For Phil Mickelson, it is easy being green. The San Diego native returned to La Jolla Country Club the morning of Monday, April 17 to meet with two dozen media members and celebrate his second Masters victory and third major championship in the last three years.On April 9, Mickelson won his second Green Jacket by holding off a star-studded leaderboard and finishing at 7-under par. South African Tim Clark finished second with a score of 5-under, but the tournament really wasn’t that close.Mickelson started the final round at 4-under and was sitting at 8-under going into 18. His closest competitors were Clark and Jose Maria Olazabal, who were both four shots down. Despite bogeying 18, his only one of the day, victory was all but assured for Mickelson, who relished the moment.”This year, I gotta tell you it was a lot more enjoyable,” said Mickelson, who also captured a Masters title in 2004 in dramatic fashion. “The television might not have liked it as much because it wasn’t as exciting, but for me it was a lot less stressful walking up the 18th fairway. I really enjoyed the walk a lot more and enjoyed the way the final holes played out.”Two years ago, Mickelson birdied five of the last seven holes, including a tournament-clinching putt on the 18th green, to beat Ernie Els and win his first major championship, something that had eluded him 43 times previously.”It’s hard to compare because the first one was, I don’t wanna say unexpected, but I was so excited that I finally broke through I couldn’t believe it,” he continued. “I would actually try to gravitate toward this kind of finish, than say the other. Both had the same result ” the green jacket ” so it’s been wonderful.”Mickelson will now set his sights on the U.S. Open, which will be played June 15-18 at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York. Having won the PGA Championship last year, he is halfway to becoming only the second golfer (to Tiger Woods) to have all four major titles at the same time.”Yeah, that’s jumping a little ahead,” he laughed. “Now, I want to start looking ahead and see if I can break through and win my first U.S. Open. I’ve been so close so many times. I haven’t done it with three seconds; I’d love to win that tournament very much.”He will now take another week off before playing the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, the Wachovia Championship and the Byron Nelson Championship.In two short years, Mickelson has evolved from an enigmatic figure who carried the dreaded “best player to not win a major” tag to one of the best players of his or any era. He is wildly popular with golf fans, thanks to his “Everyman” personality and gracious, wide smile.”Over the years I’ve wanted to thank you and everyone in San Diego County for being so supportive of my, my family and my career, from junior golf all the way through,” he said. “It’s been a fun golf career and the last couple years have been special to me. It really means a lot.”