AUGUSTA, Ga. >> The day began with buying one of the last pair of Masters field glasses in the store, a move that would prove prescient later that afternoon.

Part of the fun of covering the first major golf tournament of the year is trying to be at the right place at the right time, especially when you’re watching two groups at once.

After noting Phil Mickelson wasn’t likely to birdie the first hole when his approach shot settled at the back of the green, some of us moved on to the second to see what Louis Oosthuizen and Bubba Watson were up to at the long par 5.

They had already hit their drives, so it made sense to watch their approaches and then walk back up to the second tee box to see Mickelson and playing partner Peter Hanson smack their big sticks.

We were standing right across from Oosthuizen on a small rise to the right of the fairway. I had adjusted my field glasses to the second green so it would be in focus as soon as I looked. Once Oosthuizen cut loose his approach, I swung my glasses up and saw the ball land on the front of the green.

From our angle, the bunker guarding the right side obscured the hole, but you could see the flag stick and you figured the fans would let you know what happened next.

I was doing a little commentary for my reporter friends who didn’t have field glasses handy. I told them the ball was rolling left to right across the green toward the hole. Some of the fans on the right side started standing up and even from that far away the anticipation of those folks surrounding the green gave you a clue something incredible was about to happen.

“The ball is rolling slowly toward the cup, I think,” I said. “Oh my goodness, I think it’s going in.”

At the last second, those folks around the green rose as one and an instant later a roar went up that echoed off each nook and cranny on the course.

We all yelled in unison, “It’s in the hole.”

Oosthuizen couldn’t have seen it either from where he was in the fairway. He waited just a second, then raised his arms straight up like a referee signaling a 50-yard field goal had just cleared the crossbar. His caddie raised his arms as well, as they celebrated the first albatross at the second hole in Masters history and fourth overall, leaving all of us in wonder.

Quickly we walked back up the second fairway to the tee box waiting for Mickelson and Hanson to come into view. They knew something had happened at the second while putting out at the first hole, but had no idea until after they hit their drives and started walking down the fairway.

On the left-hand side of the second is the eighth green. Behind it is a scoreboard and it already had posted a 10 by Oosthuizen’s name. He began the day 7 under and parred the first hole, so when Mickelson saw the 10, he looked over at his caddie with an expression of wonder.

That look would change for him drastically two holes later.

Once again, our group found ourselves in the perfect position at the par-3 fourth. Because of the double eagle, Watson and Oosthuizen were out of position, forcing them to wait on the fourth tee. Oosthuizen would eventually bogey, a number Mickelson would later have taken, no questions asked, and might have won the golf tournament as a result.

As we stood about 15 yards from the grandstand, with very few people around us, Mickelson hit his tee shot off the structure guarding the left side of the green and into the bamboo patch that grows about 20 yards off the fairway.

We knew we had a front-row seat to what would happen next.

While standing on the walkway waiting for Mickelson to arrive, we all debated just what he would do. The general consensus was he should take a drop, but after consulting with his caddie, Jim “Bones” Mackay, he opted to try to chop it out right-handed.

Bones had everybody move back, but by then, all those following Mickelson on this narrow cart path were behind us, forcing people to stand out in the fairway. But we still had an unobstructed view of the debacle to come.

Mickelson’s first try at it maybe moved the ball a foot at most. The second hack wasn’t much better. His fourth shot was a flop attempt that landed in the bunker, a spot he had wanted to be in after his second shot. He blasted that out to 5 feet and made the putt for a triple-bogey six.

We all looked at each other and agreed: Never in our lives again would we see a double eagle and a triple bogey in the span of a half-hour in a professional golf tournament. That six-shot swing proved to be Mickelson’s undoing, and those fortunate few who saw it knew at that very moment it was game, set and match for Phil.

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Paul Arnett is sports editor of the Star-Advertiser. Reach him at parnett@staradvertiser.com.