Advertisement

At any other Masters, Mickelson and Rose would've been playing off

Phil Mickelson reacts after hitting onto the 16th green. (AP)
Phil Mickelson reacts after hitting onto the 16th green. (AP)

Phil Mickelson and Justin Rose ran into a buzzsaw named Jordan Spieth at this Masters. Spieth, who tied Tiger Woods' 72-hole tournament scoring record at 18-under 270, beat the pair of major champions by four shots for his first major title.

Mickelson and Rose posted 14-under 274, an incredible total at Augusta National.

Mickelson won his third Masters in 2010 at 16 under par. This week was his second-best total at this golf course. It was Rose's best at Augusta National by nine shots.

Most weeks, these guys would have been in a playoff for the green jacket. In fact, 274 would have won every Masters from 1934 to 1964 but one – and that would have meant a playoff with Ben Hogan in 1953.

Compare Rose and Mickelson's total this week to every Masters winner. It would have won or tied against any total in Masters history other than five: Jack Nicklaus in 1965 (-17), Raymond Floyd in 1976 (-17), Woods in 1997 (-18) and 2001 (-16), Mickelson against himself in 2010 (-16). Ben Crenshaw and Charl Schwartzel shot 14-under to win in 1995 and 2011, respectively.

Only one other player has ever finished the Masters at 14-under par and lost: David Duval, who finished two shots behind Tiger Woods in 2001 when he completed the Tiger Slam.

Great score, guys. Wrong week.


Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.