For this, the 68th US Masters, the old order would seem to be restored. As you stand down by the 12th hole at Amen Corner, the smell is of azaleas, not of ox-blood fertiliser seeping skywards from soggy ground, sadly the case for the past couple of years. Philip Reid reports from Augusta National

The greens are firm again, not receptive at all. In actual fact, Arnold Palmer observed they were "harder and faster" than he'd ever seen them, and he should know. And, don't you know it, the fairways are also running hard and fast.

So, the course set-up is as it should be for a Masters. If the rains stays away (the weather forecasters predict a 20 per cent chance of showers during the first round), then for the first time since all the course changes were implemented - extra yardage, transplanted trees - it will play as envisaged.

It won't be a slog. It will be a test of shot-making, with a heavy emphasis on a player's iron play, his short game and, especially, his putting. It'll be a game of patience.

What should also happen is that we should see a stop to the run of surprise winners of majors, which started with Ben Curtis taking the British Open and Shaun Micheel claiming the US PGA. Yet, that doesn't mean there won't be a first-time major winner: the likes of Phil Mickelson, Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, Stuart Appleby, Scott Verplank and Adam Scott - among others - certainly have the credentials and the games to follow in the footsteps of Mike Weir as Masters champion.

"You can't get away with mis-hitting golf shots and not hitting the ball correctly," insisted Tiger Woods. "If you don't hit the proper golf shot here this week, you're really going to pay for it because everything is zipping off the greens. The landing areas are much smaller now.

"It's going to be more apparent who is really hitting the ball well as the week goes on because you can't get away with a bad ball-striking day."

In many ways, the master was stating the obvious. And, in truth, this could turn out to be one of the most mentally gruelling championships of recent times, one where a player must grind out pars and avoid mistakes. "I would pick out a Mike Weir battler type, good putters, good short games, like Jose Maria Olazabal," stated Brad Faxon, no slouch in either department himself.

Of the two Irishmen in the field, Harrington rather than Clarke is the one more noted as a scrambler. And one of Harrington's tasks over the past few days has been to quell expectations after a two-week build-up that saw him finish runner-up in the Players' Championship and fourth in last week's BellSouth tournament. Yet, despite an insistence that he plays better "when my expectations are low", there is a growing sense that his time is nearer than at any stage in his career.

He is a form horse, so to speak, and for much of the past few days his name has been whispered along with Mickelson, Love, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Vijay Singh and of course Woods - all big-hitters - as a serious championship contender.

In typical fashion, Harrington refused to get caught up in it all. For the past three days, since arriving here from Atlanta, he has stuck to a routine aimed at getting him as comfortable as possible come his tee-time, when he sets off in a marquee three-ball with Singh and John Daly.

"I haven't been as comfortable over the ball in practice as I would like, and that's been distracting me a little bit on my focus. It's a big downside if it stays like that for the week," claimed Harrington, whose early-season schedule has been geared to this week.

Indeed, in his three outings on the US Tour so far this year, he has yet to finish outside fifth place.

For this week, the Dubliner has made some technical adjustments. For instance, aware of the type of sand in the bunkers here, he has taken some of the bounce out of his sand wedge and, since Sawgrass, has switched to an Odyssey two-ball blade putter.

Mindful of his start last year, when he snap-hooked his first two drives, Harrington knows that you don't win a golf tournament on Thursday, but that you can lose it.

"I'm just trying to be focused from the word go, so that once I tee off I will be in the frame of mind for scoring rather than waiting for nine holes into the round or 18 holes into the tournament before I feel comfortable with it.

"You have to have patience, an acceptance of things. You can't get on your own back when things don't go right for you. You've just got to stay there and hopefully things will turn around. And if things are going well, you've got to go with it and hope that it stays that way.

"I don't necessarily think you have to get off to a good start, just a steady start and keep yourself in there until the back nine on Sunday . . . this is one of those tournaments where, if you stay in there, and play one really good nine holes, you can be up there at the end of the week."

In reality, Harrington and Clarke - ranked seventh and 14th respectively in the world - constitute the best prospect of a first European winner since Olazabal in 1999. That time, the Spaniard became the 11th European champion in 20 attempts.

And, like Harrington, Clarke knows patience will be essential. "It's going to be a very, very difficult challenge," he conceded.

"There's going to be a lot of grinding, a lot of people who've just got to keep on going. You've got to make the best out of the round as you can."

So, it will be a grinder's week. It would seem that whoever believes patience is the ultimate virtue will be the latest fitted for a green jacket. A 42 regular would fit Harrington, a 44 regular Clarke. Only time will tell.

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