GOLF/US Masters: The two debut boys had to do it the hard way. When the chips were down, though, both Michael Hoey and Paul McGinley showed fortitude to salvage their first rounds and ensure that their ambitions - one wants to take the silver cup awarded to the top amateur, the other cherishes a place in the top-20 - at least remained alive.

And yet, at stages in their respective rounds, it appeared that such aspirations were a tad too high. Hoey had a run of five successive bogeys - "I think I've taken a few years off my life out there," he admitted - before rescuing his round, eventually signing for a respectable 75, while McGinley, who started with back-to-back bogeys, played his first ever competitive round in the Masters in level-par 72.

This is the sort of place where it doesn't pay to get big ideas, or let your thoughts run away. A case in point. When Hoey was finalising his preparations with some practice putts, the only other player on the green was the world number one Tiger Woods. And when he walked to the first tee for his opening swing, the giant scoreboard behind him showed just six names, those of the six major winners. It read: WOODS, DICKERSON, HOEY, DUVAL, GOOSEN, TOMS.

Hoey's name wasn't the only one not to survive there, but, after a steady start, the whole experience threatened to unravel when he reeled off five successive bogeys from the sixth to the 10th, including missing a putt from six inches on the ninth. "It was the whole Masters thing," admitted the British amateur champion.

"I was looking around too much, thinking too much about the tournament rather than my own game. I think I lost a few things upstairs!"

Whatever turmoil was going on in his mind, Hoey showed real character. He could have capitulated entirely when his tee shot at the 11th crashed into the pines.

Upon reaching his ball, all Hoey could see was the bridge over Rae's Creek at the 12th. Taking a five-iron, he snap-hooked the ball 40 yards off-line and, incredibly, it finished up eight feet from the flag.

He missed the birdie putt, but the rot of bogeys had been halted.

On the 12th, he proceeded to hole out with his bunker shot for a birdie two and, although he bogeyed the 14th, he had a strong finish with a birdie on the 15th and another on the 18th where he hit the flag with his five-iron approach shot.

"I was nearly out of it at one stage but I came back, and have given myself a chance (to make the cut). All I need are a whole less peaks and troughs in the second round," added Hoey.

In the match behind, McGinley was having to tackle his own demons. "I was tentative at the start, not because of nerves but tentative with my game. Practice hadn't gone well.

"But I battle really well, which is a change from three years ago when I would have got down about it. Even though I wasn't playing well, I hit some great shots," said the Dubliner, who claimed he was "a little bit behind" in his swing.

McGinley's start couldn't have been much worse, a bogey on the first followed by another on the second. However, a four-iron tee-shot to 25 feet for a birdie on the fourth got him going and, although he had a sloppy bogey on the ninth, he rebounded immediately with a birdie on the 10th, where he hit a six-iron approach to 12 feet.

"It's so easy to run up double-bogeys or triples and I was happy that I was able to hang in when things weren't well. I showed a lot of focus, which is what you have to do on this course. You've got to think your way through, to control your golf ball and to control your flight," insisted McGinley.

I'm very encouraged, though, with the way I played the back nine." All of which means that his pre-championship target of a top-20 finish remains intact.