AKRON, Ohio (PA) -- Phil Mickelson is confident the hard work he has put into his short game recently can pay dividends at the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational this weekend.

World No. 2 Mickelson had an excellent record at the Firestone Country Club between 1995 and 2002, with a victory, three second places and three more top-10s in tournaments on the 7,400-yard, par 70 South Course.

In the last five years, though, he has finished no higher than a tie for 23rd and, this week, coinciding with a dip in his renowned short game that has sent him back to the drawing board with his instructor Dave Pelz, the left-hander is keen to redress the balance in both areas.

"I have not played as well as I would have liked to in this event the last few years, and I'm determined to try to change that this week," Mickelson said Wednesday. "I have been working hard on the area of my game that's been a little bit deficient, which is short game, believe it or not, and I've spent a lot of time chipping and putting this last week.

"I spent a little time with Pelz, and I believe my short game is getting back to where I want it to be, and I expect to have a good week," he added. "I expect to do well around the greens. And the way the course is set up, there's a lot of skill involved around the greens now because you can hit shots out of the rough and from off the edges. It's a great set-up."

Mickelson, who has won twice on the PGA Tour this year but not since landing the Colonial at the end of May, was particularly enamored by the much shorter rough that protects Firestone South's narrow fairways.

"I just think that this is a great set-up for the best players to separate themselves," he said. "There's a huge reward to hitting fairways here because the rough is tough to control into these greens and the greens are difficult.

"Around the greens, now, if you miss fairways you can still advance it up by the greens, and around the greens you can control some wedges out of the rough," he explained. "It's not easy but it's do-able. I think it gives guys a chance to showcase their skills as opposed to having the penalty be the same for everybody."

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