By Phil Casey, PA Sport, Augusta

Phil Mickelson has decided to ignore Tiger Woods in a bid to rid himself of the unwanted label of 'best player not to have won a major.'

Mickelson has had 16 top-10 finishes in major championships, twice coming second in the US Open and also finishing runner-up to David Toms in the 2001 USPGA championship.

His record at Augusta is equally impressive, the left-hander finishing third for the last two years, seventh and sixth before that, and third again in 1996.

Question marks remain over his temperament and tactics when it comes to the closing stages of a major, with his attacking approach often costing him dear, and also whether he can take on Woods when both are at the top of their game.

But Mickelson, along with Ernie Els, has decided to try and forget any notion of 'challenging' the world number one, and simply concentrate on doing the best they can.

Asked about trying to end Woods' current dominance, Mickelson said: "I have stopped looking at it as such. I don't think it's my job or any other player's job to try to challenge another individual.

"And what I've started to look at is that this is a chance for me to try to play at a different level of golf, with a different mental approach, with more of an aggressive mindset and strategic mindset to be able to shoot lower scores.

"We're seeing some scores that have never been shot in tournament golf before and I look at it as a challenge for myself to try and play my best.

"I don't know if that will or will not be good enough to challenge another individual, but you can't look at it as though you're competing against a different person because as Bobby Jones always used to say, he was always competing against Old Man par, even in matchplay.

"That's the way a player needs to look at it, how low can he shoot, not what is that player doing? There are days when Tiger's not playing well when guys can score lower than what he shoots. So if you judge by his score, then you're not playing your best golf.

"All that is discussed is, can anyone challenge so and so? Can anyone compete with him? Can anybody do this like him? And that's not the best way for a player to judge his game or his ability to play if they want to play their best."

Mickelson missed the cut in last week's BellSouth Classic on his return to action after several weeks off while his wife Amy gave birth to their child.

But he refused to be concerned about the state of his game after three top-10 finishes earlier this season, and is looking forward to teeing off tomorrow alongside Ryder Cup partner David Toms and Australian Peter Lonard.

"I look forward to the majors as much as I ever have but when I get to the championship I am much more calm than I used to be," added the 32-year-old. "Five, six years ago I would be very fidgety when I would show up ready to play.

"I would wonder 'is my game going to be there, am I going to hit the shots I need to, are the putts going to fall?' Now when I get to a major I feel much more confident.

"I'm much more calm which allows me to play better, but I also have a lot more confidence that if I just play my game I'll have a chance or be in contention on the weekend.

"I've always thought this would be the best opportunity for me to win a major. It's very well suited to my game. I'm able to hit driver on all the holes. I'm able to take advantage of creativity around the greens. I have a pretty good feel on these fast greens.

"And because of the course changes it has allowed a longer hitter an even greater opportunity to win here because the shorter player is hitting such a longer club into these holes now that it's a huge disadvantage."