The late great Seve Ballesteros once said, “to give yourself the best possible chance of playing to your potential, you must prepare for every eventuality. That mean’s practice.”

And that’s what the aforementioned trio did with nearly half of this year’s Masters field still to arrive in Augusta.

Day took indefinite leave from the game when he withdrew from the WGC Dell Match Play on March 22 to be with his mum, Dening, who is fighting lung cancer and underwent surgery a few days after his withdrawal. She has since started chemotherapy treatment at Ohio State’s James Cancer Hospital and Day says; she is resting at his home in Columbus, Ohio, and is “in good hands.”

Having played just 18 competitive rounds in 2017, the World No.3 arrived at Augusta National on Friday and played a practice round with Luck. On Saturday, he played the back nine before spending a few hours on the range with caddie swing coach, Col Swatton. The pair had another range session on a warm Sunday afternoon, before heading out on the front nine alone.

Jason Day and caddie Col Swatton head out for a practice round along on Sunday afternoon. PHOTO: Brendan James

Day looked relaxed as he smashed his drive down right edge of the 1st fairway, watched by a gallery of three – two clubhouse waiters and your correspondent. He ventured out onto the course with barely a player in front of him.

There is no doubt he is competitively underdone for the year’s first major but he seems to be in a much better place emotionally than he was when he withdrew in Austin.

Day, who has two top-fives and was T10 last year, wasn’t the first to arrive in the ‘Peach State’. Luck, the World No.1 ranked amateur began his Masters preparation up the road in Atlanta last Wednesday when he contested the Georgia Cup. The US Amateur winner was defeated in the final by England’s British Amateur Champion Scott Gregory. Both headed down Magnolia Lane on Thursday afternoon.

Luck has been soaking up as much knowledge about the course as possible and he fine-tuned his game on the range for a few hours in perfect conditions on Sunday afternoon. He spent most of his time working on his wedge play and short game, just a short pitch from where Scott worked through some putting drills.

Adam Scott smiles as he dashes past the Augusta clubhouse. PHOTO: Getty Images.

The Queenslander flew into Augusta ahead of schedule after missing the cut at the Shell Houston Open on Friday. Having opened strongly with a four under 68, he missed the cut by one stroke after a dismal five over 77 second round, which came on the back off some lacklustre putting including three three-putts.

If his practice session is anything to go by, Scott’s confidence with the putter will be slowly rising after his Sunday afternoon session, when he barely missed from close range.

Scott has played even less competitive golf than Day in 2017, having teed it up in just three events prior to missing the cut in Houston. The 37-year-old has been playing a select schedule of events as he and wife, Marie, have moved to their home on the Gold Coast while she is pregnant with their second child, due in August.