Backspin: Mickelson prefers tournament tests for Augusta

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A year ago, Anthony Kim went to the Shell Houston Open and won. A week later, he shot a final-round 65 and nearly stole the Green Jacket before finishing in a tie for third.

Five years ago, Phil Mickelson won the BellSouth Classic a couple of hours down the road from Augusta National and a week later won what was at the time his second Masters title.

In 1988, Sandy Lyle captured the Kmart Greater Greensboro Open, then won his first and only Green Jacket.

See a trend?

Some guys -- like Mickelson -- like to play the week before a major. Ditto Lee Westwood, who was a runner-up to Mickelson a year ago at Augusta National.

Others, like Tiger Woods or the current No. 1 player in the world, Martin Kaymer, prefer to skip the week before the Masters.

Whatever the method, this year could look a lot like 2006 for Mickelson.

"Each player as an individual golfer has to find out what's best for them to prepare for a big event," said Mickelson, who closed with rounds of 63 and 65 in Houston. "I find that I tend to play my best in a major championship when I compete the week before. It gets me into competitive frame of mind."

Mickelson went on to add there's an argument to do it either way -- and as a player you have to find what works best for you.

Clearly, Mickelson has that routine down. At the 2006 BellSouth Classic, Mickelson shot 63-65-67-65 at TPC Sugarloaf then won the Masters the following week.

Will we see a repeat of that? It certainly wouldn't be a surprise given how Mickelson played in Houston.

"It's wide open," Mickelson said. "But I certainly like the way that I play the golf course, and I'm very pleased with the way my game is coming around."

It's also a pretty good argument for playing the week before a major.

Stock up

Steve Stricker: Can he win the Masters? Absolutely, especially given how good he is with the putter. Just two years ago, he tied for sixth at Augusta National. And he appears to be rounding into form with a tie for fourth in Houston -- his third top-10 of the year. Matt Kuchar: Ho hum. Another week, another top-10 for last year's leading money winner. That's now six in just eight starts this season and at this rate it looks like Kuchar will lap the 11 he had in 2010. This time last year, he had four top-10s. Hunter Mahan: Nine starts, five top-10s, including a runner-up. That's Mahan's season in a nutshell. Mahan tied for eighth in Houston last week on the strength of a third-round 66 and though he's yet to win in 2011, he could be on the verge of a big, big year.

Stock down

Jamie Lovemark: After nine top-10s -- six of which were top-3 finishes -- on the Nationwide Tour in 2010, plenty of people thought Lovemark would find instant success on the PGA TOUR. Well, Lovemark has battled a bad back and made just two cuts in nine starts and has one finish in the top 50. Lucas Glover: It was only two years ago that Glover won the U.S. Open and appeared to be well on his way to being one of the top 5 or 10 players in the world. In his last 28 starts dating back to the start of 2010, however, he has just one top-5. Last week he missed the cut in Houston. Boo Weekley: Hopefully book sales are going better than things on the golf course for Weekley, at least in the last month anyway. In his last four starts he has two missed cuts (one of which included an 81 at Bay Hill), a WD and a tie for 60th. On the year, Weekley has just one top-25.

THE BACK NINE: 9 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. One reason Phil Mickelson may have won this week in Houston: A trip early in the week up to Augusta National. "It reenergizes me every time I go there," Mickelson said. "I get excited with the game and fall in love with the game again and again. It reminds me how much I dreamt as a kid of playing there, of competing and winning majors and winning golf tournaments."

2. Mickelson didn't want to get into it Sunday night, but his victory in Houston took on a little extra meaning given that Houston is where his wife was treated for breast cancer. "As much as I loved winning here and I'll look back on this in seven, eight days, this being a very special day," Mickelson said. "Right now, [Monday], you know, I've got some work to do. Tuesday I got to get ready for Augusta, and so I'm not going to be able to savor it or celebrate right now. I'll put it on hold for eight days."

3. My take on Scott Verplank down the stretch Sunday in Houston: He looked like a car with a gas tank past empty, running on fumes and hoping just to make it to the station. Mickelson, meanwhile, looked a lot like a Ferrari, or more appropriately since he's sponsored by Callaway, a Lamborghini.

4. Another player who might be rounding into form just in time for the year's first major? Anthony Kim. Save for his final-round 73 in Houston, where he tied for 13th, he played some very good golf. Kim has been trying to let his clubs do the talking this year, but it hasn't really worked out that well with just one top-10 this season. So Kim went back to basics with Adam Schreiber, his coach since he was a teenager. "I told him when he first got to Dallas I don't want to work and put Band-Aids on my swing," Kim said last week. "I want to get down to my grip, to my posture, to everything that any beginning golfer would start with. I think that really helped get me back in the mindset of playing golf again and enjoying being out there instead of just trying to put Band-Aids on hooks and try to hit big slices to keep it in the fairway." Kim didn't do a great job of that in Houston but he should gain some confidence from an otherwise pretty good week.

5. You want a sign that Rory Sabbatini is a changed guy? Sunday, Sabbatini, who once had some controversial comments about Tiger Woods and once withdrew from his charity tournament, practiced with Woods and Jeff Overton at Augusta National.

6. Stat of the Week: Mickelson moved ahead of Tiger Woods in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time since the week before the 1997 Masters, which Woods -- of course -- went on to win. Not that Mickelson noticed the recent rankings. "Honestly, I haven't looked at that because I haven't been getting the scores that I want, I haven't looked at rankings and so forth," he said.

7. The last player to win on TOUR as an amateur was of course Mickelson. The last to do it before Lefty? That's right, Verplank, who won the 1985 Western Open.

8. The last time, prior to last week in Houston, that Mickelson shot a 63? The opening round of the 2006 BellSouth Classic. Karma? We'll see.

9. As you've probably heard, or figured out by now, this year marks the 25th anniversary of Jack Nicklaus' improbable victory at the 1986 Masters at the age of 46. If you haven't had a chance to read Tom Clavin's new book, "One For The Ages," which chronicles the events of that week, click here for an excerpt that's worth a few minutes of your time.

Forward Spin

Despite Phil Mickelson's win in Houston, has there been a more wide-open Masters in recent memory? No one knows what to expect from Tiger Woods, who appears to be playing better but still not all the way back. Current No. 1 Martin Kaymer has never made a cut there and hasn't been in great form of late. Second-ranked Lee Westwood hasn't been either. And on it goes. That said, Mickelson has to be considered the favorite at Augusta National given his victory last week and just how well the course seems to suit his game. Meanwhile, the forecast looks spectacular for Augusta with temperatures in the upper 70s to mid 80s with almost zero chance of rain during the tournament.

Next Kodak Challenge hole

NEXT WEEK: Valero Texas Open HOLE: The par-4, 347-yard 17th at TPC San Antonio ABOUT THE HOLE: Current PGA TOUR player Sergio Garcia lent his unique perspective in assisting celebrated golfer and renowned golf course architect Greg Norman with the design of the par-72, 7,522-yard course. Similar to renowned golf course designer Pete Dye, Norman's design philosophy is underscored by environmental sensitivity and a deep reverence for nature. Great care has been taken to incorporate the distinct nuances and indigenous flora of the natural Hill Country topography into the course design, to create a compelling, strategically diverse and strikingly beautiful course for golfers of all skill levels. Kodak Challenge standings