Phil Mickelson arrived at Augusta on Tuesday for his Masters defence with a third victory of the year to his name - but Jose Maria Olazabal will never stop believing that this one should have been his.

Mickelson won the BellSouth Classic in Atlanta at 7.15pm local time on Monday thanks to a 20-foot birdie putt on the fourth hole of a play-off.

By then he had only fellow American Rich Beem for opposition, Olazabal having walked off after hitting two balls into the water at the third hole. He was heading for a quadruple-bogey nine.

But it was not so much those shots as two earlier putts - and, of course, a two-stroke penalty on Sunday for hitting sand in a bunker with his club as his ball fell back in it - that had the 39-year-old Spaniard cursing under his breath.

On the final green of the third and final round, the event having been shortened from 72 holes because of massive weather problems at the start, Olazabal missed from under five feet.

It meant a five-man play-off also including Brandt Jobe and, remarkably, Indian Arjun Atwal, who came into the tournament only on Friday afternoon when Steve Flesch quit to prepare for the Masters and then began with a 77.

After Jobe and Atwal found the lake on the first extra hole, Olazabal had another chance to triumph, this time from only four feet. But that one lipped out and the anticipated ecstasy turned to agony.

A dejected Olazabal, applauded by the crowd as he wished Mickelson and Beem well before leaving, said: "After missing the first putt I gave myself another chance and I just didn't take advantage of it."

It was not just the money, considerable though that was. Mickelson walked away with £483,870 and the four runners-up 'only' £172,043.

And it was not just the boost to his confidence that a win on the eve of his bid for a third Masters crown would have given him.

What mattered most was that Olazabal lost his US tour card last season and a title would make him exempt again until the end of 2007.

"It would be great - I would love it," he said before the round. "I would be able to plan my schedule rather than having to wait to find out where I can play."

He still looks good now to finish among the top 125 money-winners this year, but he remains reliant mostly on invitations to play.

Mickelson, who like Olazabal stayed with the tournament rather than joining those - Luke Donald and Ian Woosnam included - who pulled out to get to Augusta early, said: "To be the last guy standing feels great.

"I'm very fortunate and I don't know how I dodged the bullet.

"There were not just the five guys in the play-off, there were others that could have and should have won this tournament outright."

Lucas Glover and Frank Lickliter both went in the lake on the last when joint leaders.

"It gives me some momentum," said Mickelson.

"I knew I needed to make birdies to get into a play-off and feeling that anxiety, that excitement, the stuff that I feel every day in a major championship, is a great way to prepare for the Masters.

"It's sometimes a culture shock for me when I stand on the first tee on Thursday of a major, having not played well or having not played in tournaments for a couple of weeks.

"Here I've been able to feel those butterflies just a couple days before the first round.

"I am kind of proud of myself for how I fought through hitting two drives out of bounds in the first round and gutted it out and made birdies and hit shots when I needed to."

Only Sandy Lyle, in 1988, has won the tournament before Augusta and then the Masters as well.

Mickelson knew that and commented: "I look at it as a great way to build some momentum, to take the intensity and the focus that I had to have.

"I think that it could really be a benefit."

Collated final scores and totals in the USPGA Tour BellSouth Classic, The TPC at Sugarloaf, United States of America

(USA unless stated, par 72):

(Played over 54 holes due to inclement weather)

208 Phil Mickelson 74 65 69 (wins at 4th Extra Hole), Brandt Jobe 72 69 67, Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa) 70 69 69, Rich Beem 70 70 68, Arjun Atwal (Ind) 77 67 64

209 Tag Ridings 72 68 69, Frank Lickliter II 71 70 68, Scott Dunlap 72 68 69, Arron Oberholser 72 68 69

210 Jay Williamson 72 71 67, Hunter Haas 75 68 67, Dennis Paulson 75 68 67, Lucas Glover 74 67 69, Charles Warren 75 69 66

211 Joey Snyder III 71 69 71, Billy Mayfair 68 71 72, Ryuji Imada (Jpn) 70 71 70, Bob Tway 71 70 70, Dean Wilson 72 70 69, Justin Bolli 74 70 67, Brian Bateman 72 68 71

212 Franklin Langham 72 74 66, Retief Goosen (Rsa) 72 69 71, Omar Uresti 71 74 67, Dan Forsman 73 72 67

213 Michael Long (Nzl) 73 68 72, Stephen Leaney (Aus) 72 72 69, Jason Allred 68 75 70, Zach Johnson 75 66 72, J J Henry 73 72 68, Brett Quigley 69 74 70

214 Jonathan Byrd 72 72 70, Paul Claxton 73 72 69, Alex Cejka (Den) 72 71 71, Tom Pernice Jnr. 73 71 70, Andrew Magee 69 74 71, Scott McCarron 69 69 76, Steve Elkington (Aus) 73 70 71

215 Kevin Stadler 69 77 69, Ted Purdy 69 73 73, John Huston 70 73 72, Sean O'Hair 74 70 71, J.L. Lewis 69 72 74, Len Mattiace 75 69 71, John Elliott (Sco) 75 69 71, Glen Hnatiuk (Can) 73 72 70, Neal Lancaster 74 69 72

216 Jason Bohn 71 75 70, Robert Allenby (Aus) 74 72 70, Darron Stiles 72 71 73, DJ Brigman 70 74 72, D.A. Points 74 71 71, Peter Lonard (Aus) 74 69 73, Joey Sindelar 72 72 72, Gavin Coles (Aus) 73 71 72, Jeff Brehaut 75 70 71

217 Heath Slocum 73 73 71, David Hearn (Can) 70 73 74, Hunter Mahan 72 71 74, Brendan Jones (Aus) 73 72 72, Eric Axley 75 69 73

218 Steve Stricker 70 73 75, Carl Pettersson (Swe) 75 70 73

219 Stewart Cink 71 74 74, Hideto Tanihara (Jpn) 69 75 75, Tom Gillis 77 69 73, Rocco Mediate 74 72 73

220 Paul Goydos 74 72 74, Mathias Gronberg (Swe) 74 72 74, Casey Wittenberg 75 71 74

221 Jimmy Walker 72 72 77

222 Aaron Baddeley (Aus) 72 74 76

224 Nick Watney 76 70 78

225 Camilo Benedetti 73 73 79

226 Bo Van Pelt 70 75 81