Mickelson - unhappy with Singh (Getty Images)

Phil Mickelson has spoken to and criticised Vijay Singh for prompting officials to confront him during the second day of the Masters at Augusta.

World number one Singh complained that there were spike marks on the 12th green and told European tour referee Mikael Eriksson that he thought that Mickelson could be the problem.

"I was extremely distracted and would have appreciated if it would have been handled differently or after the round," said the defending champion in a statement after the story leaked out.

"On the 13th hole two officials approached me at two different times. They were sent by Vijay to check my spikes because he felt they were unduly damaging the greens.

"After sitting in the locker room for a while I heard Vijay talk to other players about it and I confronted him.

"He expressed his concerns. I expressed my disappointment with the way it was handled. I believe everything is fine now."

It will obviously add spice, however, if the two are fighting it out for the title. Singh resumed on Saturday in fourth place on four under, with Mickelson two shots back.

On inspection it was decided that there was nothing about the left-hander's shoes that needed changing.

The incident came the day after Tiger Woods was spoken to by officials at the Masters over a tap-in putt during his first round 74.

He had a narrow escape from a two-stroke penalty because the TV evidence was "inconclusive" and there has been criticism by several players over the fact that the investigation was instigated after a call from a television viewer.