Irish golfing victories in the US have been decidedly thin on the ground. One thinks of the World Seniors' win by Christy O'Connor Snr in 1977; of Claire Dowling's success in the 1983 South Atlantic tournament; of the two Seniors' Tour wins by Christy O'Connor Jnr last year and, of course, the recent triumph by Darren Clarke in the Andersen Consulting Matchplay at La Costa.

But long before the current generation of golfers thought to look west for fresh fields to conquer, there was an Irish trailblazer in America. And his greatest triumph came on this day, April 1st, in 1922.

That was when Paddy O'Hare captured the North and South Professional Open at Pinehurst. And it happened to be the only staging of the event over 54 holes, after Donald Ross, the course designer, decided that the second round should be abandoned because of torrential rain.

The three O'Hare brothers, Paddy, Jimmy and Peter, from 4 Anglesey Terrace, Greenore, County Louth all became outstanding professional golfers. Peter, the eldest, emigrated to America early in his career, was tied seventh in the 1924 US Open and spent the remainder of his life as a club professional there.

Jimmy, who won the Irish Professional Championship in 1920, was reputed to have been the first owner of a motorbike in Skerries, where he served as professional before World War I. And Paddy, as the reigning Irish champion, emigrated in 1919 to the US, where he became professional at the Richmond club in Staten Island, New York.

It may be that the Americans accidentally misread his name. Either way, they preferred the Irish lilt of Pat O'Hara, which is how he was identified in reports of the Pinehurst victory. In the wake of his triumph, he came home for a planned, two-week holiday but never returned to the US. Instead, he regained the Irish Championship in 1927.

The North and South Amateur was inaugurated at Pinehurst in 1901 and two years later the venue also launched the North and South Open and the North and South Women's Championship. The professional event, in which Donald Ross was the inaugural winner, went on to become one of the leading tournaments on the US scene.

It gave Ben Hogan his first, important win in 1940 but was eventually abandoned 10 years later after including most of the game's great names in its roll of honour.

Meanwhile, in 1922, Paddy O'Hare spread-eagled the field to lead by six strokes after a superb second round of 69. Then, when the round was declared void because of the weather, outraged friends tried to persuade him to withdraw on the grounds that he had been terribly wronged. But he replied: "Not me. I beat them today and I'll go out and beat them again tomorrow."

As it turned out, O'Hare was as good as his word, carding rounds of 75 and 72 for a 54-hole aggregate of 220. He won by four strokes from his closest challenger, Clarence Hackney of Atlantic City. Jock Hutchison, the reigning British Open champion, shot 78 and 81 to finish on 229.

"Golf and sex are about the only two things you can enjoy without being good at them."

Jimmy Demaret, three-time winner of the US Masters who, by all accounts, was enthusiastic at both.

When Ben Crenshaw captured the US Masters title for a second time in 1995, the then chairman of Augusta National, Jackson Stephens, was asked if the champion would be receiving a new green jacket. "Nope," came the deadpan reply from one of the wealthiest men in the US. "We're trying to save money around here."

So, what is the value of a green jacket? "It's worth a significant amount of money over the long term, given that you're a Masters champion for life," said Clarke Jones of IMG. But what is the value of the jacket itself? Nobody is telling.

According to a spokesman for the club, "the Masters doesn't want to commercialise the jacket". Yet all the other relevant details are well known. For instance, it is made of 2 1/2 yards of tropical-weight wool and polyester, manufactured by the J P Stevens company.

The Kelly green colour code is "PMS 342"; the style is Bembergrayon; the brass buttons are by Waterbury of Massachusetts and the distinctive emblem is sewn onto the breast pocket by A&B Emblem Co from Weaverville, North Carolina. And the jacket is made by the Hamilton Tailoring Co in Cincinnati.

So, how much does it cost?

"We're not allowed to tell you," replied Ed Hyman of Hamiltons. Can it be such a sensitive issue? "Oh boy it is," he said emphatically. American scribe Al Barkow had the effrontery to calculate that the jacket cost a relatively modest $250. But that was without a mark-up.

Though it is said that the US Masters doesn't begin in earnest until the back nine on Sunday afternoon, an analysis of performances suggests that the first 63 holes can also be fairly important. For instance, in 20 of the last 28 years, a player who was leading or tied for the lead entering the final nine ended up winning.

Of course there are notable exceptions. Like Greg Norman, who led after 63 holes in 1986, 1996 and 1999 and is still without a coveted green jacket, while Seve Ballesteros led or was tied for the lead four times in the 1980s, and won only twice.

With no wish to be irreverent, the prizes for the Masters remind me of a Dublin child on Gay Byrne's radio show describing how the Wise Men brought Baby Jesus gifts of "gold, Frankenstein and a mirror". At Augusta, the awards are gold, silver and crystal - for first place, runner-up, for eagles and the best score each day.

Not surprisingly, Jack Nicklaus happens to have garnered the bear's share of these awards. In fact he has 88 items in all, comprising seven gold medals, six silver cigarette boxes, six silver replicas of the Masters trophy, a silver tray, a silver and gold cup, five silver medals, a silver salver, a crystal highball glass, 15 crystal vases and 45 crystal goblets.

Having seen the list, I wondered how he could have seven gold medals after only six victories. "That's because we used to present a gold medal and a silver cup for leading amateur, which Jack was in 1960," explained Masters official Glenn Greenspan. "The leading amateur now receives only a silver cup."

Then Greenspan added: "In fact Jack received eight gold pieces. One was a gold locket which each winner gets for his spouse or partner. He would have got that for Barbara in 1963." No wonder they marvel at the mystique of the Masters!

Since Augusta National opened in 1932, all 18 holes have undergone changes of one sort or another. Last year, highly significant refinements included the introduction of a "second cut" of short rough. But competitors will be relieved that the latest alterations are decidedly minor by comparison.

New trees have been added to the left of the 17th fairway, and there are also changes on the right; four new trees have been planted to the right of the 14th; the 10th and 16th greens have been rebuilt and those at the 12th and 13th re-grassed. In all cases, fringes lost to the encroachment of Bermuda grass have been recovered.

It is acknowledged that the present course bears little resemblance to the original design by Alister Mackenzie. So it is ironic that a major, recent change is hidden to the naked eye: only its effects are visible. All of Augusta's greens have been made increasingly firm as a defence against low scoring.

This day in golf history . . . On April 1st, 1950, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead and Jimmy Demaret were named among 11 players planning a breakaway division of the USPGA to run the Tour. A week later, the rebels abandoned the idea in return for four seats on the PGA's tournament committee.

Teaser: In strokeplay, C and D are playing together. A and B are playing immediately behind C and D. C's ball lies on the putting green and, since D is searching for his ball, C and D invite A and B to play through. Subsequently, A putts and his ball strikes C's ball. What is the ruling?

Answer: A incurs a penalty of two strokes and must play his ball as it lies (Rule 19-5). C must replace his ball without penalty (Rule 18-5).