at the par-3 16th, where he had a triple-bogey. He finished with an 8-over 296.

Woosnam, also 2-under after three rounds, was doomed by a quadruple-bogey 9 at No. 15. The 1991 Masters champion wound up with an 80 and a 6-over 294 for the tournament.

Masters history

Nick Faldo is third on the Masters victory list. His third win tied him with Gary Player, Jimmy Demaret and Sam Snead, who trail only Arnold Palmer (four) and Jack Nicklaus (six).

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Leaderboard Final scores from the 60th Masters: Faldo, $450,000 69-67-73-67276 Norman, $270,000 63-69-71-78281 Mickelson, $170,000 65-73-72-72282 Nobilo, $120,000 71-71-72-69283 Hoch, $95,000 67-73-73-71284 Waldorf, $95,000 72-71-69-72284