US MASTERS COUNTDOWN:THE RANKINGS don't lie. They say Tiger Woods is the world's number one. Who's arguing? Then, they say Phil Mickelson is number two. They tell you Ernie Els is number three . . . and Steve Stricker is number four.

Ah, the enigma that is Stricker. It's worth stopping right there, at the world's fourth-best golfer. The rankings don't lie.

He's known as the "Comeback Kid" in the locker-room, but not with any degree of malice. He's too nice not to like.

Yesterday, as the temperatures dipped at Augusta National, Stricker, a 41-year-old who has gotten better as he has gotten older, sought to explain how he had recovered from a black hole that threatened to suck him off the tour and now enters the Masters on many lips as a possible winner.

Not that Augusta has been too kind to Stricker in the past, mind.

In his previous seven Masters appearances, he has missed the cut four times; and his only top-10 finish came in 2001, when he was 10th. Then, after missing the cut in 2002, he fell so far off the golfing radar he did not earn a place in the field again until his reappearance a year ago, when he again missed the cut.

Yet, there is something about Stricker's demeanour, something that tells you he is a changed and different man. And he is. After all, this is a player who fought the golfing demons and won. This is a player who hadn't a card two years ago, relied on sponsors' invites and, in the weeks when he couldn't play, spent his time at the driving range hitting balls off a mat and looking at his swing in the mirror.

"From where I was four or five years ago, it's obviously great to be back here. It's such a special place, and it's a privilege to be back," said Stricker, who has transformed his game - and mental approach - completely since those dark days when striving to earn a living without a tour card.

Stricker attributes his recovery to sheer hard work.

"You've got to put in the time and the effort and kind of make a rededication to the game and to yourself . . . if a player was good at one point and he falls off the face of the earth, you've got to realise you were still good at one point.

"I kept telling myself that I did play good golf at one time and it was still there.

"The biggest challenge was the mental challenge, to overcome those negative thoughts and remember where you once were."

To Stricker's credit, he has returned as a superior player.

Now he has to prove he can tackle Augusta National.

Always considered a very good putter, Stricker acknowledged yesterday he has never quite felt comfortable on the greens here.

"I don't know what it is, I've never really putted that well here, to tell you the truth . . . you could set your ball down in a million different places on these greens to four or five different pin placements and they'd all react a little bit differently."

To that end, Stricker's preparations over the next few days in the run-up to Thursday's first round will see him spend copious amounts of time practising around the greens.

"It's just been bad here," he honestly admitted of his previous appearances in the Masters.

"I've got some work to do, to overcome a few problems I've had in the past. Hopefully, I'm playing a little bit better.

"I feel a little bit more comfortable with my game and hopefully I can overcome some of those problems I've had in years past and play well."

He added: "You need to do your homework, and that's what I intend to do is spend more time and paying closer attention to the greens areas. There isn't a whole lot of bail-out areas, (so) you are going to end up having a real difficult chip or really paying for it."

One factor that doesn't suit Stricker's ambitions to right past wrongs at Augusta are the current playing conditions. Recent rain has left the course playing soft and long, and Stricker is not one of the tour's longest hitters.

Yesterday, for instance, David Toms was hitting a four-iron approach into the first hole.

"These greens were not really designed to be coming in with such long clubs," said Stricker, adding: "It's very difficult . . . but the guy who can hit his irons to spots on the greens really has an advantage this week, because that makes putting a little bit easier."

Stricker, like everyone in the field, will have to find a way to find the right spots. It's part of the allure of the Masters.