AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) -- Lefty has gotten hip.
As Phil Mickelson strolled around Augusta National during a practice round Tuesday, his ever-growing hair tumbled out from beneath his baseball cap (he already gave up that geeky visor, a big step forward on golf's fashion meter).
At 35, Mickelson seems to be taking his styling tips from those 20-something guys such as Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia, who tend to go longer between trips to the salon.
Well, actually, Mickelson is just listening to his wife.
"Amy likes it," he said, deferring credit for his new 'do. "As long as she likes it, it's all good."
The same could be said of Mickelson's game -- especially coming off his runaway victory at the lead-in to the Masters. He went 28-under at the BellSouth Classic last weekend, lapping the field by 13 strokes on a suburban Atlanta course with pseudo-Augusta conditions.
Tiger Woods, the defending Masters champion, holder of four green jackets and heavy favorite to make it five, took note of Mickelson's first win of the year.
"It certainly gives him a shot of confidence, there's no doubt about that," Woods said. "Any time you get a win before Augusta, you're going to feel pretty good. He's been playing all right this year, then all of a sudden he had an absolutely great week. I'm sure he's feeling very good about his game -- and this is a nice time to feel good about your game."
Mickelson won the Masters two years ago, removing the burden of being the best player never to have won a major. He added a victory in last year's PGA Championship, further bolstering his claim to being among the top players of this generation not named Tiger.
His confidence bolstered by that performance in the BellSouth, Mickelson should further benefit from Augusta National's super-sized course, stretched out to 7,445 yards in the latest effort to hinder the bulked-up players, juiced-up balls and high-tech equipment that have revolutionized the ancient game.
Mickelson is one of the longest hitters on the PGA Tour, and his accuracy off the tee is likely to benefit from his unusual decision to carry two drivers. He uses one to pull off a fade, the ball drifting left for the left-handed player. The other is used to get more of a left-to-right motion with added distance.
Ditching his sand wedge, Mickelson believes the extra driver could help him go for the green in two on a couple of the par 5s -- a huge advantage on Augusta's new layout if he can pull it off.
"It's nice having that little extra punch," he said. "I was trying to get it worked out so I only had to use one driver, but as it turned out, I'm going to end up using two."
Mickelson isn't putting too much emphasis on his performance last weekend, acknowledging that he can't fire away at Augusta's treacherous greens with the same abandon. Still, it's always good to know that your game is peaking at the right time.
"Well, I'm a lot more confident than had I missed the cut," he said. "It was important for me to play well at the BellSouth because I had been playing well, but I had not been getting the scores that I wanted. It finally came together to where I started to score. I just want to carry that momentum and bring it over here."
Mickelson showed his feisty side at last year's Masters, getting into a shouting match with Vijay Singh in the champions locker room after the two former winners tussled over an alleged spike mark left by Lefty on the 12th green.
He doesn't think a little bad blood is necessarily a bad thing for this usually staid sport.
"Rivalries like Arizona State and Arizona, where I went to school, or Texas-Oklahoma in football, I think it's great," Mickelson said. "Golf's usually doesn't have too much of that because as individuals and the way the game is played, it's not such a head-to-head competition like tennis. It's more yourself against the course."
After winning the Masters, Mickelson quipped that he would never take off his green jacket. He eventually did, of course, but the impact of his first major title is still there to be relished.
For example, Mickelson attended his second champions dinner Tuesday night -- an exclusive event that brings together past winners of all kinds. Some are young. Some are old. Some are in their prime. Some have long since retired. All have stories to tell.
"Being able to hang out with guys who have won here is an amazing feeling," Mickelson said. "When I attend the champions dinner and get to relive and rehash some of those victories as other past champions, I feel as though there's that sense of history, and being a part of the tournament, which is so special."
The practice rounds at Augusta have a different feel, too.
"When you walk down the fairways at Augusta, it's unlike any other tournament for us as a player," Mickelson said. "You have people taking pictures of you and you feel like you're almost an artifact in a museum."
While the Masters is a special week, Mickelson gets just as excited about those low-key visits to the club when hardly anyone else is around. He quietly works on his game and soaks up all the history -- a history that now includes Lefty.
"To come sit in the champions locker room and have breakfast -- that's some of the most fun that I've had in the game," Mickelson said. "Just sitting on the premises looking at pictures of the club and being on site, knowing that I've won this tournament."
Beginning Thursday, he'll try to win it again.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
