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Mickelson wins second Masters

(AP)
Updated: 2006-04-10 08:39

Mickelson emerged as a major threat to Woods' pursuit of Jack Nicklaus' record 18 victories in Grand Slam events. This was the third straight year Mickelson has won a major — Woods is the only other player to have done that in the last 20 years. Only five others have won majors in three straight seasons since the Masters began in 1934.

Clark holed a bunker shot from across the 18th green for birdie that left him alone in second with a 69.

Woods, who was trying to become the first player to twice defend his Masters title, could only blame his putter. He had two eagle putts inside 15 feet on the back nine and missed them both, and he had six three-putts this week. He holed a 25-foot birdie on the 18th hole that just about made him curse, although it gave him a 70 and a tie for third.

"I putted atrociously today," Woods said. "As good as I hit it, that's as bad as I putted."

At the green jacket ceremony, Mickelson asked the crowd for a moment of silence to pray for Woods' father, Earl, who could not travel to Augusta for the first time because of cancer.

Woods said he would talk to his father Sunday night, and joked that "he's probably a little mad at how I putted today."

Joining Woods at 4-under 284 were Couples (71), Retief Goosen (69), Chad Campbell (71) and Jose Maria Olazabal, whose 66 was the best score all week on the super-sized course.

But it was Couples who had the best chance to challenge Mickelson, and had he won, it would have been especially poignant.

This is the 20-year anniversary of Nicklaus' stunning back-nine charge to win his sixth green jacket at age 46. Couples was poised to become the oldest Masters champion, and he hung with Mickelson until his putter betrayed him.

First came a three-putt on the 11th, his 3-foot par putt spinning around the cup. On the 14th hole, Couples had a 4-foot birdie putt to pull within one shot. It caught the lip and spun 6 feet away, and he missed that one, too.

Mickelson poured it on with an eagle chip that caught the lip on the 15th, and steady pars the rest of the way until the 18th.