There is an argument to be made -- a very good one in fact -- that Phil Mickelson has been better at the Masters over the course of his career than Tiger Woods. The results don't show it -- Tiger has four green jackets to Mickelson's three -- but Lefty has been astounding, and his 71.3 scoring average ranks just behind Woods's 70.9 for second best ever. The question now for the 48-year-old is whether a lifetime of learning the most complex puzzle in the sport will pay off with one final jacket to tie the score between himself, Woods and Arnold Palmer. 

Masters profile: Phil Mickelson

Masters played: 26
Cuts made: 23
Top 10 finishes: 15
Scoring average: 71.3
Best finish: Won in 2004, 2006 and 2010
2019 OWGR: No. 22 | 2019 strokes gained: T51

History: Mickelson has the second most rounds in the 60s at Augusta National with 30 (only Jack Nicklaus has more). His three jackets are bested by only Nicklaus, Woods and Palmer. And he now has an outside chance to log the most career rounds of any Masters competitor ever. This year's first round will be his 99th. Gary Player holds the all-time record with 164 while Nicklaus is second with 163. If Mickelson makes the cut for, say, 10 more years, he'll be at just over 140. Another 10 year of playing but not making the weekend, and he's right there around Player's mark.

Current form: Following his torrid start to 2019 in which he finished T2 at the Desert Classic and won the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Mickelson has done a whole lot of nothing. Two missed cuts and three finishes between T37 and T40 are what makes up his five-tournament runway into Magnolia Lane.

Best ... and worst: Obviously the three wins are all epic for different reasons, but it's hard to imagine anything ever topping that first one in 2004 when Mickelson shot 31 on the second nine and clipped Ernie Els by a single stroke with a birdie on the last. Arguably Mickelson's worst performance came in 2016 when he missed the cut and had to play his last two holes on Friday in 1 under to break 80.

Stats matter: Lefty's struggles this year -- when they've occurred -- have been mostly with the putter. That's an OK thing going into the Masters because the Augusta greens are unlike any other greens these guys play, and Lefty clearly has them unlocked. He's been striking the ball pretty solidly, and most of his approach and proximity numbers portend success.

Masters moment(s): When one of your Masters moments is literally now your logo, I guess I have to pick it.

Why he'll win: I'm convinced he has one final magical week here in him. Whether it comes at 48 or 53 or 58, I don't know. But most legends have had one last hurrah in them that normally thrills but rarely results in a win. Mickelson is still striking it well enough to, when combined with his course knowledge, keep up with the young bucks he's taunting en route to his robe in the champion's locker room. One of the great Augusta players of all time won't go quietly and almost certainly won't go without one final grasp at a fourth jacket. Problem is, I don't know when this is going to happen, and Mickelson has only broken par for the week one time in the last six Masters.

Why he won't win: See above. He's been quietly inconsistent here after two decades of elite play. From 1999 through his win in 2010, he had one finish outside the top 10. From 2011 through 2018, he's only had two finishes inside the top 10. Also, he's Phil and will likely take advantage of any chance possible to gamble with what could be a dream week.

Prediction: Not this year. Mickelson will find the heat again at some point, but it won't be in 2019. He'll narrowly make the cut and limp to a T45.