Masters in Pictures - take a stroll down Magnolia Lane with us

There is nothing quite like the men’s first major of the year.

The striking green of the fairways and the champions’ jackets.

The pink of the azaleas and Ian Poulter’s loud shirts.

The sound of the birds in the trees, the hush of the galleries around Amen Corner, the roar of the patrons as another tee shot strikes the bank of the 16th green, turns left and starts its roll to the hole, almost drawn to the bottom of the cup by a magnetic force.

Masters weekend is appointment television, whether you love watching golf or are just happy bearing witness to stunning scenery and sporting action that has the ability to burst into high drama at any second.

It is where most of us fell in love with golf, certainly this correspondent, whether it be Jack Nicklaus’s miraculous back-nine charge in 1986, Nick Faldo’s play-off win in the gathering gloom of 1989, or Greg Norman’s collapse of 1996, when the safest place to watch that horrific unravelling was from behind the settee.

But that is The Masters, and it is what sets it apart from its golfing peers.

The Open, US Open and PGA Championship are played on a rota of different courses every year, but the Masters is at the same exclusive stretch of real estate every April.

Everyone knows Amen Corner, the long par-four 11th; the wonderful short par-three over water and the dog-leg par-five 13th, Rae’s Creek ready to gobble up any errant shot.

We all know the 18th, the narrow tunnel between the trees to negotiate with the driver, the long uphill second to the green. The ultimate test of nerves.

There is no Masters this weekend due to the coronavirus pandemic. We shall have to wait until November. But, boy, will it be worth the wait.

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