It has been commonplace in the recent history of the Masters Tournaments to spot the name of a seasoned campaigner or two challenging at the top of the leaderboard, as some of the game’s most iconic names roll back the years.
At Augusta National experience can help offset the passing of the years, levelling the playing field for those players now plying their trade mostly on the senior circuit.
Since Horton Smith and Gene Sarazen won the first two Masters Tournaments in 1934 and 1935, only one man - Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 - has walked away with the Green Jacket at the first attempt, demonstrating that experience counts around the fabled fairways of Augusta National.
Next week there will be an illustrious group of players who are able to draw upon a wealth of knowledge as they return for yet another trip down Magnolia Lane.
In total, there will be five European Senior Tour members in the field for the season’s first Major Championship. Two-time champions Bernhard Langer and Honorary Member Tom Watson will be joined by Sandy Lyle and Ian Woosnam, winners of the Green Jacket in 1988 and 1991 respectively, as well as Miguel Angel Jiménez, the oldest winner in the history of The European Tour who turned 50 in January.
The senior ranks will also be represented in Georgia by past champions Ben Crenshaw, Mark O’Meara, Larry Mize, Vijay Singh and Craig Stadler, as well as the 2012 Senior Open Champion, Fred Couples.
Cumulatively, these 11 ‘over 50s’ have amassed 329 Masters Tournaments and 13 Green Jackets between them, meaning that what they might lack for in youth and distance, they more than make up for in know-how and course management.
It was Couples and Langer, two of the most successful players on the Senior circuit in recent years, who threatened to upstage their younger counterparts 12 months ago.
On the 20th anniversary of his second Green Jacket, German Langer followed rounds of 71, 71 and 72 with an impressive early charge in the final round, starting with a hat-trick of birdies to feature on the leaderboard before running into trouble on the back nine.
He eventually signed for a closing 76 to finish in a share of 25th position, earning his best finished at Augusta National since 2005.
Couples, the 1992 champion, fared even better, extending his impressive record at Augusta National by sharing 13th place – his fourth consecutive top 15 finish. The 54 year old, who next week celebrates his 30th appearance at the Masters, opened with rounds of 68 and 71 but slipped down the leaderboard with a third round 77, before a closing with a 71 to finish as the leading senior player.
Hoping to compete with him for that honour this year will be the evergreen Spaniard Jiménez, who led last year’s Open Championship at the half-way stage before finishing in a tie for 13th.
The 20-time European Tour winner, who makes his debut in this year’s Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex at Royal Porthcawl in July, missed last year’s Masters after breaking his leg skiing, but after captaining Europe in the EurAsia Cup, he will be looking to record his fourth top ten finish at Augusta.
In keeping with recent tradition, this year’s Masters Tournament will be launched on Thursday morning by three of golf’s great names: honorary starters Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player.
Of course, it is Nicklaus who holds the record as the oldest winner at Augusta National after claiming his sixth Green Jacket at the age of 46 in 1986.
Memorably, his rival Watson came close to becoming the oldest Major Champion in history when he lost in a play-off to Stewart Cink in The 2009 Open Championship at Turnberry at the age of 59. That was at a venue where the American had already earned a place in golfing folklore, following his victory in the ‘Duel in the Sun’ 32 years previously, and the senior players returning to Georgia next week will also be tapping into a rich bank of personal memories at an iconic venue.
It remains to be seen whether the drive down Magnolia Lane can inspire a trip down memory lane for one of the 11 senior stars next week.
