AUGUSTA, Ga. — Of all the improbable saves in Phil Mickelson’s career, finishing second at the 2023 Masters might be the wildest.

In the last year, Mickelson has skipped the Masters, punctured a hole in his perfectly shiny persona, sued the PGA Tour, been suspended from the Tour, played some really terrible golf and finally returned to Augusta to a somewhat icy reception that included near silence at the annual Champions Dinner.

The man of the people had become persona non grata, and there wasn’t much he could do about that. At least not until he started hitting bombs and dropping putts on Sunday at Augusta National, just like the Phil of old.

When his playing career is over, the history of Phil Mickelson will be divided into two parts: Pre-comment Phil and Post-comment Phil.

Pre-comment Phil — before he said getting into business with the Saudis was worth it if doing so could help “reshape the PGA Tour” — was the do-no-wrong everyman of the golfing world. The scene of him walking up the 18th fairway on his way to winning the 2021 PGA Championship with thousands screaming all around him was the result of decades of a love-love relationship between Phil and just about everybody.

Post-comment Phil — the one who showed up to Augusta National this week after skipping last year’s Masters in the wake of said comment — is a man seemingly walking on egg shells. It’s not that he’s no longer beloved by many. He still is. But the aura around him has changed. Camaraderie has given way to contention, with every public comment from him sounding like a man trying to spin the positive out of the burning building behind him.

Take, for example, his response to Fred Couples calling him a “nutbag” last month.

“Fred and I are longtime friends and we've had a lot of great experiences in the game of golf,” Mickelson said earlier this week. “I think the world of him, and I hope we have a chance to have more great experiences with him as well.”

As the tension grew off the course for Mickelson after his announcement that he would be moving to the Saudi-backed LIV Golf last June, his play on the course became more and more disastrous. Since moving to LIV in the middle of last year, he’s recorded just one top-10 finish in 10 events. His average finish in the 48-man field is 31st.

Nothing portended that the 52-year-old Mickelson would even make the weekend in his return to Augusta National after last year’s self-imposed hiatus. And yet there he was Sunday, popping up near the top of the leaderboard at the Masters.

He started the final round at 1-under, 10 shots off the lead. By the time he walked up the 18th fairway, he was at 7-under, just three shots back, staring at an 11-footer for birdie.

As he approached the green, the normally friendly crowd stayed relatively muted. There were some claps, but no standing ovation in reverence of a three-time Masters champion. Maybe it was because they didn't know he'd worked his way into contention; maybe it was because they were waiting for the birdie putt; maybe it was because their view on Mickelson had changed.

When he drained it, to move to 8-under and just two shots back of Jon Rahm, there was an eruption but not a roar like there has been in the past.

The birdie made for a 7-under 65, the lowest round in Masters history by a player over 50.

After finishing his round, Mickelson actually held the clubhouse lead, with only Rahm between him and a history-making fourth green jacket. Rahm, with the entire back nine ahead of him, would not relent, and Mickelson would have to settle for second place, the best finish ever for a player age 50-plus.

Disappointing for sure for Mickelson, but not a disappointment.

“To come out today and play the way I did and hit the shots when I needed, it's so much fun,” Mickelson said before the tournament was officially over. “I'm grateful to be a part of this tournament and to be here competing and then to play well, it means a lot.”

Now it's back to reality, back to the LIV Tour where the paychecks are massive but the crowds are not. It's the existence that all of those who fled the PGA Tour for the Saudi upstart league are having to come to grips with.

In two weeks they'll be in Australia, then on to Singapore followed by Tulsa, Okla. Then it's the PGA Championship in upstate New York. That's another tournament Mickelson skipped last year, even as the defending champion. He'll be there this year, with another opportunity to turn back the clock.