For the players it’s no different. There is something about the green jackets, pimento cheese sandwiches and the scent of pine straw that is like being in another dimension.

An Augusta ambush is seemingly on the horizon. The small but elite four-prong squad of Aussies embarking on golf’s most exclusive event is arguably the strongest we have seen across the board in years.

ADAM SCOTT

Only one Australian knows what it feels like to open up his closet and see a green jacket hanging there, and that hasn’t been given enough credit in recent times.

What Scott did in 2013 was remarkable, and 11 years on, he still believes he can rewrite the record books and claim a second title on the hallowed turf of Augusta National - even if others may have written him off. It is still a week he looks forward to, and it’s never long into the new year before the trip down Magnolia Lane starts to cross his mind.

Indeed, it starts on day one.

“Thinking about it (The Masters), I guess first from planning a schedule into where you’re going to play and which boxes you need to tick,” Scott said.

“That kind of influences where you need to play, how much work you need to do to think you’re going to be ready to win the Masters, where your game’s really at, and trying to work a schedule of practice and play and travel and everything else into that. So, I’ve had that in the forefront of my mind since January 1.”

As time drifts on, a collection of Scotty barrackers south of the equator have admittedly been dealt a series of disappointing results since 2017 (T9) at the year’s first major.

Firstly, those more recent results can’t be ignored. Fact is he hasn’t played to his lofty standards at Augusta for a while now. That said, despite lacklustre weekends, the Queenslander has made the cut at the Masters every year since 2009.

Scott's results at Augusta have not been great since winning the green jacket in 2013: PHOTO: Getty Images.

So, although the last few years have been tough, you’re always a sniff if you are teeing it up on the weekend. Chances are, Scott will have a Saturday tee time. And hopefully a late one Sunday.

The 43-year-old had a great finish to 2023, finishing T5 at the PGA Tour’s Bermuda Championship before a sensational Christmas back home, where the veteran finished sixth at the Australian PGA and T4 at the Australian Open before winning the two-day Cathedral Invitational.

Scott has carried that form into a solid start to 2024 on the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour. He didn’t finish outside the top-20 in his first four starts, finishing T7 (Dubai Desert Classic), T20 (Pebble Beach Pro-Am), T8 (Phoenix Open), T19 (Genesis Invitational) and a solid showing at the Valero Texas Open (T14) the week prior to Augusta. The 2013 Masters Champion admits his ball striking hasn’t been where it once was, but believes he has found what is needed to be a proper force in 2024.

Ball-striking has not historically been the issue for the silky-swinging former champion. What he does around and on the greens has been the cause for concern for his fans over the years.

Scott has started the year with a bang with the flatstick, gaining shots on the greens all but twice (Pebble Beach and Bay Hill) – according to Data Golf.

His form line is solid; he knows how to win at Augusta; if he can keep it together for four straight rounds, it isn’t far-fetched that Scott will be in the mix of players doing their best in that compelling stretch of final holes late in the tournament.

CAM SMITH

Cam Smith has not missed the cut in seven starts at Augusta and recorded T5, T10, T2 and T3 finishes. Few people on the planet putt better than the Queenslander, and he plays the game with his imagination as opposed to some of the cookie-cutter target golf players that make up a higher percentage of professionals than the PGA Tour would like to admit.

Has the defection to LIV been a good thing for Smith?

When he first made the jump, he was razor-sharp, a Players and an Open champion. Yet this writer isn’t sold on his golf being as sharp as it has been. It feels like he’s lost an edge.

Cam Smith should always be in the mix at Augusta National. PHOTO: Getty Images.

This is relative, of course. The 30-year-old is undoubtedly still the quality of player who can not only compete but contend at the most significant events of the year. He wasn’t playing his best and still played the weekend at all four majors in 2023.

But the numbers don’t lie.

Smith is ranked 66th in the Official World Golf Ranking; and yes, I can hear you muttering, “LIV players don’t get world ranking points, you delinquent”. But if you go off statistical data, he is fairly ranked, according to Data Golf. He slides in at 59th.

LIV ramped up their schedule ahead of the Masters, so Smith had ample opportunity to get his reps up in time for the drive down Magnolia Lane. He was served some dodgy chicken and had to withdraw from last week's LIV Miami with food poisoning so that obviously hindered his prep slightly.

You can read what you like about the amount of golf the Aussie cult hero has played, but when Smith has turned up, he has always found a way to be competitive even when he hasn’t necessarily had his best stuff. And that shows the quality of player he is - genuinely class. Here is hoping getting to Augusta early gives him a proper tune up, and he times his run to perfection because major championships are more entertaining when C.Smith is on the first page of the leaderboard.