Recent history says only two players have a chance to win the 68th Masters Tournament today - Phil Mickelson (Stats | Bio) (Stats | Bio) and Chris DiMarco (Stats | Bio) .

They are in the final twosome of the day, which is the place to be in this tournament.

For the past 13 years, the Masters champion has emerged from that group.

"I like that stat," Mickelson said.

Nick Faldo (Stats | Bio) , the 1990 champion, is the last winner who wasn't in the final group.

"The advantage of being in the last group means you have the lowest scores," DiMarco said. "That means that there's more shots. That's the advantage."

"The most obvious reason (they won) is they were leading going in," said Davis Love III (Stats | Bio) , who is six shots off the lead.

Mickelson was in the final pairing of the Masters one other time. In 2001, he shot 70, but playing partner Tiger Woods (Stats | Bio) (Stats | Bio) had 68 and won by three. Mickelson finished third.

Mickelson shouldn't have to worry about Woods this year. The three-time Masters champion is nine shots off the lead.

Numerous theories abound about why the winner has come from the last group for the past 13 years.

The most popular one goes like this: If you're at the end of the field, you know what you have to do on the final holes to win. Mark O'Meara (Stats | Bio) , the 1998 champion, knew he needed to birdie the final two holes to win, and he did it.

"Obviously, yeah, coming down the stretch, if you know what you need to do, it's there in front of you," DiMarco said.

Likewise, Sandy Lyle (Stats | Bio) was in the final group in 1988, and he knew a birdie on the 72nd hole would give him the victory. He got it, hitting a spectacular second shot from a fairway bunker to set up the birdie putt.

"In my mind, it's important to be out in the second or last group because you've really got to know what's ahead of you," Lyle said. "It might make a difference in how you decide to play a certain hole. Like not being a hero but to play up safe on a par-5. You know if you've got to pull a few birdies off, well, then you've got the chance to do it. I would prefer to be in the last match."

That's one reason some players over the years have looked at their position on the leaderboard near the end of the third round, and went all out for a birdie on the final hole, knowing it would put them in the final group the next day.

In recent years, being in the lead or near the lead means more than it used to. The 305 yards that have been added to the course since 1999 make comebacks less likely.

"I think there is less opportunity to charge like there used to be," Love said.

DiMarco knows the crowd will be on Mickelson's side today, but he's used to that.

"Every time I play with Phil, it's like that," DiMarco said of Mickelson, who played collegiately at Arizona State. "I played with him in Phoenix in the last round, and it was a little pro-Phil there. I've known Phil since college. It's nice to go out and play with somebody that you're friends with, that obviously you want to compete, but you can still chitchat and have a good time."

In addition to playing against each other in college and in the pros, DiMarco and Mickelson were teammates on the recent U.S. Presidents Cup team.

"Chris and I really enjoy playing together; we're going to have a fun day," Mickelson said. "It's weird that we used to compete in collegiate tournaments and here we are competing Sunday at Augusta in the final group. It's just cool."

Reach David Westin at (706) 724-0851 or david.westin@augustachronicle.com.