Turn to face the changes

The truth of the matter is this. The bulldozers have long since left the premises, and the work conducted since Tiger Woods donned a fourth green jacket a year ago is in evidence among the azaleas and the camellias.

As you'd expect, new and old have blended seamlessly; but the holes - well, at least six of them - are longer and the fairways tighter and some sand traps have been extended to make Augusta National a tougher challenge than at any time in its history.

It is a unique test. Not only must a player be long off the tee, he must also be precise with his irons and, then, have a short game and putting stroke immune to the whims and wiles of viciously slick greens.

It will test a player's sanity as much as his game.

But, then, a major test is about examining a player's fortitude under pressure as much as it is about crafting shots and, of course, relying on a touch of luck: flash back to Woods's chip-in on the 16th in last year's final round. No, even the best need a rub of the green.

Whose turn will it be this time? Yesterday, as players touched up their games, mainly working around the short-game area tucked away past the elegant clubhouse, the first cement house to be built in the Deep South, the consensus increased that the course changes have reduced the list of potential winners. Darren Clarke, for one, believes it could cut the number of likely winners by up to 25 per cent.

"At the end of the day, everybody is playing the same course," remarked Retief Goosen, one of those players with the combination of power and finesse to be a definite contender. So, no sympathy there for those poor souls who don't bomb it off the tee.

Yet his fellow South African Ernie Els was less inclined to believe that only the big hitters would survive in the new set-up.

"I think technology will help a lot of players. I think the players are so good, there's going to be a mix of players in there (with a chance)," claimed Els.

What is certain is that the course will play differently from the last four years, when the tournament suffered rain delays of varying degrees.

This year, the course is playing hard and fast, and the forecast for the next four days is mainly for more sunshine, so that by Sunday the greens will be slick and unreceptive.

It should be entertaining.

Although six holes have been altered since Woods's play-off win over Chris DiMarco last year, three of them have come in for particular scrutiny during practice. The fourth is a par three of 240 yards; the seventh is now a 450-yard par four, while the 11th - which last year played as the most difficult hole on the course - has been increased to a par four of 505 yards.

Yet Padraig Harrington, one of four Irish players in the field, anticipates a fair test. "I bet you we won't be off the back of (all) the tees," said the Dubliner, who has taken a less-intensive approach to his preparations for this major after a stressful campaign in last year's majors when he missed the cut in the Masters, the US Open and the US PGA. He missed the British Open because of the death of his father, Paddy.

"I've no hang-ups about the changes. The 11th, where I hit between five- and seven-iron in practice, I envisage is what it played like in the 1980s."

So, no whingeing or moaning, but an understanding that this course places greater mental demands on a player than others.

"This is one of those golf course where it is harder to lead than to chase," observed Harrington, who has decided to commit to the decision to use a 47in driver. "It is a chaser's golf course, always has been.

"With the right mindset going into 13 and 15, you can make eagles; with a bad mindset you could make bogeys and worse. It has always been a chaser's course, and that's why it is such an exciting tournament. It's never over."

Harrington comes into this tournament without a tour win since the Barclays Classic last June, and having slipped to 29th in the world rankings, compared to sixth a year ago. But there was a zest about him yesterday, and an anticipation that the putts that haven't been dropping this season would decide to do so this week.

"My number-one priority is to go to the first tee mentally fresh. Swing-wise, my game is where I want it," he said.

If on his day for four days, Harrington - who has the power, but vitally a short game among the best around - could well contend here; so too Clarke, whose ball-striking is as good as anyone's, but he really needs his putter to be hot rather than cold.

Paul McGinley is not as long off the tee, but he believes the firm course negates that disadvantage.

Yet, there is the suspicion that all the tweaking to the course, stretching it out to 7,445 yards, has played into the hands of two players more than others: Woods and Phil Mickelson.

"I agree that its narrowed up the field a bit," said Woods of the changes. "Seeing some of the guys at their length, and what they have to hit into some of the holes, they are having a hard time holding greens. Some of the shorter hitters are definitely going to struggle."

Woods has won four Masters in a decade as a professional, Mickelson just one (in 2004). But Lefty has nine top-10 finishes in 13 appearances, and has finished in the top three in four of the last five years. Just as Woods loves this course, so too does Phil.

He could be the one.