Phil Mickelson opened the final round of the Masters with two birdies -- a fantastic start that tempted his fans into believing he might finally overcome Tiger Woods in a major.

Just as quickly, Mickelson made two bogeys. He fell down the leaderboard, out of contention and stayed firmly in grasp of the title -- say it together, now -- The Best Player Never to Win a Major.

He shot 71, the same score as Woods, and finished at 8-under 280, four strokes behind. He never got closer to Woods than two strokes. He finished in third place, and actually sounded happy with himself when it was over.

``I don't feel as though it was a missed opportunity, per se,'' Mickelson said.

Of course, he wasn't alone. Nobody stepped up as a serious threat to Woods on a soggy day at Augusta National that perplexed all of the champion's challengers.

But it was only three weeks ago that Mickelson proclaimed that he was the only guy on tour who had stood toe-to-toe with Tiger on a regular basis. He credited his oft-criticized, ultra-aggressive style for making himself the clear No. 2.

``I don't really recall what I said there, but I don't think that really had anything to do with today,'' Mickelson said. ``I just think we were all trying to make birdies. When you do that, you're going to open the door to bogeys.''

Nobody knows that game better than Phil the Thrill.

For every risk, there is a reward -- or a price to pay.

On No. 1, Mickelson hit his drive 290 yards into the fairway bunker. Most players would simply hope to save par, but Mickelson hit the sand shot to 14 inches. An ``easy'' birdie.

No. 2 was the same story, Pure Phil. In a greenside bunker in two, he took that sand wedge he's so deadly with, and left the ball 2 feet away from the hole. Another birdie, and it appeared the game was on.

Just as quickly, he hit an approach shot over the green on No. 3, after aiming at the flag, trying to make a play he wouldn't have had he not been playing catchup. Bogey No. 1.

On No. 4, he got on the high side of the hole, the one place you can't be with a Sunday pin placement at Augusta. He barely touched his putt, and left himself with a downhill 10-footer for par that he also missed. Bogey No. 2.

``I thought if I could make a bit of a move, I might be able to make some noise,'' he said. ``Unfortunately, it stalled a little quicker than I would have liked.''

By the time he approached the fifth tee box, he was six strokes down, playing for a paycheck, not the green jacket.

The makable birdie putts he missed on 10, 11 and 12, the sliced drive on 14 -- ``Oh, not left,'' he yelled -- and all the other little misplays that might have made him part of a Greek tragedy on other days were barely on the radar.

He fell to 0-for-9 when he heads into the final round of a major within five strokes of the lead, but there was no heartbreak this time.

``This week was a very enjoyable week,'' he said. ``I know a lot of people have been very supportive of me. I really appreciate the support that I've felt in my -- I guess you could call it -- almost a quest to win my first major.''