There is an element of truth in that opinion when you consider that since Gene Sarazen won the 1935 tournament in his inaugural appearance, only one first-timer has achieved the feat. That man was Fuzzy Zoeller, who birdied the second play-off hole to defeat Ed Sneed and Tom Watson in 1979.

More than a fifth of this year’s Masters field is making their Augusta debut of those 20 players, there are quite a few with strong claims to break the 37-year winless streak.

Undoubtedly the best of them is Spain’s Jon Rahm, who has not played a full year of professional golf yet and played his way to Augusta with a win at the Farmers Insurance Open at the end of January.

Rahm’s rise to the edge of the top-10 in the world ranking has been meteoric. At the US Open last June, he began the week ranked No.551 in the world. The 22-year-old will open his first Masters campaign this Thursday as the World No.12 and many are expecting he will announce his presence with a strong showing.

If form is any guide, he should be one of the favourites this week. Since his win at Torrey Pines he has played six PGA Tour events, including two World Golf Championships, and had five top-10s including his hard fought runner-up finish to Dustin Johnson in the Dell Match Play.

He played his first Augusta practice round three weeks ago and says he was in awe of the course and can understand now why his compatriots Seve Ballesteros and Jose Maria Olazabal were able to win the Masters.

“The year I was born, Olazábal won his first Masters. Seve had already won two,” Rahm said. “It really is a place that seems to suit the Spanish game character, the Spanish way of playing.

“Obviously, I'm extremely honored to be here. There's not many places in the world where golf is respected the way it is here.

“For people like me who just turned pro, and I've seen a lot of great places; it doesn't get much better than this, and it truly was two of the best days of my life. Just to be on the chipping green, I had the hour of my life being on the chipping green. – Jon Rahm

“It really is amazing just to walk down Magnolia Lane and feel how well respected the game of golf is. It's truly amazing."

He might be in awe of the famed layout but he doesn’t fear it and believes he can be the one to break the rookie drought.

“If I didn't think I could win it, I wouldn't be here,” he said matter-of-factly. “Truly, Torrey Pines is not one of the places rookies usually win for the first time and I was able to do it.

“Obviously this is different. It's a major and my first time in Augusta. It's very, very impressive.

“I'm going to tee it up believing that I can win, competing to win. I might do it; I might not but that's how I do it. That's what I did at Torrey Pines and that's what I did in my first time as a pro at Congressional and that's how I play. When I tee it up, it's just because I want to win and I believe that I can win.”

Rahm said he hoped to play a practice round with Olazabal on Wednesday to pick his brain about any tips he might have about playing the course.

“Obviously there's not many players alive that know more about this place than he does,” Rahm said. “Hopefully I can play a little bit or spend some time with him to chat, and I know he will give me some valuable info on pretty much every single hole.”

Tommy Fleetwood with the silverware in Abu Dhabi where he beat Dustin Johnson by a shot. PHOTO: Getty Images.

Tommy Fleetwood, who is part of an 11-strong English contingent at Augusta this week, won in Abu Dhabi earlier this year and finished second behind Johnson in Mexico last month. His steady rise into the top-30 of the world ranking has partly been inspired by a visit he made to Augusta as a spectator in 2014.

“I thought I would be playing the following year but I failed at that one. But I just wanted to see it,” he said of the visit. “I think whoever you speak to just says not just how the golf course, but the surroundings, the club, everything takes a little bit of getting used to.

“Augusta, it's in everybody's mind and everybody's dreams and it's just that place that you know that you want to go to, so it's a little bit surreal when you first go.

“I had a chance the go, and I thought, I'll go, because I just want to see what it's like and when I do come, I might not be as awestruck.  But it doesn't quite work like that; when you get to the golf course, it's still the same feelings.

“It doesn't disappoint when you arrive, and you drive down Magnolia Lane.  Like I say, the main things for me, my biggest excitement was watching over the bridge to 12 and standing on the 13th tee. Those were the two places when I watched I couldn't get to and I was desperate to get there.

“You see the players hit the shots in and they walk over the bridge and then it looks like you could hear a pin drop on the 12th green and 13th tee. I was looking at that and my shoulders were getting barged out of the way, and that's where I wanted to be.

“ At that moment, I thought, well, I want to get there.”

During his visit in 2014, he made sure to take in all the important spts out on the course – the spot where Bubba Watson hooked out of the trees on 10; where Phil Mickelson slotted his approach through the trees on 13; where Larry Mize chipped in to win on 11 in 1987. There has been less sightseeing and more ball-striking during the past few days.

“I haven't really experienced anything (shots) I don't really fancy so far,” he said. “The course is firming up, so it's getting tougher than last week when I came. It's quite soft and you kind of played it and you thought, well, it's playable at the moment.

“But the more it firms up, the more I'm sure it plays tougher. I'll have to learn that.”

Fleetwood getting in some practice before all play was suspended at Augusta because of severe storms in the area. PHOTO: Harry How/Getty Images.

Unlike Rahm, he’s not putting too much expectation on himself to be the second Englishman in as many years to slip into a green jacket.

“I actually put my name down with Fuzzy Zoeller in the Par 3 because I know he's the only one that's done it. He's the only one that has won the first time, so I thought maybe that might give me some vibes,” Fleetwood laughed.

“You never know. I'm not setting my expectations, I'm not going to sit here and say, I expect to win. But you never know. You've just got to get your head down, and it's me against the golf course.

“It would be nice. A lot of shots I feel comfortable with on the course. I think tee shots‑wise, if you can get a good visual with your irons, then that's that job done and then sort of where to take it on and where not to, and the greens. – Tommy Fleetwood

“I've not got any experience of missing it in certain spots or knowing what is a horrendous chip shot or knowing that you can't go there. That's what a first‑timer is missing, but I'll try my hardest to get as much as I can. 

“I managed to get a few holes with Mark O'Meara yesterday and Billy Foster, Lee Westwood, just trying to get as much information as we can and seeing how we go. It all depends on how you play, as well.

“At the end of the day, you can play terribly, so that makes no difference at all. Hopefully I can make a good showing of myself. Stranger things have happened. I've got no massive expectations.”