With this week’s Masters, the first Major championship of the year, the golf season starts in right earnest. Top professional golfers can get away making an excuse of not being ready after the off-season all these days since the new year began. But come the second week of April, they better have their game in perfect shape

It’s simple really; it’s the Masters, and such is its exalted status in the game, almost every top golfer starts the new season with an eye on the tournament.

Also, it’s just too special a place to embarrass yourself. The golf course can be extremely brutal, and if you don’t want to get beaten badly by it, you have got to give 101 per cent focus on each and every shot and bring your A-game to the park.

It is often said that Augusta National is perhaps the most beautiful sporting venue in the world. Having played the Masters a few times, I must admit that the pressure is so relentless that week, that there is hardly any time for us professionals to enjoy the golf course and its surroundings.

But what I have enjoyed every time is the challenge that the golf course poses. It’s almost like playing a game of chess with your golf clubs. You need to constantly think of where to hit the ball to — so that it facilitates your next shot — and which parts of the hole you should miss. There are so many holes — the first, 11th and 12th for example — where you just need to be ultra conservative and be delighted with a par.

In the past couple of years, major championships are becoming way too close to make a call on the winner. And the Masters this year is no different.

There are so many players who are looking good to slip into the Green Jacket come Sunday. Rory McIlroy is the pre-tournament favourite, and the brilliant, bogey-free 65 he shot in the final round of Shell Houston Open must have given him an amazing lift in confidence and momentum going to Augusta. And defending champion Adam Scott is so consistent, so rounded in his game, he is always going to be a threat.

The form-players are Sergio Garcia and Matt Kuchar. I have a feeling that Henrik Stenson is due for a big week, and this could be the one. Jason Day, who seems to have recovered from his thumb injury, always does well at the Masters, but he would have preferred a couple of tournaments before this week.

Rookies are always at a disadvantage at Augusta National, but I won’t be surprised if at least a couple of them are in contention over the weekend. What an amazing bunch of Masters first-timers we have this year — Jordan Spieth, FedEx Cup leader Jimmy Walker, Harris English, Victor Dubuisson, Patrick Reed, to name but a few. These are young and fearless guys and it will be exciting to watch how they handle the nuances of this legendary golf course.

I have spent the last few days in Dubai, preparing for what is going to be an extremely busy and long stretch for me starting with the Malaysian Open. I was practising at the new European Tour Performance Institute at Jumeirah Golf Estates, and I’ve got to recommend it to any golfer who is serious about improving his game. The facilities there are second to none and have got to be experienced.

If I do win an event in the next few weeks, Wayne Johnson and his team down there will surely be in my thank-you list.

 

— Jeev Milkha Singh is a four-time champion on the European Tour