Mickelson defies expectations with Masters 65: 'It was a fun day'

Phil Mickelson rolled back the years to deliver Sunday's best final round at the Masters, with his seven-under 65 earning him a tie for second and a place in the history books.

The three-time Masters winner finished the tournament on eight under-par 276, four shots behind Spanish winner Jon Rahm and level with fellow American Brooks Koepka.

The 52-year-old sat back to watch Rahm finish his round knowing that a late collapse from the Spaniard could have brought him into contention for the title, but it was not be.

"It was a fun day, and you just never know what can happen. There was nine holes left to go when I walked off the golf course. I was two behind and Jon played an amazing back nine," Mickelson said.

"I mean, a lot can happen on that back nine, a lot of good can happen and a lot of bad, and he played some incredible golf all week long, and is a very worthy champion. Easy to see why he's regarded as the best player in the world, and he validated that today."

Mickelson's performance was the lowest round at the Masters by any player over-50 player and he became the oldest golfer to finish in the top five at Augusta.

It was also his career low score at Augusta equalling his first round score at 1996 when he finished third behind Nick Faldo and Greg Norman.

The left-hander had predicted on Friday that he could shoot a low score at the weekend, saying he was back to the level of golf he played in his heyday after getting in shape.

But while his optimism and confidence appeared sincere, few would have expected his final-round showing after he made three-over 75 in the rain-impacted third round.

"I feel like it was evident to me that I was hitting a lot of good shots, that I was playing well (but I wasn't getting the score out of