AUGUSTA, Ga. — Phil Mickelson has risen on a Sunday morning here, drawn in his first breath of the day, and all but smelled the hem of a green jacket waiting for him as the light finally fades over Augusta National Golf Club.
Nowhere is he more comfortable. Nowhere is he more confident. Nowhere does he relish every shot, every stride, than he does right here.
For Peter Hanson, such notions and feelings are dreams.
“It’s a new situation to me,” he said Saturday.
Hanson has played the Masters once before, a year ago. By Friday afternoon, he was rearranging his flights, heading home. He missed the cut.
But after a typically frenzied Saturday at the Masters sorted itself out — and that took some doing, because seven players had, at one point, at least a share of the lead — Hanson was in the lead.
Mickelson, a three-time Masters champion, shot a third-round 66 to get to 8-under for the tournament. He will chase Hanson, a Swede who has only once finished in the top 10 at a major but who posted a sterling 65 on Saturday to get to 9-under-par 207.
It all left them in two decidedly different places: comfort and consternation.
“It’s going to be tough,” Hanson said. “I’ve been up on the leaderboard a few times, but I’ve never led in anything like this.”
How to spend those morning hours? What to eat for breakfast? How to change your routine? Mickelson knows it all. His Saturday — a round in which he opened with nine straight pars, then shot a Mickelson-esque 30 on the back — only means something if he follows it today.
“As great and as fun a round as this was,” Mickelson said, “it just makes it possible to have something really special tomorrow.”
They are not the only two who have the chance to win, and at various points Saturday, it was impossible to discern a favorite. The cast of characters who held at least a share of the lead Saturday, in order of appearance: Fred Couples, Jason Dufner, Lee Westwood, Matt Kuchar, Louis Oosthuizen, Mickelson and Hanson.
By day’s end, eight players were within five shots of Hanson’s lead, theoretically with excellent opportunities. Oosthuizen’s 69 left him two back at 7-under, Bubba Watson’s 70 put him another shot back and Kuchar’s 70 a shot after that.
“In the back of your mind,” Watson said, “you know it’s doable.”
Yet there was one looming figure, only one player in the top 10 who has won here before. When dawn breaks today, Mickelson will serve as the dominant presence.
“You only have to look at the way Phil has won some of his majors,” said three-time major champion Padraig Harrington, in the group at 4-under. “You’ve got to take on golf shots. Fortune favors the brave, at times, here.”
At Augusta, there is none braver, none bolder than Mickelson. On Thursday, he was 4-over through 10 holes, coming off a triple bogey, and the week could have been lost. Instead, he salvaged it, grinding out a 74. When putts didn’t fall on the front side Saturday, he shrugged it off, and used birdies at 10 and 12 to pull within two of the lead.
No hole at Augusta is better suited for Mickelson than the dogleg left, par-5 13th. After a splendid drive, he had 206 yards to the flag. His crisp 6-iron left him 35 feet left of the flag for eagle and a share of the lead.
“I’ve hit that putt so many times,” he said.
He knew, then, to give it a little extra up the hill. He knew, too, that it would come back right, just a hair. When it settled gently over the lip, the roar told Hanson in the group ahead what was up.
