It is 13 years since they stood in triumph on the 18th green at Augusta National. The player, having done a little jig of delight in a sweat-stained shirt, was instantly recognisable for his fair, wavy hair, while the caddie's contrasting coiffure was decidedly dark. Two years later, one of golf's great partnerships was sundered.

Sandy Lyle and Dave Musgrove were together again at Fota Island this week. Now, the player's close-cropped hair has a decidedly silver sheen about it while the caddie's still healthy growth is a shock of grey. "

They were clearly enjoying each other's company, having been reunited four weeks ago. Did this represent a desperate attempt by Lyle to recapture former greatness, just like his great rival Nick Faldo has done in renewing a partnership with Fanny Sunesson? Did Lyle feel he could win again? "That's a tall order," he admitted with typical candour. "But I haven't lost heart. And before you ask if I gained any inspiration from Des Smyth's win in Madeira, all it gave me was an earache from my dear wife telling me I should be doing the same." Lyle's great years were the 1980s and Musgrove was there for all of them. It was when he won the British Open, the Players' Championship in the US and, of course the Masters. But a great omission seemed to be his failure to win the Irish Open.

We remember his ignominous departure from Royal Dublin in 1985 when, heading for an approximate 92, he was disqualified after failing to finish the 18th. And four years later, he shot a course-record 64 at Portmarnock, where Ian Woosnam retained the title. Meanwhile, his best finish in the tournament was to be as a distant runner-up to Bernhard Langer in 1987.

"Despite the 64, I never really got to grips with Portmarnock," he said. "It was always a tough course for me, right back to when I played there in the Amateur Internationals in 1975. Maybe my ball-striking wasn't right.

"I probably needed to keep the ball lower." On that point, Musgrove commented: "Since parting with Sandy in 1990, I caddied for Tom Watson, Scott Hoch, Christy O'Connor Jnr, Tom Purtzer and Lee Janzen, and none of them hit the ball as good as Sandy did." He went on: "I retired last August from full-time caddying but decided I would do the odd stint here at home. So, when Sandy rang me up a few months ago and asked if I would work for him again, I was happy to say "sure."

A major change he noticed with Lyle was his adoption of the "Natural Golf" method, pioneered by the eccentric Canadian, Moe Norman. "Essentially it means holding the hands high at address to create a single plane," he said.

At 43, the dream remains remarkably fresh. And Musgrove is happy to be a part of it.

"I'd register as a caddie on Saturday, play the course on Monday and resign."

American, Harvey Pitt, who claims to have played all 144 courses on Long Island, New York, explaining the strategy he employed to get access to many of the local, private clubs.