About a week ago, in one of the comments sections, there was a conversation about where quarterback value can be found in the draft. Someone pointed out that both Dan Marino and Aaron Rodgers were taken within a couple selections of the #25 pick that Seattle currently holds, which led to me looking at the landmark 1983 draft* that produced Marino, which in turn made me look at the five QBs taken in front of him, which in turn-- great googaly-moogaly, how is selecting a quarterback anything but dumb luck?

For reference, the first-round quarterbacks in the 1983 draft looked like this:

1.) John Elway
7.) Todd Blackledge
14.) Jim Kelly
15.) Tony Eason
24.) Ken O’Brien
27.) Dan Marino

Like buns in a Big Mac, Hall-of-Famers Elway, Kelly, and Marino hold this juicy group together, with Eason and O'Brien providing edible enough filler. Unfortunately, the already disgusting sandwich metaphor I'm using isn't complete without Todd Blackledge's secret sauce soggying everything up.

The trio of HOFers make this draft historic, but Eason and O'Brien also had very productive careers and lived up to their first-round billing. Five out of six ain't bad, and the case can be made that talent evaluators did a good job in rating these QBs before the draft, but all it takes is for one GM to choose Todd Blackledge 7th overall and all arguments about what makes for a good NFL quarterback go out the window.

It's a trend that continues throughout the history of the NFL draft. Alex Smith goes 1st overall in the same year that Aaron Rodgers goes 24th and Matt Cassel goes 230th. Chad Pennington gets picked 18th one day before Tom Brady gets picked 199th. Our own Matt Hasselbeck was taken 127 picks after Charlie Batch, and the list goes on. I mean, remember when THIS was the hottest debate in sports?

My point is that we hear a lot of noise regarding quarterback prospects before each draft: this guy won't fit a pro system; this guy has character concerns; this guy never took snaps from under center; this guy's too short; this guy's too tall; this guy smells funny, etc. Everyone's got an expert opinion as to why one guy will succeed and another will fail. Ultimately though, when it comes to drafting a quarterback, it's just really damn difficult to nail down what will make a guy successful.

Drafting a quarterback is as exact a science as Hungry Hungry Hippos is. We all know this, but just to highlight what a crapshoot it can be, I've compiled all the quarterbacks taken in NFL drafts since 2000, sans commentary. They are listed in order, with their selection round in parentheses.

* Side note -- As I was perusing the careers of the '83 quarterbacks, something occurred to me: if it hadn't been for Elway's final two seasons, this would have been an outrageously under-performing group of Super Bowl QBs, at least in terms of record. Everyone knows about Kelly's four consecutive SB losses; but between those, Elway's three, Marino's one, and Eason's historically-bad one, the group was a combined 0-9 in the Big Game between 1985 and 1994, and were outscored 359-139 in those contests.

On to the list. Keep it in mind as you draw conclusions about QBs the Seahawks may take this year.

2000:
Chad Pennington (1st)
Giovanni Carmazzi (3rd)
Chris Redman (3rd)
Tee Martin (5th)
Marc Bulger (6th)
Spergon --haha, "Spergon"-- Wynn (6th)
Tom Brady (6th)
Todd Husak (6th)
Tim Rattay (7th)
Jarious Jackson (7th)
Joe Hamilton (7th)

2001:
Michael Vick (1st)
Drew Brees (2nd)
Quincy Carter (2nd)
Marques Tuiasosopo (2nd)
Chris Weinke (4th)
Sage Rosenfels (4th)
Jesse Palmer (4th)
Mike McMahon (5th)
AJ Feeley (5th)
Josh Booty (7th)
Josh Heupel (7th)

2002:
David Carr (1st)
Joey Harrington (1st)
Patrick Ramsey (1st)
Josh McCown (3rd)
David Garrard (4th)
Rohan Davey (4th)
Randy Fasani (5th)
Kurt Kittner (5th)
Brandon Doman (5th)
Craig Nall (5th)
JT O'Sullivan (6th)
Seth Burford (7th)
Jeff Kelly (7th)
Ronald Curry (7th)
Wes Pate (7th)

2003:
Carson Palmer (1st)
Byron Leftwich (1st)
Kyle Boller (1st)
Rex Grossman (1st)
Dave Ragone (3rd)
Chris Simms (3rd)
Seneca Wallace (4th)
Brian St. Pierre (5th)
Drew Henson (6th)
Brooks Bollinger (6th)
Kliff Kingsbury (6th)
Gibran Hamdan (7th)
Ken Dorsey (7th)

2004:
Eli Manning (1st)
Phillip Rivers (1st)
Ben Roethlisberger (1st)
JP Losman (1st)
Matt Schaub (3rd)
Luke McCown (4th)
Craig Krenzel (5th)
Andy Hall (6th)
Josh Harris (6th)
Jim Sorgi (6th)
Jeff Smoker (6th)
John Navarre (7th)
Cody Pickett (7th)
Casey Bramlet (7th)
Matt Mauck (7th)
BJ Symons (7th)
Bradlee Van Pelt (7th)

2005:
Alex Smith (1st)
Aaron Rodgers (1st)
Jason Campbell (1st)
Charlie Frye (3rd)
Andrew Walter (3rd)
David Greene (3rd)
Kyle Orton (4th)
Stefan LeFors (4th)
Dan Orlovsky (5th)
Adrian McPherson (5th)
Derek Anderson (6th)
Matt Cassel (7th)

2006:
Vince Young (1st)
Matt Leinart (1st)
Jay Cutler (1st)
Kellen Clemens (2nd)
Tarvaris Jackson (2nd)
Charlie Whitehurst (3rd)
Brody Croyle (3rd)
Ingle Martin (5th)
Omar Jacobs (5th)
Bruce Gradkowski (6th)
DJ Shockley (7th)

2007:
JaMarcus Russell (1st)
Brady Quinn (1st)
Kevin Kolb (2nd)
John Beck (2nd)
Drew Stanton (2nd)
Trent Edwards (3rd)
Jeff Rowe (5th)
Troy Smith (5th)
Jordan Palmer (6th)
Tyler Thigpen (7th)

2008:
Matt Ryan (1st)
Joe Flacco (1st)
Brian Brohm (2nd)
Chad Henne (2nd)
Kevin O'Connell (3rd)
John David Booty (5th)
Dennis Dixon (5th)
Josh Johnson (5th)
Erik Ainge (5th)
Colt Brennan (6th)
Andre Woodson (6th)
Matt Flynn (7th)
Alex Brink (7th)

2009:
Matthew Stafford (1st)
Mark Sanchez (1st)
Josh Freeman (1st)
Pat White (2nd)
Stephen McGee (4th)
Rhett Bomar (5th)
Nate Davis (5th)
Tom Brandstater (6th)
Mike Teel (6th)
Keith Null (6th)
Curtis Painter (6th)

2010:
Sam Bradford (1st)
Tim Tebow (1st)
Jimmy Clausen (2nd)
Colt McCoy (3rd)
Mike Kafka (4th)
John Skelton (5th)
Jonathan Crompton (5th)
Rusty Smith (6th)
Dan LeFevour (6th)
Joe Webb (6th)
Tony Pike (6th)
Levi Brown (7th)
Sean Canfield (7th)
Zac Robinson (7th)

It was fascinating to look back over these drafts. I'm extremely interested in all y'all's thoughts, so lend me your observations in the comments section. Just keep in mind that whenever you think you've got it figured out, remember that a well-paid professional once chose this guy directly ahead of four Pro Bowlers at the same position.

• YouTube - Teachers Who Inspire Student Entrepreneurs

  Winners for imagine cup:
  
  Thanks so much!
  
  This afternoon in Redmond, WA, the nation's best and brightest tech students gathered for the ninth annual Imagine Cup 2011 U.S. Finals. Starting with a field of more than 74,000 students, the final 12 teams presented their life-changing projects to a panel of elite judges, tackling diverse issues from eliminating malaria to promoting alternative energy. After an intense weekend of presentations and eliminations, the winners were named:
  
  
  * 1st Place, Software Design: Team Note-Taker, Arizona State University. Project: "Note-Taker" - A portable, assistive technology to help vision-impaired students take notes in class.
  
  * 1st Place, Game Design - Windows/Xbox: Team Bloom, Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy. Project: "Spero" - A game focused on alternative energy solutions and educating people on how to live healthier lives.
  
  * 1st Place, Game Design - Mobile: Team Big Impact Bear, University of Houston. Project: "Forest Gun" - A game that aims to prevent and reverse deforestation in the world.
  
  * 1st Place, People's Choice Award - Software Design: Team BearPaw, Brigham Young University. Project: A mobile and cloud solution for ultrasound images that is cost-effective, widely available and easy to implement.
  
  * 1st Place, People's Choice Award - Game Design: Team Bloom, Tribeca Flashpoint Media Arts Academy. Project: "Spero" - A game focused on alternative energy solutions and educating people on how to live healthier lives.

  tags: education learning programming

• Home to Homeroom | Stop Medicine Abuse

  A website about helping teens with medicine abuse. A good specific website from the national association of school nurses.
  
  "Multiple national surveys point to the disturbing abuse of prescription (Rx) and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines, like OTC cough medicine, among today's teens. Five percent of high school teens admit to having abused cough medicine containing dextromethorphan, or DXM, to get high in the past year."

  tags: education drug-abuse health_teacher health

• Givology

  From this organization:
  
  "We’re launching a new “60 Second Lecture” campaign in conjunction with the Ford Focus Global Test Drive, and many interesting individuals from the PresidentAmy Gutmann of the University of Pennsylvania to Dean Thomas Robertson of the Wharton School have already agreed to share their insights."

  tags: education

• MacdonaldTechForTeachers - iPad Apps for Education

  Ann McDonald is building a very nice wiki with so many resources! She is an excellent Flat Classroom teacher.

  tags: education ipad apps

• Hull shows why Gove's Govt can't ban mobile phones in schools - Ewan McIntosh | Digital Media & Learning

  Excellent article about a struggle to ban cell phones in schools and why it is not working.

  tags: education cellphone

• Social Media Policy Best Practices: Trust Is Cheaper Than Control | Beth’s Blog

  Nice Social Media Policy Best Practices discussion for nonprofits. The social media policy is related to your strategy. Most schools only have a strategy to prevent litigation and certainly, that is a factor as we look at schools and yet - we're not there yet on this discussion. I have to think at some point we're either going to have platforms that do a better job of protecting the privacy of minors or we're going to have to grow up in how we deal with these tools.

  tags: education

• Flat Classroom : The Tornado Tribune

  Helen Harvey's Flat Classroom participation received a write up in her local paper. An important part of each of our projects is to issue press releases to gain media attention for the schools that break down the walls.

  tags: education flatclassroom

• Seth's Blog: Moving beyond teachers and bosses

  So we, as teachers, are characterized like this from Seth Godin:
  
  "We train kids to deal with teachers in a certain way: Find out what they want, and do that, just barely, because there are other things to work on. Figure out how to say back exactly what they want to hear, with the least amount of effort, and you are a 'good student.'"
  
  Are we the kind of teachers who have to move past or someone that kids are moved with.
  
  Do we have a limiting mindset?

  tags: education teaching

• Knight Foundation Webinars - Knight Foundation

  April 20th from 2-3 pm EDT - a connected citizens webinar about their new report "Connected Citizens: The Power, Peril and Potential of Networks"
  
  sign up for this event here.

  tags: education

• Connected Citizens Report: The Power, Peril, and Potential of Networks | Beth’s Blog

  If you have no idea what network-centric grantmaking is and you write grants or work with fundraising - this blog post is an important read for you. (Buy Beth's book - the networked nonprofit - it is great.)
  
  Themes as per Beth:
  
  These themes include:
  
  1. Listening to and consulting the crowds: Actively listening to online conversations and openly asking for advice.
  
  2. Designing for serendipity: Creating environments, in person and online, where helpful connections can form.
  
  3. Bridging differences: Deliberately connecting people with different perspectives.
  
  4. Catalyzing mutual support: Helping people directly help each other.
  
  5. Providing handrails for collective action: Giving enough direction for individuals to take effective and coordinated action.

  tags: education edu_news

• We Want Your Videos

  join the crowdsourced keynote at the BC educational technology users group. Here are instructions:
  
  We Want Your Videos
  April 7, 2011 By grantpotter Leave a Comment
  Share
  PrintFriendly
  
  In June 2011 the BC educational technology users’ group (etug) will be hosting a Spring Workshop in Nelson, BC. The theme? OPEN 4 LEARNING.
  
  In the spirit of openness we would like to invite YOU to participate in a crowd-sourced keynote. Our vision is to create a keynote video that highlights the collective voice on the value of openness.
  
  Here’s what we would LOVE for you to do:
  
  Create a short video/interview/montage answering one or two of the following questions:
  
  1. What is the value of openness?
  
  2. What examples of openness stand out to you as being valuable/worthwhile?
  
  3. WHY do you believe in the value of open education?
  
  If you are interested in participating we would love to have you be a part of this exciting opportunity, to collectively gather voices across the globe in answering the question “what is the value of openness”. Have fun with your video – the more creative the better.
  
  .
  Upload your video to:
  http://www.dropitto.me/etug
  password: open
  .
  Deadline: May 9, 2011

  tags: education opensource

• Online Learning in Australia - Connections, Partnerships and Successes ~ Stephen's Web

  A report on the state of elearning in Australia. Every collection must comprise 40% free content.
  
  
  Again, this article proves that if you're in education and not reading Stephen Downes' feature-rich blog, you're missing out.

  tags: education elearning

• Colleges Spend Far Less on Educating Students Than They Claim, Report Says ~ Stephen's Web

  Colleges actually spend LESS educating students than students are paying. From Stephen Downes as cited from the Chronicle of Higher Education April 8, 2011.

  tags: education college edu_trends

• STUDYBLUE | Make online flashcards & notes. Study anywhere, anytime.

  Study Blue website to let you make flashcards to study and put on your ipod, ipad, cell phone, etc. Over 12,000 have recommended via facebook. Facebook is linking with learning as are mobiles.

  tags: education learning

• 20 Terrific TED Talks for Language Lovers | Bachelor's Degree Online

  Ted Talks for Language Lovers.

  tags: education language_teacher

• The Truth is Out There | November Learning

  Interesting discussion about "blue blood" and the quest for truth in an age where even Googling something may not change minds. By Bob Sprankle

  tags: education learning

• TLC = Tech + Library + Classroom: iPad Apps To Love

  Tara from the TLC (Tech + Library + Classroom) Blog posts her iPad apps she loves.
  
  I think the I write words app is very interesting for handwriting. I wonder if the fact that they are using their finger is a drawback but think that it will help the kids take the strokes the same way.

  tags: education

• Speak Up National Findings 2010

  Important study surveying students about empowered education with emerging technologies.

  tags: education learning

• One Year Later: Assessing the Impact of iPads on Education - iPads in Education

  Assessing the impact of iPads on education one year later by Sam Gliksman on the Ipad educators ning (hat tip to Julie Lindsay for this information.)

  tags: education ipad

• Final US Imagine Cup Teams Announced - 2011 - Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information from Alfred Thompson - Site Home - MSDN Blogs

  Final Teams in US Imagine Cup:
  
  Software Design
  
  TTHV - Harvard University, University of Pennsylvania, Central Connecticut State University
  Uca Ursus - University of Central Arkansas
  Lifelens - Anderson School of Management, Harvard School of Business, University of California San Diego, University of California Davis, University of Central Florida
  Note-Taker - Arizona State University
  
  Game Design –Windows/XBOX (XNA):
  
  Bloom - Tribeca Flashpoint Academy
  Plump Pixel - California State University Chico
  Righteous Noodle - University of Houston
  XozGaming - Lick-Wilmerding High School
  
  Game Design Mobile (Zune/Phone)
  
  Big Impact Bear - University of Houston
  EDO - Arizona State University
  Team AAMP - University of Houston
  Team Mintrus - Columbia College in Chicago, University of Louisville
  
  
  Read Alfred's blog for more.

  tags: education computerscience

• XozGaming–High School Team in the US Imagine Cup Finals - Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information from Alfred Thompson - Site Home - MSDN Blogs

  Alfred Thompson's ongoing coverage of the Imagine Cup. I love this interview with the kids who invented a program about fighting a global pandemic.

  tags: education gaming computerscience

• Sneak Peak of New Facebook Nonprofit Use Research from Idealware | Beth’s Blog

  Yes, nonprofits are seeing success on Facebook. Beth Kanter, nonprofit social media guru, has a guest post from Kyle Andrei of Idealware on their findings about Facebook and nonprofits. Fundraisers, schools, and facebook fans read up.

  tags: education fundraising nonprofit

• Gesture-Based ‘Gmail Motion’ April Fools’ Day Prank Gets Real - Techland - TIME.com

  I love this! Gmail motion was Google's april fools day prank and many people fell for it. Heck, if I'd had time, I might have played with it but after thinking I realized what day it was! Tee hee.
  
  But a lot of people WANTED this -even though the gestures were designed to be silly (who is going to do a jumping jack for making a star on an email.) so ICT used a kinect camera and actually made Gmail actions work! Watch the video and enjoy.
  
  People actually WANT this just not with the exaggerated motions and definitely not a shot that requires the camera to see your feet.

  tags: education google gmail gesture

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

With golfers from six different continents starting in the top eight of the Masters' final round, American dominance of the sport may have seen its day

The first shots in the 75th Masters were fired on Thursday morning by Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus, who drove somewhat creakily from the 1st tee before shaking hands, signing a few autographs and retiring to the clubhouse, leaving the field of 99 players to get on with it. The role of honorary starter is a Masters tradition going back to 1963, and it is one that was filled before Palmer and Nicklaus by other former champions, including Byron Nelson, Gene Sarazen and Sam Snead – American heroes to a man.

Look down the road, however, perhaps to the centenary tournament in 2026, and the picture may be a little different. At dawn on that Thursday morning the honorary starters could well be a grey‑haired Nick Faldo and Ian Woosnam, or Bernhard Langer and José María Olazábal, illustrating the shift in golf's centre of gravity in the 50 years since Gary Player became the first non-American to put on the green jacket.

When the final round of the 2011 tournament started on Sunday morning, the leaderboard represented a dismaying sight to local eyes accustomed to a strong American presence. For the first time in the history of the competition, not one of the top seven players in the Saturday night standings was a citizen of the United States.

Just as amazingly, the seven represented five continents: Europe with Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and England's Luke Donald, South America with Angel Cabrera of Argentina, Africa with Charl Schwartzel of Johannesburg, Asia with KJ Choi of South Korea, and Australia with Queensland's Jason Day and Adelaide's Adam Scott. Add Bo van Pelt, Tiger Woods and Fred Couples, filling eighth to 10th places, as the leading North Americans, and only Antarctica failed to lodge a representative in the top 10.

In the rush to acclaim the preponderance of non-Americans at the top of the leaderboard, it was easy to overlook the fact that no European player had won the Masters since Olazábal took the second of his two green jackets in 1999. "And let's not forget," George O'Grady, the chief executive of the European Tour, cautioned, "that the defending champion here this week is Phil Mickelson."

Five months ago, however, O'Grady was able to bring the European Tour's season to a triumphal climax during the Race to Dubai by lining up the 60 competitors with their array of trophies, including the three major championship trophies currently held by Graeme McDowell (US Open), Louis Oosthuizen (Open) and Martin Kaymer, the current world No1 (US PGA), plus the Ryder Cup, which had just been recaptured at Celtic Manor.

As a statement of past achievements it was impressive enough, but O'Grady's real purpose was to help strengthen the players' self-confidence by providing an illustration of what could be achieved in the future, and a sign of why there was no longer a need to accept a place in the shadow of the US and its golfers.

"There's a great self-belief among the players," he said, standing beneath the famous oak tree outside the Augusta clubhouse while the early starters teed off. "Should Rory McIlroy hold on to this position, there's a mass of people associated with golf around the world, not just the European Tour but everywhere, who can take a lot of pride in contributing to that – amateur bodies, the structure of the game in different areas, as well as the Golfing Union of Ireland, the Nick Faldo junior series which he's played in, and the Junior Ryder Cup as well.

"This is the same in Italy, for example, where the Italian golf federation has developed Matteo Manassero, and that sort of thing is being replicated throughout the rest of the world. You've got to have extraordinary talent to come through, of course.

"When we lined up the players and the trophies for the photograph on the Thursday morning in Dubai, it was done on purpose, to give a message to the players. The message was, which one of those are you going to win next year? Even the guy who'd got in in 60th place, he felt, 'I could win one of those.' These things come round. It's only eight or nine years since the English papers were asking where the next English golfer was coming from. Now you've got [Ian] Poulter, [Paul] Casey, [Lee] Westwood, Ross Fisher, all that lot."

When O'Grady launched the Race to Dubai format in 2009, he was asked if it constituted an attempt to lure the likes of Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson to the European Tour. "My answer was no, it was about looking after the current people on the European Tour and developing our own Tiger Woods. I said then that possibly a brilliant younger player called Martin Kaymer might be the German Tiger Woods, and that Rory McIlroy might be the Irish Tiger Woods. I think now they believe they can do it."

• Bold Northern Irishman closing on first major
• Would be second-youngest Masters champion

Rory McIlroy extended his Masters lead to four shots heading into today's final round, as a delicately poised tournament in Augusta edges towards an engrossing conclusion. The 21-year-old Northern Irishman signed for a third round of 70 in moving further clear of his nearest challengers – now Angel Cabrera, Charl Shwartzel, KJ Choi and Jason Day.

McIlroy, attempting to become the second-youngest Masters champion in history, held on to his position at the summit of the leaderboard for a third night in succession after a performance which again belied his age. A superb 30-foot birdie putt on the 17th sent him to 12 under par for the event.

"It's a great position to be in," McIlroy said. "I just stuck to my game plan. I'm beginning to feel comfortable on this golf course now."

More ominous for McIlroy than the appearance of Tiger Woods among the chasing pack could be the move of Cabrera into a tie for second place. Not only is Cabrera's length from the tee a key advantage at Augusta, the Argentinian, unlike McIlroy, knows what it takes to claim a Masters title after winning here in 2009.

Cabrera later admitted that his confidence had been so low before the season's first major that he couldn't have anticipated his challenge. "Seriously, no," he said. "But now that I see I am playing well, I sure think I can do it.

"The young kids are playing very well. But obviously I have won the Masters so that should help me a lot."

Woods was left to rue a frustrating afternoon. The four-time Masters winner dropped a shot at the 1st after his drive landed in a divot, with matters barely improving thereafter. A bogey on 18 and third round of 74 left Woods on five under. At seven shots adrift of McIlroy, he remains in contention but must rely on the kind of finish that hasn't been forthcoming during a 17-month run without a tournament victory.

Adam Scott and Luke Donald are one shot back of the quartet who are currently tied for second. Scott equalled Cabrera's 67, with Donald now England's leading competitor, having added to Friday's 68 with a 69.

"It has put me in a good position," Donald said. "I have still got a great chance, which is always the goal at majors."

Lee Westwood's 74, which included 32 putts, saw him slip back to three under. "I really don't think I can give you my thoughts," said a frustrated Westwood after his latest woes on the greens. I would turn into Wayne Rooney if I attempted to do that."

The English duo experienced contrasting rounds in their attempt to close the gap on young guns

So close is the 75th US Masters, and so young are some of the leading contenders, that the top of the leaderboard resembles a bunch of kittens fighting under a blanket. All day the tournament looked to be there for the taking by a more mature specimen who could get a serious grip on it and swat the youngsters aside. By Sunday night there will be plenty of golfers looking back and thinking they may have missed a rare chance.

Lee Westwood and Luke Donald are two Englishmen strongly favoured to win this tournament one day. Each is in the prime of his career, but has yet to win a major. And on Friday night, as Westwood signed his card for a 67 at the end of the second round to follow a level-par 72 on Thursday, this looked like it might be his chance to dispel the memory of last year's collapse against Phil Mickelson.

At that point, sitting five strokes behind Rory McIlroy, he seemed confident enough in his deadpan, understated way. "I know how quickly five-shot leads can evaporate," he said, harking back to the events of 12 months ago. "I was going down the 11th with a five-shot lead, and about 40 minutes later I was one behind. It's part of the value of being experienced and playing in your 12th Masters and being in contention before to be very patient and expect the unexpected."

His listeners sat back and quietly conjured visions of the 37-year-old world No2 continuing his impressive form through the third round and putting himself into position for a charge on the final day. Sadly, this turned out to just another illusion of the sort in which golf specialises.

Donald, four years younger, came more quietly through the early rounds, a 72 and a 68 hardly appearing to put him among the candidates for weekend glory. But while others were finding themselves becalmed on Saturday, he was among the small number, including Angel Cabrera, Adam Scott, Charl Schwartzel and Bo Van Pelt, who came out of the undergrowth to snatch places near the top of the leaderboard.

It was a sultry, overcast day, the temperature nudging 90 degrees in old money, the air thick enough to take the pace off a well-struck drive. Southern voices, always slow, seemed to have found an even lower gear. A thunderstorm was promised, but never arrived. Maybe the heaviness of the atmosphere had something to do with the air of torpor that seemed to envelop Westwood as he set off in the early afternoon.

A drive off the 1st tee to the middle of the giant sand trap to the right of the fairway set the tone. A decent recovery put him 30 feet from the pin, but his first putt overran the hole by eight feet and his second stopped a few inches short, pulling him back to four under.

From a poorish location in the first cut – as Augusta National calls its carefully manicured light rough – beside the fairway on the par-five 2nd, he hit a fine shot with his rescue club and took two putts from 40 feet to recover the earlier loss.

There was another disappointment at the 5th, where an eight-footer slid past, but again he made a quick recovery, thanks to a tee shot to five feet at the short 6th. Two more pars took him to the 9th, where his drive went left, his second shot ran through the green, and his attempt to putt through three different textures of grass in 30 feet ended in miserable failure as the ball came to a halt after travelling barely a third of that distance, not even making it to the fringe of the green.

This time there was no immediate recovery. The damage caused by a further loss at the 11th was not repaired until a fine drive and approach gave him the opening for a birdie at the 13th, his second there of the tournament, only for another shot to leak away at the 17th.

Waywardness was the keynote of his round, particularly in comparison with Schwartzel, his 26-year-old South African playing partner, who spent the day moving up to within touching distance of the lead. The Englishman's 74 left him three under par and a lot further away than he would have hoped to be.

Donald made steadier and stealthier progress than Westwood, at least as stealthy as can be made by a man whose pistachio, raspberry and white outfit made him look like a walking neapolitan ice cream.

He started brightly, too, by becoming one of only two players to make birdie on Saturday on the 1st, where the pin was tucked barely the length of a club handle from the left-hand edge of the green.

That took him to five under, but it was the birdies on the 8th and 9th that gave him a presence among the leaders. He made a mess of the 13th, but earned the shot back at the next hole and will start the final round seven under par, firmly in contention.

Lesser light with 'hands like a bricklayer' enjoys his sudden elevation on the Augusta stage

There were clouds over Augusta National as Alvaro Quirós stepped on to the 1st tee on Friday but when he broke out his smile it was as though the weather had reverted, in a microsecond, to the golden sunshine of Thursday. If Quirós ever becomes famous, that smile could be used to sell ice-cream to Eskimos.

He was smiling because the official starter had just asked him, sotto voce, how to pronounce his name. The Spaniard understood the humour inherent in the situation of a player who had shot 65 the previous day, just two strokes off the all‑time course record and good enough for a share of the overall lead, being a stranger to the crusty, green-jacketed, straw-hatted custodians of Augusta National.

The situation had come as a surprise to Quirós, too. His record for the season to date includes a win in the Dubai Desert Classic but on both of his previous visits to Augusta, in 2009 and 2010, he had failed to make the cut, and until Thursday his best round stood at 75. His second‑round score of 73 on Friday did not quite live up to the achievement of the opening day but it was good enough to keep him high up the leaderboard going into the weekend.

Those of us who knew little of Quirós until this week were delighted to find ourselves in the presence of the most engaging, amiable, amusingly modest and generally civilised of men. He laughed while recounting how, walking up the 18th fairway as part of the last group out on the first day, shooting for a share of the lead in glorious late-afternoon sunshine, he had been given a glimpse of how it must feel to be contending for victory on Sunday evening. "Normally I'm watching this situation through the TV, sitting on my sofa," he said. "It was a special moment."

A couple of weeks ago, speaking of the first great Spanish golfer of the modern era, he said: "Seve has the hands of an artisty. I have the hands of a bricklayer." It is true that the 28-year-old is not noted for his finesse but as he made his way around the course, registering eight birdies and a single bogey, it looked like there was a great deal more to him that than just a booming drive.

He led the European Tour's driving statistics in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and on Friday he was outdistancing both of his playing partners, Venezuela's Jhonattan Vegas and Gary Woodland from Topeka, Kansas, both of them very big hitters indeed. On Thursday, however, it was the putter that spoke just as eloquently, as it must for anyone hoping to shine on this course, whose length is overshadowed only by the difficulty of its greens. "It looked like everything was working perfectly," he said. "Even the bad shots that finished far away from the flag, I was able to make two-putts."

Quirós turned pro in 2004, joined the European Tour three years later, and came into this season with wins in the 2007 Alfred Dunhill Championship, the 2008 Portugal Masters, the 2009 Qatar Masters and the 2010 Open de España to his credit. He comes from a small town called Guadiaro on the Costa del Sol, not far from Gibraltar, and his introduction to golf came as a by-product of the 1997 Ryder Cup.

When the Bolivian tin magnate Jaime Ortiz-Patiño bought the Las Aves course at Sotogrande, renamed it Valderrama and had it redesigned for the Ryder Cup under the guidance of Robert Trent Jones, many of the workers who carried out the rebuilding came from nearby Guadiaro. In recognition of their efforts, Ortiz-Patiño bought a parcel of land in the town, had Jones and David Thomas create another 18-hole course, and presented it to the people. It was on that public course, called La Cañada, that Quirós, whose family had no connection to the game, played his first golf.

Those following him around the course on Thursday noted that he kept up an animated conversation with his caddie. Afterwards it emerged that this was the first round of competitive golf he had played in the company of Gareth Lord, Robert Karlsson's former bagman.

"This is our first official round, so we have to talk about a lot of things," he said. Why had he made the change? "It's like in football. When a team is playing badly, you cannot change the 11 players. The only thing that you can change is the coach. In my case, it's the same. I cannot change myself. Well, I'm trying to change myself but it doesn't work."

As a supporter of the perennially inconsistent Atlético Madrid, he is familiar with the ups and downs of sport. Thursday evening, however, was a new kind of up. "Obviously I'm very happy but my target will still be the same: a drive on the first hole and make the cut."

There was a stutter at the 1st on Friday as he drove into the trees and dropped a shot but he steadied himself with a run of five pars before making birdies at the 7th and 8th. He double-bogeyed the short 12th after an excursion into the sand but had the satisfaction of once again finishing the round with a birdie for a 138 total. Augusta has not seen the last of Alvaro Quirós and his irresistible smile.

Augusta National Provides a Wild Day for Aaron Baddeley on the First Day of 2011 Master's

Nobody had a more eventful first day at the Master's than Aaron Baddeley. Right off the bat he was the early story of the tournament.

On his first tee shot he launched a ball juuuust a bit off course.

It sailed all the way into the crowd, landing right on the lap of a female patron.

Now that's a tough second shot!

She remained seated with the ball in her lap until Baddeley arrived. He marked where the ball was and she stood up and got out of the way.

What a way to start a major.

Somehow he ended up saving par on the hole. He finished the first round with a three-over 75, leaving him in 75th place. He is 10 shots behind leader Rory Mcilroy.

In light of his interesting first hole, check out his comments he made to the Herold Sun before the match:

"I feel like what I've been working on the last few months is coming good at the right time. I'm really starting to control the shape and trajectory, and starting to get a handle on my golf ball."

To his credit, he did say he is starting to, he never said he was already there. Looks like Baddeley still has a ways to go.

Click here for all of the latest scores and analysis on the 2011 Master's Tournament.

• World No2 enjoys up-and down round
• Martin Kaymer shoots 78 for a six-over total

There is a theory that if Lee Westwood wins a major – and history dictates it cannot be a "when" – then it will be done the hard way.

No leading from the front for four days, no single defining moment of genius as produced by Phil Mickelson at the 13th a year ago. Westwood likes, and is cut out for, an epic scrap. The remaining hurdle for the world No2 to overcome relates to completing a job he has routinely carried out with excellence until the final and crucial stages. Last year at Augusta, the Open of 2009 and 2008's US Open are rightly looked upon as ones that got away for Westwood in this ongoing and lucrative reinvigoration of his career.

Westwood's opening to the 2011 Masters demonstrated what hard work lay ahead. The Englishman pushed his drive at the 1st into a fairway bunker, from where he could only pitch out, chip on to the green and miss a five-foot putt for par.

As Rory McIlroy, with whom Westwood shares a friendship, management company and this week a street, blazed ahead of the field with some stunning golf, and Ross Fisher made a similarly positive early impression, Westwood was left to reflect on a day which lacked spark. Unfortunately for Westwood, missed putts and missed greens were more plentiful.

His only positive, and it is a key one at this venue, is that the 37-year-old remains within view of the leaderboard's upper echelons. Only just, that is. With each passing McIlroy birdie, Westwood's Friday task became more arduous.

Given his character, Westwood unsurprisingly recovered from his first dropped shot immediately by returning to even par at the par-five 2nd, a terrific second shot prompting that.

When he claimed another birdie, at the short 4th, the sort of charge which McIlroy so spectacularly delivered looked possible. Even in relatively benign conditions – Westwood's group did encounter slightly more of a breeze than the early morning players – that run was neither forthcoming nor seriously threatened.

The world No2 returned to level by handing a shot back to the course at the 8th. On 12, Westwood again landed a tee shot in sand from where he could not hold the green; cue another bogey. A glorious opportunity was then passed up as he missed a short eagle chance on 15.

A hole later, Westwood picked up a shot which was cancelled out by a five at the last; the sequence summed up his frustrating afternoon.

Westwood would accept an unspectacular start of level-par 72, nonetheless, when compared with the troubles of one of his playing partners. Martin Kaymer is deservedly ranked as the world's No1 after proving he has both the mentality and all-round performance level to consistently win tournaments.

Yet the German is one tourist who may not regard Augusta National as one of his favourite destinations. In fact, onlookers would think he does not fancy the place much at all after a six-over 78.

Expectation levels towards Kaymer were higher than ever before; now his aspirations go no further than surviving for Saturday and Sunday.

An ugly hook into trees from the tee at the 10th – triggering a double bogey – rather typified his struggles, which had already been highlighted by dropped shots at the 2nd, 4th and 7th. A rare chance to pick up a shot at the 12th saw Kaymer leave a putt somewhere between 15 and 20 feet short.

Kaymer arrived at the Masters having failed to make a cut in three previous appearances. Only a birdie-laden Friday will avoid an unwanted fourth premature flight home.

On this evidence, it is not so daft to suggest that the set-up of one course is not suited to the game of even a 26-year-old who retains supreme talent.

Kaymer can and will hope for better in the season's remaining three majors. Westwood is merely seeking a positive Friday to launch himself into contention.

Ben Crenshaw's Augusta National bagman has witnessed five decades of change at the tournament

Carl Jackson has so many tales to tell that it is little wonder a television crew has been following him around Augusta National all week.

That's Jackson the caddie, not a player, and one who on Thursday stepped on to the 1st tee for the 50th time at the Masters. It seemed unfitting that there was no public acknowledgement or commemorative award for Jackson's landmark. The man himself merely wiped his brow and got down to business.

If recent seasons for Ben Crenshaw's bagman have been simple, Jackson's early years at Augusta were not. They are, indeed, the stuff of a worthy documentary.

Jackson was a 14-year-old back in 1961 when making his Masters debut. A year earlier he left school after being unable to afford the uniform required under a new dress code.

He was, at that point, simply part of a group of young black men who carried bags – first at Augusta country club and then Augusta National. His early wage of US$5 a bag was passed on to his mother, a lowly-paid maid, to help feed Jackson's six brothers and two sisters.

Relative riches followed when he was hired as the caddie of Jack Stephens, chairman for seven years of the club and Masters tournament. Stephens paid his assistant $500 a week through the late 1960s. Dwight Eisenhower, an Augusta National member, was said to be among those who took a dim view of the eminent Stephens hiring a truant. The criticism led Jackson successfully to take up home education.

Jackson worked for Gary Player for one Masters and acted as a handyman for Stephens before hooking up with the young Crenshaw. One of several iconic images is of Jackson hugging his tearful employer on the final green, as he won the 1995 Masters.

From Crenshaw, there is glowing admiration. The pair first teamed up at the Masters in 1976. "If and when I give it up, I'll do everything in my power to make sure Carl has somebody's bag during the Masters for as long as he wants to continue," said the man who has won two green jackets. "I do know this: Everything I've achieved over the years in the Masters, I owe to Carl Jackson."

Augusta itself also owes the caddie a debt of gratitude.

The Englishman has offered an impassioned defence of Foley's methods as he preapers for the Masters in Augusta

For Justin Rose the moment of absolute clarity came at the moment of greatest uncertainty, when his game had reduced him to an emotional state that felt suspiciously like embarrassment. "It was the 2009 US Open. I was playing with Sean O'Hair and I was being completely outclassed," he says with trademark honesty. "I was playing with a guy who was consistently hitting great shots. He looked like he was completely under control, while I was grinding and struggling. After watching Sean, I thought to myself: 'That is where I want to be.'"

At the time O'Hair was the coming man of American golf, if not the next Tiger Woods then certainly a player widely identified as a potential major champion. To get to where his US Open playing partner was in that summer of 2009 Rose sought out a young Canadian swing coach who was tending to O'Hair's impressive game. His name was Sean Foley.

Unknown back then, Foley is now vaguely famous. And not for all the right reasons. A year after adding Rose to his stable of pupils (it also includes Hunter Mahan and Stephen Ames), the Canadian agreed to coach another PGA Tour professional who appeared to have lost his way. You may have heard the name before – Tiger Woods.

On the course it would be fair to say this new partnership has been star-crossed, with the former world No1 showing little improvement in either his results or, more importantly, the consistency of his game. Away from the course, the Foley-Woods pairing has been the target of vicious criticism, most of it aimed at the coach. Woods is a diminished figure these days, but, partly out of the respect for what he has achieved as player, he is seldom challenged from within golf on matters relating to his game.

It is Foley who has taken the abuse. You name it, he has been called it – fraud, charlatan, snake oil salesman. Anyone would think he had robbed a bank, and not persuaded the best player of the modern era that the secret to success lies in a steeper take-away and more body rotation through the hitting area.

"Yeah, I don't know whether it would be a coach's dream to coach the world No1 or a double-edged sword," says Rose, wryly. "It is a great opportunity for him. From my point of view, he is still incredibly loyal. He spends the same amount of time with me even though he is now working with Tiger. I love being around him more than anything. He very rarely talks about golf unless there is something that needs talking about. He is an infectious character."

Infectious for some, irritating for others. Foley is not exactly the shy, retiring type and has fought back, suggesting, for instance, that he did not understand a single thing about Woods's old swing – a barely disguised swipe at his predecessor as Woods's coach, Hank Haney, which was met with what might euphemistically be described as a stout response from its intended target.

It has been playground stuff, entertaining in a cheap kind of way, but not exactly the kind of mood music you would expect to hear around the quiet, reflective world of golf teaching.

Rose, like everyone else in the game, has watched it all unfold with a mixture of bemusement and amusement. There has also been a sense of loyalty. "I've felt sorry for Sean at times," he says. "There is no doubt he brings some of it upon himself, but he is not a slave to anyone, he says what he believes is right and he stands up for himself. He is not necessarily politically correct. That's going to get him in a little bit of trouble, but it is also what I love about him."

What Rose also loves about Foley is that his coach has made him a better player. A much better player. "I had been aware of Sean for some time and what he was doing with his players. I called him up after I played with Sean O'Hair and I said: 'I would love to work with you.'" He had quite an interesting response. He said: 'Actually I am not sure I can do it.'"

It is true what they say; we desire more that which we believe we cannot have. Rose was hooked. A few weeks later he convinced Foley to take the job.

The rest is not quite history, but there is plenty of time, beginning this week when the Englishman will arrive at Augusta National as one of the pre‑Masters favourites, if not in the eyes the bookmakers – who remain myopically transfixed by the past glories of Woods and Phil Mickelson – then certainly according to those who have been paying attention to the PGA Tour.

Eleven months after Rose teamed up with Foley he won his first PGA Tour event, the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village last June, and on the first anniversary of their partnership he won his second, the AT&T; National in Pennsylvania. Since then his progress has been steady, though it has stepped up in recent weeks. The 30-year-old led after three rounds of last month's Transitions event in Tampa, though he eventually finished fifth, and last week at Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Invitational he played the treacherous back nine on Sunday afternoon in 31 shots.

"I didn't realise how well I played until I got back to the clubhouse," he says. "But that was one of the best nine holes I have ever played."

Rose did not win – Scotland's Martin Laird did – but it was another forward step, another reason to believe his decision to team up with Foley was one of the best he has ever made. "Before I met Sean I wasn't working very hard on my game because I was so uncertain. It is hard to stand out there on the range and beat balls when you are thinking: 'God, I don't really know what I am doing,'" he says. "He has given me a new perspective. He has given me clarity. There is a lot of hard work involved, but it is easy to work hard when you are going in the right direction."

The details of the swing changes wrought by Foley are technical, to say the least, but the process of change and the trust Rose has shown in his teacher is more easy to comprehend. "I read a book recently, The Talent Code [by the American journalist Daniel Coyle] which explains the '10,000-hour rule' – that to be great at something you have to practise it for 10,000 hours. I put in those hours as a kid and the habits I built up back then are still strong," he says.

"To now try and put new habits on top of those old habits, and then to rely on the new habits, especially in pressure situations, requires a huge commitment. At the Transitions tournament I felt a bit uncomfortable as the old habits crept back in, but overall it has been worth it so far, even though we are still only at stage two of the three stages in the process."

There is perhaps a lesson in there for those clamouring for Woods to get rid of Foley. If Rose believes he is only two-thirds of the way towards his goals after 20 months, how much should anyone expect from Woods after eight months working with the Canadian?

Rose makes another point that has been missed by many. "You can't use what is happening with Tiger right now to judge Sean because there are so many other forces at work. It is not just as simple as swinging a club," he says. "With all the speculation about Tiger's swing change people seem to have forgotten he has gone through a massive life change. He has gone through a hell of a lot and it is quite stupid to think that one doesn't bleed into the other; that what is happening with his game right now is all about a swing change."

This is a stout defence of the embattled Canadian, but Rose has a chance to speak more eloquently on behalf of his man this week, when he steps on to the 1st tee at Augusta. Should he then make his way to the Butler Cabin on Sunday afternoon to collect a green jacket the world will surely be forced to concede what Justin Rose knows already: that Sean Foley may possibly be a coach of distinction.

The world No5 arrives at Augusta without a win in 17 months and with a golf swing that resembles a half-finished Meccano set

The bookmakers' odds never lie, but on the eve of the 2011 Masters, the latest edition of the most pristine show in golf, never have they looked less convincing under the cold, harsh glare of a pre-Augusta morning.

Tiger Woods is, we are being asked to believe, a clear favourite to land his fifth green jacket. How quaint. How very 2005. The man has not won a major championship in almost three years. He has not won a tournament in 17 months. It takes long and straight driving to win the Masters. It takes great ball-striking, a solid short game and a confident putting stroke to win the Masters. Woods, currently embarked on a controversial swing overhaul under the tutelage of Sean Foley, has shown all these qualities in the past few months, but seldom at the same time. When he has found his form, it has never been for more than a few consecutive holes. A man needs his "A" game to win around Augusta National. Woods is scoring about a D. For dunce.

But if the temptation is strong to laugh at the notion that the world No5 has a 6-1 chance of landing his 15th major, it is perhaps wise not to chuckle too loudly. After all, we are talking about a man who won a US Open – at Torrey Pines in 2008 – with a broken leg; a man who arrived in Georgia last April as a post-modern media curiosity, famous for being infamous, and not as a fully functioning competitive golfer. Yet he somehow finished fourth.

There is something in the Augusta air that stirs Woods's juices, pushing him to achieve the impossible – the improbable runaway victory (1997), the irresistible march towards the Tiger Slam (2001), the outlandish chip-in on the 70th hole (2005) – but the restorative effects of his annual pilgrimage must surely have their limits. Woods arrives this year with a clearly fractured mind and a swing that resembles nothing so much as a half-finished Meccano set. By all means, prepare for the biggest "upset" victory by a favourite, but do not expect it to happen.

Nor should too much faith be placed in the fashionable notion that Augusta is now the personal fiefdom of Phil Mickelson. In the recent past, maybe – but the big left-hander, like Woods, has endured a mediocre year, beset by injury and troubles away from the course (albeit of an altogether different order than the self-induced mayhem that ripped his rival's life apart). As ever, Mickelson is talking a good Masters game but asking us to take him on trust, to judge him by his words more than his most recent deeds – although a late surge in Houston may repay belief.

Some people will bite. Who could blame them after Lefty's memorable victory last year? Like Luke Skywalker in a custom-made polo shirt, it seemed he had the force with him 12 months ago, but he also had the confidence that came from a run of decent performances in the early part of the season. This year, he has nothing to draw on but mediocrity and a nagging sense, at the age of 40, that time may have taken a vital edge off his game. If this proves so, and if Woods continues to wallow in the misery of his own making, the 2011 Masters may yet be seen as the end of the Woods-Mickelson era. The question then becomes; what will replace it?

The natural inclination is to search for another individual who will dominate in the manner of Woods – and Jack Nicklaus before him. Sport is drawn to such heroic figures, especially in this day and age. They are easier to identify with, and easier to market. They offer clarity.

Golf's problem (or is it opportunity?) on the eve of the first major of 2011 is that, instead of clarity, it has parity, as  is evidenced by a list of potential winners as long as any in recent major championship history.

The hopes of European fans will be carried by Martin Kaymer, the world No1, and Lee Westwood. Rory McIlroy seems to save his best for the big events, Paul Casey has a game that might have been designed with Augusta National in mind and Ian Poulter has never stepped on to the 1st tee of any course believing he is anything less than the winner-in-waiting. We could go on. Justin Rose, Luke Donald, Graeme McDowell – and what about Alvaro Quirós? But it would be impolite to ignore the host nation, as well as injurious to the cause of identifying next Sunday's winner.

For a while, the big-hitting Dustin Johnson represented America's best hope in this major, and in many majors to come, but it seems he has become distracted by his life away from the course. Likewise, the talented Anthony Kim. But despair not, Uncle Sam, there are plenty more where those two came from. Nick Watney has won on the PGA Tour this year and, like Casey, is suited to Augusta. Matt Kuchar might not be flash, but he is consistent and he holes putts. A win by either man would surprise the broader public, but it would not excite them.

The game could do with an exciting winner; a player with charisma and a flash of style; a player who hits it miles and has a gossamer touch around the greens; a player who has already endeared himself to the public and who is ready to take the next step. In two words, the 2011 Masters needs a winner like Bubba Watson.

From 'the shot heard round the world' to Jack Nicklaus's remarkable win in 1986, here are six great Augusta moments

1) The "shot heard round the world" (1935)

When Craig Wood birdied the final hole of the second Augusta National Invitation Tournament in 1935 – the Masters wouldn't be called the Masters for another four years – he must have thought he had put what was fast becoming a jinx to bed. Wood was the Greg Norman of his day: by far the longest hitter on tour, but never able to convert this prodigious advantage into titles, outrageous bad luck nixing him every time.

In 1933, he went into an 18-hole play-off for the Open championship at St Andrews as favourite, but early in the round an abnormally huge 440-yard drive found sand and cost him a shot. Wood never recovered momentum and Denny Chute took the prize. In the inaugural Augusta National Invitation Tournament the following year, Wood missed out on the title by one stroke, Horton Smith sinking a monster to win on 17. Then Wood lost the final of the PGA, then a matchplay tournament — the unfancied Paul Runyan, who had an unnerving habit of getting up and down from all sorts of foliage-related bother, holding on for dear life for 36 holes, then sinking a sudden-death sucker punch from 10-feet on the second extra hole.

But that final-hole birdie at Augusta in the spring of 1935 looked to have finally sealed the deal for Wood. It meant he had posted a clubhouse score of 282, three ahead of his nearest leaderboard challenger. That man was Gene Sarazen, who as a cheer went up in celebration of Wood's birdie, stood in the centre of the fairway at the par-five 15th, having hit his drive 225 yards down the 520-yard hole. "Well, that's that," said Walter Hagen, Sarazen's playing partner for the day. "Oh I don't know," smiled Sarazen, "they might go in from anywhere."

Sarazen's caddy, a chap improbably called Stovepipe, informed him that he would definitely need a three-wood to clear the water in front of the green. But Sarazen ummed and ahhed, and eventually decided Stovepipe was talking through his hat, plumping for a four-wood instead. "Hey, hurry up, Gene," laughed Hagen, "I got a date tonight." Sarazen finally got on with it, creaming a shot straight towards the green, 40 feet into the air. It eventually landed a few inches in front of the green, before rolling towards the far-right corner of the putting surface and dropping into the hole. Albatross. Three holes later, three difficult par putts sunk, he was in the clubhouse, tied with the hapless Wood. Inevitably, Sarazen won the 36-hole play off, triumphing by five shots thanks mainly to a hot putter. But it was his shot with his 4-wood that had been heard around the world, and that put the Masters on the map.

Wood's personal nightmare wasn't over. In 1939, he made the play-off of the US Open, only to lose out to Byron Nelson. It meant he had become the first player to lose all four majors in play-offs. The only other player to subsequently match this dubious feat? You've guessed it: Norman, who infamously failed to win a Masters despite coming second three times, third three times, and fourth, fifth and sixth once apiece. Wood, unlike Norman, eventually made peace with Augusta, though, leading from the very first day to win the 1941 tournament, and following it up immediately with a US Open win too.

2) Nicklaus's forgotten miracle (1986)

The pivotal moment of the 1986 Masters – the greatest of all – has gone down in legend. Jack Nicklaus had mounted a charge, with birdies at 9, 10 and 11, and an eagle at 15, but was still two behind leader Seve Ballesteros. He then hit his tee shot at 16 to four feet. Meanwhile Seve was coming down the 15th, in prime position in the centre of the fairway. He addresses his ball and prepares to go for the green – but then steps away as a cheer rings round the course: Jack has made his birdie putt on 16. Spooked, Seve steps up again, only to top his second into the lake. Bogey. Nicklaus goes on to birdie 17, taking over the lead from a haunted Seve and eventually winning the green jacket at the age of 46 years and three months.

Nicklaus's antics on the back nine – he came home in 30 strokes – define that tournament. Even if you're not a golf nut, you'll remember the image of the week: the celebration on 17, the Golden Bear lunging forward after the ball, splay footed, putter raised in the air just as the ball's about to drop. But none of it would have been possible without a now oft-forgotten miracle moment on the 8th, arguably the real pivotal moment that day.

"I was on my way to watch Seve," explains legendary Observer golf writer Bill Elliott, one of the very few who witnessed Nicklaus's miracle shot that day. In order to follow the Spaniard, Elliott had to cross the 8th fairway. He waited for Nicklaus to drive, and saw the 17-time major winner slice his ball into the woods on the right. "I thought: I might as well see how the old bugger handles that! There was only about a dozen people following him. He wasn't a contender. As things stood, he was in about 35th or 40th place.

"Jack's son Steve was caddying, and handed him a seven-iron to chip back out sideways. Jack stood in the trees with his hands on his hips and finally said 'Wait a minute, I see a gap'." Nicklaus took his three wood and clattered his ball through a two-foot gap that was 40 yards ahead of him. "He trudged into those trees," remembers Elliott, "and marched out of them. It got his juices flowing." Nicklaus was able to save par, and on the very next hole he birdied to begin his famous charge.

Luck played a big part – years later, Dave Musgrove, caddying for Nicklaus's playing partner Sandy Lyle, revealed that Jack admitted he'd missed the gap he was aiming for, but the ball flew through an even smaller one anyway – but that should take nothing away from Nicklaus, who according to Elliott should be applauded for his "shot execution, bravado, imagination and balls". Nicklaus's subsequent performance that hazy afternoon set the seal on his amazing career, and arguably ruined two others: a deeply affected Seve was never the same again, while Greg Norman, looking to par the last to force a play-off with Nicklaus, wilted in the face of the Golden Bear's partisan support and bogeyed, his first Masters runner-up spot surely planting a seed of doubt that would eventually consume him ten years later in spectacular fashion.

Now that's pivotal.

3) Sandy Lyle's bunker shot (1988)

By the time Sandy Lyle reached Amen Corner during the fourth round of the 1988 Masters, he had used up an awful lot of nervous energy. He had won the previous week's Greater Greensboro Open, leading for most of that event. He had been leading at Augusta since midway through the second round. And now, as he hit the turn on the final day, he was eight under par, holding a three-shot advantage over Mark Calcavecchia. "I like leading tournaments," he had said the evening before. But no golfer is truly at ease with the prize theirs to lose, and the pressure would suddenly tell.

He bogeyed 11, then double bogeyed the short 12th, covering his face as his tee shot rippled the water. Suddenly his advantage was gone, and soon Calcavecchia took advantage of Lyle's stumble to move ahead. "We led for 40 holes and the strain was awful," Lyle's caddy, Dave Musgrove, remembered later. "When Sandy lost the lead at 14, he started to play again. It was great seeing Calcavecchia ahead of us at 15 with the weight on his shoulders for a change." Still, the American kept steady enough to post a clubhouse total of six under.

Lyle needed to make a move. After missing an easy birdie putt at 15, he rolled in a long, fast, slippery one on the next hole to draw level with the clubhouse leader. After parring 17, Lyle was looking for par at the last to force a play-off. At which point he nearly threw the title away again, driving his one-iron straight into the first of the fairway bunkers, 256 yards from the tee. "As soon as Sandy hit the tee shot on the last, he thought he'd lost the championship," recalled Musgrove. "He said he couldn't get a par from there."

But there was hope. "He didn't want to be in the bunker, like, but if he had to be, then on the upslope was perfect," continued the caddy. "When we got there Sandy checked with a TV guy to see what Calcavecchia had done, and then he knew he needed a par. We'd got 150 yards to the pin, eight-iron distance, but the ball comes off the club slower out of sand, so we hit the seven." Lyle clipped the ball cleanly off the sand with precision bordering on perfection. The ball arced over the flag, bit into the upslope at the back of the green, and slowly – teasingly – dribbled back down the gradient and stopped eight feet from the cup. Pandemonium time.

"We knew it were good by the cheers," said Musgrove. "We couldn't see it, but I knew he couldn't hole it. That sort of thing only happens in fairy stories, so there I am, slogging up that hill, me back's hurting and I'm thinking there's going to be a bleeding play-off when all I want to do is get off and have a beer.

"He had a good look at that putt, though. He looked at the setting sun, because that affects the grain, and we reckoned it were a two-way borrow. So he hit it straight and it went in. Christ, I was glad that bugger was over." Meanwhile Lyle danced a little dance, too exhausted to boogie, but relaxed in the knowledge he'd just hit the greatest bunker shot in the history of the game – and arguably the greatest pressure shot of all time.

4) Bob Goalby seizes the moment (1968)

The 1968 Masters is remembered for one thing, and one thing alone: a hangdog Roberto De Vicenzo leaving the scorer's tent in high distress, after being told he'd signed for a four rather than the birdie three he actually made at the 17th hole, and had therefore cost himself the chance to meet Bob Goalby in a play-off the following day. It's arguably the most distressing story in the history of competitive golf, not least because it happened on De Vicenzo's 45th birthday.

The mistake – first made by De Vicenzo's playing partner and scorer Tommy Aaron (who would win the Masters himself in 1973) though ultimately by the Argentinian himself, who missed the error and signed for the higher score – has obscured much that was good about the tournament. Two things. First that De Vicenzo's final round was majestic: it began with a nine-iron floated gently into the 1st green, pitching a foot from the hole, and spinning into the cup. "The crowd erupted, the caddy extracted the ball and kissed it," wrote legendary Guardian golf writer Pat Ward-Thomas. "De Vicenzo strolled beaming to the green in his imperial fashion as the crowd sang Happy Birthday To You. As he walked to the next tee he said to me: I need 17 more like that. He swung at the next drive so easily and smoothly that nothing might have happened."

De Vicenzo nearly eagled the second, and birdied the third: four under for the first three holes. He had started the day two shots behind Gary Player; now he was two clear of the field. He continued to blaze around Augusta, with birdies at 8, 12, 15 and (fatefully) 17, before dropping a stroke at the last. Often forgotten, the six-footer he missed on the 18th would prove very costly indeed.

Also rarely remembered is the other great performance that day: that of the eventual winner, Bob Goalby. The big man did his best to keep on Di Vicenzo's tail, and stood on the par-five 15th only two shots behind the Argentinian. But he needed to make a move. After booming a drive straight down the middle, he was faced with a 210-yard approach to the firm green. Goalby's long irons tended to fly "lower than most", he would admit, but this time he hit a textbook three-iron that arced high and dropped softly, holding on and rolling to eight feet. He knocked in the putt for eagle, and a tie of the lead.

He then hit a gorgeous second long iron, this time on the final hole, cutting the ball around the trees after a poor drive, finding the green, and saving par. Unlike his opponent, Goalby had remained staunch at the death. Both he and De Vicenzo had scored 66, but one man had inexplicably carded a 67, and lost the chance to compete for the green jacket. Goalby had won. "What a stupid I am," sighed De Vicenzo after the dust settled. Goalby refused a promoter's subsequent offer of $90,000 to take part in an 18-hole play-off the following year, arguing that he had done more than enough to win the Masters already. De Vicenzo agreed, although never quite reached closure. "I have a feeling the 1968 Masters hasn't yet finished," he wrote in his autobiography. "When Goalby and I meet in heaven, we are going to end this duel that has been left unfinished here on earth."

5) Tom Weiskopf's meltdown (1980)

Spoiler alert: the finale to Tin Cup, right here. Sort of.

Tom Weiskopf is, along with poor old Greg, one of the Masters' foremost nearly men. Between 1969 and 1975 he finished runner up four times, and tied for sixth once. He never did win the thing. But even worse, his remarkable consistency round Augusta – he also finished in ninth, tenth and 14th place during the 1970s – is all but forgotten thanks to one meltdown in 1980.

Weiskopf, 6ft 3in tall, was prone to hot funks, which earned him the nickname of – sheer brilliance, this – the Towering Inferno. And he caught fire during the first round at Augusta in 1980, after dumping his tee shot into the water at the short par-three 12th. He had been going reasonably well up to that point, and so tried to knock his wedge from the dropping area dead.

Problem was, the pin was in a tricky position near the front; Weiskopf couldn't hold the green, and the ball dropped into the drink again. Instead of taking his medicine and aiming for the safer, meatier part of the green, Weiskopf – on full boil (though all this was internalized; he wasn't a club-thrower) – decided he wasn't going to let this problem get the better of him. And so he attempted to knock the ball stone dead again. And again. And again. Three more times he found water, before finally giving up and doing what he should have done in the first place: playing safe and taking two putts.

Weiskopf had run up a score of 13 on the shortest hole on the course, a tied record for the highest score on a single hole in Masters history, though Tommy Nakajima's 1978 disaster was at least on the par-five 13th. He ended the day with an 85, the other 17 holes played only three over par.

6) Lee Trevino's snub (1970)

If Lee Trevino had held it together in the 1968 Masters, we might rarely mention poor Roberto De Vicenzo these days. Trevino was in contention for three and a half rounds that year, on his first visit to Augusta, before falling to pieces round Amen Corner, where he dropped eight shots on his way to a final-round 80. It helped the diminutive Mexican form an instant dislike of the course, which didn't suit his game – he would flight the ball lower than the majority of players, while his left-to-right style was another disadvantage – and though he came back the following year to finish 19th, he decided against accepting his invitation for the 1970 tournament.

"He must be the first eminent golfer in history to decline the invitation for personal reasons," wrote Pat Ward-Thomas in this paper. "He says that the course does not suit his type of golf. He flights the ball lower than most and Augusta does favour a long carrying flight. During much talk the other evening, humorous and sincere, Trevino would not be persuaded from the view that he wanted a rest and Augusta week was it; but the little man, who has very much a mind of his own, must have stronger reasons for not playing."

Although reportedly unhappy at what the ultra-conservative Georgia club stood for – at the time the membership was all white (and, as it remains today, all male) – Trevino would stick to his story, before eventually returning to play from 1972 onwards, in a fruitless attempt to conquer a course many thought he had psyched himself out of playing well on. But he would never go into the clubhouse, choosing instead to put his golf shoes on in the car park.