Billy Foster's Masters tips, split from Matt Fitzpatrick and what comes next for legendary caddie

“Probably 32…I think,” he tells The Yorkshire Post.

He can remember nearly winning it though, when he carried the bag for Lee Westwood in 2010.

“Phil Mickelson would have beaten Harry Houdini that day,” tuts Foster, in an oft-repeated lament at just how well the mercurial left-hander played in that final round 15 years ago to beat the man from Worksop.

“For a five or six-hole stretch around the turn it was incredible how he managed to go two under par when anyone else would have been three over.

“That turned the day against Lee, who played lovely but got no reward. Lee had another big chance in 2014 when Bubba Watson won it and Lee just couldn’t hole a putt when it mattered.”

In all, Foster has carried the bag for Darren Clarke, Thomas Bjorn, Westwood and Matt Fitzpatrick around Augusta. After 30-odd visits, he knows what is required.

“Patience, and leaving it in the right spots,” says the Bingley bagman, who fancies Collin Morikawa, Joaquin Niemann or Will Zalatoris to do just that this week.

“Don’t leave yourself in a bad spot, you know there’s certain places you just can’t hit the ball. Be sensible and get it in the right spots. That’s why Nick Faldo won it three times.

“You need to hole a few putts but also just limit the stupid mistakes around Augusta, that’s massive.”

He will have to wait for his 33rd (if that is the number) visit to Augusta.

Earlier this year, Sheffield’s Matt Fitzpatrick - who gave Foster the major victory he had long craved at the US Open at Brookline in 2022 - moved on from his fellow Yorkshireman in a bid to arrest a slump in form.

“It’s been very disappointing but that’s part and parcel of the business I’m in,” says Foster.

“It’s like being a football manager, and if results aren’t going well they try and shake things up.

“The dynamic had changed a little bit. You could feel it wasn’t much fun out there, things happen and it’s probably the best thing for both of us to be honest.

“Matt had been struggling with his game but I’m sure he’ll come back at some stage, he’s a quality player and a quality person.

“No hard feelings at all, you just accept it’s time for a bit of freshness and it’ll probably be good for both of us.”

At 59, Foster is experiencing unemployment from the job he loves for the first time.

There are little bits - after-dinner speaking, a two-day spell on Sky’s Masters coverage this weekend, and visiting Leeds Dock on Wednesday to try and hit a hole-in-one on an island green to win a flight to Malaga or Palma, to promote easyJet’s new golf-friendly routes from Leeds Bradford Airport.

He’s even returned to playing golf again at Bingley St Ives after a three-year break. But he knows what he wants to be doing.

“Like I’ve always said, I went on a 43-year stag doo with my band of brothers so I want to be back out there doing what I enjoy the most,” says Foster, for whom a job on the lucrative LIV tour would be a nice footnote to his storied career.

“The guys get looked after so well on LIV. I’m getting my bus pass next year so a couple of years on there would be great.

“Listen, whatever comes along, I’m ruling nothing out. If it’s back at the top of the game on the PGA Tour I’d love to do that, but I won’t rule out anything.”