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AUGUSTA, Ga. — It just feels too obvious.
Picking Phil Mickelson to win this week’s Masters, to defend the Green Jacket he won last year, seems as out-on-a-limb as predicting that Tiger Woods will start dating blondes again.
Sometimes, though, the obvious is obvious for a reason.
Not only has Mickelson won three of the past seven Masters, but he embraces this tournament and adores this golf course more than any other.
He also is riding into this week following a resounding victory Sunday in Houston, where he obliterated the field with a stirring 16-under-par weekend performance to win by three strokes. In 2006, Mickelson won the BellSouth Classic and the next week went on to win his second Green Jacket.
The shift in power around Augusta National is eye-opening. Where once the buzz was about Woods winning another Masters, now it’s all about Mickelson’s chances.
“It seems like everybody’s got Phil in a Green Jacket on Sunday evening, and there’s not much of a reason to turn up at this point,” Graeme McDowell said. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see him blow the field away like he did over the weekend in Houston. He’s a great player around Augusta. If you can finish ahead of him, you’ve got a great chance.”
The reality is Mickelson didn’t need the win in Houston to ride down Magnolia Lane virtually expecting to win this week and tie Woods and Arnold Palmer with a fourth Green Jacket for his closet.
“I certainly enjoy this place and have felt great on this golf course even before I won here,” Mickelson said. “When I drive down Magnolia Lane, I get re-energized with the game of golf. When I come back to Augusta National, I just remember how much I loved it as a kid, dreamt of playing the [PGA] Tour, dreamt of playing in the Masters and winning this tournament.
“It just reinvigorates my passion for the game.”
As usual, the contrast between Mickelson’s media session and that of Woods was stark. Mickelson engaged in some playful banter; Woods was short at times and defiant with his responses, and, as usual, held back from showing any personality.
Among the topics Mickelson had some fun with included:
* Surpassing Woods in the world rankings for the first time since Woods won the 1997 Masters.
“It would really mean a lot if he was No. 1 at the time when I passed him. Yeah, that would be really cool,” Mickelson said.
* His epic 6-iron from the pine straw through the trees on No. 13 in the final round last year.
Asked about the “conversation” he had with his caddie, Jim “Bones” Mackay, about the shot as Mackay tried to talk him into a more conservative shot, Mickelson joked, “You mean those three times?”
“Well, as I said to him then, there’s a point in every tournament where you have to take on some risk,” Mickelson said. “You can’t expect that other players are going to give it to you. That’s a hole you have to take advantage of if you’re going to win this tournament.”
Asked if has tried to duplicate the shot on No. 13 during practice visits, Mickelson said, “I didn’t see the point. I’ve already done that.”
* His not-so-high leap into the air celebrating his first Masters win in 2004.
“The cameras did not get me at the apex. I need to stress that,” Mickelson quipped.
* Asked if his 1:48 p.m. opening-round tee time, which is second-to-last, bothers him as the defending champion, Mickelson said, “I would love nothing more than to have the last tee time every day.”
As obvious as it may seem, that’s where Mickelson is most likely to be on the weekend — in one of the last groups chasing down a fourth Green Jacket come Sunday afternoon.
mcannizzaro@nypost.com