Masters shots to remember: Finally, they get their Phil

• Phil Mickelson finally broke through at the 2004 Masters to earn his first major title
• He won it with a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole
• It was just so much fun%2C so exciting%2C%22 Mickelson said

The Masters isn't the oldest of golf's majors, it's not the biggest. It is the championship of nothing, not like the U.S. Open (championship of the USA) or Open Championship (the unofficial world championship) or the PGA (which encompasses nearly 30,000 pro golfers).

But the Masters is as major as it gets, and even as old and as grand as those other championships are, what happens at Augusta seems to resonate louder. Maybe it's all those echoes in the pines.

Each day through April 11 — Round 1 of the 2013 Masters — USA TODAY Sports will highlight one of the most memorable shots in Masters history.

SATURDAY: Finally, Phil Mickelson

With just nine holes to play in the 2004 Masters, third-round co-leader Phil Mickelson looked like the lovable, mistake-prone golfer who had become known as the best player to never have won a major — 46 losses, 42 of them as a pro. Was he fumbling away another opportunity?

But somewhere on the back nine in the final round, Mickelson became a champion. It started with a birdie on the difficult par-3 12th, and ended with a brilliant birdie putt on 18 — five birdies in seven holes.

When Mickelson got to the tee at No. 12, he suddenly was three shots behind Ernie Els, who had eagled No. 13 — his second eagle on the day.

"I heard the roar," Mickelson said. "I didn't know what had happened, but I figured he had just made an eagle. I took a pretty aggressive line."

Els made another birdie at 15, then parred in and waited for Mickelson to come home

When Mickelson got to 18, he had evened the score.

At the tee, instead of using his driver, he opted for a 3-wood and placed his shot perfectly in the fairway, avoiding the bunker on the left.

Mickelson's approach came to rest on the green, 20 feet above the hole. His playing partner, Chris DiMarco, had a downhill putt from the same area just before Mickelson's turn to putt. That gave Mickelson a chance to read the green. DiMarco missed barely. Mickelson did not.

His putt curled into the hole.

"It was on line the whole time," he said.

On the practice green, Els heard the roar. His tournament was over.

With the lightness that comes from having the weight of a career of frustration lifted from your back, Mickelson leaped into the air just as the putt dropped from sight.

Finally and forever, Mickelson was no longer the golfer synonymous with only coming close. Instead of watching replays of somebody else dancing and hugging his caddie, Mickelson saw replays of his own jump for joy.

"I was watching myself look like an idiot on the 18th green . . . and I don't really care. It was just so much fun, so exciting," gushed Mickelson, who shot 3-under-par 69 in the tournament of his life.

Since that leap into history, Mickelson has won twice more at Augusta, and he has added a PGA Championship title.

The crowd at Augusta truly got its Phil that day.